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Subject:Re: Grammar help "a RMA" or "an RMA"? From:Keith Hood <bus -dot- write -at- gmail -dot- com> To:Shawn C <shawn -at- cohodata -dot- com> Date:Wed, 7 May 2014 07:53:54 -0500
I was taught that in such a case, you should spell it the way you would
pronounce it. So if you were speaking, you would say "an RMA." The point
is to make the written words come out sounding right if someone reads the
work aloud.
On Tue, May 6, 2014 at 5:40 PM, Shawn <shawn -at- cohodata -dot- com> wrote:
> Greetings all,
>
> I am experimenting with ProWriting Aid (see this review:
>
>http://robinbneal.com/2014/03/23/robo-grader-review-prowritingaid-google-add-on/
> ).
> When you are a one-person tech doc team, even a mediocre tool like this is
> pretty useful for proofing.
>
> While running a grammar check, it pointed out the following sentence:
> "...10 business days after receipt of a RMA number."
> and suggested that I write this as "an RMA".
>
> I understand that if a word begins with a vowel... but I don't think it
> does. However, for the sake of curiosity, I decided to do a Google search
> for ["a RMA" or "an RMA"].What I found was absolutely no consistency. Even
> within a single document, both "a" and "an" were used. :-O
>
> I am inclined to consistently use "a RMA", throughout my document.
>
> Can anyone offer some advice?
>
> Thanks
>
> --
> *Shawn Connelly*
> Technical writer
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Doc-To-Help 2014 v1 now available. SharePoint 2013 support, NetHelp enhancements, and more. Read all about it.
