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Information Systems Department

Information Management Division - Web Standards

Abbreviations & Acronyms

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As web publishers, we should always keep in mind who we are writing for. Some visitors may be listening to our pages and some may be unfamiliar with the subject they are reading.

To accommodate all visitors, we need to be particularly careful with abbreviations and acronyms. In short, they should be avoided whenever possible.

If they must be used, please refer back to the rules you learned in English class.  Where the acronym is first used on the webpage or document:

  • If directly associated with the full title, the abbreviation should follow in parenthesis (e.g., "Project Management Office (PMO)" 
  • From that point forward, you're free to use the acronym alone on the same page or in the same document.