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Style Guide
Framework Registration
Style
Guide
To assist in the writing of unit standards, qualifications,
and associated reports and documents
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Style Guide
Owner:
Framework Registration
Created:
2 July 2004
Created by:
Editors
First published:
16 September 2004
Template:
smart.dot
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Style Guide
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COMPOUND WORDS .................................................................................. 11
HOUSE STYLE FORMATTING .................................................................... 15
Formatting guides................................................................................... 15
Style ....................................................................................................... 15
Layout .................................................................................................... 16
ALPHA INDEX .............................................................................................. 17
A ................................................................................................................ 17
A or an.................................................................................................... 17
Abbreviations.......................................................................................... 17
Able ........................................................................................................ 17
Absorb.................................................................................................... 18
Accentuate ............................................................................................. 18
Acoustics................................................................................................ 18
Acronyms with a or an............................................................................ 18
Act .......................................................................................................... 18
Action ..................................................................................................... 19
Action verbs............................................................................................ 19
Active voice ............................................................................................ 19
Actually................................................................................................... 19
Adequate................................................................................................ 19
Adherence or adhesion .......................................................................... 20
Adjectives and adverbs .......................................................................... 20
Adopted or adoptive ............................................................................... 20
Advance, advanced, advancement ........................................................ 20
Adverse or averse .................................................................................. 21
Advice or advise ..................................................................................... 21
Affect or effect ........................................................................................ 21
Affinity .................................................................................................... 21
Agree to or agree with ............................................................................ 22
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Agreement.............................................................................................. 22
Alignment ............................................................................................... 22
Also ........................................................................................................ 23
Alternate or alternative ........................................................................... 23
Ambiguity ............................................................................................... 23
American spellings ................................................................................. 24
Among or between ................................................................................. 24
And/or..................................................................................................... 24
Antecedent ............................................................................................. 24
Anticipate ............................................................................................... 25
Any way, shape, or form......................................................................... 25
Apostrophe............................................................................................. 25
Appendices or appendixes ..................................................................... 26
Apposition .............................................................................................. 26
Articles ................................................................................................... 26
Assist...................................................................................................... 26
Assure, ensure, insure ........................................................................... 27
As or like ................................................................................................ 27
As yet ..................................................................................................... 27
At the present time, at this point in time ................................................. 27
Attributive nouns..................................................................................... 27
Audience ................................................................................................ 28
Averse or adverse .................................................................................. 28
B ................................................................................................................ 29
Bacteria .................................................................................................. 29
Basically ................................................................................................. 29
Basis ...................................................................................................... 29
Because of or due to .............................................................................. 29
Begs the question................................................................................... 30
Being that …........................................................................................... 30
Between or among ................................................................................. 30
Beverage ................................................................................................ 30
Biannual or biennial................................................................................ 30
Bill .......................................................................................................... 31
Block quotations ..................................................................................... 31
Blueprint ................................................................................................. 31
Boldface ................................................................................................. 31
Brackets ................................................................................................. 32
Bullet points............................................................................................ 32
C ................................................................................................................ 33
Capable.................................................................................................. 33
Capitalisation.......................................................................................... 33
Centralised ............................................................................................. 34
Citation ................................................................................................... 34
Clarity ..................................................................................................... 35
Coherence or Cohesion ......................................................................... 35
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Colon...................................................................................................... 35
Commas................................................................................................. 35
Comma splices....................................................................................... 36
Compare to or compare with .................................................................. 36
Complement or compliment.................................................................... 36
Compound words ................................................................................... 37
Comprise................................................................................................ 38
Concise Oxford....................................................................................... 38
Conjunctions........................................................................................... 38
Considered as, considered to be............................................................ 39
Continual or continuous.......................................................................... 39
Contractions ........................................................................................... 39
Criteria.................................................................................................... 39
Currently................................................................................................. 39
D ................................................................................................................ 41
Dangling participle.................................................................................. 41
Dash....................................................................................................... 41
Data........................................................................................................ 42
Dates...................................................................................................... 42
Decimate ................................................................................................ 42
Definite articles....................................................................................... 42
Definitions .............................................................................................. 42
Denotation and connotation ................................................................... 43
Diction .................................................................................................... 43
Dictionaries............................................................................................. 43
Different.................................................................................................. 44
Disinterested or uninterested ................................................................. 44
Discreet or discrete ................................................................................ 44
Double negatives.................................................................................... 44
Doubt...................................................................................................... 45
Due to or because of .............................................................................. 45
E ................................................................................................................ 47
E-citation ................................................................................................ 47
Each ....................................................................................................... 47
Economy ................................................................................................ 47
Editorial Board........................................................................................ 48
Effect or affect ........................................................................................ 48
Eg or ie................................................................................................... 48
Ellipses................................................................................................... 48
Enactment .............................................................................................. 49
Enquire or inquire ................................................................................... 49
Equally as .............................................................................................. 49
Essentially .............................................................................................. 49
Every ...................................................................................................... 50
Exists...................................................................................................... 50
Extracts .................................................................................................. 50
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F................................................................................................................. 51
The fact that …....................................................................................... 51
Farther or further .................................................................................... 51
Fewer or less.......................................................................................... 51
Finalise................................................................................................... 51
First, secondly, thirdly............................................................................. 51
First person ............................................................................................ 52
Focus ..................................................................................................... 52
Fonts ...................................................................................................... 52
Forceful or forcible.................................................................................. 52
Foreign words and phrases.................................................................... 53
Fortuitous ............................................................................................... 53
Functionality ........................................................................................... 53
G ................................................................................................................ 55
Generalisations ...................................................................................... 55
Gerund ................................................................................................... 55
Grammar ................................................................................................ 55
Grammar check...................................................................................... 55
H ................................................................................................................ 57
Half......................................................................................................... 57
Hopefully ................................................................................................ 57
House style ............................................................................................ 57
Hyphen................................................................................................... 58
I.................................................................................................................. 59
Ie or eg ................................................................................................... 59
Impact .................................................................................................... 59
Imperative .............................................................................................. 59
Imply or infer........................................................................................... 59
Indefinite articles .................................................................................... 60
Indicative ................................................................................................ 60
Individual ................................................................................................ 60
Infinitive .................................................................................................. 60
Intransitive Verbs.................................................................................... 60
Irony ....................................................................................................... 60
―ise ....................................................................................................... 61
Italics ...................................................................................................... 61
It’s or its.................................................................................................. 61
J ................................................................................................................. 63
Jargon .................................................................................................... 63
Judgement or judgment.......................................................................... 63
Justification ............................................................................................ 63
K ................................................................................................................ 65
Ker-plunk................................................................................................ 65
L................................................................................................................. 67
Language ............................................................................................... 67
Lead or led ............................................................................................. 67
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Style Guide
Legislation .............................................................................................. 67
Less or fewer.......................................................................................... 68
Licence or license................................................................................... 68
Like or as................................................................................................ 68
Listing..................................................................................................... 68
Lists........................................................................................................ 68
Literally................................................................................................... 69
Long words............................................................................................. 69
M................................................................................................................ 71
Macrons ................................................................................................. 71
Māori words and phrases ....................................................................... 71
Media ..................................................................................................... 71
Methodology........................................................................................... 71
Militate or mitigate .................................................................................. 71
Modifier .................................................................................................. 72
N ................................................................................................................ 74
Necessitate ............................................................................................ 74
Network .................................................................................................. 74
Never and always................................................................................... 74
Non-discriminatory language.................................................................. 75
None....................................................................................................... 75
Nor ......................................................................................................... 75
Not un— ................................................................................................. 75
Noun....................................................................................................... 75
Numbers................................................................................................. 76
O ................................................................................................................ 78
Obfuscation ............................................................................................ 78
Oblique................................................................................................... 78
On a ... basis .......................................................................................... 79
Only........................................................................................................ 79
Oxford comma........................................................................................ 79
Oxford English Dictionary ....................................................................... 79
P ................................................................................................................ 80
Paragraphs............................................................................................. 80
Participles............................................................................................... 80
Particular ................................................................................................ 80
Passive voice ......................................................................................... 81
Per.......................................................................................................... 81
Per se..................................................................................................... 81
Person.................................................................................................... 81
Personalise ............................................................................................ 81
Plus ........................................................................................................ 82
Practice or practise................................................................................. 82
Precision ................................................................................................ 82
Prepositions at the end........................................................................... 82
Prescriptive and descriptive ................................................................... 83
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Style Guide
Prior to.................................................................................................... 83
Programme or program .......................................................................... 83
Proofreading........................................................................................... 83
Pronoun.................................................................................................. 83
Punctuation ............................................................................................ 84
Q ................................................................................................................ 86
Quality .................................................................................................... 86
Quotation or quote.................................................................................. 86
Quotation marks ..................................................................................... 86
R ................................................................................................................ 88
Re........................................................................................................... 88
Referencing enactments ........................................................................ 88
Regulations ............................................................................................ 89
Relative pronouns .................................................................................. 89
Rules ...................................................................................................... 90
Run-on sentences .................................................................................. 90
S ................................................................................................................ 92
Second person ....................................................................................... 92
Semicolon .............................................................................................. 92
Sentence fragments ............................................................................... 92
Sentence structure ................................................................................. 93
Sexist language...................................................................................... 93
Shall or will ............................................................................................. 94
Sic .......................................................................................................... 94
Slash ...................................................................................................... 94
So........................................................................................................... 94
Solidus ................................................................................................... 95
Spell check............................................................................................. 95
Split infinitive .......................................................................................... 95
Square brackets ..................................................................................... 96
Subjunctives ........................................................................................... 96
Suspended compounds.......................................................................... 96
T................................................................................................................. 98
That or which.......................................................................................... 98
The ......................................................................................................... 98
Third person ........................................................................................... 98
Titles....................................................................................................... 99
Titles of works ........................................................................................ 99
Totally..................................................................................................... 99
Transitive and intransitive verbs ............................................................. 99
Try and ... ............................................................................................... 99
U .............................................................................................................. 100
Underline.............................................................................................. 100
Unique.................................................................................................. 100
Uninterested or disinterested ............................................................... 100
Usage................................................................................................... 100
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Style Guide
Utilise and utilisation............................................................................. 100
V .............................................................................................................. 102
Verbal................................................................................................... 102
Versus .................................................................................................. 102
Via ........................................................................................................ 103
Vocabulary ........................................................................................... 103
Voice .................................................................................................... 103
W ............................................................................................................. 104
Which or that ........................................................................................ 104
Who or whom ....................................................................................... 104
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Style Guide
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Style Guide
COMPOUND WORDS
A compound noun used as an adjective is often hyphenated: ‘a cross-bred
cat’. In general, if the two words constitute a concept then a hyphen will
express the partnership clearly.
by-catch
by-product
bylaw
3-year: a BA is usually a 3-year
degree.
