Using the brand 7.

STYLE GUIDE
This guide deals with stylistic conventions that
are frequently subject to discussion or debate,
as well as some common difficulties. In many

WITH
cases, there is no right or wrong – so we settle on
standard usage for the sake of consistency.

PLYMOUTH
UNIVERSITY

2015/06/30
Using the brand
A ‘A’ or ‘an’ before ‘h’ or ‘m’?
Abbreviations and acronyms
Accents
Ages
Ampersands
B Between
Brackets
Curved brackets (…)
Square brackets […]
Britain
Bullet points
As part of a sentence
As part of an itemised list
As complete sentences
C Capitalisation
Colons and semicolons
D Dates
H Headings and subheadings
J Job titles and descriptions
L Lists
M Miscellaneous
N Numbers
Key facts information in
prospectuses
O Other specifics
P Per cent
Publications and other titles
Q Quotation marks
T · Higher National Diploma – HND
Telephone numbers
Times
Tone and style
W Web and email addresses
Digital Officers contacts
Writing tips
Plymouth University
Brand guidelines
A Accents
‘A’ or ‘an’ before ‘h’ or ‘m’?
Use ‘an’ only if the ‘h’ is silent: an hour, an heir, an honourable woman, an
honest man; but a hero, a hotel, a historian. Use ‘an’ only if the ‘m’ is
pronounced ‘em’ at the start of a word, for example, ‘an MBE’ but ‘a Member
of the British Empire’.
Abbreviations and acronyms
Abbreviations make a word or phrase shorter by using only the first letters of
each word (for example, BBC, UN). Acronyms are abbreviations pronounced
as words (for example, CAD, NATO).
If an abbreviation or acronym is so familiar that the full form is rarely used
(for example, BBC), it need not be spelt in full. However, most abbreviations
should be spelt in full the first time they appear, with their abbreviation
following in brackets. Thereafter, the abbreviation may be used.
For a big publication, it may be advisable to have the full wording followed by
the abbreviation in brackets at the start of a new section or chapter.
Full stops are not used to indicate abbreviations (see examples below).
· BA, BEng, BSc, MA, MBA, MSc, MPhil, PhD, MRes, MEng, ResM (exception is
M.Arch to avoid confusion with ‘March’ (month))
· BMBS (not BM,BS for Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery)
· Ms (not Ms.)
· Dr (not Dr.)
· Professor (not Prof.)
· St (not St.) or written in full: Saint
· etc (not etc.)
· note (not n.b.)
The following abbreviations should also be used
· Postgraduate Certificate – PgCert
· Postgraduate Diploma – PgDip
· Access to Higher Education – Access to HE
· Certificate in Higher Education – CertHE
· Diploma in Higher Education – DipHE
· Higher National Certificate – HNC
· International Baccalaureate – IB
7.1
Foreign words that are commonly used in English, but lack an accurate
English equivalent, should keep the accents they have in the original
language if this affects their pronunciation (for example, café, cliché, façade).
People’s names, in whatever language, should also be given appropriate
accents where known.
Ages
Should appear between commas, for example, Peter Jones, 21, a biology
student.
Ampersands
In body text, the word ‘and’ should always be written in full – unless an
ampersand appears in a title for example, Marks & Spencer.
However, ampersands may be used in tables and boxes or where space is
limited; for example, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, but ‘Faculty of Arts and
Humanities’ in body text wherever possible.
B
Between ... and
Between 20 and 25 but from 20 to 25 (or replace ‘to’ with a long dash, no
space before/after (20–25)).
Brackets
Curved brackets / parentheses (like these) in place of a pair of dashes or
commas around a non-defining phrase or to add extra information, for
example: The University (which recently celebrated its 150th anniversary) is
now working on heritage trails to add to this legacy.
Square brackets [like these] enclose comments, corrections and references
(including if text within curved brackets also need to go into brackets). The
example uses square brackets to show that your addition is not part of the
original quotation: She said, “He advised [the journalists] to use the news
release as issued last week.”
Britain
(Great) Britain = England, Wales and Scotland
UK = Britain and Northern Ireland
British Isles = UK and Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands
Using the brand Plymouth University
Brand guidelines

