Acronym rules

According to the Chicago Manual of Style, one of the most widely used writing and citation style guides in America, there are some basic rules about acronyms.

1) Spell it out on first use!
Unless an acronym is so well-known that spelling it out is silly and almost insulting (e.g. CD-ROM), you should spell it out upon first reference. Put the acronym in parentheses on first use, and starting the second reference on, just use the acronym. Take a look at the following example:

• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia. ASEAN was created in 1967 and aims at promoting economic growth and cooperation among its member nations: (o)
  
• ASEAN is an organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia. ASEAN was created in 1967 and aims at promoting economic growth and cooperation among its member nations (x): some readers may not know what ASEAN is. you should spell it out on first reference!
• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is an organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations was created in 1967 and aims at promoting economic growth and cooperation among its member nations (x): repetitive and wordy! use the acronym to make it succinct.

2) Lowercase vs. Uppercase
There is no reason to capitalize the first letters of a noun just because it has an acronym. You only uppercase first letters when the noun is a proper noun.

• Lowercase (non-proper nouns): free trade agreements (FTAs), improvised explosive device (IED), standard operation procedures (SOPs) ...
  
• Uppercase (proper nouns): American Bar Association (ABA), North Carolina (NC), Department of Defense (DOD) ...
  

정책을 마련/제시하다

A key to writing a good essay is presenting your views without being repetitive. A case in point is 정책을 마련/제시하다. A lot of Korean students repeatedly say "make a policy," but there are many different ways to say it.

To lay out something means to make a detailed plan for something, 자세히 설명하다/계획하다 in Korean.

• President Barack Obama on Monday laid out an overarching new US policy on outer space, calling for more international and private sector cooperation on exploration, climate change and orbiting debris (AFP, June 28, 2010)

To come up with something means to produce, supply, bring forth something, close to 방법을 고안하다, 방안을 마련하다 in Korean.

• Even if the Legislature did pass the appropriations bill, it would still need to pass further legislation to come up with enough revenue to pay for the spending it restored (New York Times, June 28, 2010)

To detail means to report fully and distinctly, close to 방안을 구체화하다 in Korean.

• Many analysts said the austerity plans, which include a rise in value-added tax to 20 percent from next year, would help the UK to avoid ratings downgrades suffered by some euro zone countries. But they added that sterling gains on the back of the budget may be limited as the government needs to detail how it will slash spending, while others were concerned that tightening the country's purse strings may choke economic growth (Reuters, June 23, 2010)
  

To put forth means to propose or present an idea, close to 계획이나 대책을 제시하다 in Korean.

• But I think it's really clear on one point that the American people understand very clearly: They understand that there should be an end to discrimination on the basis of preexisting conditions. The proposals we put forth end discrimination on the basis of preexisting conditions. The Republican bill does not (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the White House Health Summit, February 25, 2010) .