A-frame: big ‘A’ or you miss the
point
able-bodied
alternating current (a.c.)
action-packed (adj)
after-hours
afterlife
aide-mémoire (pl = aides-mémoire)
air-conditioning
aircrew
alphanumeric
answering machine
antenatal
antisocial
Attorney-General (pl = AttorneysGeneral)
carcass: preferred spelling (not
carcase); pl = carcasses
catch-all
CD-Rom
change over
cheese-maker
childcare
child-centred
childlike
change-over (adj): change-over
techniques
change over (n): change over is
demonstrated
clean up (v): I told her to clean up
her room
clean-up (n): the clean-up took all
night
common sense (n): I leave it to
your common sense
commonsense (adj): it’s best to
apply commonsense rules
company-supplied: we will issue
you with company-supplied
clothing
cool store: a place to get cool
things
coolstore: a place to keep things
cool
coordinate
cost/benefit analysis
cross-match
cross-section
backbone
back-breaking
back-to-back
ball-bearing
bell-ringer
bird’s-eye view
binomial
biochemistry
blaster coating
blood pressure
bookbinder
bottle-washer
box-and-whisker graphs
break-in
brick-built
brickwork
business-to-business
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Style Guide
high voltage
home-based
home-centred
hydroladder
database
daughter-in-law
decision-making (n)
direct current (d.c.)
dispatch: use in preference to
despatch
downsize
down time
downplay
I-beam: big ‘I’ or you miss the point
in-depth
industry-based
in-feed
in situ
infrastructure
Internet
interrelated
intramural
electromotive force (EMF)
email
English-speaking person
explosion-proof
extraordinary
ex-wife
jack-in-the-box
keyboard
kilometres per hour (km/h)
feedback (n)
fire fighting
fire-fighting (adj): use of fire-fighting
equipment is demonstrated.
firefly
fireproof
fireproofing
first-rate accommodations
fixed wired
flameproof
floorcovering
follow up (v)
follow-up (n)
football
four-wheel drive
full moon
lifelike
light year
log on (v): computer – use log on
rather than log in
log-on (adj): my log-on
identification number
macroeconomics
mail merge (n): the document is
checked for presentation and
correct mail merge.
mail-merge (v): letters are mailmerged using database data.
makeup: cosmetics
make up: invention
mark up (v): drawings are marked
up accordingly
mark-up (n): the mark-up on the
drawings is completed
mass-produced
master-at-arms
mayor-elect
metaphysical
microeconomics
middle class
midtown
give-away (freebie)
grandmother
great-aunt
growth-limiting
half-sister
hand-held
hand over (v)
handover (n, adj)
hand tool
hard drive
high-level officials
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Style Guide
random access memory (RAM)
real estate
redhead
reinsert
retest
reunify
role-play
roll over (v): what the dog does
rollover (n)
role-specific
root-mean-square (RMS)
rootball
run-off (n): the run-off from the toxic
spill …
run off (v): her husband had run off
with the milkman …
multicultural
multiple-earthed neutral (MEN)
nameplate
non-compliance
non-incendiary
non-notifiable
non-sparking
non-verbal
non-violent
notebook
notetaker
off-job
off-shore
off-site
old-fashioned
one-to-one
one-week vacation
ongoing
online
on-job
on site (prep, n): are able to install
pre-cast concrete units on site.
If you can put a ‘the’ between
‘on’ and ‘site’ it’s two words.
on-site (adj): techniques for on-site
group activities are described
out-feed
overanxious
overrate
overreach
over-the-counter
salesperson
second-best
second-class (adj & adv)
second class (n)
second-degree (adj)
second-hand (adj & adv): used
goods
second hand (n): analogue watch
secretary-treasurer
self-development
semi-automatic
semiconductor
set-up (n)
set up (v)
seven-a-side
short-term
shutdown
six-pack
six-year-old
slip-free
socioeconomic
softball
standalone
start up (v): to start up the mower
start-up (adj): a start-up operation
stem-and-leaf graphs
stem-and-leaf plots
stockbroker
stockman (sexist): stock-handler
para-professional
PO Box
polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
Post Office
postwar
preconference
preheat: but pre-warmed
prepayments
printed circuit board (PCB)
post-production
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Style Guide
underwater
unnatural
up-dated
up-skill
up-to-the-minute
up to date (adj): the report was up
to date; the report was
amended to bring it up to date
up-to-date (attrib): the up-to-date
report was handed to Deirdre.
sub-circuits
sub-contract
sub-contractor/s
sub-floor
sub-field
sub-mains
sub-soil
sub-standard
sun-safe
super tanker: a jolly ship
supertanker: a jolly big ship
V-formation: big ‘V’
vice-president
team work: work that’s piling up in
the team’s in-tray
teamwork: how we work together
threefold
time-based
time-frame
time-line
transatlantic
troubleshooting
T-square: big ‘T’ or you miss the
point
turn-taking
two-way
wall-frame
website
weigh up
well-being
well-made clothes
work-based
workflow
workplace
worksite
world-class
worldwide inflation
X-ray: big ‘X’
underdeveloped
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Style Guide
HOUSE STYLE FORMATTING
Formatting guides
The following formatting guides should be used alongside the appropriate
templates:
Formatting guide for unit standards:
www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/standard/registration/docs/formatting-us.doc
Formatting guide for qualifications:
www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/standard/registration/docs/formatting-quals.doc
Style
Fonts – Arial 12 pt.
Titles – The font size for titles is normally set 2 points greater than the text
above which it appears. Capitals should be used sparingly. Titles for unit
standards, elements and performance criteria must appear as specified in the
Formatting Guides.
Italics – Use italics for book titles, for foreign words, and for emphasis. There
is no need to use underscore for emphasis.
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Style Guide
Layout
Justification – Left-hand justify.
Paragraphs – New paragraphs should be indicated by using the skip-a-line
rule.
Bullet points – The default for bullet points should be set to the basic round
solid point.
Use lower case letters and dashes rather than proper sentence punctuation
•
given that bullet points are used heavily in our documents, the Editorial
Board recommends that all items with bullet points use lower case
letters and dashes instead of more formal punctuation - this is easier
on the eye
•
lists will usually require a full stop at the end of the final point.
If using bullet points as a general tool to separate tasks or ideas, each bullet
point should contain a complete sentence and normal rules of punctuation
(including capital letters and full stops) apply.
When the document is very formal, lists should commence in lower case:
•
the list should be introduced by a colon;
•
semicolons should be used at the end of each list item;
•
bullet points should be set flush with the paragraph above to show the
relationship;
•
the penultimate listing should have an ‘and’ after the semicolon; and
•
the last listing should finish with a full stop.
Lists – The standard hierarchy for numbered lists is:
(1)
(a)
(i)
(A)
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Style Guide
ALPHA INDEX
A
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
A or an
Use an in place of a when it precedes a vowel sound, not just a vowel. That
means it’s ‘an umbrella’ (because you say uhm brel luh), but ‘a uniform’
(because it’s pronounced yoo nee form). Remember, particularly with
acronyms and other abbreviations, that it’s the sound that matters: it’s ‘an
MRI’, assuming you pronounce it ‘em ar eye.’
Abbreviations
The first time a term is introduced in text it should be written in full with its
abbreviation following in parentheses: ‘Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is
a machine used by ...’. Subsequent references to the term should be made to
the abbreviated form: ‘MRI uses magnetic fields, radio waves ...’.
Abbreviations should always be in upper case and, if the abbreviation is a
plural, it should be followed by a lower case s: MRIs. Some terms, such as
University Bursaries and examinations, should never be abbreviated.
Able
Able relates to ability or skill and should only be used in relation to animate
beings. Use can when referring to inanimate objects: ‘the ferry can dock at
the pier’, not, ‘the ferry is able to dock at the pier’.
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Style Guide
Absorb
Absorb, in the sense of holding someone’s attention, should only be used in
the passive voice followed by in: ‘she was so absorbed in her work …’. Not:
‘her work absorbed her so much …’.
Accentuate
Accentuate means to emphasise something or make it prominent – not to
increase it. When you accentuate the positive, you are making a point of it.
