SLA Style Guide
Updated November 2007 by John T. Adams III
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How to Prepare Copy
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The SLA Editing and Approval Process
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Styles from A to Y
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Words: Spelling, Capitalization, Hyphenation
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Confusing Words
What’s New?
Major changes and points of emphasis include:
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US$—In text, use only to avoid confusing other currencies with the U.S. dollar. If the
U.S. dollar is the only currency referenced, use only the dollar sign. However, in
order forms, applications, price lists, etc., always use “US$” for clarity. The
designation USD is considered correct in some stylebooks, but SLA uses US$.
Telephone numbers—Use the following style: +1 703.647.4919.
Dates—For all SLA materials, the style for dates is “date month year,” as in 24
March 2008.
Places—This style hasn’t changed, but requires emphasis. When referring in text to
major cities of the world—New York, Paris, London, Beijing, etc.—do not use the
state (for U.S. locations) or the country. When referring to U.S. cities and states, do
not add U.S. or U.S.A. Generally, European publications would say “Louisville,
Kentucky,” not “Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A.”
Seasons—Do not use the terms fall, winter, spring, and summer. Fall in North
America is spring in Australia.
Credentials—Do not use periods in degrees and other credentials—for example
MLS, PhD, MBA, MLS.
References
Except where different styles are noted in this document, use The Chicago Manual of
Style, University Of Chicago Press; 15th edition (1 August 2003). For styles not
addressed in either source, use the U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual, online
at www.gpoaccess.gov/stylemanual.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
Page 1 of 18
How to Prepare Copy
Follow these procedures as you prepare documents for print or electronic distribution:
• Use MS Word set to American English (TOOLS→SET LANGUAGE).
• Send the article for internal review as an e-mail attachment.
• For text, use 12-point Times New Roman. It will be reformatted as required during
design and layout.
• Set margins to one inch on all sides (FILE→PAGE SETUP. Set MARGINS to 1").
• Set line spacing to single, with no additional space between paragraphs
(FORMAT→PARAGRAPH. Set SPACING BEFORE and AFTER to 0).
• Indent paragraphs one-half inch (FORMAT→PARAGRAPH. Under the tab INDENTS AND
SPACING, see the section INDENTATION. Under SPECIAL, select FIRST LINE. Under BY,
select .5").
• Use only ONE SPACE after periods and colons.
• If any of the material is copied and pasted from e-mails or Web pages, be sure that
Word has not automatically inserted a hard return at the end of each line. To check,
click the paragraph symbol— ¶ —on the menu bar and delete any hard return
symbols— ↵ — you see at the ends of lines. Each paragraph should end with a
paragraph symbol.
• Use Word’s “Smart Quotes” feature to make sure all straight quotes and apostrophes
(which look like this: " and ') are curly, or typographic, quotes (which look like “ ”
and ‘ ’). Use TOOLS→AUTO CORRECT OPTIONS. Select the tab AUTO-FORMAT AS YOU
TYPE. Check the first box under REPLACE AS YOU TYPE and click OK. With that box
checked, you may need to run EDIT→REPLACE to fix quote marks already in the
document. As with the hard returns, you’ll see straight quotes and apostrophes in
material you have copied from Web pages or e-mails and pasted into your document.
Use Spelling and Grammar Check—But Proof It Yourself
When the copy is complete, use MS Word’s spelling checker (hit the F7 key)—but not to
replace regular proofreading. MS Word will NOT flag a word that is spelled
correctly—even if it’s not the word you intended to use. One wrong letter can change
the meaning of the whole document—e.g., now or not—even though the word is spelled
correctly.
Also, be selective and don’t accept every MS Word grammar and style suggestion. Some
are bad style or bad grammar.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
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The SLA Editing and Approval Process
Marketing Production
The following is the production protocol for print and Web materials that go through
Marketing. This includes all conference and meeting materials, sponsorship and exhibitor
brochures, Click U, membership, Leadership Development Institute, new Web pages, and
Career Center materials.
