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Editorial Style Guide For Ubc Communicators
Editorial Style Guide For Ubc Communicators
EDITORIAL STYLE
GUIDE FOR UBC
COMMUNICATORS
202 1 | ver sion 2.0
Dear Colleagues,
6.0 Resources 43
Please note that the style guide will be updated as the need arises. Please check the UBC brand site
regularly to ensure that you are following the latest guide.
1.0 This editorial style guide offers a resource for In general, any material not covered in this
writers and communicators at UBC. It can be edition can be referenced in The Canadian Press
used for print, online and digital publications by Stylebook and its companion The Canadian
providing a consistent approach to how we write Press Caps and Spelling.
for our many external and internal audiences.
The style guide is meant for general use and
Uncertainty in writing creates uncertainty in the not for specialized writing, such as medical or
reader. Understanding the rules of writing scientific journals or thesis presentations.
allows you to write with more confidence and in Writing in professional communications must
turn, creates confidence and trust in your reader. be accessible to a wide audience and as
such, this guide seeks to make it easier for you
The guide is largely based on principles and
to meaningfully connect with your audience.
technical guides published by the Canadian Press
(CP) — Canada’s national news agency. Other
reference sources include The Canadian Oxford
Dictionary and the Chicago Manual of Style (CM).
UNIVERSITY
TERMS
• UBC Vancouver
Remember: Never use periods when writing UBC.
• UBC Okanagan
Write it out as UBC, not U.B.C.
and in some abbreviated references for
internal audiences:
• UBCV
• UBCO
• education faculty
• university-wide
• our university
2 . 2 people
the ubc communit y names and titles
The UBC community is comprised of students, It’s important to not assume titles or the
faculty, staff and alumni (listed in that order correct spelling of names. If at all unsure or
when grouped). UBC wouldn’t exist without our unfamiliar, check the UBC website or
students. Whether directly or indirectly, almost contact the individual’s department directly
all other members of the UBC community — for the correct spelling and formal titles.
administration, faculty members, staff, alumni
In the first written reference, use the person’s
— are dedicated to serving our students. When
full name and academic title. Subsequent
referring to our community, students come first.
references to the person should be by surname
When appropriate to the message, include or or given name, depending on audience.
reference all or some of the above groups (in
For example, in media relations and eternal-
order). For example:
facing communications to government and the
• Students, faculty, staff and alumni are invited to
general public, use surname on second
attend Imagine Day.
reference. If writing for an internal, community-
• Faculty and staff can try a variety of instructor- driven or more informal audience, use given
led classes at no cost during UBC Recreation’s name. The key is to be consistent within the
Free Week. piece and publication.
• Students and alumni are eligible to sign up for • External facing: It’s ideal to combine physical
a UBC email forwarding address. activity with social engagement, says UBC’s
Dr. John Doe. According to Dr. Doe, it’s not just
seniors living in long-term care facilities who
are at risk of social isolation.
• criminal lawyer Jane Doe Capitalize occupational titles if they are related
to a specific person. If the title is hyphenated,
Avoid the use of courtesy titles such as Mr., Ms.
both parts are capitalized.
and the like.
For example:
Write “doctorate” or “doctoral student” and not
• UBC Events Manager John Doe
“PhD student”.
• Santa J. Ono, President & Vice-Chancellor
Not this:
Professor Jane Doe, vice-president Finance, was
Remember to use periods in the abbreviation.
appointed to the board.
doctor al titles
We use the title Dr. in front of the names of any Exceptions
faculty, staff member or postdoctoral scholar Executives: When referring to members of
who has been awarded a doctoral degree from the Executive, confirm with the person how they
the University of British Columbia or other wish to be described in print, guided by the
post-secondary institution. following two options:
• Option 1: Use the title Dr. in front of their
We avoid degree abbreviations, if possible. If
name, and their position behind the name:
degree information is pertinent to the story, we
Dr. Andrew Szeri, Provost and Vice-President,
include a description of the degree in the text:
Academic
• “Dr. Jane Smith, who holds a doctorate
in education...” • Option 2: Use the position in front of the
name: Provost and Vice-President, Academic,
The title Dr. will be used on first reference
Dr. Andrew Szeri
and all additional references in the text.