Acoustics
In the sense of physical properties, acoustics takes the plural: ‘the acoustics
in my shower are great for showcasing my singing prowess’. In the sense of
the science or study of acoustics, it takes the singular: ‘acoustics is an
important part of building design’.
Acronyms with a or an
See A or An (p. 17).
Act
In the sense of a piece of legislation, always takes a leading capital: the Acts,
an Act. Regulations on the other hand are lower-cased unless referring to a
specific regulation: the regulations, but the Building Regulations 1992. Don’t
ask me why.
Bills (Acts which have not yet passed) follow the same form as regulations –
lower case for bills in general, leading caps for a specific bill. See also
Legislation (p. 67) and Referencing enactments (p. 87).
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Style Guide
Action
Action is a noun. Avoid making it do double duty as a verb, as in: ‘I have
actioned your memo’, for something that has been done or started.
Action verbs
Action verbs express actions. Think of the difference between ‘I sing’ (action
verb) and ‘I am a singer’ (verb of being). When possible, replace verbs of
being with action verbs.
Active voice
See Passive voice (p. 80).
Actually
If including this word adds nothing to your sentence (which is probably the
case), delete it.
Adequate
When adequate comes before noun, it is followed by for: ‘they had adequate
evidence for a conviction’. When adequate comes after a verb, it is followed
by to: ‘the evidence was adequate to convict him’.
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Style Guide
Adherence or adhesion
Use adherence when talking figuratively: ‘adherence to a plan’. Adhesion
refers to something that literally sticks: ‘the adhesion of chewing gum to the
sole of your shoe’. See Coherence or cohesion (p. 35).
Adjectives and adverbs
An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or a pronoun and answers which
one, how many, or what kind: ‘red shoes’, ‘an old book’, ‘my doting nanny’.
Adverbs usually modify verbs, and answer in what manner or to what degree,
when, how, or how many times: ‘she sang loudly’, ‘I’ll do it soon’, ‘we went
often.’
Sometimes adverbs modify adjectives or other adverbs: ‘she sang very loudly’
(very modifies the adverb loudly, which in turn modifies the verb sang)
Adopted or adoptive
Adopted for the child, adoptive for the parent: adopted son, adoptive father.
Advance, advanced, advancement
An advance plan is to one that is made ahead of time. An advanced plan is
one that is ahead of its time. Advancement refers to promotion.
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Style Guide
Adverse or averse
Adverse means unfavourable, averse means unwilling. You have adverse
playing conditions, but you are averse to playing in those conditions. Averse
is always followed by to and the gerund (the ‘ing’ form of a verb).
Advice or advise
Advice (with a c) is a noun. Advise (with an s) is a verb. Let’s ask Harry for
advice, he can advise us.
Affect or effect
Affect with an a is usually a verb; effect with an e is usually a noun. When you
affect something, you have an effect on it. Effective is the adjective.
Affect, when used as a noun, means ‘to pretend to have’ or ‘to feel’, which is
where ‘affectations’ comes from. Effect, when used as a verb, means ‘to
bring about’ or ‘to accomplish’. Confused yet?
Affinity
Unless you are a scientist, one thing has an affinity with the other. Keep
‘affinity for’ in the lab.
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Style Guide
Agree to or agree with
To agree to something is to give your consent. To agree with something is to
approve of it. You can have one without the other: ‘she agreed to the
proposed changes even though she did not agree with them’.
Agreement
Parts of a sentence should agree with each other. This is one of the
fundamental rules of grammar.
Usually this is straightforward, but a plural noun in front of the singular verb
can throw you off: ‘any one of the options are available’. The verb are
shouldn’t agree with options, but with the subject, one. The sentence should
read, ‘any one of the articles is available’. Two singular words coordinated by
and take the plural: my mother and father have a new house.
A preposition or a verb that governs two pronouns can also cause problems.
In ‘He has invited you and I for dinner,’ the word I should be me: he invited
you and he invited me, so he invited you and me.
See also Each (p. 47), Every (p. 50), None (p. 74); and Criteria (p. 39), Data
(p. 42), and Media (p. 71).
Alignment
Documents should be left aligned. For special layout requirements for parts
of unit standards or qualifications see those specific formatting guides.
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Style Guide
Also
Avoid beginning sentences with also. See Ker-plunk (p. 65).
Alternate or alternative
Alternate (adjective) means going back and forth between two things: ‘Toby
spent alternate weekends with his father’. Alternative means other: ‘Toby had
alternative plans for the weekend’.
Ambiguity
Ensure that your sentences are clear and can only be interpreted one way –
the way you want them to be. Make the right choices with words, word order,
and punctuation and keep sentence structure as simple as possible.
Hyphenate modifying compounds to avoid confusion: an old-furniture
salesperson clearly deals in old furniture, but an old furniture salesperson
would be a geriatric who sells furniture.
Repeat nouns if it is not clear to which noun or pronoun applies: ‘Winona and
Gwyneth stepped on to the red carpet on Oscar night. She looked the very
picture of the classic Hollywood movie star.’ She who? It is only obvious to
those with insider knowledge that this must refer to Gwyneth. For anyone
else, the noun must be repeated to make the message clear.
Recast sentences if it’s not clear which nouns your pronouns refer to. See
also Dangling participles (p. 41).
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Style Guide
American spellings
Don’t use them. Except in the case of computer programs (see Programme
or program).
Ensure your spell-checker is on English (New Zealand) and any dictionary
you refer to – should be the Concise Oxford – uses standard British spelling.
Among or between
Use between for two things, among for more than two.
And/or
If both things are required, use and; if either thing is acceptable, use or. Only
when either both or one is acceptable should you use and/or. See Oblique.
Antecedent
A technical term in grammar for the word or phrase to which a relative
pronoun refers: ‘she didn’t like calamari which always tasted of rubber bands,’
the relative pronoun which stands in for the word calamari, so calamari is the
antecedent. In the sentence: ‘the boys couldn’t look at the picture without
giggling, which always got them in trouble,’ the word which refers back to the
entire preceding clause (the boys couldn’t look at the picture without giggling),
so the whole clause is the antecedent.
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Style Guide
Anticipate
To anticipate something is to get ready for it or to do something in advance;
this is not the same as expect. If you expect changes, you think they’ll be
coming soon; if you anticipate changes, you foresee them and are preparing
to deal with them.
Any way, shape, or form
Avoid using this cliché.
Apostrophe
The most common way to form a possessive in English is with an apostrophe.
When using the singular form, it is positioned before the s: ‘a hard day’s
night’. When using the plural form, the apostrophe is placed after the s: ‘the
girls’ team’ or ‘two hours’ work’. If a plural doesn’t end in s – children, women,
people – then the possessive s goes after the apostrophe: children’s
playground, women’s secrets, people’s houses. The possessives of pronouns
never get apostrophes. See It’s or its (p. 61).
For possessive singular nouns that end in s, use s’s: James’s house’.
Don’t use apostrophes to make acronyms or other abbreviations plurals. Not
‘they had their MRI’s’, but: ‘they had their MRIs’.
To refer to a decade, don’t use an apostrophe before the s. Refer to the
1960s or the ‘60s (the apostrophe indicates that ‘19’ has been omitted). If
using a semi-serif font, such as Times New Roman, ensure that the
apostrophe points in the direction of the omission: ‘60s not ‘60s.
See also Contractions (p. 39) and Attributive nouns (p. 27).
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Style Guide
Appendices or appendixes
There are two plurals for appendix. Appendices, is the plural to use for those
add-on bits at the end of books or manuals. Appendixes, is the plural to use
for those funny little body bits which sometimes burst.
Apposition
Two phrases are in apposition when they’re logically equivalent and in the
same grammatical relation to the rest of the sentence: it’s a way of explaining
a word or phrase, or giving additional information about it. ‘I spent the evening
watching my favourite movie, The Sound of Music.’ The second phrase
explains the first. Commas are usually required around the appositional
phrase: ‘The summer of ‘04, the wettest on record, was followed by a warm
autumn’.
Articles
English has two sorts of articles: the definite article (the), and indefinite
articles (a and an). Pay attention to whether the definite article is required.
For example, a performance criterion beginning ‘Consequences ...’ may be
taken to imply that only some consequences are involved, whereas a
performance criterion beginning ‘The consequences ...’ implies that all critical
consequences are required.
Assist
I assist someone in doing something, not to do something: ‘let me assist you
in evaluating that report’, not ‘let me assist you to evaluate that report’. Of
course, you could always use help instead.
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Style Guide
Assure, ensure, insure
You assure a person that things will go right by making him confident. Insure
is what an insurance company does. Ensure means to make sure, as in
‘ensure that this is done by the deadline’.
As or like
See Like or as (p. 68).
As yet
Consider using yet. Nothing is lost in saying ‘The report is not completed yet’,
rather than ‘The report is not completed as yet’. Either way the report’s not
finished.
At the present time, at this point in time
Never, never, never.
Attributive nouns
One of the most difficult decisions to make about possessives and plurals of
compound words occurs when you can’t decide whether the first noun in a
compound structure is acting as a noun that ought to be showing possession,
or as an attributive noun, essentially an adjective. Am I a member of the
Publishers Union or the Publishers’ Union? Am I going to the Singers
Workshop or the Singers’ Workshop? Check any sources you can to see
what the organisation calls itself (publishers/publishers’ union), or what it calls
those things it controls (singers/singers’ workshop). If that gives you no help
then make a choice and stick with it. Be consistent within your document or
batch of documents.
