Questions tagged [acronyms]
This tag should be used for questions about the usage of acronyms in writing, such as how acronyms should be used in academic writing or whether they have a place in fiction.
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Should I use acronyms in dialogues before telling the readers what it stands for in fiction?
There are occasions where you basically just start a chapter with a short descriptive passage and go straight to dialogues, so in those situations I am not sure how to deal with acronyms in dialogues.
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Acronyms in Technical Writing
I can't find a standard, is the most common use to have the abbreviation followed by the defintion?
Example
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
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An organization writes its acronym in lower-case - do I have to, too?
I'm writing an article that includes reference to an organization - let's say National Ecological Council of Concerned Citizens - which, instead of NECOCC, uses the acronym necocc, i.e. lower-case ...
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Is it legal to name a character in a story after a disguised trademark?
I'm writing a sci-fi book series. As a true nerd, I want to use some characters to "do homage" to famous scientists, acronyms for experimental methods, and (here's the question) trademarked ...
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Should I translate foreign names of companies, organisations, political parties etc?
Is it okay to keep foreign names of companies, organisations, etc even if they have official English translations?
Example 1:
A now defunct limited company in Sweden "Norrbottens Järnverk AB" has ...
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Is it good style to use Latin phrases in English scientific literature?
I don't know how much and deep actual school kids in the US get in touch with Latin. In Europe you can choose it in many high schools and the use of it is common in mainstream media. For some areas of ...
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Is there a better way to introduce acronyms through a dialogue?
Is there a better way to introduce acronyms through a dialogue? One way of doing it, is to mention what the acronym stands for at the beginning and then use the acronym afterward, but that's a bit ...
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How do you introduce acronyms in a comic book?
How do you introduce acronyms in a comic book? For example, CIA means Central Intelligence Agency, but no one will say "Central Intelligence Agency", they will say "CIA". Likewise, ...
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Should I re-introduce acronyms in important section and write them out in the section's title?
I am writing a paper about a super machine (SM). In the introduction section I am briefly introducing the concept and also the acronym. Then, later in the text, I have a full section which explains SM ...
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How can I write acronyms in fiction?
I'm wondering whether I can use acronyms without the period between each letter in fiction writing. Adding the period seems kind of clunky and stops the flow of the sentence a little but I don't want ...
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How do you transcribe a dialogue when abbreviations are used?
How do you transcribe a dialogue when abbreviations are used?
For example, when people uses acronyms like FBI or abbreviations like a.m., do we just write them as we write them when they're in a ...
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Spaces within abbreviations, acronyms, and initials
I have come across examples supporting both spaced as well as non-spaced examples and that's what confuses me. I want to understand what the standard practice is as endorsed by any of the major style ...
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Is it correct to use acronyms in a bio or should I omit it?
In writing a bio in a technical context, like an author blurb in a publication, should I use acronyms or spell them out? Always? Depending on the context?
For example:
Degrees: BS, MS, PhD, MCC
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Should I write "also known as" in full or as an acronym (aka)?
Example:
It was located in the East Coast National Scenic Area, also known as
China's Last Unspoiled Land.
Is that how it should be written? Should I put it in quotes? Should I write it in ...
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Having an acronym for a villainous organization
I have this organization in my working book called NOVA.
And it means National Occupation Variation Association.
they basically take people from their homes and families and force them to work on ...
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Is there a way to cite sources without the full name, for example by using an acronym, in MLA format?
My teacher is making us do MLA and I don't like how intrusive to my writing it is to have to cite a long article title. For example, in my last essay, we were required to use The Universal Declaration ...
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Where to put acronym/abbreviation explanation?
I'm writing my thesis, and I use some acronyms in it.
For example "MDBs" = "Multilateral Development Banks".
Usually, I write "Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)" the first time I cite it and ...
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What should appear in the List of Acronyms?
In a scientific publication (e.g., textbook, report, or thesis), it is a best practice to spell out the acronym at the very first occurrence in the text. For the following occurrences, the reader is ...
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Acronym issue transitioning from prose to dialogue
I am writing fiction.
There is a group called the Mental Health Access and Referral Team. In prose, I can either use M-HART or MHART. In dialogue, I'm a bit stumped. (I use The Chicago Manual of ...
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What does "MC" in section break mean?
I saw - I think at least a few times now - authors separating sections of a story with
~MC~MC~MC~
or something similar. What does that mean? Is it an acronym for something, or just some odd ...
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Why are Americans obsessed with acronyms, abreviations and initials? [closed]
If anybody has an answer to this question I'd love to hear it. And, yes, it is on topic because I've used the obsession in a story.
Here's the thing . . .
There's a difference between text and ...
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