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Program Team meets with Marketing Team and Cara to share ideas about the project,
decide the most suitable format for the materials, get on the production schedule, and
set deadlines.
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Program Team writes content for piece in Word, using the latest version of the SLA
Style Guide.
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Program Team sends copy to Tom for overall messaging and review.
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After his review, Tom sends copy to Adams for first round editing. Adams returns
document to Program Team.
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Program Team rewrites, makes corrections, etc. based on feedback from Tom and
Adams and resubmits to Adams who checks copy again and sends back to Program
Team.
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Program Team submits final clean copy to Marketing Team to put into production.
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Marketing Team does copy formatting, design, and layout.
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Marketing Team sends proof to Program Team, Adams, Tom, and Nancy. Changes
go back and forth until project is completed and sent to the printer.
Communications
The following is the protocol for print and Web messages that are to be distributed to all
members or to special segments of the membership, such as leadership, committees, or
advisory councils. The item may be an announcement of a decision, discussion of
sensitive issues, BIG news, board information, letters, or member mailings.
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When it is determined that a communication is needed the Program Team meets with
(or notifies) Tom and Cara. Since many of SLA’s member/board communications are
in response to something immediate, planning and an accurate view of the production
schedule for future communications assures that all necessary communications get
out the door. Deadlines are important and must be adhered to.
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The Program Team writes the message, using the latest version of the SLA Style
Guide.
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The Program Team sends a draft of the message to Tom/Cara for overall messaging
review.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
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Tom/Cara send to Adams for editing.
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Adams edits and returns the copy to Tom/Cara, who review and send to Nancy for
final approval.
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Program Team or Cara distributes the message.
Connections Newsletters
The following is the protocol for the electronic newsletters: SLA Connections,
Leadership Connections, Public Policy Connections, Learning Connections, Exhibitor
Connections.
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Working with Program Teams, Natasha will develop a deadline schedule for each
Connections newsletter.
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The Program Team will write copy for its newsletters—using the latest version of
the SLA Style Guide—and send to Adams for editing.
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Adams will edit and return newsletter to the Program Team, which will incorporate
changes into final document and send to Nancy for approval.
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Nancy will make changes/approve as necessary and return to the Program Team.
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The Program Team will send final version to Natasha for formatting and distribution.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
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Styles from A to Y
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Acronyms Part 1: Common U.S. English and information profession acronyms—
e.g., FBI, MLIS, NAACP, NCAA, ASCII, AT&T, AFL-CIO, VFW—should be used
on first and all subsequent references—not spelled out. If there is any question of
clarity, spell it out.
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Acronyms Part 2: In lead paragraphs, acronyms for lengthy names may be used on
first reference and defined parenthetically on the next reference. For example, the
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions may be abbreviated
as IFLA on first reference. On second reference, say: IFLA (the International
Federation of Library Associations and Institutions).
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Acronyms Part 3: If the name of an organization appears only once in an article,
don’t use the acronym and the name. If there is no subsequent reference to the
organization, spell out the name and omit the parenthetical acronym.
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Adjectives: In general, compound adjectives used before nouns should be
hyphenated, e.g., full-time job, follow-up meeting. But: The job is full time. Good
employees always follow up.
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Addresses: Here are correct styles for using addresses in text (as opposed to full
postal addresses):
Š When used with an address number, the words street, avenue, and boulevard are
abbreviated, e.g., 331 Duke St., 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., 1003 Waynewood Blvd.
Š When used without an address number, these words are spelled out, e.g., Duke
Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, Waynewood Boulevard.
Š Do not abbreviate other address references, e.g., lane, circle, alley, court.
Š When referring to an intersection of like-named streets, use lower case, otherwise
capitalize and use the full spelling: The office is at Patrick and Duke streets. The
monument is at Pennsylvania Avenue and Seventh Street.