See Compound words (p. 37) and Apostrophe (p. 25).
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Style Guide
Audience
Yes, you have an audience! Every time you write something that someone
else will read your attention should be on the effect it will have. How easy will
it be for them to interpret your intent? Will their interpretation match your
expectations of their interpretation?
Averse or adverse
See Adverse or averse (p. 21).
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Style Guide
B
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Bacteria
Bacteria is the plural. If there’s only one of the slippery little devils, the word
you need is bacterium.
Basically
Qualifiers such as basically, essentially, totally, etc, rarely add anything to a
sentence; they’re the written equivalent of ‘um’.
Basis
See On a ... basis (p. 78).
Because of or due to
See Due to or because of (p. 45).
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Style Guide
Begs the question
Despite what you hear on the 6 o’clock News, it does not ‘beg the question’ to
ask when a town will be rebuilt after it’s been flooded. That’s inviting a
question.
Being that …
If you mean because, since, or something equally direct, then say so.
Between or among
See Among or between (p. 30).
Beverage
Beverage should only be used in the sense of ‘the Food and Beverage
Industry’ otherwise I believe the word you’re looking for is drink.
Biannual or biennial
Biannual means twice a year, biennial means once every two years. If you
can’t remember which is which – and who can – use ‘twice a year’ and ‘every
two years’.
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Style Guide
Bill
A bill is a proposed law which is still undergoing Parliamentary hoo-ha. Lower
case is used when discussing a bill in the general sense. Leading caps are
used when it is a specific bill: the Transmission Gully Bill. It becomes an Act if
passed into law.
Block quotations
Short quotations usually appear in the text surrounded by quotation marks,
‘like this’. Longer quotations should be offset as block quotations or extracts,
like this:
Don’t use quotation marks around a block quotation: the indention is
enough to indicate it’s a quotation. Block quotations should use the
same spacing rules that are applied to the rest of the document.
Always be sure to include proper citations in block quotations; the usual route
is to put the citation in parentheses after the closing punctuation in the
quotation itself. See Citation (p. 34).
Blueprint
Unless you’re an architect there is no need to use this word. Ever.
Boldface
See Fonts (p. 52), Italics (p. 61), and Titles (p. 98).
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Style Guide
Brackets
Round brackets are used to mark off a parenthesis (like this one) in a
sentence. However, don’t use brackets if it’s more suitable to use commas or
dashes to mark off a parenthetical sub-clause.
Full stops should go outside the brackets if the parenthetical remark is part of
a larger sentence, but inside the brackets if it isn’t. Here is an example of the
first (the punctuation goes outside, because we’re still part of the outer
sentence). (Here is an example of the second; we’re no longer inside any
other sentence so the full stop goes inside.)
Square brackets are used to indicate editorial changes in a quotation:
‘[Here’s] an example’. The only other place they should be used is when
referencing a qualification: [ref: 1776].
Curly brackets {these funny ones} should be used only in the appropriate
place in pointy-head stuff like maths and science.
See also Ellipses (p. 48) and Sic (p. 93).
Bullet points
The default for bullet points should be set to the basic round solid point.
Use lower case letters and dashes rather than proper sentence punctuation
•
given that bullet points are used heavily in our documents, the Editorial
Board recommends that all items with bullet points use lower case
letters and dashes instead of more formal punctuation - this is easier
on the eye
•
lists will usually require a full stop at the end of the final point.
If using bullet points as a general tool to separate tasks or ideas, each bullet
point should contain a complete sentence and normal rules of punctuation
(including capital letters and full stops) apply.
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Style Guide
C
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Capable
Capable relates to someone’s competence, so can only be followed by an
active verb: ‘is capable of doing’; not a passive: ‘is capable of being done’.
The phrase ‘is capable of doing’ can often be better rendered as ‘is able to
do’, or turned into an active verb with ‘can do’.
Capitalisation
It’s customary to capitalise:
•
The first word of a sentence;
•
The major words in the title of a work;
•
Proper nouns (names), including most adjectives derived from proper
nouns (Spanish from Spain, Freudian from Freud), and academic subjects
such as French or English;
•
Personal titles when they come before a name (Mr Smith, Ms Jones, Dr
Spock, Captain Beaky, Reverend Timothy Lovejoy);
•
All (or most) letters in an abbreviation (NCEA, MRI).
See House style (p. 57) and Titles (p. 98).
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Style Guide
Centralised
Use central whenever possible. See Personalised (p. 80).
Citation
Cite your source for every direct quotation and every borrowed idea. Where
performance criteria refer to publications such as legislation, regulations,
Government guidelines, industry codes of practice, national or international
quality standards, etc, these publications must be fully cited in the special
notes. To indicate that an electronic source is the only known source, use ‘at’.
To indicate that the electronic source is a parallel reference to a printed
source, use ‘available at’.
A set approach to capitalisation and punctuation should be adopted. As we
deal with many disciplines and associated reference styles (for example APA
or Harvard citation) the main thing is consistency.
Examples:
Book:
Author or Editor (ed), Title of Book (Place:
Publisher, year), page no(s).
Journal:
C Dewhirst ‘Hot air over the Himalayas’ (1986) vol
1, no 4, World Geographic, 44-55.
New Zealand Standards
NZS 5261: 2003 Gas Installation.
Government papers
NZ GCP1: 1993 New Zealand Gas Code of
Practice for Inspection, Testing and Certification
of Gasfitting Work Done Under Supervision,
Ministry of Economic Development, available at
www.med.govt.nz.
www:
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/index.html
see also E-citation (p. 47).
Curriculum documents
Mathematics in the New Zealand Curriculum,
Ministry of Education (Wellington: Learning
Media, 1992).
Tauaki Marautanga Pāngarau, Ministry of
Education (Wellington: Learning Media, 1994).
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Style Guide
Clarity
Writing should be clear to the reader, not just to the person writing it. See
Audience (p. 28), Ambiguity (p. 23), Precision (p. 81), Obfuscation (p. 77), and
Vocabulary (p. 102).
Coherence or Cohesion
Use coherence to talk about how ideas are progressing. Use cohesion to talk
about ‘sticking together’, whether literally (by glue, etc) or metaphorically
(friends, family, All Black fans). See also Adherence or adhesion (p. 20).
Colon
A colon marks a pause for explanation or elaboration. Use a colon to
introduce a list: thing one, thing two, and thing three. Use it to pause and
explain: this sentence makes the point. Use it to give an example: this, for
instance. It is also used to introduce a block quotation or a list of bullet points.
See also Semicolon (p. 91).
Commas
A few places commas should be used:
•
As a substitute for and in a series: April, May, and June.
A comma is to be used before the last item in a list: ‘April, May, and June.’
This is known as the Oxford comma. Otherwise, you run the risk of
suggesting the last two items are some sort of special pair.
•
Between adjectives: short, sharp shots; but not where the second
adjective and the noun form a type of compound noun: a good little boy.
In that case, little boy forms a compound and the emphasis is on good:
there was a little boy and he was good. Compare this with a good, little
boy: there was a boy, he was good and he was little.
•
After However, Furthermore, or In addition when these start a sentence.
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Style Guide
A few places commas should be avoided:
•
Between a month and year in a date: not November, 2004, but November
2004.
•
After and, but, and or, unless the comma sets off a phrase which can’t
stand alone as a sentence. It’s wrong to write; ‘But, Ben did win New
Zealand Idol.’ You need a set-off phrase: ‘But, despite my vote for
Michael, Ben did win New Zealand Idol.’
•
Before and or but if the subject before continues to be the subject after.
For example, you wouldn’t want a comma here: ‘Ben won New Zealand
Idol and became a pop sensation.’ The subject, Ben, is the same both
sides of the and. But you would want one here: ‘Ben won New Zealand
Idol, and it made him a pop sensation.’ In the second example, the
subject changed from Ben on one side of the comma to NZ Idol on t’other.
Comma splices
See Run-on sentences (p. 36).
Compare to or compare with
To compare something to something else means to state a resemblance
between them; to compare something with something else means to note the
resemblances and differences between them.
Complement or compliment
A complement is something that is needed to make a thing perfect. A
compliment is an expression of admiration or praise. Both words can be
nouns: ‘that new handbag was a perfect complement to Gwyneth’s outfit and
she received many compliments for her stylishness’. Or they can be verbs:
‘that new handbag complemented Gwyneth’s outfit perfectly and she was
complimented many times for her stylishness.’
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Style Guide
Compound words
There are three forms of compound words: closed, in which the words are
joined together; hyphenated; and open.
When compound modifiers precede a noun, they are often hyphenated: parttime teacher, fifty-metre-long pool, fire-resistant curtains, high-speed chase.
When those same modifying words come after the noun, however, they are
not hyphenated: a pool fifty metres long, curtains that are fire resistant, etc.
For hyphenated forms, the pluralising usually attaches to the element being
pluralised (often the noun): fathers-in-law, passers-by. Take care when
pluralising compounds derived from French where the compound takes the
noun-modifier form: courts-martial, Attorneys-General, notaries public, etc.
And in case you were wondering, it’s officially gins-and-tonics when you order
a round.
