Why do news releases from agencies such as the FBI, the CIA, the EPA, and the IRS drop the initial the before these initialisms? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Why No “The” Sometimes in Front of CIA, FBI, or IRS...
Cassandra, who lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, wonders about the rules for how to punctuate titles such as Professor and Doctor. Growing up in South Africa, she was taught that, in contrast to practice in the United States, the titles Dr, Mr, and...
Why, when writing out an abbreviated name like NATO for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, don’t we use periods between the letters to form the acronym or initialism? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Periods in...
Does the possessive “s” go at the end of a proper noun ending in “s”? What’s the possessive of a name like James — James’ or James’s? Either’s correct, depending on your style guide. The AP Stylebook...
What’s the deal with using the two-letter postal code abbreviations for states, instead of the longer, more formal abbreviations? That is, why write IN for Indiana instead of good old Ind.? A caller is annoyed by U.S. Postal Service...
What’s the best style guide for online writing? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Online Style Guide” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi. Hi, who’s this? This is Pam from Dallas. Pam, welcome. Well, hello...