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Punctuation and formatting

Ampersands (&)

Do not use ampersands. Use the word 'and'.

This is easier for people to read and understand.

Bold

Use bold sparingly. It will lose any meaning or emphasis if used too much.

Be aware of where else bold is already in use on the page you are working on.

Do not use bold for headings. This will conflict with heading styles.

Do not create large blocks of bold text. This is hard to read and can be jarring for some users.

Capitalisation

Use sentence case for headings.

Example:


‘Your account details’ not ‘Your Account Details’.

Only capitalise words at the front of sentences and proper nouns.

Colons and semicolons

Use a colon at the end of a lead-in line to introduce a quote or list.

Otherwise, avoid using colons or semicolons. If you think a sentence needs a colon or semicolon, break it down into shorter sentences.

Contractions

Using contractions can make your writing sound more human and personal.

Examples:

  • you’re
  • we’ll
  • it’s (it is)

Do not use negative or conditional contractions as they are harder to understand for people who do not speak English as a first language.

Examples not to use:

  • wouldn’t
  • don’t
  • haven’t

Exclamation marks

Use exclamation sparingly as they can be misinterpreted or create an odd tone.

Never use them for UX microcopy or functional text.

Italics

Use italics sparingly to highlight specific terms such as journal titles within paragraph text. They will lose any meaning or emphasis if used too often.

Do not use for headings. This will conflict with heading styles.

Do not create large blocks of italicised text, such as long lists of journal titles. This is hard to read and can be jarring for some users.

Latin

Do not use Latin terms and abbreviations. They can sometimes be misunderstood or may be mispronounced by screen reading software.

Instead of using ‘eg’ or ‘ie’, write ‘for example’ and ‘that is’ in full.

Do not use ‘etc’. Use ‘for example’ or ‘such as’ or ‘like’ or ‘including’, whichever works best in the specific context.

Example label on a UI form field:

  • Funding source (for example, university or institutional funding)

Hyphens

Only use a hyphen if a word is confusing without it.

“Hyphens slow online comprehension as words with hyphens take longer to scan. They can make the reader need to stop to unpick meaning.” (Readability Guidelines)

Use ‘to’ instead of a hyphen in date or time ranges. This makes it easier for screen readers.

Quote marks

Single quotes

Use single quotes:

  • for unusual terms
  • when referring to user actions
  • for manuscript or article names within emails

Example: Go to your profile page and select ‘Editorial dashboard’.

Double quotes

Use double quotes in body text for direct quotations.