Styleguide

#Styleguide

##Spelling

• We use Oxford Spelling (~ize not ~ise), but note the irregularities list. A further useful resource may be the Ubuntu Word Substitution list;
• We do not censor taboo words – we all know what the words are;
• We have a preference for ~t not ~ed past participates; learnt, not learned (unless we mean learnèd);
• blonde (fem.); blond (masc.).

Punctuation

• We do not underline.
• For lists, a semi-colon (;) denotes the end of a list item, with the final item in the list having a period (.);
• One space follows a period, not two or more;
• Numbers under 10 are spelt; numbers over ten are numerically given;
• List items start with an upper-case letter;
• A preference is expressed for ligatures and accented letters to aid reading: hæmatology, naïf etc.;
• Abbreviations have a denoting period;
• We use emdashes (—) and endashes (–). If in doubt, refer to Butterick;
• Ellipses are executed as one character (…), not three individual periods.

Styleguide Precedence

1. In-house style guide (this);
2. Butterick’s Practical Typography;
3. The Guardian’s;
4. The Economist’s.