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Reminder info thread: Do you know the difference between an initialism and an acronym?

An acronym is an invented word made up of the initial letters or syllables of other words, like NASA or NATO.

An initialism is a type of acronym that cannot be pronounced as a word, but must be read letter-by-letter, like FBI or UCLA.

The German word "akronym" means "a new word made up of initials." Thus, Americans adopted the word with the English spelling acronym in the 1940s.

If you adhere to a style preference to distinguish between acronyms (NATO, NASA) and initialisms (FBI, TGIF) then do so. However, it’s not an error to generalize all words and labels created from initials or parts of words under the broad term "acronym."

In the wonderful world of virtual meetings, it is helpful to test out your equipment b efore going online. This website allows you to check your microphone and we**am placement to ensure lighting and audio is at the optimum level.

Microphone Test - Check Your Mic With Our Online Tool | OnlineMicTest An online microphone test to check if your mic is working and properly configured. For Skype and other voice call services, or for any other use.

Punctuation Tip Reminder: Jr. and Junior.

If the word "senior" or "junior" is used to distinguish a father from a son and appears alone or without the surname, using either the word or the abbreviation is acceptable, depending on the context.
Q. Did you read John F. Kennedy?
A. Senior or junior?
Q. John F. Kennedy, Jr.
Q. So you spoke with John Jr.?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you speak with Junior?
A. I did speak to Junior last night.
Q. Were any changes noted for John Sr.'s book?
A. Changes were noted for John Sr. and Jr.
A. Changes were noted for John senior and junior.

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) recommends not using a comma to separate the Jr. and Sr. from the last name. If you list a "junior" with his spouse, the Jr. can go after both names, as in Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Banks Jr. or Mr. Arthur C. Banks Jr. and Gloria Banks, but not Arthur C. and Gloria Banks Jr. You should avoid using a "Jr." or "Sr." when you have only the last name, as in Mr. Banks Jr.

Source:

How Strunk Lost His Comma Chicago style doesn’t require commas when “Jr.” or “Sr.” follows a name. Until just a few decades ago, however, commas were the norm.

Punctuation Tip: Comma or no comma with "so" and "so that."
Before adding a comma, know the difference between "so" and "so that."

"So" is a coordinating conjunction and one of the FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so). When "so" joins two independent clauses (subject and verb), use a comma.
• Mary now has a puppy, so she spends more time cleaning up.
• John helped Sue move, so he spend his weekend lifting boxes.
• I was late, so I missed the meeting.

The term "so that" is a subordinate conjunction and introduces a subordinate clause. No comma is needed with "so that" when it separates two independent clauses.
• The baby cries and sobs so that the mother will pick him up.
• Lou took a hot bath so that he would get relief for his back.

When the "that" is missing, don’t mistake "so that" for "so," thus adding incorrect punctuation. Sometimes only "so" is used, but when the meaning is "so that," do not use a comma.
• The baby cries and sobs so the mother will pick him up.
• Lou took a hot bath so he would get relief for his back.

Here is a tip to help you ascertain the difference. "So" used alone is ambiguous and can mean both "therefore" and "in order that," but "so that" is not. Every occurrence of "so that" can be replaced with "so" without losing meaning, but not vice versa.

Punctuation Tip Reminder: When two numbers are right next to each other, use words for one of them and a numeral for the other.
• She made two 4-pound meatloafs.
• He made five 100-pound cakes.
• We lashed three 6-foot ladders together.

Use letters for the shorter number when written side by side.
• My wife teaches 26 third-grade students.
• There were 10 four-foot boards on the trucks.
• The lab has seventeen 24-inch monitors.
• We need six 50-watt bulbs for this apartment.

Numbers that refer to comparable quantities in close proximity should be treated the same.
• Sam bought 5 apples and 12 oranges at the market.|
• Acme will publish 12 books next year, 1 of which will include 50 chapters.

Items in one category may be given as numerals and items in another spelled out. In other words, use one number style for items in one category and another style for another category.
• Jane read three books with more than 200 pages, twenty books with less than 100 pages, and a hundred articles with fewer than 3 pages.
• A mixture of buildings—one of 103 stories, five of more than 50, and a dozen of only 3 or 4—has been suggested for the area.

Punctuation Tip reminder. Hyphens, Fractions, Numbers.
When writing out numbers with fractions, hyphenate only the fractions unless the construction is a compound adjective.
Correct: The sign is five and one-half feet long.
Correct: A five-and-one-half-foot-long sign.
Incorrect: The sign is five-and-one-half feet long.

Hyphenate all spelled-out fractions, but do not hyphenate fractions introduced with "a" or "an." Examples:
• More than one-third of registered voters oppose it.
• More than a third of registered voters oppose it

According to Margie Wakeman Wells, you choose the way mixed numbers with fractions are transcribed depending on how verbatim you want to be. If it is a mixed number, the rule says that mixed numbers should be transcribed in figures.
• The fence is 18 1/2 feet long.

When “three and three fourths” is said, then this mixed number is in figures, according to Margie Wakeman Wells.
• We need 3 3/4 cups of sugar.

Unit modifier means that the number and the measurement work together as an adjective to modify the noun. In order to be hyphenated, the words must appear directly in front of the noun without an intervening preposition. Arabic numbers with fractions are considered unit modifiers and do not need a hyphen when preceding the noun.
• Mary's sign is 4 1/2 feet in length.

When "a half" is said or "three quarters" is said, "a" and "quarters" are not really numbers. So for those who want to be "verbatim," these numbers must be written out in their entirety.
• It is eighteen and a half feet long.
• We need three and three quarters cups of sugar.

This format is never correct: "72 and a half."

