Learn English – Shortening a frequently used phrase in a paper

abbreviationsparenthesesphrases

What is the correct term for referring to something as X throughout the remainder of a paper/article? For instance, I'm writing a mock memorandum to a client in a tax class I'm taking and I would like to refer to the phrase "our meeting that took place on 10/10/14" as "Our Meeting". Is there a certain format that needs to be followed for it to be done correctly?

Best Answer

Several methods are used to specify a short phrase that stands for a longer one; the sort of method used may depend on context.

In a mathematical context, one can say “Let XYZ stand for the condition that ...”, where XYZ is the short phrase being defined; or can say “Let XYZ denote ...” or “Let XYZ be defined as ...” or “Define XYZ ...”. Some of those forms may work in your context as well.

In legal contexts, short forms are often shown in parentheses following the longer form, along with the word hereafter; for example:

Regarding our meeting that took place on 10 October 2014 (hereafter, “our Meeting”) ...

Various constructions with hereafter and parentheses may be seen among results of a Google search for hereafter the client. Some constructions add designated as or referred to as following hereafter.

In non-formal documents, you can phrase things less legalistically, as in either of the following forms.

In the rest of this memo, I'll write “our Meeting” in place of “our meeting of 10 October 2014”.
In the rest of this memo, by “our Meeting” I mean our meeting of 10 October 2014.

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