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abbeviation mistake
Abbreviations and acronyms present problems of two kinds: incorrect form
and inappropriate use. With a few obvious exceptions (Mr., Dr., p. for
page), keep abbreviations (e.g., etc., i.e., esp., cf., and others) to
footnotes; spell out and translate into English in your text ("for
example," "and so forth," "that is").
"Cf." means "compare" and implies that the reference
will offer a different opinion from yours; use "see" when you
mean "see." Do not confuse "e.g.," which means exempli
gratia, or "for example" with "i.e.," which means id
est or "that is." "Et al." is not interchangeable with
"etc."--et al. stands for et alia ("and others") and
refers only to persons; etc. stands for et cetera ("and other
things") and refers only to objects and concepts. Do not use Op. Cit.:
in later notes referring to previously cited work, simply repeat the name
of the author and a shortened version of the title ("Marx, Manifesto,
p. 5").
Footnotes and bibliographies often use standard abbreviations for
publishers, literary works, and parts of the bible. Consult a dictionary
or the MLA Handbook for lists.
An acronym is a sequence of capitalized letters comprising the initial
letters of the important words in titles (OPEC, FBI, NASA). Before you use
an acronym, you should write out the full title and follow it by the
acronym in parenthesis. Exceptionally well known acronyms may be used
immediately without being defined (USA, USSR). Acronyms can save you space,
but be careful not to condense your prose beyond the point that your
readers can follow.
Copyright 1996 Yale University. Revised on Sunday, May 19, 1996
http://www.yale.edu/bass/ab.html
