When to Abbreviate, Etc.

When is it appropriate to abbreviate words? The answer to this question, as with many matters in writing, is not a simple one: It depends on type of content and the degree of the content’s formality.

In technical publications and scholarly journals, abbreviation of statistical information or references to dimensions and durations abounds. Furthermore, the American Medical Association’s manual of style dictates that periods be omitted in many abbreviations. However, in general content intended for professional publication, consider whether to abbreviate, especially in contexts in which multiple various abbreviations might be distracting.

Social titles such as Mr., Mrs., and Ms., are usually superfluous altogether but are abbreviated when they appear, except in generic usage such as “Hey, mister!” Doctor is abbreviated before a name but otherwise spelled out, as is saint. (Note, however, that cities and other geographic designations differ in using Saint or St.; consult a resource to verify the correct style for a particular location.) Military and quasi-military ranks are spelled out or abbreviated depending on context, but as with other titles, they should be spelled out in isolation (for example, “The captain returned the salute”).

Regarding i.e., that abbreviation and its close cousins e.g. and etc. are convenient, but they are no improvement on the English equivalents (“that is,” “for example,” and “and so on,” respectively). Style for scholarly journals is to use the abbreviations in parentheses and spell out the English phrases outside parentheses, but this distinction is not recommended for general-interest publications; avoid them altogether.

Names of countries and other geopolitical entities are usually spelled out as nouns but abbreviated as adjectives (“the United States,” but “the US economy”); note in the previous example that periods in such designations, as in most other capitalized abbreviations, are unnecessary. Designations of thoroughfares, like many other words, can be abbreviated in lists or in graphics where space is at a premium, but generally spell out such terms as avenue, road, and street even when they are part of an address.

Titles of senior corporate executives—CEO, COO, and CIO, for instance—are almost always abbreviated in all references, but VP (“vice president”), SVP (“senior vice president”), and the like are generally spelled out in all instances. Corporate terms such as PR (“public relations”) and HR (“human resources”) can be spelled out or abbreviated depending on context; they’re likely to be spelled out in a formal report and probably will be abbreviated in a casual reference in a mass-market book.

Academic degrees are often abbreviated after a person’s name, but it’s better to refer to someone receiving a bachelor’s or master’s degree or a doctorate rather than a BA, an MA, or a PhD. Likewise, “curriculum vita,” or the plural form “curriculum vitae,” is preferable to CV.

References to media such as CDs and DVDs are ubiquitous (or at least were before they began to give way to online access to music and films), and there’s no need to spell those initialisms out. (You’d likely have to look up that DVD originally stood for “digital video disc,” though the second word has since been supplanted by versatile. And who knows, or cares, that URL stands for “universal resource locator”? The initialism will do in all cases.) However, words for parts of a book or other printed publication should be spelled out (for example, “In my copy, chapter 6 starts on page 47”), and MS or ms, for manuscript, should be used only in informal contexts.

No. is sometimes used as an abbreviation for number in phrases such as “No. 1”; it’s a compromise between spelling the word out and using the number symbol (#).

The abbreviation for versus, vs., is acceptable in informal content, as is OK. (Okay is a common variant, but the initials are more accurate; the most likely derivation of OK is the jocular misspelling “oll korrect,” the only survivor of a short-lived flurry of such locutions coined during the nineteenth century.)

Terms of distance and duration, such as foot and hour, are generally spelled out when accompanying numerals except in technical writing, as are designations such as Celsius and Fahrenheit; the same is true of phrases such as “miles per hour” and “pounds per square inch.” However, the abbreviations am and pm, often capitalized and/or with periods, are always acceptable, though a phrase such as “one o’clock in the morning” is appropriate for a casual reference in fiction or nonfiction.

Abbreviations are much more likely to be employed in ephemeral publications such as newspapers than in more durable materials such as books, though formality varies widely in the latter format; online usage differs as well. Ultimately, the careful writer will consult a style guide appropriate to the type of print or online publication for guidance or at least will consciously consider the visual and cognitive impact of abbreviation.