7.2

Bullet points
Example one: bullets as part of a sentence
This type of bullet list is the most common, where each bullet point is a
sentence fragment that will form a complete sentence if read together with
the introductory line. In this example, note the:
· colon at the end of introductory sentence fragment
· lowercase beginning to each bullet point (unless the first word is a proper
noun)
· smooth progression in each bullet point from the introductory part of the
sentence
· lack of punctuation at the end of each bullet point prior to the last point
· full stop at the end of the last point.
Example two: bullets as part of an itemised list
The rules outlined in example one also apply for short lists not intended to
be read in sentence form, as in the example below.
Ingredients of enterprise:
· creativity and innovation
· desire to make the most of opportunity
· a willingness to be bold and take risks.
Note: A capital letter should only be used for words that are proper nouns,
like a person’s name, geographic location, or title as in the example below.
Plymouth University has partner colleges across the region, including:
· Cornwall College
· Truro and Penwith College
· City College Plymouth
· Somerset College.
To check bullet points make sense, read them each separately following the
introductory phrase or sentence.
Note: Sentence case should be used for module listings (where the first
word has an initial capital letter but the rest of the words do not, unless they
are proper nouns).
Example three: bullets as complete sentences
In this case, each bullet point is a complete sentence. It does not require a
colon as an introductory punctuation mark.
· It features a capital letter at the start of each bullet point and a full stop at
the end.
· Each item in the list should read like a proper sentence, with a verb, noun
and so on.
C
Capitalisation
Use capitals for:
· official course or programme titles (Media Arts but lowercase where it is
used generically for the subject)
· faculties, schools, directorates (the School of Art and Media but lowercase
for the school, the faculty, the directorate) (exception is for certain official
documents, for example, the Board of Governors ‘the Board’)
· job titles (the Vice-Chancellor, Fred Smith, Professor of Mechanical
Engineering, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities)
· building names (Roland Levinsky Building, Hepworth House)
· Uppercase ‘U’ for Plymouth University or the University in the context of
Plymouth University when used as a noun or as an adjective (but for
universities in general, use lowercase ‘u’)
· places and geographical regions (the South West, West Country, South
Wales). Hyphens are included when the words are used as an adjective,
such as in south-west England or south-east Asia. But north, south, east,
west, northeast, southwest all lower case.
Exceptions
Capitals are not used in module titles in body text (except for proper nouns
and for sentence case in bulleted lists; for example, Modules include:
policing; community safety; criminal justice; and victimology.
Unnecessary use of capital letters interferes with the passage of the eye
along a line, and causes additional reading difficulty for some people with
disabilities. Capital letters are often unnecessary – especially with non-
proper nouns such as government or ministry. If in doubt, use lower case.
Colons and semicolons
Use a colon to introduce a sub-clause which follows logically from the
text before it, is not a new concept and depends logically on the preceding
main clause.
Use a semicolon to link two related parts of sentence, neither of which
depends logically on the other and each of which could stand alone as a
grammatically complete sentence. See also ‘Lists.’
Using the brand Plymouth University
Brand guidelines
D M
Dates
Date format (day, month, year with no commas): 6 September 2013 (not 6th
September, 2013 or September 6th, 2013) and use days with dates for
emphasis to avoid confusion/ambiguity.
· For year spans, use an en dash between the numbers (no space before/
after), for example, ‘2013–14’.
· AD precedes the date; BC goes after: for example, AD1730 and 57BC (do
not use small caps)
· No apostrophe when referring to decades: for example, 1990s (not 1990’s)
· When using as a date: 18th century – with numbers as digits, ‘th’ in normal
font (not superscript).
The 18th century (‘century’ lower case not capitalised)· (except in tables/boxes where figures may be used to save space). Where
When using as an adjective: 18th-century writers – a hyphen should be
incorporated.
H But
Headings and sub-headings
Use sentence case rather than title case. Begin with a capital, and continue in
lower case unless the word is a proper noun.
Examples of sub-headings:
‘Entry requirements’, ‘How to apply for funding’ but ‘The Access to Learning
Fund’, ‘The Students’ Union’, ‘The Plymouth Award’.
J
Job titles and descriptions
Job titles should generally be title case – the first letter of all words is a
capital letter apart from prepositions (for example,, ‘by’, ‘for, ‘on’, ‘with’) or the
definite and indefinite articles (for example, ‘the’, ‘a’, ‘an’). If someone is
entitled to a styling such as Sir/Dame as well as an academic title, the
academic title precedes the Sir/Dame in the first full mention, for example,
Professor Sir Adrian Smith FRS, Professor Dame Carol Black; in subsequent
mentions, use either Sir/Dame/Professor not both (consider which title is
appropriate for the context). See also ‘Capitalisation’.
L
Lists
Long lists (for example, module titles) may be separated by semicolons.
Shorter lists can be separated by commas, for example, During year 1 you
will study: graphic design; packaging; design theory; photography;
production techniques and marketing; and design process.
7.3
Miscellaneous
Undergraduates study courses.
Postgraduates study programmes.
New courses or programmes awaiting confirmation are subject to approval
when used in external publications (not subject to validation).
‘…the enterprise university…’ (emphasise ‘the’ in italics when this phrase is
used in body text.
N
Numbers
Spell out whole number words for one to ten; use figures for 11 and above
numbers are combined, for example, 5–15, use digits (no space before/after
dash).
· spell out million, billion, trillion
· for sums of money, use numerals
· spell out in full numbers at the start of a sentence
· for numbers above 999, insert a comma, for example, 178,252
· Use a combination of a figure and a word for very large round numbers,
for example, 4 billion.
· For Roman numerals, no points except in sub-headings, so, Richard III, Part
II, but i. ii. iii. iv. etc.
Key facts information in prospectuses
· Digits are used for points information with A level/AS level entry
requirements (for example, 140 points) and duration (for example, 3 years
full time).
· Other numbers should be spelt in full, for example, two A levels, three
GCSEs, for numbers up to ten (exception is for Higher Level entry
requirements, for example, 5 at Higher Level second science). Numbers
above this should be in digit format, for example, 45 credits.
Using the brand Plymouth University
Brand guidelines