Š With full addresses, use U.S. Postal Service abbreviations for state names. A list of
U.S. postal abbreviations is at
www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/abbreviations.html#states. Canadian postal
abbreviations are at www.postescanada.ca/tools/pg/manual/pgaddresse.asp#1380608.
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Bulleted lists: The most important rule for bulleted or numbered lists is to maintain
consistency within a document. Here is the style:
Š Primary bullets should line up with the indentation for paragraphs. If paragraphs
are not indented, the bullets should line up with the left margin.
Š Secondary bullets should line up with the indentation for the text of primary bullets
(as in this document).
Š Lines in bulleted text should begin with capital letters and end with a period.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
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Š The style of bullets should be consistent within a document. For example, if the
first set of bullets uses dots and diamonds for primary and secondary text, all sets
of bullets should use the same style.
Š In general, avoid using tertiary (or lower) bullets.
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Centuries: Follow the style for ordinal numbers, e.g., first century, 20th century
(Lower case, no superscript, as in 20th).
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Cities and states: Use these styles:
Š If necessary to avoid confusion, use Washington, D.C., Washington State, New
York State. If “Washington, D.C.” is in a complete postal address, use the postal
abbreviation, “DC” (no periods), otherwise, use the periods.
Š References to major cities—e.g., Dallas, London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris,
Philadelphia, Rome, Sydney, Tokyo—do not need to include the state, province, or
country, unless leaving it out would cause confusion. (Paris refers to the French
capital; Paris, Texas, refers to the U.S. town.)
Š References to U.S. cities do not need to include “U.S.” or “U.S.A.” except for
clarity. (Note that European publications such as The Economist, find it sufficient
to say “Louisville, Kentucky” rather than “Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A.”)
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Commas Part 1: Use full serial commas, e.g., the bacon, the ham, and the eggs.
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Commas Part 2: Use commas before and after:
Š Titles that follow names.
Š Degrees and credentials that follow names.
Š State names when used with a city name: I’m going to Oakland, California, to
attend computer school.
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Corporations: When the name of a company includes a suffix—e.g., Incorporated,
Corporation—abbreviate it (Inc., Corp.) and do not set it off with commas. Also, use
it only on first reference, except to avoid confusion.
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Currency Part 1: For United States currency, use the following styles:
Š $1 or $1.00—Use the decimal point with zeros only if other amounts in a series
have cents. For example: We priced the cookies at $1, $2, and $3. The pens cost
$1.20, $2.00, and $3.99.
Š Cents—In text, follow the rule for using numerals, e.g., two cents, 25 cents. In
tabular material, use $.25.
Š US$—In text, use only to avoid confusing other currencies with the U.S. dollar. If
the U.S. dollar is the only currency referenced, use only the dollar sign. However,
in order forms, applications, price lists, etc., use “US$” for clarity. The designation
USD is considered correct in some stylebooks, but SLA uses US$.
Š Large numbers—Use $3 million, and so on, instead of $3,000,000.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
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Currency Part 2: Below are designations for currencies of selected countries. Use
them only with amounts, e.g., £100.
Š Australia, dollar – $A
Š Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,
The Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, euro – €
Š Brazil, real – R$
Š Canada, dollar – Can$
Š China, yuan – Y
Š Greece, drachma – Dr
Š India, rupee – Re
Š Japan, yen – ¥
Š Mexico, new peso – Mex$
Š New Zealand, dollar – $NZ
Š Russia, ruble – Rub
Š Sweden, krona – SKr
Š Switzerland, franc – SwF
Š United Kingdom, pound – £
Notes
Š If the currency designation includes more than one symbol or letter, use a space
before the amount, e.g., Can$ 100, SKr 1,000, but no spaces for £100 and €1,000.
Š Define less-familiar currencies on first reference, e.g., 100 Swedish krona (SKr), or
Dr 500 (Greek drachmas).
