Web Style Guide

Writing for the Web follows the Department’s style, which is based on the AP Stylebook

Listed below are Exceptions and points that AP does not discuss.  These are based on review by a writing guide working group.  Also below are Points to Remember, and common stylistic errors.

Exceptions from AP style

Abbreviations for States –  We use Postal Service style, not AP style. So: MS, MO, MN and MI, not Miss., Mo., Minn. and Mich.

Academic Degrees − It is AP style to use “Dr.” before a name when the person holds a medical degree. Our style will be John Jones, M.D., although Dr. Jones would be an acceptable second reference. We have many people whose doctorates are important in the jobs but which are in other areas than medicine, such as a Ph.D. Second reference could be to Dr. Jones or simply to Jones, but it should be consistent. Whichever we use, we should use throughout.

Acting (as a job title) −The AP does not capitalize “acting” as a job title. We do. Acting is a term of law when applied to a person holding an HHS position, because an acting holder of a position can have different levels of responsibility than would a permanent appointee. Acting should be capitalized as part of a formal title if a person is officially named to that job. Similarly, if a person is not officially named an acting holder of a position, avoid even lower case use. If the title follows the name, however, use lower case, as proper grammar.So: Acting FDA Commissioner John Jones, but John Jones, acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

Agency Names and Use of the Word “The” − We would use “the” before the agency name (the Office of the Inspector General) if the agency commonly is known with that usage. As for the abbreviations, it would be up to the agency to decide if the public would refer to the agency commonly by its initials and know what that means, and the name is being used as a noun (the FDA announced.) AP copy commonly uses “the” before FDA.  That’s not the case for agencies less well-known.

AIDS −AP has it as just “AIDS.” We would write it as HIV/AIDS, as more exact, when we mean the infectious disease in general, and HIV when we are talking about the virus or the pre-AIDS stage. We would not use human immunodeficiency virus alone because more people would recognize it by its acronym. If the disease has advanced to the level at which it is clinically defined as AIDS, we would say that.

Avian Flu-Pandemic Flu (Or Influenza) − Because the AP Stylebook does not have this, here is the correct use of terms from www.pandemicflu.gov:

Terms Defined− Seasonal (or common) flu is a respiratory illness that can be transmitted person to person. Most people have some immunity, and a vaccine is available.

Avian (or bird) flu is caused by influenza viruses that occur naturally among wild birds. The H5N1 variant is deadly to domestic fowl and can be transmitted from birds to humans. There is no human immunity and no vaccine is available.

Pandemic flu is virulent human flu that causes a global outbreak, or pandemic, of serious illness. Because there is little natural immunity, the disease can spread easily from person to person. Currently, there is no pandemic flu.

Commissioned Corps −We can refer in upper case to the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, or say a person is an officer in the Commissioned Corps (provided we already identified the Commissioned Corps as part of the U.S. Public Health Service).

Datelines −In general, we don’t need them in news releases because the letterhead or Web page provides location identification. When we use datelines, they should reflect where the news comes from. If the news is at an event in Chicago and the agency is in Washington, the dateline city is Chicago. If the announcement comes from Washington about an event to take place in Chicago, the dateline city is Washington. When the release is a roundup – for instance, a multicenter study in which the news comes from several areas and the writer or the agency was not in any of those places – we would not use a dateline. This would be similar to AP style for roundups.

Headlines−All words in headlines are in bold, upper and lower, Times New Roman. When subheads are needed, regular or regular italic is acceptable. In both, 12 point is used.  

HHS – The official acronym, replacing DHHS.

SARS− Acceptable in all references for severe acute respiratory syndrome, but it should be spelled out somewhere in the story.

 Satellite Communications −Following are some generally used technical terms dealing with satellite communications.

Uplink: Transmission from the ground to the satellite; and

Downlink: Transmission from the satellite to the ground, and Footprint: The area on the ground in which a transmission from a particular satellite can be received.

