Tokyo Institute of Technology Style Guide

Transcription

1 Tokyo Institute of Technology Style Guide For Written Communication in English By English Documentation Support Services About the Style Guide Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) presents an image of itself to the world through public relations and website content in English. To convey a professional, credible image in accordance with its high standards in research and education, Tokyo Tech aims to maintain consistency in regard to written communication, including its website. The added benefit of such consistency is that readers will be able to focus on Tokyo Tech content instead of struggling with various presentation styles. As this style guide should form the basis of all written communication in English at Tokyo Tech, all departments should refer to it when creating English-language content. Although language constantly evolves, some degree of uniformity and, above all, consistency should be established. For the most part, Tokyo Tech follows The Chicago Manual of Style. There are some exceptions detailed at the end of this style guide. If there are any discrepancies, follow the Tokyo Tech Style Guide. 1

2 1. Tokyo Institute of Technology 1.1 Referring to Tokyo Institute of Technology Write out the full name Tokyo Institute of Technology Use an acceptable abbreviated form (to be used only after the full name appears in the text): Tokyo Tech the Institute 1.2 Tokyo Tech Addresses and Contact Details Ookayama Campus: Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama Campus Ookayama, Meguro-ku Tokyo JAPAN Tel: **** Fax: **** Web: Suzukakedai Campus: Tokyo Institute of Technology, Suzukakedai Campus 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku Yokohama, Kanagawa JAPAN Tel: **** Fax: **** Web: Tamachi Campus: Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tamachi Campus Shibaura, Minato-ku Tokyo

3 JAPAN Tel: **** Fax: **** Web: Mailing/Contact Address: Professor Taro Tokodai Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering X1-11 Tokyo Institute of Technology Ookayama, Meguro-ku Tokyo JAPAN Tel: **** Fax: **** Web: Note When writing addresses on one line, use commas in place of the line breaks in the above examples (e.g., Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo , JAPAN). 1.3 Internal Contact Details Use the following format for internal contact details: Format: Example: Name John Doe Group or Team International Infrastructure Group Division International Affairs Division Department International Affairs Department Telephone number & extension Tel: (Ext. 3362) Fax number Fax: address 3

4 Group address Internal mailbox number Mailbox: S6-8 Group: 1.4 Tokyo Tech Building Names, Floors, and Room Numbers When writing out campus building names and locations, please follow this format: building name (write out in full: North, South, East, West, Main, etc.) building abbreviation (Bldg.) building number comma (,) Floor (spelled out in full) followed by the number comma (,) room number (use the abbreviation Rm followed by a capitalized letter first, then the room number without a space) When listing addresses in full: West Bldg. 8, Floor 10, Rm E1001 When giving partial information about a location: West Building 8 (correct) West Building # 8, West building number 8, 8 West Building (incorrect) Can you see South Building 9? (correct) Note In ceremonial programs or invitations, writing out the words Room and Floor rather than using abbreviations is preferred. When referring to a floor in running text, write out 4th floor or fourth floor. However, this is not acceptable when writing out full addresses or listing contact information. 1.5 Titles When writing out titles in running text, please follow the following formats. Professors and/or Teaching Staff: Position, (Department,) School or Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology (wherever possible, do not abbreviate title). For example: 4

5 Professor Kotaro Tokodai, School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology Assistant Professor Kotaro Tokodai, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology Administrative Staff: Name, Position, Division, Department, Tokyo Institute of Technology. For example: Kotaro Tokodai, Head of International Cooperation Division, International Affairs Department, Tokyo Institute of Technology Students: Name, Year, Department, School or Graduate School, Tokyo Institute of Technology. For example: Kotaro Tokodai, 3rd-year doctoral student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology Kotaro Tokodai, 2nd-year master s student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology Kotaro Tokodai, 1st-year undergraduate student, 1st Academic Group, Tokyo Institute of Technology 1.6 Capitalization of Departments, Titles, etc. University names, school names, official department names, complete course names, boards, committees, institutes, councils, and names of Tokyo Tech campuses should be capitalized. For example: Tokyo Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, Department of Physics, Ookayama Campus, Suzukakedai Campus Writing names in all caps is incorrect. For example: TOKYO TECH (incorrect) SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING (incorrect) Positions and titles are only capitalized if they precede a person s name as part of their title. The following examples are correct: 5

6 Tokyo Institute of Technology President Kotaro Tokodai Kotaro Tokodai, president of Tokyo Institute of Technology the president the president, Kotaro Tokodai, met with visiting scholars Professor of Mathematics Taro Tokodai Taro Tokodai is a professor of mathematics at Tokyo Tech. the professor Professor Keiko Kogyo is chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Keiko Kogyo is a professor of engineering at Tokyo Tech. Professor Kagaku is on the Board of Directors. Discipline names, names of academic fields, and business categories (engineering, computing, marketing, advertising) should not be capitalized 2. Italics for Journals, Bulletins, etc. Foreign words should be italicized (see the Romanization of Japanese words section below). Titles of lectures, books, and movies as well as names of periodicals/bulletins appearing in running text should be italicized: Tokyo Institute of Technology Bulletin is Tokyo Tech s newsletter. Note 1 Titles of books and periodicals are italicized; titles of articles, chapters, and other shorter works are set in roman type and enclosed in quotation marks Chicago Manual of Style Note 2 See 7.4 in Exceptions to Chicago Style regarding proper names of documents. 3. Dates 6