7.4

O · healthcare (not health care)

Other specifics · high-level (hyphenated when used as an adjective)
· A level (not A Level/A-level) but A-level English (the adjective is hyphenated, · high-quality (hyphenated when used as an adjective)
the noun is not) · honours degree (not Honour’s degree)
· autumn (not Autumn) · i.e. (Latin abbreviation – id es) (new house style amendment: not ie)
· alumna (singular, feminine), alumnus (singular masculine), alumni (plural) · image-making (hyphenated)
· Americanisms (avoid where possible, mainly for words ending in –ce, · in-depth (hyphenated when used as an adjective)
–ement, –our, –ation, –re, –ise, for example, organisation, offence, · industry-standard (adj. – e.g. industry-standard software – hyphenated),
acknowledgement, labour, centre, specialise. If in doubt, refer to the but separate when two nouns separately, e.g. the industry standard is to xx
Concise Oxford English Dictionary for spelling) · interdisciplinary (not inter-disciplinary)
· bachelors (not Bachelor’s) · internet (not Internet)
· benefited (not benefitted) · interrelated (not inter-related)
· CBE, MBE, OBE (no comma between the recipient’s name and the award, · know-how (hyphenated)
for example, Professor Iain Stewart MBE) · launchpad (one word)
· childcare (not child care) · licence (noun) / license (verb)
· Children’s University (not Childrens’ University) · lifecycle (one word)
· comprise / comprising (not comprise of, comprising of) · masters degree (not Master’s degree)
· computer-aided (adj. – hyphenated, e.g. computer-aided design skills) · merit (not Merit)
· dependant (noun) / dependent (adjective) · mindset (one word)
· diploma (not Diploma unless it’s a full course title, for example, Diploma in · multidisciplinary (not multi-disciplinary)
Teaching Mathematics in the Lifelong Learning Sector) · multimedia (not multi-media)
· distinction (not Distinction) · multinational (not multi-national)
· Earth (initial capital where it refers to the planet, otherwise lowercase) · open day (not Open Day, unless referring specifically to the University event)
· ebook (all lower case) · part time (not part-time except when used as an adjective, for example,
· effect (verb) to bring about, not affect (verb) to have an impact on or to part-time work)
change something) · Plymouth University (not University of Plymouth; exceptions are University
· effect (noun) the impact something causes, not affect of Plymouth Students’ Union; University of Plymouth Choral Society)
· e.g. (Latin abbreviation – exemplia gratia) · postdoctoral (not post-doctural)
· email (not hyphenated) · postgraduate (not post graduate, post-graduate or postgrad)
· eStore (not e-store or E-store) · postholder (no hyphen)
· fast-paced (adj. – hyphenated) · practice (noun) / practise (verb)
· field trip (not fieldtrip) · problem-solving (adj. – hyphenated, e.g. problem-solving skills)
· fieldwork (not field work) · problem solving (n. – e.g. you will learn about problem solving)
· fine-tune (v. – hyphenated) · real-world (adj. – hyphenated)
· focuses, focusing, focused (not focusses, focussing, focussed) · semester – (not term)
· full time (not full-time except when used as an adjective, for example, · screen-based (adj. – hyphenated, e.g. screen-based formats)
full-time course) · (to) start up (v. – no hyphen)
· fundraising (not fund-raising) · start-ups (n. – e.g. start-up businesses – hyphenated)
· government (not Government) · teamwork (not team work)
· grade (not Grade), for example, grade C or above · term – use semester
· hands-on (hyphenated) · term-time (e.g. during term-time – hyphenated)
· transdisciplinary (not trans-disciplinary)
Using the brand Plymouth University
Brand guidelines
· Unistats (capitalised)
· wellbeing (not well-being)
· while (not whilst)
· year (not Stage or Year), for example, third year students will undertake a
dissertation
See also the section on web formatting for web-related terms.
P
Per cent
Use % and not per cent.
Publications and other titles
Titles of publications, films, TV programmes and boat/ships’ names should