Normally, compounds created by adding a prefix are not hyphenated. Some
exceptions to this include:
•
compounds in which the second element is capitalised or a number (pre1999, non-Catholics)
•
compounds which need hyphens to avoid confusion (un-ionised, in the
sense of chemistry, as distinguished from unionised, in the sense of
industrial relations)
•
compounds in which a vowel would be repeated and clarity would be lost
(semi-independent, anti-intellectual)
•
compounds consisting of more than one word (non-English-speaking,
second-class citizen)
•
compounds that would be difficult to read without a hyphen (co-edited).
See also Suspended compounds (p. 95), Attributive nouns (p. 27), and the list
of commonly used compound words (p. 11).
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Style Guide
Comprise
Comprise means comprehend or contain: an orchestra comprises musicians
it’s not comprised of them. Avoid using the phrase ‘is comprised of’.
Concise Oxford
See Dictionaries (p. 43).
Conjunctions
As in don’t start sentences with them. Conjunctions are little words that
connect various elements in a sentence. They come in two flavours:
(1)
Coordinating conjunctions
The most common are and, but, or, and nor. Coordinating conjunctions
connect two things of the same kind: two nouns (pavlova or ice-cream), two
verbs (drinks and smokes), two adjectives (hot and humid), two adverbs
(quickly but carefully), or two independent clauses (Dylan writes better songs,
but Britney sells more records).
(2)
Subordinating conjunctions
A subordinating conjunction joins an independent clause to a dependent one,
and it’s the conjunction that makes the dependent clause dependent. Take
two independent clauses: ‘I went shoe shopping’ and ‘I was depressed’. We
can glue them together with a coordinating conjunction: ‘I went shoe shopping
and I was depressed’. Although this is clear, it doesn’t suggest a connection.
A subordinating conjunction will show the relation: ‘I went shoe shopping
because I was depressed’. Ahh.
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Style Guide
Considered as, considered to be
Take the following: ‘this criterion is considered as essential’ or ‘this criterion is
considered to be essential’, what value do the italicised words add? They
could be rephrased as ‘this criterion is essential’, without losing meaning.
Continual or continuous
Continual means ‘happening over and over again’; continuous means
‘happening constantly’. If it’s raining continually, it means the rain keeps
stopping and starting. If it rains continuously, you need to stay in and watch
Elvis movies – it isn’t going to stop.
Contractions
Avoid using contractions (such as aren’t, don’t, it’s, they’re) in formal reports.
In less formal communications, if you do use them, put the apostrophe in the
right place (that is, in place of the missing letter).
Criteria
This is a plural noun: ‘the criteria are’, not ‘the criteria is’. The singular is
criterion. See also Media (p. 71), Data (p. 42), and Agreement (p. 22).
Currently
Use now or let a present-tense verb do the work. No meaning is lost if you
use ‘this qualification is not registered’ or ‘this qualification is not yet
registered’, rather than ‘this qualification is currently not registered’.
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Style Guide
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Style Guide
D
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Dangling participle
A present participle is a verb ending in ing, and is called dangling when the
subject of the ing verb and the subject of the sentence don’t agree. Here’s an
example: ‘Swerving to avoid the other cyclists, Daphne’s bike chain snapped
in two.’ The subject is Daphne’s bike chain, but it’s not one doing the
swerving. Recast the sentence: ‘While Daphne was swerving to avoid the
other cyclists, her bike chain snapped in two.’ See Ambiguity (p. 23).
Dash
There are three main types of dashes:
•
em-dash (because it’s the width of the letter m);
•
en-dash (yep, you guessed it); and
•
hyphen.
They each serve a different purpose. You won’t need the en-dash unless
working on Achievement Standards where it is used to separate a range of
numbers. For qualifications and unit standards use a hyphen in a range.
An em-dash is used to mark a parenthesis – like this – or an interruption.
Don’t confuse it with a hyphen. Dashes can be seen as a little informal so
parentheses or commas should be used, not dashes, to indicate a
parenthetical subclause in formal writing. If using dashes – in less formal
writing – they should have spaces around them. See Hyphen (p. 57).
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Style Guide
Data
Who can remember the last time they used the word datum? As in the
singular of data. Datum is dead. Treat data as a collective noun: ‘the data is’,
not ‘the data are’. See Criteria (p. 39), Media (p. 71), and Agreement (p. 22).
Dates
In text, write the date in full: 10 November 2004. Where dates must appear in
figures, house style is 10/11/04.
Decimate
Never use decimate when its object is modified: ‘the kakapo population was
decimated’, not: ‘the kakapo population was decimated by half’.
Definite articles
See Articles (p. 26).
Definitions
Definitions of terms (glossaries) should be included where these serve to
clarify the standards. Definitions should be clearly and simply expressed, and
translations or explanations must be included for any terms not in common
usage. The term being defined should be differentiated from ordinary text by
using italics. If the italicised term starts a sentence in the definitions section,
normal rules of capitalisation apply (no matter how the term appears in the
main body of the document).
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Style Guide
Denotation and connotation
A denotation is a word’s literal meaning; a connotation is the suggestions and
associations that go with it. Be conscious of the hidden meanings carried by
your words. See Audience (p. 28).
Diction
In regards to writing, diction simply means ‘choice of words’. Because of the
joy English takes in adopting words from other languages, we have many
synonyms or near synonyms for the same concept. These synonyms can
often be arranged in a kind of hierarchy, for example: consume, dine, eat.
The important thing is to be consistent within sentences (and documents) and
not jump at random between levels of diction.
It is wrong to write: ‘may include but not limited to – bovine, ovine, deer, pig,
goat, and horse.’ This should be rewritten as: ‘may include but not limited to –
cattle, sheep, deer, pig, goat, and horse.’ Or, if you really must (oh, I must, I
must): ‘ …bovine, ovine, cervine, porcine, hircine, and equine.’ And, in case
you should ever need it, ostrich would be struthionine.
Dictionaries
The Concise Oxford Dictionary (most recent edition) should be your main
reference tool. You also have to know how to use a dictionary. Pay attention
to usage notes (colloquial, slang, offensive, derogatory, etc), be sure you
choose the right words, and be sensitive to any associations your words may
carry.
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Style Guide
Different
The word different is often redundant: ‘several different criteria’ or ‘many
different candidates’. Since you can’t have several of the same criterion or
many of the same candidate, ‘several criteria’ and ‘many candidates’ will do
nicely.
Using different than is sure to get up someone’s nose. In most cases, using
different to is the right choice: ‘apples are different to oranges’. Do not use
the American different from. See Ker-plunk.
Disinterested or uninterested
To be disinterested means you are impartial; to be uninterested means you
are not interested. To have a referee who is disinterested in the game he’s
refereeing is a good thing, to have a referee who is uninterested in the game
he’s refereeing is a bad thing.
Discreet or discrete
Someone who’s discreet can keep a secret. Something that’s discrete is
separate or different: ‘primates are in a discrete order from other mammals’.
Double negatives
Sentences that contain double negatives are confusing for the reader and
should be avoided.
See Not un— (p. 74).
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Style Guide
Doubt
As a verb, follow doubt with whether or if: I doubt whether he was telling the
truth; I doubt if he is telling the truth. Doubt should not be followed by that or
as to whether.
Due to or because of
Due to is used to modify nouns: ‘Gwyneth’s popularity is due to talent and
style’, due to modifies popularity. Because of should be used to modify verbs:
‘Winona was shunned because of her criminal conviction’, because of
modifies shunned.
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Style Guide
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Style Guide
E
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
E-citation
Use the full protocol (eg ‘http’) and URL (‘address’) of a Web-based reference
or document:
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/standard/registration/index.html
To indicate that the electronic source is the only known source, use ‘at’. To
indicate that the electronic source is a parallel reference to a printed source,
use ‘available at’. See also Citation (p. 34).
Each
Each is a singular noun, which requires a singular verb. So it isn’t: ‘each of
the girls have an ice-cream’; but: ‘each of the girls has an ice-cream’, or: ‘each
girl has an ice-cream’. See Every (p. 50) and None (p. 74).
Economy
Doesn’t bureaucratic writing love wordiness? Get to know your Delete key.
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Style Guide
Editorial Board
The NZQA Editorial Board must approve a publication intended for a
publication of more 20 people or more before it’s disseminated. This includes
letters, brochures, articles, speeches, and OHTs, in print or electronic form
produced either in-house or commercially. Final drafts should be sent to the
Communications Support Officer. Please refer to the Editorial Board
guidelines at http://qanet/sci/communications/EBGuide.
Effect or affect
See Affect or effect (p. 21).
Eg or ie
The abbreviation eg is for the Latin exempli gratia, ‘for example’; ie, Latin id
est, means ‘that is’. They’re not interchangeable. Never put full stops in
these abbreviations and never italicise them.
Ellipses
The ellipsis (plural ellipses) is the mark that indicates the omission of quoted
material.
The ellipsis itself is three full stops. When it appears next to an end-ofsentence full stop use four full stops.
No spacing is to be used between the stops in ellipses. Spacing can cause
unpredictable line-wrap in electronic documents.
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Style Guide
Enactment
Use the term enactment when you want to cover both Acts (legislation) and
regulations. Enactment means the whole or a portion of an Act or regulations
and regulations includes regulations, rules, bylaws, Orders in Councils,
Proclamations, notices, or Warrants (s 29 Interpretation Act 1999). See
Legislation (p. 67) and Referencing enactments (p. 87).
Enquire or inquire
Enquire is the verb (but don’t use it if ask will do). As a noun, inquiry is an
investigation: ‘an inquiry into the incident’. Enquiries (noun) is a request for
information (direct enquiries to reception); usually only used in the plural form.
