City of Bowling Green Style Guide

Transcription

1 City of Bowling Green Style Guide Brought to you by the Citizen Information & Assistance Department Volume 1-9/07

2 City of Bowling Green Style Guide Table of Contents PART 1 Grammar, Usage and Style Section 1. Punctuation: Major Marks Section 2. Capitalization Section 3. Numbers vs. Words Section 4. Abbreviations Section 5. Spelling Section 6. Italics and Underlining PART 2 Techniques and Formats Section 1. Letters Section 2. Memos Section 3. Section 4. News Releases PART 3 Editing and Proofreading Section 1. What to Look for When Proofreading Dear City Employee, This booklet is to be used as a guide when writing memos, s, articles, letters, and other documents for the City of Bowling Green. It is intended for all writers as an aid in the learning and refining of writing skills. Please remember that there can often be an exception to the rule and that this booklet is here to help with common mistakes with grammar, punctuation and other areas of writing. 1

3 Part 1 Section 1 Punctuation: Major Marks Apostrophes: ~ Use to replace the missing letters in a contraction. > Example: do not = don't ~ Use to indicate possession. > It is the boy's bag (singular) > They are the boys' bags (plural) Colons: ~ Use it to introduce something that explains or illustrates what has come before it. ~ Use it to introduce a list or a series of examples. > He had all of the baseball equipment he needed: a bat, ball and glove. ~ If the sentence and/or list is confusing, you can use both a colon and semi-colon. > Suncom Corporation has subsidiaries in four cities: New York, New York; Wilmington, Ohio; Houston, Texas; and San Francisco, California. Commas: ~ Use to separate two independent clauses joined by a conjunction. Only add the comma if the two clauses make complete sentences on their own. > The conference was great, and all of the attendees had a good time. ~ Use to separate introductory phrases and clauses from the main parts of the sentence. > Mr. Smith, director of the department, is a great leader. ~ Use to separate items in a series. > Susie went to the store to get eggs, bread and milk. > It is acceptable to have a comma after bread or to leave it out. Remember to use it if you need it to clarify what you are saying. > If you choose to add the comma, then do it throughout your paper and vice versa. ~ Use to separate transitional words from the rest of the sentence. > Furthermore, ~ Use to separate titles and degrees from the names they're associated with. > Mark Miller, M.D. ~ Use to separate items in dates, addresses and geographic locations. > December 5, 2007 > Bowling Green, KY 2

4 Dashes: ~ Use to connect thoughts to the beginning or end of a sentence. > She went to Paris in the Summer of 2007-it was great. ~ When using a dash, there are no spaces between the two words. > 2007-it Hyphens: ~ Use to connect two compound nouns. > Tool-and-Dye Shop ~ Use to connect compound verbs. > To air-condition the house will be costly. Parentheses: ~ Use to explain. ~ Use to refer. > A book may use parentheses to let you know you need to reference a past page. (See page 54.) ~ Use to enclose the abbreviations or acronyms of spelled-out forms or vice versa. > Citizen Information and Assistance (CIA) Periods: ~ Use at the end of a sentence. ~ Use with abbreviations. > Govt. or St. ~ Use an ellipsis to indicate an omitted word or words in quotation. > ~ Don't use after a sentence ending in a punctuated abbreviation. > It was 9 a.m. (This sentence does not need a second period.) ~ Don't use after even amounts of dollars > $2 does not need a period. ($2.00 is incorrect.) Quotation marks: ~ Use to identify direct quotations. > "Today is going to be a great day," the Mayor said. ~ Remember that periods and commas always go inside the quotes. > "," or "." ~ Place all other punctuation marks (colons, semi-colons, exclamation marks, question marks) outside the quotation marks except when they are part of the original quotation. > The student wrote that the civil war finally ended around 1900! > The coach yelled, Run! ~ Use to indicate words that are used ironically. ~ Use single quotation marks to indicate a quote within a quote. > In The Emperor s New Clothes, Hans Christian Anderson wrote But the Emperor has nothing on at all! cried a little child. 3

