Writing Abbreviations
An abbreviation can usually be placed into one of four categories:
 Acronym
Contraction
Initial abbreviation
Syllabic
abbreviation
AcronymAn acronym is an abbreviation spoken like a word; e.g.
BUPA, NAAFI. Through common usage, a number of acronyms have become words in their own rights. Good examples are sonar, radar,
laser and scuba. (Nowadays, these are rarely
capitalised.) Some acronyms have not yet made a full transition to 'recognised word' and can be written with all capital letters or just an initial capital letter; e.g.,
NATO or Nato.
ContractionA contraction is an abbreviated version of a word or words. There are two main kinds:
Shortening a word or merging two words into one and replacing the missing
letter(s) with an apostrophe, e.g., don't, can't, shouldn't. (See "Apostrophes
replace missing letters".)
Compressing a
word, e.g., Mr, Revd, Prof. (See "Writing
contractions".)
Initial Abbreviation (or Initialism) Initialisms tend to be written with capital letters with each
pronounced, e.g., BBC, CNN, LRS. These can be written with or without full stops
 (periods  ), but a
writer should be consistent throughout a
document. However, when using company names, it is a common convention to copy the company's
version. (For example, do not write B.U.P.A. - this company does not use full stops in its own correspondence.)
Syllabic AbbreviationSyllabic abbreviations are not common. They use the initial syllables from multiple
words, e.g., Combat (Komandir Batal'ona), Gestapo (Geheime Staats Polizei) Comintern (Communist International).
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SCIENTIFIC UNITS
When using units such as mph or cm, you can either use a space after the
number or not. The choice is yours. However, be consistent
throughout your document.
 700mph,
99m, 10cm, -4°C 
700
mph, 99 m, 10 cm, -4 °C
BE CONSISTENT
There are many different conventions relating to abbreviations.
Therefore, the golden rule is simply:
"Pick a style you like and be
consistent".
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