Formatting

Avoid using abbreviations.

They can slow down reading and make your writing harder to understand. Using abbreviations assumes that readers will know what they refer to, and this is not always the case.

Avoid using 'eg', 'ie' or 'etc'. These are abbreviations of Latin phrases. These may not be familiar to all readers and will be a barrier to them understanding your writing. Instead use phrases like 'for example'.

If you are using an acronym, you should write it out in full the first time you use it, with the acronym in brackets afterwards. If you use it again in the same piece of text, you can then use just the acronym.

The exception is acronyms which are so well known that a user is very likely to recognise the acronym easier than the full title. For example, BBC, NHS and UCAS would not need to be written out in full the first time.

Examples:

• Our Psychology degree is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
• The Students' Union (SU) is the collective voice of our students.

Read more about using YSJ as a shortened version of the University's name on Commonly used words.

Avoid all unnecessary capitalisation.

Write titles, headings and subheadings in sentence case (this means capitalise as though you were writing a sentence, usually just the first word).

Avoid typing in full block capitals, as this can be interpreted as aggressive, and is also less easy to read. 

Avoiding unnecessary capitalisation makes reading easier for people with visual impairments. The shapes of individual letters are harder to read when capitalised. Screen readers may read capitalised text letter by letter.

If you are unsure if a word should be capitalised or not, it probably means it does not need capitalising.

Course and subject names

Only capitalise course names when referring to a specific subject area, course or module at York St John University. If you are talking about the subject as a concept you do not need to capitalise. This can sometimes be difficult to work out, so if you are in doubt it is probably best not to capitalise.

Examples

Do say:

• In the first year of our History degree you can choose from a range of modules.
• I am a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at York St John University.

Do not say:

• York is a city with a long and interesting History.
• This module addresses contemporary issues in Psychology.

Events

Titles of specific events should be capitalised, for example 'Welcome Week', 'Open Day' or 'Postgraduate Open Evening'.

Job roles

Capitalise for job titles, but not for a generic profession such as 'teacher' or 'physiotherapist'.

Teams within the University

Capitalise the name of the team but not the word 'team'.

Examples

Do say:

• The Disability Advice team can provide support.

Do not say:

• The Disability Advice Team can provide support.

Find out more about capitalisation on Readability Guidelines.

A contraction is a shortened form of a word (or group of words) that omits certain letters or sounds. In most contractions, an apostrophe represents the missing letters. For example:

It is best to avoid using use negative or conditional contractions. Research shows that negative contractions (like 'shouldn't') and conditional contractions (like 'should've') are harder for people to understand than when the words are written out in full.

However, there is more flexibility with positive contractions such as 'you'll'. Whether or not you choose to use these depends on the tone you want to achieve with your writing. If you need your text to sound impactful then 'you will' may be more effective, but if you are trying to sound warm and friendly then 'you'll' may be better. Some contexts may allow for an informal tone, while in others you may want your tone to be less casual and more professional. Try to match how you would naturally say a phrase out loud for the particular sentence and context you are writing for.

When writing course names, always write the award at the end of the course title, not the start. This is for consistency across all of our web and print materials.

Use acronyms (such as BA, PhD or PGCert) rather than writing out the award as full words.

Do not use ampersands in course titles.

Examples

Do say:

• Sport and Exercise Science BSc (Hons)
• International History MA

Do not say:

• BSc Sport and Exercise Science
• Sport & Exercise Science BSc (Hons)
• International history masters

Write days and months out in full wherever possible. If you are constrained by character limits, for example on social media, it is better to shorten days and months to the first 3 letters rather than numbers. Shortening to numbers can be confusing to international audiences, as dates can be written in different orders in different parts of the world.

• Always write dates in the order: day, month, year.
• Use numerals for the day and year. Write months out in full.
• Dates should be written without their ordinal indicator ('st', 'th', 'rd', or 'nd').
• Use the word 'to' instead of a dash in a date range.
• If the year has already been mentioned on the page, you can omit the year in further references.
• Do not write dates in an abbreviated form using numerals and slashes.
• If you are writing about an event, always include the day of the week as this helps people to plan ahead.
• Do not include 'the' in the date.

Examples

Do say:

• Our Open Day will take place on Saturday 15 October 2022.
• Visit us on Sat 15 Oct (if restricted characters).

Do not say:

• Our Open Day will take place on 15/10/22.
• Our Open Day will take place on Saturday the 15th of October.

Use miles for distances. Write distances using numerals and round to 1 decimal place if needed. For example, '1 mile', '0.6 mile', or '2.5 miles'.

Obtain the distance by finding the shortest walking distance provided by Google Maps. Do not offer travel times as an alternative to distances, as we cannot assume that everyone travels at the same speed. For example, do not write '15 minutes walking distance'.

Read more about inclusive language surrounding disability.

If you are including an email address in digital content you should make it a hyperlink.

