Grammar and mechanics

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Basics
Guidelines
Punctuation

Adhering to certain rules of grammar and mechanics helps us keep our writing clear and consistent. This section will lay out our house style, which applies to all of our content unless otherwise noted in this guide.

Basics

Write for all readers. Some people will read every word you write. Others will just skim. Help everyone read better by grouping related ideas together and using descriptive headers and sub headers.

Focus your message. Create a hierarchy of information. Lead with the main point or the most important content, in sentences, paragraphs, sections, and pages.

Be concise. Use short words and sentences. Avoid unnecessary modifiers.

Be specific. Avoid vague language. Cut the fluff.

Be consistent. Stick to the copy patterns and style points outlined in this guide.

Guidelines

Abbreviations and acronyms

If there’s a chance your reader won’t recognise an abbreviation or acronym, spell it out the first time you mention it and specify the abbreviation in parentheses. Then use the short version for all other references.

First use: Network Operations Centre (NOC)
Second use: NOC
If the abbreviation or acronym is well known, like CEO, API or HTML, use it instead (and don’t worry about spelling it out).

A note on AEC

Total Synergy’s vertical is the architectural, engineering and construction design industry. In this instance, specify the abbreviation AEC in parentheses after the word ‘industry’.

E.g. ‘Architectural, engineering and construction design industry (AEC).’

Don’t assume this is understood by the reader. The industry is also known as the ‘A/E’ industry, among other abbreviations. We use AEC.

Active voice

We need to speak in a clear and consistent voice to all our stakeholders — especially our customers. This includes using a common Total Synergy voice in our individual business writing. This becomes increasingly important as our team grows and more people are responsible for writing.

A passive voice is not wrong, but an active voice is stronger and more compelling to read. One of the fastest ways to improve your individual business writing is to understand the difference between the two:

In active voice, the subject of the sentence does the action.
In passive voice, the subject of the sentence has the action done to it.

Here’s some examples to better illustrate the difference:

PASSIVE VOICE > ACTIVE VOICE

The account was logged into by Apinya. > Apinya logged into the account.
Marketing is adored by development. > Development adore marketing.
The squirrel was chased by ScoDo. > ScoDo chased the squirrel.

A quick way to check your writing for passive voice is to ID common ‘passive voice’ words like “by” and “was”. If you spot them, find the subject in the sentence and make sure they are doing the action (rather than having the action done to them).

If you’re still having trouble understanding the difference between active and passive voice — check out this article and this short video.

Capitalisation

We use sentence case for titles and headings. Sentence case capitalises the first letter of the first word. We don’t use title case. Title case capitalises the first letter of every word except articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.

Yes: A title about title case
No: A Title About Title Case

When writing out an email address or website URL, use all lowercase.

wingman@totalsynergy.com
totalsynergy.com

Don’t capitalise random words in the middle of sentences. If you’re not sure, don’t capitalise. See the word list for examples.

Job or position titles are not capitalised when used in sentences, unless when used as someone’s name: Reverend Green, President Trump.

Yes: Total Synergy marketing manager Katie Yates likes champagne.
No: Total Synergy Marketing Manager Katie Yates likes prosecco.
Yes: Katie Yates, marketing manager, likes champagne.
No: Katie Yates, Marketing Manager, likes prosecco.

Contractions

They’re great! They give your writing an informal, friendly tone. In most cases, use them as you see fit. Avoid them if you’re writing content that will be translated for an international audience.

Emoji

If you don’t like emoji, don’t use them. They are, however, sometimes a fun way to add humour and visual interest to your writing. If you choose to use them, do so infrequently, singularly and deliberately.

Numbers

Spell out a number if it begins a sentence. Spell out single numbers zero to nine; use numerals from 10 and above. Spell out ordinals.

Ten new employees started on Monday, and 12 start next week.
I ate three jelly snakes this morning. Someone else had 10.
Scott came first in the Bloody Long Walk.
We hosted a group of eighth graders who are learning to code.

Numbers over three digits get commas:

999
1,000
150,000

Write out big numbers in full. Abbreviate them if there are space restraints, as in a tweet or a chart: 1k, 150k.

Dates

Spell out days and months unless space is premium (e.g. Twitter). Dates are written in day/month/year order unless specifically writing for an American audience. Don’t add ordinal suffixes to dates (e.g. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th).

Wednesday, 26 October
Wednesday, 26 October 2016
26 October 2016

When using dates in Synergy applications, use the d/mm/yyyy format, unless for USA format, where mm/d/yyyy is required.

6/07/2018 (6 July 2018)
11/07/2018 (11 July 2018)
07/6/2018 (July 6 2018 — USA)
07/11/2018 (July 11 2018 — USA)

Decimals and fractions

Spell out fractions.

Yes: two-thirds
No: 2/3

Use decimal points when a number can’t be easily written out as a fraction, like 1.375 or 47.2.

Percentages

Don’t use the % symbol. Spell out the word “percent”.

Ranges and spans

Use a hyphen (-) to indicate a range or span of numbers.

It takes 20-30 days.

