a guide to writing

version 1

scarlettabbott

style

a guide to writing scarlettabbott style

What’s in here

a consistent approach 3 (introduction)

our golden rules 4

the words we use 9

A-Z of getting it right 10

guidelines for proofing 42

resource bank 44

client style guides 45

a consistent approachU sing the scarlettabbott house style guide will

help us all to work to a common, agreed set of writing style rules. Our writing could be anything from news and features for a client magazine to the scarlettabbott blog, web updates or new business pitch documents.

By ‘style’ we mean things like how to refer to scarlettabbott and our job titles, whether we punctuate abbreviations, that type of thing. Why do we need a house style? Because we’re professional and communicating is what we do – a house style will help improve the quality and consistency of all our communications – and help us to avoid common spelling mistakes.

This house style also includes guidance on punctuation and grammar to help clear up any points that you might not be sure about, and tried and tested reference points for tackling those niggling queries.

3A guide to writing scarlettabbott style

our golden rulesC onsistency is key when writing for our clients

and ourselves. If we can all follow a simple set of rules then there’s less room for error. Here’s a helpful list of how we do it at scarlettabbott (that’s lower case ‘s’, all one word!):

Bullet pointsLower case throughout with one full stop at the end. See more on page

Collective nounsscarlettabbott is an organisation, not a person, therefore it is ‘scarlettabbott is’ not scarlettabbott are.

The scarlettabbott team is, scarlettabbott’s team of writers and designers are.

DatesWritten in full as day date month (Monday 8 August). Only add year if referring to a year we are not in at the moment

Other useful

terminology

to work in:

powering conversations

5A guide to writing scarlettabbott style

EllipsisNo spaces before but one space after.

HyphensNot at the end of a line (keep hyphenated word together).

Internet/digital languageCD-ROM emailInternetmultimedia onlineprogrammethe webwebsiteURL – full stop after only if at end of sentence with another sentence immediately after.

Latin abbreviationseg, ie, am, pm, etc.

We do not punctuate abbreviations, so they should be written as they appear here, no full stops, and lower case.

A guide to writing scarlettabbott style6

Media and eventsPublications, films, books, events etc – italicised in print, bold online.

NumbersOne to ten always spelt out, then numerical.

Never start a sentence with a number (if necessary, spell it out). See more on page

Our name and who we areWritten as scarlettabbott.

PossessivesWhen a possessive word ends in s, we add the apostrophe before the s. For example, scarlettabbott’s team of communicators.

QuotesIntroduce with a colon.

Sentence breaksSingle space after full stop (unless traditionally double space).

7A guide to writing scarlettabbott style

Sentence lengthMake the average sentence 15-20 words.

TemplatesUse scarlettabbott branded templates on all client-facing communications, unless requested otherwise.

TenseAlways present tense when possible, ie says, not said.

TitlesLower case. On client magazines, follow the style that is preferred by the relevant client.

Written ‘Managing Director David Smith’ (title no comma name) or ‘David Smith, Managing Director’ (name comma title).

VoiceUse active over passive voice.

Whilst/whilescarlettabbott prefers while.

A guide to writing scarlettabbott style8

the words we use

H ere’s a list of words we use as first choice and words we should avoid using:

Do useOur people/colleagues/employees

Internal communication (without an s) – lower case.

Don’t useStaffWhy – if you don’t know why, ask

IC or IComms, unless abbreviation is commonly used in client’s business

Comms for communication (unless we’re trying to be purposefully informal and yoof).

A-Z of getting it right

Abbreviations and acronymsAbbreviations are formed by omitting the end of the word. For example, Lieutenant becomes Lieut.

Contractions are formed by omitting the middle of the word. For example, Mister becomes Mr.

Acronyms are formed by taking the initials of the words and creating a new word. For example, Department for Education becomes DfE.

Acronyms are generally written as all capitals and should always be written out in full the first time they are mentioned, with the acronym given in brackets and then just the acronym thereafter. For example, Department for Education (DfE) thereafter just DfE.

When you are writing/editing for an informed audience where technical terms are part of the language the audience uses everyday, you may simply use the acronym each time.

A or an?Use an before a vowel or a silent H: an hour, an heir, an honourable man, an honest woman.

Use a elsewhere: a hero, a hotel, a historian (but don’t change a direct quote if the speaker says, for example, “an historic”).

With abbreviations, be guided by pronunciation: eg an LSE student.

11A guide to writing scarlettabbott style

Like what

you’ve read

so far?

Great! It sounds like we’ve already got you interested in being great communicators.To receive the full version of the scarlettabbott guide to writing, click here.

Or, if you’d like to talk to us directly about this guide or anything else scarlettabbott can help you with, give us a call on 01904 633399.

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