a, an
Before acronyms, be guided by pronunciation. eg an ABC, a BBC, an A380, a B747-400, an MD-80.

acronyms and abbreviations
Letters of acronyms (MRO, OEM, LHT) are not separated by full points, abbreviations (S.E.) are. See also full points. With acronyms, spell out uncommon acronyms on first usage, but use acronym thereafter e.g. This is the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA). The role of the JAA is…

Use all caps only if the abbreviation is pronounced as the individual letters; otherwise spell the word out: the BBC, ICI, VAT, but Isa, Nato

Never use i.e., e.g. or etc.

adverbs
do not use a hyphen between an adverb and the adjective it modifies: a hotly disputed penalty, a constantly evolving newspaper, genetically modified food etc

affinity with or between, not to or for

affect/effect
Affect and effect have no senses in common. As a verb affect is most commonly used in the sense of “to influence” (how smoking affects health). Effect means “to bring about or execute”: layoffs designed to effect savings. Thus the sentence These measures may affect savings could imply that the measures may reduce savings that have already been realized, whereas These measures may effect savings implies that the measures will cause new savings to come about.

aircrew, airdrop, airlift, airmail
one word

all right
is right; alright is not all right

alternative
strictly, a choice between two courses of action; if there are more than two, option or choice may be preferred

among
not amongst

apostrophes
Plural nouns take a singular apostrophe (children's games, gentlemen's outfitter, old folk's home)


The possessive in words and names ending in s also takes the singular (Jones's, James's), but be guided by pronunciation and use the plural apostrophe where it helps: Mephistopheles' rather than Mephistopheles's

Use apostrophes in phrases such as 12 years' imprisonment, 200 hours' community service.

appraise
to estimate worth

apprise
to inform

approvals
JAR-145, FAR-145.  use hyphen.

approximately
avoid if at all possible

armed forces, armed services

Area
square metres, square feet, except when given as a conversion e.g. 1,000 square feet (93m²)

Asia Pacific
Not hyphenated

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BAA
Do not call it the British Airports Authority, its former name

BAE Systems
formerly British Aerospace, but BAe 146, BAe 748, BAe Jetstream aircraft

benefited, benefiting

biannual
twice a year; biennial every two years. Alternatives: twice-yearly or two-yearly

Billion
$1 billion, not $1billion or $1bn, except when given as a conversion e.g. £100 billion ($153bn)

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cabin attendant, flight attendant, cabin crew, cabin staff
not air hostess, air stewardesses

Caribbean

checks
maintenance checks should be written C check, D check etc, not C-check or ‘C' check

cliches
avoid expressions that are unlikely to be understood by someone outside the UK.

collective nouns (group, family, cabinet, etc) take singular or plural verb according to meaning: the family was shocked, the family were sitting down, scratching their heads

commas
The news production editor, David Marsh, is an expert on style — correct: there is only one

The subeditor David Marsh is a little short on style — correct: there are more than one

Do not use a comma before and except in lists, eg Peter, George and Lynne, Grace and Ian, and Alan and Jules were all there.

companies
are singular. e.g. Megaplanes is launching a new aircraft. Includes airlines and airports

compare
Compare usually takes the preposition to when it refers to the activity of describing the resemblances between unlike things: He compared her to a summer day. Scientists sometimes compare the human brain to a computer. It takes with when it refers to the act of examining two like things in order to discern their similarities or differences: The police compared the forged signature with the original. The committee will have to compare the Senate's version of the bill with the version that was passed by the House. When compare is used to mean “to liken (one) with another,” with is traditionally held to be the correct preposition: That little bauble is not to be compared with (not to) this enormous jewel. But to is frequently used in this context and is not incorrect.

compass points
are all l.c.: north, south, the south-west, north-east England; the same applies to geopolitical areas: the west, western Europe, far east, south-east Asia, central America etc.

Exceptions: West End (London), Middle East, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific

comprise
to consist of; do not use comprise of

cooperate, cooperative

crossheads / subheads
in bold, not italics

currencies
Express in US dollars. To avoid confusion with other dollars, eg HK$, just use $. Local currencies should be followed by $ conversion in brackets.

