🔤 Garbl's Editorial Style and Usage Guide: A–B
Entries from abbreviations and acronyms through brand names.
A–B | C–D | E–L | M–O | P–R | S–Z
Introduction | Punctuation | Commonly Confused Words
A
abbreviations and acronyms Use abbreviations and acronyms only when they help your readers by making text simpler and less cumbersome.
Ask yourself: “Am I shortening this to help myself as the writer or to help the reader?” If it doesn’t clearly aid the reader, spell it out. Must you abbreviate continued, average, or attorney?
Do not use an abbreviation or acronym that readers would not recognize quickly.
(An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase, like Mr. and Corp. An acronym is formed from the first letter or letters of a series of words, like AIDS, NAACP, radar, or Garbl.)
first reference. Spell out the complete common name or the proper name of an organization, project, program, or document the first time you use it. In long documents, repeat the full name at the beginning of major sections.
If the abbreviation or acronym would not be clear on second reference, avoid using it. Instead, use a shortened version of the name or a generic term such as the agency, the committee, the company, or the department.
If necessary, introduce the abbreviation or acronym after the full name, set off by commas: The Endangered Species Act, or ESA, has had a positive effect. Later references could use the abbreviation or a shortened version of the name.
AP does not advise setting off abbreviations or acronyms with parentheses or dashes: Endangered Species Act (ESA).
In headlines, avoid abbreviations and acronyms except for those that are widely known.
Do not introduce an abbreviation or acronym if it is not used later in the document.
If an abbreviation is more familiar than the full name, introduce the full name soon after the abbreviation.
capitalization and periods. Use all caps in acronyms and abbreviations pronounced as individual letters: CIA, ABC, EIS. Capitalize only the first letter of abbreviations and acronyms with more than five letters, unless listed differently in your style book or dictionary: NATO, Nasdaq, Unesco.
Generally, do not use periods in acronyms unless the result would spell an unrelated word. Use periods in most two-letter acronyms: U.S., U.N.
In headlines, don’t use periods in abbreviations unless needed for clarity.
When in doubt, use the first-listed abbreviation in your preferred style manual or dictionary.
Although the abbreviation or acronym is capitalized for some common nouns and terms, lowercase the spelled-out form. See capitalization.
using a, an, the. If using either a or an before an abbreviation or acronym, choose which one based on how it would sound when spoken; see the a, an, the entry. Use the before an abbreviation only when you would use it before the full name: the ESA, ESA requirements, the state DOT, DOT funds.
plurals. Form most plurals by adding s: ABCs, IOUs, Drs. Use an apostrophe before the s only when necessary for clarity: M.A.’s, Ph.D.’s, A’s, pdf’s.
quotations. Spell out all words and phrases as expressed by a speaker or writer: “We were in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on October 6.” Similarly, use abbreviations as the speaker or writer used them. Spell them out before or after the quotation if clarity requires it. See dates, quotations, state names.
other uses:
Abbreviations and acronyms may be used in charts, tables, headlines, headings, and technical writing if the meaning is clear.
With dates or numerals: See dates, days of the week, months, No., numerals, time.
For addresses and locations: See addresses, highway designations, state names, United States, ZIP codes.
Before a name: See legislative titles; Miss, Mr., Mrs., Ms.; titles.
After a name: See academic degrees, titles; company names; junior, senior.
See e.g., i.e.; et al.; etc.
academic degrees, titles Avoid an abbreviation and use instead a phrase such as Clark Kent, who has a doctorate in communications, a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree. Don’t abbreviate or capitalize.
If using abbreviations such as B.A., M.A., or Ph.D., place them after a full name and set off with commas: Clark Kent, Ph.D., spoke. Also, capitalize and spell out formal titles such as professor when they go before a name, but don’t capitalize modifiers: journalism Professor Bill Chamberlin. Lowercase elsewhere. See doctor.
Lowercase academic subjects like microbiology, journalism, and political science. Languages, of course, should be capitalized: Japanese, English, Spanish. See course names and numbers.
according to Avoid using in routine attribution. It can suggest doubt in the truthfulness or accuracy of a statement. Consider said or show unless the context requires distance. See attribution.
addresses Always use numerals for an address number: The artist lives at 4567 N.E. 81st St.
