Company Writer's Guide
SECTION 1
STYLE GUIDE
This section of the Writer’s Guide is intended to establish a basic writing style that is clear, concise,
and consistent in presentation of information. Technical information requires more stringent
standardization than is common in general usage. Therefore, generating a deliverable to
accommodate an expeditious technical review requires avoiding confusing or ambiguous
statements and unnecessarily verbose descriptions.
1.1
WRITING STYLE APPROACH
Avoid use of colloquialisms in writing. Terms like “putting your best foot forward” or “cutting to
the quick” can be misunderstood by international customers and lead to confusion. Conversational
English is inappropriate for formal business and technical writing. Keep language clear and
precise.
The following guidelines will help improve your writing and allow us to present a standardized
“look and feel” in deliverables to customers.
Great Content, Economically Delivered
The most effective technical writing is taut, information-rich material that easily conveys the most
important points. Here are some ways you can achieve this.
1. Try to restrict acronym use to the five to ten most important acronyms in a subject area and
write out the secondary or peripheral terms.
2. Always write in a simple and direct style by avoiding:
•
•
•
•
Wordiness (examples of wordiness appear in Table 1.1-1)
Strings of adjectives
Puffery (Our company is uniquely qualified ...)
Phrases and words that obscure the central meaning, for example:
Wrong: The system is designed such that active components are capable of being tested
during plant operation.
Right: The active components can be tested during plant operation.
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3. Make sure that your graphics clearly support information in the text. Have you chosen the
most illustrative graphics in each section? Is there a difficult passage of text that you could
elucidate with a figure?
Verb Tenses
As a general rule, use the present tense. For example, “our design includes” (not “will include” or
“included”); “our Project Team is ready” (not “will be ready”). However, use future tense when
describing project activities still to be performed. Also, use future tense in outline revisions when
describing what completed sections will contain.
Use past tense when discussing completed project activities, observations from walkdowns, and the
results of studies and tests already performed. “The controls analysis showed that…”
Active versus Passive Voice
Use active voice to raise impact. Examples include:
Passive: Procedures were initiated to reduce plant accidents.
Active: The company initiated procedures to reduce plant accidents.
Passive voice is acceptable, and is used often in customer documents, in a particular situation –
when the object in the sentence must have emphasis over the subject.
Example: The Quality Plan must be followed by all subcontractors.
Additional Guidance
1. Avoid pathetic fallacy, that is, giving inanimate objects actions or responsibilities. Examples
include:
•
•
•
The Management Plan ensures . . . (a plan cannot ensure)
The program is enjoying success . . . (a program cannot enjoy)
The site must consider . . . (a site cannot consider)
2. The word “comprise” means to include or to be made up of. A large entity cannot “be
comprised of” smaller things. It comprises them.
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3. Be assertive in your writing. Examples include:
•
Use “will” not “may,” “plan to,” or “would.” Use “plan” only as a noun or in the strict
sense of planning and scheduling.
•
•
Use “shall” only in discussing project or regulatory requirements.
Use “ensure,” not “insure.” “Assure” is not as forceful as “ensure.” However, use
“assure” in quality assurance discussions.
4. Avoid a tutorial writing style. “First one must . . . then one does . . . and after these steps,
one logically progresses to. . .”
5. Be consistent with terminology. Use terms as agreed with the customer in commercial
agreements and elsewhere. Defer to customer terminology, not ours.
1.2
ABBREVIATIONS, ACRONYMS, TRADEMARKS, AND SYMBOLS
Abbreviations, acronyms, trademarks, and symbols should be consistent throughout the
deliverables and consistent with generally accepted usage. Acronyms should be used sparingly in
the text, particularly in international projects. Acronyms are used in parentheses following the
spelled-out form in the first reference.
A team may produce a list of the most common acronyms for their project.
Appendix A contains the most commonly used trademark references. Initial uses of trademarked
names appear with “®” or “™” as appropriate.
Appendix B provides a list of company-approved abbreviations and symbols.
Use only those abbreviations, acronyms, or symbols that are common in our industry and that are
defined.
When using “a” or “an” before an abbreviation or acronym, make sure that the article agrees with
the initial sound of the term as it is normally pronounced. The article “a” precedes a consonant
sound, and “an” precedes a vowel sound.
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In text, use the word form of common abbreviations such as percent, degree, number, equal to,
plus, minus, less than, greater than, and the like. Symbols should be used in the following cases:
•
•
For temperatures given with a numerical value, use the degree symbol (32°C, etc.).
