Rule of Abbreviations (and Acronyms)*

Scenario

A Key Concept in a Lesson is commonly referred to by the complete name and by a common abbreviation. (See bottom of article for Abbreviation & Acronym definitions)

Action

Do not select two Keywords where one includes the same or similar words in the phrase and the difference between the two phrases is the fact that one is spelled out and one is an abbreviation or an acronym.

Example

Two Keywords appear in the Lesson Record that are very similar or exactly the same. One is the long form of the word from the Key Lesson Concept and one is shortened.  Select only the Keyword with the higher Search Volume (SV). 

Abbreviation:

An abbreviation is any shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase. Did you catch the word any in there? That means abbreviation is the blanket term for all these shortened words we’ve all been using on social media. Rly is a great example … we just took out the vowels—who needs ‘em—and now it’s an abbreviation.  

Abbreviations are all around us, from common titles like Dr. and Prof. to the abbreviations you see on street signs. Specifically, abbreviations are shorter spellings of words and expressions we use every day.

Acronym: 

Acronyms are types of abbreviations. Specifically, an acronym is a specific type of abbreviation formed from the first letters of a multi-word term, name, or phrase, with those letters pronounced together as one term. OPEC—or the O(rganization of) P(etroleum) E(xporting) C(ountries)—is an acronym because we pronounce it as one word, oh-pek.

An acronym is a stand-in for a string of words, usually an organization name, slogan, or something else equally wordy. Unlike abbreviations, they aren't shorter spellings of words—they're made up of the words' initials.

Abbreviation vs Acronym:

The short form of a word, name, or phrase is called an abbreviation and an acronym. Generally, they are formed from the first letter of the basic word. The difference between an abbreviation and an acronym is that an abbreviation is the articulated form of the original word whereas the acronym is a form of a new word. For example, UNESCO, Laser, Radar are some of the acronyms whereas UK, USA, CBI are the abbreviations.

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