Choose acronyms and initialisms people will recognise

Acronyms comprise the initial letters (and sometimes syllables) of the words in a term and are pronounced as a word.

Initialisms comprise the initial letters (or sounds) of the words in a term and are pronounced as letters, not as a word.

Some shortened forms are a combination of an initialism and an acronym.

Acronyms and initialisms are common in formal content. If understood by users, they can make content easier to use. They communicate terms in as few letters as possible to make content easier and faster to read.

When preparing content for well-established publications, such as professional journals, look at the author guidelines and examples of the content. This will show whether using acronyms and initialisms is appropriate and, if so, which shortened forms are used.

Explain acronyms and initialisms to all users

People unfamiliar with certain terms might not understand their shortened forms. Acronyms and initialisms might also be misread by screen readers.

To make sure all shortened forms are accessible:

• Define them the first time you use them in content (unless you’re certain all users will understand them without a definition – consult a dictionary first).
• Include them with their spelt-out forms in the glossary. This is particularly important if the content contains many specialist shortened forms.

Spell out most acronyms on first use

If there’s a chance users won’t know the meaning of an acronym or initialism, define it at first mention. Write the term in full first and follow with the acronym or initialism in parentheses. Use the shortened form rather than the full term for later mentions.

Write well-known acronyms or initialisms first and follow with the full term in parentheses.

You don’t need to define some acronyms and initialisms on first use. These include:

• some place names (NT, ACT)
• time of day (am, pm)
• some organisational names (BHP, Qantas)
• terms that began as acronyms but are now words in their own right (radar, scuba, sonar).

Repeat the full term if the user needs it

If you use the shortened form only a few times in long-form content, consider writing out the full term more than once.

People could come across the shortened form without reading the text where it is first defined. For example, a user might click straight to a section that only includes the shortened form.

Check the correct shortened form for government organisations

The names of government departments are often shortened, but not always in the same way.

Rather than using acronyms or initialisms, it can be easier for people if you:

• spell out the agency’s name in full the first time you use it
• then use the generic name (‘department’, ‘agency’, ‘bureau’) afterwards.

This is usually more useful to non-specialist users.

Include a list if content relies on many acronyms and initialisms

For content with many specialised acronyms and initialisms, provide a glossary – a list of terms and their meaning that users can refer to.

Include the glossary at the end of the content or on a separate webpage. Use a hyperlink in the text to help people access the glossary.

You don’t need to include a glossary if:

• there are only a few unfamiliar shortened forms
• each one is only in a very limited section of text
• each one is spelt out when first mentioned.

Don’t end acronyms and initialisms with a full stop

Don’t place a full stop after the acronym or initialism.

The exception is if the shortened form ends a sentence and isn’t followed by another punctuation mark.

Use capitals for most acronyms and initialisms

Acronyms are usually all capitals, but use lower case for some familiar acronyms (taser, captcha, laser). Use an initial capital for familiar acronyms that are proper nouns (Qantas, Anzac).

Initialisms are often all upper case (VOIP, FOI) but there are exceptions (bpm). Consult a dictionary if you’re unsure of the capitalisation.

If the acronym or initialism represents common nouns, don’t begin each word of the full form with a capital letter.

If the acronym or initialism represents a proper noun, start each word with a capital letter (excluding words such as ‘of’ and ‘and’).

Avoid plural and possessive forms on the first use

Avoid using the plural or possessive of an acronym or initialism when you define it. This makes it easy for users to recognise the shortened form in later content.

Quote acronyms and initialisms the same way as the speaker

When quoting an exact phrase, write exactly what the speaker said. If they used an acronym or initialism, quote it. Show the full term in square brackets if users might not recognise the term or if you haven’t already explained it.