Equally as ...
Don’t even think about it. Something can be ‘equally beautiful’, or it can be
‘as beautiful’, but it can’t be equally as beautiful.
Essentially
Essentially is a word you can do without.
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Style Guide
Every
Every, requires a singular verb and singular pronouns. Don’t write ‘every one
of the standards have been evaluated’; write ‘every one of the standards has
been evaluated’ or ‘every standard has been evaluated’. The same rule
applies to everyone: ‘everyone must sign his or her name’. See Each (p. 47),
None (p. 74), and Sexist language (p. 92).
Exists
Exists is a word you can do without: ‘there is a problem with these
qualifications’, is better than: ‘a problem exists with these qualifications’.
Extracts
See Block quotations (p. 31).
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Style Guide
F
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
The fact that …
You can usually drop the fact and go with that by itself.
Farther or further
Farther applies to physical distance, further to metaphorical distance. You run
farther than you did the day before, but investigate a story further.
Fewer or less
See Less or fewer (p. 68).
Finalise
To ‘finalise a plan’ is not to finish a plan, but to make it final. Don’t use finalise
when you mean completed. See ―ise (p. 61).
First, secondly, thirdly
If you’re enumerating a number of ideas, use first, secondly, thirdly, etc, even
if does seem a little inconsistent.
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Style Guide
First person
The first person is I, me, my, we, and our. The second person is you and your.
The third person is he, she, they, their, his, hers, him, and her. For the few
times when this may need attention, see Shall or will (p. 93) and Sexist
language (p. 92).
Focus
The usual plural of this is focuses. Only in scientific contexts should you use
foci as the plural.
Fonts
Use Arial 12 pt for normal text.
Forceful or forcible
Forceful means powerful or impressive, forcible means involving force:
‘Brian’s forceful presentation convinced the electorate to vote for him.’
‘Brian took the electorate by forcible means, burning and pillaging his way
through Island Bay.’
In most cases, ‘by force’ can replace ‘by forcible means’.
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Style Guide
Foreign words and phrases
You should only resort to foreign words or phrases when there isn’t an
adequate English word to cover the concept you need to express. Foreign
words and phrases should be in italics. Note: Māori words and phrases are
not considered foreign. See Māori words and phrases (p. 71).
Fortuitous
Fortuitous means ‘happening by chance’; it is not interchangeable with
fortunate.
Functionality
Do you mean function? See also Methodology (p. 71).
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Style Guide
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Style Guide
G
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Generalisations
Precision is always better than generalisations.
Gerund
See Dangling participles (p. 41).
Grammar
Grammar is the more scientific aspect of the study of a language. Grammar
gives names to the various parts of speech and their relations. But if you’re
wondering where to put only in a sentence, or when to use italics – that’s a
question of usage or style rather than grammar.
Grammar check
Don’t rely on computerised grammar checkers. They miss most of the serious
problems and often tell you to fix something that’s not broken. It is essential
to proofread your work. See also Spell check (p. 94).
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Style Guide
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Style Guide
H
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Half
Half should have a singular verb when talking about quantity or amount: half
the sand on the beach is imported from Northland; but a plural verb when
talking about things that can be counted: half the grains of sand on the beach
are imported. If you can count them, it’s plural; if you can’t, it’s singular.
Hopefully
Hopefully means in a hopeful way, not I hope. You’ll keep everyone happy by
avoiding hopefully, in the sense of I hope, in any formal writing.
See Ker-plunk (p. 65).
House style
House style refers to the choices about minor matters that each publishing
house sets on its own.
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Style Guide
Hyphen
Hyphens are used to:
•
separate a range of numbers: pp. 90-97 (the en-dash is used for this in
Achievement Standards);
•
join two or more words to form a compound noun: role-play, mother-in-law;
•
join prefixes to nouns if
-
a vowel is doubled (anti-intellectual)
-
the noun takes a capital letter (un-American)
-
the prefix ex is being used to mean former (ex-member)
-
the word could be ambiguous (re-cover, re-form, re-creation).
See Dash (p. 41) and the list of commonly used Compound words (p. 11).
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I
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Ie or eg
See Eg or ie (p. 48).
Impact
Keep impact as a noun. A proposal, an event, or a meteor can have an
impact, but the only thing that can be impacted is a wisdom tooth.
Imperative
The word imperative is common enough in formal writing, but it’s not very
friendly. Go with must or should.
Imply or infer
A speaker implies something by hinting at it; a listener infers something from
what is being said. They’re not interchangeable.
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Indefinite articles
See Articles (p. 26).
Indicative
See Subjunctives (p. 95) and Shall or will (p. 93).
Individual
What’s wrong with person? Use individual only when you mean to make a
distinction from a group.
Infinitive
See Split infinitive (p. 94).
Intransitive Verbs
See Transitive and intransitive verbs (p.98).
Irony
Don’t say something is ironic unless you’re sure that it is. Despite the song, it
is not ironic to have a black fly in your chardonnay. It’s annoying.
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―ise
Adding this suffix is a common way to make verbs from nouns and adjectives.
Its meaning is ‘to make’. You would centralise records but store records in a
central location, not a centralised location. See Finalise (p. 51) and
Personalise (p. 80).
Italics
Use italics for book titles, for foreign words, to distinguish defined terms, and
for emphasis.
Refer to the appropriate formatting guide for unit standards or qualifications
for when to use bold and underline in titles. There is no need to use underline
for emphasis.
See Titles (p. 98) and Fonts (p. 52).
It’s or its
It’s with an apostrophe means ‘it is’ while its without an apostrophe means
‘belonging to it’. Never, never, never put an apostrophe after the s.
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J
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Jargon
Some technical terms are necessary, but ordinary language should not be
abused with words such as: methodology, functionality, network (as a verb),
parameters, grow (as in to grow the company), etc.
Judgement or judgment
Use judgement as the preferred spelling.
Justification
Left-hand justify your reports. Use the formatting guides for individual parts of
unit standards or qualifications.
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K
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Ker-plunk
Ker-plunk is what you do to your audience when you use an odd word or
phrase or break a generally accepted rule of grammar or spelling.
Avoid these pitfalls
•
and, but, or also at the beginning of a sentence
•
different from instead of different to
•
hopefully to mean I hope
•
prepositions at the end of the sentence
•
splitting infinitives
•
try and instead of try to.
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L
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Language
Ensure your spell check is set on New Zealand English or, if you don’t have
that option, Australian English (and hold the jokes on that one).
Lead or led
The past tense and past participle of the verb to lead is led: I lead my people
now as I (have) led them in the past.
Legislation
Legislation or regulations relevant to the performance of the elements in a unit
standard must be cited in the special notes using the short title (formal name
of the Act and its year): Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992. The
same rule applies for regulations: Health and Safety in Employment
Regulations 1995.
See also Referencing enactments (p. 87).
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Less or fewer
Less means ‘not as much’; fewer means ‘not as many’. You eat fewer
calories by eating less sugar; one beach has less sand than another but has
fewer grains of sands. If you can count them, even theoretically, use fewer.
Licence or license
Licence (with a c) is a noun. License (with an s) is a verb. If I don’t renew my
driver’s licence, I will no longer be licensed to drive.
Like or as
In formal writing, avoid using like as a conjunction. In other words, something
can be like something else (in which case it’s a preposition), but avoid ‘Tidy
your room like I told you to’. Quick test: there should be no verb in the phrase
that follows like.
Listing
Don’t use listing (noun) when list will do. A phone book is a list of names and
numbers, each of which is a listing.
Lists
The standard hierarchy for numbered lists is:
(1)
(a)
(i)
(A)
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Literally
Only use literally where what you are saying is literally true.
Long words
There’s nothing wrong with long words as long as they’re used correctly. A
word like methodology has its proper use, but it isn’t interchangeable with
method. See also Obfuscation (p. 77), and Vocabulary (p. 102).
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M
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Macrons
If you need to include macrons in your documents, you can download a Māori
Keyboard driver from the ‘downloads’ section of the Microsoft New Zealand
website here.
Māori words and phrases
Unit standards written in English may include individual Māori words or
phrases. Terms that are in common usage do not need to be translated in a
glossary. Words that could have a number of meanings but are being used in
a specific way should be listed in a glossary in the special notes.
Media
A plural noun: ‘the media are’, not ‘the media is’. The singular is medium.
See Agreement (p. 22), Criteria (p. 39), and Data (p. 42).
Methodology
Do you mean method rather than methodology? Methodology is the study of,
or a system of, methods. Method is a way to do something.
Militate or mitigate
To militate against something is to work against it. Militate is almost always
followed by against. To mitigate something is to make it less severe.
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Modifier
A modifier simply gives additional information about a word: instead of ‘sing’
(sing how?), we get ‘sing loudly’. Modifiers are usually adjectives or adverbs.
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N
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Necessitate
If you mean require, say require, or rework the sentence so that necessitate is
not necessitated.
Network
Network was very happy when it was just a noun. Don’t force it to serve
double duty as a verb unless talking about networking a computer system.
Never and always
Any rule of grammar or house style that begins with never or always should
be suspect. This doesn’t mean gleefully breaking all the rules, but sometimes
not splitting an infinitive, or moving a modifier closer to the word it modifies,
makes for clumsy English; your writing should be clear and unambiguous.
See Audience (p. 28).
