HP TextEngineer Technical Writing Guide - Manual (Page 16)

Company Writer's Guide
[For Illustration Only] B-1
APPENDIX B
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
Abbreviations facilitate reading and minimize dull repetition of cumbersome names.
Abbreviations should be used only when necessary and when their meanings are unquestionably
clear. When in doubt, spell it out. In the text, capitalization will agree with the parent word. Rules
of capitalization apply. The same abbreviation should be used for all tenses, possessive, singular,
and plural. A sentence should never begin with an abbreviation except where the parent word(s)
would result in an awkward construction.
The following pages contain basic rules to use when abbreviating, and a list of engineering unit
abbreviations in their proper form.
1. Abbreviations should be spelled out in all possible circumstances. However, when
abbreviations are necessary, use the following guidelines:
a. The trend is to omit periods from all abbreviations except where they have traditionally
appeared (for example, U.S., Ph.D., Mr., Mrs.).
b. There should be no space after the internal periods within a traditional abbreviation (for
example, a.m., U.S., i.e., etc.).
c. An abbreviation needs no period unless it can be confused with a word (e.g., in., a.m.,
no.,). One exception to this rule is a period usually is not necessary in tabular material.
2. The following common Latin abbreviations should appear as:
i.e., (that is)
e.g., (for example)
et al., (and others)
etc., (and so forth)
A comma should precede and follow the above abbreviations when used in the middle of a
sentence.
3. “versus” should be spelled out, not “vs.”