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Shortened forms
Shortened forms include abbreviations, acronyms and symbols. They
should only be included if they suit the context of the publication and
if the majority of readers will be familiar with the terms.
- In general, avoid using shortened forms in text: eg The McLaren
Vale wine region is approximately 35 kilometres from the city centre.
- Spell out potentially confusing shortened forms on the first
mention and with the shortened form included in brackets: eg The
Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP)… THEN…students who
qualify under HELP…. Follow this recommendation when using University of
South Australia and UniSA.
Don’t use ‘the’ to introduce the shortened form: eg …students at UniSA… NOT
…students at the UniSA…
- Grammatical contractions such as don’t, isn’t and
we’re are not
recommended for formal documents, however they can help to create a
lighter, friendlier tone in certain contexts and for certain
audiences.
- Don’t use any punctuation with shortened forms except at the end
of a sentence or to avoid confusion: eg Mr/TAFE/PC/km BUT no.
- Avoid using symbols such as the ampersand (&), per cent (%) or
measurement symbols (km, kg) in sentences - spell these out. An
exception is where a company or organisation name includes a symbol: eg
P&O
Note that symbols can be included in tables.
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