The following articles are reprinted with permission from Kivi Lerous Miller, president of Writing911.com, a service of EcoScribe Communications, based in Lexington, North Carolina.
Using capital letters gives words a sense of importance and that’s why some words are always capitalized, such as country names ( United States of America) and international figures (the Pope). Often, we use capital letters to add importance where it really isn’t called for. In each of the eight cases below, the three top style guides Associa ted Press Stylebook, Chicago Manual of Style, and Gregg Reference Manual agree that capital letters generally shouldn’t be used.
Titles: In most cases, titles shouldn’t be capitalized in text. An exception is when the title is used directly before the name.
Examples: Betsy Jones, executive director
Executive Director Betsy Jones
He is the chief executive officer.
We are recruiting a sales manager.
City: Capitalize the word city only when it’s included in the proper name or in an imaginative title.
Examples: Kansas City, the Windy City, city of Dallas, a city employee
State: Capitalize state only when it follows the name of a state or is part of an imaginative name.
Examples: Washington State, the Empire State, state of Iowa, state funds
Federal: If you work for the federal government, you’ll need to capitalize federal wherever it appears. But everyone else follows the same basic rule applied to city and state.
Examples: Federal Trade Commission, a federal agency, federal court judge
Academic Degrees: Do not capitalize academic degrees unless used after a person’s name as part of a title.
Examples: Earned a bachelor’s degree, working on her doctorate, Jane Smith, Doctor of Social Science
Decades: Don’t capitalize decades unless you are using special expressions.
Examples: Born in the fifties, 21st century approach, Roaring Twenties
Seasons: Don’t capitalize the seasons.
Examples: Held in the spring, winter weather
Black and White: Capitalize races and ethnicities in general, but not those descriptions based on color.
Examples: A black woman, white people, Hispanic and Jewish men
Just about every writing style rule has its exceptions and these rules about capitalization are no different. To fully understand the rules of capitalization and when capital letters are called for, consult your favorite style guide. Of course, you can also create your own style guide and deviate from these rules all you want!
Writing911.com is a service of EcoScribe Communications, based in Lexington, North Carolina. Kivi Leroux Miller is president of Writing911.com and EcoScribe Communications.
Many grammar "rules" no longer apply. The style mavens of our day all agree that the ability to communicate clearly and concisely takes precedence over archaic grammar rules. Each rule is followed by a grammatically correct sentence.
1. Never split an infinitive.
I want to carefully consider all of the options presented to me.
Following this rule all of the time will make your prose unnecessarily academic and stuffy. When in doubt, don't split the infinitive. But if splitting the infinitive conveys your meaning more clearly and concisely, split away.
2. Active verbs are always better than passive verbs.
Jerry was robbed. (The active alternative: Somebody robbed Jerry.)
Generally, active verbs are better. In the following cases, however, passive tense works just fine.
3. Never start a sentence with a conjunction (and, or, but).
And then he left, never looking back.
Starting a sentence with a conjunction can help transition from one idea to another or add a dramatic tone to a passage. If you start sentences this way too often, your paragraphs will sound like one long run-on sentence. Use conjunctions at the start of sentences judiciously.
4. Never start a sentence with “there are” or “there is.”
There is no excuse for your behavior.
Sentences that begin with there are and there is are usually weak sentences in need of a stronger noun. But making a conscious decision to start a sentence this way to place emphasis on specific words is perfectly acceptable. "Your behavior is inexcusable" and "You have no excuse for your behavior" just don't sound as stern as the sentence above.
5. Never end a sentence with a preposition.
What is he pointing at?
This holdover from the 18th century has no place in modern language. Imagine how stilted and formal our language would be if we followed this rule! According to Words into Type, Winston Churchill once said, "This is the kind of nonsense up with which I will not put" in defense of the terminal preposition.
6. Always use “more than” instead of “over” with numbers.
The relic is over 300 years old.
Over, more than and in excess of can all be used with numbers. Let your ear, rather than a rigid rule, be your guide.
7. Data is plural, so the verb must always be plural.
The data proves his thesis.
Like several other plural words with Latin origins, data is now accepted as either singular or plural, as any up-to-date dictionary will confirm. When was the last time you heard someone use the word datum (the singular of data) in a sentence?
Writing911.com is a service of EcoScribe Communications, based in Lexington, North Carolina. Kivi Leroux Miller is president of Writing911.com and EcoScribe Communications.
Writing for the web is really not that much different than writing for print. But you have to remember that since it can be more difficult to read on-screen, you have to take care to make it easier on your readers.
Most people search the web to find information that is helpful and they can use. The more specific, the more useful. General overview information is fine, and can be extremely helpful. But when people want to act on the information you provide don’t just give them a hint, give them all the information they require.
Make sure people know what your site (and each page) will do for them. If someone can’t figure it out immediately, chances are they’ll go someplace else. It’s best to do this at the top of the page, so people can see what they’ll get from you without scrolling. People will scroll, but only if they think there’s something of interest to them.
Write conversationally. To make it more personal, your tone and writing style should be more casual, more conversational. Not only is this friendlier, but it’s also easier to read.
Always start with the headline—everyone reads them.
Distill longer documents down to their most important facts by creating an “executive summary.” eFuse.com summarizes at the start of each article. This summary has links to the main subheads in the article. This way people can see the article at a glance, or easily jump to any important point.
Use plenty of subheads. People skim headings looking for specific topics—so use subheads liberally. If you started by creating an outline, your outline headings will automatically become subheads. Format headings as separate lines—or as a lead-in sentence to a paragraph.
Bold text stands out, but use it sparingly, such as for lead-in headings at the start of a paragraph. Bold words scattered inside the text can be confusing.
Use italics for emphasis. Italics help your reader hear the same emphasis you intended. Italics can help make your text sound more conversational. For example, when you read the previous sentence, you emphasized the work “sound” because it was in italics. That can make a big difference in the meaning of what you write.
Repeat important quotes using pull quotes—quotes set larger and often in a different typeface.
People read bulleted text. Condense important points to bulleted lists.
—Daniel Will-Harris, eFuse.com
Your events provide an opportunity to publicly acknowledge state funding through the N.C. Arts Council. During the opening of an exhibition or at the beginning of a performance or literary reading or other activity supported in part with Arts Council funds, please take a moment to speak to your audience about the importance of public support. Here is suggested language for you to use in acknowledging the N.C. Arts Council.
Good [morning/afternoon/evening.] I’m [ your name and title] and on behalf of [ your organization/school/the board of directors] I want to thank you for joining us for your event]. We are here because we value the arts in our lives and our communities. We are in good company…last year more than ___ million people, folks like you and me, participated in arts events funded by the N.C. Arts Council.
We want to take this opportunity to acknowledge how important public support has been to our organization [or school]. [Personalize here…without funding from the General Assembly (and the National Endowment for the Arts if applicable) we couldn’t have… These funds have made it possible for us to…keep ticket prices low, bring artists to perform these works for us, provide scholarships to…]
[If you have invited legislators or know that any elected officials are in the audience, be sure to recognize them and thank them for their part in public funding of the arts.]
[Close with final thanks.]