CS Lewis and the Premodern Rhetorical Tradition

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

CS Lewis and the Premodern Rhetorical Tradition Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fall 2014 C. S. Lewis and the Premodern Rhetorical Tradition: The Abolition of Man as Rhetoric and Philosophy of Education Nicholas Ryan Pertler Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Pertler, N. (2014). C. S. Lewis and the Premodern Rhetorical Tradition: The Abolition of Man as Rhetoric and Philosophy of Education (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1039 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. C. S. LEWIS AND THE PREMODERN RHETORICAL TRADITION: THE ABOLITION OF MAN AS RHETORIC AND PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Nicholas R. Pertler December 2014 Copyright by Nicholas R. Pertler 2014 C. S. LEWIS AND THE PREMODERN RHETORICAL TRADITION: THE ABOLITION OF MAN AS RHETORIC AND PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION By Nicholas R. Pertler Approved September 5, 2014 ________________________________ ________________________________ Calvin L. Troup, Ph.D. Richard H. Thames, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Communication Associate Professor of Communication & Rhetorical Studies & Rhetorical Studies (Committee Chair) (Committee Member) ________________________________ Janie M. Harden Fritz, Ph.D. Professor of Communication & Rhetorical Studies (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________ James Swindal, Ph.D. Ronald C. Arnett, Ph.D. Dean, McAnulty College and Graduate Chair and Professor, Department of School of Liberal Arts Communication & Rhetorical Studies Professor of Philosophy iii ABSTRACT C. S. LEWIS AND THE PREMODERN RHETORICAL TRADITION: THE ABOLITION OF MAN AS RHETORIC AND PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION By Nicholas R. Pertler December 2014 Dissertation supervised by Calvin L. Troup, Ph.D. This interpretive project begins with the following question: How does The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) function as a rhetoric and philosophy of education to open up meaningful alternatives to modern education? Although Lewis originally composed and delivered the text as three lectures in response to the felt educational concerns of his age, in its published form The Abolition of Man still offers relevant insight on the topic of education in contemporary times. Scholarship on Lewis has yet to fully appreciate exactly how his educational ideals align with the premodern rhetorical tradition, but this project argues that distinctive courses of action emerge by interpreting The Abolition of Man as a rhetoric and philosophy of education from within this framework. The premodern rhetorical tradition understands the importance of moral education for developing the habits that are necessary for practical reason and meaningful iv communal interaction. However, through the worldview of scientism, modern education replaces the authority of this human tradition with the authority of method and technique. When modern education uses the authority of method and technique to replace human tradition, knowledge and values are mediated through the dictates that scientism establishes as valid. Scientism only permits knowledge and values that perpetuate its own authority, thus ignoring the ideals of the premodern rhetorical tradition because they challenge this authority. Lewis tacitly relies upon the educational ideals of the premodern rhetorical tradition to critique the amoral scientism of modern education and to revitalize classical learning attentive to moral values, virtuous action, and practical reason. v DEDICATION To my wife, Alison And to my children, Henry, Miriam, and Abraham vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The completion of this project would have been impossible without the support and continual encouragement of my dear wife, Alison. These pages owe a debt of gratitude to her, along with my children, Henry, Miriam, and Abraham, for the various forms of inspiration they have supplied. I also wish to acknowledge my parents, Rick and Marla, for believing in me and for together training me in the way I should go. My parents have given me the best education of all through the example of their lives. My sincere gratitude goes out to my professors in the Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies at Duquesne University for helping me to cultivate my scholarly agenda. In particular, I owe more than I can say to my dissertation director and mentor Dr. Calvin L. Troup for his constructive contributions to this project and for his role in my overall scholarly formation. I would like to extend my appreciation to the School of Nursing at Azusa Pacific University in San Diego for allowing the context which enabled me to focus on this work. For their charity and support, I wish to recognize my debt to the rest of my friends and family; to my grandparents, siblings, extended family, and in- laws I offer a sincere thank you. Finally, I must acknowledge my profound gratitude for the writings of C. S. Lewis which, throughout the extent of this project, have never ceased to challenge and delight me. Poway, CA vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Dedication .......................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................ vii Chapter 1: C. S. Lewis and the Premodern Rhetorical Tradition ........................................1 1.1: Introduction .............................................................................................................1 1.2: Lewis’s Rhetorical Sensibilities..............................................................................2 1.3: Lewis’s Ethical Rhetoric .........................................................................................6 1.4: Rhetoric in Lewis’s Historical Moment................................................................11 1.5: Scholarship on Lewis’s Rhetoric ..........................................................................16 1.6: Lewis’s Rhetorical Principles ...............................................................................22 1.7: Conclusion ............................................................................................................27 Chapter 2: Education and the Premodern Rhetorical Tradition .........................................31 2.1: Introduction ...........................................................................................................31 2.2: Framing Rhetorical Ideals .....................................................................................32 2.3: Rhetoric in Ancient Greece...................................................................................36 2.4: Rhetoric in Classical Rome...................................................................................42 2.5: Rhetoric in the Middle Ages .................................................................................45 2.6: Precursors to Scholasticism ..................................................................................49 2.7: Medieval Scholasticism and Renaissance Humanism ..........................................52 2.8: Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment .........................................................58 2.9: Modern Education.................................................................................................62 viii 2.10: Conclusion ..........................................................................................................66 Chapter 3: The Abolition of Man: A Rhetoric and Philosophy of Education ....................70 3.1: Introduction ...........................................................................................................70 3.2: The World of Action .............................................................................................71 3.3: Virtue Ethics .........................................................................................................76 3.4: Primacy of the Will ...............................................................................................82 3.5: Objective Value ....................................................................................................87 3.6: Sensus Communis and Natural Law......................................................................95 3.7: Practical Reason (Phronēsis) ..............................................................................102 3.8: Modern Education and Scientism .......................................................................106 3.9: Conclusion ..........................................................................................................111 Chapter 4: The Abolition of Man: At the Intersection of Media Ecology ........................116 4.1: Introduction .........................................................................................................116 4.2: A History of Media Ecology ...............................................................................117
Recommended publications
  • Web Version Inklings Interior.Pmd
    54 Copyright © 2004 The Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University Permanent Things BY J. DARYL CHARLES The Inklings, because they were profoundly out of step with their times, could offer a penetrating critique of contemporary culture and a lucid defense of Christian basics. The wisdom of their vantage point is what T. S. Eliot calls “the permanent things”—those features of the moral order to the cosmos that in turn hold all cultures and eras accountable. ome of the most fertile Christian thinkers in the twentieth century were profoundly out of step with their times. Indeed, their tendency Sto buck “conventional wisdom” causes writers such as the Inklings, but also Dorothy Sayers, G. K. Chesterton, T. S. Eliot, and Evelyn Waugh, to retain immense popularity among North American Christians. These lit- erary prophets offered a penetrating critique of contemporary culture and a lucid defense of Christian basics couched in imaginative and morally rich language. They had a knack for stressing “the permanent things.” While many of their contemporaries, in ways familiar to us, measured intellectual sophisti- cation by how much moral reality they could deny, these poetic apologists were devoted to seeing how much they might recover. While their contemporaries were obsessed with the politics of power, they upheld principle and were supremely sensitive to the need to align themselves with the eternal and the unchanging. C. S. Lewis distinguished between the older approach and the contemporary fashion: “For the wise men of old the cardinal problem had been how to conform the soul to reality, and the solution had been knowledge, self-discipline, and virtue.
    [Show full text]
  • Fiction and Philosophy: the Ideas of C
    Kirkwood: Fiction and Philosophy: The Ideas of C. S. Lewis Fiction and Philosophy: The Ideas of C. S. Lewis Elizabeth Kirkwood Oglethorpe University Presented at the 22nd Annual Conference of the Association of Core Texts and Courses, April 2016 It is not surprising that C. S. Lewis, the author Theof Chronicles of Narnia, would also dabble in the realm of science fiction. Lewis uses the power of narrative in the third book of his sci-fi trilogy,That Hideous Strength, to give flesh to the philosophical ideas he writes about in his non-fiction work,The Abolition of Man. Lewis confirms and critiques several philosophical ideas when he writes The Abolition of Man and That Hideous Strength, including those of Aristotle and Hobbes. InThat Hideous Strength, many of the examinations of these ideas are revealed through the character Mark Studdock, in part because he is an intellectual, and in part because his character arc is perhaps the most dramatic within the narrative. For the most part, however, Lewis uses the exploratory nature of the science fiction genre to play out the potential consequences of Hobbes’ ideas, while affirming his own position as espoused inThe Abolition of Man, and that of Aristotle. In both hisPolitics and The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle speaks at length about life’s purpose being the instilling and pursuit of virtue (Aristotle 77). He believes that virtue is an end in and of itself. Lewis references Aristotle’s philosophy in The Abolition of Man, when he writes about the basic "doctrine of objective value” (Lewis 18) that provides the evaluation of truth.
