Capitalization is to write the first letter of a word with a capital letter (uppercase) and the remaining letters in lowercase.
English capitalization basic rules:
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The pronoun “I”: My sister and I watch TV.
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The first letter of a sentence: My name is Fernanda.
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Names and Titles: This is Mr. Jones.
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Cities and Countries: I live in Bogotá, Colombia.
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Nationalities and Languages: I am Brazilian, and I speak Portuguese.
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Days / Months / Holidays: Today is Sunday, February 14th. It’s Valentine’s Day!
Abbreviations are any shortened form of a word. Two common types of abbreviations are acronyms and initialisms.
An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words. You can pronounce it as a word.
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NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
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PIN (Personal Identification Number)
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LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation)
An initialism is an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words. You cannot pronounce it as a word.
You can form other abbreviations by removing a few letters of a single word.
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Titles: Mr. Jones (Mister) / Dr. Gonzalez (Doctor)
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Times / Dates: 10 am (ante meridiem) / **Jan. **(January) / Mon. (Monday)
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Places: 5th Ave.*(Avenue) / Main St(Street)
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Units of measurement: 20 g(grams) / 80 oz (ounces)
Be careful!
These abbreviations are only for writing. Say the complete word when speaking. Also, the punctuation may vary when using American English and British English:
American English: abbreviations always finish with a period (Mr. / Dr. / Mon. / etc.).
British English: abbreviations only finish with a period when they do not end with the same letter of the original word (Mr / Dr / Mon. / etc.).
When writing a paragraph, it is necessary to pay attention to its format. There are two formats you can use:
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First-line Indent: start your writing further away from the edge of the paper. It creates a faster and also linear experience for the reader. It is common in fiction, narrative, biography, and scholarly publications.
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Block: start your writing at the edge of the paper and use a margin of white space between paragraphs. In this way, the reader understands there is a new paragraph. It creates an idea of specific information in each paragraph. It is common in business guides and technical manuals.
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