Abbreviations You Should Purge
Everyone knows they should avoid acronyms and abbreviations in proposals.
This is a good idea because it increases the reader’s comprehension of your proposal. When the reader must stop to look up an acronym, or hesitates to digest an abbreviation, comprehension is reduced. The reader should be able to cruise though your prose at a comfortable speed without too many bumps caused by unfamiliar references.
Today I read a good discussion on another list about the use of Latin abbreviations. Among these are the familiar etc., e.g. and i.e.
I hadn’t thought about it, but the case was made that latin abbreviations are a barrier to non-native english readers. Since many of our documents are used globally, this is another area we can improve our writing.
I hate to give up my favorite, n.b., but I guess I can use my attention getting ACTION NEEDED: instead.
- For etc., use ‘and so forth’
- For i.e., use ’such as,’ or ‘in other words’
- For e.g., use ‘for example’
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