7 Generally, months should be spelled out in full. When used without the day of the month in running text, always spell out the month. However, in tables and other instances where space is limited, they may be abbreviated (see table below). Write dates using the American format (month day, year). September 5, 2012 Abbreviated styles such as 9/5/12 indicate different dates in the U.S. and Europe, and should therefore not be used. For academic and fiscal years, use an en dash , , (correct) 1997/98, 98 99, 98 99, (incorrect) For the year, use numbers and avoid using them at the beginning of sentences. The Institute was established in The year 2011 marked Tokyo Tech s 130th anniversary of its founding. For the year and month only, spell out the name of the month and write the year in numbers without using abbreviations. Do not put a comma between the month and the year. January 2012 (correct) Jan. '12, January, 2012 (incorrect) For the year, month and day, spell out the name of the month and write the year in numbers without using abbreviations. January 10, 2012 (correct) The meeting was held on January 10. (correct) Jan. 10, 2012 (incorrect unless in a table or programs) When expressing the date before or without the month, use ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th). He visited our office on the 9th of January. (correct) He visited our office on the 9th. (correct) When including the day of the week, spell it out in full. Wednesday, May 30, 2012 (correct) When abbreviating the month, use the following format: In Full Abbreviation In Full Abbreviation January Jan. July July February Feb. August Aug. 7

8 March Mar. September Sept. April Apr. October Oct. May May November Nov. June June December Dec. Note: Normally, May, June, and July are not abbreviated. 4. Times Either the 12-hour or the 24-hour clock may be used to express the time as long as consistency is maintained within the document or set of documents. If using a.m. and p.m., use periods, and leave a space between the time and a.m./p.m. 3 p.m. (correct), 15:00 (correct), 3:30 p.m. (correct) 3:00 p.m. (incorrect) When referring to 12:00 write 12:00 noon or 12:00 midnight to avoid confusion. If space permits, write to or through when expressing a period of time. The event runs from 8 to 10 p.m. (correct) The lab meets Mondays through Thursdays from 2 to 4 p.m. (correct) The event runs from 8 10 p.m. (incorrect) The class meets Mondays Thursdays. (incorrect) 5. s and Web References 5.1 Mass s in Japanese and English Use the phrase English version below at the top of the message. Also, remember to: 8

9 include the English title after the Japanese title when sending s include the English title at the beginning of the as well 5.2 Tags There are two official tags at Tokyo Tech: Important and Reply Needed You may omit tags defining the type of ( 通知 依頼 etc.) when translating the title. For example: 依頼 授業, オープンキャンパス等による休日勤務に係る手続きについて ( 全職 員 ) can be Procedures on... rather than [Notice] Procedures on Standardized Text When the linked webpage is in Japanese: For details, please visit XXX. (in Japanese only) (correct) For more information, visit XXX. (in Japanese only) (correct) For more information, visit the XXX website. (in Japanese only) (incorrect) 6. Formatting and Punctuation 6.1 Japanese Punctuation and Symbols The following Japanese punctuation marks ( ) and ( ) are not used in English writing. The use of Note: or the asterisk (*), depending on the context, is recommended instead. This mark ( ) tends to become garbled on websites. The use of a comma (,) is recommended instead. The Japanese marks ( ) are often translated as quotation marks. Capitalization of the contents or italics may be more appropriate. 9

10 6.2 Bullet Points There are different ways to use bullet points. In this style guide, two simplified formats are recommended: one for full sentences, and the other for fragments or phrases. Note that the leading sentences before the bullet points end with a colon (:) in both formats, and the use of and is not used (also see 7.3 below). If the bullet points are full sentences, begin with capital letters and end with periods as with any full sentence. For example: The applicants have to do three things: Write a personal essay of 500 words or less. Submit their test scores electronically. Mail all paper documents by March 1, If the bulleted points are fragments or phrases (as in a brochure), they neither begin with capital letters nor end with periods. The Ookayama Campus is: about 45 minutes from Haneda Airport about 100 minutes from Narita Airport about 30 minutes from Tokyo Station 6.3 Romanization of Japanese Words Use the Modified Hepburn style (Shūsei Hebon-shiki) which uses macrons to denote long vowel sounds. This is not necessary for common words like Tokyo and Ookayama (unless the context requires explanation of the pronunciation). 7. Exceptions to Chicago Style 7.1 Em Dashes Contrary to Chicago, Tokyo Tech uses em dashes with full spaces to set off parenthetical information. For example: Much to his surprise, Professor Tokodai the Institute s best hope won the Nobel Prize. 10

11 7.2 Labeling and Referring to Figures, Tables, Appendices, etc. Capitalize when used as a proper noun (e.g., "Appendix 1") but not for general use in running text (e.g., "the following table "). 7.3 Bullet Points As mentioned in 6.2, leading sentences before bullet points end with colons in all cases for simplicity. This could be considered an exception to Chicago Style. 7.4 Document Titles Proper names of Tokyo Tech and/or other forms (application forms, visa request forms, etc.) should be capitalized as titles. In certain exceptional cases (text with multiple references to forms, for example), quotation marks and/or italics may be added for clarity and/or aesthetic reasons. 8. Text from Other Sources, Universities, etc. In cases where the content is strictly for a Tokyo Tech webpage or document, it should conform to Tokyo Tech or Chicago style. In cases where content is shared with other universities, etc., refrain from making significant revisions without permission. However, it is possible that partner universities do not have native English authors or editors and would welcome an edit. Consult with and seek permission from other institutions in cases where text clearly needs to be corrected or improved. 11