Q. What is the proper way of writing in full the initialism OIC (which stands for Officer-In-Charge)?
A. Chicago style often lowercases where other style guides would use caps, so we would write it as officer in charge (OIC).
Q. I’m copyediting some storyboards for kiosk displays in a state park and in the description of a historical site, there’s reference to “2,500 BP.” I know what that means (now that I’ve looked it up), but why not just say “ago”? Should I assume the audience for these displays will know “BP,” or may I suggest simply saying “ago”? (I thought, “British Petroleum,” for Pete’s sake.)
A. It’s a good idea to change it, since visitors to state parks include many people who would have no idea what BP means. But don’t get your hopes up: it’s likely that the state has a style guide and that all its signs conform to that style.
Q. I am writing a Q&A document with 75 questions and answers. Can I abbreviate common phrases (e.g., mental health [MH]) throughout the document, or should each Q&A be treated as independent with no abbreviations in the document?
A. You are in the best position to decide this. Think about whether readers will read all the Q&As straight through or merely browse. Think about whether they are likely to know what an abbreviation means if they click on a question that doesn’t explain it. Make your decision based on how much help most of your readers are likely to need. If it’s feasible for a list of abbreviations to accompany the document, that’s sometimes a good solution.
Q. Dear CMOS, I’ve often encountered “business process outsourcing” abbreviated to BPO whether it’s used as a noun or as an adjective. To my ear, the abbreviation is fine as an adjective but sounds awkward when used and read as a noun, in which case I use the full form. For example, “The company provides IT support and BPO services”—fine. “The company provides services in IT support and business process outsourcing”—fine. “The company provides services in IT support and BPO”—awkward. Is it just me, or does this preference have a sound grammatical basis?
A. It’s just you. Outsourcing is a noun, so there’s nothing wrong with using the initialism as a noun. If your readers are used to the abbreviation, then by spelling it out you are probably just slowing them down.
Q. This is a question of some debate in my organization: which way should the following document (and other similar documents) be abbreviated? Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) or Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) of 2002?
A. If FISMA refers only to the act of 2002, and no other FISM acts were created in other years, then the first version is correct, although somewhat ambiguous. Otherwise, the second version is correct.
Q. CMOS recommends spelling out terms on first mention in each chapter. I’m considering spelling out my commission’s name on first mention in each section and subsection. Do you think that’s overkill? I’m thinking about spelling it out in sections that stand out, such as text boxes or highlighted bullets, because I think the reader would be better served to see the whole name in such isolated cases. We have about a hundred mentions of this long name, so I do want to abbreviate as much as possible.
A. You are smart to consider whether this might be overkill. The Chicago guideline is to spell out a name at the first mention in each chapter because most scholarly books have long chapters, and such a name might appear only once or twice in a book, with a lot of pages in between. Readers will appreciate being reminded. However, if your sections are short, the long name appears a hundred times, and you demand that the name appear in full at every first mention—even if it was spelled out in the section just before—I doubt that readers will find it helpful. In fact, they might wonder if the writer thinks they’re witless. The idea is to provide the full name whenever you think readers need a reminder. If you think some readers will skim through just looking at bullet points and text boxes, spell it out there as well, if there is room.
Q. Based on CMOS 10.4, Los Angeles should appear as LA, but this can create confusion between the city and the state of Louisiana. How then do you treat Los Angeles when you need to abbreviate it?
A. Los Angeles is also abbreviated LA. If you spell out Los Angeles at first mention, it’s not likely that readers will suddenly think you are talking about Louisiana when they encounter “LA,” but in any context where the abbreviation is potentially confusing, avoid using it.
Q. Which is the correct name for a law degree—juris doctor or juris doctorate?
A. Please see CMOS 10.21, which lists JD as “juris doctor.” You can also use a dictionary to check spellings and meanings.
Q. Is it acceptable to use an acronym for the first time in a subheading? Or should an acronym only be used in the information that follows a subheading even if it’s the second time the word appears?
A. Although our mail reveals some demand for a rule in this regard, we can’t think of a good reason to allow or disallow various placements of an acronym. An acronym may be used anywhere it is helpful and not out-and-out ugly.
Q. In running text, what is the preferred way to write “Washington, D.C.”?
A. Use commas:
Washington, D.C., was built on what was essentially swampland.
This recommendation holds true when you use the abbreviations recommended by the US Postal Service and now preferred by Chicago:
To me, Washington, DC, is first and foremost the home of the Smithsonian.