5 Semi-colons: ~ Use to separate two closely related independent clauses where no conjunction is used. (use the semicolon in place of and/but/or) > Sam and Kathy went to the store; they bought some bread. ~ Use to separate two clauses joined by transitions such as "however," "nevertheless," and "therefore." > Sam went to the store; therefore, he spent some money. Section 2 Capitalization It is customary to capitalize the following words: ~ The first word in sentences, listed items, quotations, salutations, and complimentary closings. ~ Principal words in titles of books, plays, movies, articles, essays, poems, and short stories. ~ The word city when referring to the specific city in question. > An extra 6.8 miles of city streets were repaved. > The City has invested millions in rehabilitation. ~ Names of people, places, schools, religions, and organizations. > Western Kentucky University > The Grand Canyon ~ Names of races and religions. > Asian > African American ~ Names of geographic regions only when they refer to a definite region or part of a proper name. > North, South, Midwest, etc. > She lived south of the mountains. ~ Names of one-of-a kind events. > Woodstock or Octoberfest ~ Names of the months and holidays. > January > Fourth of July ~ Names of brands. > Pepsi or Coke ~ Names of people's titles only when they precede the person's name. > Dr. Smith > Chief Executive Officer Henry > Henry is the chief executive officer. (Do not capitalize if the title comes after the name.) ~ Names of departments within a company or organization for internal communications. > Citizen Information and Assistance Department 4

6 Section 3 Numbers vs. Words Spell out: ~ Numbers that begin a sentence. > Four times a year they go to the park. ~ Numbers one through nine. ~ Approximations of numbers that are used for effect rather than for accuracy. > If I've told you once, I've told you a million times. ~ Small numbers in a street address. (Only spell out numbers one through three in addresses.) > One Park Place Use figures: ~ For numbers containing fractions and ratios. > ¼ lb. cheese burger ~ For percentages and numbers containing decimal points. > 98.6 degrees ~ For dates. > December 5, 2006 ~ To number lists. > ~ For a.m. and p.m. but spell out the number before o'clock. > 5 p.m. > five o'clock ~ To emphasize ages. > 80 years old Combination: ~ Combine figures and words for large, round numbers. > $10 million ~ Combine figures and words to distinguish one set of numbers from another set in a single sentence. > There were two, 7-foot basketball players. Section 4 Abbreviations Abbreviations to use: ~ Personal titles. > Dr. Jones, Prof. Smith, or Mrs. Johnson ~ Junior and Senior. > Sam Smith, Jr. ~ Professional titles after a full personal name. > James Jones, M.D. ~ The word "number" when accompanied by a numeral. > We're No. 1 or We're #1 (either is acceptable) 5

7 Section 5 Spelling Accurately add prefixes and suffixes to words: ~ When adding a prefix to a word, neither the spelling of the prefix nor the suffix changes. > Unnecessary - "un" + "necessary" = unnecessary > Downsize - "down" + "size" = downsize Suffixes: ~ When a word ends in y and is preceded by a consonant, change the y to an i before adding the suffix, unless the suffix begins with i. Then you keep the i. > Study = Studies > Ski = Skiing (exception to the rule) ~ When a word ends in e, drop the e before suffixes beginning with a vowel. > Wage = Waging ~ When the word is only one syllable long or if it's a word that is accented on the last syllable, double the consonant of the word before adding the suffix. > Shop = Shopping Making items plural: ~ For most words, just add s. > Toy = Toys ~ For words ending in s, sh, ss, ch, z, or x, add es. > Virus = Viruses ~ For words ending in o preceded by a consonant, add es. There are many exceptions to this rule; if you are in doubt, check your dictionary. > Hero = Heroes > Potato = Potatoes ~ For words ending in y where the letter in front of the y is a vowel, just add s. > Stay = Stays ~ For words ending in y where the letter in front of the y is a consonant, change the y to i and add es. > Marry = Marries Section 6 Italics and Underlining Use italics or underlining: ~ For special emphasis. > I really don't care what you think! > These rules do not apply to newspaper writing. ~ As a rule, do not use all caps to give a word or phrase a special emphasis. The use of all caps for that purpose is typically overpowering. All caps is considered shouting. ~ In a formal definition, the word defined is usually italicized or underlined and the definition is quoted. ~ Italicize or underline foreign expressions that are not considered part of the English language. ~ The names of individual ships, trains, airplanes, and spacecraft may be italicized or underlined for special display or written simply with initial caps. ~ With titles of literary and artistic works, and names of publications. ~ Words as reproduced sounds. > Grrr! went the bear. 6

8 Part 2 Section 1 Letters Letters: ~ There are four parts to a business letter. > Heading: letterhead or return address and date line > Opening: inside address and salutation > Body: message > Closing: complimentary closing, writer's signature block and reference initials ~ The block style letter is the most used format for the City of Bowling Green. The following characteristics are part of the standard format: > All lines typically begin at the left margin. > Nothing is indented except for displayed quotations, tables and similar material. Letterhead Kevin D. DeFebbo City Manager February 9, 2007 Mayor Elaine Walker 1001 College Street Bowling Green, KY Dear Mayor Walker: This is the body of the letter. This is the body of the letter. This is the body of the letter. This is the body of the letter. This is the body of the letter. This is the body of the letter. This is the body of the letter. This is the body of the letter. This is the body of the letter. This is the body of the letter. This is the body of the letter. This is the body of the letter. Sincerely, Kevin D. DeFebbo City Manager 7