AP Style Points to Remember

Academic Degrees and Professional Affiliations

We don’t have to use every degree and professional association in referring to people. When a person has multiple degrees, use the degree most appropriate to the news in the release. For instance, a researcher with a Ph.D. in epidemiology and an MBA would take only the Ph.D. in a release related to epidemiology, but the Ph.D. and the MBA in a release about management of a program related to his field of study.

Do not mention professional associations by abbreviation (e.g., FACS, FAAP) after a person’s name. If the news is about the professional association, write out the name of the association, and write out the affiliation of the person in the release (e.g., Dr. Jones, a member of the American College of Surgeons).

Acronyms

We should follow AP style and use as few as possible. It would be better to write out names each time they occur, or to use a short reference, as reporters do, than to force the reader to glance back up the copy to relearn an acronym.

We commonly use acronyms for agency names. If it is a well-known agency such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the National Institutes of Health, we don’t need a (CDC) or an (NIH) after the first reference. We can refer simply to the CDC and the NIH on second reference.

If it is a less-familiar agency, we can refer in a general way on second reference without using an acronym. An example: After referring to the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Review, subsequent references would refer to the center rather than to CDER or the Center. If we must use CDER, such as in a release that refers to more than one FDA center, we would put the acronym directly after the first reference to the agency name.

Administration (as in a presidential administration)

Lower case, per AP style

Chairman, chairwoman

Not chairperson

Congressional

Lower case, except in a proper name

Data

AP says we can use data as singular if we refer to a body of data, such as an entire report, and use data as plural if we refer to more than one data point. So: The data is clear. But some data are not clear.

Dictionaries

Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition, is the primary AP reference for issues not covered by the stylebook. It would be good for agencies to have a copy, but it’s not a requirement.

Decimal Point

Unless there is a clearly identifiable need, we do not carry numbers beyond the second decimal point.

Federal

It is lower case as a general term (e.g., the federal government. It is upper case as part of a name (e.g., the Federal Reserve).

Past Tense (in quotes)

We typically would use the past tense in quotes; e.g, …,” Smith said, instead of Smith says.

Percent

In copy, we would use the word “percent” rather than the percent sign %.

Seasons

Names of seasons are lower case.

Second reference

When used in the stylebook, the term applies to all subsequent references to an organization or individual within a story.

Acceptable abbreviations and acronyms for organizations frequently in the news are listed under the organization’s full name. A few prominent acronyms acceptable on first reference also are listed alphabetically according to the letters of the acronym.

The listing of an acceptable term for second reference does not mean that it always must be used after the first reference. Often a generic word such as the agency, the commission or the company is more appropriate and less jarring to the reader. At other times, the full name may need to be repeated for clarity.

Secretary

Capitalize before a name only if it is an official corporate or organizational title, as it is here. Do not abbreviate.

Self-/sub- (prefixes)

Always hyphenate.

Senior citizen/elderly

Use these terms word carefully and sparingly. Do not refer to a person as elderly unless it is clearly relevant to the article.

It is appropriate in generic phrases that do not refer to specific individuals: concern for the elderly, a home for the elderly, etc. If the intent is to show that an individual’s faculties have deteriorated, cite a graphic example and give attribution for it.

Spokesman/spokeswoman

But not spokesperson. Use “representative” if you do not know the sex of the individual.

States (state of…)

(see also “Abbreviations for States”)

Lowercase in all state of constructions: the state of Maine, the states of Maine and Vermont. Four states—Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia—are legally commonwealths rather than states. The distinction is necessary only in formal uses: The commonwealth of Kentucky filed a suit. For simple geographic reference: Tobacco is grown in the state of Kentucky. Do not capitalize state when used simply as an adjective to specify a level of jurisdiction: state Rep. William Smith, the state Transportation Department, state funds.