For equations, either written in-line with the text or displayed (standing alone), use
symbols.
•
In graphics (figures and tables), use symbols if space is a problem.
The use of symbols in text should be avoided in most cases. Write out phrases to ensure clarity.
For example, use “greater than” instead of “>.” The following generally accepted symbols may be
used:
•
•
•
•
Delta
Δ
°C
Degrees Celsius
Degrees Fahrenheit
Plus or minus
°F
The following symbols should be avoided, but may be used when necessary, such as in tables and
figures, to save space:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Equal to
=
∼
>
<
≥
<
"
Approximately
Greater than
Less than
Greater than or equal to
Less than or equal to
Inches
Feet
'
Number
#
+
-
Plus
Minus
And
&
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1.3
PUNCTUATION
Standard rules of English (as defined by Strunk and White1) for grammar and punctuation should
be used.
Avoid long sentences; use semicolons (;) only in short sentences. Also, avoid using contractions
because they often cause confusion.
Use the final comma in a series (e.g., apples, oranges, and pears).
Place periods after the following:
•
•
Sentences
Between heading digits (e.g., 1.1.1) and after lower-level step letters and numbers (e.g., a.,
1.)
Place colons after statements that are followed by lists, such as lists of individual components.
•
Bullets (•) should be used in a list instead of numbers or letters when numbering serves no
purpose, or no reference to specific item(s) in the list will be made.
1.4
CAPITALIZATION
The trend in most corporate and technical writing is to eliminate unnecessary capitalization. Use
capitalization only as described below.
Capitalize the first letter of the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Each main word in subsection headings
First word in a sentence
First word in each phrase used in a list
Proper nouns, such as vendor or organization names
Full titles of formal programs and documents
Specific company product names
1 Strunk, William, and E. B. White, “The Elements of Style.”
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Capitalize all letters in each of the following:
•
•
Main section headings
Acronyms, initialisms
Do not capitalize:
•
•
•
Generic product and component names (for example, controller, panel, switch)
Generic system names
Acronym definitions (unless they belong in the above initial-cap group)
Capitalize the first letter of Government, Division, Plant, Project, etc., when referring to a specific
one. Use lower case when it is only a general reference.
1.5
NUMERALS AND UNITS
Both Arabic and Roman numerals may be used in company documents. General guidelines for
proper use are the following:
•
•
•
•
Express safety class and quality group in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3).
Express seismic category in Roman numerals (I, II, III).
Express electrical Class 1E in Arabic (not IE).2
Express steps in a process in Arabic.
Use Arabic numerals unless specific nomenclature dictates otherwise (and with lower-case Roman
numerals for table of contents, list of figures, etc.).
Avoid spelling out large numbers unless nomenclature dictates it. Spell out integers less than 10
that do not apply to a specific measurement (e.g., two procedures, 2 inches). Use commas in four-
digit or larger numbers (except in hexadecimal numbers).
Be consistent in using units of measure. European customers require metric units of measure.
Preferred presentation of measurements in European projects is: metric or SI (followed by English
in parentheses).
Normally, in text, use written-out units. Exception: electrical units – V, A, Hz. Abbreviate other
units in tables and where space is limited.
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When a spelled-out unit of measurement is used with a quantity, use the singular or plural form of
the unit of measurement based on the following criteria:
•
If the quantity is the unit 1 or a fraction of 1, use the singular form of the spelled-out unit of
measurement.
Examples:
— 0.6 meter
— 1/ 32 inch
— 1 second
•
If the quantity is zero or more than the unit 1, use the plural form of the spelled-out unit of
measurement.
Examples:
— 0 inches
— 1.6 meters
— 3-1/ 2 millimeters
— 8 seconds
•
Remember, however, that the singular form of an abbreviated unit of measurement is used
also for the plural and modified forms.
Examples:
— 0 VDC
— 3.5 m
— 8 s interval
1.6
REFERENCES
There are many accepted models for writing references, each appropriate for a given class of
documents (from scholarly works to popular periodicals). We present a conventional approach
that has worked well for most projects.
Applying these simple rules will help us standardize reference lists.
1. The usual sequence for entering a company document in a reference list is document
number, followed by the title in quotes, revision number (if applicable), then issuing unit,
and date. There are subtle variations depending on the type of document.
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When listing project-specific documents, follow this example.
Document number, ABC Project, “XYZ System General Requirements,” Business Unit, date.
Note
It is not necessary to give the revision level of project documents
unless there is a specific reason to cite an earlier revision. The most
recent revision at the time of issuance applies.