In a numbered address, abbreviate compass points (N.W., S.; all caps with periods) used to show directional ends of a street or quadrants of a city: The building is at 543 S.W. 21st St. The periods for abbreviated compass points in numbered addresses may be omitted in correspondence, maps, charts, and tables.
Abbreviate only avenue, boulevard, and street as Ave., Blvd., and St. in a numbered address: Main Street Center is at 100 Main St.
Spell out and capitalize words such as alley, drive, road, terrace, and way when part of an address or name: His son worked on Cavanaugh Road Northwest and lived at 200 Ballinger Road N.W. Lowercase them when used alone or in plural forms: The project will close Cavanaugh and Ballinger roads for two weeks.
Spell out and capitalize First through Ninth when used as a street name: The cement truck drove down Fourth Avenue South. Use numerals with two letters for 10th and above: The artist lives on 81st Street Northeast.
When first used without a number, always spell out and capitalize the full name of a street, avenue, road, or boulevard: He lived on Southwest Harbor Boulevard. Also spell out compass points (South, Northwest, etc.) if omitting the number: The building is on Southwest 32nd Street.
If the location is clear, common names (Avenue, Street, etc.) and compass points (East, Southwest, etc.) may be left off in later references.
Lowercase street, avenue, boulevard, or road and the compass point when using the plural form: The shopping center is between 35th and 37th avenues southwest on Southwest 10th Street. But don’t lowercase those words when the form is not plural: You can catch a bus on Second or Third Avenue. Also, lowercase and spell out avenue, boulevard, road, or street when used alone: He drove down the tree-lined boulevard.
Use a ZIP code in mailing addresses, but don’t include a ZIP code when giving the location or street address of a meeting, event, building, or other structure. See ZIP code.
For post office boxes, use periods in the abbreviation P.O. when giving box numbers: P.O. Box 4311. Also, lowercase post office in all uses.
ages Provide a person’s age only when it’s pertinent to the situation. If a person refers to their age, for example, the age could be relevant. A person’s age can also be relevant in profiles, obituaries, major career milestones, and accomplishments unusual at a particular age. Other background information—such as being a father of two young girls or a Vietnam War veteran—may be more relevant than age.
Use a numeral when giving the age in years or months of people, animals, events, things, and other inanimate objects. The boy, 6, lives with his mom, 41, in Philadelphia. When using ages as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun, use hyphens: A 6-year-old boy. The boy is 6 years old. She’s 4 months old. The race is for 4-year-olds. The 5-year-old car. The car is 5 years old. The woman is in her 40s (no apostrophe). Classes are for children 6-12 (or 6 to 12). Also: 20-something but Twenty-something to start a sentence. Also see hyphen under Punctuation.
attribution When naming the source of information, especially for quotations or indirect quotations, avoid beginning sentences with the attribution. Put the attribution in a less prominent position unless the source is important or the preceding paragraph quotes another source. Include enough attribution so readers will know clearly who said what. See quotations.
The verb to say, usually in the past tense, said, is used most often in effective speech tags and attribution. It is inconspicuous, unobtrusive, and short, and the meaning is clear.
Special situations may call for the careful use of verbs with special meanings; for example, announced when referring to an announcement; testified in trials, public hearings, and other official proceedings; cried out when quoting an injured person; pointed out if the statement is a fact. Avoid formal verbs like stated unless the context requires formality. Be wary of words with meanings that readers could misinterpret: admitted, claimed, confessed, conceded, contended, refused, revealed. Don’t use added, concluded, or went on to say unless presenting statements in the same order used by the speaker. Also, went on to say is wordy. See according to, state.
The most straightforward word order for speech tags is subject first, verb second: Assaud said, President Santos said, the manager said, she said. Reverse the order only when long titles or descriptions of the speaker would separate the verb and the speaker’s name awkwardly: said David Koyama, manager of the Personnel Division; said Donna Nelson, first-place finisher in the annual golf tournament. See comma, quotation marks under Punctuation.
B
brand names When using them, capitalize the first letter in each word. Nothing requires you to follow odd capitalization in brand names. But use brand names only if essential to an article. Consider using a generic equivalent instead. See capitalization, trademark.
bullets See lists.
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Introduction | Punctuation | Commonly Confused Words