Š In designations that include the U.S. dollar sign, the position of “$” varies, e.g.,
Mex$ and $NZ.
Š Currency symbols—€, ¥, and £—are available in MS Word. Use INSERT→SYMBOL.
Select the symbol from the grid; click INSERT to place it in the text.
Symbols for Other Countries
The non-U.S. currency symbols in this section are from the Government Printing
Office Style Manual, which includes every country in the world. That portion of the
manual is on the SLA server at p:/publications/GPO Style Useful Tables.pdf. After
you open the file, scroll down to the section headed “Foreign Money.”
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Dates: Use the following styles:
Š Dates should be written as “day month year.” For example: 22 September 2006.
Note that the style calls for no punctuation. (This style will be adopted in
Information Outlook with the January 2008 issue.)
Š When referring to a day of the week, add it at the beginning: Saturday, 31 January
2004.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
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Š When referring to a specific time, add it at the beginning: 2 p.m. Saturday, 31
January 2004, or 2 p.m. 31 January 2004.
Š Do not abbreviate the name of the month.
Š Do not use a number-only format for writing dates. It could confuse readers; e.g.,
in Europe, “9/11” can refer to the fall of the Berlin wall on 9 November 1989, and
in the U.S. to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.
Š Omit the year for dates in the current year, unless it’s needed to conform to the
style of a series of dates not in the current year. For example: I finished the style
guide on February 2. SLA style guide updates have been issued in the same month:
February 15, 1985; February 28, 2000; February 2, 2007.
Š Do not use the terms fall, winter, spring, and summer. Fall in North America is
spring in Australia.
Š When referring to decades, omit the apostrophe, e.g., 1980s.
Š Do not use ordinals—1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.—in dates.
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e.g./i.e.: These Latin abbreviations are not interchangeable, although many writers
use them that way.
Š e.g. stands for exempli gratia, which means “for example” or “an illustration.” The
abbreviation appears in many of the entries in this style guide.
Š i.e. stands for id est, which means “that is” or “in other words.” It is used for
clarification. For example: He told me he is making $20,000 a year, i.e., he had
been demoted three pay grades.
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Exclamation points: Exclamation points are not appropriate for business writing. If
you can’t restrain yourself, don’t use more than one at the end of a sentence.
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Gender: Avoid using nouns that indicate gender. For example, chairman, waitress,
stewardess, and actress can be replaced with chair, server, flight attendant, and actor.
An Acceptable Error?
Consider this sentence: When the recruiter called, he or she left a voice mail
message. It is gender-neutral and grammatical.
Now consider this one: When the recruiter called, they left a voice mail message.
Despite ungrammatical use of the pronoun they, this construction is appearing more
and more in published writing. Some editors believe it’s better to save a few words
than to follow the rule to the letter.
Is it okay to do that? Not really. But it’s better than using he/she or (s)he.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
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Headlines and titles: Use Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edition, 7.127 and 7.128,
which says…
The first and last words and all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and
subordinating conjunctions (if, because, as, that, etc.) should be capitalized. Articles
(a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor) and prepositions,
regardless of length, are lowercased unless they are the first or last word of the title.
The to in infinitives also is lowercased.
Hyphenated words in titles should follow the same general style. The first element of
the hyphenated word should always be capitalized, as should all other words, except
articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions. For example:
Š
Š
Š
Š
Š
Twentieth-Century Literature.
Out-of-Fashion Clothes.
Post-Modern Art.
A Run-in with the Boss.
How to Avoid a Run-In (Note that Run-In serves as the last word in the title).
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Names of organizations and groups: The first letter of each word in a group or
organization’s full title should be capitalized: the SLA Board of Directors, the SLA
Nominating Committee, the Technology Division, the Oregon Chapter. In more
general references: the board, the nominating committee, the division, the chapter.
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Names of people: The style for using names is:
Š Full name—Whenever possible, use the full name of everyone you mention in an
article on first reference. Amanda K. Johnson is always better than Mandy
Johnson. If the person is well known by a nickname, use that on first reference;
e.g., Jimmy Carter. On second reference use the last name only.
