A-Z House Style Guide
- abbreviations and acronyms #
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An acronym is a name or word made up of the initial letters of a group of words, and which can itself be pronounced as a word, eg Nato, Unicef.
No full stops in abbreviations or acronyms, eg mph, km, Mrs, HIV, RSVP.
Lower case abbreviations that indicate speed, weight, length, time etc should follow figures immediately with no space, eg 11am, 15kg, 35mm, 100mph, 5km.
Use all capitals only if the abbreviation cannot be pronounced as a word but rather is pronounced as a series of individual letters, eg BBC, NGO, HIV, MEP, WFP. If it can be pronounced as a word, just use an initial capital, eg Unicef, Nato.
Exception: where the acronym is a partner or organisation name which can be pronounced but the partner/organisation choose to capitalise all letters.
Some abbreviations and acronyms are so well known that you don’t need to explain what the letters stand for, eg BBC, EU, UN, US, Unicef. But spell out less well-known ones on first mention, eg the Department for International Development (DFID). After the first mention, you can abbreviate. You can use synonyms as well as the abbreviation or acronym, eg the Department rather than ‘DFID’ at every mention. There is no need to give the initials of an organisation if it is not referred to again.
Use all capitals for AIDS, as this is the internationally recognised way of writing it.
- about #
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Use about not ‘on’ when referring to subject matter. A book about the character of God is better than ‘A book on the character of God’.
Don’t use ‘how/when/why’ after ‘about’. It’s too awkward in written English. Try to follow about with a noun, not a conjunction. Think about ways you might act is better than ‘Think about how you might act’. Use about times instead of ‘about when’ and about reasons instead of ‘about why’.
- accents #
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Use on foreign words, especially where they affect pronunciation and are used often, eg café, cliché. Remember to watch out for people’s names such as José, and place names such as Cancún.
- active/passive #
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Use the active voice where at all possible. ‘Ugandan scientists have discovered that…’ is more informative than ‘It has been discovered that…’
- AD #
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Set in regular-size capitals, no dots. Make sure there is no gap between the figures that precede it, eg the Romans invaded Britain in 43AD. See also BC.
- address #
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The standard Tearfund address to be included on our communications is: 100 Church Road, Teddington, TW11 8QE
If the material will be used overseas as well as in the UK, the address should be: 100 Church Road, Teddington, TW11 8QE, United Kingdom
- advent/Advent #
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Use a capital ‘A’ for the pre-Christmas season, eg Advent calendar; otherwise lower case, eg the advent of the steam engine.
- age #
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As with all numbers, write one to ten in words; 11+ in numerals. Use hyphens as follows: a two-year-old girl; three ten-year-olds; four- to six-year-olds; a 50-year-old war but a girl who was 12 years old.
Other ways of stating ages include Juan Lolita, 38; the 20s and 30s group; a group of 14 to 18s; 20-somethings; 11- to 14-year-olds; 11 to 14s; the under-fives. NB: Avoid starting a sentence with a numeral.
Yes: Sixteen-year-old Anna…
No: 16-year-old Anna…
Exception: where age is written in news style, preceded by a comma, after a name, numbers 1-10 can be written numerically, eg The teacher said that Marcus, 9, should…
- album/song titles #
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Use italics: ‘Eyes Open is Snow Patrol’s fourth studio album.’
Work to usual rules for capitals when referring to the names of things, ie cap all words apart from transition words, eg Eyes Wide Open, Whistle Down the Wind, Joy to the World and so on.
- alcohol #
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Bear in mind some supporters and many partner staff regard teetotalism as a defining part of discipleship. (Best not: ‘The sight was as refreshing as a cold beer.’) But let’s not be too legalistic – if a supporter raises hundreds of pounds through a wine-tasting event, we can mention it.
- Americanisms #
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Always use English spellings for words (eg centre not center), terms (eg shop not store) and verb/noun endings (eg mobilise and mobilisation not mobilize or mobilization.)
Exception: use American spelling when writing for a solely American or Canadian audience.
- and/but/for #
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It is acceptable to start sentences with these. This can be effective in features, unless done in successive sentences. Don’t overuse. Also avoid starting successive sentences with the same word.
- archbishops #
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Use full name on first mention, eg The Archbishop of Tanzania, Donald Mtetemela. Thereafter Archbishop Mtetemela.
For senior Anglican clergy the names of bishops and archbishops always follow the title of their office eg the Archbishop of Barchester, the Most Rev John Smith.
Exception: where the specific Bishop referred to likes to be known by their first name. After first mention, according to above guidelines, all subsequent references can adopt a first-name policy eg ‘…Bishop James is known for his interest in poverty.’
For senior Roman Catholic clergy, on first mention, use full title: The Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth, the Right Rev Christopher Budd. thereafter Bishop Budd.
- armed forces #
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Use full name and title on first mention, eg General Herbert Jackson, then General Jackson thereafter. Only abbreviate title if it is particularly long and/or frequently repeated.
- ARVs (anti-retrovirals) #
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ARVs prolong the life of people with AIDS-related infections, but do not cure HIV. Spell out the acronym on first usage only. Always refer to ARVs as medicines, not drugs. Yes: ‘Berta has been taking life-extending ARV (anti-retroviral) medicines for two years.’ No: ‘Berta has been taking ARV drugs for two years.’