JJE Style Guide for RinggitWise Version 2.0 (April 2018)
JJE Style Guide for RinggitWise | Page 1
Content Topic
Page
Overview
5
Basics
5
Tone and messaging
5
Spelling
6
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The “our” rule
6
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The double “L”
6
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Common mistakes
6
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Accepted spellings
7
Special abbreviations
9
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e.g. and i.e.
9
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Versus (vs.)
9
Names and associated topics
9
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Names of people
9
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Names of entities and acronyms/initialisations
10
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Government, Ministries, and Officials
10
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Sample of how mentions are handled
11
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Titles and academic qualifications
11
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Academic degrees
11
Dates
12
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Weekdays
12
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Months
12
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Decades
12
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Centuries
12
Time
13
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Content (continued) Topic Measurements
Page 13
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Metric system abbreviations
13
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Imperial system abbreviations
13
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Ton and Tonne
13
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Square measures
14
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Temperature
14
Numbers
14
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The general rule for numbers
14
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Numbers with four or more digits
15
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Money and currency
15
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Fractions
15
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Percentages
15
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Number ranges
16
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Telephone numbers
16
Capitalisation
16
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A general rule for capitalisation
17
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Capitalisation of job and position titles
17
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Capitalisation in quotations
17
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Capitalisation of academic programmes and subjects
17
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Degrees and other awards
18
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Capitalisation, spelling and numbers
18
Type styles
18
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Italics
18
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Bold face
19
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Content (continued) Topic Punctuation
Page 19
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Commas
19
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Accents
19
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Ampersand
19
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Dashes and hyphens
19
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Ellipses
20
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Parentheses and brackets
20
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Quotation marks
20
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Spacing
21
Lists
21
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Items in a series
21
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Vertical lists
21
Technology terms •
Email and web addresses
Practices/Things to avoid
22 22 23
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Plagiarism
23
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The sentence fragment
23
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The comma splice
23
JJE Style Guide for RinggitWise | Page 4
Overview •
This style guide was created by JernJern Enterprise (JJE), and was inspired by and modified from The University of Saskatchewan Editorial Style Guide. Created for JJE’s express use, it is aimed at standardising the quality and form of writing for all purposes.
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This incarnation of the style guide was prepared for use by the editorial writing team – both full-time and freelance – charged with creating content for the RinggitWise financial education portal, in order to produce articles which will reinforce the portal's reputation as an authoritative, credible, and trustworthy site for financial education information.
Basics •
The article produced for RinggitWise will use British English and Bahasa Malaysia (BM) as the base languages, which shall apply to matters of grammar, spelling, and flow.
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This style guide will make use of the most recent editions of the Oxford English Dictionary and Kamus Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka with regards to spelling and definitions.
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There will be circumstances where exceptions must be made; in such cases, the writers should consult with the editor in charge, who shall constantly update this guide and inform the writing team when updates are done.
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Above all else, consistency of style and usage must be maintained throughout, to maintain the credibility, professionalism, and authenticity of the portal and its contents.
Tone and messaging •
As set out in the Concept Requirement Study (CRS) prepared for the client, Bank Negara Malaysia, RinggitWise has established the following Brand Values: o Credibility: To be an authentic, trustworthy, and reliable portal; o Integrity: To be an independent portal, allowing no conflict of interest to arise during content development; and o Creativity: To produce vibrant and trendy designs to meet consumers' preferences in delivering its content.
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Building on this framework, RinggitWise will need to maintain a consistent style in its messaging (what it says) and tone of voice (how its expresses it). As such, four key principles have been established to ensure quality, relevance, and reliability of content for RinggitWise: o Objectivity: The content produced should be unbiased; o Accuracy: The content produced should only make use of factual content; o Originality: The content produced should not make use of plagiarism, and must acknowledge outside sources of information; and JJE Style Guide for RinggitWise | Page 5
o Usability: The content produced should aim for practicality of use for its readers. •
Following these principles will ensure that the content will adhere closely to the Brand Values that RinggitWise has set out for itself.