Š Courtesy titles—Don’t use courtesy titles (Mr., Ms., Dr., etc.) in text, except in
obituaries.
Š Job titles—Titles that precede names should be capitalized: SLA CEO Janice R.
Lachance. Job titles that follow names should be lower case: Janice R. Lachance,
SLA’s chief executive officer.
Š Credentials—Use degrees and other credentials—MLS, PhD, MBA, MLS—on
first reference unless they are lengthy and will slow down the reader. In that case,
incorporate them into the text and use them on second or third reference. Note that
there are no periods in these abbreviations.
Š Suffixes—When a name has a suffix, e.g., Jr., Sr., III, use the suffix on first
reference only and do not set it off with commas.
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Numbers: This is the correct style for using numbers:
Š Spell out single-digit numbers, e.g., one… nine; 10, 11, etc. For numbers with more
than three digits, separate each set of three digits with a comma, e.g., 1,000,
250,000, 1,420,686. If pinpoint precision is not necessary, numbers more than a
million can be shortened as follows: 1.4 million, 3 billion.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
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Š Spell out single-digit ordinals, e.g., First…ninth. Use numerals for all others, e.g.,
10th, 11th, etc. (don’t use superscript).
Š Use decimal fractions in tabular material, e.g., .5 or .50, not ½ or 1/2.
Š For fractions in text, use percentages, e.g., 50 percent.
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Percent: In text, use numerals (even for single-digit numbers) and spell out the word.
In tables, charts, or other exhibits, use the percent sign.
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Postal abbreviations: With full addresses, use U.S. Postal Service abbreviations for
state names. A list of U.S. postal abbreviations is at
www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/abbreviations.html#states. Canadian postal
abbreviations are at www.postescanada.ca/tools/pg/manual/pgaddresse.asp#1380608.
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References Part 1: Any use of work other than the author’s must be attributed to its
source. When quoting interview subjects or using quotes from a speech or
presentation, quotation marks and a simple attribution is sufficient, e.g., he said, she
said, Jones said, and so on.
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References Part 2: Use brief references to sources included within the text of the
article, with a full list of references at the end. Do not use endnotes or footnotes.
Use instead:
Š Within text, use this style for brief references: (Jones, March 2003).
Š At the end of the article, use these styles for the full reference:
 Journals or magazines:
Jones, Sarah. March 2003. Information Outlook. “How solos get the job
done.” SLA.
 Books:
Jones, Sarah. July 2004. How to get ahead in information management
without really trying. Harcourt Brace.
 Republished online sources—if the electronic source is an exact copy from a
print publication:
Jones, Sarah. March 2003. Information Outlook. “How solos get the job
done (electronic version).” SLA.
 Original online sources—if you believe it is an original online work or a work
rewritten for online use:
Jones, Sarah. March 2003. “How solos get the job done.” SLA. Retrieved
Oct. 4, 2004, from www.sla.org/mag/032004.pdf.
Š Make sure the name and date in the text reference match those in the full reference.
Š For styles not included here, refer to The Chicago Manual of Style, Chapter 16.
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Seasons: Do not use the terms fall, winter, spring, and summer. Summer in South
America is winter in Europe.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
Page 10 of 18
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States: When used with a city in text, spell out the state name and set it off with
commas. Use postal abbreviations in graphics, tables, references, and full postal
addresses. A list of U.S. postal abbreviations is at
www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/abbreviations.html#states. Canadian postal
abbreviations are at www.postescanada.ca/tools/pg/manual/pgaddresse.asp#1380608.
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Telephone numbers: Use the following style: +1 703.647.4919.
