A-Z House Style Guide
- banned phrases #
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Avoid at all costs any over-spiritualised cliché, eg ‘God’s heart for the poor’; ‘God laid on my heart the burden of…’ Don’t use ‘seeking to…’ or ‘aiming to do x’ where ‘aiming to’ slows the reader down and questions our capability. Yes: ‘Tearfund is equipping people for the worst.’ No: ‘Tearfund is aiming to equip people for the worst.’ See if you can cut out ‘support’, ‘work’ and ‘project’ too. No: ‘We’re running an education project.’ Yes: ‘We’re providing education for….’ Don’t be lazy and use ‘thing’ – find a more specific noun. Also steer clear of over-PC or soft phrasing. Don’t pussyfoot about with phrases like ‘inappropriate trade policies’ where you mean frankly wrong or damaging ones.
- BC #
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Set in regular-size capitals, no dots. Make sure there is no gap between the figures that precede it: Herod died in 4BC. See also AD.
- Beneficiaries #
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Beneficiary/Beneficiaries implies that there is a transactional arrangement in giving, rather than restoring justice, fairness or answering Jesus’ call to love our neighbours. It could be understood as condescending and undervaluing a fellow human being, made in God’s image. It is best to avoid if at all possible in internal and external communications, preferring terms such as the communities/people we work with, communities/people we serve or to be more specific, such as: crisis affected communities.
- between… and… #
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Be consistent. Yes: between three and five. Yes: from three to five. No: ‘between three to five’. No: ‘between 13-15’.
- Bible references/verses/quotations #
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The default is to use the New International Version (NIV UK) when quoting from the Bible. If using this, you don’t need to include the version in your reference.
If you have a robust reason to use another version, you need to make it clear eg by adding NKJV, CEV, The Message etc at the end of the reference. An online version of the NIV can be found at https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-UK-NIVUK-Bible.
The usual approach for stand-alone verses is as below:
‘So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.’ (Genesis 13:1–2)
‘Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” (Mark 5:36)
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ (Matthew 5:3)
Book names are written out in full. Single quote marks are used (double quote marks are only used around direct speech). The full point should go inside the quote mark. Bible references are in brackets without any full point either inside or outside the brackets.
Sometimes Bible quotations will be introduced by some text. The introductory text may also vary but the way the Bible quotation is presented will typically follow the patterns exemplified below.
As it says in Ecclesiastes 3:1: ‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.’
In Isaiah 65:17 it says: ‘“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.”’
Where the quote contains direct speech, these should be put in double quotes.
Partial quotes, eg in any running copy, have no punctuation inside the closing quote. The punctuation comes at the end of the sentence. The reference is in brackets and has no full point, eg Jesus was God’s ‘only begotten son’. (John 3:16)
When quoting part of a verse, you don’t need to use ‘a’ or ‘b’ to indicate that it’s from the start or end of a quote. It’s enough to state where the words come from, even if it’s an incomplete verse.
Yes: ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’ (John 10:10)No: ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’ (John 10:10b)
- bible/Bible #
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Use a capital ‘B’ when referring to the Christian Bible: ‘It says in the Bible…’ Otherwise bible, eg ‘a cookery bible.’
- billion #
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In running copy: a billion or 1 billion, 2 billion, 2.5 billion; quarter of a billion, half a billion. In headlines or if short of space: 2.5bn. See also numbers. Compare million and trillion.
- blind #
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Do not refer to ‘the blind’.
Instead use ‘blind people’, ‘people who are blind’ or ‘people with visual impairments’.
- bold type #
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Check punctuation is not in bold where used around individual bold words inserted in a sentence of normal type. In a paragraph of all bold type, punctuation should also be in bold.
- book titles, report titles #
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Use italics. Capitalise words apart from transition words. Credit and year in brackets, not italics. Yes: Dried Up, Drowned Out (Tearfund, 2005).
See also capitalisation.
- brackets #
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Make sure you have one space before you open a bracket, and one space after you close a bracket, or after any punctuation that immediately follows the closed bracket. (This is an example.) Do check for this. Brackets, like commas and en dashes, can be used to add information or to explain something as an aside: Where you include a fact (whether it’s an aside or something crucial) make sure you separate it off at both ends with the same kind of punctuation.
If the copy in the brackets is a full and complete sentence, include the full point within the bracket. If not, include it after, or just continue with your sentence. Eg:
Brackets are great (and this is why). Don’t overuse them, though.
Brackets are great. (Although don’t overuse them.)
- brand names #
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Check you’re using them correctly. A Hoover needs a capital because it is a brand name; a vacuum-cleaner does not. Avoid if possible: use to illustrate a point, not to endorse unintentionally. Never show logos in photos if at all possible.
- British values/expertise #
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Use this expression with caution. (See Global Britain for more information.) Instead, where possible, use ‘shared human values’, ‘British experience’.
- bullet points #
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If your bullet points introduce words or short phrases (ie not complete sentences), then introduce with a colon, start each point in lower case and do not end with a full stop – even after the last point. Eg:
We want to recruit:
- consultants
- finance officers
- experts in charity accounting
If your bullet points introduce complete sentences, then start each point with a capital letter and end each point with a full stop. Eg:
Here are our goals:
- We want to see 5,000 children back in primary school.
- We want to support 350 communities to source clean drinking water.
- We want to train 200 church leaders to reach out to their local communities.
If your bullet points are a mixture of the above, or if you’re in doubt, then punctuate them as per whole sentences. Whatever you do, ensure consistency!
- but/and/for #
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It is acceptable to start a sentence with these. It can be effective in features, but rarely in successive sentences. Don’t overuse. Also, avoid starting successive sentences with the same word.