Punctuation Tip Reminder: Capitalization and Abbreviations for Military Rank and Title

Do not capitalize the title or rank of a person when it follows the name. Capitalize only when it precedes a name.
• An Army lieutenant colonel was the chief guest at the function.
• Lieutenant Colonel John Smith was the chief guest at the function.

Some style guides say to abbreviate the title before the name:
• LTC John Smith was the chief guest at the function."

When carrying a military member in colloquy, an abbreviation is used. Consult the branch of the service to find out which abbreviation is appropriate. They are differences, as illustrated below:
ARMY: LTC SMITH: I am pleased to be here today.
MARINES: LtCol SMITH: I am pleased to be here today.
AIR FORCE: Lt Col SMITH: I am pleased to be here today.

Here is one source for Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

Military Ranks Complete listing of current modern world military ranks including the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines services.

Punctuation Tip: Semicolons.

The semicolon can be used between two independent clauses (i.e., clauses that could stand alone as separate sentences) when a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) is omitted.

• John likes chocolate cake; Mary likes vanilla cake.
• Seniors are permitted off campus; freshman must remain on campus.
• Some like it hot; some like it cold.

Technically, in the above-referenced examples, the semicolon could be replaced with a period, since each independent clause is a complete sentence. The semicolon, however, emphasizes the connection between the two clauses.

An elliptical construction is a sentence from which one or more words are omitted for the sake of conciseness. This act of omission is also called "elision." Use the semicolon in an elliptical construction. In this case, the comma serves as an ellipsis, eliminating the need to repeat an understood portion of the initial clause.

• In 1960, McDonald's sold 100,000 hamburgers; 55 years later, 300 billion.
• Redskins has won three Super Bowls; Cowboys, five.

Punctuation Tip: American and British punctuation differences.

In the United States, periods and commas go inside quotation marks. In the United Kingdom, Canada, and countries under the influence of British education, it is the opposite. Many Americans, unfortunately, err and insert the quote mark inside the period.

In American style, you would write: My favorite poem is Robert Frost's "Design." But in England you would write: My favorite poem is Robert Frost's "Design".

The exception for American transcripts is the semicolon, colon, and a quoted statement within a question.

Semicolon --> At the beginning of the study, participants described their dream recall rate as "low to moderate"; at the end, they described it as "moderate to high." [Notice the quote goes inside the semicolon, yet it goes outside when a period is used for an American transcript.]

Colon --> Participants stated they were "excited to begin": We controlled for participants' expectations in our study.

When question mark is not part of a quoted sentence --> How will this study impact participants who stated, "I never remember my dreams"?

Punctuation Tip: Peanut Butter Rule.

Two or more words that describe a noun is a compound modifier aka descriptive adjective. Example: It was a long-term loan. The two adjectives "long" and "term" describe the noun "loan" and require a hyphen.

In a few types of compound modifier rules, the hyphen is wrong. Those in which the first element is a -ly adverb are not hyphenated.

Example: Mary had a beautifully decorated cake.

Sums of money written in combinations of symbols and words do not use hyphens (a $150 million loss), even though fully spelled-out money amounts do (a two-million-dollar house).

And then there is the peanut butter rule. Most do not think about consistency the way we transcriptionists do, and not all style guides agree. Leaving compound modifiers that are in the dictionary open (sans the hyphen) is consistent. This is known as the peanut butter rule.

Example: John had a peanut butter sandwich for lunch.

We know that "peanut butter" is a compound modifier that does not require a hyphen before the noun "sandwich." Multi-word proper nouns are not hyphenated when used as modifiers: New York lawyer, de facto segregation, real estate agent, high school student, and peanut butter sandwich.

Punctuation Tip: Bicapitalization (BiCaps).

Bicapitalization (or BiCapitalization) is the use of a capital letter in the middle of a word or name—usually a brand name or a company name.

The names of computer organizations and products commonly reflect an intercap style.
• WordPerfect
• CompuServe
• YouTube
• AltaVista
• EarthLink
• OmniPage
• PowerPoint
• TrueType
• CorelDRAW
• iPod and iPhone

The use of intercaps appears in other areas of business as well.
• ExxonMobil
• PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
• AstroTurf
• PlaySkool toys
• NordicTrack
• DieHard batteries
• DuraSoft contact lenses
• KitchenAid appliances
• MasterCard purchases

In cases where the name begins with a lowercase letter, such as eBay, use the correct form even if it means beginning a sentence with a lowercase letter.
• eBay is where Mary purchased her Bruno Mars tickets.
• iMac is the answer to our hardware problems.

Synonyms for CamelCase, embedded caps, InterCaps (short for internal capitalization), medial capitals, and midcaps.

Punctuation Tip: Capitalization of Job Titles.

Job title capitalization is based on the order of the words, the use of the words, and whether or not the job title is part of the person's name.

Capitalize a job title that comes before the person's name.
• Speaker of the House Paul Ryan will present the bill on the House floor.
• When will President Obama release the budget for 2016?
• Mary went to church to hear Reverend Smith speak.

Sometimes a job title may still be capitalized even when not preceding a person’s name. This happens when the job title is used as a substitute for the name.
• We saw the Prime Minister address the assembly.
• The Secretary of State will provide testimony at the hearing.
• The Court will now give findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Capitalize a job title when it comes immediately before the name, but it is not capitalized when it comes after the name if there is a "the" before it.
• Mary Jones, the director, called me to the office.
• We gave our forms to John Smith, the program associate.
• There are seven prime ministers attending the conference.
• Sam had to go to court because of a speeding ticket.
• Lou wants to be a president someday.

Style guides differ on capitalization of job titles. For instance, AP never capitalizes the "president" when referring to the executive branch of government. GPO always capitalizes "President" when referring to the executive branch of government. As well, GPO suggests always capitalizing "Secretary" when referring to a Cabinet appointment and "Attorney General" when referring to Attorney General of the United States.