Doctoral and academic titles are not typically
However, we avoid the repetition of using
used in signatures of members of the Executive.
Dr. in headlines or photo captions for ease
However, they are more frequently used when
of readability.
referring to the person in written text.
2 .3 ubc degrees
In formal, academic context (e.g., degree lists If uncertain of a degree and its abbreviation,
in graduation programs and campus calendars) always check and depending on the context,
UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan use opt for either the formal (with periods) or
periods in the abbreviations of academic informal abbreviation.
degrees: Bachelor of Arts, B.A.; Doctor
When referencing a person’s specialization,
of Philosophy, Ph.D. and so forth.
lowercase the words “major” and “minor” but
However, in public and internal communications capitalize the subject matter.
UBC favours the more modern, informal • He earned a Bachelor of Arts, Political Science
and accessible trend to eliminate the periods major, History minor
and otherwise unnecessary punctuation as
Visit the Vancouver Academic Calendar for
per The Canadian Press Stylebook: Bachelor of
the complete list of UBC Vancouver faculties,
Arts, BA; Doctor of Philosophy, PhD.
schools and their degrees, postdoctoral
The following pages contain examples for a graduate studies, diploma and certificate
variety of familiar abbreviations for UBC studies and formal abbreviations.
degrees. While not exhaustive, it will provide
Information for UBC Okanagan can be found in
a point of reference when abbreviating
the Okanagan Academic Calendar.
various levels of degrees and titles.
2 . 4 faculties, departments,
organiz ations and buildings
faculties, departments and buildings and venues
organiz ations Refer to buildings and other university venues
Capitalize the name of a Faculty, department or named after people using either the family name
unit. When referring to Faculties as an entity, or the person’s full name, but use one or the
always capitalize, unless you are referring to a other convention consistently within the text.
person or people. Once the formal name is established and
assuming there is no ambiguity, the informal
Example: the Faculty of Arts at UBC.
usage is allowed.
Please share this information in your Faculty,
department or unit. • St. John’s College
St. John’s
Example: She is a faculty member at
the College
the university.
We work closely with students, faculty • the Alma Mater Society Student Nest
and staff. the AMS Student Nest
the Nest
Example: the Department of Applied Chemistry
She worked at the Department of Applied • the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
Chemistry. the Barber Learning Centre
the Centre
c ampus names
• UBC Vancouver campus
(not UBC Point Grey campus)
Note: UBC Vancouver uses the term “graduand” Congregation and convocation should
while UBC Okanagan does not. Prior to the be uppercased only when part of a specific
UBC Vancouver ceremony, individuals are referred event title.
to as graduands. After the ceremony, they are • Thank you for attending UBC’s Spring
graduates. For ceremonies in which degrees have Congregation 2021 at the Chan Centre.
already been technically awarded, such as virtual
• Download the congregation program.
ceremonies, the word graduate is appropriate for
all circumstances. other ceremonial terms
Do not capitalize ceremonial items such as
the university mace, academic regalia, the grad
The noun graduate should always be lowercase.
class tree and the grad class gift.
• He is a graduate of UBC’s Sauder School
of Business. Class of 2021 is uppercased.
• She is part of the Class of 2021.
• Dozens of graduates crossed the stage.
Ceremonial titles such as the Macebearer and
The noun “graduation” is the catchall to refer to
the Platform Party should be uppercased.
the ceremony at which degrees are conferred.
This should be written lowercase. References to the Chancellor and the President
• UBC’s spring graduation is on June 20. can be uppercased when referring to a specific
named person. They should be lowercased
• UBC’s virtual graduation ceremonies will take
when referencing a general position.
place on June 20.
• The university mace is a symbol of the authority
of the Chancellor. It is displayed on ceremonial
occasions, such as the installation of a president
or chancellor.
