Forming acronyms and initialisms

Most acronyms are formed from the first or first few letters of a series of words. They are written in capital letters and do not take points.

ECTS

ESOL

TEFL

If an acronym contains six or more letters, capitalise the initial letter and lowercase the others.

Erasmus

Europol

Unctad

On the other hand, initialisms are usually formed from just the first letters of a series of words. Generally speaking, write them following the upper or lower case pattern of the full term. When the full term is in lower case, they are usually separated by points.

ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System)

Note, however, that the abbreviation plc (public limited company) is always written in lower case but without points.

In higher education, some initialisms representing degree studies combine upper and lower case and do not take points.

Note, too, that an initialism may take capital letters even when the full term does not.

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