Annoying, convoluted, random, oblique names you make (ACRONYM)—some rules on using acronyms

Rule number one: Don’t use acronyms.

The goal of writing, however, is to communicate your ideas. Sometimes an acronym will convey your thoughts to your audience better than the words it represents.

For example, if I wrote “Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation surgery is a popular way for people to correct their vision,” it might give you pause. Now, if I wrote “Laser surgery is a popular way for people to correct their vision,” you are more likely to understand me.

Here then is some guidance for when you do use acronyms (as always, your style manual may provide different guidelines).

• Use acronyms sparingly—only if it is one people actually use. Don’t create an acronym because you don’t feel like spelling out a few words.
• Define the acronym on first use, but don’t define an acronym unless it is used again in the document.
• Don’t capitalize the first letter of every word unless it is a proper noun. For example, use “frequently asked questions (FAQ),” not “Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).”
• After an acronym has been defined, always use it and don’t spell it out again.
• Some acronyms (such as laser, radar, and AIDS) are so common that they do not need to be defined and, sometimes, do not need to be capitalized. Check the dictionary or your style manual for guidance.
• Treat the executive summary and appendices as separate documents. So define each acronym anew, but do not bother if it isn’t used again in that section.

Abbreviations and inconsistency: Where is the “V” in ART?

I’m editing a document about HIV/AIDS and, while I can’t stand abbreviations, this example especially bothers me: “antiretrovirals” has the abbreviation “ARV,” but “antiretroviral therapy” is abbreviated “ART.” What happened to the V? To be consistent, shouldn’t it be abbreviated “ARVT?”

Why aren’t abbreviations consistent? Why are there countless rules for the English language, but none for creating abbreviations? People can’t just create punctuation, but abbreviations are made at will.

And why are abbreviations often incorrectly called acronyms. Per The Chicago Manual of Style (rule 15.3, 15th edition):

• It’s only an acronym if just the first letter of each word is used and it’s read as a single word, as in PEPFAR (which stands for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief).
• If an extra letter is thrown in, as with ART and ARV, it’s an abbreviation.
• A term is an initialism if it’s read as a series of letters, such as GRE and ATM

More advice about acronyms

Here are a few pointers about using acronyms:

• Define the acronym when it is first used, spelling it out and then putting the abbreviation in parenthesis—for example, “people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).” Thereafter just use the acronym.
• Don’t capitalize the first letter of each word that comprises an acronym unless it is a proper noun—for example, “return on investment (ROI),” not “Return On Investment (ROI).”
• Don’t define an acronym or use all capital letters if it is a commonly used word (such as laser or radar).
• Don’t define an acronym if it is the standard use of a company’s name (such as IBM).
• Treat the executive summary, main text, and each appendix as separate documents, defining acronyms on their first appearance in each section.
• Don’t use an acronym unless it appears more than once in a document. There’s no need to inundate your readers with acronyms they won’t see again.

For information on defining acronyms, check out my post “Having problems figuring out what the heck that acronym means?”.

Having problems figuring out what the heck that acronym means?

Here are two good resources for looking up acronyms:

• AcronymFinder.com—The site is self-explanatory, but it doesn’t have every acronym.
• Google—Search for the acronym you’re struggling to define and, if it’s not just something an author invented, it’ll be here. Somewhere. Of course, many acronyms have multiple meanings. But if you search for the acronym and include other keywords, such as the author’s name or the subject, you’ll probably find the definition.