Abbreviations:

Rules and Guidelines

Abbreviations

• Abbreviations are shortened forms of words. Most abbreviations begin with a capital letter and end with a period. Use abbreviations only in special kinds of writing, such as addresses and lists.

Titles

• Mr. (Mister) Mr. Juan Albino• Mrs. (Mistress) Mrs. Frances Wong• Ms. (Any Woman) Ms. Leslie Clark• Miss Jan Watson. Miss is the title of an unmarried woman.

It is not an abbreviation and does not end with a period.• Sr. (Senior) John Helt, Sr.• Jr. (Junior) John Helt, Jr.• Dr. (Doctor) Dr. Janice Dodds

Words Used in Addresses

• St. (Street) Pkwy. (Parkway)• Rd. (Road) Mt. (Mount or

Mountain)• Expy. (Expressway)• Dr. (Drive)• Ave. (Avenue)• Blvd. (Boulevard)• Rte. (Route)• Apt. (Apartment

Words Used in Business

• Co. (Company)• Corp. (Corporation)• Inc. (Incorporated)• Ltd. (Limited)

Other Abbreviations

• Some abbreviations are written in all capital letters, with a letter standing for each important word.• P. D. (Police Department)• J. P. (Justice of the Peace)• P. O. (Post Office)• R. N. (Registered Nurse)

State Abbreviations

• The United States Postal Service uses two capital letters and no periods in each of its state abbreviations.• AL (Alabama) AK (Alaska) AZ (Arizona)• AR (Arkansas) CA (California) CO (Colorado)• CT (Connecticut) DE (Delaware) FL (Florida)• GA (Georgia) HI (Hawaii) ID (Idaho)• IL (Illinois) IN (Indiana) IA (Iowa)• KS (Kansas) KY (Kentucky) LA (Louisiana)• ME (Maine) MD (Maryland) MA (Massachusetts)• MI (Michigan) MN (Minnesota) MS (Mississippi)

• MO (Missouri) MT (Montana) NE (Nebraska)• NV (Nevada)NH (New Hampshire NJ (New Jersey)NM (New Mexico NY (New York) NC (North Carolina)ND (North Dakota) OH (Ohio) OK (Oklahoma)OR (Oregon) PA (Pennsylvania) SC (South Carolina)SD (South Dakota) TN (Tennessee) TX (Texas)UT (Utah) VT (Vermont) VA (Virginia)WA (Washington WV (West Virginia) WI (Wisconsin)WY (Wyoming)

State Abbreviations Continued

Initials

• Initials are abbreviations that stand for a person’s first or middle name. Some names have both a first and middle initial.• E. B. White (Elwyn Brooks White)• T. James Carey (Thomas James Carey)

Titles

• The important words and the first and last words in a title are always capitalized. Titles of books, magazines, TV shows, movies, and newspapers are italicized or underlined.• Oliver Twist (Book) The Phoenix Express (Newspaper)• Star Wars (Movie)• Cricket (Magazine)• Nova (TV Show)

Quotation Marks with Titles

• Titles of short stories, songs, articles, book chapters, and most poems are set off by quotation marks.• “The Necklace” (Short Story)• “Three Days in the Sahara” (Article)• “Deer at Dusk” (Poem)• “Home on the Range” (Song)• “The Human Brain” (Chapter)

Quotations

• Quotation marks are used to set off a speaker’s exact words. The first word of a quotation begins with a capital letter. Punctuation belongs inside the closing quotation marks. Commas separate a quotation from the rest of the sentence.

Quotations Marks Continued

• “Where,” asked the stranger, “is the post office?”• “Please put away your books now,” said Mr. Emory.• Linda whispered, “What time is it?”• “It’s late,” replied Bill. “Let’s go!”

The End