WHEN AND HOW TO USE ABBREVIATIONS The Abbreviated Life

Do you know what some or all of these popular abbreviations represent? What are abbreviations? Abbreviations shorten words and language in order to communicate more quickly and efficiently. Are abbreviations always the best option in writing? Not necessarily. If they do not follow the rules of abbreviations and are not widely accepted, they can lead to confusion and miscommunication.

Misunderstandings about Abbreviations Text messaging, instant messaging, and short hand informality is not the same as abbreviated language Use periods sometimes, but not all of the times Capitalize all letters, or maybe just the first letter Not all Latin can be abbreviated Many Latin words are abbreviated (a.m., p.m., i.e, etc.) but just because it is a Latin term does not mean it should be abbreviated Everything cannot be abbreviated just because it can be shortened The name James can be shortened to Jas or Kristina can be shortened to Kris but these names should not necessarily be abbreviated

Rules to Follow 1. Use standard abbreviations for titles immediately before and after proper names  Ms. Nancy Lockhart, Dr. Margaret Simmons, St. Joan of Arc, Prof. Jim Cox  James Williams, Jr., Polly Stein, D.D.S., Anita Sly, Ph.D. (*note* do not abbreviate a title if it is not used with a proper name) Example: My history professor (not prof.) was a specialist…. 2. Use familiar abbreviations for the names of organizations, corporations, and countries  CIA, FBI, NAACP, IBM, CBS, USA, YMCA 3. Unfamiliar abbreviations should be introduced in a document with the full title first before abbreviated (*note* familiar abbreviations, such as the ones above, are often written without periods)

Rules to Follow Use B.C., A.D., A.M., P.M., No., and $ only with specific dates, times, numbers, and amounts  B.C. (“before Christ”) follows a date—40 B.C.  A.D. (“anno Domini”) precedes a date—A.D. 44  Avoid using A.M., P.M., No., or $ when not accompanied by a specific figure  We left early in the morning. (not A.M.)  There were a number (not no.) of old hats in the attic. Be sparing in your use of Latin abbreviations  Latin abbreviations are appropriate in footnotes, bibliographies and informal writing  e.g. (Latin expempli gratia, “for example”)  etc. (Latin et cetera, “and so forth”)  et al. (Latin et alii, “and others”)  i.e. (Latin id est, “that is”)  P.S. (Latin postscriptum, “postscript”)

Inappropriate Abbreviations (in formal writing) Personal names  Charles, not Chas. Units of measurement  pound, not lb. Days of the week, holidays, months  Monday through Friday, not Mon. thru Fri.  Christmas, not Xmas  January, not Jan.

Inappropriate Abbreviations (in formal writing) Courses of study  Political science, not poli. sci. Divisions of written works  Chapter and page, not ch. or p./pg. States and countries (exception: Washington, D.C.)  Massachusetts, not MA or Mass. Parts of a business name  Adams Lighting Company, not Adams Lighting Co.; Kim and Brothers, not Kim and Bros.