Abbreviation

When in doubt, spell the word out.

Abbreviate:

• Page to p. and pages to pp. in footnotes or bibliographical material; spell out when used in text material.
• Eastern Standard Time as EST, without periods.
• Use the ampersand (&) only in corporate names or if space demands it in course abbreviations.
• 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, e.g., Sandra Gray, Ph.D., John Smith, M.D., or Bobby Baldridge, D.V.M.
• Use GPA in caps without periods.
• When it is necessary to use a subject-matter designation and course number to identify a specific course, e.g., MAT 111 University Algebra, use the official course code.
• When names of universities, government agencies, or other organizations are abbreviated as acronyms (first letter of each word), use full caps with no periods: HPER, ROTC.
• Use a.m. and p.m. with periods and lowercase letters. In tabular matter, the periods can be omitted to save space.
• 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.
• Abbreviate these months when they are used with a specific date: January, February, August, September, October, November, December. Jan. Feb. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Also, days of the week: Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun. Spell out March, April, May, June, and July in all references.

Do not abbreviate:

• Names of countries other than USA.
• Given names, such as George, William, and Charles.
• 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. The exceptions include classnotes and lists.
• The name of an organization the first time it is used; spell out and put the acronym in parentheses, e.g., Acting on Aids (AoA). If the term appears only once, do not add the acronym.
• The word “percent”: In general spell out the word percent, but in scientific, technical, or statistical copy use the symbol %, e.g., “Of this year’s student enrollment, 40 percent are men and 60 percent are women.”
• Parts of geographic names, except Saint in St. Louis, St. Paul, etc., unless they are used in tabular matter, e.g., Fort Knox, Kentucky
• Assistant and associate when used in a title e.g., Assistant Professor of Mathematics
• Names of buildings in running text e.g., Room 109 Glide-Crawford, not 109 GC

NOTE: Abbreviations may be used more freely in tabular matter.