Acronyms/Abbreviations

On first mention of a term, introduce the acronym in parentheses:

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was founded in Yugoslavia in 1956.

Once you have introduced the abbreviation, you ought to use the abbreviation.

Delete periods in acronyms and abbreviations:

USA, CIA, USSR, NC, PhD, MA, BA

However, periods should be used in the case of proper names, with a space after each period:

J. R. R. Tolkein

E. B. White

unless the name is only composed of initials:

FDR, LBJ, MLK

Please see MLA's page on abbreviation for commonly abbreviated terms.