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House Style

Publication design varies enormously and the following points are guidelines for publishing in hard copy or on the web.

Our aim is to achieve a consistent house style. Please refer to this list when originating copy. If there is any information you think is missing or you have any queries or requests, please contact us at publications@st-andrews.ac.uk

Abbreviation

  • No full stops or spaces between or after letters, except at end of sentence. (e.g. UK not U.K.) Degree abbreviations (MLitt, BSc) do not have full stops except in formal documents like Regulations and Course Catalogue entries (e.g. M.Litt., B.Sc.).
  • Use ampersand in School names e.g. Physics & Astronomy.
  • (Exception to first point above) When abbreviating Latin use full stops between or after ('c.', 'i.e.' or 'e.g.') (when only single example is given, use 'for example' rather than e.g.).

Bullet points within text

Each item in a bullet point list should start with a capital and end with a full-stop unless it is a phrase of three words or less.

Capitalisation

  • University should not be capitalised unless referring to St Andrews or the title of another university (e.g. Glasgow University).
  • Honours (including Joint and Single) / Faculty / School / Department are always capitalised.
  • Reference to sub-honours should always be lower case and hyphenated.
  • Reference to module levels is always First level, Second level.
  • Use capitals when referring to degree titles e.g. Computer Science, Geography, Greek.
  • Capitalise North, South etc. in titles of areas (e.g. South America, Western Australia) but not descriptor (e.g. south of England).
  • When referring to student programme years, capitalise First Year, Second Year, Third Year, Fourth Year.

Dates

  • Tuesday 4 December not Tuesday 4th December.
  • Year should be written in full 2008 not 08 and academic years to be written as 2007-2008.
  • Century should be written in full (e.g. fifteenth century) except when used as an adjective when it should be hyphenated (e.g. seventeenth-century artist).
  • 1970s not 1970's.

Email addresses

  • Should always have @st-andrews.ac.uk in full not @st-and.ac.uk.
  • Email is not hyphenated.

Italics

  • Use italics for titles of published books and periodicals.
  • Latin should always be italicised, except when it is abbreviated ('i.e.' or 'e.g.').
  • Use italics for module titles when they appear in documents other than the Course Catalogue.

Numerical style

  • In text, any number below ten should be written as a word (three) - over ten should be a number (12) except at the beginning of a sentence. Where a sentence contains numbers below and above 10, numerals should be used for both.
  • Million, m following number, thousand k following number (or in full), The term billion should be either avoided or explained. The term has different meanings in the UK and the USA (http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwords/billion)

Proofing marks

There are a number of mark-up styles available. Print & Design - Publications have standardised on one. See the following: Proof Marks (PDF, 121 KB).

Punctuation

  • Quotations should be closed in 'single' inverted commas, except quoting speech which should be "double" inverted commas. Quotations marks are closed at the end of a paragraph and reopened at the beginning of a new one.
  • Anything belonging to the city (e.g. St Andrews Prize) has no apostrophe.
  • One space after full stop. (Correct way used to be two but most people now use one).
  • No commas at the end of lines in addresses.
  • Bullet points:
    • Each item in a bullet point list should start with a capital and end with a full-stop unless it is a phrase of three words or less.

Qualifications

  • GCSE, A-Level, AS-Level
  • Class of Degrees
    • First class 1
    • Second class division one 2.1
    • Second class division two 2.2
    • Third class
    • Masters Degree (grammatically incorrect, but we are bowing to overwhelming common practice)
    • Bachelor's Degree

Quotation marks

  • When quoting direct speech always use "double quotes".
  • When there are further quotes or figures of speech within the quoted speech, use 'single quotes'.
  • Figures of speech or words quoted for explanation should be in single quotes - not italics
  • 'Smart quotes' those which shape inwards or outwards - do not work in all contexts - in particular on many web pages. Where possible use the vertical versions.

Spellings

  • As a general rule, this University uses Mediaeval not Medieval.
  • Enrol or enroll - both acceptable.
  • Website not web-site.
  • Online not on-line.
  • 'ise' words not 'ize' (e.g.organised).
  • Email not e-mail
  • Online not on-line
  • Postgraduate not post-graduate
  • Postdoctoral not post-doctoral

Telephone and Fax Nos.

  • Hyphen only after city STD codes eg 0141-000 0000
  • Local calls 01334 467171
  • Internal numbers and faxes (46)3022
  • International calls
    • 1. When the text will be read abroad only: (e.g. +44 1334 463022).
    • 2. When text will be read both in the UK and abroad (e.g. +44 (0)1334 463022).

University

University of St Andrews not St Andrews University.

Web information

  • The University's web address Should always be 'st-andrews.ac.uk' in full not 'st-and.ac.uk'.
  • Use 'web pages' rather than website when referring to pages which are part of the University's website.
  • Remove http:// except where address does not have www.

Documents

Related links

See also