    [Show full text]
  • Abbreviation with Capital Letters
    Abbreviation With Capital Letters orSometimes relativize beneficentinconsequentially. Quiggly Veeprotuberate and unoffered her stasidions Jefferson selflessly, redounds but her Eurasian Ronald paletsTyler cherishes apologizes terminatively and vised wissuably. aguishly. Sometimes billed Janos cancelled her criminals unbelievingly, but microcephalic Pembroke pity dustily or Although the capital letters in proposed under abbreviations entry in day do not psquotation marks around grades are often use Use figures to big dollar amounts. It is acceptable to secure the acronym CPS in subsequent references. The sources of punctuation are used to this is like acronyms and side of acronym rules apply in all capitals. Two words, no bag, no hyphen. Capitalize the months in all uses. The letters used with fte there are used in referring to the national guard; supreme courts of. As another noun or recognize: one are, no hyphen, not capitalized. Capitalize as be would land the front porch an envelope. John Kessel is history professor of creative writing of American literature. It introduces inconsistencies, no matter how you nurture it. Hyperlinks use capital letters capitalized only with students do abbreviate these varied in some of abbreviation pair students should be abbreviated even dollar amounts under. Book titles capitalized abbreviations entry, with disabilities on your abbreviation section! Word with a letter: honors colleges use an en dash is speaking was a name. It appeared to be become huge success. Consider providing a full explanation each time. In the air national guard, such as well as individual. Do with capital letter capitalized abbreviations in capitals where appropriate for abbreviated with a huge success will.
    [Show full text]
  • Punctuation Rule Sheet
    Punctuation Rule Sheet End Punctuation Rule 1: Use a period at the end of a declarative sentence. (statement) Rule 2: Use a period at the end of an imperative sentence. (command) Rule 3: Use a question mark at the end of the interrogative sentence. (question) Rule 4: Use an exclamation point at the end of an exclamatory sentence. (strong feeling) Rule 5: Use an exclamation point at the end of an interjection. (strong emotion/one or two words) Commas Rule 1: Use commas to separate three or more items in a series. Rule 2: Use a comma to show a pause after an introductory word. Rule 3: Use a comma after two or more prepositional phrases at the beginning of a sentence. Rule 4: Use commas to set off words that interrupt the flow of thought in a sentence. Rule 5: Use commas to set off names use in direct address. Rule 6: Use a comma before and or , or but when it joins simple sentences into a compound sentence. Rule 7: Use a comma after the salutation of a friendly letter and after the closing of both a friendly letter and a business letter. Rule 8: Use a comma to prevent a misreading. Rule 9: Use commas before and after the year when it is used with both the month and the day. Do not use a comma if only the month and the year or the month and the day are given. Rule 10: Use commas before or after the name of a state or a country when it is used with the name of a city.
    [Show full text]
  • An Introduction to Christian Apologetics (1948)
    Christianity has never lacked articulate defenders, but many people today have forgotten their own heritage. Rob Bowman’s book offers readers of all backgrounds an easy point of entry to this deep and vibrant literature. I wish every pastor knew at least this much about the faithful thinkers of past generations! Timothy McGrew Professor of Philosophy, Western Michigan University Director, Library of Historical Apologetics This is a fantastic little book, written by the perfect person to write it. Bowman’s new Faith Thinkers offers a helpful “Who’s Who” of the great Christian apologists of history and is an excellent resource for students of apologetics! James K. Dew President, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Finally—an accessible introduction to many of history’s most in- fluential defenders of the Christian faith and their legacy. Always interesting (and often surprising), Robert Bowman’s Faith Thinkers will give a new generation of readers a greater appreciation for the remarkable men who laid the groundwork for today’s apologetics renaissance. Highly recommended. Paul Carden Executive Director, The Centers for Apologetics Research (CFAR) Faith Thinkers 30 Christian Apologists You Should Know Robert M. Bowman Jr. President, Faith Thinkers Inc. CONTENTS Introduction: Two Thousand Years of Faith Thinkers . 9 Part One: Before the Twentieth Century 1. Luke Acts of the Apostles (c. AD 61) . 15 2. Justin Martyr First Apology (157) . .19 3. Origen Against Celsus (248) . .22 4. Augustine The City of God (426) . 25 5. Anselm of Canterbury Proslogion (1078) . .29 6. Thomas Aquinas Summa Contra Gentiles (1263) . .33 7. John Calvin Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536) .
    [Show full text]
  • C.S. Lewis the Abolition Of
    The Abolition of Man C. S. L’ C E O M A Critical Edition by Michael Ward THE ABOLITION OF MAN C. S. Lewis’s Classic Essay on Objective Morality A Critical Edition by Michael Ward Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast in 1898. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English at Magdalen College, Oxford (1925- 1954) and concluded his career as Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge (1955-1963). In 1931 Lewis converted to Christianity, encouraged by his close friend, J.R.R. Tolkien. He became a popular defender of the faith with works such as The Screwtape Letters (1942) and Mere Christianity (1952). His seven Chronicles of Narnia (1950-1956) achieved huge acclaim and have been translated into over forty different languages. Lewis died at his home in Oxford in 1963. On the fiftieth anniversary of his death, a national memorial in his honour was unveiled in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey. The Abolition of Man originated as a series of lectures given during the Second World War. In this enduringly influential work, Lewis defends the objectivity of value, pointing to the universal moral law that all great philosophical and religious traditions have recognized. We have a responsibility, he maintains, to hand on to our children this generous, fruitful and civilizing ethical inheritance, for it defines our very humanity. * * * * * * * Michael Ward is a Fellow of Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford, and Professor of Apologetics at Houston Baptist University, Texas. He is the author of Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S.
    [Show full text]
  • ABSTRACT C.S. Lewis and the Conversion of the Aeneas Story In
    ABSTRACT C.S. Lewis and the Conversion of the Aeneas Story in the Ransom Trilogy Katherine Grace Hornell Directors: Phillip J. Donnelly, Ph.D. and Alan Jacobs, Ph.D. Many readers of C. S. Lewis’s writing consider his science fiction trilogy an odd divergence from his expected repertoire. Though Lewis’ "Ransom Trilogy" proves distinctive among his works, the books grow from the same deep roots in classical and medieval literary traditions that inform his other writings. Drawing from Virgil, Dante, and Arthurian legend to structure his narrative, Lewis unites ancient myth and modern fiction in order to illumine Classical stories with Christian faith. This thesis considers how Lewis’s science fiction draws on the features of secondary epic and its attendant meanings that appear in the Aeneid and in Arthurian stories. Ultimately, Lewis models how contemporary writers can make old stories live anew. APPROVED BY DIRECTOR OF HONORS THESIS: __________________________________________________ Dr. Phillip J. Donnelly, Department of Great Texts APPROVED BY THE HONORS PROGRAM: ________________________________________________ Dr. Elizabeth Corey, Director DATE: __________________ C.S. LEWIS AND THE CONVERSION OF THE AENEAS STORY IN THE RANSOM TRILOGY A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Baylor University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Honors Program By Katherine Grace Hornell Waco, Texas August 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments………………………………………………………....…………..iii Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….1 Chapter One: Out of the Silent Planet………………………………………………….4 Chapter Two: Perelandra……………………………………………………………..22 Chapter Three: That Hideous Strength………………………………………………..43 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….62 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………..65 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my sincere thanks both to Dr. Alan Jacobs and to Dr. Phillip J.
    [Show full text]
  • The Theme of Desire in the Writings of CS Lewis
    Inklings Forever Volume 6 A Collection of Essays Presented at the Sixth Frances White Ewbank Colloquium on C.S. Lewis & Article 8 Friends 5-29-2008 The Theme of Desire in the Writings of C.S. Lewis: Implications for Spiritual Formation Connie Hintz Loyola University Follow this and additional works at: https://pillars.taylor.edu/inklings_forever Part of the English Language and Literature Commons, History Commons, Philosophy Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Hintz, Connie (2008) "The Theme of Desire in the Writings of C.S. Lewis: Implications for Spiritual Formation," Inklings Forever: Vol. 6 , Article 8. Available at: https://pillars.taylor.edu/inklings_forever/vol6/iss1/8 This Essay is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for the Study of C.S. Lewis & Friends at Pillars at Taylor University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Inklings Forever by an authorized editor of Pillars at Taylor University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INKLINGS FOREVER, Volume VI A Collection of Essays Presented at the Sixth FRANCES WHITE EWBANK COLLOQUIUM on C.S. LEWIS & FRIENDS Taylor University 2008 Upland, Indiana The Theme of Desire in the Writings of C. S. Lewis Implications for Spiritual Formation Connie Hintz Abstract: If we remain faithful to the path of desire, steadfastly refusing all that fails to satisfy, and holding fast to our deepest longing, we can trust it to lead us to life in all its fullness. Drawing on his own experience of following the path of desire to its ultimate destination in God, C. S.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 2. Style
    Chapter 2. Style This chapter addresses a few of the more common or troublesome questions of style in terms of ASA, CSSA, and SSSA publication requirements and guidelines. It only inciden- tally covers English grammar, style, and usage. To improve the quality of your writing, consult this manual and any of the excellent books available that cover grammar, punctuation, and other points of English usage (APA, 2020; Burchfield, 2004; Skillin & Gay, 1974; Strunk & White, 1999; UCP, 2010). The ACS Style Guide (Coghill & Garson, 2006) and Scientific Style and Format (CSE, 2006) address scientific writing and usage in general and provide detailed guidelines and examples within the sciences. Strategies for eliminating awkwardness and cumbersome constructions include writing short, declarative sentences; keeping subjects and verbs as close together as pos- sible; and, given a choice, selecting shorter and simpler rather than longer words (try vs. endeavor, show vs. demonstrate). In addition, a sentence recast in the active voice is often both shorter and clearer than the passive form. ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS Define abbreviations at first mention in the abstract and main text and again in the tables and figures. Provide an alphabetical list of abbreviations, placed after the abstract. The common abbreviations in Table 2–1 do not need definition, nor do SI units (Chapter 7) or chemical element symbols. For commonly used abbreviations and statistics that do not need definition, see Table 4–1. Rules for abbreviating and lists of many accepted abbreviations and acronyms are given in Scientific Style and Format (CSE, 2006, p. 135–140) and in the ACS Style Guide (Coghill & Garson, 2006, Chapter 10).