2. For standards and regulatory guidance, the form is number, title in quotes, revision
(if applicable), issuing body, and date (if applicable).
3. External, published works are handled as follows:
•
Author’s last name, comma, first initial, comma. Additional names in normal order
(first initial, last name), period.
•
•
•
•
•
Title of book, article, or paper, period.
Title of journal or larger work in italics, comma.
Volume and number information, if applicable, period.
City, colon, publishing body, (if applicable), period.
Date, period.
Examples of published works:
Adams, M. J., Y. J. Tenney, and R. W. Pew. Situation Awareness and the Cognitive
Management of Complex Systems. Human Factors, 37, 85-104. 1995.
Brannick, M. T., E. Salas, and C. Prince. Team Performance Assessment and Measurement.
Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1997.
Cannon-Bowers, J. A. and E. Salas. Making Decisions Under Stress: Implications for
Individual and Team Training. Washington, D. C.: American Psychological Association.
1998.
4. Manual titles are usually underlined.
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5. The ordering of documents in the reference list should correspond to the sequence of
references used in the document, so that Reference 1 is the first one used, 2 the second, and
so on.
6. Reference callouts may be of two types.
“This methodology is explained thoroughly in Reference 7…”
OR
“As was concluded in the Recorder Review (Ref. 2),…”
1.7
GRAPHICS
Figures, tables, photos, and charts are all considered graphics. Figures, photos, and charts will be
assigned figure numbers. Tables will be assigned table numbers. When using graphics, observe
the following:
•
•
Cite all graphics in text, with corresponding numbers.
Number in sequence by second-level section — Figure 1.1-1 is the first figure cited in
Section 1.1; Table 1.1-1 is the first table cited in Section 1.1, etc. If a graphic is cited in the
text of a top-level section, the numbering is 1-1, 1-2, etc.
•
Capitalize the initial letter of the words “figure” and “table” when they appear with a
number; otherwise, use lower case (the figure shows the difference between . . .).
1.8
EDITING CONVENTIONS
Many words and phrases can be written more than one way. Every project should use the broad
list of writing conventions (preferred terms, spellings, punctuation) in this section, and define
additional conventions as needed, to promote consistency among documents.
In the list, when a phrase is to be hyphenated in adjectival use as a unit modifier (um), that note
accompanies the phrase. Other abbreviations in the list include (n) for noun and (v) for verb.
While this may be useful for reference, engineering authors should not spend precious time
worrying about these details.
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AC
deadman
air flow
deadweight
Alloy 750
decision-making (um)
decision-set (um)
de-energize
around-the-clock (um)
ASME Code
B.S., M.S.
diesel-generator (um)
double check (v, n, um)
driveline
backfit
backflow
backlit
E-C (engineer-constructor)
electromechanical
e-mail
backpressure
backup
best-estimate (um)
boil-off (n, um)
break-even (um)
Btu
employee
ensure (not insure)
entry level
Environmental, Safety, and Health
ES and H
buildup
built-in (um)
buses
et al.
etc.
bypass
fail-closed (um)
failover
carbon steel (n, um)
centerline
feedback
changeout
close-up
fiber-optic (um)
flow path
closeout
flow rate
coauthored
common-mode (um)
constructibility
cooldown (n/ um)
cooperate
followup
foot
foreword
freestanding
front-line (um)
full-penetration (um)
full-scope (um)
full-time (um)
FY 2002
cost-effective (um)
creep-down (um)
crossover
cutset
database
ground-level (um)
groundwater
handhole
datalink
DC
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hard-copy (um)
hard-face (um)
hard rock (um)
hard-wired
low-pressure (um)
makeup
make-or-buy (um)
man-hours
manway
heatup (um)
high-build (um)
high-energy (um)
high-level (um)
hold-down (um)
holdup
mid-size (um)
mockup
multicompany
multimillion
Navy
hot-dip (um)
human-factor (um)
in-depth (um)
in-flow (um)
in-house (um)
in-leakage (um)
in-service (um)
inside diameter
in-situ (um)
nil-ductility
no-load (um)
non-Class 1E
non-conformance
non-exempt
non-process
offeror
offgas
off-line (um)
off-load
in-tank (um)
interrelated
offset
January 2002
kV
offsite
onboard
large-scale (um)
latch-locking (um)
layout
on-call (um)
on-line (um)
on-schedule (um)
one-half (all cases)
ongoing
leak-off (n, um)
leaktight
leaktightness
lifetime
onset
onsite
lift-off (n, um)
locked-closed (um)
log-normal (um)
long-lead (um)
longstanding
low-level (um)
outside diameter
overwrite
partial-penetration (um)
pathway
percent
pinhole
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post-heat
time-out
post-test
Title II
preheat
topcoat
preoperational
pre-procurement
pre-service (um)
proactive
trade-off (n, um)
two-dimensional (um)
Type 304
Type A
pushbutton
U.S. (um)
read-out (n, um)
real-time (um)
record-keeping (um)
remote-handled (um)
roundtable
unisolatable
United States (n)
up-front (um)
VAC
VDC
self-sufficient (um)
set point
versus
videodisk
shear wave (um)
shutdown
videotape
walkdown
warmup
sign-off (n, um)
socioeconomic
soil-structure (um)
stand-alone
water-reducing (um)
watertight
wave-front (um)
work-around (n, um)
work scope
workday
standup
startup
state-of-the-art (um)
Statement of Work
subassembly
subunit
workstation
world-class (um)
."
