46 Abbreviations and Numbers

Any time you look up an address, you see an abundance of abbreviations and numbers, as in the following movie theater listing from a Google map of Berkeley, California:

Oaks Theater 1875 Solano Av Brk

Abbreviations and numbers allow writers to present detailed information in a small amount of space.

Editing Abbreviations and Numbers

AT A GLANCE

  • Use abbreviations and numbers according to the conventions of a specific field (see p. 445): for example, 57% might be acceptable in a math paper, but 57 percent may be more appropriate in a sociology essay. (46f)
  • If you use an abbreviation readers might not understand, spell out the term the first time you use it, and give the abbreviation in parentheses. (46c)