Abbreviation

For titles before proper names, use standard abbreviations.

Mr. Bradley Metzger

Ms. Thing

Mrs. Arnold Schwartzenegger

Dr. Doom

The Rev. Carmody Carmichal.

Prof. Sylvester Stallone.

Some titles appear after proper names.

Lon Chaney Jr.

Martin Luther King Sr.

Pistol Pete Marovich, PhD

Trapper John, MD

Jon Bon Jovi, LLD

Harry Belafonte, DDS

D’brickashaw Ferguson, MAE

Be sure your reader understands an abbreviation before using it.

If an abbreviation is familiar, you can use it.

CIA                        FBI             MD            NAACP

NBA                       NEA           PhD            CD-ROM

YMCA                   CBS             USA            ESL

Despite earning an MFA from the Carnegie-Mellon University, he could not draw a straight line.

When I got a little lonely, I played hoops at the local YMCA.

When using BC, AD, a.m., p.m., No., and $, be careful.

BC (“before Christ”) follows a date.

AD (“anno Domini”) precedes the date.

Increasingly, BCE (“before the common era”) and CE (“common era”) are used. Both follow the date.

I have been a Mets fan since 10 BC, constant and loyal. She’s a Yankee fan only when those Bronx crybabies win.

At 3:00 a.m., she stuffed pillows under the sheets, making it seem as if she were still asleep, then snuck out of the house.

Avoid using a.m., p.m. No. or $ when they are not attached to a figure.

Wrong:

I need $, son, or I can’t chill with my boys tonight.

Better:

A bit of cash would tide me over until payday, old sport, or until Gladys advances me my weekly allowance.

To avoid confusion, avoid Latin phrases:

e.g. (Latin exempli gratia, “for example”)

et al. (Latin et alia, “and others”)

etc. (Latin et cetera,  “and so forth”)

i.e. (Latin id est, “that is”)

Wrong:

Many Yankee fans suffer from grossly inflated egos, e.g. former Mayor Giuliani who ran for president.

Many former Mets players are involved in making the world a better place, for example, Mo Vaughn who develops low-income housing in Brooklyn.