When is it appropriate to abbreviate
words? The answer to this question, as with many matters in writing, is not a
simple one: It depends on type of content and the degree of the content’s
formality.
In technical publications and
scholarly journals, abbreviation of statistical information or references to
dimensions and durations abounds. Furthermore, the American Medical
Association’s manual of style dictates that periods be omitted in many abbreviations.
However, in general content intended for professional publication, consider
whether to abbreviate, especially in contexts in which multiple various
abbreviations might be distracting.
Social titles such as Mr., Mrs., and Ms., are usually superfluous
altogether but are abbreviated when they appear, except in generic usage such
as “Hey, mister!” Doctor
is abbreviated before a name but otherwise spelled out, as is saint. (Note, however, that
cities and other geographic designations differ in using Saint or St.; consult a resource to
verify the correct style for a particular location.) Military and
quasi-military ranks are spelled out or abbreviated depending on context, but
as with other titles, they should be spelled out in isolation (for example,
“The captain returned the salute”).
Regarding i.e., that abbreviation and
its close cousins e.g.
and etc. are
convenient, but they are no improvement on the English equivalents (“that is,”
“for example,” and “and so on,” respectively). Style for scholarly journals is
to use the abbreviations in parentheses and spell out the English phrases
outside parentheses, but this distinction is not recommended for
general-interest publications; avoid them altogether.
Names of countries and other
geopolitical entities are usually spelled out as nouns but abbreviated as
adjectives (“the United States,” but “the US economy”); note in the previous
example that periods in such designations, as in most other capitalized
abbreviations, are unnecessary. Designations of thoroughfares, like many other
words, can be abbreviated in lists or in graphics where space is at a premium,
but generally spell out such terms as avenue,
road, and street even when they are
part of an address.
Titles of senior corporate
executives—CEO, COO, and CIO, for instance—are almost
always abbreviated in all references, but VP
(“vice president”), SVP
(“senior vice president”), and the like are generally spelled out in all
instances. Corporate terms such as PR
(“public relations”) and HR
(“human resources”) can be spelled out or abbreviated depending on context;
they’re likely to be spelled out in a formal report and probably will be
abbreviated in a casual reference in a mass-market book.
Academic degrees are often
abbreviated after a person’s name, but it’s better to refer to someone
receiving a bachelor’s or master’s degree or a doctorate rather than a BA, an
MA, or a PhD. Likewise, “curriculum vita,” or the plural form “curriculum
vitae,” is preferable to CV.
References to media such as CDs and
DVDs are ubiquitous (or at least were before they began to give way to online
access to music and films), and there’s no need to spell those initialisms out.
(You’d likely have to look up that DVD
originally stood for “digital video disc,” though the second word has since
been supplanted by versatile. And who knows, or cares, that URL stands for “universal
resource locator”? The initialism will do in all cases.) However, words for
parts of a book or other printed publication should be spelled out (for
example, “In my copy, chapter 6 starts on page 47”), and MS or ms, for manuscript, should be
used only in informal contexts.
No. is sometimes used as an abbreviation for number in phrases such
as “No. 1”; it’s a compromise between spelling the word out and using the
number symbol (#).
The abbreviation for versus, vs., is acceptable in
informal content, as is OK.
(Okay is a common
variant, but the initials are more accurate; the most likely derivation of OK is the jocular misspelling
“oll korrect,” the only survivor of a short-lived flurry of such locutions
coined during the nineteenth century.)
Terms of distance and duration, such
as foot and hour, are generally spelled
out when accompanying numerals except in technical writing, as are designations
such as Celsius and
Fahrenheit; the
same is true of phrases such as “miles per hour” and “pounds per square inch.”
However, the abbreviations am and pm, often capitalized and/or with periods,
are always acceptable, though a phrase such as “one o’clock in the morning” is
appropriate for a casual reference in fiction or nonfiction.
Abbreviations are much more likely
to be employed in ephemeral publications such as newspapers than in more
durable materials such as books, though formality varies widely in the latter
format; online usage differs as well. Ultimately, the careful writer will
consult a style guide appropriate to the type of print or online publication
for guidance or at least will consciously consider the visual and cognitive
impact of abbreviation.
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