Abbreviation

Rules for Abbreviatio n

 Abbreviations of social titles before a proper name begin with a capital and end with a period.
Common Social Titles SOCIAL TITLES: Mr., Mrs., Mme. (Madam or Madame) Messrs. (plural of Mr.), Mmes. (plural of Mrs. Or Mme.)

Titles of People

Abbreviations of other titles used before proper names begin with a capital letter and end with a period.

ABBREVIATIONS OF COMMON TITLES

Governmental Supt. Superintendent Rep. Representative Sen. Senator Gov. Governor Treas. Treasurer Sec. Secretary Amb. Ambassador Pres. President

Military Sgt. Sergeant Lt. - Lieutenant Capt. Captain Col. Colonel Maj. Major Gen. General

Professional Dr. Doctor Atty. - Attorney Prof. Professor Hon. Honorable Rev. Reverend Fr. Father Sr. Sister Br. Brother

These abbreviations should generally be spelled out in formal writing, especially when only the surname is given.
Ex. Ambassador Wilson rose to discuss oil imports.

 Abbreviations of titles after a name begin with a capital letter and end with a period.
Ex. She wrote to Eugene Munster, Sr., for a job interview.

The rule also applies to academic degrees.

ABBREVIATIONS OF ACADEMIC DEGREES

B.A. or A.B. - Bachelor of Arts Ph.D. - Doctor of Philosophy B.S. or S.B. - Bachelor of Science D.D. - Doctor of Divinity M.A. or A.M. - Master of Arts D.D.S. Doctor of Dental Surgery M.S. or S.M. - Master of Science M.D. - Doctor of Medicine M.B.A. - Master of Business R.N. - Registered Nurse Administration M.F.A. Master of Fine Arts Esq. Esquire (lawyer)

Geographical Terms
Abbreviations for geographical terms before or after a proper noun begin with a capital letter end with a period.
ABBREVIATIONS OF GEOGRAPHICAL TERMS Ave. Avenue Bldg. Building Blk. Block Blvd. Boulevard Co. company Dist. District Dr. Drive Ft. Fort Hwy. Highway Is. Island Mt. Mountain, Mount Natl. National Pen. Peninsula Pk. Park, Peak Prov. Province Pt. Point Rd. Road Rte. Route Sq. Square St. Street Terr. - Territory

Time, Dates, and Measurements

Abbreviations for clocked time begin with a small letter, but those for days of the months begin with a capital. All end with a period.
TIME ABBREVIATIONS Clocked Time sec. second Mon. Monday Tues. Tuesday min. minute Days of the Week Wed. Wednesday Thurs. Thursday Fri. Friday Sat. Saturday Sun. Sunday hr. hour

Months of the Year Jan. January Feb. February Mar. March Apr. April May May June June July July Aug. August Sept. September Oct. October Nov. November Dec. December

Abbreviations of time before noon and after noon are formed with either capital letters followed by periods or small letters followed by periods.
A.M. or a.m. (ante meridiem, before noon) P.M. or p.m. (post meridiem, after noon)

 Abbreviations for historical dates before and after birth of Christ require capital letters followed by periods.
B.C. (before Christ) A.D. (anno Domini, in the year of the Lord)

Use B.C. and A.D. to distinguish between dates before and after the birth of Christ when the year is expressed in numerals. B.C. always follows the number, A.D. may come after or before the number.

 Abbreviations of traditional measurements, use small letters and periods.

in. inch (es) ft. - foot, feet yd. - yard (s) mi. mile (s) tsp. teaspoon (s) tbsp. tablespoon (s) oz. ounce (s) lb. pound (s) pt. pint (s) qt. quart (s) gal. gallon (s) F. - Fahrenheit

Abbreviations of metric measurements use small letters and no periods.

mm millimeter (s) cm centimeter (s) m meter (s) km kilometer (s) g gram (s) kg (kilogram) L liter (s) C - Celsius

 Abbreviations for traditional measurements and for metric measurements should be used only with numerals. Never abbreviate these units when they followed spelled-out numbers.
Ex. Our newest product on the market weighs three pounds less than our old one.

 Use small letters and periods for abbreviations of most Latin expressions.
c. , ca., circ. - about (used for approximate dates) e.g. for example i.e. that is et al. and others etc. and so forth f. and the following (page or line) ff. and the following (page or line)

Latin Expressions

Other Abbreviations
An abbreviated word in business name begins with a capital letter and ends with a period.
BUSSINESS ABBREVIATIONS Bros. Brothers Ltd. Limited Co. Company Inc. Incorporated

Use all capitals and no periods to abbreviate names whose abbreviations are pronounced letter by letter as if they were words.

ABBREVIATIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS Organizations Business Firms AMA IBM American Medical Association International Business Machines

Government Agencies FBI

Other things TV

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Television

An acronym is a word formed form the first letter (or first few letters) of a series of words. Use all capital letters and no periods for acronyms that form the names of organizations.
ACRONYMS PAGASA NATO Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration North Atlantic Treaty Organization