How to Create an Acronym List

Make an acronym list to sort out the abbreviations.

Create an acronym list for your book or report to help clarify the meanings of abbreviated words. In technical and business documents, the use of acronyms and abbreviations can make the report or book read like alphabet soup. Use an acronym list to help keep the information readable and clear.

An acronym list can act as a road map. It lets the writer or editor ensure that the acronyms that are used are being defined correctly and consistently throughout the document.

Things You'll Need

• a document that needs an acronym list
• scrap paper and pen
• computer with Internet
• acronym worksheet, optional

Instructions

1. Decide how often you will define acronyms and abbreviations. For a long book or report, it is a good idea to define acronyms once every chapter or section.

   Often in lengthy documents, each chapter or section stands alone with emphasis on a specific topic covered in just that portion of the text. In this case, the document will be read in chunks, not necessarily from start to finish. Therefore, it is a good idea to define acronyms and abbreviations the first time they're used in each chapter or section. The phrase is defined once per chapter and the acronym is used thereafter in the chapter.

   If the document is shorter and will be read in a sequential manner (from beginning to end), defining each acronym the first time is usually sufficient. The acronym is then used each time thereafter.

2. 

   Get a feel for a document's acronyms. Examples of some common, everyday acronyms follow:

   - ASAP - as soon as possible
   - BLT - bacon, lettuce, and tomato
   - EST - Eastern Standard Time
   - FYI - for your information
   - PR - public relations

   These acronyms are used in text in the following way:

   Can you bring me a bacon, lettuce, and tomato (BLT) sandwich as soon as possible (ASAP)? For your information (FYI), it would be good public relations (PR) for your company if you had it here by 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). Tick tock.

   Of course, in everyday writing we wouldn't actually define these acronyms. This example is how acronyms are spelled out in business and technical documents. The complete phrase is used first with the acronym following immediately in parentheses:

   Eastern Standard Time (EST)

3. Follow the document's style guide or style sheet. There is usually a set style used by a company, organization, or publisher. As the writer or editor on a project, find out what the style is and adhere to its conventions.

   Things covered in style guides include defining words and terms. For example, the term "United States Environmental Protection Agency" can be defined (EPA) or (USEPA) or (U.S. EPA). When in doubt, go to the agency or business website. On their website, the acronym EPA is used. That is the safest way to ensure you employ the correct usage of a specific acronym.

4. Start at the beginning. Begin making your acronym list by starting at the beginning of the document. The first time a phrase is defined as an abbreviation or acronym ensure it is defined in the text.

   For example:

   The master of ceremonies (MC) opened the program on time.

5. Open a new file in Word or whatever word processing program you're using. Type MC then tab and type master of ceremonies. It would look like this:

   MC master of ceremonies

   Only capitalize words that are capitalized in normal usage. The words master of ceremonies is not capitalized unless they serve as a title for a specific person, so they are not capitalized in text or on the list of acronym.

6. 

   Continue adding acronyms or abbreviations to the separate list of acronyms file as you encounter them in the document. Alphabetize them as you go. That is, in this list put the acronyms and abbreviations in alphabetical order:

   EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
   MC master of ceremonies
   SOW statement of work

7. There is another way to create an acronym list instead of typing in the acronyms and definitions in a separate Word file. Create an acronym worksheet. Simply take a blank sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle vertically and horizontally. There will be four squares on the page.

   At the top of each square, write one of the following: A-G, H-N, O-S, T-Z. When you encounter an acronym or abbreviation in the document, write it and the definition in the correct square. Later you can create a Word file using these notes.

Tips & Warnings

• An acronym is a word that forms another word and can be spoken as a word, such as scuba, which stands for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.

• An abbreviation is a shortened version of a word or phrase that stands for the original word or phrase.

• Use your acronym list to verify that you are defining words the same way throughout your document. For example, SOW can stand for statement of work or scope of work. Be consistent and accurate.