A Military Writer's Handbook
Words

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abbreviations are more common and generally more accepted in technical writing, but in non-technical writing are kept to a minimum. When providing an acronym for the first time, identify its full name followed by the accepted abbreviation, e.g. Assistive Technology Computer Lab (ATCL), except in the case of popular acronyms such as RCMP, MP, CBC, IQ, CD, DNA, HIV, PTSD, etc. The standard guide to abbreviations for DND writing is Government of Canada’s terminology and linguistic database, Termium, accessible from most Government of Canada networked computers.

Help! Some commonly used words are in fact abbreviations: exam (examination), photo (photograph), ad (advertisement), phone (telephone), memo (memorandum), and math (mathematics). Avoid using the short form of such words in formal writing.

1. When it is acceptable to use abbreviations

a) Titles before proper nouns. (In DND writing, abbreviated titles are never given a final period to indicate omitted letters. Abbreviated French titles that include the last letter of the full word do not appear with periods.)
MGen Maj Capt Col MWO Lt Dr. Mr. Ms. M. Mme Mlle

b) Titles and degrees after proper names.
James Cook, Jr.
A. C. Hamilton, PhD

c) Standard words used with dates and numbers.
720 BC 5 a.m. 6 p.m. 100.7 FM no. 17

d) Agencies and organizations commonly known by their acronyms.
NHL     CBC     DND    UNICEF     RMC

e) Scientific or technical terms usually of considerable length, and known by their initials.
BTU DDT ESP DNA IQ TNT

f) Common Latin abbreviations used in English. In formal writing it is preferable to use the corresponding English phrases for these Latin abbreviations. However, in parenthetical comments and footnotes, Latin abbreviations are more acceptable.
    i.e. (that is) e.g. (for example) cf. (compare) etc. (and so forth) vs. (versus) et al. (and others)

2. When to use periods

a) Geographical abbreviations, except for the two-character symbols recommended by Canada Post.
B.C. P.E.I. Alta. Que./P.Q.  
But for postal addresses:.    BC    PE    AB    PQ

b) Most lower-case abbreviated phrases.
p.s.i. k.p.h. o.b.o. f.o.b.

c) At the end of abbreviations for single words.
ed.        misc.  pp. assoc.

d) After the initials of a person`s name.
M. W. Beckett

3. When not to use periods

a) Chemical symbols and mathematical abbreviations.
H20 NaCl cos log tan

b) The International System of Units (SI) symbols and units.
The subjects received a 5 mg/kg dose of caffeine in the morning, and a smaller 2.5 mg/kg dose of the drug in the afternoon.

c) Military rank abbreviations (see below).

d) Short forms of words.
lab flu vet stereo typo

e) Acronyms ending with or consisting exclusively of upper-case letters.
PhD YMCA GST NORAD NAFTA

4. Plurals and Possessives

a) For the plural, simply add an s to most abbreviations; for the possessive, add an apostrophe s (`s).

In many cases, companies were led by senior NCOs.
“The fighting in the weeks that followed turned from an officer’s war to a senior NCO’s war.”

b) Use an apostrophe s to form the plural of numerical names of aircraft ending in a single letter.
727-100C`s

c) In cases where the resulting form would be ambiguous, add an apostrophe before the s.
COD`s

Help! If a sentence ends with an abbreviation followed by a period, only one period is required.

Click here for information on military abbreviations.