Download section 4.0 word usage, capitalization, and numbers

Harbor Style Guide
SECTION 4.0 WORD USAGE, CAPITALIZATION,
AND NUMBERS
4.1 Acronyms and Abbreviations
4.1.1 Acronyms
Upon first mention of a name that will be abbreviated, spell out the entire name or
word, then put in parentheses the abbreviation or acronym. This step is not necessary
for abbreviations so common that most people know what they stand for.
Following are terms that should be initially spelled out unless noted otherwise:
ADEQ: Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality
ASTM: American Society for Testing and Materials
BMP: Best Management Practices
CERCLA: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
Company names that are commonly abbreviated
CFR: Code of Federal Regulations
DOT: Department of Transportation
EHS: Environmental Health and Safety
EPCRA: Emergency Planning Community Right-to-Know Act
ESA: Environmental Site Assessment
HAP: Hazardous Air Pollutant
Harbor: Harbor Environmental and Safety
IGP: Industrial General Permit
LCA: latent cause analysis
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4.1.1 Acronyms (cont.)
MS4: municipal separate storm sewer systems
MSHA: Mine Safety and Health Administration
OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
OSHAS: Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Services
PSD: prevention of significant deterioration
PSM: Process Safety Management
REC: recognized environmental condition
SPCC: Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures
SPPP: Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan
SWAR: Stormwater Annual Report
SWD: Solid Waste District
TMDL: total maximum daily load
VOC: volatile organic compound
USC: United States Code
VPP: Voluntary Protection Program
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4.1 Acronyms and Abbreviations (cont.)
4.1.2 Abbreviations
•
Spell out abbreviations the first time they are used, including the abbreviation in
parentheses unless the abbreviation is commonly known.
•
It is not necessary to add a period to abbreviations of measurements unless
they could be confused for another word (such as “in.” for “inch” or “gal.” for
“gallon”).
•
Abbreviate a.m. and p.m. in lower case letters with periods; include a space between the time and the “a” or “p.”
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4.2 Capitalization
•
When capitalizing titles, capitalize the first letters of the first, last, and major
words, but not articles, coordinating conjunctions (and, but), or prepositions unless they begin or end the title or contain five or more letters. This rule also applies to the subject line of emails or memos.
•
Keep the use of all caps to a minimum. All caps is difficult to read and should
never be used for more than a few words.
•
Capitalize abbreviations if they would be capitalized when spelled out. Otherwise, use lower case letters.
•
When a complete sentence is enclosed within another sentence using dashes,
brackets, or parentheses, the first word in the sentence is not capitalized.
•
When a hyphenated word is used in title case, capitalize the word following the
hyphen unless the following word is a coordinating conjunction or short preposition (no more than four letters).
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4.3 Word Usage
The consistent use of terminology is key to helping readers understand technical
writing. Choose a term to use to refer to a particular thing and stick with it throughout
the document.
The following list contains points to note about the use of certain words (spelling,
usage, capitalization). It also includes some commonly confused words. (Many of these
words were taken from Handbook of Technical Writing, 10th ed.)
A
acknowledgment: no “e” after “g”
affect/effect: affect is a verb that means “influence”; effect can be a noun that means
“result” or a verb that means “cause”
all ready/already: all ready means “completely prepared”; already means “previously”
a.m.: abbreviate using lower case letters and periods; include a space before “a”
amount/number: amount is used with things that are thought of in bulk and cannot be
counted; number is used with things that can be counted individually
ampersand (&): only use when it is part of the official name of a company; otherwise
use and
Arkansas’s: the possessive form of “Arkansas” is spelled Arkansas’s
as/because/since: because is the strongest of the three words, though since is appropriate when explaining circumstances, a condition, or time rather than cause and
effect. As is the weakest choice of the three words.
Ex: “Since the expansion, business has picked up.”
assure/ensure/insure: (see insure/ensure/assure)
awhile/a while: awhile means “for a short time”; a while means “for a period of time”
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4.3 Word Usage (cont.)
B
because/since/as: (see as/because/since)
bi-/semi-: bi- is a prefix that means “two” or “every two”; semi- means “half of” or “occurring twice within a certain period of time”
C
cannot: one word
complement/compliment: a complement is something that completes a whole and
can be a noun or a verb; compliment means to “praise” and can also be a noun or
verb
compound words: If you are not sure whether a word should be hyphenated, consult a
dictionary
continual/continuous: continual means “happening over and over” or “frequently repeated”; continuous means “occurring without interruption”
D