WRITING
STYLE GUIDE
3 .0 writing st yle guide
3 .0 3 .1 acronyms 3 .3 apostrophes
To ensure your writing is clear and easy to Use an apostrophe in plurals of
understand, avoid using acronyms whenever lowercase letters:
possible. Use only when necessary to clarify • mind your p’s and q’s
multiple references or if the organization/
In general, plurals of capital letters or numbers
department/program etcetera is commonly
do not take an apostrophe:
known by its acronym.
• the ABCs
In general, try to avoid introducing an
• Canada’s CF-18s
unfamiliar acronym if it is used only once or
twice in the copy. Exception: To avoid confusion, use an
apostrophe with plurals of single capital letters
When using an acronym, spell it out in the first
(straight A’s) but not with multiple capital
citation and place the acronym in parentheses
letters (URLs).
immediately or shortly after. For example:
• It was named TRI University Meson Facility plur al use
(TRIUMF) when founded in 1968. Know the correct use of apostrophes to indicate
a plural acronym or decade.
Remember to avoid using periods within
well-known acronyms:
• RCMP; CPR; CBC; GPA Use this:
URLs and the 1930s
3 . 4 c apitaliz ation
In recent years there is a growing trend to move when to c apitalize: at the univer sit y
away from more formal styles heavy in Capitalize the proper names of university
capitalization and punctuation, and toward Faculties, schools, departments, units,
greater informality and inclusiveness involving associations and clubs.
less capitalization and “looser” punctuation.
Do not capitalize the program when referring to
UBC favours the “lowercase style” as it improves
a student studying a particular program/field:
readability and increases the prominence of
• The nursing students studied with the
the words that do warrant capitalization. The
journalism students.
use of lowercase does not reduce the
importance or credibility of a department Only capitalize the proper names of courses, not
or an individual’s position or reputation. the description of them:
• Chemistry 202
Rather than weigh the writing down with
The 200-level chemistry course
unnecessary and excessive capitalization
(which quickly wearies the reader’s eye and Do not capitalize academic subjects.
attention), the adept use of white space, Exception: when the subject is also a
em-dashes, typestyle and typeface can —and proper noun:
will—achieve a more modern, lighter style that • He studies history, biology, physics and law. She
works well across print and digital mediums. studies English, French, Spanish and Latin.
semicolon
Use a semicolon to link two “buttressing”
statements (clauses) or ideas that are too
closely related to stand on their own yet
shouldn’t be connected by a simple comma.
Avoid the overuse of the semicolon; it can affect
the rhythm of a piece and on the web page,
when there is limited space, it can feel clunky
and tiresome to read.
Rather than: When indicating month and year only, do not use
The awards were presented by the President and commas or other punctuation.
Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President.
Use this:
August 2022
Not this:
August, 2022
Do not use the 24-hour “military” clock. In this allowed shortened numerical form, an
apostrophe precedes the form:
ac ademic ye ar
• the ‘90s
Indicate the academic year by the initial full
year, backslash, last two digits of the following centuries
“partial” year: When denoting centuries, spell out the first nine
• 2022/23 centuries as words; use digits and superscript
for 10 and above.
months
• the sixth century
Where space restrictions apply, certain months
can be abbreviated: • the 20th century
• Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.
se a sons
Do not abbreviate the following: Seasons are always lowercase:
• March, April, May, June, July • During the fall, we saw an increase in
student activities.
Not this:
It is a transatlantic learning journey that will
leave its international cartography on their
lives, forever.
en-da sh em-da sh
The en-dash or “short” dash (–) is typically used The em-dash or “long” dash (—) is often used
to indicate numerical sequences, times or dates around modifying clauses—a useful way
and to connect associated years, and adjectival to avoid using brackets or semicolons—or to
phrases holding two-word concepts. set off a subsequent “orphan clause” or a
• Read chapters 15–20. non-essential element that warrants special
emphasis, or to indicate an abrupt change
• the 2015–2016 school year
or a parenthetical thought or ellipsis. Use
• the Vancouver–Toronto flight em-dashes without spaces between words.