appear in italics, for example, The Economist, The Times, The Guardian, The
Sunday Times, Sun, RV Falcon Spirit.
Q
Quotation marks
Double quotes should be used to signify speech; single quotes are used in
headlines and for quotes within quotes. Punctuation marks go inside the
inverted commas if they relate to the words quoted, outside if they relate to
the main sentence. If the whole sentence is a quotation, the point goes inside
the bracket.
“But it is Devon’s 600 miles of coastline, the uni’s proximity to some of the
country’s most stunning beaches and countryside, that make it such an ideal
environment for study and leisure.”
The Virgin Guide to British Universities 2012.
“As a research student, I feel I’m truly engaged in lifelong learning. At 50 I am
being both challenged and supported to extend my intellectual and emotional
capacities to new heights.”
Joe Bloggs, PhD/MPhil student, Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
If the student is an undergraduate/graduate, they should be referred to after
the quote as: Joe Bloggs, BA History student/graduate.
Note that quotes must be approved by the person to whom they are attributed.
T The words email, online, website, webpage and weblink should be written
Telephone numbers
Preface UK phone numbers with the international dialling code. Follow this
with a space and a bracketed 0, as this digit is not used when dialling from
outside the UK. For example: +44 (0)1752 585858, +44 (0)871 468 0468).
The only exceptions to this are print material specifically produced for a local,
UK audience where non-geographic numbers are given (0845, 0871, 0800 etc).
7.5
Note: online, the phone number format does not use the 0, for example,
+44 1752 588000. Exceptions are for non-geographic number which can
remain as the printed format (see above).
Times
Use either the 12- or 24-hour clock, not both in the same text.
Use a colon instead of a point in the 24-hour clock, for example, 12:00, 14:00,
19:00, 19:30 (do not use am or pm with this format)
If the 12-hour clock is used, there is no space before pm or am (for example,
7.30pm, 6pm).
You can use noon, midday or midnight rather than 12am, 12pm, 12 noon or
12 midnight.
Tone and style
Refer to the University’s Brand Guidelines or download the chapter on the
University’s tone of voice which is part of this suite.
W
Web and email addresses
Avoid long URLs. Print www.plymouth.ac.uk/theuniversity not http://www.
plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view.asp?page=18618.
For print, omit http:// unless the URL does not begin with www and omit any
trailing slash at the end of the URL, unless the URL does not work without it –
check before omitting.
All official Plymouth University URLs must take the format ‘www.plymouth.ac.
uk/xxx’. Any URLs of a different format should be checked with the Digital
Team for the www.plymouth.ac.uk official alias.
Short addresses (aliases) can be created for specific sections of the site in
the format shown. Please see further guidelines on the use of aliases at
https://staff.plymouth.ac.uk/website. Aliases must be approved and created
before being used in any printed material.
Plymouth University email addresses should be in the format:
firstname.surname@plymouth.ac.uk.
without a hyphen, as indicated.
Introduction Plymouth University
Page title Brand guidelines

1.71

Useful references
Concise Oxford English Dictionary, (Oxford University Press)
Oxford Style Manual, (Oxford University Press)
New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, (Oxford University Press)
Guardian Style, (Guardian Books)
Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Lynne Truss, (Fourth Estate)
The Complete Plain Words, Sir Ernest Gowers, (Penguin)
Fowler’s Modern English Usage (Re-Revised 3rd Edition) Burchfield, R (OUP)
Writing for Multimedia and the Web, (Garrand,T: 2006)
Web style Guide: Basic Design Principles for Creating Websites, (Lynch, P and Taylor,T: 2008)
Prioritizing Web Usability, (Neilsen, J and Loranger, H: 2006)
Alertbox column on Web usability, (Neilsen, J) – www.useit.com/alertbox