thousand
0.5
through-wall (um)
time-history (um)
1990s
Notes:
1. Certain compound or joined words may become two words when used as a verb. Example: We will start up
the process next month.
2. Certain words are hyphenated when they are adjectives (unit modifiers), but not when they stand alone.
Example: The computer is off line.
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APPENDIX A
COMMONLY USED TRADEMARKS
The first use of a trademark name should include “®” or “™” as appropriate. The following are the
most often-used trademarks in our business as they should appear under “Acronyms and
Trademarks” in the front matter.
[“Adobe” and “the Adobe logo” first, if used, followed by other Adobe marks used in alphabetical
order] are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United
States and/ or other countries.
Autodesk, AutoCAD, and Autodesk Inventor are either registered trademarks or trademarks of
Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/ or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or
trademarks belong to their respective holders.
Cisco® is a registered trademark of Cisco Systems, Incorporated.
DEC™ is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation.
Diamond Plus® is a registered trademark of Mitsubishi Electronics America, Incorporated.
EIMaster Power Concept® is a registered of Sigma Power Software AB.
Energy Star® is a U.S. registered trademark.
Intel® and Pentium® are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation.
LaserJet™, JetAdmin™, and HP9000™ [and other printer models] are trademarks of Hewlett-
Packard Company.
Microsoft, Encarta, MSN, and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/ or other countries.
Motif, OSF/ 1, UNIX and the “X” device are registered trademarks, and Making Standards Work
and The Open Group are trademarks of The Open Group in the US and other countries.
MultiSync®and FE+™are trademarks of NEC-Mitsubishi Electronic Display of America,
Incorporated.
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Netscape and the Netscape N and Ship's Wheel logos are registered trademarks of Netscape
Communications Corporation in the U. S. and other countries. [List other Netscape product names
used in your document] are also trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation and may be
registered outside the U.S.
Oracle® is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation.
Primavera Project Planner® is a registered trademark of Primavera Systems, Incorporated.
SAP/ R3™ is a trademark of SAP AG Corporation.
ServSwitch™is a trademark of Black Box Corporation.
SPARC®is a registered trademark of SPARC International, Incorporated.
Sun™, Sun Microsystems™, Sun Enterprise™, Ultra™, UltraSPARC™, Solstice™, StorEdge™,
Solaris ™, Java ™, all Sun, Solaris, Java, formative trademarks and logos are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Incorporated in the United States and other countries.
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APPENDIX B
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
Abbreviations facilitate reading and minimize dull repetition of cumbersome names.
Abbreviations should be used only when necessary and when their meanings are unquestionably
clear. When in doubt, spell it out. In the text, capitalization will agree with the parent word. Rules
of capitalization apply. The same abbreviation should be used for all tenses, possessive, singular,
and plural. A sentence should never begin with an abbreviation except where the parent word(s)
would result in an awkward construction.
The following pages contain basic rules to use when abbreviating, and a list of engineering unit
abbreviations in their proper form.
1. Abbreviations should be spelled out in all possible circumstances. However, when
abbreviations are necessary, use the following guidelines:
a. The trend is to omit periods from all abbreviations except where they have traditionally
appeared (for example, U.S., Ph.D., Mr., Mrs.).
b. There should be no space after the internal periods within a traditional abbreviation (for
example, a.m., U.S., i.e., etc.).
c. An abbreviation needs no period unless it can be confused with a word (e.g., in., a.m.,
no.,). One exception to this rule is a period usually is not necessary in tabular material.
