Technique G97:Providing the first use of an abbreviation immediately before or after the expanded form

Applicability

Any technology containing text.

This technique relates to 3.1.4: Abbreviations (Sufficient when used with G102: Providing the expansion or explanation of an abbreviation).

Description

The objective of this technique is to make the expanded form of an abbreviation available by associating the expanded form with its abbreviation the first time it occurs within a Web page. The expansion of any abbreviation can be found by searching the Web page for the first use.

For English, when shortening a word, phrase or name by means of an abbreviation, initialism, acronym, or other shortened form, it is advisable to provide the full form before providing the abbreviated form. This makes the text easier to read and is advised by many style guides. Other languages may have different conventions.

Note that some abbreviations require explanations rather than expansions. This technique is not appropriate for such abbreviations.

This technique is applied to the first occurrence of an abbreviation in a Web page. When combining multiple resources into a single Web page, the abbreviation would be expanded at the beginning of each resource. In this case, however, using a different technique for providing the expanded form may be more appropriate.

Examples

Other sources

No endorsement implied.

• Chicago Manual of Style - Q&A - Abbreviations

Related Techniques

• G55
• G102
• H28

Tests