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Department of Education Style Guide: Selected extracts

Joyclyn Vincent
by Joyclyn Vincent
4 April 2024
Last updated 5 April 2024
Standards
Standards

Department of Education style guide

The following are extracts from the department’s style guide. Departmental employees can access the full Style Guide on the intranet. There is also a departmental spelling list and a web writing and style guide for web publishing requirements.

Dictionaries and references

Use the current edition of the Macquarie Dictionary and the Australian Government Style Manual for general spelling and style. There is also a Department of Education spelling list.

Where the dictionary provides two spellings of the same word, use the first spelling.

If contemporise, contemporize are given, use contemporise.

Use Australian-English spelling throughout, not American-English.

Colour not color, organise not organize.

Visual style, formatting

Use sentence case rather than in capitals, set flush left and right ragged rather than justified. Headings should be highlighted through bolding and font size, not by underlining or capitalisation.

Full stops are not required in headings. Other punctuation elements such as question marks, hyphens and colons should be used when grammatically correct.

Shortened forms

Abbreviations

Abbreviations are shortened forms that consist of the first letter of a word, usually some other letters, but not the last letter. They can be lower case only or with an initial capital. They sometimes take a full stop at the end, for example in abbreviations of scientific names.

Mon, Feb, vol, p/pp, Co, Inc, fig, Dr (for Drive), Cr (for Crescent), no (for number)

Add an s without an apostrophe to pluralise shortened forms.

MPs, NCOs, VCRs, vols, nos, FAQs

Contractions

Contractions are shortened forms consisting of the first and last letter of a word and sometimes other letters in between. They do not take a full stop at the end.

Dept, St, vols, Ave, Mt, Dr (for Doctor), Cth (for Commonwealth – not Cwlth)

Acronyms and initialisms

An acronym is a string of initial letters (and occasionally other letters) that are pronounced as a word.

TAFE, Anzac, NAIDOC Week

When using acronyms, give the full title and the acronym in brackets at the first mention. Use the acronym only at subsequent mentions.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC)

Never abbreviate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander to A&TSI or ATSI – always spell out in full.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

An initialism is a string of initial letters (and occasionally other letters) that is not pronounced as a word.

NSW, PC, GPO, USA

The abbreviation for the Department of Education, DoE, is an initialism, not an acronym. It should never be pronounced as a word. Where possible, the department name should be spelt out in full and not abbreviated. In the first instance use The Department of Education, followed by the department.

DoE

Acronyms and initialisms do not take full points. Acronyms and initialisms take an s to form a plural. Note there is no apostrophe.

MPs, GPOs, TAFEs, Anzacs

Capital letters

Use minimal capitalisation (sentence case) throughout documents, not maximal capitalisation (title case). Use minimum capitalisation for headings, that is, capitalise the first word and proper nouns only.

Use minimal capitalisation for the titles of publications, documents and procedures.

Only use capital letters for the following.

Specific reference to a particular government department name. Lower case when generic.

the Department of Energy (specific name), the department, our department (generic)

Specific reference to a particular organisation or institution. Lower case when generic.

The University of Queensland, each university (generic).

C&K Childcare & Kindergarten, every kindergarten (generic), starting kindy (generic).

Specific reference to a particular government. Lower case when generic.

the Queensland Government, government funding (generic)

Job titles (not roles)

Principal Project Officer, project officers

Some First Nations’ terms (however, if you’re writing for or about a particular person or peoples, always ask their preferences and follow their advice).

Traditional Owners, Elders, Country, First Nations

Sentence punctuation

Full stops

Do not use full stops in am and pm (but do include a non-breaking space after the number).

4:15 am, 6:30 pm

Do not use full stops in abbreviations and shortened forms for days of the week, months of the year, addresses and Australian states and territories.

Mon, Feb, Dr (for Drive), Cr (for Crescent), Qld, NSW, Vic, Tas, SA, WA, NT, ACT

Commas

Use to separate items in a list – only include a comma before ‘and’ to ensure clarity.

apples, artichokes and aubergines

Use to avoid ambiguity or to separate longer coordinate clauses that have their own subject.

