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Style guide

April 2007

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Contents

HeadingsCapitalsItalicsPunctuation – ampersand (&) and abbreviationsPunctuation – apostrophes (‘)Punctuation – colon (:)Punctuation – semicolons (;)Punctuation – dates and timesPunctuation – hyphen (-)Punctuation – dash (—)Punctuation – three dots (…) and slashes (/)Punctuation – numbers Punctuation – quotations (‘ and “)Citations and referencesCHPD corporate styleSpellingCommonly confused wordsReducing jargonFurther information

Click on a heading above to be taken to that page in the style guide.

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Introduction

These style guidelines provide information on Test Company corporate style.

Most companies have style guides. This style guide has been developed to support the new branding guidelines. It covers questions of style from capitalisation, punctuation through to reducing jargon, commonly confused words and preferred spelling.

Whenever preparing any communication – tenders, presentations, reports or design material, these guidelines should be used to achieve the XXXXX house style. These guidelines should be disseminated with all design work so that we can be confident that all our material represents the quality of our work and our products.

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HeadingsOur clients want to access information quickly. Headings function as the signposts of a document, allowing for easy navigation and reading.

Effective headings are:• Clear and concise • Capture the content of the section• Act as signposts in a document

Headings should appear exactly in the text as in the table of contents, navigation bar or research results.

Heading hierarchyA heading hierarchy tells our clients the order of material by identifying the difference between chapter headings and sub-headings. Each heading style should look visually different and should be used consistently throughout a document (see branding guidelines for more detail).

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Capitals

The style of XXXXis minimal capitalisation. Minimal capitalisation enhances readability and reduces variation in how capitals are used in company documents.

Writers often capitalise the names of things that are important; however, this is incorrect. There are clear rules on capitalisation that should be followed as outlined.

Capitalisation is limited to:

• Titles

• Names

• Proper nouns

• Trade marks

• Abbreviations

TitlesWith minimal capitalisation, only the first letter of the first word of the title and any proper nouns and names are capitalised.

A town like Alice

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Capitals

Places, names and personProper nouns are the names of people, places, ships, institutions and animals. Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter:

The Centre for High Performance Development

Oxford University, The University of South Carolina

House of Commons, European Commission

Use capitals for geographic places and recognised political or geographical areas (Middle East, South Atlantic, East Asia, the Midlands, Central America).

Use lower case for east, west, north, south (except as part of a name – North Korea, West End).

Seasons of the year are always lower case: spring, summer, autumn, winter.

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CapitalsJob titlesGeneric job titles are always lower case:

doctor, second line manager, chief executive officer, manager, project manager

Use upper case for ranks and titles when written in conjunction with a name, but lower case when on their own:

Queen Elizabeth, but the queen

President Bush, but the president

Titles and headingsFor titles and headings, use an initial capital and then all other words (with the exception of proper nouns) should be written in lower case:

XXXX branding and style guidelines

Feedback report

XXXX productsThe exception to this rule is the name of the following three XXXXX products:

High Performance Behaviours

Leadership Orientation Questionnaire

Careers Anchors Questionnaire

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Italics

Italics are used for the title of books, plays, films, magazines, newspapers, planes, ships and trains.

• Business Review Weekly

• Branding and style guidelines

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Punctuation – ampersand (&) and abbreviations

Ampersand (&)

Ampersand should not be used as replacement for ‘and’. It should only be used if it is part of a name.

Marks & Spencer

Abbreviations

Abbreviations should be spelt out in full, followed by abbreviation in brackets. The abbreviation is then used for the rest of the document.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

Abbreviations should not use full stops. The abbreviations ‘ie/ i.e.’ and ’eg/.e.g.’ are not acceptable. Instead use:

that is

for example

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Punctuation – apostrophes (‘)Apostrophes are used to show:

• possession• contraction (missing letters)

PossessionThe most common misuse of apostrophes is found in possession. A simple rule for possession is:

• Write the word that owns something• Add an apostrophe• Then add an s (only if needed)

For example:

Jack and Jill’s house

Jones‘s bakery

ContractionContractions indicate that something has been left out of a word. Common contractions include words like don’t, we’re, haven’t.

Its and it’s is a commonly confused contraction. ‘Its’ is a possessive pronoun; ‘it’s’ is a shortened version of it is.

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Punctuation – apostrophes (‘)

Common errors with apostrophes

Apostrophes are not used in plurals (including plurals of acronyms). Nor are they used in time periods, for example, 1990s (not 1990’s).

Apostrophes can be used to indicate ‘for’ as well as possession (of). It is common to see these two uses confused. The phrase ‘children’s books’ means ‘books written for children’ at least as often as it does ‘books owned by children.

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Punctuation – colon (:)Colons introduce additional information, such as quotations or lists. A good way to remember how to use the colon is to think of the phrase ‘and here it is’.

