List all possible contributors from the Giles and Councill's categories. Then, narrow your list of acknowledgments, focusing on main contributors. Realize that readers tend to ignore long lists of names. Mike Markel, textbook author of Technical Communication, recommends brevity in acknowledgments in scientific and engineering papers.
Organize your acknowledgment according to the groups of people or organizations who assisted you. In one sentence, you might thank those who have assisted with funding; in another, include those who assisted with research. Such groupings will not only organize your acknowledgment but also eliminate wordiness.
Use correct punctuation for your acknowledgment, such as opening with a full sentence and colon. You could write, "I wish to thank my colleagues for their editing suggestions": list of names. You might also state, "Thank you to the following computer technicians who checked the accuracy of my facts": list of names. If you list their titles as well, use semicolons and commas to group names and positions:
I wish to thank my colleagues for their editing suggestions: Nancy Goodman, program chair; Paul Olson, assistant professor English; Don Stone, psychology professor; and Carole Kennedy, professor of English.
Seek permission from those you wish to acknowledge. Understand the importance of privacy and intellectual domain issues.
Pick an appropriate writing style. Use "I" if you are the only author or "we" for multiple authors. Although you may write an acknowledgment less formally than the paper itself, use a professional tone.
Proofread your acknowledgments, particularly the names and titles of those you are thanking. (Note that spell check functions provides little assistance with names.) A peer reviewer may provide needed feedback about the accuracy and scope of your acknowledgment. Incidentally, the Oxford Dictionary notes that American English often prefers "acknowledgment" with two e's, whereas other English-speaking countries (particularly Great Britain) prefer "acknowledgement."
Realize that acknowledgments may provide information as valuable as traditional citations. When readers see the context in which you wrote a major paper, they can understand your perspective and more fully appreciate your expertise.