Money

When writing about non-dollar currency, use the appropriate symbol before the amount. When writing about a dollar currency, specify the nationality using two-letter abbreviation before the dollar sign. Include a decimal and number of cents if more than zero.

AU$20 (20 Australian dollars)
US$20 (20 US dollars)
£20 (20 GB pounds)
€20 (20 Euro
$19.99

Telephone numbers

Try to always write the full number using a common grouping. Don’t use dots or hyphens to join the groups. Don’t use parentheses for the omitted zero. Try to use a country code — our audience is international.

+61 2 8197 9000
+1 555 867 5309
+44 20 7946 0075

Temperature

Use the degree symbol and the capital C abbreviation for Celsius. If writing temperature for an American audience, use Celsius and include rounded Fahrenheit in parentheses.

28°C
28°C (82°F)

Degree symbol Mac: option+shift+8
Degree symbol PC (sucks to be you): hold down the alt key and on the numeric keypad on the right of the keyboard, type 0176, or Alt+ 248 When you release the Alt Key, a ° should be there.

Time

Use numerals and am or pm without a space. Don’t use minutes for on-the-hour time.

7am
7:30pm

Use a hyphen between times to indicate a time period.

7am-10:30pm

Specify time zones when writing about an event or something else people would need to schedule. Since Total Synergy HQ is in Sydney, we default to AEST and AEDT.

Use this reference for time zone abbreviations: http://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/

When referring to less well known international time zones, spell them out: Nepal Standard Time. If a time zone does not have a set name, use its Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) offset.

Abbreviate decades when referring to those within the past 100 years.

the 00s
the 90s

When referring to decades more than 100 years ago, be more specific:

the 1900s
the 1890s

Punctuation

Apostrophes

The apostrophe’s most common use is making a word possessive. If the word already ends in an s and it’s singular, you also add an ‘s. If the word ends in an s and is plural, just add an apostrophe.

The fruit thief ate Sam’s apple.
The fruit thief ate Chris’s apple.
The fruit thief ate the interns’ apples.

Apostrophes can also be used to denote that you’ve dropped some letters from a word, usually for humour or emphasis. This is fine, but do it sparingly.

Colons

Use a colon (rather than an ellipsis, em dash, or comma) to offset a list.

Caitlin ordered three kinds of vegetables: potatoes, carrots and green beans.

You can also use a colon to join two related phrases.

I was faced with a dilemma: I wanted a donut, but the apple was healthier.

Capitalise the first word after a colon if there is more than one related sentence. If only one sentence after the colon, don’t use a capital.

I said this to Charlotte: I heard there is an apple thief. You have apple in your teeth.
I said this to Charlotte: you might want to check your teeth, there’s apple in them.

Commas

When writing a list, use the serial comma (also known as the Oxford comma).

Yes: David admires his parents, Oprah, and Justin Timberlake.
No: David admires his parents, Oprah and Justin Timberlake.

Otherwise, use common sense. If you’re unsure, read the sentence out loud. Where you find yourself taking a breath, use a comma.

Dashes and hyphens

Use a hyphen (-) without spaces on either side to link words into single phrase, or to indicate a span or range.

first-time user
Monday-Friday

Use an em dash (—) with spaces on either side to offset an aside. Use a true em dash, not hyphens or an en dash* (- or –).

Resource planning — just one of our new Enterprise features — can help you grow your business.
George thought Charlotte was the fruit thief, but he was wrong — it was Graham.

Em dash Mac: option+shift+hyphen
Em dash PC (sucks to be you):

Alt+0151
Alt+Ctrl+minus (MS Word)
2014+Alt+x (laptop without numeric keypad)

*Technically, en dashes should be used in examples above where we’ve specified hyphens (e.g. in a range of numbers: 12–22). We’ve chosen not to do this.

Ellipses

An ellipsis (three dots: …) can be used to indicate that you’re trailing off before the end of a thought, or leaving something unsaid. Use them sparingly. Don’t use them in titles or headers.

“Where did all those apples go?” Doris asked. “I don’t know…” Charlotte said.

Ellipses can also be used to show that you’re omitting words in a quote. Use them at the end of the sentence, before the omitted words. Use a space before the next sentence.

“When projects run over budget, it should be simple to identify where the overruns are by checking time spent against time budgeted… The overriding issue is that most firms don’t know how to do this. If they don’t track it, they can’t manage it or use it repeatedly for the next project with similar requirements or constraints.”

Full stops (periods — US)

Full stops go outside quotation marks and inverted commas, unless it’s a standalone quote. They go outside parentheses when the parenthetical is part of a larger sentence, and inside parentheses when the parenthetical stands alone.

Clarence likes to say ‘orange whip’.
Clarence drank Billy-Rae’s orange whip (and Winthorpe’s, too).
Clarence drank the coffee and the orange whip. (The orange whip was Billy-Rae’s.)

Question marks

Question marks go inside quotation marks if they’re part of the quote. Like full stops, they go outside parentheses when the parenthetical is part of a larger sentence, and inside parentheses when the parenthetical stands alone.

Exclamation marks (exclamation points — US)

Elmore Leonard said: “Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.”

