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IAW or I.A.W.

IAW or I.A.W.

IAW or I.A.W.

(OP)
For "In Accordance With" and similar phrases, is it customary to use or not use periods between letters while writing a report?  Or is it better to just spell out the phrase completely?

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

RE: IAW or I.A.W.

Personally, I think the full words would work better in that case. My shortcut is per.

i.e. I revised the drawing per the customer's request.

RE: IAW or I.A.W.

I use IAW and is acceptable by all of our major aerospace customers.

Chris
Sr. Mechanical Designer, CAD
SolidWorks 05 SP3.1 / PDMWorks 05
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

RE: IAW or I.A.W.

ac·ro·nym    n.
A word formed from the initial letters of a name, such as WAC for Women's Army Corps, or by combining initial letters or parts of a series of words, such as radar for radio detecting and ranging.

I don't think it matters but I use IAW because it's pretty much the standard within aerospace/mil

RE: IAW or I.A.W.

The only time you need to include the periods is if there is a chance that it may be confused with a word or a similar abbreviation.  A simple example is "number".  Without a period, the abbreviation can be confused with "no".
I have never used periods with IAW.

RE: IAW or I.A.W.

I believe it is MIL-STD-961 that states that IAW is the proper abbreviation (acronym really) for in accordance with.  It also mentions that it is the preferred term as opposed to per.  Yet, I prefer per also for purely commercial work.

--Scott

For some pleasure reading, try FAQ731-376

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