Content Matters

Earlier this week I was at a conference where one of the presenters mentioned the ‘acronym soup’ that technical people have created while naming web standards and services (e.g. SOAP, DOM, OWL, XML).

The web is a giant bowl of acronym soup

Unfortunately, it’s not just web standards that are affected. The web is a giant bowl of acronym soup. Government websites are probably the biggest offenders. They dish it up so thick that it sticks in your throat. Take this example from a Queensland government website:

OESR participates in the Queensland Spatial Information Infrastructure Strategy through the QSIIS Information Office (QIO). The QIO is a business unit of OESR and is operated on behalf of the Queensland Spatial Information Infrastructure Council (QSIIC). In striving to achieve the QSIIS vision, the QIO facilitates the delivery of integrated solutions in tandem with Government agencies and the private sector.

Surely I can use acronyms if I define them the first time they appear?

I’m often asked this question, and on the surface it sounds like a perfectly sensible approach. The trouble is that:

• People don’t read web content closely. They may skim over your definition, never noticing it and then never really understanding the strange words dotted throughout your content
• Often more than one acronym is used on a page, and many may be used on a site. Asking users to remember several definitions is asking too much.

Strain the acronyms from your web content, and reduce the strain on your users

Web writers are sometimes worried that spelling out the acronyms leads to longer text, and they’re aware that web text needs to be as concise as possible. I’ve just finished an editing job for a large government department. I rewrote about 50 or 60 pages of web content that was choking with acronyms. Not one remains. And the content is much more concise than it was before.

Here are some examples of how to strain the acronyms from your content without increasing the word count:

Example 1

In this case, I’ve simply removed the acronym (OK, it’s an initialism in this example, but it’s still an instance of the same problem).

Before:

Students must take the National Certification Entrance Examination (NCEE). They must score 60 per cent or more on the NCEE to gain entry to higher education.

After:

Students must take the National Certification Entrance Examination. They must score 60 per cent or more to get into higher education.

Example 2

In this example I’ve replaced the acronym that refers to the organisation’s name with ‘these’ or ‘we’.

Before:

AEI-NOOSR guidelines assess many overseas qualifications at face value, for example, when an overseas Bachelor Degree is compared to the educational level of an Australian Bachelor Degree. However, in other cases, AEI-NOOSR may consider that comparison to a qualification at a different level may more accurately reflect the level of the qualification in Australian terms.

After:

These guidelines assess…
However, in other cases, we may consider that….

Example 3

Let’s return to our original example. As well as removing the acronyms, I’ve tried to simplify the language used.
Before:

OESR participates in the Queensland Spatial Information Infrastructure Strategy through the QSIIS Information Office (QIO). The QIO is a business unit of OESR and is operated on behalf of the Queensland Spatial Information Infrastructure Council (QSIIC). In striving to achieve the QSIIS vision, the QIO facilitates the delivery of integrated solutions in tandem with Government agencies and the private sector..

After:

Our Queensland Information Office is run on behalf of the Queensland Spatial Information Infrastructure Council. Through the Office, we participate in the Queensland Spatial Information Infrastructure Strategy. To achieve the goals set out in the Strategy, our Information Office works with government agencies and the private sector.

I left out the bit about ‘integrated solutions’ because I wasn’t sure what it meant, and it sounds like government-speak to me. If the key thing is government and the private sector working together, then my rewrite will do.

I changed OESR to we, because its clear when looking at this content on their web site, who ‘we’ refers to.

Web writers can’t afford to take the shortcuts offered by acronyms or initialisms

“Overwhelmed with memorising a new and unnatural vocabulary, and bothered by constantly having to flip back and hunt for the first time a defined term’s definition appeared… many will not stick with the document. Don’t let a shortcut for the writer become a roadblock for the reader.”

A Plain English Handbook, US Securities and Exchange Commission

No one wants to work hard to understand online content, and they won’t. If they can’t understand what you’ve written, they’ll go elsewhere. They’ll move to a more costly channel such as email or telephone support, or they may go to your competitor.