Abbreviations and symbols help make the reader’s job easier by providing a short reference for a longer word or a series of words that the reader would otherwise have to read again several times in a single text. In general terms, abbreviations fall into two groups: those which are frequently used to refer to specific words or terms (Thurs., e.g., Dr) and those which accompany their longer form at least once to show us there is a shorter alternative (EHEA for European Higher Education Area, or LERU for League of European Research Universities). In this second group there are short forms for proper nouns, like EHEA or LERU above, but there are also abbreviations for common nouns (such as CPD for continuing professional development or IT for information technology), which we use when we want those common nouns to describe a generalised group, practice or field. Abbreviations are particularly important in our university context, where a large number of texts record the names of institutions and systems of different kinds; and the correct use of certain symbols in institutional texts such as informative web pages and annual reports makes those texts easier to read.

4.1 Forming abbreviations

4.1.1 Forming acronyms and initialisms

Most acronyms are formed from the first or first few letters of a series of words. They are written in capital letters and do not take points.

If an acronym contains six or more letters, capitalise the initial letter and lowercase the others.

On the other hand, initialisms are usually formed from just the first letters of a series of words. Generally speaking, write them following the upper or lower case pattern of the full term. When the full term is in lower case, they are usually separated by points.

Note, however, that the abbreviation plc (public limited company) is always written in lower case but without points.

In higher education, some initialisms representing degree studies combine upper and lower case and do not take points.

Note, too, that an initialism may take capital letters even when the full term does not.

4.1.2 Forming contractions and truncations

Contractions are formed by omitting the middle of a word. In line with British English, this guide recommends not putting a point after the last letter of the contraction.

Truncations are formed by omitting the end of a word and sometimes other letters as well. They are always followed by a point.

4.2 Using abbreviations

4.2.1 Using acronyms and initialisms

If a term occurs frequently in a text, accompany the term by its abbreviation the first time the term occurs and just use the abbreviation in all further references.

On the other hand, if the term only occurs once in the text, there is usually no need to give the abbreviation at all.

Note, too, that terms in the title of a text should not be accompanied by their abbreviation. However, there are texts in which you should add an abbreviation after a term even though the term only occurs once. One case is legal texts, where for the sake of precision and clarity the abbreviation is as important to include as the full term.

Another case is a text in which the full term is not as useful to the reader as the abbreviation. In some institutions, for example, writers often translate the full names of organisations to help non-native readers but those translations are not used by other institutions. In such cases, the original-language abbreviation becomes particularly important for the reader as an identifier, as in the example of the Centre de Recerca d’Alta Muntanya (CRAM) below.

A further case is a text in which the full term is not as reliable as the abbreviation. On the web, for example, a research organisation called the Centre de Recursos de Biodiversitat Animal is variously rendered as the Animal Biodiversity Resource Centre, the Resource Centre for Animal Biodiversity and the Centre for Resources in Animal Biodiversity. In such cases, add the full term’s official abbreviation (in this case, CRBA) even after an isolated reference.

Finally, however, do not use abbreviations simply because they make a text look more official and without considering whether the reader really has anything to gain by them.

4.2.2 Using contractions and truncations

Contractions and truncations are generally used in headers, footnotes, endnotes, tables and text boxes. For a list of the contractions, truncations and initialisms that are most commonly used in formal language, see Appendix I: Lists of additional information.

If you are unsure of whether you need to use points, remember the following cases.

i) Truncated forms as codes or symbols

Truncated forms used as codes or symbols do not take points.

ii) Full words or contractions in Latin

Certain Latin forms do not take a point because they are full words. Likewise, full words within Latin phrases do not require a point.

The Latin form numero is abbreviated to no. to avoid confusion.

iii) Abbreviating people’s names

Abbreviate people’s first names with a single letter only, followed by a point and a space.

Write multiple initials with points and spaces.

Represent compound first names by both initials.

iv) Lower-case truncations

Note that some common truncations are never written in upper case, even at the beginning of a footnote.

v) Use of Article

Note that the word Article may be abbreviated to Art. in footnotes or tables, but should not be abbreviated in running text.

vi) Use of etc.

Only use etc. at the end of a series of examples and never at the end of a series introduced by the words like, for example or such as.