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Time: In text, don’t use “:00” to show on-the-hour time, e.g., 10 a.m., 10:15 a.m. In
listings, such as conference programs, use “:00” if necessary to maintain a consistent
style. Avoid the out-of-fashion word, o’clock. If you must use it, use numerals and
include the time of day, e.g., four o’clock in the afternoon, not 4 p.m. o’clock.
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Time zones: To refer to a time zone, don’t use “standard” or “daylight savings.” For
example, use “eastern U.S. time” or “ET,” etc., not “eastern standard time” or
“EDT.”
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Underlining: Don’t underline text unless there’s a need for even more emphasis than
one might get with bold or italic type.
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URLs: Only use http:// when the address doesn’t start with www, e.g., www.sla.org,
http://citrix.sla.org.
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Years: Use these styles:
Š Although some style references say it’s okay to start a sentence with a year—e.g.,
2001 was a year of turmoil—you should recast the sentence to start with a word.
For example: The year 2001 was a time of turmoil.
Š When referring to a specific month, omit the year if it is the current year: The SLA
Denver conference was in June.
Š But: Use the year when it’s necessary to maintain a consistent style or to avoid
confusion: The course ran from September 2004 to August 2007.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
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Words: Spelling,
Capitalization, Hyphenation
advisor
advisory council – Lower case unless with
full name of SLA advisory council.
association – Lower case unless with full
name of the association.
audio conferencing
blog, weblog – Using blog is better.
burro/burrow – A burro is an ass. A burrow
is a hole in the ground. As a writer,
you’re expected to know the difference
between the two. (Stolen from UPI Style
Manual.)
caucus – Lower case unless with full name
of SLA caucus.
chair – Use instead of “chairman,”
“chairwoman,” or “chairperson.”
chapter – Lower case unless with full name
of SLA chapter.
committee – Lower case unless with full
name of SLA committee.
co-sponsor, co-worker
coursework
decision-making – Adjective.
division – Lower case unless with full name
of SLA division.
division-wide – Adjective.
e-democracy, e-government, e-<anything>
– Lower case.
e-mail
federal – Lower case.
A Good Start
Assume that readers have short attention
spans. If an article doesn’t catch their
interest in the first sentence or two, they
won’t read it.
So get to the point quickly. Avoid
openings like:
ƒ On September, 19, 2007, the SLA
Board of Directors voted to…
ƒ SLA is pleased to announce…
Start with the most important thing the
readers need to know—which is why
you’re writing the article in the first place.
Ask yourself: If I only had one
sentence to tell someone what matters
about this topic, what would I say?
The Long and Short of It
Short sentences keep an article flowing
and keep the readers interested. Many
writers wrongly believe that long words
and sentences make the article appear
more formal or more official. Maybe they
do—but they also makes an article more
difficult to read.
Here are a few wordy expressions you
can cut down to size:
ƒ Due to the fact that – Because.
ƒ We will be mailing – We will mail. Most
expressions with will be followed by an
ing word can be cut this way.
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
Check and make sure – Make sure.
Presently – Now.
Currently – Now.
At the current time – Now.
Future plans – Plans.
General consensus – Agreement.
Almost all – Most.
At all times – Always.
A person who is honest – An honest
person. Any time you see who is in
your writing, there may be some words
nearby you can cut.
federal government – Lower case.
follow up – Verb.
follow-up – Noun.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
Page 12 of 18
he/she or s(he) – Use he or she instead.
health care – Noun.
healthcare – Adjective.
home page
info pro – Acceptable for “information
professional.”
information center – Generic.
Internet – Upper case.
intranet – Lower case.
library – Lower case unless in the full name
of an institution.
Consistency Counts
If any times mentioned in a sentence that
include minutes (2:30 p.m.), use minutes
for all of them (1:00 p.m.). If none of the
times in a sentence includes minutes,
omit them (1 p.m.).
On the Calendar
When using a month and a year, don’t
use commas before or after the year; e.g.
May 2004. When referring to a specific
date, use the following style: 16 May
2008. Note there is no punctuation.
Initially
meta-language
If you think practically all the readers will
know what an acronym stands for, use it
on first and subsequent references.