The policy affects both students and parents, and has implications for teachers.

Quotation marks

Use single quotation marks to show direct speech and the quoted work of other writers. For quotes within quotes use double quotes.

If there is a quote within a quote within a quote, use single, double, single (this sequence can be repeated).

John said, ‘When I spoke to the Minister, she said “I support that initiative”.’

Dashes

There are two main types of dashes – em dashes [—] and en dashes [–]. Australian government style is now to use en dashes, not em dashes. Don’t use an en dash instead of a minus sign. Don’t confuse the dash or the minus symbol for a hyphen.

The en dash

The unspaced en dash is used to:

  1. show date ranges for financial years, terms of office and lifespan.
  2. show an association between two nouns that are separate identities (coordinate nouns)
  1. 2019–20 budget, James Scullin (1929–1932), Caroline Chisholm (1808–1877)
  2. the Brisbane–Sydney flight, Asia–Pacific, Australian–Japanese research teams

The spaced en dash is used:

  1. if more than one word is being linked on one or both sides (that is a coordinate noun made up of more than one word)
  2. to create a pause in a sentence to add extra meaning – use rarely a. in place of brackets to set off non-essential information b. to signify an abrupt change c. to introduce an explanation or expand on a point.
  1. Queensland – Northern Territory policy, Australia – New Zealand relations
  2. a. He typed the manuscript – the one I submitted – without errors. b. The main reason to eat is to satiate hunger - but this is not the only reason. c. Alex was the best in the state – she had won the state championships before.

Note: Use phrases instead of en dashes for most spans and ranges of numbers

Do not use an en dash as a substitute for and with the word between – between 1975 and 1999, not between 1975–1999 – or with the word from – from 1975 to 1999, not from 1975–1999.

  1. Students in Years 1 to 3
  2. Where space is an issue (e.g. in a table), an en dash may be used Years 1–3

Word punctuation

Apostrophes

Possessive nouns

Single possessive nouns take an apostrophe before the ‘s’.

the teacher’s voice, the atlas’s size, Fiona’s work

When singular nouns end in s, the ’s is generally used.

Dickens’s novels, Nurse Jones’s uniform

Plural possessive nouns that end in ‘s’ take an apostrophe after the ‘s’.

the teachers’ strike, the atlases’ shelf

Plural possessive nouns that don’t end in ‘s’ take the apostrophe before the ‘s’.

the children’s books, the mice’s tracks

Only the last noun in statements of joint ownership takes the apostrophe.

my mother and father’s visit

If the ownership is not joint, each noun has the apostrophe.

my mother’s and father’s visits

Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns do not take an apostrophe.

the mouse shook its tail, the book is hers

Time

Expressions of time involving a plural reference do not take an apostrophe.

six weeks holiday, in three months time

Singular time references do take an apostrophe to help mark the noun as singular.

day’s work, the year’s cycle

No apostrophes

Generic phrases do not take an apostrophe.

drivers licence, travellers cheque

Plurals are not formed by the addition of an apostrophe.

1960s, MPs, Carols by Candlelight

Commonly shortened forms and contractions do not take apostrophes.

bus (not ’bus), phone (not ’phone), Govt (not Gov’t), Cth (not C’th)

Numbers and measurements

Numbers

Use words only for zero and one, and numerals for all other numbers, unless part of a grouped sequence or part of a specific entity, for example a figure of speech or publication title.

Numerals catch a reader’s attention more easily than words. If you do not intend for a number to be strictly quantifiable, then spell it out instead.

One fish, 2 loaves of bread, 1–12 hot cross buns (grouped sequence), A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (specific entity), it takes two to tango

There were a thousand tiny ants crawling on the sandwich.

Generalised or approximate numbers are usually written in words.

at least five thousand; one million voters

Numbers that open or close sentences are also expressed in words. If possible, reword sentences to avoid this.

