Help:Style Guide

When writing or editing articles for REDdimension Wiki, you may be unsure, especially at first, as to what the proper writing style or usage might be. This guide is designed to help you when writing for the Wiki and also to provide consistency across the articles in it.

Some matters of style and usage may be more subjective than others, and some of the style decisions below may be different that ones you may have been taught in school, but they are considered proper usage for this electronic publication.

For consistency’s sake, please follow the guidelines below when preparing or editing an article for the REDdimension Wiki.

If your article gets edited to match the style below, don't take it personally. It has nothing to do with right or wrong, just consistency. Further, based on these established styles you should feel empowered to edit the work of others to bring variances in line with our preferred guidelines.

Links

Internal Links

Link to an internal article the first time a topic appears on a page. Do not follow with additional links to the same article, (except in the links list at the end of a page). For example:

• Correct

His father, Kevin McNulty, was born in New York. Kevin McNulty traveled to California in 1962.

• Incorrect

His father, Kevin McNulty, was born in New York. Kevin McNulty traveled to California in 1962.

External Links

Linking to external locations is encouraged, provided the contents of the external site provide significant insight into the topic of the article. Link to an external site the first time a topic appears on a page. Do not follow with additional links to the same site, (except in the links list at the end of a page). For example:

• Correct

John once flew on an airplane seated next to Abraham Lincoln.

In this case, the link is helpful because details about the other passenger are what make the statement important.

• Incorrect

John once flew on an airplane seated next to Abraham Lincoln.

In this case, the link is superfluous because details about air travel and the origin of planes do not have any bearing on the statement.

Format Issues

Italics

When to use italics

Use italics to emphasize a word or phrase (do not use ALL CAPS).

• Correct

Jon made forty three baskets in a row!

• Incorrect

Jon made FORTY THREE baskets in a row!

Italicize the titles of...

... books

... newspapers and periodicals

... television series

... movies and plays

... operas and full-length musical compositions, except for works that are named by their number or key (for example, Symphony No. 2)

... ships, planes, automobiles and trains, but not a prefix such as "USS"

• Correct

George read Catcher in the Rye while sailing on the USS Enterprise.

• Incorrect

George read "Catcher in the Rye" while sailing on the USS Enterprise.

Italicize the scientific names of plants and animals.

• Correct

Researchers studied canis dingo and its relationship to ailurus fulgens.

• Incorrect

Researchers studied "canis dingo" and its relationship to ailurus fulgens.

Italicize foreign-language words that are likely to be unfamiliar to readers

• Correct

Kevin's mother is Pauline McNulty nee Gillotti.

• Incorrect

Kevin's mother is Pauline McNulty nee Gillotti.

When not to use italics

Do not italicize foreign-language words that are proper names.

• Correct

In Rome, we ate at the Ristorante di Dante.

• Incorrect

In Rome, we ate at the Ristorante di Dante.

Do not italicize the titles of shorter works, such as essays or shorter poems. Set these off with quotation marks.

• Correct

The book Trek Fiction included the short story "The Birthday Bash".

• Incorrect

The book Trek Fiction included the short story The Birthday Bash.

Do not italicize the names of individual episodes of TV shows. Set these off with quotation marks.

• Correct

My favorite Star Trek episode is "Balance of Power".

• Incorrect

My favorite Star Trek episode is Balance of Power.

Usage

Abbreviations

All-Capital Abbreviations

All-capital abbreviations do not take periods except when referring to nations, states, cities or persons. Academic degrees, however, should be abbreviated with periods with no spaces in between.

• Correct

John Doe, Ph.D. works for NASA

• Incorrect

John Doe, PhD works for N.A.S.A

Lowercase Abbreviations

Abbreviations consisting of lowercase letters usually take periods with no spaces in between.

• Correct

The confirmation of his 3.75 g.p.a. arrived at 10 a.m.

• Incorrect

The confirmation of his 3.75 g. p. a. arrived at 10 am

Names of Organizations

Spell out the name of an organization on first reference. Do not follow an organization's name with an abbreviation or acronym in parentheses or set off by dashes. If an abbreviation or acronym would not be clear on second reference without this arrangement, do not use it.

• Correct

He attneded Katella High School from 1979 to 1980. At KHS he took calculus as a senior.

• Incorrect

He attneded Katella High School (KHS) from 1979 to 1980. At KHS he took calculus as a senior.

Bullet Points

• Capitalize the first word of bullet points (use sentence case). Don’t capitalize every word within a bullet point.
• For short bullet points that are fragments, do not use a period at the end.
• Use a period at the end of bullet points that are complete sentences.
• Periods are the only punctuation mark that should separate bullet points. Do not use commas or semi-colons.
• Make sure your bullet points are parallel in construction. All bullets within a section should be complete sentences, phrases or words that complete the lead-in copy.

• Correct

Places that John Doe has visited

• He went to Rome on a student trip his senior year.
• He travelled to Hawaii for his honeymoon.
• He went to Spain for Christmas in 2003.

• Correct

Places that John Doe has visited

• Rome - student trip senior year
• Hawaii - honeymoon
• Spain - Christmas 2003

• Incorrect

Places that John Doe has visited

• He went to Rome on a student trip his senior year
• He travelled to Hawaii for his honeymoon and,
• Spain - Christmas 2003.

Capitalization

Capitalize the titles of artciles, except when the title is a quotation. When the title is a quotation, capitalize the first word only unless normal punctuation rules for the quoted material would produce additional capuitalized words.