2. The following common Latin abbreviations should appear as:
i.e., (that is)
e.g., (for example)
et al., (and others)
etc., (and so forth)
A comma should precede and follow the above abbreviations when used in the middle of a
sentence.
3. “versus” should be spelled out, not “vs.”
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4. When using unit abbreviations such as Btu, kW, Hz. . . a space should be placed between the
number and the abbreviation.
e.g.; 100 Btu, 3 kW, 50 Hz.
5. Refrain from using the symbols " and ' for inches and feet unless referring to a plant elevation
or when it is necessary to save space (i.e., within tables, forms, etc.). However, use inches and
feet in their proper forms as follows:
0.5 inch of space around the margin (singular)
2 inches in diameter (plural)
a 3-inch circle (used as an adjective and therefore hyphenated)
6. Below are a few commonly used abbreviations in their proper form:
Type 316 SS (notice the cap T and the space between 316 and SS)
2-1/ 4 Cr-1 Mo
E-953011 (hyphen after the E)
7. Do not abbreviate the company name in text except as part of abbreviations of subsidiary or
joint venture names.
8. For equipment names used repeatedly in text, spell it out the first time, with the
abbreviation in parentheses following the name. Subsequent references can then be made
by the abbreviation alone. Also note that if a control name printed on the equipment is
abbreviated, it should be repeated exactly, including capitalization, when cited in the text.
Plurals of Abbreviations
1. Abbreviations in units of measure are identical in their singular and plural forms (e.g., 10 lb
not 10 lbs).
2. Acronyms, letters, and numbers are made plural by adding “s” alone:
the three Rs
in twos and threes
LPRs
the early 1970s
SDDs
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3. Abbreviations with periods, lower-case letters used as nouns, and capital letters that would
form another word if “s” alone were added form the plural with an apostrophe and an “s”:
Ph.D.’s
x’s and y’s
S’s, A’s, I’s
Letter Symbols for Units of Measurement
The following pages are taken from Corporate Standards. These abbreviations should be the only
ones used unless stated otherwise in a project-specific document.
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Symbols for Units in General Use
Symbol
Unit
ampere
Notes
A
SI unit of electric current.
ampere (turn)
ampere-hour
A
SI unit of magnetomotive force.
Also A• h
Ah
A/ m
Δ
ampere per meter
angstrom
SI unit of magnetic field strength.
1 Δ = 10-10 m (deprecated, see ANSI Z210.1-1976)
atmosphere, standard
atm
1 atm = 101 325 Pa (deprecated, see ANSI Z210.1-
1976)
1 at = 1 kgf/ cm2 (deprecated,
see ANSI Z210.1-1976)
atmosphere, technical
at
u
atomic mass unit (unified)
The (unified) atomic mass unit is defined as one
twelfth of the mass of an atom of the 12C nuclide.
Use of the old atomic mass (amu), defined by
reference to oxygen, is deprecated.
atto
a
SI prefix for 10-18.
attoampere
bar
aA
bar
1 bar = 100 kPa. Use of the bar is strongly
discouraged (see ANSI Z210.1-1976), except for
limited use in meteorology.
barn
b
1 b = 10-28 m2
barrel
bbl
bbl/ d
1 bbl = 42 galUS = 158.99 L
barrel per day
This is the standard barrel used for petroleum,
etc. A different standard barrel is used for fruits,
vegetables, and dry commodities.
baud
Bd
In telecommunications, a unit of signaling speed
equal to one element per second. The signaling
speed in bauds is equal to the reciprocal of the
signal element length in seconds.
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Symbols for Units in General Use (Cont’d)
Symbol Notes
Unit
bel
B
becquerel
Bq
SI unit of activity of a radionuclide.
billion electronvolts
GeV
The name gigaelectronvolt is preferred for this
unit.
bit
b
In information theory, the bit is a unit of
information content equal to the information
content of a message the a priori probability of
which is one half.
In computer science, the bit is a unit of storage
capacity. The capacity, in bits, of a storage
device is the logarithm to the base two of the
number of possible states of the device.
bit per second
b/ s
Btu
calIT
British thermal unit
calorie
1 calIT = 4.1868 J (deprecated, see ANSI Z210.1-
1976)
(International Table calorie)
cal
calorie
1 cal = 4.1840 J (deprecated,
see ANSI Z210.1-1976)
(thermochemical calorie)
candela
cd
SI unit of luminous intensity.
candela per square inch
candela per square meter
cd/ in2
cd/ m2
Use of the SI unit, cd/ m2, is preferred.
