dates

Abbreviate the following months when used with a specific date: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. Abbreviate these also if the month starts a sentence. Spell out months when used alone or with only the year. The conference will be held Aug. 3-5. General Convention is planned for July 2022. Feb. 3 is the deadline to apply for the grant.

The year is not needed in date references within the current 12-month period: The next meeting of the Executive Council will be on Oct. 22. An exception might be for a formal event program or invitation.

When referring to a past or future year, include the year. Set off with commas if including a complete date: The target completion date for the project is Aug. 15, 2030, which will be 10 years after it started.

Do not use ordinal numbers such as 1st, 2nd, 3rd when writing a day of the month.