House style A–Z

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?

Biannual and biennial

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

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).

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Journal and newspaper titles

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

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.

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.

More than

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

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).

Online: write online (not on-line).

Over: use more than rather than over for quantities.

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.

Qualifications

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

Regional terms

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

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.

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

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

Under way: write under way (not underway).

Vocabulary and variants

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

Website and web addresses

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

Exceptions

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

Years

• 2005-06 (not 2005-2006 or 2005/06).

Zero unnecessary punctuation

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