All grammar rules are based on the AP Style Guide:

 

Titles:

Only capitalize a title when it precedes a name and is used as part of the name. Job titles must also be capitalized when following a name and the word “the” does not appear in front of the title. Titles should never be italicized.

Examples:

  • Title immediately preceding name: The OAC asked Chairman Ted Kyle, RPh, MBA, to join us for lunch.
  • Title following a name without “the” present: Ms. Davis, OAC Chairman, will join us in Dallas.
  • Title with “the” following a name: Mr. Nadglowski, the OAC president and chief executive officer, enjoyed the meeting.
  • Titles in signature lines are ALWAYS capitalized: Joe Nadglowski, OAC President and CEO
  • Titles used as descriptors: Ms. Davis, who will chair the meeting, enjoyed the planning.

Capitalization:

Below, please find capitalization guidelines.

Words to capitalize:

  • Proper nouns (name for a person, place or thing)
  • The first word of a sentence
  • Months, days, and holidays
  • Countries, Nationalities, and Languages

Words to not capitalize:

  • Articles: the, a, and
  • Demonstrative Pronouns: this, these, those
  • Coordinating Conjunctions: and, this, or, for, nor, with, etc.
  • Prepositions (fewer than five letters): on, at, to, from, by, up, out, etc.
  • Seasons when used in a sentence (fall, spring, summer, winter)

Punctuation:

Below please find a brief summary of punctuation guidelines.

Ampersand (&)

The ampersand is used when it is part of a company’s formal name or composition title (e.g., Barnes & Noble, AT&T, Ben & Jerry’s). The ampersand should not be used to replace the word “and.”

Bulleted Lists:

There should be at least two bullets in every bulleted list. Each bulleted item should be punctuated at the end if it is a complete sentence. Rules to consider:

  • When a bulleted list is a continuation a sentence, use semi-colons, a conjunction and punctuation to complete it.
  • When a bulleted list is comprised of individual sentences, punctuate each sentence.
  • When a list is comprised of words and/or phrases, do not punctuate.

Colon (:)

The most frequent use of a colon is at the end of a sentence to introduce lists, tabulations, texts, etc. Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence.

Examples:

            He promised this: The company will make good on all losses.

            There were three considerations: expense, time and feasibility.

The colon often can be effective in giving emphasis: He had only one hobby: fishing.

Colons go outside quotation marks unless they are part of the quotation itself.

Do not combine a dash and a colon.

Comma (,)

Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series. Commas always go inside quotation marks.

Examples:

            He would nominate Tom, Dick or Harry.

            I had orange juice, toast, and ham and eggs for breakfast.

Em Dash (—)

Use dashes to indicate an abrupt change in thought during a sentence:

Example:

            We will fly to Paris in June – if I get a raise.

When a phrase that otherwise would be set off by commas contains a series of words that must be separated by commas, use dashes to set off the full phrase.

Example:

            He listed the qualities – intelligence, humor, independence – that he liked in an executive.

Usually, you can type an em dash with two dashes (–), which will autocorrect to one longer dash.

Hyphens ( – )

Use a hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun.

Example:

            one-way street; chocolate-covered peanuts

Use a hyphen with compound numbers.

Example:

            forty-six

Use a hyphen to avoid confusion or an awkward combination of letters.

Example:        

            re-sign a petition (instead of resign from a job)

Use a hyphen with the prefixes ex- (meaning former), self-, all-; with the suffix -elect; between a prefix and a capitalized word; and with figures or letters.

Example:

            self-assured; ex-husband; mayor-elect; all-inclusive; pre-Civil War

When compound modifiers come after a noun, they are not hyphenated.

Example:

            The street was one way; the peanuts were chocolate covered

Parentheses ( )

Use sparingly. Parentheses are jarring to the reader. The temptation to use parentheses is a clue that a sentence is becoming contorted. If a sentence must contain incidental material, then commas or two dashes are frequently more effective.

Place a period outside a closing parenthesis if the material inside is not a sentence (such as this fragment). Place inside when it is a complete sentence – (An independent parenthetical sentence such as this one takes a period before the closing parenthesis.)

Use parentheses to enclose information that clarifies or is used as an aside.

Example:

            He went to Magic Kingdom (a theme park in Orlando, FL).

            He finally answered (after taking five minutes to think) that he did not understand the question.

Data

Below please find a brief summary of how to refer to data.

Percentage Points (%)

Use the % sign when paired with a numeral with no space except if it the beginning of a sentence. Use the word percent when you spell out the numeral.

Example:

            31%

            Fifty percent

Numbers

Spell out numbers one through nine. Numbers 10 and above are NOT written out unless they start a sentence.

Example:

            There were 50 people; Fifty people came to the party

Dates

Days of the week are always spelled out. Months are spelled out when they stand alone, but certain months are abbreviated when used in a date-specific format.

Example:

            The meeting will take place in July

            Registration will open on Nov. 15.

            The email will be sent in October 2018.

The following months have abbreviations when necessary:

January (Jan.) Feburary (Feb.) August (Aug). September (Sept.) October (Oct.) November (Nov.) December (Dec.)

The following months are always spelled out: March April May June July

Times

Time zone abbreviations are acceptable on first reference for zones used within the U.S. Each time should include “am” or “pm” when necessary.

Example:

            8-9 am

            11 am-1:30 pm

            4-5:30 pm

Always use lowercase letters and no periods between letters.

Publication Format Rules

Common publication formatting rules are as follows:

Quotation Marks:

  • “Books”
  • “Songs”
  • “Television shows”
  • “Computer games”
  • “Poems”
  • “Lectures”
  • “Speeches”
  • “Works of art”

Do not use quotation marks, underline or italicize any of the below:

  • Magazine
  • Newspapers
  • The Bible
  • Books that are catalogs of reference materials

Cities, States and State Abbreviations

When writing about certain cities, the full state name is not required. Below, please find the list of cities that DO NOT require the state name as well:

Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington

When referencing a state without a zip code present, the following abbreviations may be used for states with more than six letters in their names:

Ala., Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo. Conn. Del. Fla. Ga. Ill. Ind. Kan. Ky. La. Md. Mass. Mich. Minn. Miss. Mo. Mont. Neb., Nev., N.H., N.J, N.M., N.Y., N.C., N.D., Okla., Ore., Pa., R.I., S.C., S.D., Tenn., Vt., Va., Wash., W. Va., Wis., Wyo.

Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah are NEVER abbreviated unless used in an address with zip code present.