9 Section 2 Memos Memos: ~ The memo format was designed to simplify the exchange of information within an organization. ~ The most used form of the memo for the City of Bowling Green is the following: Letterhead MEMORANDUM DATE: January 25, 2007 TO: FROM: RE: Kevin D. DeFebbo, City Manager Elaine Walker, Mayor Capital Asset Budget Clarifications This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. This is the body of the memo. 8

10 Section 3 s Messages: ~ Heading. > Always address the to and subject lines in an . If necessary, fill in the CC and Bcc as well. > Make sure that your subject line is concise and explains what is in the . Vague subject lines are often deleted. ~ Body. > Remember that an does not require a salutation. Use only when your message might otherwise strike the recipient as cold and impersonal. > In order to have your message read, keep it as short as possible-ideally to one screen. > Do not indent the first line of each paragraph, but do leave a space between each paragraph. ~ Slang and Jargon. > abbreviations such as BTW for by the way and smileys such as :) are only acceptable with personal messages. Section 4 News Releases News Releases: ~ First and foremost, news releases should always be newsworthy. News releases should also influence public opinion or inform the public. ~ News releases should be written very concisely and in the inverted pyramid format. > Your most important information should always come first. ~ Three number signs (###) should be added to the end of all news releases to show you are finished. ~ The most common form for the news release within the City of Bowling Green is as follows: 9

11 Letterhead TO: ALL NEWS ORGANIZATIONS FOR MORE INFORMATION DATE: April 11, 2007 CONTACT: Kim Lancaster FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SKATE PARK GRAND OPENING Bowling Green, KY - The City of Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Department will host the Skate Park grand opening on Saturday, April 14, 2007 at 10 a.m. at Roland Bland Park. This event will include a ribbon cutting to officially open the park, free hamburgers and hot dogs provided by the City and prepared by All Seasons Gas Grill and Fireside Shop, and informational tents featuring Blue Wallace, Howard's Cycling and Fitness, Revolution 91.7, and Nat's Outdoor Sports. Drawings for giveaways will take place along with an open skate time. Please come out and celebrate Bowling Green's newest park with city employees, elected officials, and citizens. For more information, please contact Kim Lancaster at ### Part 3 Section 1 Editing and Proofreading What to look for when proofreading: ~ When proofreading a document, be especially watchful for the following types of mistakes: > Repeated words (or parts of words), especially at the end of one line and the beginning of the next. > Substitutions and omissions, especially those that change the meaning. > Errors in copying key data such as dates, figures, and places. > Transpositions in letters, numbers, and words as well as other typographical errors. (These are the kinds of mistakes a spell checker usually does not check.) 10

12 What to look for when editing: ~ Knowing what to look for when proofreading can be the difference between catching some of your mistakes and all of them. > Check for errors in spelling. Give special attention to compound words and words that have plural or possessive endings. > Make sure that every necessary mark of punctuation is correctly inserted. > Inspect the material for possible errors in capitalization, number, and abbreviation style. > Correct any errors in grammar and usage. > Be on the lookout for inconsistencies in the wording of a document. If you are editing someone else's material, resolve any problems that you can and refer the rest to the author of the original material. > Look out for inconsistencies in format. Make sure that comparable elements of the document have been treated the same way throughout in terms of type face, type size, placement, and so on. (For example, watch your text, titles, and numbered or bulleted lists.) > Look for problems in organization and writing style. Repetitive words, clumsy sentences, and weak organization can make a paper hard to read. > Look at the document as a whole from the intended readers' perspective and consider whether it is likely to accomplish its objective. > Remember that if you are reading what you have written you will have a tendency to see what you meant to write rather then what you actually did. Additional proofreading tips: ~ These tips are used by professionals and can catch 99% of all mistakes. > Read your text out loud. This will help you realize if something sounds wrong when you verbalize it. > Read your text backwards. Reading it backwards will take the "story" out of your text and allow you to focus on spelling. > Take a break. Taking a break will allow you to come back fresh and catch mistakes you missed. > Read it again. Never assume that you are finished proofreading after one attempt. Read all of your material at least two times. > Get someone else's eyes on your writing. Allowing someone else to look at your work will help with spelling and grammar mistakes. 11