When you use an acronym, spell it out the first time, and then add the acronym in parentheses.
▪In a printed manual, the “first time” is the page with the lowest page number. ▪In online help, the “first time” is the topic that will be used either the earliest or the most frequently. When spelling out the acronym, don’t capitalize the words that make up the acronym unless the spelled-out form is a proper noun.
Yes:
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original equipment manufacturer (OEM)
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Yes:
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World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
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If the pronunciation of an acronym isn’t evident, provide a hint.
Yes:
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WYSIWYG (pronounced “wiz-zee-wig”)
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Yes:
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W3C (W three C)
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Use capital letters without periods (exception: some geographic names).
Yes:
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USB
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Yes:
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XML
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Yes:
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EU
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Yes:
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U.S.
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Yes:
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U.K.
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To form the plural of an acronym, add a lowercase s without an apostrophe.
Yes:
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PCs
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Yes:
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CPUs
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Use an apostrophe only if you need to form a possessive of an acronym.
Yes:
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the OEM’s products
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Don’t include a generic term after an acronym if one of the acronym’s letters stands for the same term.
No:
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HTML language
(Note: the letter L already stands for the word language because HTML is the acronym for Hypertext Markup Language.)
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Yes:
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HTML
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Yes:
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Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
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