• UBC researchers developed solar-powered
To get an en-dash, type “option” + “-” (hyphen)
robotic sailboats—which were quickly dubbed
on a Mac keyboard, or “Ctrl” + “-” (minus key in
“sailbots”—to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
numeric key pad) on a PC keyboard.
When used for emphasis, the em-dash is a
powerful tool. But when overused, it quickly
Note: Do not use a space before or after the
becomes an affront to the reader. Use the “long”
en-dash. Close it up.
dash sparingly—and judiciously—to avoid
lessening its effect.
In running text and when specifying ranges of
To get an em-dash, type “option” + “shift” + “-”
number or dates, do not use dashes. Instead,
(hyphen) on a Mac keyboard, or “Ctrl” + “Alt”
use “between/and” or “from/to”.
+ “-” (minus key in numeric key pad) on a
• They attended classes between 2019 and 2021.
PC keyboard.
Indicate the academic year by using a backslash
rather than an en-dash.
• The professor was hired in the 2021/22
academic year.
3 .13 number s
numbered vertic al lists Spell out whole numbers zero, one through nine.
Begin with the numeral (in sequence), • Although only five people attended the meeting,
followed by a period. Each item begins with nine proposals were carried.
a capital letter.
Use numerals for 10 and above and when
Where the vertical numbered list completes a referring to ages, when preceding a unit of
sentence begun as the introductory element and measurement, monetary amounts and
where the items consist of phrases or sentences academic courses.
without internal punctuation, do not use periods • the 18-year-old building
or closing punctuation marks after each item.
• the 15-metre jump
Where the vertical numbered list consists of
• Chemistry 101
phrases or sentences with internal punctuation,
semicolons may be used to “isolate” each item, • the $3-million donation
with a period used on the final item to close
Exception: spell out causal expressions.
off the list. As before, each item begins with a
• The face that launched a thousand ships.
lowercase letter.
• A picture is worth a thousand words.
Not this:
per centage, per centile Use this:
the United States elections, the Newfoundland
In text, use numerals and write “per cent” and
oil patch
avoid the % sign.
• More than 65 per cent of alumni responded. Not this:
the US elections, the Nfld. oil patch
Exception: In graphs, tables, charts and more
visual mediums such as ads, social media or Official names: As with UBC, most business and
other “tight” communications (e.g., headlines) similar entities in B.C. do not use periods in their
where space is limited, the per cent sign and names: BC Ferries, BC Transit, BC Hydro.
other “space savers” such as the ampersand are
allowed. There is no space between the numeral
Do not use periods in certain abbreviations or
and the % symbol.
acronyms. Thus: UBC and not U.B.C.
Not this:
The union said they will address the issue.
3 . 22 the web
gr ammar and spelling web addresses
If you are using the word “Internet”, capitalize When denoting web addresses in text for
the word when referring to the global system, printed communication pieces, do not include
and use lowercase when referring to an “http://” or “https://” or the backslash at the
internal system. end of the URL.
• We use our new internet-capable devices to
For text that will be displayed online, “http://”
access the Internet.
or “https://“ may be required for the link to
Word Wide Web or the Web are proper names function, and it is recommended that the
and capitalized. Use lowercase for website, notation is left in.
webcast, podcast, webmaster and web page.
Where the URLs or email addresses appear in
e-mail or email? printed text, use a bold font for easier spotting.
The term e-mail is abbreviated from “electronic For web documents, include the full URL or
mail” and technically e-mail is the correct form. hyperlink an appropriate term that makes
However, email is now so commonly known it “live”. Do not waste space by including a
and used that we can now refer to electronic “click here” URL.
mail more simply as email and do away with
In general, unless deliberately meant to inform
the hyphen.
the reader, do not include a website address
However, use this: within the text for printed material.
e-business, e-transfer, e-banking, e-library,
link s
e-services, e-book etcetera
Be cautious when inserting links in web copy;
Not this: you may run the risk of unintentionally
ebusiness, etransfer, ebanking, elibrary, promoting websites involving special-interest
eservices, ebook e-tcetera (sic) groups, political entities and/or commercial
products. This could be potentially damaging to
your own site’s reputation and UBC’s credibility.