Spelling The "our" rule •
For this style guide, words of more than one syllable in which the "u" is not pronounced will adopt the "our" spelling as the standard. The following is a non-exhaustive quick reference list for "our" words (and exceptions): o armour; o behaviour; o colour; o demeanour; o endeavour; o favour, favourite, favourable; o flavour, flavourful; o harbour; o honour, honourable, honoured (but honorary); o humour (but humorous) o labour (but laborious); o neighbour, neighbourhood; o odour (but odorous); o rigour (but rigorous); o rumour; o saviour; o tumour (but tumorous); o valour (but valorous) o vapour (but vaporous); and o vigour (but vigorous).
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An absolute exception is made for "tremor" (no "u").
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The double "L" •
A non-exhaustive list of when to use a double "L" in spelling: o compel, compelled, compelling; o counsel, counsellor, counselling; o enrol, enrolled, enrolment; o fulfil, fulfilled, fulfilment, fulfilling; o install, instalment, installation, installing; o marvel, marvelled, marvellous; o signal, signalled, signalling; o total, totalled; o travel, traveller, travelling; and o tranquil, tranquillise.
Common mistakes •
There are a number of words that are misspelled or misused, or both, on a regular basis. o affect/effect: use affect to mean "act upon, influence or imitate"; use effect to mean "cause, make possible accomplish or complete". o analyse/analyze: interchangeable, but analyse is preferable. o compliment/complement: compliment means "an expression of praise"; complement means "the quantity or number needed to make up a whole". o composing/comprising: composing means "to make or create by putting together" (composed of A, B and C); comprising means "consisting of" (comprising A, B and C). o councillor/counsellor: councillor means (an official elected to a city council); counsellor means "an official who offers advice/counsel". o defence/defense: interchangeable, but defence is preferable; use defensive. o discreet/discrete: discreet means “circumspect action or speech”; discrete means “something being distinct or separate”. o ensure/insure: ensure means “to make certain”; insure means “to protect against loss”. o fewer/less: use fewer if you can count it; use less if you can't count it (fewer durians, less tempoyak). o gray/grey (colour): interchangeable, but grey is preferable. JJE Style Guide for RinggitWise | Page 7
o historic/historical: historic means "something important"; historical means "something that happened in the past". o its/it's: “its” is possessive (the dog licked its paws); “it’s” is a contraction of “it is”. o licence/license: use licence as a noun; license as a verb; use licensing. o moral/morale: moral means “a lesson”; morale means “an attitude or mental condition”. o practice/practise: use practice as a noun or adjective; practise as a verb; use practising. o principal/principle: principal means "head or leading figure"; principle means "rule, law, moral guideline or general truth". o rational/rationale: rational means “sensible”; rationale means “a statement of reason”. o re-sign/resign: re-sign is to sign again; resign is to quit. o stationary/stationery: stationary is when you remain in one place; stationery is paper. o that/which: use "that" when the clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence; use "which", set off with commas, for clauses less essential to meaning. Accepted spellings •
For this style guide, the following rules and spellings would apply: o the word programme shall be used to mean either “a planned series of future events or performances” or “a sheet or booklet giving details of items or performers at an event or performance”. The only exception is with regards to computers and IT, where program is used to mean “a set of coded instructions for the automatic performance of a task”. o it is recommended that metric measurements be kept to the French spellings (metre, litre); an exception is made with regards to weights, where the acceptable English/American spelling (kilogram) is used instead of the French (kilogramme). o centre, centred, centring; o cheque (as a method of payment); paycheque (not “paycheck”); o organise; o pretence; o sulphur; and o theatre. JJE Style Guide for RinggitWise | Page 8
Special abbreviations e.g. and i.e. •
The Latin terms exempli gratia (e.g.) and id est (i.e.) are very common, and respectively mean “for example” and “that is”. In modern times, it is more common to avoid using the short forms and to use the full English translations instead, in order to avoid using too many periods. For this style guide, it is recommended that the phrases “for example” and “that is” be used.
Versus (vs.) •
The word “versus” is commonly abbreviated as “vs.”. For this style guide, it is recommended that the short form only be used for sports reports/schedules (Manchester United vs Barcelona), without the period. Another short form is used for the names of court cases (Loh Wai Kong v Malaysia), again without the period.
