Lists of shortened forms

For publications that use many acronyms and other shortened forms, include a list of these after the contents table (at the beginning) or after the appendixes (before the index).

Items that can be included in the list are:

  • acronyms and initialisms used in the text
  • other shortened forms that are used in the text (eg Action Plan, short for the full name National Biodiversity and Climate Change Action Plan)
  • abbreviations for units of measurement.

If the publication contains many units of measurement, these can be listed separately.

The list does not have to include shortened forms that:

  • have been spelt out in the text for reader information only (ie where the acronym is better known than the full term)
  • only occur in a short section of text (eg 1 paragraph or several consecutive paragraphs)
  • are used only in tables or figures and defined in the table or figure notes
  • are from the reference list or reverse title page (eg abbreviated address information).
Did you know? Some journals – for example, Clinical and Vaccine Immunology – give lists of terms that do not need to be spelled out in their instructions for authors.

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