Which academic English abbreviations are useful?

The final chapter on this topic is intended to provide academic students with a list of the most frequently used abbreviations in academic writing and presentations. Although we’ve provided seven categories of useful academic abbreviations to share with students below, before reading these it would be first beneficial to summarise the rules from Chapters 1 and 2 that are relevant to this context.

i) explain any obscure or unfamiliar abbreviations in full to your reader

ii) write the complete expression the first time you include an abbreviation and then abbreviate that expressions for every subsequent use

iii) consider including a list of abbreviations at the start of your work

iv) pay careful attention to the rules of pronunciation for abbreviations

v) avoid using full stops in abbreviations unless absolutely necessary

vi) pluralise an abbreviation by including an ‘s’, as you would any other word

Which abbreviations are most useful in academia?

Each of the below seven categories of abbreviation may be used within academic writing, although students should be careful to use these sparingly and accurately.

1. Latin Abbreviations

Abbreviation = AD/BC

Latin expression= Anno Domini/Ante Christum Natum

English meaning = after/before the birth of Jesus Christ.

Example = Boudicca was born in 30 AD while Julius Caesar died in 44 BC.

Abbreviation = am/pm

Latin expression= ante meridiem/post meridiem

English meaning = before/after midday

Example = The exam starts at 10am and will be finished by 1pm. 

Abbreviation = e.g.

Latin expression= exempli gratia

English meaning = for example

Example = Many countries were involved, e.g. Spain and France. 

Abbreviation = etc.

Latin expression= et cetera

English meaning = and other similar things

Example = The investigations were conducted on cats, dogs, hamsters, etc.

Abbreviation = ibid.

Latin expression= ibidem

English meaning = in the same place (used for repeating citations)

Example = 10% of participants failed the test (Smith, 2010). 27% of participants also scored higher than expected, with 7% achieving the highest results (ibid.).

Abbreviation = et al.

Latin expression= et alia

English meaning = and others (used when referencing four or more authors)

Example = Smith et al. (2010) conducted two initial studies.

Abbreviation = p.a. 

Latin expression= per annum

English meaning = yearly

Example = The company offered $20,000 p.a.

2. Measurements