SI unit of luminance. The name nit is sometimes
used for this unit.
candle
cd
The unit of luminous intensity has been given
the name candela; use of the name candle for this
unit is deprecated.
centi
c
SI prefix for 10-2.
centimeter
cm
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Symbols for Units in General Use (Cont’d)
Symbol Notes
Unit
centipoise
cP
1 cP = 1 mPa • s. The name is deprecated (see
ANSI Z210.1-1976).
1 cst = 1 mm2/ s. The name centistokes is
deprecated (see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
centistokes
cSt
circular mil
cmil
C
1 cmil = (Π/ 4) • 10-6 in2
coulomb
SI unit of electric charge.
cubic centimeter
cubic foot
cm3
ft3
cubic foot per minute
cubic foot per second
cubic inch
ft3/ min
ft3/ s
in3
cubic meter
m3
cubic meter per second
cubic yard
m3/ s
yd3
Ci
curie
A unit of activity of radionuclide. Use of the
SI unit, the becquerel, is preferred, 1 Ci = 3.7 x
1010 Bq.
cycle
c
cycle per second
Hz, c/ s
See hertz. The name hertz is internationally
accepted for this unit; the symbol Hz is preferred
to c/ s.
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Symbols for Units in General Use (Cont’d)
Symbol Notes
Unit
darcy
D
1 D = 1 cP (cm/ s) (cm/ atm) = 0.986 923 μm2
A unit of permeability of a porous medium. By
traditional definition, a permeability of one
darcy will permit a flow of 1 cm3/ s of fluid of 1
cP viscosity through an area of 1 cm2 under a
pressure gradient of 1 atm/ cm. For nonprecision
work 1 D may be taken equal to 1 μm2 and 1 mD
equal to 0.001 μm2. Deprecated
(see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
day
d
d
deci
SI prefix for 10-1.
decibel
dB
degree (plane angle)
degree (temperature):
degree Celsius
. . . °
°C
°F
SI unit of Celsius temperature. The degree
Celsius is a special name for the kelvin, for use in
expressing Celsius temperatures or temperature
intervals.
degree Fahrenheit
Note that the symbols for °C, °F, and °R
comprise two elements, written with no space
between the ° and the letter that follows. The
two elements that make the complete symbol are
not to be separated.
degree Kelvin
degree Rankine
deka
See kelvin.
°R
da
SI prefix for 10.
dyne
dyn
eV
erg
Deprecated (see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
electronvolt
erg
Deprecated (see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
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Symbols for Units in General Use (Cont’d)
Symbol Notes
Unit
exa
E
F
SI prefix for 1016.
farad
SI unit of capacitance.
SI prefix for 10-15.
fem to
f
femtometer
foot
fm
ft
conventional foot of water ftH2O
1 ftH2O = 2989.1 Pa (ISO)
foot per minute
ft/ min
ft/ s
foot per second
foot per second squared
foot pound-force
footcandle
ft/ s2
ft-lbf
fc
1 fc = 1 lm/ ft2. The name lumen per square foot is
also used for this unit. Use of the SI unit of
illuminance, the lux (lumen per square meter), is
preferred.
1 fL . 1/ Π) cd/ ft2. A unit of luminance. One
lumen per square foot leaves a surface whose
luminance is one footlambert in all directions
within a hemisphere. Use of the SI unit, the
candela per square meter, is preferred.
footlambert
fL
1 Gal = 1 cm/ s2 (deprecated,
see ANSI Z210.1 1976).
gal
Gal
gal
gallon
1 galUK = 4.5461 L
1 galUS = 231 in3 = 3.7854 L
gauss
giga
G
G
The gauss is the electromagnetic CGS unit of
magnetic flux density. Deprecated
(see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
SI prefix for 109.
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Symbols for Units in General Use (Cont’d)
Symbol Notes
GeV
Unit
gigaelectronvolt
gigahertz
GHz
Gb
gilbert
The gilbert is the electromagnetic CGS unit of
magnetomotive force. Deprecated
(see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
grain
gr
gram
g
gram per cubic centimeter
gray
g/ cm3
Gy
SI unit of absorbed dose in the field of radiation
dosimetry.
hecto
h
SI prefix for 102.
henry
H
SI unit of inductance.
SI unit of frequency.
hertz
Hz
hp
horsepower
The horsepower is an anachronism in science
and technology. Use of the SI unit of power, the
watt, is preferred.
hour
inch
h
in.
inHg
1 inHg = 3386.4 Pa (ISO)
1 inH2O = 249.09 Pa (ISO)
conventional inch of
mercury
inH2O
conventional inch of
water
inch per second
joule
in/ s
J
SI unit of energy, work, quantity of heat.
