| If you are frequently confronted with decisions regarding abbreviations, get hold of a copy of either The Chicago Manual of Style or The Gregg Reference Manual.
Both these books contain extensive chapters on proper form in using
abbreviations, as well as the possessive and plural forms of
abbreviations. |
Abbreviate the following:
Titles before names:
Mrs., Mr., Ms., Prof., Dr., Gen., Rep., Sen., St. (for Saint)
Notice that Miss is not an abbreviation, so we don't put a period after
it. Ms. is not an abbreviation, either, but we do use a period after it —
probably to keep it consistent with Mr. and Mrs.
The plural of Mr. is Messrs. (We invited Messrs. Carter, Lincoln, and
Ford.) The plural of Dr. is Drs. (We consulted Drs. Carter, Lincoln, and
Ford.) The plural of Mrs. is Mmes or Mmes. (with or without the
period).
In most formal prose, we do not use titles, abbreviated or otherwise,
with individuals. Ms. Emily Dickinson is simply Emily Dickinson, and
after the first use of her full name, Dickinson will do (unless we need Emily to avoid confusion with other Dickinsons).
The abbreviations Rev. and Hon. (for Reverend and Honorable) are not,
strictly speaking, titles; they are adjectives. In informal language or
when we're trying to save space or make a list, we can write Rev. Alan
B. Darling and Hon. Francisco Gonzales. In formal text, we would write
"the Reverend Alan B. Darling" and "the Honorable Francisco Gonzales"
(i.e., it's not a good idea to abbreviate either Reverend or Honorable
when these words are preceded by "the"). Incidentally, we cannot say "We
invited the reverend to dinner" and only a cad would invite "the rev."
Titles after names:
Sr., Jr., Ph.D., M.D., B.A., M.A., D.D.S.
These are standard abbreviations, with periods. The APA Publication Manual recommends not
using periods with degrees; other reference manuals do recommend using
periods, so use your own judgment on this issue. All sources advise
against using titles before and after a name at the same time
(i.e., she can be Dr. Juanita Espinoza or Juanita Espinoza, PhD, but she
cannot be Dr. Juanita Espinoza, PhD). And we do not abbreviate a title
that isn't attached to a name: "We went to see the doctor (not dr.)
yesterday."
The Chicago Manual of Style recommends not using a comma
to separate the Jr./Sr./III from the last name, but you should follow
the preferences of the indivdual if you know those preferences. If you
list a "junior" with his spouse, the "Jr." can go after both names, as
in "Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Banks Jr." or "Mr. Arthur C. Banks Jr. and
Gloria Banks — but not Arthur C. and Gloria Banks Jr. You should avoid using a "Jr." or "Sr." when you have only the last name — Mr. Banks Jr.
| Have you ever run across an acronym or abbreviation and not known what it means? Try using the Acronym Finder.
Just type in the letters and click on Search. Out of a database of over
190,000 abbreviations and acronyms, the Finder will probably discover
what you're looking for. |
Names of
- familiar institutions — UConn, MIT, UCLA, CIA, FBI, NATO
- countries — U.S.A., U.K.
- corporations — IBM, CBS, NPR, CNN, ITT
- famous people — LBJ, FDR, JFK, MLK
- very familiar objects — TV, VCR, CD-ROM.
Notice that U.S.A. can also be written USA, but U.S. is better with
the periods. Also, we can use U.S. as a modifier (the U.S. policy on
immigration) but
not as a noun (He left the
U.S. U.S.A.).
Terms of mathematical units: 15 in., 15 ft, 15 kg, 15 m, 15 lb
Generally, you would use these abbreviations only in technical
writing. There is a space between the number and the abbreviation.
Notice that we do not put an
s after such abbreviations even when the plural is indicated. Also, we do not use a period with such abbreviations except for
in. when it might be confused with the preposition
in.
When the term of measurement is used as a modifier, we put a hyphen
between the number and the term of measurement: a 15-ft board, a 6-lb
line, etc.
Long, common phrases, such as IQ (Intelligence Quotient), rpm (revolutions per minute), mph (miles per hour), and mpg (miles per gallon).
Words used with numbers: He left at 2:00 a.m. She was born in 1520 B.C.
