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III. ABBREVIATIONS
A. When in Doubt, Spell the Word Out.
B. Abbreviate
1) Page to p. and pages to pp. in footnotes or bibliographical material; spell out when used in text material.
2) Eastern Daylight Time as EDT, without periods. Please note that EDT is only used when daylight savings time is active. When we are not on daylight savings time, EST, Eastern Standard Time, is preferred.
3) Use the ampersand (&) only in corporate names, titles of published works (including U.S. News & World Report), if space demands it in course abbreviations, or in graphic treatments.
4) Complimentary titles, such as Mr., Mrs., and Dr., but do not use them in combination with any other title or with abbreviations indicating scholastic or academic degrees. These and similar titles are typically not used in running text after first reference.
Paul Huston, Ph.D., not Dr. Paul Huston, Ph.D.
Carol Green, MD, or Roger White, DVM,
not Dr. Carol Green, MD, or Mr. Roger White, DVM
5) The degrees Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, Master of Arts, Doctor of Philosophy, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies, Associate in Science to BS, MS, MA, Ph.D., MD, BFA, BAIS, and AS, respectively. Except for Ph.D. and similar compound abbreviations, all degree abbreviations should be without periods.
6) Use GPA in caps without periods. We do not use the term GPR.
7) When it is necessary to use a subject-matter designation and course number to identify a specific course, e.g., ENGL 101 Composition, use the official course code.
8) When names of universities, government agencies, or other organizations are abbreviated as acronyms (first letter of each word), use full caps with no periods: USC (not U.S.C.), ROTC, MIT.
9) Use a.m. and p.m. with periods and lowercase letters. In tabular matter, the periods can be omitted to save space.
10) Use U.S. in text only as an adjective. Spell out United States as a noun, e.g., the U.S. Senate, but a resident of the United States.
11) When abbreviating states (such as when following the name of a city), do not use the two-letter, no-period abbreviations used by the U.S. Postal Service. We prefer the traditional abbreviations (and note, some states never get abbreviated):
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| Alaska |
Ky. |
Ohio |
| Ala. |
La. |
Okla. |
| Ark. |
Mass. |
Ore. |
| American Samoa |
Md. |
Pa. |
| Ariz. |
Maine |
P.R. or Puerto Rico |
| Calif. |
Mich. |
R.I. |
| Colo. |
Minn. |
S.C. |
| Conn. |
Mo. |
S.Dak. |
| D.C. |
Miss. |
Tenn. |
| Del. |
Mont. |
Texas |
| Fla. |
N.C. |
Utah |
| Ga. |
N.Dak. |
Va. |
| Guam |
Neb. |
V.I. or Virgin Islands |
| Hawaii |
N.H. |
Vt. |
| Iowa |
N.J. |
Wash. |
| Idaho |
N.Mex. |
Wis. |
| Ill. |
Nev. |
W.Va. |
| Ind. |
N.Y. |
Wyo. |
| Kans. |
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12) Abbreviate these months only when they are used with a specific date: January, February, August, September, October, November, December. Exceptions may be made in tabular, formal, or graphic treatments.
December 2008, but Dec. 25, 2008
C. Do not abbreviate
1) Given names, such as George, William, and Charles.
2) In lists or bibliographies, use traditional abbreviations, not postal abbreviations, e.g., Boston, Mass., not Boston, MA. In other text, abbreviate the name of the state when it is used with a city, except Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, and Utah. Spell out the state’s name when it is used alone. Use the two-letter postal abbreviation with a zip code only in addresses. Do not use the postal abbreviation in running text.
3) The words association, avenue, boulevard, department, institute, street, etc.
4) March, April, May, June, and July; spell these out in all references.
5) Christmas in the form of Xmas.
6) The name of an organization the first time it is used; spell out and put the acronym in parentheses. If the term appears only once, do not add the acronym.
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS); thereafter, SACS.
7) The word percent: In general spell out the word percent, but in scientific and statistical copy, or where numerous percentage figures are used (to shorten and avoid repitition), use the symbol %.
Of this year’s student enrollment, 46 percent are men and 54 percent are women.
Pittsburgh and Jersey City each lost 0.2% of their 1960 population. The greatest percentage growth was experienced by Las Vegas—115.2%.
8) Parts of geographic names, except Saint in St. Louis, St. Paul, etc., unless they are used in tabular matter.
Fort Wayne, N.D.
9) Assistant and associate when used in a title.
assistant professor of rhetoric
10) Names of buildings in running text.
Room 109 Russell House, not 109 RH
Note: Abbreviations may be used more freely in tabular matter or graphic design treatments.
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