Abbreviations enable a writer to include necessary information in capsule form. Limit abbreviations to those common enough for readers to recognize, or add an explanation so that a reader does not wonder, “What does this mean?” Remember: when in doubt, spell it out.
| 28a | Use abbreviations for some titles with proper names. |
For advice on punctuating abbreviations, see 20b.
Abbreviate the following titles:
| Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Collins | Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. |
| Ms. Martha Reading | St. Matthew |
Write out other titles in full, including titles unfamiliar to readers of English, such as M. (for the French Monsieur) or Sr. (for the Spanish Señor).
| General Douglas MacArthur | Senator Dianne Feinstein |
| President Barack Obama | Professor Shirley Fixler |
Spell out most titles that appear without proper names.
| FAULTY | Tomás is studying to be a dr. |
| REVISED | Tomás is studying to be a doctor. |
When an abbreviated title (such as an academic degree) follows a proper name, set it off with commas. Don’t add commas otherwise.
Alice Martin, CPA, is the accountant for Charlotte Cordera, PhD.
My brother has a BA in economics.
Avoid repeating forms of the same title before and after a proper name. Use either Dr. Jane Doe or Jane Doe, DDS, but not Dr. Jane Doe, DDS.
| 28b | Use a.m., p.m., BC, AD, and $ with numbers. |
9:05 a.m. 3:45 p.m. 2000 BC AD 1066
In case you are curious about abbreviations pinpointing years and times, a.m. means ante meridiem, Latin for “before noon”; p.m. means post meridiem, “after noon.” AD is anno domini, Latin for “in the year of the Lord” — that is, since the official year of Jesus’ birth. BC stands for “before Christ” and BCE for “before the common era.”
For exact prices that include cents and for amounts in the millions, use a dollar sign with figures ($17.95, $10.52, $3.5 billion). Avoid combining an abbreviation with wording that means the same: $1 million, not $1 million dollars; 9:05 a.m. or 9:05 in the morning, not 9:05 a.m. in the morning.
| 28c | Avoid abbreviating names of months, days of the week, units of measurement, or parts of literary works. |
Many abbreviations in citations should be spelled out in MLA essay style.
NAMES OF MONTHS AND DAYS OF THE WEEK
After their session on September 3 [or the third of September], they did not meet until Friday, December 12.
UNITS OF MEASUREMENT
It would take 10,000 pounds of concrete to build a causeway 25 feet by 58 inches.
PARTS OF LITERARY WORKS
Von Bargen’s reply appears in volume 2, chapter 12, page 187.
Leona first speaks in act 1, scene 2 [or the second scene of act 1].
| 28d | Use the full English version of most Latin abbreviations. |
For the use of sic to identify an error, see 27d.
Follow the conventions of your citation style if you use Latin abbreviations in source citations, parentheses, and brackets. However, unless you are writing for an audience of ancient Romans, translate most Latin abbreviations into English in your text.
COMMON LATIN ABBREVIATIONS
| ABBREVIATION | LATIN | ENGLISH |
| et al. | et alia | and others, and the others (people) |
| etc. | et cetera | and so forth, and others, and the rest |
| i.e. | id est | that is |
| e.g. | exempli gratia | for example, such as |
| 28e | Use abbreviations for familiar organizations, corporations, and people. |
Most sets of initials that are capitalized and read as letters do not require periods between the letters (CIA, JFK, UCLA). A set of initials that is pronounced as a word is called an acronym (NATO, AIDS, UNICEF) and never has periods between letters.
To avoid misunderstanding, write out an organization’s full name the first time you mention it, followed by its initials in parentheses. Then, in later references, you can rely on initials alone. (For very familiar initials, such as FBI or CBS, you need not give the full name.)
| 28f | Avoid abbreviations for countries. |
When you mention the United States or another country in your text, give its full name unless the repetition would weigh down your paragraph.
The president will return to the United States [not US] on Tuesday from a trip to the United Kingdom [not UK].
EXCEPTION: Unlike US as a noun, the abbreviation, used consistently with traditional periods or without, is acceptable as an adjective: US Senate, U.S. foreign policy. For other countries, find an alternative: British ambassador. Follow your citation style when you cite or list government documents.