Grammar & Style: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:04, 18 March 2024

Acronym Use

One of the main tenets of plain language is to minimize the use of acronyms because they often distract the reader. We acknowledge that the ship has sailed on this rule in the Planning Department and many other government institutions.

Think about whether your use of an acronym is already known to the public or whether you can substitute a simple word or phrase that stands for the name.

If not, here are some guidelines to make life easier for your reader:

Spell out the full name on first reference and include the acronym in all capital letters in parenthesis immediately following the full name.
If the acronym is in a long document, spell out the first reference in each chapter, and again periodically if the acronym is so far from the first reference the reader may not remember it.
If a name is only referred to once in the document, do not include the acronym.
There are no periods in an acronym, except for those that end in a lowercase letter.

Examples:

✓ a.m. ✗ am

✓ et al. ✗ et al

✓ vol. ✗ vol

There are no articles before an acronym (a, an, or the), even at the beginning of a sentence. Exception: The M-NCPPC report.

Examples:


✓	✗
DER approved the report.	The DER approved the report.
He read the DER-approved report.	He read DER-approved report.
M-NCPPC completed its report on the county trail networks.	The M-NCPPC completed its report on the county trail networks.
The M-NCPPC employee presented the report on county trail networks.	M-NCPPC employee presented the report on county trail networks.

M-NCPPC

Below are a few rules about using The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission name and the acronym:

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-<nowiki>*</nowiki>Please note that this section deals with acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms. For ease of understanding, we will refer to these items by the common names "acronyms" and "abbreviations."
 == Acronym Use ==
 One of the main tenets of plain language is to minimize the use of acronyms because they often distract the reader. We acknowledge that the ship has sailed on this rule in the Planning Department and many other government institutions.
@@ Line 10: / Line 9: @@
 * '''Spell out the full name on first reference''' and include the acronym in all capital letters in parenthesis immediately following the full name.
 * If the acronym is in a long document, spell out the first reference in each chapter, and again periodically if the acronym is so far from the first reference the reader may not remember it.
-* If a name is only referred to '''once''' in the document, '''<u>do not use an acronym</u>'''.
+* <u>'''If a name is only referred to once in the document, do not include the acronym'''</u>.
 * There are no periods in an acronym, except for those that end in a lowercase letter.
 '''Examples:'''
@@ Line 20: / Line 19: @@
 <span style="color: green;font-size: 24px;">✓</span> vol.   <span style="color: red;font-size: 24px;">✗</span> vol
-* There are '''no articles before an acronym (a, an, or the)''', even at the beginning of a sentence. ('''Exception'''- when the acronym is used as a modifier: " but "")
+* There are '''no articles before an acronym (a, an, or the)''', even at the beginning of a sentence. '''Exception:''' The M-NCPPC report.
 '''Examples:'''
@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 |}
-* Only acronyms that are proper nouns have capitals:<br />
+== M-NCPPC ==
+Below are a few rules about using The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission name and the acronym:
-e Planning Board may allow the developer to assign the development agreement within 14 days of the application. The board must give written consent prior to the assignment. The board cannot withhold consent without reasonable justification."