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Non-discriminatory language
Language that creates unnecessary or unreasonable barriers to access in
terms of gender, ethnicity, or cultural background should not be used. Section
21, Human Rights Act 1993, prohibits discrimination on the grounds of: sex;
marital status; religious or ethical belief; colour; race; ethnic or national
background; disability; age; political opinion; employment status; family status;
and sexual orientation.
See also Sexist language (p. 92).
None
None is singular (a contraction of ‘not one’), and needs a singular verb to
agree with it: none of these books is French. See also Agreement (p. 22),
Each (p. 47), and Every (p. 48).
Nor
You can’t go wrong if you use ‘nor’ for a second thing only if you use ‘neither’
for the first thing: ‘Neither Dr Kahu nor Dr Warner worked in Guatemala.’
Not un—
This phrase, as in ‘the story was not untrue’ is clumsy. George Orwell didn’t
like it and that’s good enough for me! See Double negatives (p. 44).
Noun
A noun is a person, a place, or a thing. Well, with qualifications. A thing has
to be defined broadly enough to include things that aren’t particularly thingy
like November, damp, and integrity.
See also Pronoun (p. 82).
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Numbers
Spell out numbers less than ten and write them as numerals greater than ten.
Never begin a sentence with a numeral: either spell out the number, or rewrite
the sentence to move the number from the beginning.
Use figures for sums of money, percentages, ratios, addresses, and units of
measurement.
Use figures, not text, for mixed fractions (2½) and the numbers 10 and higher.
When referring to spans of figures, use whole numbers with a separating
hyphen: at pp 103-105.
Very large round numbers should be spelled out: one billion.
Never use both numerals and words for the same number, steer clear of
abominations like ‘two (2)’ or ‘12 (twelve).’
It’s okay to mix spelling and numerals with very large numbers: 8.6 million.
Use numerals for anything difficult to spell out and spell out simple fractions
like one-half or two-thirds.
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O
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Obfuscation
Don’t use long words where short ones will do.
Sometimes, the wrong word is used for the sake of using a long word over a
short one, for example centralised instead of central.
Sometimes, the long word is correct but there’s a shorter alternative which
would make your writing less complex, for example words ending in —ality, —
ation, —ise, —isation, —ational, and so forth. Ask if these suffixes can be
removed without altering the sense. For instance ‘the assistant brought about
the organisation of the conference’, can be substituted by ‘the assistant
organised the conference’.
Some other suggested changes: methodology to method, utilised to used,
usage to use, functionality to function.
See Long words (p. 69) and Vocabulary (p. 102).
Oblique
The oblique is the forward slash thingy (/). The only time this should be used
is for and/or when either of those options is available. See And/or (p. 24) and
Slash (p. 93).
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On a ... basis
Often a long way of saying something simple: ‘on a monthly basis’, adds
nothing to ‘monthly’. Instead of: ‘the reports are produced on a monthly
basis’, you can say: ‘the reports are produced monthly’.
Only
Try for precision by putting the modifier next to the word or phrase it modifies,
unless it makes your sentence clumsy or unidiomatic.
Oxford comma
See Commas (p. 35).
Oxford English Dictionary
See Dictionaries (p. 43).
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P
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Paragraphs
A paragraph can be as short as a sentence or as long as it has to be as long
as it contains only one developed idea.
To indicate the start of a new paragraphs use the skip-a-line rule. There is no
need to indent the first line of the paragraph.
Participles
See Dangling participles (p. 41).
Particular
This particular word, in many particular circumstances, serves no particular
purpose. Use your Delete key.
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Passive voice
The active voice takes the form of ‘A does B’; the passive takes the form of ‘B
is done [by A]’. Use the active voice when you can. Instead of: ‘you will be
given a report’ (passive), try: ‘I will give you a report’ (active).
Per
If you mean according to then say so.
Per se
If you mean in itself then say so.
Person
See First person (p. 52).
Personalise
Do you mean personal rather than personalise? Personalise means to make
something personal; something was not personal but now it is. See ―ise (p.
61) and Obfuscation (p. 77).
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Plus
Limit the use of the word plus to mathematics, and use and or with instead.
The same goes for the plus sign (+).
Practice or practise
Practice (with a c) is a noun. Practise (with an s) is a verb. I have to go to
singing practice tonight where I will practise my singing.
Precision
Precision means choosing the right word, putting your words in the right order,
and using the right grammatical construction to make your point.
Prepositions at the end
Prepositions are usually little words that indicate direction, position, location,
and so on. Words like: to, with, from, at, in, near, by, beside, above.
Prepositions should usually go before (pre-position) the words they modify.
Putting a preposition at the end of a sentence is a guaranteed way to irritate
someone. See Ker-plunk (p. 65).
Of course, ignore this rule if it’s going to make your sentences clumsy or
difficult to read.
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Prescriptive and descriptive
Prescriptive grammars prescribe rules for proper usage: thou shalt not split
infinitives, thou shalt not end sentences with prepositions. Descriptive
grammars describe how people really speak and write. Words are used to
communicate and some people really do care whether you split infinitives.
See Audience (p. 28) and Rules (p. 89).
Prior to
If you mean before or earlier, then say so.
Programme or program
You are provided with a programme at the symphony; but the set of coded
instructions that makes your computer work in the morning is a program.
American spelling is okay for computer programs, British spelling for
everything else.
Proofreading
You should always read your wrok carefully, looking for typoos, mispelled
words, problem with agreement, words that missing, and so on. It’s okay to
use a spell checker as a first-pass proofread but they do miss things that a
real live person will spot.
Pronoun
A pronoun takes the place of a noun. Pronouns include he, it, her, me, and so
on. There are a some special pronouns: possessive pronouns (my, hers, its);
and relative pronouns (whose, which). Be careful that it is clear which noun
your pronoun is standing in for. See Ambiguity (p. 23).
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Punctuation
Apostrophes – For possessive singular nouns that end in s, use s’s: James’s
house. Don’t use apostrophes to make acronyms or other abbreviations
plurals.
Capitalisation – The first word of an independent clause after a colon does
not get a cap: ‘It leads me to one conclusion: she is a fantastic singer.’
Comma – A comma is to be used before the last item in a list: ‘the first,
second, and third chapters’. Omitting the final comma – ‘the first, second and
third chapters’ – runs the risk of suggesting the last two items (in the example
above, the second and third chapters) are some sort of special pair.
Dash – Brackets (the round ones) should be used (not dashes) to indicate a
parenthetical subclause in formal writing. If using dashes – in less formal
communication – they should have spaces around them.
Ellipses – No spacing is to be used between the stops in ellipses. Spacing
can cause unpredictable line-wrap in electronic documents.
Interpolation – Square brackets are used to indicate editorial changes of
letters at the beginning of a quotation: ‘[Here’s] an example’, or to indicate
interpolation (including the use of sic). The only other place they should be
used is when referencing a qualification: [ref: 1776].
Punctuation and spaces – Use two spaces after a full stop. Use one space
after any other type of punctuation.
Semicolon – The semicolon has only two common uses: to separate the
items in a list after a colon, and to separate two independent clauses in one
sentence. The first is obvious enough. For the second use, a simple test is
this: if you can use a full stop and a new sentence, you can use a semicolon,
providing that the idea or stream of thought is along the same lines.
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Q
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Quality
This word is a noun. Leave it that way. Quality does not like to work as an
adjective (high-quality work), or as an adverb (quality-built car).
Quotation or quote
Quotation is a noun. Quote is a verb: you quote, she quotes, we all quoted.
The thing we all quoted is called a quotation.
Quotation marks
‘Single quotation marks’ should be used for all quoted material. If you have a
quotation inside a quotation then use “double quotation marks”:
‘Single quotation marks for quotations, “double quotation marks” for
quotations inside quotations’.
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Re
If you mean concerning, regarding, or about then say so.
Referencing enactments
How to reference legislation and other enactments:
Legislation or regulations relevant to the performance of the elements in a unit
standard must be cited in the special notes using the short title (formal name
of the Act and its year). For example: Health and Safety in Employment Act
1992. If a reference is also made to a particular section, the name of the
statute follows the abbreviated section reference, do not use ‘of the’. For
example, s 15 Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992. The same rule
applies for Regulations: reg 26 Health and Safety in Employment Regulations
1995.
Act, meaning a piece of legislation, always takes a capital: the Act, an Act.
Regulations on the other hand are lowercased unless referring to a specific
regulation: the regulations, but the Building Regulations 1992. Don’t ask me
why. Bills (Acts which have not yet passed) follow the same form as
regulations – lower case for bills in general, initial capitals for a specific bill.
See Legislation (p. 67).
The term ‘enactment’ means the whole or a portion of an Act or regulations
and ‘regulations’ include regulations, rules, bylaws, Orders in Council,
Proclamation, notice, or Warrant (s 29 Interpretation Act 1999).
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Abbreviations for component parts of legislation:
Legislation component
Section
Subsection
Paragraph
Subparagraph
Regulation
Rule
Clause
Article
Singular
s
subs
para
subpara
reg
r
cl
art
Plural
ss
subss
paras
subparas
regs
rr
cls
arts
References to Parts or Schedules of Acts are: Part II of the Employment
Relations Act 2000, but Eleventh Schedule to the Employment Contracts Act
1991 (don’t ask me why).
Amendment Acts
These are always consolidated into the principal Act (ditto for regulations).
There should be no need ever to refer to an amendment Act, as these are
considered part of the principal Act.
Regulations
See Legislation (p. 67) and Referencing enactments (p. 87).
Relative pronouns
See Pronouns (p. 82) and That or which (p. 97).