SI unit of heat capacity and entropy.
joule per kelvin
kelvin
J/ K
K
In 1967, the CGPM gave the name kelvin to the SI
unit of temperature which had formerly been
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Symbols for Units in General Use (Cont’d)
Symbol Notes
Unit
called degree kelvin and assigned it the symbol K
(without the symbol °).
kilo
k
SI prefix for 103.
kilogauss
kilogram
kilogram-force
kG
kg
Deprecated (see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
SI unit of mass.
kgf
Deprecated (see ANSI Z210.1-1976). In some
countries, the name kilopond (kp) has been used
for this unit.
kilohertz
kHz
kΩ
kilohm
kilometer
km
kilometer per hour
kilopound-force
km/ h
klbf
Kilopound-force should not be misinterpreted as
kilopond (see kilogram-force).
kilovar
kvar
kV
kilovolt
kilovoltampere
kilowatt
kVA
kW
kWh
kn
kilowatthour
knot
Also kW•h
1 kn = 1 nmi/ h
1 L = (1/ Π) cd/ cm2. A CGS unit of luminance.
One lumen per square centimeter leaves a
surface whose luminance is one lambert in all
directions within a hemisphere. Deprecated
(see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
lambert
L
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Symbols for Units in General Use (Cont’d)
Symbol Notes
Unit
1 L = 10-3 m3. The letter symbol l has been
adopted for liter by the CGPM, and it is
liter
L
recommended in a number of international
standards. In 1978, the CIPM accepted L as an
alternative symbol. Because of frequent
confusion with the numeral 1, the letter symbol l
is no longer recommended for USA use (see
Federal Register notice of December 10, 1976).
The script letter Ρ, which had been proposed, is
not recommended as a symbol for liter.
liter per second
lumen
L/ s
lm
SI unit of luminous flux.
lumen per square foot
lm/ ft2
A unit of illuminance and also a unit of luminous
existence. Use of the SI unit, lumen per square
meter, is preferred.
lumen per square meter
lumen per watt
lumen second
lux
lm/ m2
lm/ W
lm•s
lx
SI unit of luminous existence.
SI unit of luminous efficacy.
SI unit of quantity of light.
1 lx = 1 lm/ m2
SI unit of illuminance.
maxwell
Mx
The maxwell is the electromagnetic CGS unit
of magnetic flux. Deprecated
(see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
mega
M
SI prefix for 106.
megaelectronvolt
megahertz
megohm
meter
MeV
MHz
MΩ
m
SI unit of length.
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Symbols for Units in General Use (Cont’d)
Symbol Notes
Unit
metric ton
t
1 t = 1,000 kg. The name tonne is used in some
countries for this unit, but use of this name in the
USA is deprecated (see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
mho
mho
μ
Formerly used as the name of the siemens (S).
SI prefix for 10-6.
micro
microampere
microfarad
microgram
microhenry
microinch
microliter
micrometer
micron
μA
μF
μg
μH
μin
μL
See note for liter.
μm
μm
μs
Deprecated. Use micrometer.
microsecond
microwatt
mil
μW
mil
mi
1 mil = 0.001 in.
1 mi = 5280 ft
mile (statute)
mile per hour
mi/ h
Although use of mph as an abbreviation is
common, it should not be used as a symbol.
milli
m
SI prefix for 10-3
milliampere
millibar
mA
mbar
Use of the bar is strongly discouraged in ANSI
Z210.1, except for limited use in meteorology.
milligram
millihenry
mg
mH
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Symbols for Units in General Use (Cont’d)
Symbol Notes
mL
Unit
milliliter
See note for liter.
millimeter
mm
mmHg
conventional millimeter of
mercury
1 mmHg = 133.322 Pa (deprecated,
see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
millimicron
nm
Use of the name millimicron for the nanometer is
deprecated.
millipascal second
millisecond
mPa•s
ms
SI unit-multiple of dynamic viscosity.
millivolt
mV
mW
...′
milliwatt
minute (plane angle)
minute (time)
min
Time may also be designated by means of
superscripts as in the following example:
9h 46m 30s.
mole
mol
mo
n
SI unit of amount of substance.
month
nano
SI prefix for 10-9.
nanoampere
nanofarad
nanometer
nanosecond
nautical mile
neper
nA
nF
nm
ns
nmi
Np
N
1 nmi = 1852 m
SI unit of force.
newton
newton meter
N•m
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Symbols for Units in General Use (Cont’d)
Unit
newton per square meter
nit
Symbol
N/ m2
Notes
SI unit of pressure or stress, see pascal.