The abbreviation i.e. (i.e., that is) is often
confused with other abbreviations (e.g., e.g.). The i.e. generally is
used to introduce matter that is explanatory as opposed to being the
name of an example or list of examples. If you can say for example
as a substitute for the abbreviation, you want to use e.g., not i.e.
Do not italicize or underline these abbreviations. Most sources
recommend avoiding the use of Latin abbreviations except within
parenthetical notes and some sources say not to use Latin abbreviations
at all (use the English terms instead) except within citations or
reference lists. Good advice.
The Chicago Manual of Style recommends using a comma after i.e.
or e.g. in order to set off those abbreviations as introductory
modifiers. Other resources say not to bother with the comma, but the
comma makes good sense.
|
Names of states and territories in references and addresses, but not in normal text. Abbreviations accepted by the U.S. Postal Service (including abbreviations for words like
Boulevard and
Alley)
are listed online. Do not use state abbreviations simply to save time
or space except in an address on an envelope or list. We do not use
periods with state abbreviations: CT, NY, NJ. We use D.C. after the name
of the city within the District of Columbia: Washington, D.C.; the APA
Manual
does not use periods with DC. The U.S. postal service, incidentally,
does not insert a comma between the city and the abbreviated state name:
Hartford CT, Portland OR — at least not in the addresses on envelopes.
Abbreviate "Saint" in U.S. place names, as in St. Louis and St.
Petersburg, Florida, and the St. Lawrence River. For the same word in
other countries, you might have to consult a good dictionary (one that
contains place names): St./Saint Martin's in the Fields, Saint Moritz,
Saint Lucia, Mont-Saint-Michel, Saint Petersburg (Russia). When the word
Saint is used to refer to a holy person, spell out the word — Saint
Theresa, Saint Francis of Assisi. If an institution is named after a
saint, spell out the word Saint unless you have some reason to
save space — Saint Francis Hospital, Saint Joseph College, Saint
Joseph's University. It is wise, as always, to consult the actual
institution. Colleges, universities, and hospitals named after Saint
Mary are about evenly divided between St. and Saint, but in formal situations, Saint seems to be favored more frequently.
Don't abbreviate the following:
(In formal academic prose it is considered bad form to abbreviate words simply to save space, time, or energy.)
- Words such as through (thru), night (nite).
- Days of the week or months of the year (in the normal flow of text).
- Words at the beginning of a sentence.
- People's names such as Chas. (for Charles) or Jas. (for James),
unless those abbreviations have come to be accepted as nicknames for
those particular individuals.
- States' names such as Mass. (for Massachusetts) or Conn. (for
Connecticut). When appropriate (as in the addresses for envelopes), use
the U.S. postal service's approved two-letter abbreviations: MA, CT (without periods).
- Courses such as econ (for economics) or poli sci (for political science).
People's initials are usually followed by a period and a space —
W. E. B. DuBois —
but you need to be careful that a line-break doesn't come in the middle
of someone's initials. (You can impose what is called a "forced space"
or "non-breaking space" by holding down the option key while you hit the
space bar.) You will find exceptions to this rule in the way that some
companies write their name: JCPenney (no spaces or periods), L.L. Bean
(no space in the initials), etc. In normal text, writers can safely
ignore corporate aberrations in spacing and capitalization. (Some
editors write Harry S Truman without a period after the "S," because the
initial didn't really stand for anything, but the Truman Presidential Museum and Library
contends that that practice is silly. Still, you will often find
Truman's name written sans period in highly regarded places.) When a
person's initials stand alone — either as a nickname, "Come here, JT!" —
or as a common shortcut — JFK (for John Fitzgerald Kennedy) or LBJ (for
Lyndon Baines Johnson) — type them without spaces or periods.
Professional designations such as CPA (Certified Public Accountant) or
CLU (Certified Life Underwriter) are separated from the last name with a
comma and are written without spaces or periods, as in Bertha Bigknot,
CPA, unless the designation is accompanied by an academic degree, as in
Foxy Reynard, Ph.D., C.L.U.
There is a difference between acronyms and abbreviations. An acronym
is usually formed by taking the first initials of a phrase or
compounded-word and using those initials to form a word that stands for
something. Thus NATO, which we pronounce NATOH, is an acronym for North
Atlantic Treaty Organization, and LASER (which we pronounce "lazer"), is
an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
FBI, then, is not really an acronym for the Federal Bureau of
Investigation; it is an abbreviation. AIDS is an acronym; HIV is an
abbreviation. URL is an abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator
(World Wide Web address), but many people pronounce it as "Earl," making
it a true acronym, and others insist on pronouncing it as three
separate letters, "U * R * L," thus making it an abbreviation. The jury
is still out. (I vote for Uncle Earl.)
