The Correct Use of Acronyms

A Lesson in Self-Restraint

Text messaging has made the use of some
acronyms, like the above one, commonplace.

Let's start off with a little story about Johnny. Once, when Johnny was six, his parents had a Christmas party. Johnny's mother worked hard all day making finger foods and desserts for the guests. As his parents were getting ready, Johnny strolled through the living room, surveying the veritable wonderland of fresh deli meats and sweet baked goods.

Johnny's gaze eventually settled on a gigantic plate of maraschino cherries, which he promptly began eating. After he finished all of them, Johnny moved to the After Eight mints and ate all of those as well. Needless to say, the toxic brew of red dye, preservatives, chocolate, and mint left Johnny's stomach feeling far from wonderful. Johnny did, however, learn a valuable lesson: abuse of anything, even delectable desserts, will accomplish the opposite of what you really wanted in the first place, which is to feel good.

So what does dessert have to do with acronyms and business writing?

Well, think of the lesson Johnny learned. The whole point of using acronyms in your business documents is to make your writing clearer. However, if you misuse/abuse acronyms, you'll accomplish just the opposite, turning your memos and manuals into a confusing brew, much like the one Johnny experienced.

What is an acronym?

Essentially, acronyms are shorter forms of words or phrases that can come in handy when you need to repeat the same word or phrase a number of times throughout the same piece of writing. For example, "World Trade Organization" is often written as "WTO." You can see how writing the three-letter acronym can save you a lot of time and keep your business document from sounding repetitive.

Important things to consider before using an acronym

Short forms aren't always the best way to tackle redundant writing. So, if you're going to use acronyms in your business writing, remember:

• The first time you use an acronym in your document, the words should be written out with the short form placed in parentheses immediately after. This way, it's clear to the reader exactly what the letters mean. Here's an example:

A New World Order (NWO) came into effect after 9/11.

Readers will then be aware that any future reference to the "NWO" in your document really refers to the New World Order. After you've established an acronym in your paper, you must consistently use that acronym in place of the words.

• Always clarify in your own mind the exact definition of each acronym you use. If you define SEM as "scanning electron microscopy" (which is a process), your acronym should refer only to the process throughout your paper. For example, the following sentence would be incorrect if included in the same paper:

 We used an SEM in our experiments.

If you've already defined SEM as standing for the process, you cannot use SEM to refer to the item (i.e., a scanning electron microscope, which you use to perform the process of scanning electron microscopy), even though the first letters of each word are the same. In short, the same acronym can only refer to one thing in a document.

• Remember that many acronyms still require articles (i.e., "a," "an," or "the"). Let's use the New World Order again:

Incorrect: NWO has emerged in the 21st century.

Correct: An NWO has emerged in the 21st century.

Remember that NWO stands for a noun "New World Order," and nouns require articles before them.

If you're confused about whether to use "a" or "an" in front of an acronym that begins with a consonant, remember to speak the acronym out loud. If the first letter of the acronym makes a vowel sound (regardless of whether or not the first letter is actually a vowel), you should use "an." The acronym "NWO" is a perfect example. While "N" is a consonant, it makes the short e sound (i.e., a vowel sound) when you say it. Consequently, "an" should be used. For more help with articles, read the Scribendi.com resource, "Articles: The, A, and An."

• It's also important to remember that while you can sometimes make up acronyms, there are many words/phrases that require acronyms that are established and universal. There are a number of online acronym dictionaries that you can use to search for commonly used acronyms.

• If you're using acronyms in academic writing, remember that some scientific journals require you introduce acronyms once in the abstract of your article and then again upon the first use in the body of the article. Should you be unsure about how to use acronyms when writing an academic article, please refer to your journal's specific requirements.

Too many acronyms can turn your business writing into alphabet soup

Please remember that acronyms should only be used for words or phrases that are repeated a number of times throughout your document. If you use too many acronyms, readers will become confused. Here's an example of extreme acronym usage in a business document:

In the US, the notion of an NWO became popular after the terrorist attacks on the WTC. However, officials in NATO and the WTO rarely refer to an NWO in proceedings relating to the GATT, and it can be said that the MVTO, the MFN clause, and SROs have little to do with an NWO.

As you can see, too many acronyms can make your writing more difficult to understand. If numerous acronyms are necessary, our business document editors recommend including a glossary of acronyms; your readers may then refer to it if they become confused.

TTYL—Save your casual acronyms for text messages

Finally, while you may often ROFL with your bff about the Chem hw that you need to get done ASAP, please remember that acronyms used in instant messaging are rarely, if ever, appropriate for business or professional writing.

Remember that while using acronyms correctly may help readers understand your work more easily, the incorrect use of acronyms could turn your work into a minty, chocolate-cherry-flavored mess. When in doubt, submit your work to Scribendi.com's business document editing service for a fast, professional opinion.