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Rules
The so-called rules of English grammar and style are just guidelines about
what’s likely to be effective. See Prescriptive and descriptive (p. 82).
They attempt to warn you in advance that a given use of language will affect
readers in a predictable way. The guideline that warns against splitting an
infinitive can be re-stated as: ‘If you do split an infinitive, you’ll annoy
someone’. Don’t break the rules without a good reason.
Run-on sentences
A run-on sentence is not just a long sentence. It’s an ungrammatical one.
Two sentences glued together with only a comma produce a run-on. For
example, ‘I liked Michael, I think he should have beaten Ben.’ This sentence
is ungrammatical. Here are some ways to fix it:
•
make it two sentences: I liked Michael. I think he should have beaten Ben.
•
add an and: I liked Michael, and I think he should have beaten Ben.
•
replace the comma with a semicolon: I liked Michael; I think he should
have beaten Ben.
•
replace the comma and repeated subject with and: I liked Michael and
think he should have beaten Ben.
See Semicolon (p. 91).
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S
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Second person
See First person (p. 52).
Semicolon
The semicolon has only two common uses. First, it’s used to separate the
items in a list after a colon. This is fairly obvious. Secondly, it’s used to
separate two independent clauses in one sentence. For this use, the test is if
you can make this sentence into two valid sentences, you can use a
semicolon.
Sentence fragments
A sentence fragment is a group of words trying to pass itself off as a
sentence. Like this. Which is a bad habit. Not for formal writing. Make sure
your sentences have a subject and a verb.
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Sentence structure
A sentence should contain one idea, though that can be a complex or
compound idea. Make sure that your use of punctuation avoids confusion or
ambiguity. Prioritise information so that the main detail precedes any
supporting point. If your sentence lacks clarity, or is too long, try reworking it
into two short, simple sentences.
Sexist language
Usually, to avoid sexist language, a little sensitivity is all that’s needed.
Probably the most difficult issue is the use of the third person indefinite
pronoun, as in ‘Each provider is responsible for reviewing <pronoun needed
here> Report’. But which pronoun is it correct to use?
Each provider is singular so their (a plural) doesn’t agree with the verb, even if
it’s common in speech. Using the indefinite third-person pronoun, one, makes
you sound like you belong to the house of Windsor.
This leaves his and her, or some combination of the two. Using only his can
sound sexist. Using only her, can sound patronising. Using his or her or
his/her (both are grammatical and non-sexist) can become clumsy after
multiple appearances. See Oblique (p. 77).
You can avoid the problem altogether by recasting your sentences and
making your subjects plural: ‘All providers are responsible for reviewing their
Reports’.
See Each (p. 47), Every (p. 50), and None (p. 74) for singular nouns that
require attention.
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Shall or will
Will is usually the simple future indicative. Shall is related to the subjunctive,
and means ‘let it be so’. If you don’t know what you’re doing with it, it’s best to
leave shall alone.
Sic
Apart from necessary omissions and interpolations, quotations should be
exact. To indicate any departure from the original, use ellipses or square
brackets.
If you need to quote something that’s wrong, you need something to show
that it’s not your mistake. This is [sic]. You use square brackets to indicate
that it’s an editorial change, and the word sic. It’s a foreign word (Latin for
thus), so it gets italics. But, unless it’s going to cause confusion, there’s no
need to use sic to draw attention to minor oopsies.
Slash
There’s loads of confusion over the use of the backslash and forward slash
and remembering which is which.
This is Mr Backslash (\) he’s very laid back. Network server addresses (file
paths, document locations) use a backslash:
Mrs Forward Slash (/) is leaning forward; she’s always in a hurry. The
oblique is a forward slash and this is what web browsers use. Repeat after
me: ‘web browsers use forward slash not backslash, web browsers use
forward slash …’. See also Oblique (p. 77):
So
Avoid using so as an intensifier, as in ‘it’s so cold’, unless there’s a that clause
involved. The that clause can be overt: ‘it’s so cold that the harbour is
freezing over’, or implied: ‘it’s so cold the harbour is freezing over’. So on its
own, where very belongs, is a no-no.
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Solidus
See Oblique (p. 77).
Spell check
The spelling checkers built into most word processors are usually right when
they tell you a word is misspelled. The problem isn’t false positives, but false
negatives – the spelling checker tells you something is right when it isn’t. This
is particularly bad with antonyms: if you’ve typed two instead of too, the
spelling checker won’t pick it up – both are real words. Use spell check to do
a first pass on your work before you proofread.
See also Grammar check (p. 55).
Split infinitive
An infinitive is the form of a verb that comes after the to, as in ‘to sing’ or ‘to
write’. A split infinitive occurs when another word comes between the to and
the verb. Avoid them when you can but not if it makes your sentences clumsy
or your meaning unclear. Would anyone be able ‘To boldly go where no man
has gone before’, if the original producers of Star Trek had been afraid of
splitting an infinitive? See Prescriptive and descriptive (p. 82) and Rules (p.
89).
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Square brackets
See Brackets (p. 32).
Subjunctives
Unlike the indicative, which indicates that something is true, the subjunctive
expresses a wish, a command, or a condition contrary to fact. Archaic English
is full of subjunctives, as in ‘Would that it were’ and ‘Thou shalt not’.
English has almost entirely lost the subjunctive, but it still shows up in a few
places, most often in conditions contrary to fact, where we use were instead
of is: ‘If this were any heavier [but it’s not - a condition contrary to fact], I
couldn’t lift it’; ‘If she were to say that [but she’s not], I’d leave’.
See Shall or will (p. 93).
Suspended compounds
When you have a series of closely related compounds, you might want to
delay the final word until the last instance, allowing the hyphen to serve as a
place holder: ‘both full- and part-time students will sit examinations’.
See also Compound words (p. 37).
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T
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
That or which
That and which are both relative pronouns. That is restrictive, which means it
gives you necessary information about what came before: ‘The cinema that is
most loved by Wellingtonians is the Embassy’. The that phrase answers an
important question: which of the many cinemas are we talking about? And the
answer is the one that is most loved.
Which is non-restrictive, it does not limit the word it refers to: ‘Wellington’s
oldest cinema, which is called the Embassy, has been successful so far’. The
which provides extra information about the cinema we’re discussing: the
oldest one. Basically, if you can tell which thing is being discussed (without
the which or that clause), use which; if you can’t, use that.
The
See Articles (p. 26).
Third person
See First person (p. 52).
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Titles
The font size for titles is normally set 2 points greater than the text above
which it appears. Capitals should be used sparingly. Titles for unit standards,
elements and performance criteria must appear as specified in the Formatting
Guides.
Titles of works
Titles of books and other long works should be italicised. See Italics (p. 61).
All the main words in a title should be capitalised – main means everything
except articles, conjunctions, and prepositions: Pride and Prejudice (the
conjunction and gets no cap).
Totally
Usually, you can omit this word from your sentence without changing the
meaning.
Transitive and intransitive verbs
A transitive verb takes a direct object. It shows action upon someone or
something (you hit something or someone; you don’t just hit). Intransitive
verbs take no direct object; they need only a subject to make a sentence (you
don’t sleep something; you just sleep).
Don’t start redeploying verbs and giving the intransitive ones a direct object:
‘we have to think quality’, gives the intransitive think a direct object.
Try and ...
You try to do something, not try and do it. See Ker-plunk (p. 65).
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U
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Underline
See Italics (p. 61).
Unique
Unique means ‘one of a kind’. There are no degrees. Something cannot be
very unique or quite unique. Something is either unique or it’s not. Use
special or unusual if you want to allow degrees.
Uninterested or disinterested
See Disinterested or uninterested (p. 44).
Usage
If you mean use then say so. Usage is a guide on how to use something
properly. Use means one or more instances of using something, or it can
mean function.
Utilise and utilisation
Use, whether used as a verb or a noun, is almost always better than either of
these words.
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V
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Verbal
Verbal means ‘related to words’. If you mean something that is spoken, use
oral.
Versus
Versus (or vs) should be left where it belongs – with the lawyers. The
problem lies with the confusion over the term: ‘Motor load characteristics of
speed versus current are explained with the aid of graphs.’ Do you really
want versus to mean against (its definition) in this context? I think not. If you
mean in relation to, then say so.
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Via
Should only be used for the route, not the transportation method: ‘he flew from
Auckland to London via Singapore’; not ‘he flew from Auckland to London via
Singapore Airlines’.
Here’s a trickier one: ‘The reasons for using d.c. to interconnect the North and
South Islands via the Cook Strait cable are stated.’ Correct or incorrect use?
Well, the current is going from NI to SI and it’s going by way of the cable, but I
say ‘incorrect’. The sentence is about the means by which the current will get
to the SI, not the route it will take.
Vocabulary
It is better to know the precise meaning of more common words than to have
a large vocabulary of obscure ones. You’ve failed to communicate if people
don’t know what you’re on about. See also Long words (p. 69).
Voice
Voice is a technical term in grammar to describe a verb: the common voices
in English are active and passive. Voice describes whether the subject of a
sentence is acting or being acted upon. See Passive voice (p. 80) for details.
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Style Guide
W
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W
Which or that
See That or which (p. 97).
Who or whom
A simple test to see which to use, is to replace who/whom with he/him. If he
sounds right, use who; if him sounds right, use whom. For example: since ‘he
did it’ and not ‘him did it’, use who did it; since we give something ‘to him’ and
not ‘to he’, use to whom.
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