 DailyWritingTips.com

How to Write Copy People Will Actually Read

You’ve found your way to this article, but you probably won’t read it start to finish.

You’ve read the stats. According to Copyblogger, 80% of people will read a headline, but only 20% read the body. 38% of people who click on a site will leave before engaging with the content at all. People will share copy, effectively vouching for its quality, when they’ve only read 25% of it.

Does this mean no one reads anymore? Has the Internet killed literacy? Not quite, but it has given birth to a generation of scanners. [Tweeters!] That is, people who scan articles and landing pages to get the “gist” or find a section they’re especially interested in.

Why Does Scanning Matter?

People don’t read the way they used to. Why? There are a few different reasons…

1. Attention spans are shorter than ever. In 2000, the average attention span for a human was 12 seconds. Today? A recent study found that our attention span is a mere 8 seconds. To compare, a goldfish has a 9 second attention span.
2. We’re busier than ever. The amount of time Americans spend at work, on average, is actually declining, but the convergence of work life and personal life leaves us with an “always on” mentality. As a result, we feel “busier than ever”. Far too busy to read an entire landing page or email or article.
3. Content overload is real. 41% of people surveyed claim to feel overwhelmed by the many choices online. Instead, they turn to friends for content and product recommendations.

So, how do people read now?

 “In today’s world people are suffering from content overload. People rarely read, they scan/skim through content and dive in areas they find interesting.”

If you want people to actually read, every line of copy should pass a cost-benefit test…

• Cost – How much time will this take? How difficult will it be to read?
• Benefit – What’s in it for me? What will I learn or gain from reading this?

Do the Old Copy Rules Still Apply?

So, do any of the old school copy rules still apply? Of course. This is an evolution of how copy is consumed, not how it is crafted.

Two core rules still apply: (1) you must secure interest and (2) you must do so as quickly as possible.

The bottomline is that people read copy they’re interested in. If your copy is compelling and intriguing, your visitors are going to read it.

Of course, securing that interest as quickly as possible is key. People make snap decisions, so if you don’t have them hooked in the first 8 seconds, you’ve likely already lost them.

However, they likely aren’t interested in all of your copy. Instead, they will scan your copy and read only the sections they’re interested in.

For example, let’s say you found Evergage because you’re interested in targeting certain visitors for personalization.

From: Shanelle Mullin

Writing Nonfiction

Eight preparatory steps necessary to successfully write a nonfiction book.

1. Choose your topic.

The first thing you want to do as you prepare to write a nonfiction book is choose a topic for your project carefully. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it really isn’t.

2. Create a Content Plan

Create an outline or a table of contents for you book. This ends up looking like a table of contents—actually a rather detailed table of contents with chapter titles and subheading titles. You might prefer to just create a simple outline or a bulleted list.

Whatever your method of choice, create something that looks like the structure of a book—a table of contents. And know what content will fill that structure as you create your manuscript. That’s your map.

Then, when you sit down to write each day, you know exactly what to write. In fact, the more detailed you make this plan, the more quickly and easily you will write your book. You will spend little time staring at your computer screen wondering what to write or what comes next. You will know. It will be right there in your writing plan. You’ll just follow the map—your table of contents—to your destination.

3. Determine What Research You Need

You might think you can write your book “off the top of your head” because you are the expert on the topic. Inevitably, though, you will discover a need to search for something—a URL, a quote, the title of a book. These things can slow down your process. This is where preparation can help keep your fingers on the keyboard typing rather than perusing the Internet.

For each item in your plan—or your detailed table of contents, brainstorm the possible research you need and make note of it.

As you write, if you discover you need more research or interviews, don’t stop writing. Instead, create brackets in your manuscript that say [research here] and highlight them in yellow. Later, do a search for the term “research,” and fill in the gaps.

4. Create a To-Do List

Look over your content plan. Take all the research items you listed and put them on a to-do list.

Make a list of URLs, books and articles to find. Look for anything you need to do. For instance, does your research require that you visit a certain location? If so, put “Visit XX” on the to do list.

