What Abbreviation Is & When to Use It

What are Abbreviations?

An abbreviation is a shortened version of a word or a collection of words. They can help save time and space when taking notes or may be shared shorthand among people in the same field or social group. While some abbreviations are fine to use in an academic context, like a research paper, others are inappropriate because they’re too informal.

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Types of Abbreviations

There are several kinds of abbreviations you’ll likely encounter when reading or writing for academic study. Here’s a primer on the most common.

Initialisms & Acronyms

It’s not uncommon to confuse these two types of abbreviations for one another—both are created by combining the first letter of each word in a name, title, or phrase—so let’s explore them together:

• Acronyms are made of the first letter of several words and are themselves pronounced like a word, e.g. DOS, NASA, and UNICEF.
• Initialisms, conversely, are created by stringing together the first letter of several words but each letter is said, e.g. DIY, NSA, PDF, and URL.

Other Common Abbreviations

While acronyms and initialisms may be the first to come to mind while considering abbreviations (because of their ubiquity and their likelihood for being confused for each other), there are many more—lots of which you encounter daily.

• Clipping. A word that has been abbreviated by clipping part of it, like “exam” (examination) or “decaf” (decaffeinated); these can be read or pronounced as a the appear or as the full, unclipped word.
• Contractions. Typically, a contraction is two words condensed into one, with some letters dropped and replaced by an apostrophe, e.g. “don’t” for “do not.”
• Latin abbreviations. Especially common in academic writing, you may not know what these ubiquitous abbreviations stand for:
• etc., for et cetera, meaning “and so forth”
• e.g., for exempli gratia, meaning “for example”
• i.e., for id est, meaning “that is”
• Logograms. A symbol that represents a word, such as @ for “at” or numeric symbols.
• Textspeak. All types of abbreviations abound when sending texts, using text-based messenger programs, or drafting email. But abbreviations specific to the world of digital communication are unique, often being a combination of acronyms, initialisms, clipping, and logograms—and our friends emoji.
• Titles and degrees: Some are contractions, other are initialisms, but all of them denote status: Mr., Dr., Jr., etc.

When & Why to Use or Avoid Abbreviations

Depending on the context in which you’re using abbreviations, you may be beholden to specific style guide and should adhere to whatever abbreviation rules are provided therein. If you’re not following a style guide, though, you’ll have to use your best judgement.

Like any kind of writing for an audience, it is most important to write for that audience—for clarity and understanding. Sometimes, that means an abbreviation is OK; other times, it means an abbreviation may be confusing or alienating.