Names and associated topics Names of people •
When mentioning names – whether of people, institutions, or things – always give the full name in the first mention. Subsequent mentions should be handled according to the circumstances, as described below.
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For Malay and Indian names, the patronymic – bin, binti, s/o, and d/o – need not be stated, for ease of reading.
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Alternatively, it is conventionally acceptable to express the patronym as an initial before the given name (for example S. Samy Vellu instead of Samy Vellu Sangalimuthu, or P. Ramlee instead of Ramlee Puteh); however, this form should only be used if the person herself/himself uses that form.
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In every case, after the first mention, the person should be referred to either by their given name or by their surname/family name: o First mention: Siti Maznah Abdul Halim; Second mention: Siti Maznah; o First mention: Tan Eng Huat; Second mention: Tan; o First mention: Rosa M. Martinez; Second mention: Martinez.
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Some special cases will apply: o Exceptions can be made for using the first given name if the person is well known as such (for example, the subsequent mention of Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar can be “Khairy” instead of “Khairy Jamaluddin”). o When more than one person sharing the same surname is mentioned (for example, “...entrepreneur Tan Eng Huat and his sons Tan Chin Hong and Tan Twan Eng”), the main personality is addressed by the surname, and the others are mentioned using their given names. This rule can hold true even if those sharing the same surname are not actually related to each other.
Names of entities and acronyms/initialisations •
For formal entities such as companies, educational institutions, government departments, use full names for first mentions. Subsequent mentions should make use of short names or acronyms/initialisations, depending on what they are known for. For acronyms/initialisations, use uppercase, with no periods: o First mention: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM); Second mention: BNM/the national bank; o First mention: University of Malaya/Universiti Malaya (UM); Second mention: UM/the university; o First mention: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank); Second mention: Maybank/the bank.
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A special note: certain media organisations only capitalise the first letter of an acronym (for example, Petroleum Nasional Bhd becomes Petronas instead of PETRONAS). This is done for acronyms that are “pronounceable”, as opposed to a collection of letters (for example, “HSBC”). For the purposes of this style guide, it is recommended that usage of uppercase be maintained.
Government, Ministries, and Officials •
First mention: the Government of Malaysia. Second mention: the Malaysian government/the government.
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First mention: the Government of Selangor. Second mention: the Selangor government/the government.
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First mention: Ministry of International Trade and Industry/Kementerian Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri (MITI); Second mention: MITI/the ministry.
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First mention: Minister of International Trade and Industry Dato' Sri Mustapa Mohamed; Second mention: Mustapa/the minister. JJE Style Guide for RinggitWise | Page 10
Sample of how mentions are handled "I am very pleased to see the Johor Bahru International IT Hub has been established within such a short span of time," said Minister of International Trade and Industry Dato' Sri Mustapa Mohamed, who officiated the launch. "MITI had seen the need for such a hub even before the idea was mooted, which is why we fully supported the idea from the start," he said. Mustapa praised YTL for managing to develop the hub both within budget, and well within the scheduled deadline. The minister also added that more such hubs were being planned for Selangor, Pahang, and Kedah. Titles and academic qualifications •
Abbreviations of positions/titles that appear in full uppercase do not need periods (for example VP, CEO, CIO, etc).
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Title abbreviations that appear in mixed cases (upper and lower) will require periods (for example, Dr., Prof., Mr., Mrs., Ms.).
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Abbreviating personal names requires use of both periods and a space between initials (for example, George R. R. Martin, J. R. R. Tolkien).
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For Malaysian titles, care must be made to adhere to official protocol. THe relevant authorities to refer to for this would be Wisma Putra’s Protocol Department. Certain exceptions have been made for ease of communication (for example, “former Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr. Ungku Zeti Akhtar binti Ungku Abdul Aziz” can be rendered as “former Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz”), but the writer should consult the editor regarding this.
Academic degrees •
The general modern trend is to avoid unnecessary punctuation. As such, this style guide will do away with periods and spaces for the abbreviations of academic degrees (for example, BSc, BEd, MAgr, PhD, MA, etc). Exceptions will be made for specific forms as expressed by the actual educational institution.