Twelve people were in attendance from our group. From our group, 12 people attended.

Numerals are also used when accompanying units of measurement, for writing sums of money.

110 kg, $9.70

Use the symbol % when using numerals, use per cent with either words or numerals. In documents where numerals are generally being employed for numbers, it is preferable also to show percentages in numerals with the symbol.

54 per cent in text, 54% in tables or where numerals are being used for numbers

Symbols of measurement

Use the Australian metric system.

A non-breaking space is required between a numeral and a symbol of measurement, apart from the symbol for degree (angle).

500 kg, 20 mm, 56 km, 45oC (temperature) 45o (angle)

Dates

Date style is DD MM YY with no commas

24 March 2008

No punctuation is needed even when the day of the week precedes the date.

Monday 24 March 2008

Dates expressed entirely in numerals can cause confusion because of the range of different sequence conventions used by different countries. In Australia the conventional sequence is day, month, year.

When the numerals only form is used, a forward slash should be inserted between each group of numerals. Note for web writing: use the shortened format ‘dd/mm/yy’ in tables and social media.

8/08/2023, 31/07/23

Use ‘from’ and ‘to’ in spans of years. Avoid en dashes in spans of years. Write the years out in full.

from 2015 to 2019

References and reference lists

Online sources

Hyperlink the title of the webpage. Don’t link to PDFs or other downloadable documents. Instead link to the page that hosts the document.

Entire website – Only cite an entire website if you cannot pinpoint the material to a specific webpage or webpage content.

Rule: A Author (Year) Name of website, URL [optional], accessed Day Month Year.

Digital Transformation Agency (n.d.) Australian Government Style Manual, stylemanual.gov.au, accessed 3 December 2020.

With an author name.

Rule: Author A (Year) Title of webpage, Name of Website website, accessed Day Month Year.

Clement J (2020) Device usage of Facebook users worldwide as of July 2020, Statista website, accessed 16 September 2020.

Blog posts and newspaper and magazine articles

With author – Rule: Author A (Day Month Year) ‘Title of article: subtitle of article’, Name of Blog, Newspaper or Magazine, accessed Day Month Year.

No author listed – Rule: Name of Blog, Newspaper or Magazine (Day Month Year) ‘Title of article: subtitle of article’, Name of Blog, Newspaper or Magazine, accessed Day Month Year.

Doman M, Palmer A and Scott N (31 January 2020) ‘Cracking the code to Steve Smith’s batting success’, ABC, accessed 5 February 2020.

ABC (31 January 2020) ‘Cracking the code to Steve Smith’s batting success’, ABC, accessed 5 February 2020.

Textual contrast

Bullets and lists

  • Limit the number of lists. Content with too many lists is hard to follow.
  • Avoid using multilevel lists.
  • When each dot point is a discrete sentence, use a capital to start and end each point with a full stop.
  • When each point completes the sentence of the introductory text, use lower case to start and a full stop only at the end of the last dot point.
  • Always lead into a list with a colon on the end of the introductory text.
  • Make sure each dot point flows logically and grammatically from the introductory text.
  • There is no need to add and at the end of the second-last dot point.
  • There should always be more than one item in a bulleted list.

Use one of the following phrases • A picture is worth a thousand words. • Never a truer word has been spoken.

Words are: • often not enough to explain the concept • sometimes better assisted by a diagram.

Italics

Use italics for titles of books, periodicals, newspapers, plays, most musical works, operas and ballets, films, podcasts, videos, television and radio programs, works of art. (Note: capitalisation should remain as per the original)

Voss, Hamlet, Annie Hall, The Prelude, Pictures at an Exhibition, American Pie, Blue Poles, The Australian, Quadrant

Titles of Acts of Parliament (legislation − the first time they are referred to). Note: the jurisdiction is abbreviated and placed in parentheses and roman type.

Regulations (delegated legislation) not italics: roman type and title case

Public Sector Act 2022 (Qld)<

Financial and Performance Management Standard 2019 (Qld)

Education (General Provisions) Regulation 2017 (Qld)

Letters, words and phrases cited as such.

