A letter I sent to my friends Frank, a scuba diving instructor, and Terry, a radar engineer, came back to me because I didn’t have the right zip code.

You may not know it, but the sentence above has three acronyms in it, specifically SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus), RADAR (radio detection and ranging), and ZIP (zone improvement plan). The respective meanings of these acronyms have become so well-known, most people have forgotten the actual words they stand for. However, in most cases, the words making up an acronym need to be introduced to a reader before the acronym can be put into use.

Maybe it would be helpful to remember what an acronym is and what benefit it provides to both readers and writers. An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as if it were a word itself. It is a time-saving measure, especially for writers. If I’m writing an essay about America’s effort to send a man to the moon, I’ll save a lot of time and space (no pun intended) by referring to NASA instead of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. And anyone writing about advances in optical physics will find it easier to discuss lasers rather than light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.

I agree that the standard way to introduce an acronym is the best way, that is, give the full name of the title or term with the acronym in parentheses and thereafter use the acronym, with the knowledge that the reader will know what it stands for: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Once readers have been introduced to an acronym, stick with it for the rest of the composition. I’ve read essays and articles where an author will go back and forth between the acronym and its full word-for-word name. This defeats the purpose of the acronym as a device to streamline essays and make it easier for writers to present their key points.

Guidelines for other kinds of abbreviations are essentially the same as they are for acronyms. Usually, an abbreviation doesn’t have to be preceded by the whole word from which it is drawn. We know that Dr. is short for doctor, Prof. is short for professor, and Rev. is short for reverend. If there might be some doubt about what an abbreviation stands for, then give the whole name first, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses, just as you would with an acronym: American Automobile Association (AAA), Center for Disease Control (CDC), U.S. Navy (USN).

There are some rules that apply to abbreviations. Do not use abbreviated titles if they don’t accompany someone’s name. Accordingly, it’s okay to say Sen. Smith and Rep. Jones proposed the latest tax-reform bill; it’s wrong to say The sen. and rep. proposed the latest tax-reform bill. Also, give credit for academic degrees either before a person’s name or after, but not both. It’s either Dr. Ted Johnson or Ted Johnson, M.D. but not Dr. Ted Johnson, M.D. Finally, be careful about fashioning your own abbreviations. There are standardized abbreviations for many types of governmental entities, geographic locations, and titles. If you want to refer to a township use twp. (not tshp.); boulevard is abbreviated as blvd. (not boul.); a chief executive officer is a CEO (not a CXO).

Remember, acronyms and abbreviations are designed to make writing and reading easier for the writer and reader, respectively. Using them incorrectly will have the opposite effect, and life is already hard enough for most people.