1 nt = 1 cd/ m2
nt
The name nit is sometimes given to the SI unit of
luminance, the candela per square meter.
oersted
Oe
The oersted is the electromagnetic CGS unit of
magnetic field strength. Deprecated
(see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
ohm
SI unit of resistance.
Ω
ounce (avoirdupois)
pascal
oz
Pa
1 Pa = 1 N/ m2
SI unit of pressure or stress.
pascal second
peta
Pa•s
P
SI unit of dynamic viscosity.
SI prefix for 1015
phot
ph
1 ph = lm/ cm2
CGS unit of illuminance. Deprecated
(see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
pico
p
SI prefix for 10-15.
picofarad
picowatt
pint
pF
pW
pt
1 pt (UK) = 0.568 26 L
1 pt (US dry) = 0.550 61 L
1 pt (US liquid) = 0.473 18 L
Deprecated (see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
poise
P
pound
lb
pound per cubic foot
pound-force
lb/ ft3
lbf
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Symbols for Units in General Use (Cont’d)
Symbol Notes
lbf-ft
Unit
pound-force foot
pound-force per square foot
pound-force per square inch
lbf/ ft2
lbf/ in2
Although use of the abbreviation psi is common,
it should not be used as a symbol.
poundal
quart
pdl
qt
1 qt (UK) = 1.136 5 L
1 qt (US dry) = 1.101 2 L
1 qt (US liquid) = 0.946 35 L
rad
rd
A unit of absorbed dose in the field of radiation
dosimetry. Use of the SI unit, the gray, is
preferred. 1 rd = 0.01 Gy.
radian
rem
rad
SI unit of plane angle.
rem
A unit of dose equivalent in the field of radiation
dosimetry. (Use of the SI unit, the sievert, is
preferred. 1 rem = 0.01 Sv)
revolution per minute
r/ min
Although use of rpm as an abbreviation is
common, it should not be used as a symbol.
revolution per second
roentgen
r/ s
R
A unit of exposure in the field of radiation
dosimetry.
second (plane angle)
second (time)
siemens
. . . ′
s
SI unit of time.
-1
S
1 S = 1 Ω
SI unit of conductance. The name mho has been
used for this unit in the USA.
sievert
slug
Sv
SI unit of dose equivalent in the field of radiation
dosimetry. Name adopted by the CIPM in 1978.
slug
1 slug = 14.5039 kg
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Symbols for Units in General Use (Cont’d)
Symbol Notes
Unit
square foot
ft2
square inch
in2
square meter
m2
square meter per second
m2/ s
SI unit of kinematic viscosity.
square millimeter per second mm2/ s
SI unit-multiple of kinematic viscosity.
square yard
steradian
stilb
yd2
sr
SI unit of solid angle.
1 sb = 1 cd/ cm2
sb
A CGS unit of luminance. Deprecated
(see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
stokes
tera
St
T
Deprecated (see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
SI prefix for 1012.
1 T = 1 N/ (A•m) = 1 Wb/ m2. SI unit of magnetic
tesla
T
flux density (magnetic reduction).
therm
thm
ton
t
1 thm = 100,000 Btu
1 ton = 2000 lb
ton (short)
ton, metric
1 t = 1000 kg. The name tonne is used in some
countries for this unit, but use of this name in the
USA is deprecated (see ANSI Z210.1-1976).
(unified) atomic mass unit
u
The (unified) atomic mass unit is defined as one
twelfth of the mass of an atom of the 12C nuclide.
Use of the old atomic mass unit (amu), defined
by reference to oxygen, is deprecated.
var
var
IEC name and symbol for the SI unit of reactive
power.
volt
V
SI unit of voltage.
volt per meter
V/ m
SI unit of electric field strength.
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Symbols for Units in General Use (Cont’d)
Symbol Notes
VA
Unit
voltampere
IEC name and symbol for the SI unit of apparent
power.
watt
W
SI unit of power.
watt per meter kelvin
watt per steradian
W/ (m•K)
W/ sr
SI unit of thermal conductivity.
SI unit of radiant intensity.
SI unit of radiance.
W/ (sr•m2)
watt per steradian square
meter
watthour
weber
Wh
Wb
Wb = V•s
SI unit of magnetic flux.
yard
year
yd
a
In the English language, generally yr.
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