Use exclamation marks sparingly, and never more than one at a time.

Exclamation marks go inside quotation marks. Like full stops and question marks, they go outside parentheses when the parenthetical is part of a larger sentence, and inside parentheses when the parenthetical stands alone.

Never use exclamation marks in failure messages or alerts. When in doubt, avoid.

Quotation marks and inverted commas

Use single inverted commas to refer to words and letters, titles of short works (like articles and poems). Use quotation marks for direct quotations.

Full stops (periods) and commas go outside inverted commas/quotation marks unless the quote stands alone. Question marks within quotes follow logic — if the question mark is part of the quotation, it goes within. If you’re asking a question that ends with a quote, it goes outside the quote.

Use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes.

Who was it that said, “A fool and his apple are easily parted”?
Frank said, “Charlotte once told me, ‘A fool and his apple are easily parted.’”

Use single inverted commas when citing an example of an in-app Synergy element, or referencing button and navigation labels in step-by-step instructions:

When you’re finished, click ‘Save’.
Jill Lockhart has ‘architect’ and ‘senior architect’ rates assigned for use in her timesheet entry.

Semicolons

Go easy on semicolons. They usually support long, complicated sentences that could easily be simplified. Try an em dash (—) instead, or simply start a new sentence.

Ampersands

Don’t use ampersands unless one is part of a company or brand name. This is an ampersand: &.

File extensions

When referring generally to a file extension type, use all uppercase without a period. Add a lowercase ‘s’ to make plural.

GIF
PDF
HTML
JPGs

When referring to a specific file, the filename should be lowercase:

applause-for-andy.gif
cake-receipt.pdf
andy-linkedin-profile.jpg
charlottelovesapples.html

Pronouns

If your subject’s gender is unknown or irrelevant, use ‘they’, ‘them’, and ‘their’ as a singular pronoun. Use ‘he/him/his’ and ‘she/her/hers’ pronouns as appropriate. Don’t use ‘one’ as a pronoun.

For more on writing about gender, see the writing about people section.

Quotes

When quoting someone in a blog post or other publication, try to use the present tense.

“Using Bamboo HR has helped our team apply for leave,” Scott Osborne says.

When quoting someone over multiple paragraphs, open each paragraph with quotation marks, but only close the final paragraph with quotation marks.

Example:

“It gives the team transparency into how much leave they have, and offers a calculator for forward planning.

“We’re now looking at connecting Bamboo to Synergy and Xero.”

Names and titles

The first time you mention a person in writing, refer to them by their first and last names. On all other mentions, refer to them by their first name.

Do not capitalise the names of teams, departments, and individual job titles in a sentence. See the capitalisation section above for more on job titles.

Don’t refer to someone as a ‘ninja’, ‘rockstar’, ‘guru’, ‘wizard’ or other arbitrary title unless they literally are one.

Schools

The first time you mention a school, college, or university in a piece of writing, refer to it by its full official name. On all other mentions, use its more common abbreviation.

Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech

Georgia State University, GSU

States, cities, and countries

Spell out all city and state names. Don’t abbreviate city names.

Per AP Style, all cities should be accompanied by their state, with the exception of: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, 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.

On first mention, write out United States. On subsequent mentions, US is fine. The same rule applies to any other country or federation with a common abbreviation (European Union, EU; United Kingdom, UK).

URLs and websites

Capitalise the names of websites and web publications. Don’t italicize.

Avoid spelling out URLs, but when you need to, leave off the ‘http://www’.

Writing about Total Synergy

Total Synergy is the company. Synergy is the product.

Our clients mostly refer to us as Synergy. When writing about the company, refer to it first as Total Synergy. Synergy is OK to use after that.

Always capitalise the ‘S’ in Synergy. (Despite Synergy being lowercase in the logo.) Always capitalise the ‘T’ and ‘S’ in Total Synergy.

In general, refer to Total Synergy as ‘we’, not ‘it’. Use ‘it’ when writing about the company formally in the third person, in formal financial communications and in media releases when not a direct quote from someone in the company.

Don’t capitalise Synergy product features. Do capitalise Synergy product levels and product names.

No: Synergy Timesheets
Yes: Synergy timesheets
No: Synergy business
Yes: Synergy Business
Yes: Synergy Connect (v4 example)
No: Synergy connect (v4 example)

When writing about other companies, use their names as used on their own website. Refer to another company as ‘it’, not ‘they’.

YouTube
MailChimp
Office 365
QuickBooks

Slang and jargon

Write in plain English. If you need to use a technical term, briefly define it so everyone can understand.

Text formatting

Use italics to indicate the title of a long work (like a book, movie, or album) or to emphasise a word.

The Martian is a book by Andy Weir. It was made into a film.

Don’t use underline formatting, and don’t use any combination of italic, bold, caps, and underline.

Left-align text, avoid centred, never right-aligned.

Use only one space after a full stop between sentences. Never two.

Write positively

Use positive language rather than negative language. One way to detect negative language is to look for words like ‘can’t’, ‘don’t’, etc.

Yes: To get an apple, stand in line.
No: You can’t get an apple if you don’t stand in line.

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