Abbreviations 

An abbreviation is the shortened form of a word or phrase. Most abbreviations are formed from a letter or group of letters taken from the original word. In an academic paper, abbreviations are rarely used to stand in for major concepts or terms. Instead, they are usually shortened forms of commonly used but relatively minor words, such as "km" for "kilometer" or "Dr." for "doctor." Most are common enough that a writer does not need to provide the reader with an expanded definition. If an abbreviation is not particularly well-known, consider whether you should use it or use the longer (but easier to understand) word.

Style Conventions for Abbreviations

Style guides may differ somewhat on how to punctuate abbreviations. Listed below are the most common guidelines, which cover most of the scenarios for using abbreviations. However, this is not a completely comprehensive list. If told to use a specific style manual, such as MLA or Turabian, be sure to check what it says about specific usage rules. And whatever style you decide to use, remember to be consistent with how you use and punctuate abbreviations.

Abbreviations should be capitalized just like their expanded forms would be. If the original word or phrase is capitalized, then you should capitalize the abbreviation. If the original is lower case, then the abbreviation should be too. Abbreviations usually end with a period, particularly if they were formed by dropping the end of a word (the major exception being the use of acronyms). When a sentence ends with an abbreviation, use only one period for both the abbreviation and the sentence.

• She lives in N.Y. (New York is abbreviated as "N.Y." In this example, it comes at the end of the sentence but there is only one period.)
• He got a ticket for going 70 mph when the speed limit was 55. (Miles per hour is abbreviated "mph." Note that it is not capitalized.)
• The CIA is depicted in many action movies as highly secretive. (CIA is always capitalized because Central Intelligence Agency is always capitalized.)

Acronyms

Acronyms are abbreviations that form another word. Laser is so frequently used as a word that few people know it is an acronym. Laser stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation." Scuba is also an acronym standing for "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus." Although this was the foundation for acronyms, they do not always form another word. More often than not, acronyms are formed from the initial components of a series of words. These components are usually individual letters, but some may use the first syllables of words. The main purpose of acronyms is to act as shorthand for longer terms, particularly those a writer wants to reference frequently. In the right circumstances, acronyms can make these terms more manageable for the writer to use and for the reader to understand.

Using Acronyms in Academic Writing

While acronyms can be very useful, only some of them are considered appropriate for use in scholarly writing. In general, acronyms can be used to stand in for job titles (such as CEO), statistical categories (such as RBI) or the names of companies and organizations (such as FBI). Other instances may arise depending on the type of paper you are writing—a scientific essay, for example, might have acronyms for the names of chemical compounds or scientific terms. In most cases, you will be able to judge whether or not an acronym is appropriate based on the context of what you are writing. The only category of acronym that you should never use is slang, especially terms derived from texting. Phrases like "lol" and "brb" may be fine in casual conversation, but would make a writer seem unprofessional in a serious paper. For all acronyms you choose to use, making sure that the reader knows what they mean is essential. The first time you use any acronym, make sure to use its expanded form first. For example:

• Johnathan recently joined the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
• Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is known for fighting for the National Minimum Drinking Age Act.
• The Family Research Council (FRC) was founded in 1981.  

Once the abbreviation has been identified, as shown in these examples, you can use the abbreviated version in the rest of your document.  

Style Conventions for Acronyms

Most acronyms are written in all-uppercase with no punctuation between letters. This differs from abbreviations, which are normally written with periods in order to note the deleted parts of words. A small number of acronyms use slashes to show an ellipsis, as in "w/o" for "without." Spaces are not used between the different letters of acronyms. Apostrophes are generally not used to pluralize abbreviations. They are, however, used to form possessives.