Source
 When writing under the MLA format, use the
suggestions and guidelines for MLA abbreviations for
general abbreviations and for those in cited sources.
The guide below covers some of the more common
abbreviations, but the complete list is found in the 7th
Edition MLA Handbook.
Where to use
 MLA abbreviations apply to common abbreviations
that may appear within the text of your paper, but
many abbreviations apply to listing sources on the
Works Cited page. Some abbreviations also have
periods and spacing applied differently, so knowing
how to abbreviate correctly might involve looking up
the information in the MLA Handbook when you
cannot find the abbreviation in the list of examples
provided here.
MLA abbreviations, periods and spacing




For MLA abbreviations that are in all capital letters, omit the periods and spaces.
US
HTML
DVD
Proper names are the exception to the above rule, and periods and a space are used after first and/or
middle initials.
E. E. Cummings
J. R. R. Tolkien
R.L. Stine
If the letters of a lowercase abbreviation correspond to a word in a recognizable abbreviation, periods
are used after each letter with no spaces following them within the MLA abbreviation.
a.m.
e.g.
i.e.
p.m.
The above rule does not apply to all MLA abbreviations, however. Some exceptions follow.
mph = miles per hour
rpm = revolutions per minute
n or nn = note, notes
ns = new series
MLA abbreviations, periods and spacing
 When a lowercase letter ends an abbreviation, a period is used following the last letter of
the MLA abbreviation.
assoc. = associate, associated
attrib.= attributed to
dept. = department
Eng. = English
esp. = especially
 Degree names do not follow the standard MLA abbreviations rule for lowercase letters;
instead, no periods are used when these end with a lowercase letter.
EdD
PhD
PhysD
 Website URL abbreviations (extensions) require a period before the abbreviation.
.com
.edu
.net
.gov
MLA abbreviations in citations
 As you use citations, use MLA abbreviations whenever
you can to keep the citations as short as possible. The
list that follows contains some of the more common
abbreviations that are used in citing sources; however,
for a complete list, refer to your MLA Handbook.
MLA abbreviations for months


Any month that is longer than four letters is abbreviated.
Jan. – January
Feb. – February
Mar. – March
Apr. – April
May – May
June – June
July – July
Aug. – August
Sept. – September
Oct. – October
Nov. – November
Dec. – December
In addition, dates in the MLA format are written in the date, month, year format. Use one number
for single-digit days (7 instead of 07). The abbreviated month is used (when it is less than four
letters), and the year is shown in the full, four-digit form.
3 June 2012
19 Sept. 2009
27 Dec. 2003
MLA abbreviations for time
 Various time markers are abbreviated in the following







way:
AD = Anno Domini
BC = Before Christ
wk. = week
mo. = month
yr. = year
a.m. = morning
p.m. = afternoon
MLA abbreviations for geographic locations
MLA abbreviations for missing information
 Sometimes it becomes necessary to abbreviate
information of missing resources
no pag. = no pagination
N.p. = no publisher (common for websites)
n.d. = no date
MLA abbreviations for publisher names
 When citing publisher names, a few special rules apply to allow
you to shorter them as much as possible.








Do not include the articles of “a,” “an” and “the”
Do not include business abbreviations, such as “Co.,” “Inc.” or “Ltd.”
Omit any descriptive words at the end of a publisher name, such as
“books,” “Press,” “Publishers” or “House”
Use the letter “P” for all university presses in case a university publishes
independently, such as “Michigan State P” for “Michigan State Press”
Use only the surname when a publisher name has the full name of one
person within it, such as “Wiley” for “John Wiley & Sons Inc.”
Use only the first surname when a publisher has more than one surname
within it, such as “Farrar” for “Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Inc.”
Utilize other MLA abbreviations that may apply whenever possible, such
as “UP” for a university press or “Acad.” for Academy
Use an acronym if a publisher is commonly known by it.
Publisher examples
 Basic = Basic Books
 GPO = Government Printing Office
 Little = Little, Brown and Company, Inc.
 MIT UP = MIT University Press
 Scribner’s = Charles Scribner’s Sons
 U of Chicago P = University of Chicago Press
MLA abbreviations for scholarly words
 Many scholarly words also appear in various citations, especially those that are
from scholarly journals. Keep this in mind, and utilize MLA abbreviations for
scholarly words whenever possible. The list that follows includes common
ones, but consult your MLA Handbook for a complete list.
anon. = anonymous
ca. = circa
ch. = chapter
comp. = compiler
fwd. = foreword
jour. = journal
lib. = library
par. = paragraph
publ. for publisher or publication
sec., sect. = section
ser. = series
var. = variant
writ. = written by, writer