Supersede

Note especially the ending -sede, not -cede like precede. The word derives from the Latin supersedere, meaning 'to sit above', and so is related to words such as sedentary and sedan.

Toward

Not towards.

Teen, teenager (n.) teenage (adj.)
No hyphen is a change in AP style. Do not use teen-aged.

That, which

Use that and which in referring to inanimate objects and to animals without a name. Use that for essential clauses, important to the meaning of a sentence, and without commas: I remember the day that we met. Use which for nonessential clauses, where the pronoun is less necessary, and use commas: The team, which finished last a year ago, is in first place.

Tip: If you can drop the clause and not lose the meaning of the sentence, use which; otherwise, use that. A which clause is surrounded by commas; no commas are used with that clauses.)

Time zones

Capitalize the full name of the time in force within a particular zone: Eastern Standard Time, Eastern Daylight Time, Central Standard Time, etc.

Lowercase all but the region in short forms: the Eastern time zone, Eastern time, Mountain time, etc.

The abbreviations EST, CDT, etc., are acceptable on first reference for zones used within the continental United States, Canada and Mexico only if the abbreviation is linked with a clock reading: noon EST, 9 a.m. PST. (Do not set off the abbreviations with commas.)

Spell out all references to time zones not used within the contiguous United States: When it is noon EDT, it is 1 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time and 8 a.m. Alaska Standard Time. One exception to the spelled-out form: Greenwich Mean Time may be abbreviated as GMT on second reference if used with a clock reading.

Telephone numbers

Use figures. The form: 212-621-1500. For international numbers use 011 (from the United States), the country code, the city code and the telephone number: 011-44-20-7535-1515. Use hyphens, not periods. The form for toll-free numbers: 800-111-1000. If extension numbers are needed, use a comma to separate the main number from the extension: 212-621-1500, ext. 2.

Titles

In general, confine capitalization to formal titles used directly before an individual's name. The basic guidelines:

• Capitalize formal titles when they are used immediately before one or more names: Pope Paul, President Washington, Vice Presidents John Jones and William Smith. A formal title generally is one that denotes a scope of authority, professional activity or academic activity: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Dr. Marcus Welby, Pvt. Gomer Pyle.
• If there is doubt about the status of a title and the practice of the organization cannot be determined, use a construction that sets the name or the title off with commas.
• Concerning abbreviated titles: The following formal titles are capitalized and abbreviated as shown when used before a name outside quotations: Dr., Gov., Lt. Gov., Rep., Sen. and certain military ranks. All other formal titles are spelled out in all uses.
• Concerning long titles: Separate a long title from a name by a construction that requires a comma: Charles Robinson, the undersecretary for economic affairs, spoke. Or: The undersecretary for economic affairs, Charles Robinson, spoke.
  
  

Trademark

A trademark is a brand, symbol, word, etc., used by a manufacturer or dealer and protected by law to prevent a competitor from using it: AstroTurf, for a type of artificial grass, for example.

In general, use a generic equivalent unless the trademark name is essential to the story. When a trademark is used, capitalize it.

Upward

Not upwards

Web

Short form of World Wide Web, it is a service, or set of standards, that enables the publishing of multimedia documents on the Internet. The Web is not the same as the Internet, but is a subset; other applications, such as e-mail, exist on the Internet. It is generally credited as the concept of researcher Tim Berners-Lee who developed the first practical system in 1989. Also, Web site (an exception to Webster's first listing), and Web page.

Years

Use figures, without commas: 1975. Use commas only with a month and day: Dec. 18, 1994, was a special day. Use an s without an apostrophe to indicate spans of decades or centuries: the 1890s, the 1800s. Years are the lone exception to the general rule in numerals that a figure is not used to start a sentence: 1976 was a very good year.

ZIP code

Use all-caps ZIP for Zoning Improvement Plan, but always lowercase the word code. Run the five digits together without a comma, and do not put a comma between the state name and the ZIP code: New York, NY 10020.