4.3 Abbreviations and grammar

4.3.1 Abbreviations and articles

Acronyms that abbreviate the names (proper nouns) of organisations and systems do not take the definite article the even if their full forms do.

But when they abbreviate common nouns, they take the or a(n) as necessary.

Initialisms generally take the definite article if the full form does.

This rule can be applied to the abbreviations of the names of Catalan-speaking universities because the full forms always begin with the definite article la (la Universitat Jaume I, la Universitat Rovira i Virgili, la Universitat de València).

Universities may establish other norms, however. For example, the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia is known as UVic-UCC (without the) in its English abbreviated form. In English, many universities prefer this usage.

Finally, remember that the article is not necessary when the full term is hardly ever used (HIV, for human immunodeficiency virus), when it describes a general notion (VET, for vocational education and training) or when we consider the abbreviation to be a name in its own right (IBM, for International Business Machines Corporation).

To choose between a or an, apply the rule ‘a before a consonant sound, an before a vowel sound’ (as if the abbreviation following the article were being spoken).

4.3.2 Abbreviations and plurals

Plurals of abbreviations are formed in the same way as the regular plurals of common nouns: simply by adding the letter s. Note that there is no apostrophe before s, which is written in lower case.

When the singular form of the abbreviation ends in -s, that form can also be used to refer to a plural group. This avoids the uncomfortable effect of seeing an s repeated.

4.3.3 Abbreviations as adjectives

As indicated in the examples in Section 4.3.1 Abbreviations and articles, abbreviations can also be used as adjectives, in either a simple or compound form.

4.4 Abbreviations in a multilingual context

Criteria for translating into English is the subject of Section 8 Translation but there are two important points to be made about using abbreviations in our multilingual institutional context.

First, if you need to provide English versions of the full names of university offices or government institutions, do not translate their abbreviations. For example, the English name of a university office called the Oficina de Programes Internacionals (OPI) would be the Office for International Programmes (OPI). And the English names of the Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya, the Diari Oficial de la Comunitat Valenciana and the Boletín Oficial del Estado would be the Official Gazette of the Government of Catalonia (DOGC), the Official Gazette of the Government of Valencia (DOCV) and the Official Gazette of the Government of Spain (BOE), respectively.

Second, a number of very frequent abbreviations in Catalan-speaking universities come from common noun phrases that have no official English equivalent (PAS from personal d’administració i serveis, PDI from personal docent i investigador, SED from secretaria d’estudiants i docència and PAT from pla d’acció tutorial). This guide recommends explaining or paraphrasing the full term the first time it occurs in a text and then using only the Catalan abbreviation for the rest of the text. This way, English-language readers can be more effectively helped to understand their non-English institutional environment.

4.5 Symbols

As with truncations and contractions, with symbols it is important to be consistent when alternative forms are available. This section provides guidelines for the symbols most commonly used in institutional writing. For details on symbols expressing sequences, ranges and yearly periods, see Section 5 Numbers.

4.5.1 Ampersands

In our institutional context, the ampersand is mainly found in the formal names of firms or businesses, where it should not be replaced with the word and. The ampersand, and not the plus sign, should be used to abbreviate the phrase research and development.

This guide recommends not using the ampersand as a substitute for the word and, as this use is generally a feature of informal writing.

4.5.2 Capitalisation and lowercasing

Use capital letters for the first letter of symbols that come from people’s names.

Symbols that come from common nouns are generally written in lower case and are the same for singular and plural.

However, remember kilobyte (kB) (one kilobyte is equal to eight kilobits) and litre (L).

4.5.3 Multiplication signs

The multiplication sign (×) is similar to the lower case x but should not be confused with it.

4.5.4 Percentages

Use per cent where the number is also spelt out in words; with figures, use the per cent sign without a space between the figure and the symbol.

Note that the per cent sign should follow each of the figures in any given phrase. Therefore, not

but

Finally, note the difference between per cent and percentage point: an increase from 5% to 7% would be an increase of two percentage points (or an increase of 40%), not an increase of 2%.

4.6 Abbreviating units of measurement

Units of measurement are often abbreviated. The abridged forms are normally written without points and do not have plurals.

Note that proper nouns that form part of units of measurement retain their initial capital.