differ from/differ with: differ from implies two things are not alike; differ with implies
disagreement between parties
different from/different than: different from is used in formal writing; different than is
always followed by a clause
Ex: “The time the project took was different than what we estimated it would take.”
discreet/discrete: discreet means “having or showing prudent behavior”; discrete means
“separate, distinct, or individual”
disinterested/uninterested: disinterested means “objective, impartial”; uninterested
means “not interested”
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4.3 Word Usage (cont.)
E
each: when used as a subject, it is considered singular; when each refers to a plural subject, it is treated as plural
email: one word
eg.: means “for example”
et al.: means “and the rest”
etc.: means “and others” or “and so on”; avoid using it when clearer terminology can be used
Ex: Change “There will be chips, dips, drinks, etc., at the party”
to “There will be chips, dips, drinks, and other refreshments at the party.”
effect/affect: (see affect/effect)
ensure/insure/assure: (see insure/ensure/assure)
everybody/everyone: both are usually considered singular, though can be plural if another element in the sentence implies plurality
F
fewer/less: fewer refers to items that can be counted; less refers to mass quantities or
amounts
flammable/inflammable: flammable and inflammable both mean “capable of being
set on fire”
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4.3 Word Usage (cont.)
G
good/well: good is an adjective; well is an adverb
Ex: “I feel good.”
Ex: “She presented her case well.”
H
Harbor: after first mention as “Harbor Environmental and Safety (Harbor),” refer to
company as “Harbor”
I
imply/infer: imply means “to hint at”; infer means “to reach a conclusion based on interpretation”
inflammable/flammable: (see flammable/inflammable)
in/into: in means “inside of”; into implies “movement from the outside to the inside”
in order to: avoid; shorten to “to”
inside of: of is redundant; shorten to “inside”
insure/ensure/assure: all mean “make secure or certain”; assure refers to people; ensure and insure mean “make secure from harm”
Internet: capitalize
italics: use to denote emphasis, for foreign expressions, book titles, and when referring
to specific terms for the first time
its/it’s: its is a possessive pronoun; it’s is a contraction of “it is”
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4.3 Word Usage (cont.)
J
jargon: avoid jargon unless you are sure your entire audience will understand the meaning
judgment: no “e” after “g”
K
kind of/sort of: only use to refer to a type of thing, not to mean ”rather” or “somewhat”
L
lay/lie: lay requires a direct object and means “place” or “put”; lie does not require a
direct object
Ex: “Lay the book on the table.”
“Lie down and take a nap.”
less/fewer: (see fewer/less)
like/as: like is a preposition and should be used with a noun not followed by a verb; as
is a conjunction and should be used before clauses, which contain verbs; both like
and as are used in comparisons, but like is used before a phrase, which omits the
verb, and as is used when there is a verb
Ex: Change “He took to baseball like a duck to water”
to “He took to baseball as a duck takes to water.”
loose/lose: loose means “not fastened”; lose means “misplace” or “not win”
M
maybe/may be: maybe means “perhaps”; may be is a verb phrase that means “might be”
N
none: may be a singular or plural pronoun, depending on the context of the sentence
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4.3 Word Usage (cont.)
O
on/onto/upon: on is usually a preposition meaning “attached to” or “located at,”
although it can also indicate a position of rest; onto implies movement up and on;
upon stresses movement or a condition
Ex: “Hang that picture on the wall.”
Ex: “The child climbed onto the couch.”
Ex: “The boy sat upon the rock.”
online: one word
only: should be placed directly before the word or phrase it modifies
Ex: Change “We only lack one ingredient”
to “We lack only one ingredient.”
outside of: the word of is redundant; do not use outside of to mean “except for”
over with: the word with is redundant; a better substitute for the phrase would be
“completed” or “finished”
P
per: means “for each,” “by means of,” “through,” or “on account of”; do not use it to
mean “according to,” such as in the phrase “per our conversation…”
percent/percentage: percent is normally spelled out instead of using the symbol except in tables; percentage is never used with numbers and indicates a general size (“A
percentage of the profits…”)
p.m.: abbreviate using lower case letters and periods; include a space before “p”
preposition: a preposition at the end of a sentence is acceptable as long as the sentence construction is not awkward
Ex: “The construction site is where he was at” is awkward.
Ex: “He was at the construction site” is correct.
Ex: “I don’t remember which name I made the reservation under” is acceptable.
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P (cont.)
principal/principle: principal means “an amount of money on which interest is earned
or paid” or “a chief official in a school or court proceeding”; principal also means
“main” or “primary”; a principle is “a basic truth or belief”
Q
quid pro quo: means “one thing for another”
R
raise/rise: both mean “move to a higher position,” but raise always takes an object
(something must be raised), and rise never takes an object