Colons are used to introduce full sentence quotes and lists.

He said: “Punctuation is difficult.”

All of them were dead: Bill, Jack, Ted and Willie.

Colons are used between two sentences when the second phase explains or justifies the first:

Keep language uncluttered: it reads more easily.

They are also used to mark the antithesis between two sentences.

Man proposes: God disposes.

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Punctuation – semicolons (;)

As a punctuation mark, semicolons fall midway between a full stop and a comma.

Semicolons are used between sentences, with or without a conjunction, to indicate a longer pause than a comma and a shorter one than a full stop:

The rumour was that the king was dead; the people believed it. There will be an inquest, of course; but the matter will not end there.

Semicolons are also used to separate longer items in a list. This is particularly important, if the items need further punctuation by commas:

In the meeting today we have Professor Wilson, University of Barnsley; Dr Watson, University of Barrow in Furness; Colonel Custard, Metropolitan Police and Dr Mable Syrup, Genius General, University of Otago, New Zealand.

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Punctuation – dates and times

Dates

Dates are written from smallest unit to largest unit (day month year).

12 May 1968

In most CHPD documents, a hyphen can be used as a substitute for an en-dash. The style is un-spaced (there is no space between the numbers and the hyphen).

1995–96

pp. 57–99

Times

Abbreviation of am and pm do not have full stops. Use either:

2pm or 14.00

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Punctuation – hyphen (-)

A hyphen joins two or more words together:

x-ray

door-to-door

Dictionaries are the best guide for checking hyphenation as definitions are continually changing. For example, co-ordination is now coordination. See the spelling checklist at the end of these guidelines for further details.

The hyphen should also be used when a number forms part of an adjectival compound or to show an association:

France has a 35-hour working week.

He won the 100-metre sprint.

Sydney-Hobart yacht race

Hyphens should also be used when referring to regions or areas. For example: house prices in the north-east are rising faster than those in the south-west.

A hyphen is also used in numbers and fractions:

1995-96 pp. 57-99

sixty-five one-third

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Punctuation – dash (—)

A dash separates words that might otherwise be in brackets (parentheses). For example :

She was trapped – no escape was possible.

A dash is the length of the letter m. PowerPoint and Word will normally insert the correct form (dash or hyphen) for you, but you can go to Insert/Symbol in the special characters menu.

Dashes are often over used. They should not be used as a substitute when the punctuation rule is unknown.

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Punctuation – three dots (…) and slashes (/)

Three dots (ellipsis)

An ellipsis is used to indicate that something has been omitted, a pause in speech or an unfinished thought.

Rogers claims that many stressed executives employ

... cognitive distancing. It is clearly a powerful psychological tool ... that makes perfect sense to stressed people.

James considered the problem for several minutes ... and then spoke.

The typography of an ellipsis is not random. The correct punctuation of an ellipsis is a space followed by three full stops and then a space (#...#).

Slashes (obliques)

Use the oblique to mean either, as in ‘and/or’.

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Punctuation – numbers

Numbers one to ten should be spelt out, except when the number is connected to a measurement or if the document is statistical in nature.

five – not 5

500 – not five hundred

When sentences begin with a number, then this number should be spelt out:

One hundred kilograms of plastics replace 130 kilograms of conventional material…

Another exception to the rule is when numbers appear in set, for example:

14, 9, 6 and 15. Not 14, nine, six and 15

Per cent should always be spelt out (per cent), except in small diagrams (%).

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Punctuation – quotations (‘ and “)

Both single and double quotation marks are used in CHPD documents.

Single quotation marks are used to use single quotation marks to specify High Performance Behaviours. They are also used to indicate a quote within a quote or mark a phrase that is not in common use.

The delegate demonstrated a strategic strength in ‘information search’.

Double quotation marks are used for reported speech.

He said: “I conducted a wide external research for data relating systems redesign of site manufacturing.”

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Citations and references

When referencing material, items should be fully cited, ordered alphabetically, according to author using the following punctuation.

Article

Surname, first name initial., year, ‘title of article’, in Name of Journal, Volume (volume number), number, pp. (hyphen/en dash).

Watson J D and Crick F H C (1953) A Structure for Deoxyribosenucleic Acid, Nature, 171, 737-738

Book

Surname, first name initial, year of publication, title of publication, publisher, place of publication.

Northedge A., Thomas J, Lane A. and Peasgood A. (1997) The Sciences Good Study Guide, Open University

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xxxxx corporate style

The corporate style xxxxx is to use of everyday language, free from jargon and spin.

The most effective communication targets its audience. Language is free from technical language, jargons or acronyms that are only known to the author or company.

Remember your client is interested in what you have to say but only have a minimum knowledge of xxxx products and methodology. Overt technical language will only alienate the client.

All our documents should be clear and communicate what we do and how we do it.

