Grammar & Style
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. |
| The M-NCPPC completed its report on the county trail networks. | M-NCPPC completed its report on the county trail networks. |
M-NCPPC
Below are a few reminders to help you remember the correct name for the Commission and its acronym:
| ✓ | ✗ |
|---|---|
| The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission | The Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission |
| The Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission | |
| The Maryland-National Capitol Park and Planning Commission | |
| The Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission | |
| M-NCPPC | The MNCPPC |
Prince George's County
When referring to Prince George's County:
capitalize "County" on second reference. If "county" refers to a different county, keep it lowercase until it is a proper noun (Montgomery County): The County is going to give all employees new cars. Anne Arundel County employees would also like new cars. Annapolis residents are petitioning the county to give them new cars as well. Prince George's County is always spelled out. Do not abbreviate it as PG, PG County, or PG Co.