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Sep 16, 2022 · i.e.: id est. It means “that is.”. Use i.e. when you want to provide more specific information about something you mentioned. After a reasonable amount of time has passed—i.e. two business days—please report the missing shipment to our customer service department. etc.: et cetera. It means “and so forth.”.
Jul 23, 2023 · Abbreviations are common and acceptable not just in informal but also in academic, scientific, and other formal writing. They can help prevent long, complicated terms from being unnecessarily repeated in a text and are also useful when space is limited (e.g., in figures and tables). Example. Poor: The risks of holiday-induced boredom have not ...
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- Contractions
- Acronyms
- Latin Abbreviations
- Punctuating Abbreviations
- Abbreviations in Legal Texts
- Abbreviations in Apa
- Other Interesting Articles
Contractions are mostly used to simplify common pronoun/verbcombinations. Deleted letters are replaced by an apostrophe. However, contractions are generally considered too informal for academic writing. In this context, always write out the full words instead.
Acronyms are usually formed using the first letter (or letters) of each word in a phrase. When they are read, some are pronounced as if they are words (such as OPEC); others are read as letters (such as the UK). Pluralize acronyms by adding “s” without an apostrophe.
There are some Latin abbreviations that are common in academic writing. Make sure not to confuse “e.g.” and “i.e.”. In general, it’s best to avoid using these abbreviations in the main text, especially in US English. Instead, put them inside parentheses followed by a comma, or write out full words.
Periods should always be used with Latin abbreviations, but not with contractions or acronyms. For general abbreviations, there are differences in punctuation between US and UK English.
Abbreviations (including acronyms) are heavily used in legal writing. The conventions must be strictly followed, but they vary between countries and universities. If you are writing on a legal topic, you should adhere to the relevant style.
If you are following the APA style guidelines, there are some specific guidelines for certain types of abbreviation.
If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!
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- NASA, NATO, UNESCO, UNICEF
Apr 2, 2019 · Abbreviations can be quite useful when space is limited, but you should confine the use of nonstandard abbreviations to tables, graphs, and figures, except in scientific and technical writing. Avoid using nonstandard abbreviations in headings; you want the reader to be able to easily skim the document or just its table of contents. Also avoid ...
- Author
- Richard Nordquist
- Using Indefinite Articles Before Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Initialisms: The choice between "a" and "an" is determined by the sound of the first letter in the abbreviation.
- Placing a Period at the End of an Abbreviation: In American usage, an abbreviation that includes the first and last letters of a single word (Doctor, for example) is usually followed by a period (Dr.)
- Abbreviating the Titles of Doctors: For medical doctors, write either Dr. Jan Jones or Jan Jones, M.D. (Don't write Dr. Jan Jones, M.D.) For nonmedical doctors, write Dr. Sam Smith or Sam Smith, Ph.D.
- Using Common Abbreviations: Certain abbreviations are never spelled out: a.m., p.m., B.C. (or B.C.E.) , A.D. (or C.E.). Unless your style guide says otherwise, use lower case or small capitals for a.m.
Avoid brackets. Use parentheses instead or recast the sentence. Colons, : The most frequent use of a colon is at the end of a sentence to introduce and to separate lists, tabulations and text. Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complex sentence. Example.
You should write out the full term and use the abbreviation three times in your text. For instance, start with “National Institutes of Health (NIH)” and then go with just “NIH.”. Common, short abbreviations don’t have to be spelled out again after the first mention.