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xxxx corporate style

Principles of plain English

The principles of plain English offer a useful guide to the writing of any tender or submission document. Try to use:

Active voice and inclusive language (we, you)

Punchy and concise language

Short paragraphs (limit to five sentences)

Clear sign posting of documents such as content lists, headings and sub-heading to enhance usability and navigation of documents

Avoid jargon

Spelling

British English (-ise endings; -our):

s not z in organisation

Active voice

Examples of active voice are:

Our clients need this information.

The literature reports that …

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CHPD corporate style

Product names

xxxx product names should be written as follows:

High Performance Behaviours (HPBs)

Leadership Orientation Questionnaire (LOQ)

Career Anchors Questionnaire (CAQ)

However, generic names should appear in lower case.

assessment centre

career anchor

behaviour

leadership

leadership development centre

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CHPD corporate style

Behaviours

When referring to individual behaviours from the xxxxxx methodology, follow the minimal capitalisation rule.

presentation skills

empathy

influencing

conceptual flexibility

All HPBs should appear in single quotation marks, except when they appear in a list or title:

The delegate demonstrated great strategic strength in ‘information search’.

If you are referring to the quality in its generic sense (rather than as a part of the xxxx methodology), then do not use quotation marks.

Sam demonstrated great empathy in his management of Louise’s problems.

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SpellingAacronymAlexander Mann SolutionsAllianzAmnesty InternationalAmerican ExpressAOL

Bbehaviourbreakoutbreakupbeforehandbuy-inbeforehandBarclays CapitalBayerBovis Lend LeaseBT Retail

C

cooperation

clichés

centres

Computacenter

D

decision making

demotivate

demotivated

develop

diagnoses (pl)

diagnosis (sg)

data-sets

DAS UK

Deutsche Bank

DLA Piper

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Spelling

E

e-learning

email

ebusiness

editorials

endeavours

easyJet

F

firefighter

follow-up

fizzle

fertilisation

Five TV

G

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

H

High Performance Behaviour (HPB)

humour

high-impact

health care

hypotheses

headlines

Honda

I

interdependent

Inchcape

K

Knight Frank

J

judgement

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Spelling

L

long-term

M

modelling

mind-maps

matrices

mindset

Marks & Spencer

Mouchel Parkman

Microsoft

N

National Grid

National Audit Office

Network Rail

O

optimum

online

ongoing

one-off

one-to-one

open-minded

Ovum

P

proactive

per cent

programme

problem-solver

ploughed

pre-existing

pros and cons

Pershing

Plan International

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Spelling

Q

Quintiles Europe

R

redesign

reaffirm

re-focus

realise

reorganise

realign

Rentokil Initial plc

S

set-up

stifle

signpost

Sanofi-Aventis

Sony Computer Entertainment

TtimescalesThe Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)Tate & LyleTransport for London

VVirgin Mobile

Uup-to-dateunilateral

Wwin/winweaknesses

XXerox

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Commonly confused words

• their (that’s their house); there (the house over there); they’re (they’re standing right by it!)

• were (we were going to go); we’re (we’re getting the train); where (where is the station?)

• accept (to agree, to receive or do); except (not including)

• a part (some but not all of something); apart (separate; distinct qualities)

• who’s (who is); whose (the possessive form of who)

• who; whom (whom denotes the object of the verb, who denotes the subject of the verb)

• its; it’s (it is)

• your; you’re (you are)

• affect (to change or make a difference to); effect (a result; to bring about a result)

• coarse (rough); course (a direction)

• compliment (to praise or express approval); complement (to add something as to improve)

• advice (noun: recommendations about what to do); advise (verb: to recommend something)

• practice (noun: a custom, method); practise (verb: to perform, to carry out)

• defuse (to make a situation less tense); diffuse (to spread over a wide area)

• principle (a fundamental rule or belief); principal (most important)

• micro (in detail); macro (refer mostly to economic terms, macro means big picture)

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Reducing jargonUse simpler words that are generally understood and avoid jargon whenever you can. Consider these alternatives:

Instead of: Try:

Additionally AlsoAmeliorate ImproveAssist HelpAttempt Try

Commence Begin/StartConcerning About

Demonstrate ShowDraw to the attention of Point out

Endeavour TryExpedite HurryExtremely Very

Facilitate Ease/helpFinalise CompleteFollowing After

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Reducing jargon

Instead of: Try:

Implement Carry outIn conjunction with AndIndicate Show/point out/say/implyInform TellIn spite of the fact that Although

Location Place

Nevertheless ButNonetheless But

Purchase BuyRemunerate PayRequire NeedResidence Home

Terminate End

Utilise Use

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Further information

Grammar: www.edufind.com/english/grammar/toc.cfm

Punctuation: www.edufind.com/english/punctuation/index.cfm

Dictionary: www.askoxford.com/dictionaries/?view=ok