TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Articles with Initialisms From:"Daniel E. Wise" <dewise -at- IX -dot- NETCOM -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 22 Feb 1996 22:24:49 -0800
Folks, the article before an initialism such as SME should match the
"sound" of the first pronounced letter. As I am sure all of us know, a
vowel sound calls for the article "an." Thus we should write AN SME
(ess begins with a vowel sound) and AN ESLer (ee begins with a vowel
sound).
In their style manual, Southern Company Services prescribes this usage
based on the Technical Publications Group's study of commonly used
style and usage guides--such as Roy Copperud's book on usage, Chicago
Manual, GPO Manual, etc.
