Abbreviations (Names and Titles)
Use abbreviations sparingly. If an abbreviation will be used, always use the full name or title the first time, followed by the abbreviation in brackets/parentheses.
e.g., Japan Evangelical Missionary Association (JEMA)
1. Given names. Do not use abbreviations unless the person himself wrote his name in that fashion.
2. Civil or military titles. Spell out with the surname alone.
e.g., General Eisenhower
However, if you use the person’s full name and title you may abbreviate the title.
e.g., Sen. Bill Frist
3. Abbreviated titles. Always use the standard form for the English being used.
e.g., Mr., Mrs., Ms., and Dr. (AmE)
e.g., Mr, Mrs, Ms, and Dr (BrE)
4. Initials of given names. The trend is towards reduced punctuation. Unspaced, unpunctuated initials.
e.g., JRR Tolkien.
5. Countries, states, territories, months, and days of the week. In text, always spell out in full.
Punctuation:
- Never punctuated:
• SI units, e.g., kg, cm
• Compass points. e.g., NW, SE, NSW, etc.
• Chemical symbols
• Symbols for currencies, e.g., A$, S$, US$
2. May or may not be punctuated (depending on regional variations).
Japan Harvest favors either AmE or traditional BrE style.
• AmE style. Periods/stops for any kind of abbreviation.
• Traditional BrE style. Stops/periods with abbreviations but not contractions (see contractions).
• Two other variations:
Stops for short forms with any lower case letters in them (including contractions):
e.g. GATT UK Mr. Rev. Mgr. incl. a.s.a.p.
(This is a reasonable compromise between 1. and 2. For International English.) Stops for short forms consisting entirely of lower case letters:
3. Stopped abbreviations. Those at the end of a sentence need no further stop.
e.g. Remember to acknowledge all contributors—the producer, director, writer, cameramen, etc.