You’ll hardly ever see Federal Bureau of
Investigation or Central Intelligence
Agency spelled out in magazine or
newspaper articles.
multitasking
Before and After
offline
Job titles before names should be
capitalized. Job titles after names should
be lower case and set off with commas.
librarian – Lower case unless used
preceding a name.
metadata
offsite
online
onsite
post-conference – As in post-conference tour.
pre-conference – As in pre-conference workshop.
president – Lower case unless used preceding a person’s name, e.g., SLA President
Rebecca B. Vargha; Rebecca B. Vargha, president of SLA.
real time – Noun.
real-time – Adjective.
reference desk – Lower case.
RSS – Use acronym instead of “really simple syndication.”
SLA Information Center – Full name.
SLA 2008 [insert appropriate year] Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO – Use the full
name first reference. On subsequent references, the following are acceptable: “SLA
2008,” “annual conference,” “SLA Annual Conference.”
Special Libraries Association – Using “SLA” is preferred. For more general references,
use lower case letters, e.g., the association.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
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staff – Treat as singular, unless referring to defined groups: The staff is ready to serve
you. Five staff are going to the meeting.
telecommuting
teleconferencing
telework, teleworking
U.K. – Use periods.
U.S. – Not U.S.A. Use periods.
user-friendly – Adjective – We wrote a user-friendly program.
user friendly – Adverb – The program is user friendly.
videoconferencing
voicemail
Web, Web page, Web site (not Website or website), Web 2.0
weblog or blog – Using blog is better.
webmaster
wiki
word processing
workforce
workplace
workstations
World Wide Web
Points of Emphasis: Internet Words
Here are the proper SLA styles for words that refer to the Internet:
• blog, weblog – Lower case. Using blog is better.
• e-democracy, e-government, e-<anything> – Lower case.
• e-mail – Use hyphen.
• Internet – Upper case.
• intranet – Lower case.
• offline – Lower case, no hyphen.
• online – Lowe case, no hyphen.
• RSS – Use acronym instead of “really simple syndication.”
• videoconferencing – One word.
• Web, Web page, Web site (not Website or website), Web 2.0 – Capitalize.
• webmaster – Lower case.
• wiki – lower case.
• World Wide Web – All words capitalized.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
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Confusing Words
Accept – To receive.
Except – To leave out.
Adverse – Opposed to.
Averse – Disliking.
All ready – Everything is ready.
Already – Previously.
All right – Okay, good, satisfactory.
Alright – Non-standard use in the English language—although its use is widespread.
A lot – Many items, a real estate parcel.
Allot – To distribute or allocate.
Alot – Not a word in the English language.
Appraise – Calculate the value. Experts appraise antiques on the PBS program.
Apprise – Tell, inform. The doctor apprised me of the test results.
Attributions
Verbs of attribution are not interchangeable. Usually, the best one is said. Popular
substitutes for said are below. Except for stated (which seems stilted) and told, other
attributions carry an additional meaning. Writing he said conveys a much more neutral
message than he claimed or he declared. A few definitions:
Averred – Affirmed positively.
Claimed – Stated to be true, especially when open to question.
Declared – Made known formally or officially, announced, stated emphatically or
authoritatively, affirmed.
Disclosed – Made known something that wasn’t known before.
Implied – Expressed indirectly.
Maintained – Defended against criticism.
Reported – Described, made an account of.
Said – Uttered aloud or expressed in words.
Stated – Expressed, put into words.
Suggested – Proposed, implied.
Told – Communicated through speech or writing.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
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Awhile – For a short time. Awhile is an adverb. Don’t use it after a preposition: Stay for
awhile is incorrect because the preposition for is part of the word’s definition.
Correct: Let’s sit awhile and talk.
While – A period of time. The word while can be used as a conjunction and a verb, but it
appears more frequently as a noun. It can be used after a preposition: We sat for a
while and talked.
