House style A–Z - Durham Cathedral Schools

A

Abbreviations

No full stops in or after abbreviations where there is no confusion: GCSE, BA, MA, PhD, eg, ie, etc.
In running text, spell out: and (not &), per cent (not %), that is to say (not ie), for example (not eg).
First mention: write in full, followed by the abbreviation in brackets. Use the abbreviation afterwards.

A levels: write A levels (not A-Levels or ‘A’ Levels).

Apostrophes

Use for possession: the pupil’s notes; the boys’ changing room; the children’s seats.
If the possessor already ends in s, add an apostrophe only: Students’ Union; Mr James’ class.
Do not use apostrophes for plurals: 1960s; MAs; PhDs.
Use for missing letters: isn’t; can’t; it’s.

Affect and effect

Affect = verb: The film affected me.
Effect = noun: What is the effect?

B

Biannual and biennial

Biannual = twice a year.
Biennial = every two years.

C

Capital letters

Avoid unnecessary capitals in headings and text. In headings, capitalise the first word; capitalise other words only if a proper noun or specific title.
Use lower case for: internet; web; seasons; points of the compass (east, west, north, south).
Capitalise widely recognised historical periods: the Bronze Age, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Victorian era.

Century: 21st century (noun); 21st-century (adjective).

Circa: use c. followed by a space (for example, c. 1342).

Compare to and compare with

Compare to = liken to.
Compare with = make a comparison.

Contact details and web addresses

Web addresses should not include http or www (for example, dcsf.org.uk).

D

Dashes

Use short dashes (en rules) when there are no spaces: 2000-2005; 5,000-word dissertation.
Use long dashes (em rules) when there are spaces: first-year module – British cinema.

Dates

Friday 10 August 2007 (not 10th August 2007 or August 10 2007).
2007-08 (not 2007-2008 or 2007/08).
Decades: 1960s (not 1960’s or ’60s).

Dependent and dependant

Dependent = adjective: I am dependent on him.
Dependant = noun: She is my dependant.

Double spacing: use single spacing after commas and full stops.

E

Email: write email (not E-mail or e-mail).

F

Fewer and less

Fewer for countable nouns: fewer pupils.
Less for non-countable nouns: less time.

Full time and full-time

Full time (noun); full-time (adjective).
Apply the same rule to part time and part-time.

G

GCSE

GCSE or GCSEs — no full stops.

Government

Use a capital letter when referring to the present British Government; lower case for a previous government.
If used adjectivally, government takes lower case.

H

Historical periods

Capitalise recognised epochs: the Bronze Age, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Victorian era, the Enlightenment, the Third Reich; the Tudors; Elizabethan.
Use lower case for medieval; baroque (unless part of a formal title).

Hyphenation

First year (noun); first-year (adjective).
World-class (not world class).

Healthcare

Healthcare as an adjective (healthcare professions); otherwise health care.

I

Initials: use a space, but no full stops: A M Smith.

International: use international (not overseas) students.

International telephone style: Tel +44 (0)191 ...

Inverted commas (quotation marks)

Use single inverted commas; use double inverted commas only for a quotation within a quotation and for direct speech.

Italics

Use italics for titles of books, periodicals, dissertations, plays, films, paintings, newspapers.
Titles of articles and features: Roman type in single quotation marks.
Use italics for foreign words not part of common English usage.

J

Journal and newspaper titles

Generally italicise and use lower case ‘the’: the Guardian.
Exceptions: The Times; The Economist.

K

Key guidance

No specific K entry in the House Style Guide section. Use the nearest relevant rule (for example, capital letters, hyphenation, or numbers) for consistency.

L

Lower case and location terms

Compass points are lower case: north, south, east, west.
Use upper case for definite geographical places and regions: South-East Asia, the Midlands, the Middle East, Western Europe.

M

More than

Use more than rather than over: There are more than 10,000 international students.

N

Numbers

Use words for numbers below 10 (unless in tables).
Use figures for 10 and above.
Spell out a number that begins a sentence.
Use commas for 1,000 and above.
Money: £100 million or £100m (not £100 m). £10,000 (not £10k), although £10k is acceptable in internal documents.
Fractions: hyphenate as adjectives (one-third full), not as nouns (one third of the population).
Spell out ordinal numbers in text: first, second, third (not 1st, 2nd, 3rd).

O

Online: write online (not on-line).

Over: use more than rather than over for quantities.

P

Pupil and student

Use pupil in all Foundation communications. Do not use student.

Per cent

Use per cent rather than percent or % (except in tables).

Practice and practise

Practise = verb: She practises the piano every day.
Practice = noun: He set up practice as a lawyer.

Principle and principal

Principle = ethics: It’s against my principles.
Principal = authority or main: She is the school’s new principal.

Programme and program

Programme (for example, A Level programme); program for computing.

Q

Qualifications

A levels (not A-Levels).
GCSE, BA, MA, PhD (no full stops).

R

Regional terms

Use upper case for definite regions: the Middle East; Western Europe; South-East Asia.

S

Spelling

Use British English with -ise- (not -ize-): organised; civilisation.
Common forms we use: adviser (not advisor); co-ordinator; co-operation; coursework; en suite; field trip; field work.
Also: website (not web-site); worldwide; under way; problem-based learning; world-class.

T

Time: 5.30pm (not 5.30 pm or 17.30).

Titles: Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr, Rev, Prof (no full stops).

U

Under way: write under way (not underway).

V

Vocabulary and variants

No specific V entry in the House Style Guide section. Apply the relevant spelling, hyphenation, and capitalisation rules for consistency.

W

Website and web addresses

Website (not web-site).
Do not include http in website addresses.
World-class (not world class).
Worldwide (not world-wide).

X

Exceptions

No specific X entry in the House Style Guide section. Use house style rules consistently, and contact Marketing if you are unsure.

Y

Years

2005-06 (not 2005-2006 or 2005/06).

Z

Zero unnecessary punctuation

Avoid full stops in common abbreviations and titles as per house style (for example, GCSE, PhD; Mr, Dr).