reason is [because]: use either reason is or because in a sentence, but not both
Ex: Change “The reason we came is because the boss is going to be here”
to “We came because the boss is going to be here.”
regarding/with regards to: in regards to and with regards to are incorrect substitutes
for in regard to and with regard to; as regards and regarding are also acceptable
regardless: always use regardless instead of irregardless, which is a double negative
S
set/sit: sit does not require an object, and its past tense is sat; set means to “put or
place,” “establish,” or “harden” and requires an object; the past tense of set is set
since/because/as: (see as/because/since)
so/that/such: avoid using so as a substitute for because; do not replace so that with so
or such that; such, which means “of this or that kind” is an adjective and should not
be used as a pronoun
Ex: Change “She works faster, so she finished early”
to “Because she works faster, she finished early.”
Ex: Change “The guide should be written such that it can be understood by laymen”
to “The guide should be written so that it can be understood by laymen.”
Ex: Change “The school provides tutoring, but we do not anticipate using such”
to “The school provides tutoring, but we do not anticipate using it.”
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S (cont.)
stormwater: one word
T
that/so/such: (see so/that/such)
that/which/who: use which, not that, with clauses that do not change the meaning of
the basic sentence (nonrestrictive clauses), and place a comma before which; that is
used before clauses that would change the meaning of the sentence if removed and
do not require a preceding comma; that and which refer to animals and objects,
while who refers to people; don’t overuse that but include it if it helps avoid ambiguity or improves the pace of the sentence
Ex: “After he joined the company, which was growing steadily, he was quickly promoted.”
Ex: “He worked for the company that built this well.”
Ex: Change “I think that when you complete this project, that you should celebrate”
to “When you complete this project, I think you should celebrate.”
they: the singular they is acceptable to avoid gender bias
they’re/their/there: they’re is a contraction of “they are”; their is a plural possessive;
there is a location.
Ex: “They’re going to their house over there across the street.”
U
up: adding up to verbs sometimes makes the phrase redundant
Ex: Change “Open up the door” to “Open the door.”
upon/on/onto: (see on/onto/upon)
utilize: the word use is preferred over utilize because it will almost always be clearer
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4.3 Word Usage (cont.)
V
vague words: vague words are imprecise and can leave the reader guessing what is really meant; such words as real, nice, important, good, bad, contact, thing, and fine are
open to interpretation and should usually be substituted for something more specific
Ex: Change “Contact me later this week” to “Call me at 555-5555 no later than Friday.”
very: the word very (called an “intensifier”) can usually be eliminated, but if used, its
meaning should be clarified
Ex: “The man’s car was very fast; it could go up to 150 miles per hour.”
W
wait for/wait on: wait on is something a service or hospitality employee does; in other
cases, use wait for
website: one word
well/good: (see good/well)
when [and if]: do not use when and if in writing, use either when or if, depending on
the meaning of the sentence
whether: adding “or not” to whether is redundant and should be avoided
which/who/that: (see that/which/who)
while: while means “during an interval of time,” not “although” or “whereas”
Ex: Change “While he is technically retired, he still consults on occasion”
to “Although he is technically retired, he still consults on occasion.”
who/whom: who is used as the subject of a sentence and could be substituted with he,
she, or they (subjective case); whom is used if him, her, or them would fit (objective
case)
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4.3 Word Usage (cont.)
X
Y
your/you’re: your is a possessive pronoun; you’re is a contraction of “you are”
Z
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4.4 Numbers
4.4.1 Words vs. Numerals
•
Spell out numbers one through nine.
•
In text, percentages are expressed as numerals (except at beginning of sentence)
followed by “percent.”
•
Use numerals for numbers 10 and up, with exceptions:
•
•

Spell out numbers that begin a sentence (or reword sentence so that it
doesn’t begin with a number).

In text (as opposed to tables), any whole numbers one through nine followed by hundred, thousand, hundred thousand, or million are spelled out
(eg., one hundred, seven million, 21 thousand).
Fractions:

Spell out fractions using a hyphen (one-half, three-fourths).

Whole numbers plus fractions are generally expressed as numerals (eg.,
1½, 12¾, 6-7/8).
Dates: When writing days of the month without the year, write the cardinal number rather than the ordinal (October 25, not October 25th).
4.4.2 Punctuating Numbers
•
No apostrophe is needed when numerals are followed by a plural s (eg., 20s,
1990s).
•
Use a comma to separate numerals of one thousand or more (eg., 1,256).
•
Use the en dash with no spaces on either side when expressing a range of numbers. In Word this is easily accomplished by typing ctrl + - (minus sign).
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