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Dates •
The form for dates (for both English and BM) should be: month first, date second, year third (“Oct 27, 2008”).
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In articles, dates without a year should not use the ordinal form (“Nov 8”, not “Nov 8th”).
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For a span of dates preceded by "from" or "between", use "to"/"through" and "and" respectively (for example, “It was held from Oct 12 to 23, 2018” or “It was held between March and April 1988”).
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When expressing periods of time in years, write the numbers out using an en dash (“20052006” or “1987-89”, not “'87-'89”). An exception is in the expression of academic years or concert seasons (“the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra 2018/19 Concert Season”).
Weekdays •
In English, weekdays can be abbreviated to Sun., Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., and Sat. In BM, weekdays should not be abbreviated.
Months •
In articles, months should be spelt out in full when standing alone or with a year alone (for example, “April” and “April 2005”, but “Apr 17, 2005”).
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The months of May and June should be spelt out in full even in date form (“June 6, 1994”), whereas for BM, the months of Mac, Mei, Jun, and Ogos should be spelt out in full even in date form (“Mac 31, 1875”).
Decades •
Decades can be expressed in three forms: o spelled out (“the Eighties”); o written in numerals (“the 1980s”; “the mid-1930s”); or o in abbreviated numeral form (“the ’80s”), where the apostrophe should be the closing apostrophe rather than the opening apostrophe.
Centuries •
In articles, spell out the first nine Centuries as words, then use digits and ordinals for 10 and above (for example, the Sixth Century BC, the 18th Century). In all cases, use the uppercase. JJE Style Guide for RinggitWise | Page 12
Time •
Although it is acceptable to use the 24-hour clock time-keeping convention, this style guide recommends using the 12-hour clock time-keeping convention for purposes of warmth and style. As such, the following points would apply: o Use lowercase for am (“ante meridiem”) and pm (“post meridiem”), with no spacing between the number and the time indicator; o Use a colon to separate the hour from the minutes (“5:28pm”), but not for exact hours (“10am”, not “10:00am”); and o In order to avoid confusion, use noon or midnight instead of 12am or 12pm.
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For a range of time, use "from" and "to" when writing a range of times, but use an en dash in tables. Examples: o “The meeting went from 9am to 10:30am”; o “Reception, 7-10pm”; o 9am-5pm (for spans of time that stretch beyond one span); and o 1:30-5pm (use one instance of "pm", rather than 1:30pm-5pm).
Measurements Metric system abbreviations •
For the metric system of measurements, use lowercase with no periods at the end of each unit for measurement abbreviations (10km, 230mg).
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For “litres”, abbreviate using a capital letter “L”, in order to avoid confusion with the Roman numeral for one (27L). This rule also applies to other fractions of litres (103 kilolitres/103kL; 244 millilitres/244mL).
Imperial system abbreviations •
For the metric system of measurements, use lowercase with no periods at the end of each unit for measurement abbreviations (10in, 230lb).
Ton and Tonne •
It must be noted that there are distinct differences between “ton” and “tonne”: o “ton” generally refers to the Imperial System of measurement, which is equivalent to 2,240 avoirdupois pounds (or 1,016kg); o “tonne” refers to the metric tonne, which is equivalent to 1,000kg. JJE Style Guide for RinggitWise | Page 13
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For this style guide, it is recommended that the metric system of kilograms be used. However, in all cases, every care must be taken to ensure that the right measurement is described.
Square measures •
Square measures can be written as in short form (“sq m” for square metres; “sq ft” for square feet) in the first mention, and with the superscript for scientific or technical text (28m2). Note that when the short form is used, there are no periods used and spaces are inserted between the number and the measurement.
Temperature •
Temperature is normally indicated by Celsius (°C) and Fahrenheit (°F) in most non-scientific papers. There are separate and distinct scales of temperature that are used for scientific purposes, for which the relevant authorities should be consulted. For this style guide, the first mention will be full text (for example, “72 degrees Celsius (°C)”), and subsequent mentions should make use of the degree symbol (128°F, -6°C).
Numbers The general rule for numbers •
In articles, spell out the first nine numbers as words, then use digits for numbers 10 and above or for negative numbers (for example, three reasons; 12 boxes; -2 percent).