If an email address is at the end of a sentence you can include a full stop at the end, but should not make this part of the hyperlink text.

Examples:

Do say:

• You can contact us by emailing example@email.com.

Do not say:

• You can email us at example@email.com.
• You can email us at example@email.com

Headings or titles should always be written in sentence case, with only the first word and any proper nouns being capitalised.

Full stops should never be used at the end of main headings. They should be used on subheadings if they are complete sentences.

Try to keep headings and subheadings short.

When writing for the web it is important that you use the right headings for your structure: Writing for the website.

Avoid using italics. Making text bold is a better way to show emphasis when writing for the web.

If you want to refer to the name of a text, publication or piece of media use inverted commas.

Examples

Do say:

• This semester you will be reading 'White Teeth' by Zadie Smith.

Do not say:

• This semester you will be reading The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe.

When writing someone's job title, use their name first, then their role. For example: Robbie Barnes, Senior Lecturer in History NOT Senior Lecturer in History, Robbie Barnes.

Please check on the staff profile pages of the website whether you need to include a title such as Dr or Professor along with someone's name.

We usually use numerals instead of words for numbers, even for single digit numbers. Writing numbers in this way makes it easier for people using screen readers and for people skimming text. Numerals tend to draw the eye and affirm information.

Between ranges of numbers use the word 'to' rather than a dash.

In numbers with more 3 digits, use commas to aid understanding.

The exception is for numbers above 100s of 1,000s, where you should write the number out in words.

There can also be some flexibility in the use of small numbers and especially 'one', which can sometimes look odd in a sentence. If you are referring to a specific number of things, it should be written as a numeral. However, if it is being used within a sentence as a phrase rather than to specify a quantity, it can be left as 'one'.

Examples

• You will study 1 module in your first semester and 2 modules in your second semester.
• We offer over 100 undergraduate courses and will help you find one that suits your interests and ambitions.
• The session will last 2 to 3 hours.
• 12,000
• 1 million
• You will have 1 to 1 tutorial sessions throughout the year.

If you want to refer to a statistic or study, include the title and year in brackets at the end of your sentence.

If you are referring to a survey, be careful to word the statement in a way which accurately represents the specific results of the data. For example, in NSS statistics like the one below you would need to use the specific wording used in the survey question. So you must write "were satisfied with their course" not any implied variation such as "enjoyed their course".

Example

• 100% of Geography students were satisfied with their course (National Student Survey 2021).

If you are writing for an external audience who are not likely to be familiar with the buildings on our campus, it is best to write out the building names in full:

• De Grey 016

If you are writing for an internal audience who will be familiar with the University timetabling system, or if you have very limited space, you can instead use the acronym for the building:

• D.G. 016

If you do this, use full stops between the letters. This makes it easier for screen readers to process the letters as an acronym rather than trying to read it as a word. If you are not sure what the acronym for a building is, you can check using the campus map.

Write times using full stops between the hours and minutes.

Use the 12 hour clock, not 24. This is more widely understood.

Always use 2 digits after the full stop, and include 'am' and 'pm'.

In time ranges use the word 'to' rather than a dash.

12.00pm is midday and 12.00am is midnight. If a deadline is at midnight, please write it as 11.59pm rather than 12.00am, as it is clearer what time this is referring to.

For durations use numerals. Describe durations by the largest unit of time possible, followed by any remaining smaller units (for example, hours followed by minutes).

If a time immediately follows a date, include some text (such as 'at' or 'from') between the date and time. Using only a comma to separate dates and times, or not using anything, can cause information to be misread by screen readers.

Examples

Do say:

• 2.00pm
• Please submit your application by 11.59pm on Friday 1 October.
• 9.00am to 5.30pm
• The presentation will last around 1 hour and 30 minutes.
• 5 September at 10.30am

Do not say:

• 2pm
• 14:00
• Please submit your application by midnight on Friday 1 October.
• 9-5
• The presentation will last around 90 minutes.
• 5 September, 10.30am

Do not use '+44' at the start of telephone numbers. Over 60% of our web visitors are based in the UK so including '+44' is unnecessary. Including '+44 (0)' at the start of a phone number can be distracting and increase cognitive load for the user.

Include a space between city and local exchange. Include a space in the middle of the last 6 digits. Format mobile numbers in the same way: 5 digits, a space, 3 digits, a space, 3 digits.

When writing for the web, always format telephone numbers as clickable links. At least 40% of our users are accessing the site on mobile phones. Making telephone numbers clickable links helps them to call the number.

Examples

Do say:

• 01904 624 624
• 07132 465 798

Do not say:

• +44 (0) 1904 787897

Do not underline text. Making text bold is a better way of adding emphasis.

Underlined text is used to distinguish links. Underlining text that is not a link can distract the readers and cause confusion.

Text will automatically be underlined when it is formatted as a link.