Capital – The seat of government.
Capitol – The building that houses the government.
Comprise – To contain or include. The collection comprises 13,000 volumes.
Composed of – Made up of. The class was composed of students from seven countries.
Face to face – We met face to face. (Note: No hyphens in this use.)
Face-to-face – It was a face-to-face meeting. (Note: hyphenate when it’s an adjective.)
Flaunt – Display.
Flout – Disdain.
If you flaunt your new sports car by flouting the speed limit, you may get a ticket.
Impact – Noun. Avoid except to speak of an object hitting another object. The impact of
the hammer hurt my thumb.
Impact – Verb. Suggests a violent collision. e.g., The meteorite impacted the earth.
Usually, new legislation, new rules, new procedures, and so on can affect things but not
violently impact them.
Effect – Noun. The effects of the tsunami will last many years.
In most instances, effect is a better choice of nouns than impact.
Affect – Verb. How did the new rules affect the employees?
Note: The examples for effect and affect are those most commonly used in our
community. Effect also is a verb, as in to effect change. Affect also is a noun, as in he
showed a benign affect (facial expression, body language).
Imply – To suggest. Think of this as an outgoing message. His sister implied that he had
stayed up too late.
Infer – To conclude. Think of this as how an incoming message is processed. When she
saw the television on, his mother inferred that he had missed his bed time.
Its – Possessive of it.
It’s – Contraction for it is.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
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Lay – To set down.
Lie – To recline (verb), a falsehood (noun) or to tell a falsehood (verb).
Lawyer – A member of the bar.
Attorney – A client’s representative.
Joe is a good lawyer. I hear he’s Betty’s attorney.
Less – Use with quantities that cannot be counted.
Fewer – Use with nouns that can be counted.
The committee spent less time writing its report, so fewer people found it useful.
“Oral” Means “Spoken”
Writers frequently use oral and verbal interchangeably – if they use oral at all. After a
presentation, it’s likely a participant will say she heard a verbal report. This use of
verbal is correct, but it isn’t as precise as it could be: Verbal, an adjective, only
indicates information was conveyed through use of language, either orally or in writing.
If you say someone gave an oral presentation, it means he or she spoke in front of a
group. If you call it a verbal presentation, it could have been oral or written.
Over – Over does not refer to a quantity. When the curtain falls, the show is over. The
shortstop hit the ball over the fence.
More than – More than does refer to a quantity. More than 1,000 people signed up for
the seminar.
Percent – Use in a numerical expression, e.g., 3 percent.
Percentage – Use to describe a portion.
Five percent of the group failed the test, a lower percentage than last year.
Principal – The chief or head.
Principle – A fundamental or accepted truth.
Stationery – Writing paper.
Stationary – In a fixed place, not moving.
Their – Possessive of they.
There – A place, as in over there.
They’re – Contraction for they are.
Up to date – I brought the committee up to date. (Note: No hyphens in this use.)
Up-to-date – It’s a new and up-to-date book. (Note: hyphenate when it’s an adjective.)
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
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That or Which
The word that introduces a restrictive clause, a part of the sentence that is essential to
its meaning. For example: Give me the book that is on the stove. This sentence makes
it clear I don’t want just any book; I want the one on the stove.
The word which introduces an unrestrictive clause, a part of the sentence that isn’t
essential to its meaning. For example: The book, which is blue, is on the stove. In this
sentence, it doesn’t matter what color the book is. The point is that it’s on the stove.
That for people?
Some references say it’s acceptable to use the word that when referring to an indefinite
number of people. For example: These are the people that came to the seminar. or
Everyone that came through the door was entered in the drawing. It is preferable,
however, to use the word who whenever people are referenced.
Who’s – Contraction for who is.
Whose – Possessive.
You’re – Contraction for you are.
Your – Possessive.
Yore – Long ago.
SLA Style Guide—November 2007
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