GOOD ABBREVIATIONS FOR WORDS FULL

Contractions that do not use apostrophes (e.g., 'Dr.' and 'Prof.') are followed by periods in America. (Reason 3) Know when to use periods (full stops) with contractions. Read more about periods in abbreviations. There is only one ruling that will trump your striving for consistency: If you're writing the name of a company, adopt whatever convention the company uses for itself. Whatever convention you use, be consistent. If you adopt it, remain consistent throughout your document.) Not using periods is far more common than using them. Initialisms can be written with or without periods. (Reason 2) Be consistent with periods (full stops). The list at the back is always a list of abbreviations, some of which are acronyms.) (This is a common statement made at the start of formal documents. There is a list of acronyms at the back of the document.Remember that abbreviations like BBC and CNN are not acronyms but initialisms. The words 'acronym' and 'abbreviation' are not synonyms (i.e., they do not mean the same thing). (Reason 1) Don't use the word 'acronym' for an initialism. Here are five good reasons to think a little more carefully about abbreviations. INMARSAT (International Maritime Satellite).(4) Syllabic AbbreviationsĪ syllabic abbreviation is an abbreviation formed from the initial syllables of multiple words. Read more about periods (full stops) in abbreviations. However, when using company names, copy the company's version. The most common practice is to avoid periods. Initialisms can be written with or without periods (full stops). (3) Initial Abbreviations (or Initialisms)Īn initialism is an abbreviation whose letters each represent a word. Read more about using periods (full stops) in contractions. Read more about using apostrophes to replace missing letters. This type shortens a word or merges two words into one by replacing the missing letter(s) with an apostrophe. (A contraction often includes an apostrophe to replace any missing letters.) For example: (2) ContractionsĪ contraction is a contracted version of a word.

GOOD ABBREVIATIONS FOR WORDS FULL

Some acronyms have not yet made a full transition to 'recognized word' and can be written with all capital letters or just an initial capital letter (e.g.,

Examples include 'sonar,' 'radar,' 'laser,' and 'scuba.' Nowadays, these are rarely capitalized.

Through common usage, a few acronyms have become words in their own rights. Here is an infographic showing the different types of abbreviations.Ībbreviations usually fall into one of four categories:Īn acronym is an abbreviation spoken like a word. There is more on this to come.)Īs these examples prove, abbreviations come in different forms.

('Mr.' (with a period) is expected in the US. An abbreviation is a shortened version of a written word or phrase used to replace the original.

Good abbreviations for words