• Correct

List of Things Jon Wants to Know More About (regular article)

So there we were in the emergency room... (quotation article)

• Incorrect

List of things Jon wants to know more about (regular article)

So There We Were In the Emergency Room... (quotation article)

In section headers, slide headers and bullet points, capitalize only the first word in your header, line, or bullet point unless they include proper names. Don’t capitalize every word in a bullet point.

• Correct

When to use italics

• Incorrect

When to Use Italics

Personal titles are capitalized only when they precede a person's name.

• Correct

President John Doe

John Doe, president of the world

• Incorrect

...president John Doe

John Doe, President of the world

Numbers

As a general rule, numbers from one to nine should be written out; numbers 10 and over should be left in numerical form. The same rule applies to ordinal numbers like "first, second...12th, 13th, etc."

• Correct

Ro picked out number one and number 14.

• Incorrect

Ro picked out number 1 and number 14.

Ro picked out number one and number fourteen.

Use numerals to express mathematical, statistical, technical or scientific text and physical quantities such as distances, lengths, areas, volumes, etc.

Spell out a numeral at the beginning of a sentence. If possible, rewrite the sentence so the number isn’t at the beginning. The exception to this rule is when the numeral represents a calendar year.

• Correct

Last year 212 people attended the convention.

1999 was a great year.

• Incorrect

212 people attended last year’s convention.

Nineteen ninety-nine was a great year.

Dates and years

When writing dates, always use Arabic figures without “st,” “nd,” “rd” or “th.”

• Correct

The club's first meeting was on March 4, 2006.

• Incorrect

The club's first meeting was on March 4th, 2006.

Percentages

Write out the word “percent.” Only use the “%” sign within reports, charts and graphs.

• Correct

Ro scored 98 percent on her entrance exam.

• Incorrect

Ro scored 98% on her entrance exam.

The word “percent” is always used with a number. The word “percentage” is not.

• Correct

A large percentage of Wiki members attended the school.

• Incorrect

A percentage of 72 Wiki members attended the school.

Phone numbers

Use hyphens in phone numbers. It is also acceptable to put the area code in parentheses. Just be consistent within your article. Do not use periods/dots between the different parts of a phone number. Do not put a number “1” at the beginning of a phone number.

• Correct

952-853-5700

(952) 853-5700

• Incorrect

952.853.5700

1-952-853-5700

Ages

For ages, use numbers; don’t use apostrophes.

• Correct

People in their 20s don’t think they will live to be 85.

• Incorrect

People in their 20’s don’t think they will live to be 85.

Punctuation

Ampersands

Use an ampersand (&) when it is part of a formal company name or part of a product’s formal name. It should not be used in place of the word “and” in a sentence. It is acceptable, used sparingly, as a space-saving device in PowerPoint slides, where brief, simple points are preferable.

• Correct

AT&T

Take this style guide home and read it to your family.

• Incorrect

AT and T

Take this style guide home & read it to your family.

Apostrophes

Don’t use apostrophes before the letter “s” following years unless it indicates a possessive.

• Correct

This product was introduced in the 1990s.

• Incorrect

This product was introduced in the 1990’s.

If just using the last two digits of a year, put an open apostrophe in front of it.

• Correct

I was a child of the ’70s.

• Incorrect

I was a child of the 70s.

Colons and semi-colons

A colon means “note what follows.” The most frequent use of a colon is at the end of a sentence to introduce lists, tabulations, texts, etc. Do not put a colon at the end of an incomplete phrase (such as “Product features include:”) despite the fact that you see this done frequently. Rewrite a sentence to avoid this (“Product features include the following:”). Capitalize after a colon only if the start of a complete sentence or a proper noun follows.

• Correct

Destinations include the following: London, New York, Paris, Rome.

• Incorrect

Destinations include: London, New York, Paris, Rome.

A semi-colon is used between independent clauses in place of “and,” “but,” “or,” “nor,” “for” and “yet.” It is also used between independent clauses joined by such words as “for example,” “for instance,” “nevertheless,” “therefore,” etc.

• Correct

Representatives from each district attended the meeting; they met in Chicago from March 30 to April 2.

• Incorrect

Representatives from each district attended the meeting, they met in Chicago from March 30 to April 2.

Commas

Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series.

• Correct

This is a cost-effective method of gathering, analyzing and reporting data.

• Incorrect

This is a cost-effective method of gathering, analyzing, and reporting data.

Use a comma before the concluding conjunction in a complex series of phrases. In the examples below, the concluding conjunction is the word “and.”

• Correct

On the table were bread, butter, salt and pepper, and jam.

• Incorrect

On the table were bread, butter, salt and pepper and jam.

Periods

Periods (and other punctuation) are used within parentheses only when they belong to the parenthetical matter. Punctuation marks, which belong with the main part of the sentence are placed after a closing parentheses.

• Correct

Forty-four people attended (not including the crew).

Forty-four people attended. (The crew served as staff, and so were not included in attendance.)

• Incorrect

Forty-four people attended (not including the crew.)

Forty-four people attended. (The crew served as staff, and so were not included in attendance).

Quotation marks

Periods and commas are always placed within quotation marks.

• Correct

“You are an amazing talent,” said Jon's manager. “You deserve a raise.”

• Incorrect

“You are an amazing talent”, said Jon's manager. “You deserve a raise”.

Question marks and exclamation points are placed inside quotation marks if the quotation is a question or an exclamation; otherwise they are placed outside the closing quotation mark.

• Correct

Were you surprised when he said, “Stop surfing the Internet”?

• Incorrect

Were you surprised when he said, “Stop surfing the Internet?”