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Some exceptions can be made where using numerals is preferable to text: o for headlines of articles/listicles (7 Ways to Refinance Your Dream Home); o for measurements that use abbreviations or symbols; o for percentages that include decimals (3.2 percent; 34.785%); o for combined whole numbers and fractions; and o for currency.
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It is fairly common international practice to avoid using numbers to start a sentence; if it is unavoidable or even necessary, the number used to start the sentence should always be spelled out ("Fifty-two people were interviewed..." rather than "52 people were interviewed"). JJE Style Guide for RinggitWise | Page 14
Numbers with four or more digits •
In numbers with four or more digits, use commas to separate three-digit groups (1,000, not 1000). The exception is for house numbers, phone numbers, years, and other serial numbers
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Avoid using too many zeros at the end of numbers (554.6 billion instead of 554,600,000,000). Zeroes in between numbers, however, must be used, and with care.
Money and currency •
There are several accepted ways to write out currency units – either with the appropriate symbol (£60) or using the international currency codes (MYR50 = RM50). For this style guide, it is recommended that the symbols be used as a matter of course, where the most common currency symbols are available in the Windows Character Map. There is no space between the symbol and the numeral (US$8.99).
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It is advisable to write out very large currency amounts using a combination of numerals and words with the currency symbol; however, do not use the “$” symbol and the word “dollars” together (“S$9.34 million”, not “$9.34 million Singapore dollars” or “9.34 million Singapore dollars”).
Fractions •
For fractions, use the Windows Character Map or ASCII Codes for fraction characters, instead of using full-sized numerals separated by a slash (4¾, not 4-3/4). When using Mac software, these special symbols are located under the character palette (under digits).
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Simple fractions that are not mixed numbers should be spelt out, and hyphenated only when the fraction is considered a single quantity (“His kick carried the ball more than one-third the length of the field”).
Percentages •
Percentages may be expressed in words followed by the word “percent” (twenty percent), or using with numerals the percent symbol (%), with no space between the number and the symbol (3%). Either style is acceptable; however, maintain consistency of style throughout the entire document.
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Number ranges •
Use an en dash (“–”, which is slightly longer than a hyphen) between two numbers to indicate “up to and including” or “through” (“The information is found on pages 113–126). See also the section below on Dashes and hyphens under Punctuation.
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For number ranges preceded by “from” or “between”, use “to”/”through” and “and” respectively (“It was held from 1947 to 1949.”; “There were between 100 and 150 participants at any given time during the two days.”).
Telephone numbers •
For this style guide, it is recommended that telephone numbers make use of the longdistance prefix and the International Direct Dial prefix, followed by a hyphen after the area code, and a gap in between every three of four sets of numbers that follow (for example, “(+6)03-966 5454” or “(+6)016-6373 2299”).
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Use dashes for toll-free numbers (1-800-755-2525).
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Use “ext” for extensions (“(+6)03-966 5454 ext 221”).
Capitalisation •
The modern trend in writing style standards is towards less capitalisation and punctuation. A good general rule as propagated by The Canadian Press is the “modified down style”: Capitalise all proper names, trade names, government departments and agencies of government, names of associations, companies, clubs, religions, languages, nations, races, places and addresses. Otherwise, lowercase is favoured where a reasonable option exists.
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For this style guide, it is recommended that the writer follow the above Canadian Press rule; the reasons given for adhering to a lowercase style are as follows: o when too many words are capitalised in text, they lose their importance, and no longer attract the attention of the reader. o lowercase style does not diminish the stature or credibility of a person's or department's position or reputation. o judicious use of capitalisation combined with white space and typeface can improve the effectiveness of print materials. o copy is easier to read when capitalised words are limited.
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A general rule for capitalisation •
Use capital letters for common nouns when they represent a complete formal name, and use the lowercase in the partial or informal versions of the name: o the University of Malaya (UM); the university. o the Government of Melaka; the Melaka government; the State government; the government.
