Abbrevations

Acronyms are often used in academic writing in order to avoid the repetitive use of long cumbersome titles. Acronyms are defined as words formed by the first letters of words in a name or title. Typically acronyms do not involve the use of periods after each letter in the title; instead the capitalized first letters of the words in the title appear together as one “word.”. Also in order to avoid confusion for the readers you must find ways to define the acronyms that you use. This is important because acronyms can have multiple meanings. For example NATO has also been used to represent North African Theater of Operations and National Association of Theatre Owners Inc. among others. Moreover ASAP has been used to represent Army Substance Abuse Program and Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel among others. Clearly the use of acronyms without proper definition can create confusion for your reader.