The word proactive is . . ., The letter s is doubled

Emphasis – use sparingly.

The deadline is Monday, not Friday

Foreign words and phrases that have not been fully absorbed into English. It may be difficult to decide whether words have been fully absorbed. The Macquarie Dictionary does not distinguish between them. If unsure, do not use italics for foreign words.

Do not italicise names or words from First Nations languages. They are Australian languages, not foreign languages.

coup de grace

Writing style and content

Keep the reader or end user in mind at all times. Use plain, active English written at an appropriate level for your audience. Find out about your reading audience and write specifically for that group.

Writing style

Use active rather than passive voice.

The staff assessed the assignments not the assignments were assessed by the staff.

Use short, clear sentences rather than complex convoluted sentences.

Avoid using long or pompous words when a short, familiar word will do.

start not commence, use not utilise

Avoid turning verbs into nouns.

Teachers prefer short holidays not Teachers have a preference for short holidays.

Inclusive writing

Treat all people equally, regardless of gender, background, age, interests or abilities. Balance the occurrence of genders, cultures and backgrounds of participants as appropriate.

Use inclusive terms. Avoid job terms that specify women.

police officer not policeman, firefighter not fireman, actor not actress, waiter not waitress, flight attendant not stewardess<b

Given name/family name not Christian name/surname

Avoid using generic pronouns such as he, him, his. Also avoid clumsy inclusive writing such as him/her, s/he.

Use inclusive pronouns – the singular ‘they’ is gender-neutral. You can also use ‘themself’ instead of ‘himself’ or ‘herself’.

use they or them rather than him/her or he/she

Rewrite the sentence to use the second person. This not only encourages gender neutrality, it makes your writing more active and interesting to the reader.

You can use your time for professional development rather than A teacher can use his or her time.

Avoid using stereotypes, especially in illustrations.

middle-class nuclear families, boys playing with trucks and girls with dolls.

Mention disability only when it’s relevant to the content. Use person-first language for Australian Government content, unless user research says otherwise.

You can cause offence when you do not use respectful language, even if it is well intentioned.

people with disability [Person-first language] – person who is Deaf or hard of hearing not deaf person, person who is blind or has low vision not blind person, people with mental illness or people with mental ill-health not the mentally ill, Lu has bipolar disorder not Lu is bipolar.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander terminology

The preferable and most inclusive collective term to use is ‘Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples’. If a person or group has both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage, use ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ to demonstrate dual heritage.

Do not use ‘Aboriginal peoples and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples’.

Language that can be discriminatory or offensive includes:

  • shorthand terms like ‘Aborigines’, ‘Islanders’ or acronyms like ‘ATSI’
  • using terms like myth’, ‘legend’ or ‘folklore’ when referring to the beliefs of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples
  • blood quantums (for example, ‘half-caste’ or percentage measures)
  • ‘us versus them’ or deficit language
  • possessive terms such as ‘our’, as in ‘our Aboriginal peoples’
  • ‘Australian Indigenous peoples’, as it also implies ownership, much like ‘our’.

Aboriginal students and Torres Strait Islander students

Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples

When referring to Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples collectively, the term ‘Indigenous’ is generally acceptable in internal documents but should be used sparingly.

If the word ‘Indigenous’ is used, a statement should be placed in the footer of the document, stating: “The word Indigenous in this document refers to Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

When using the term ‘Indigenous’ while referring to Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples, it should always be capitalised.

Indigenous communities

It is the department’s preference to use the term ‘Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ in external facing documents, so that it is inclusive of both distinct groups of people.

Indigenous students (acceptable)

Abbreviations or acronyms used to describe Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander people may cause offense and should not be used in any internal or external departmental communications with or about Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Aboriginal students and Torres Strait Islander students (preferable)

Indigenous students (acceptable)

Further reading

For further reading and information (especially for those who cannot access the department’s intranet), please visit the Australian Government Style Manual.

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