Acronyms and initialisms

One example is SLU – Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet. The purpose of these abbreviations is to avoid writing a long word/name several times in the same text.

They can be useful, but there are some things you must consider.

• Do not use abbreviations needlessly. If a word/name only appears one time, there is no need to introduce an abbreviation.
• Never assume that the reader understands the abbreviation. Always write the complete word/name the first time it appears in a text.
• Abbreviations pronounced letter by letter, initialisms, are written in capital letters. Example: SLU, CBM. As usual for the genitive, use an apostrophe: SLU’s research, CBM’s work.
• Abbreviations pronounced as a word, acronyms, are written in lowercase with only the first letter in uppercase. Example: Sluss, Fomar.

Read more about abbreviations in the SLU style guide.

Is there anything language-related you would like to read about? Send your suggestions to sprakkoordinator@slu.se.