Short forms

On this page

• Abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms
  • When to use short forms
  • When not to use short forms
  • How to use short forms
  • Provinces and territories
  • Latin abbreviations
• Contractions
  • When to use contractions
  • When not to use contractions

Abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms

Abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms can make content faster to read by using fewer words to convey the same meaning. However, when not used well, content can lose meaning and clarity.

Abbreviation

An abbreviation is the shortening of a word.

Acronym

An acronym is made up of parts of the phrase it stands for and is pronounced as a word.

Initialism

An initialism is made of the first letter of each word and each letter is pronounced separately.

When to use short forms

Use short forms if:

• Your reader is more likely to be familiar with the abbreviation than the complete form
• Analytics data or usability testing determines that people often use and search for the abbreviation, such as GST or RRSP
• Space needs to be saved, such as in a table or chart
• You want to avoid repetition of a long phrase

When not to use short forms

Sometimes using a short form is not possible, or risks confusing your audience.

Avoid using a short form if it:

• Is not commonly known
• Can have multiple meanings
• Is not being used in search
• Does not already exist

If a program or an act does not have a short form or if its short form is not commonly known, you can refer to it as “the program” or “the act,” in lower case instead of repeating the full term or using an abbreviation.

When introducing legal requirements, use the title of the act once, if necessary, and then talk about what people “must” do. The context will make it clear that the things they “must” do are requirements under the act. Don’t use the abbreviation for the act, because it makes the text harder to follow. Close the topic before referring to other obligations under different legislation.

How to use short forms

Research common short form keywords

Check your analytics to find out what short forms your audiences are using to find your content. Some short forms, such as RRSP or TFSA, may be more familiar than other short forms.

Include abbreviations that your audience uses in your metadata (for example, in the description field) to help search engines find your page more easily.

For more information about researching keywords, refer to: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Infozone.

Write the short form in full the first time you use it

Write out any abbreviations, acronyms or initialisms the first time you use them on the page and put the abbreviations in parentheses following the term. This includes headings.

However, when you are using a design template, such as the subway pattern, a slightly different approach may apply. If both the full form and the short form appear in the stacked title (H1) that repeats on each subway page, you only have to write the full form in the content of the index page. On the other subway pages, you can simply use the short form in the content (because the full form appears in the stacked title on each page).

Always use upper-case letters for acronyms or initialisms in their entirety, even if some of the component words or their parts are not normally capitalized.

<main>
		<!-- Navigation menu and first H1 -->
		<nav class="gc-subway provisional">
			<h1>Disability tax credit (DTC)</h1>
			<ul>
				<li><a href="#">[Page 1]</a></li>
				<li><a href="#" class="active">What is the DTC</a></li>
				<li><a href="#">[Page 3]</a></li>
				<li><a href="#">[Page 4]</a></li>
				<li><a href="#">[Page 5]</a></li>
				<li><a href="#">[Page 6]</a></li>
			</ul>
		</nav>

		<!-- Second H1 -->
		<h1 property="name" id="wb-cont" class="gc-thickline">What is the DTC</h1>

		<!-- Page content -->
		<h2>DTC is a non-refundable tax credit</h2>
		<p>The DTC helps reduce the income tax that people with physical or mental impairments, or their supporting family members, may have to pay. It aims to offset some of the costs related to the impairment.</p>
		...
	</main>

Structure content to avoid repeating abbreviations and acronyms

If your content is unavoidably long and you doubt that your readers will remember what act you are talking about, write the name of the act in full again.

If your content contains a lot of abbreviations and acronyms, rethink its structure. Consider placing related content under distinct headings and sections.

Provinces and territories

Only abbreviate provinces if space is a concern, such as in a table or mailing address. Don't use periods when abbreviating provinces.

Latin abbreviations

Avoid using e.g. and i.e. Use clearer alternatives instead, for example:

Write: for example, such as, or like
Don't write: e.g.

Write: that is, in other words
Don't write: i.e.

You may use these abbreviations when space is limited, for example, in a table or a figure.

Do not use the abbreviation etc. It suggests that information provided in a list or series is incomplete, which may confuse your reader.

When you cannot give all the items, introduce them using including or such as.

Contractions

A contraction is a shortened form of a group of words where the omitted letters are replaced by an apostrophe. They’re generally easier to scan than the full form.

When to use contractions

Use common contractions that people use when they speak.

When not to use contractions

Avoid using uncommon or complex contractions because they can decrease understanding.

Don’t use contractions when there is a critical difference between two things, for example, between doing and not doing something.