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The present paper is the text of the seminar held in March 1995 within the program of Doctorate and Master in Applied Linguistics, organized by the Institute of Applied Linguistics of the Pompeu Fabra University. The aim of the aforementioned seminar, conducted by the author of this paper -who is also coauthor of the first dictionary of abbreviations in Catalan (published in 1992)- was to propose criteria for the elaboration of dictionaries of abbreviations. The term "abbreviation" is used by the authors to designate the three kinds of abbreviated representations in a language: abbreviations, symbols and acronyms. In the first place, the general rule for abbreviations is explained, after which a definition of the three categories of abbreviations is given, and these are classified according to their graphic representation, taking into account that this representation may vary depending on the language used. The main characteristics of each category are then described in order to be able to identify them in any text. The presence of abbreviations in different types of dictionaries is also analyzed. In the last section, and following his own experience in this field, the author develops the main points to be borne in mind when working on a dictionary of abbreviations. In reference to this, he analyzes the number of lists of abbreviations, the complexity of arranging them in alphabetical order (because of the use of non-alphabetical symbols, numbers, etc.), the inclusion of abbreviations from other languages which may appear in written texts in the language of the dictionary, the information which should be given in every entry and, finally, he analyzes the inverse lists which refer the expanded term to its corresponding abbreviation.