Capitalisation of job and position titles •
In running text, formal job titles that appear directly in front of a name and are not set off by a comma should be capitalised: o Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; Margaret Thatcher, prime minister; the prime minister. o Director Chris Phooster; Chris Phooster, director; the director. o Manager of Payroll Helen Crane; Payroll Manager Helen Crane; Helen Crane, payroll manager; the manager. o English Professor Scott Mead; Scott Mead, professor of English (capitalise English because it is a proper noun); the professor. o Toxicology Professor Sylvia Danes; Sylvia Danes, professor of toxicology; the professor. o Always hyphenate the titles “vice-president” and “vice-provost”. o Formal titles are those than could be used with the surname alone (Bishop Williams)
Capitalisation in quotations •
Capitalise the first word of a quotation that is a complete sentence.
Capitalisation of academic programmes and subjects •
For formal academic programmes within colleges and departments, use the general rule of capitalisation (the Malaysian Studies Programme; Malaysian studies; the Vocal Studies Programme; vocal studies).
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Only capitalise academic subjects if the subject is also a proper noun (English, engineering, French, chemistry, law, Latin).
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Degrees and other awards •
For degrees and awards, use the general rules of capitalisation: o Doctor of Philosophy; doctorate. o Master of Business Administration; master’s degree in business administration, MBA. o Bachelor of Arts; baccalaureate or bachelor’s degree. o Professional Certificate in Land Management; land management certificate.
Capitalisation, spelling and numbers •
Always write street addresses with numerals, not spelled out (10 Downing Street).
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Capitalise letters that appear in street addresses (36B Central Avenue).
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Spell out and capitalise street names and directional abbreviations in running text.
Type styles Italics •
Italics should be used sparingly in running text, for emphasis.
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It is common for foreign words and phrases to be rendered in italics to help readers who may be unfamiliar to readers. For this style guide, it is recommended that italics be used for foreign words, with the exception of Latin phrases that already have common usage (ad hoc; per capita) or for most BM terms (rakyat; kopitiam). As always, the editor in charge should be consulted.
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The titles of the following publications and other works are italicised: o books; o journals; o movies; o magazines; o musical compositions, including song titles; o newspapers; o plays; o poems; o radio programmes; o television programmes; and JJE Style Guide for RinggitWise | Page 18
o works of visual art. •
Titles of articles and chapters from within those publications and poems need not be italicised.
Bold face •
Like italics, bold face should be used sparingly in running text, and only to emphasise differences.
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For headings, bold face can be used to divide running text.
Punctuation Commas •
This style guide makes use of the Oxford Comma Rule, where commas are used between elements of a series in running text (“Huskie Athletics supports a number of university sports including football, basketball, track and field, and volleyball.”).
Accents •
This style guide recommends referring to the Oxford English Dictionary for the accent requirements of foreign words that have been imported into the English language.
Ampersand •
The use of the ampersand (“&”) should be limited to the proper names of entities (such as A&W) or for short forms that are already well known (“Procter & Gamble (P&G)”).
Dashes and hyphens •
A hyphen is used in compound adjectives to form a separate concept, and are followed immediately by the noun they modify (used-car dealer; second-year student).
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Do not hyphenate compound adjectives where the first word ends in “ly” (“highly toxic substance”).
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Use a hyphen when the word following the prefix begins with the same vowel as the word with which the prefix ends, or when the appearance of the compound word would be confusing without the hyphen: o co-editor; o co-ordination; JJE Style Guide for RinggitWise | Page 19
o co-operation; and o pre-empt. •
Use hyphens in compound adjectives (12-year-old student; world-class athlete).
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A non-exhaustive list of non-hyphenated "by" words: o byelection; o byline; o byproduct; o bylaw; and o bypass.
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An en dash (“–”, which is slightly longer than a hyphen) is used between two numbers/number ranges to indicate “up to and including” or “through” (“The information is found on pages 113-126”).
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An em dash (“—") is longer than a hyphen or an en dash. Use an em dash without spaces before or after to set off a phrase in running copy but use them sparingly; unnecessary dashes create choppy copy.
Ellipses •
An ellipsis (“…”) is used to indicate an omission from text or a quotation. Insert one space before and after the ellipsis. No further punctuation is required when an ellipsis ends a sentence.