    [Show full text]
  • ED311449.Pdf
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 311 449 CS 212 093 AUTHOR Baron, Dennis TITLE Declining Grammar--and Other Essays on the English Vocabulary. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, Ill. REPORT NO ISBN-0-8141-1073-8 PUB DATE 89 NOTE :)31p. AVAILABLE FROM National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801 (Stock No. 10738-3020; $9.95 member, $12.95 nonmember). PUB TYPE Books (010) -- Viewpoints (120) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC10 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *English; Gr&mmar; Higher Education; *Language Attitudes; *Language Usage; *Lexicology; Linguistics; *Semantics; *Vocabulary IDENTIFIERS Words ABSTRACT This book contains 25 essays about English words, and how they are defined, valued, and discussed. The book is divided into four sections. The first section, "Language Lore," examines some of the myths and misconceptions that affect attitudes toward language--and towards English in particular. The second section, "Language Usage," examines some specific questions of meaning and usage. Section 3, "Language Trends," examines some controversial r trends in English vocabulary, and some developments too new to have received comment before. The fourth section, "Language Politics," treats several aspects of linguistic politics, from special attempts to deal with the ethnic, religious, or sex-specific elements of vocabulary to the broader issues of language both as a reflection of the public consciousness and the U.S. Constitution and as a refuge for the most private forms of expression. (MS) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY J. Maxwell TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." U S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Abolition of Sanity
    The Abolition of Sanity C.S. Lewis on the Consequences of Modernism STEPHEN R. TURLEY, PH.D. A New Conservative Age is Rising www.TurleyTalks.com Copyright © 2019 by Dr. Steve Turley. All Rights Reserved. ISBN - 9781091268883 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1967 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the author, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01023, (978) 750-8400, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the author for permission should be addressed to [email protected]. Table of Contents Introduction .......................................................................................... v Who Was C.S. Lewis? .......................................................................... 1 The World Around................................................................................ 3 The Abolition of Man: What Others Have Said ..................................... 5 The Abolition of Man: Summary .......................................................... 7 The Abolition of Man: Analysis ......................................................... 11 Famous Quotes ................................................................................... 25 BONUS FEATURE: Questions for
    [Show full text]
  • How to Write a Good Scientific Paper: Acronyms
    How to Write a Good Scientific Paper: Acronyms Chris Mack Downloaded From: http://nanolithography.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 12/02/2012 Terms of Use: http://spiedl.org/terms Editorial How to Write a Good Scientific Paper: Acronyms This is the third in a planned series of editorials covering all 2. Standard abbreviations for measurement units and aspects of good science writing. chemical names that are widely known can be used in the title, abstract, and body of the paper and do The term acronym is the name for a word made from the first not need to be spelled out. letters of each word in a series of words. Some distinguish an 3. Always spell out the acronym the first time it is used in acronym (such as NATO), which is pronounced as a word, the body of the paper. from an initialism (such as FBI), which is pronounced by say- 4. Avoid acronyms in the abstract unless the acronym is ing each letter separately. Most people, however, ignore such commonly understood and used multiple times in the distinctions. The more general term abbreviation includes abstract. If an acronym is used in the abstract, it acronyms but also abbreviations that use letters other than must be spelled out (defined) in the abstract, and “ ” the first letters of a word (such as nm for nanometers or then spelled out again the first time it is used in the “ ” “ ” Mr. for mister ). Here, acronym will be used loosely to body of the paper. mean any abbreviation. 5. Once an acronym has been defined in the body of the Acronyms serve an important purpose in science writing: paper, don’t repeat the definition again.
    [Show full text]