How To Use Etc In Formal Writing

Remember et means and.

How to use etc in formal writing. If it is at the end of the sentence. Ends in a period even midsentence. And et cetera is redundant. Don t use a comma after etc. Is appropriate is to substitute and so on or and so forth.

You should never use and et cetera. You can write etc ie and eg with or without full stops. If those synonyms make sense you can use etc. How to use correct punctuation. But make sure you pick one style for all abbreviations and stick to it.

If it is in parentheses in the middle of a sentence or at the end of a sentence no comma is needed. A formal writing style shows a limited range of emotions and avoids emotive punctuation such as exclamation points ellipsis etc unless they are being cited from another source. If you re unsure ditch the latin. A good way to test whether etc. Is from the latin et cetera which means and other things.

Writers use it to say and so on or i could go on or you get the idea. To use etc correctly use it in instances where you would say and so forth for example if you are making a list of possible desserts and want to express that there could be more items than the ones you have listed write cakes cupcakes ice cream etc do not use etc more than once and do not use etc to refer to people. Full words no contractions should be used to simplify words in other words use it is rather than it s. Abbreviations must be spelt out in full when first used the only exceptions being when the acronym is better known than the full name bbc itv or nato for example. It appears at the end of a list when there is no point in giving more examples.

And etc is best avoided too if you can. This rule is quite simple.