Parentheses and brackets •
Parentheses are used to enclose non-essential information, equivalents, or translations. Like capitalisation, they should be used sparingly and only when punctuation is not appropriate.
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If parentheses fall at the end of a sentence, the terminal punctuation goes outside the closing parentheses. Punctuation that applies only to the parenthetical information goes inside the closing parentheses.
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Use square brackets [ ] to indicate material that does not belong to the original quotation. They are also used to “[sic]” into a quotation, to indicate that errors in the quotation are the fault of the author of the quoted material.
Quotation marks •
Use double quotation marks for direct quotes or to highlight a particular word or phrase. JJE Style Guide for RinggitWise | Page 20
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Quotes within quotes get single quotation marks.
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When punctuating a sentence that ends with a quotation, a period or comma goes outside the quotation mark (He described the process as “environmentally neutral”.).
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Put an exclamation mark or question mark inside the quotation marks when it is part of the quoted material, and outside the quotation mark when it applies to the entire sentence (“That’s a lie!” the member of parliament shouted.).
Spacing •
Between the end punctuation of one sentence and the beginning of the next, use one space instead of two.
Lists Items in a series •
Lists that appear in running copy and are introduced with the word “including” do not require a colon (“Huskie Athletics supports a number of university sports including football, basketball, track and field, and volleyball.”).
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Lists that appear in running text and follow a colon should have semicolons ("Huskie Athletics supports a number of university sports: football; basketball; volleyball; and track and field.").
Vertical lists •
Bulleted vertical lists in running copy should be introduced with a complete sentence followed by a colon. Do not capitalise the first word of bulleted items in a vertical list, unless it is a proper noun. For this style guide, it is recommended that each bullet point end with a semi-colon, followed by an "and" at the end of the penultimate bullet point, and terminal punctuation at the last point. For example: The lecture series will cover a number of subject areas: ▪
political history of the province;
▪
economic development; and
▪
demographics.
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Technology terms •
Due to the pace of change of technology itself, the spelling and capitalisation of terminology need to be constantly update. Common accepted modern spellings include: o Adobe Acrobat; o JavaScript; o cyberspace; o desktop; o email (no hyphen); o high-tech; o home page; o index; o internet, the net; o online; o web browser; o web page; o webcam; o website; and o the web.
Email and web addresses •
Email addresses should include the “at” symbol (@), but no capital letters (ocn@usask.ca).
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Web addresses that appear in print should not include the prefix “http://”. Ensure that the URL is properly punctuated (www.usask.ca).
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Do not underline either email or web addresses if they are not actual hot links.
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Try to avoid the situation where a URL breaks at the end of one sentence and continues on another. If it is unavoidable, create the break at a slash within the address.
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Things to avoid Plagiarism •
Plagiarism is where another creator's work is appropriated wrongfully (that is, without permission, acknowledgement nor compensation) and passed off as one's own original work. Although it is not in itself a crime, plagiarism is considered academic dishonesty and a breach of journalistic ethics for good reason, and will very likely constitute copyright infringement in a lot of cases.
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For this style guide, it sternly recommends that avoidance of plagiarism for all members of the editorial team, in order not to besmirch the reputation and integrity of the RinggitWise portal. As such, all content generated should adhere to the following non-exhaustive rules: o all content created must be original content in terms of words and style, and all writers/content creators must make every effort to ensure that their work is as original as possible; and o all content that is attributable to a source must properly acknowledge that source, whether in the form of text, graphic, photo, video, or other form.
The sentence fragment •
A sentence fragment is a sentence that lacks a subject or a verb, or cannot stand on its own (for example: "Like this one or the next one.").
The comma splice •
When a sentence contains two principal or co-ordinate clauses (phrases that could stand alone as separate sentences), it is always wrong to connect them with a comma (“Sheep are great, they live on grass.”).
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To correct a comma splice, choose one of three options: o Insert a period after the first phrase and start a new sentence (“Sheep are great. They live on grass.”); o Introduce the second clause with “and”, “or”, “but”, “because” or a similar word (“Sheep are great because they live on grass.”); or o Use a colon, semicolon or dash to separate the phrases (“Sheep are great; they live on grass.”) Never use a comma.
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