Don’t forget to put interviews on this list. You want to conduct your interviews now.

5. Gather and Organize Your Materials

Gather as much of your research and other necessary material as you can prior to the end of October. Purchase the books, copy the articles into Evernote.com, copy and past the URLs into a Word doc, or drag them into Scrivener’s research folder, for instance. Get your interviews transcribed as well—and read through them with a highlighter, marking the quotes you think you want to use.

If you are writing memoir, you might want to gather photos, journals and other memorabilia. If you are repurposing blog posts, or reusing any other previously published or written material, you want to put all of this in one place—an online folder, a Scrivener file or a Word file.

Generally, get as much of what you need to write your book in an easily accessible format and location so you aren’t searching for it when you should be writing. Use piles, boxes, hanging folders, computer folders, cloud storage…whatever works best for you.

6. Determine How Much Time You Need

Each nonfiction book is different and requires a different amount of time to write. A research based book takes longer to write, for example, because you have to study, evaluate and determine your opinion of the studies. You have to read the interviews you conducted, choose appropriate quotes and then work those quotes into your manuscript.

If, on the other hand, you write from your own experiences, this take less time. With the exception of drawing on anecdotes, an occasional quote or bit of information from a book, the material all comes from your head. You need only sit down and write about a process you created, your own life story or your area of expertise.

7. Create a Writing Schedule

Last, create a writing schedule. You now know how much time you need to write your book. Now find those hours in your calendar and block them off. Make those hours sacred.

8. Put a Back-Up System in Place.

Yes…this is my last tip, because you just never know what happens. Your computer crashes or dies. You accidentally delete your whole manuscript. Your child dumps milk all over your keyboard.

You want a back up of your project. Always save it to your computer’s drive and onto a thumb drive or, better yet, into the cloud, for safe keeping! Make these plans in advance as well. You can use Evernote.com, Dropbox.com or Google Drive, for example.

The Oxford Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science

The Simonyi Professorship Chair for the Public Understanding of Science was founded in 1995, by a donation from Dr Charles Simonyi. It is currently held by Professor Marcus du Sautoy, and based at Oxford University’s Mathematical Institute and Department for Continuing Education.

Aims

The aim of the Simonyi Professorship is to contribute to the understanding of science by the public. The chair is intended to be filled by a scientist of distinction in their field of expertise, and the Simonyi Professor may hold the post while also pursuing their scientific work. Just as important as scientific accolade is that he or she has a talent and interest in communicating science to a wide audience.

Primary goals

The task of communicating science to the layman is not a simple one. In particular it is imperative for the post holder to avoid oversimplifying ideas, and presenting exaggerated claims. The limits of current scientific knowledge should always be made clear to the public. Once done so, however, there is also a role for presenting speculative ideas, which can convey to non-scientists some of the excitement of doing true science.

From Charles Simonyi's Manifesto

“The chair is for ‘Public Understanding of Science’, that the holder will be expected to make important contributions to the public understanding of some scientific field rather than study the public’s perception of the same. By ‘public’ we mean the largest possible audience, provided, however, that people who have the power and ability to propagate or oppose the ideas (especially scholars in other sciences and in humanities, engineers, journalists, politicians, professionals, and artists) are not lost in the process. Here it is useful to distinguish between the roles of scholars and popularisers. The university chair is intended for accomplished scholars who have made original contributions to their field, and who are able to grasp the subject, when necessary, at the highest levels of abstraction. A populariser, on the other hand, focuses mainly on the size of the audience and frequently gets separated from the world of scholarship. Popularisers often write on immediate concerns or even fads. In some cases they seduce less educated audiences by offering a patronizingly oversimplified or exaggerated view of the state of the art or the scientific process itself. This is best seen in hindsight, as we remember the ‘giant brains’ computer books of yesteryear but I suspect many current science books will in time be recognized as having fallen into this category. While the role of populariser may still be valuable, nevertheless it is not one supported by this chair. The public’s expectation of scholars is high, and it is only fitting that we have a high expectation of the public.: