ital ITALICS
Although italics are generally preferred, you may use underlining in place of italics. Whichever method you choose, be consistent throughout your document. Italics (or underlining) are used in the following instances:
Use italics for words used as words.
In this report, the word operator will refer to any individual who is in charge of the equipment, regardless of that individual’s certification.
Use italics to indicate titles of long works (books, manuals, and so on), periodicals and newspapers, long films, long plays, and long musical works.
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See Houghton’s Civil Engineering Today.
We subscribe to the Wall Street Journal.
Note that the is not italicized or capitalized when the title is used in a sentence.
NOTE: The MLA style guide recommends that the names of websites be italicized.
The Library of Congress maintains Thomas, an excellent site for legislative information.
Use italics to indicate the names of ships, trains, and airplanes.
The shipment is expected to arrive next week on the Penguin.
Use italics to set off foreign expressions that have not become fully assimilated into English.
Grace’s joie de vivre makes her an engaging presenter.
The replacement part came from one of the marchés aux puces in Paris.
Check a dictionary to determine whether a foreign expression has become assimilated.
Use italics to emphasize words or phrases.
Do not press the red button.
< > ANGLE BRACKETS
Some style guides advocate using angle brackets around URLs in print documents to set them off from the text.
Our survey included a close look at three online news sites: the New York Times <www.nytimes.com >, the Washington Post <www.washingtonpost.com >, and CNN <www.cnn.com >.
You might want to check with your instructor or organization before following this recommendation.
- HYPHENS
Hyphens are used in the following instances:
Use hyphens to form compound adjectives that precede nouns.
general-
meat-
chain-
NOTE: Hyphens are not used after adverbs that end in -ly.
newly acquired terminal
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For more about compound adjectives, see “Writing Grammatically Correct Sentences” in Ch. 6.
Also note that hyphens are not used when the compound adjective follows the noun:
The Woodchuck saw is chain driven.
Many organizations have their own policy about hyphenating compound adjectives. Check to see if your organization has a policy.
Use hyphens to form some compound nouns.
once-
go-
NOTE: There is a trend away from hyphenating compound nouns (vice president, photomicroscope, drawbridge); check your dictionary for proper spelling.
Use hyphens to form fractions and compound numbers.
one-
fifty-
Use hyphens to attach some prefixes and suffixes.
post-
president-
Use hyphens to divide a word at the end of a line.
We will meet in the pavil-
ion in one hour.
Whenever possible, however, avoid such line breaks; they slow the reader down. Even when your word processor is determining the line breaks, you might have to check the dictionary occasionally to make sure a word has been divided between syllables. If you need to break a URL at the end of a line, do not add a hyphen. Instead, break the URL before a single slash or before a period:
http://www.stc.org
/ethical.asp
num NUMBERS
Ways of handling numbers vary considerably. Therefore, in choosing between words and numerals, consult your organization’s style guide. Many organizations observe the following guidelines:
Express technical quantities of any size in numerals, especially if a unit of measurement is included.
| 3 feet | 43,219 square miles |
| 12 grams | 36 hectares |
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Express nontechnical quantities of fewer than 10 in words.
three persons
six whales
Express nontechnical quantities of 10 or more in numerals.
300 persons
12 whales
Write out approximations.
approximately ten thousand people
about two million trees
Express round numbers over nine million in a combination of words and numerals.
14 million light-
$64 billion
Express decimals in numerals.
3.14
1,013.065
Decimals of less than one are preceded by a zero:
0.146
0.006
Write out fractions, unless they are linked to units of measurement.
two-
3½ hp
Express time of day in numerals if A.M. or P.M. is used; otherwise, write it out.
6:10 A.M.
six o’clock
the nine-
Express page numbers and figure and table numbers in numerals.
Figure 1
Table 13
page 261
Write back-
six 3-
fourteen 12-
500
3,012 five-
In general, the quantity linked to a unit of measurement should be expressed with the numeral. If the nontechnical quantity would be cumbersome in words, however, use the numeral for it instead.
Use both words and numerals to represent numbers in legal contracts or in documents intended for international readers.
thirty-
five (5) relays
Use both words and numerals in some street addresses.
3801 Fifteenth Street
SPECIAL CASES
A number at the beginning of a sentence should be spelled out:
Thirty-
Many writers would revise the sentence to avoid spelling out the number:
The lot was 37 acres.
Within a sentence, numbers with the same unit of measurement should be expressed consistently in either numerals or words:
| INCORRECT | On Tuesday, the attendance was 13; on Wednesday, eight. |
| CORRECT | On Tuesday, the attendance was 13; on Wednesday, 8. |
| CORRECT | On Tuesday, the attendance was thirteen; on Wednesday, eight. |
In general, months should not be expressed as numbers. In the United States, 3/7/16 means March 7, 2016; in many other countries, it means July 3, 2016. The following forms, in which the months are written out, are preferable:
March 7, 2016
7 March 2016
abbr ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviations save time and space, but you should use them carefully because your readers might not understand them. Many companies and professional organizations provide lists of approved abbreviations.
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Analyze your audience to determine whether and how to abbreviate. If your readers include a general audience unfamiliar with your field, either write out the technical terms or attach a list of abbreviations. If you are new to an organization or are publishing in a field for the first time, find out which abbreviations are commonly used. If for any reason you are unsure about a term, write it out.
The following are general guidelines about abbreviations:
When an unfamiliar abbreviation is introduced for the first time, give the full term, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. In subsequent references, the abbreviation may be used alone. For long works, the full term and its abbreviation may be written out at the start of major units, such as chapters.
The heart of the new system is the self-
The liquid crystal display (LCD) is your control center.
To form the plural of an abbreviation, add an s, either with or without an apostrophe, depending on the style used by your organization.
GNP’s or GNPs
PhD’s or PhDs
Abbreviations for most units of measurement do not take plurals:
10 in.
3 qt
Do not use periods with most abbreviations in scientific writing.
lb
cos
dc
If an abbreviation can be confused with another word, however, a period should be used:
in.
Fig.
If no number is used with a unit of measurement, do not use an abbreviation.
| INCORRECT | How many sq meters is the site? |
| CORRECT | How many square meters is the site? |
cap CAPITALIZATION
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For the most part, the conventions of capitalization in general writing apply in technical communication:
Capitalize proper nouns, titles, trade names, places, languages, religions, and organizations.
William Rusham
Director of Personnel
Quick-
Bethesda, Maryland
Italian
Methodism
Society for Technical Communication
In some organizations, job titles are not capitalized unless they refer to specific people.
Alfred Loggins, Director of Personnel, is interested in being considered for vice president of marketing.
Capitalize headings and labels.
A Proposal To Implement the Wilkins Conversion System
Mitosis
Table 3
Section One
The Problem
Rate of Inflation, 2006–2016
Figure 6