SPELLING
GUIDE
4 .0 4 .1 spelling preferences
Canadian English is based on the Queen’s • colour (not color)
English but with certain exceptions, it borrows
• data (always plural)
from American English.
• defence (not defense) but defensive
If in doubt, follow the rules and principles set
forth in The Canadian Press Stylebook and its • e-business (not ebusiness)
companion Caps and Spelling guide. Or, use the
• email (not e-mail)
Canadian Oxford Dictionary.
• enrol, enrolled, enrolment (not enroll,
Although UBC follows The Canadian Press
enroled, enrollment)
Stylebook in general, UBC has preferred spelling
for certain words and phrases. • ensure (make sure of)
Never omit the two periods in the abbreviation, effect and affect
and in text usage, a comma must follow: “e.g.,” “Effect” is a noun; “affect” is a verb.
and “i.e.,”. • What sort of an effect did the impact of the giant
meteorite have on the city?
INCLUSIVE
LANGUAGE:
BEST PRACTICES
5 .0 In any text or usage, where it’s necessary Inclusive language best practices are
to reference a person’s race, age, gender, continually evolving. In general, UBC follows
religion, appearance, disability or any The Canadian Press Stylebook guidelines for
other aspect of their identity that may inclusive language. The following guidelines are
be important to them or make them feel not exhaustive; they are simply guidelines to
adversely singled out, take the time help ensure your writing is inclusive. There is
to thoughtfully and carefully find language not always one single, agreed-upon way of
that is inclusive and respectful. Ensure expression. Inclusive language is language that
authenticity, mindfulness, and that respects an individual’s preference and is
the engagement with diverse students, used in a caring way.
faculty, staff, alumni and community
If you have further questions regarding inclusive
partners is meaningful and respectful of
language practices, please contact the UBC
individual preferences.
Equity & Inclusion Office.
• Indigenous
5 . 2 indigenous peoples
• Latin
UBC Brand and Marketing has worked with the
• Asian UBC First Nations House of Learning to create
the Indigenous Peoples: Language Guidelines.
Capitalize Black when referring to Black people
or Black culture. Black is not a replacement for Please download and refer to this separate guide
Black-Canadian or African-American. When on brand.ubc.ca.
possible, ask sources how they prefer to be
identified and avoid using Black as a noun. Refer
to race or ethnicity only when it is relevant to a
story. “White” is always written in lowercase.
5 .3 gender
Unless it’s truly necessary and germane to the The nonspecific word “they”(them, their) can be
story, avoid language that signals gender. Also, used as an alternative to the use of “he” (him,
especially in such a diverse place as UBC, never his) as a word of indeterminate gender when
assume gender from a person’s first or given referring to generic situations.
name. Always ask people what pronouns you • If your child is thinking about university, they
should use when writing about them. can get started early by coming to summer camps
at UBC.
When writing in general terms, be non-specific
in terms of gender. • A researcher has to be completely committed to
their field of study.
Use these:
police officer; fire fighter; mail carrier; “They” is also increasingly being used by
flight attendant people whose gender identity does not fall
under the binary of man/woman. In these
Not these:
cases, “they” can be used to refer to a specific
policeman; fireman; mailman; stewardess
singular subject.
If uncertain, use common sense, keep an eye • Quinn is a Computer Science student. This will be
open for evolving common usages (e.g., their first time participating in a hackathon.
spokesperson). Use the nonspecific “chair”
• Hikaru heard that they had been accepted to the
to refer to the head of a committee.
Arts One program while on a family trip.
Do not use “he” (him, his) as a word of
indeterminate gender. It is important that
we recognize the existence of non-binary
people, so avoid using “her or his” and “he
and she” as an alternative, as this can be
awkward and overlooks non-binary people
who do not use these pronouns. To avoid this,
reword the sentence if possible or use the
gender-neutral “they”.
RESOURCES