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< The Period

The Period: The Period (#8)

Dennis Oliver
The Period (#8):
Abbreviations
in
Business Correspondence

One very common and important punctuation mark
( . ) looks like a small, dark circle. When this mark is
used with numbers, it's called a point. When it's used
in e-mail and WWW addresses, it's called a dot. In
other situations, it's called a period.

In American English, one common use for the period
is in abbreviations. Here are some abbreviations which
are commonly used in business correspondence:

assn. association
Attn.

Attention

used to direct correspondence
to a specific person:

Customer Relations Department
Attn: Sylvia
cc.

carbon copy (nowadays, photocopy)

used to show who has received
a copy of a letter, memo, etc.

Note: usually used without a period
bcc.

blind carbon copy

used to show (secretly) who has
received a copy of a letter, memo, etc.

Note: usually used without a period
CEO

Chief Executive Officer

Note: used without periods
co. company
corp. corporation
dept. department
div. division
encl.

enclosure(s)

used to show what that something
has been included with a letter,
report, memo, etc.
inc. incorporated
int'l. international
ltd. limited
Mgr. manager
Pres. president
re,
ref.		 concerning,
with reference to
secy. secretary
TBA to be announced (at a later time)
VP vice president
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