It appears that there are no hard and fast rules for using periods in
either acronyms or abbreviations. More and more, newspapers and journals
seem to drop the periods: NAACP, NCAA, etc. Consistency, obviously, is
important.
Using articles with abbreviations and acronyms:
One of the most often asked questions about grammar has to do with the choice of articles — a, an, the — to precede an abbreviation or acronym. Do we say an FBI agent or a
FBI agent? Although "F" is obviously a consonant and we would precede
any word that begins with "F" with "a," we precede FBI with "an" because
the first sound we make when we say FBI is not an "f-sound," it is an
"eff-sound." Thus we say we're going to a PTO meeting where an NCO will address us. We say we saw a UFO because, although the abbreviation begins with a 'U," we pronounce the "U" as if it were spelled "yoo." Whether we say an URL or a URL depends on whether we pronounce it as "earl" or as "u*r*l."
|
APA Abbreviations
Summary:
APA (American
Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources
within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6th
edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the
general format of APA research papers, in-text citations,
endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please
consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (6th ed., 2nd printing).
Contributors:Joshua M. Paiz, Elizabeth Angeli, Jodi
Wagner, Elena Lawrick, Kristen Moore, Michael Anderson, Lars Soderlund,
Allen Brizee, Russell Keck
Last Edited: 2010-04-21 07:56:11
In APA, abbreviations should be limited to instances when a) the
abbreviation is standard and will not interfere with the reader’s
understanding and b) if space and repetition can be greatly avoided
through abbreviation.
There are a few common trends in abbreviating that you should follow
when using APA, though there are always exceptions to these rules. When
abbreviating a term, use the full term the first time you use it,
followed immediately by the abbreviation in parentheses.
According to the American Psychological Association
(APA), abbreviations are best used only when they allow for clear
communication with the audience.
Exceptions: Standard abbreviations like units of measurement
and states do not need to be written out. APA also allows abbreviations
that appear as words in Meriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary to be used without explanation (IQ, REM, AIDS, HIV).
Do not use periods or spaces in abbreviations of all capital letters, unless it is a proper name or refers to participants using identity-concealing labels:
MA, CD, HTML, APA
P. D. James, J. R. R. Tolkien, E. B. White or F.I.M., S.W.F.
Exceptions: Use a period when abbreviating the United States as an adjective (U.S. Marines or U.S. Senator)
Use a period if the abbreviation is Latin abbreviation or a reference abbreviation:
etc., e.g., a.m. or Vol. 7, p. 12, 4th ed.
Do not use periods when abbreviated measurements:
cd, ft, lb, mi, min
Exceptions: Use a period when abbreviated inch (in.) to avoid confusion.
Units of measurement and statistical abbreviations should only be abbreviated when accompanied by numerical values:
7 mg, 12 mi, M = 7.5
measured in milligrams, several miles after the exit, the means were determined
Only certain units of time should be abbreviated.
Do not abbreviate:
day, week, month, year
Do abbreviate:
hr, min, ms, ns, s
To form the plural of abbreviations, add s alone without apostrophe or italicization.
vols., IQs, Eds.
Exception: Do not add s to pluralize units of measurement (12 m not 12 ms).
Abbreviations in Citations
Citations should be as condensed as possible, so you should know the
basic rules of abbreviation endorsed by the APA to provide your readers
with reference information.
Always abbreviate the first and middle names of authors, editors, etc.
Shakespeare, W., Chomsky, N.
Use the following abbreviations within citations (take note of capitalization):
| APA Citation Abbreviations |
| Book Part |
Abbreviation |
| edition |
ed. |
| revised edition |
Rev. ed. |
| Second Edition |
2nd ed. |
| Editor(s) |
Ed. or Eds. |
| Translator(s) |
Trans. |
| No date |
n.d. |
| Page(s) |
p. or pp. |
| Volume(s) |
Vol. or Vols. |
| Number |
No. |
| Part |
Pt. |
| Technical Report |
Tech. Rep. |
| Supplement |
Suppl. |