一、缩写?abbreviations
规则1、
在正式写作中，应当避免使用缩写，除非有下述规则2、规则3和规则4的情形。
in?formal?writing,?one?should?not?use?abbreviations,?except?as?indicated?in?rules?2,?3,?and?4?below.
例如：
incorrect:?the?u.s.?supreme?court?held?that?the?defendant\’s?rights?had?been?violated.
correct:?the?united?states?supreme?court?held?that?the?defendant\’s?rights?had?been?violated.
incorrect:?professor?jonas?mentioned?several?cities?that?have?domestic-partnership?ordinances,?e.g.,?new?york?and?san?francisco.
correct:?professor?jonas?mentioned?several?cities?that?have?domestic-partnership?ordinances,?including?new?york?and?san?francisco.
incorrect:?the?court?announced?its?decision?in?the?case?on?oct.?12,?1994.
correct:?the?court?announced?its?decision?in?the?case?on?october?12,?1994.
规则2、
如果一个缩写的应用已经非常普遍，在一般用法中已经取代了全称，则可以使用缩写；但使用此缩写时不应该使用表示缩写的英文句号（.）。
when?an?abbreviation?has?become?so?common?that?it?has?supplanted?the?full?name?in?common?usage,?one?may?use?the?abbreviation;?however,?one?should?do?so?without?the?use?of?periods.
例如：
incorrect:?the?n.a.a.c.p.?was?the?subject?of?a?profile?on?c.b.s.?last?week.
correct:?the?naacp?was?the?subject?of?a?profile?on?cbs?last?week.
（注：?naacp?abbr.national?association?for?the?advancement?of?colored?people?(美国)全国有色人种协进会，cbs?abbr.?（美国）哥伦比亚广播公司(columbia?broadcasting?system)）
however:?the?defendant?in?the?case?is?r.j.?reynolds?industries,?inc.
请注意，在上面的例子中，字母r和j后面的句号（.）应当保留，因为这个缩写所代表的含义并非广为人知。一般来说，这样的缩写应当使用全称；但是在上面的例子中不能用全称，因为缩写r.j.是公司注册名称中使用的。
notice?that?in?the?preceding?example,?the?points?after?\"r\"?and?\"j\"?should?be?left?in,?because?the?meaning?of?the?abbreviation?is?not?sufficiently?well?known?to?most?readers.?ordinarily,?one?would?replace?such?an?abbreviation?with?the?full?terms;?however,?one?can?not?do?so?in?this?case?because?the?legal?corporate?name?involved?includes?the?abbreviation.
规则3、
当使用legal?citation时，一定要按照bluebook（见译注）的要求来缩写。但在行文中提及法院时，不应用缩写。
when?writing?legal?citations,?always?use?the?abbreviations?required?by?the?bluebook.?however,?when?referring?to?a?court?in?text,?do?not?abbreviate.?for?example:
例如：
incorrect:?the?ill.?supreme?court?required?the?return?of?the?child?to?his?birth?mother.?smithson?v.?bettaglia,?59?illinois?2d?73,?180?northeast?reporter?2d?754?(1994).
correct:?the?illinois?supreme?court?required?the?return?of?the?child?to?his?birth?mother.?smithson?v.?bettaglia,?59?ill.?2d?73,?180?n.e.2d?754?(1994).
规则4、
当行文中涉及的公司在其注册名称中含有一个或多个缩写时，如?r.j.?reynolds?industries,?inc.，应当保留缩写；不要把缩写所代表的全称全部拼出，除非公司的注册名称中已经全部拼出，如exxon?shipping?company。这条规则适用于所有的公司名称中，包括co.，?corp.，?inc.和?ltd.。
when?referring?to?a?corporate?entity?that?has?one?or?more?abbreviations?as?part?of?its?legal?name,?such?as?r.j.?reynolds?industries,?inc.,?leave?the?abbreviations?in?the?name.?do?not?spell?out?the?abbreviation?unless?the?corporation?itself?spells?it?out,?which?some?do?(for?example,?exxon?shipping?company).?this?rule?applies?to?all?of?the?various?forms?of?corporate?designations,?including?co.,?corp.,?inc.,?and?ltd.
例如：
incorrect:?mcdermott?international,?incorporated
correct:?mcdermott?international,?inc.
二、缩略符
当一个学生向教授提交书面作业或向律师事务所提交书面资料时，?没有什么比错误的使用或不使用缩略符造成的负面印象更严重了。因此，掌握这些简单，却常常容易混淆的规则非常重要。
在四种情形下使用或不使用缩略符容易引起混淆，分别是（1）复数词（2）单数所有格（3）复数所有格和（4）it\’s和its的缩写形式（contractions，see?cross?reference?hereunder）与所有格。是否使用所有格，要先问问自己是否涉及领有关系。如果是领有关系，名词或带词就要采取所有格。
规则1、plain?plural?words?do?not?require?the?use?of?an?apostrophe.?for?example:
incorrect:?the?lawyer\’s?could?generally?be?found?after?hours?at?the?hanover?street?bar?and?grill.?(the?apostrophe?here?incorrectly?indicates?a?singular?possessive.)
incorrect:?the?lawyers\’?could?generally?be?found?after?hours?at?the?hanover?street?bar?and?grill.?(the?apostrophe?here?incorrectly?indicates?a?plural?possessive.)
correct:?the?lawyers?could?generally?be?found?after?hours?at?the?hanover?street?bar?and?grill.?(the?lack?of?an?apostrophe?here?correctly?indicates?a?plural,?nonpossessive?term.)