When the whole word is used it is l.c.: euro, franc, mark, sterling, dong etc.

Abbreviations: DM50 (German marks); Fr50 (French francs); BFr50 (Belgian francs); SFr50 (Swiss francs); $50 (US dollars); A$50 (Australian dollars); HK$50 (Hong Kong dollars)

Convert all non US dollar amounts to dollars in brackets at first mention.

currently
prefer now

customs, customs and excise, customs officers, HM
customs

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Dash or long (en) hyphen
Beware of sentences — such as this one — that dash about all over the place — commas (or even, very occasionally, brackets) are often better; semi-colons also have their uses (ALT + 0150 on numeric keypad)

dates
1 January 2000 (no commas); 21st century; fourth century BC; AD2006 but 1000BC; for decades use figures: the swinging 60s or 1960s. Do not use st, nd, rd, and th.
Exception: Use September 11 as it was an event.

debatable

decades
use figures — the swinging 60s, etc

defence / defense
Ministry of Defence (UK) but Depertment of Defense (US)

degrees
write as 12 degrees C or 59 degrees F

diagrams
see tables

different from
not different to or than

dignitary, dignitaries

dotcom, not dot.com

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eastern Europe, western Europe

e-commerce

effect / affect
see affect

elipsis
only three full points… or else!

e.g.
do not use, ever (see etc., i.e.)

email
no hyphen (but e-commerce)

enroute

etc.
do not use, ever (see e.g., i.e.)

euro
currency; plural euros and cents

euroland, eurozone
Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Irish Republic, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands

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FAA
use FAA, not Federal Aviation Authority

far, farther, farthest
of distances; otherwise further, furthest

figures
spell out from one to nine; integers from 10 to 999,999; thereafter 1 million, 3.2 billion etc.: "the population had grown from three to 3 billion in 2.5 million years"  Separate thousands with a comma: 4,000.

first
second, third spell out up to ninth, then 10th, 21st, millionth

firstly
prefer first, second, third

focused, focusing
not focussed, focussing

former Soviet republics
These are: Armenia, adjective Armenian; Azerbaijan, adj. Azerbaijani; Belarus, adj. Belarussian; Estonia, adj. Estonian (Estonia did not join the Commonwealth of Independent States); Georgia, adj. Georgian; Kazakhstan, adj. Kazakh; Kyrgyzstan, adj. Kyrgyz; Latvia, adj. Latvian (not in the commonwealth); Lithuania, adj. Lithuanian (not in the commonwealth); Moldova, adj Moldovan; Russia, adj. Russian; Tajikistan, adj. Tajik; Turkmenistan, adj. Turkmen; Ukraine, adj. Ukrainian (NOT "the Ukraine"); Uzbekistan, adj. Uzbek

forthcoming
not upcoming

fractions
two-and-a-half, three-quarters etc

fueling
use refuelling

full points / full stops
no double space after a full point.  see also Acronyms and Abbreviations


In directory listings, only use full points at end of fields containing company activity or future development editorial. Never use a full point at the end of other location contact information.

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gases
plural of gas; not gasses

gender issues
Our use of language should reflect not only changes in society but the newspaper's values. Phrases such as career girl or career woman, for example, are outdated (more women have careers than men) and patronising (there is no male equivalent): never use them.
Never say "his" to cover men and women: use his or her, or a different construction; in sentences such as "a teacher who beats his/her pupils is not fit to do the job", there is usually a way round the problem — in this case, "teachers who beat their pupils..."

geography
areas defined by compass points are l.c.: north, south-east, the south-west, etc

government
l.c. in all contexts and all countries

Great Britain
England, Wales and Scotland – excludes Northern Ireland. Always use UK, not England, Britain etc

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half a dozen; half past; half-price; halfway

handicapped
Do not use to refer to disabled people or people with learning difficulties

headlines
in MROM all letters in caps (maximum 38 characters for two-line headline, 58 for three-line). In ALCM, first letter in cap, rest l.c.

homepage

Hong Kong names
Like Taiwanese and Korean names, Hong Kong names are written in two parts with a hyphen, eg Tung Chee-hwa

hyphens
13-year-old; state-of-the-art; Filton-based manufacturer; Filton, UK-based manufacturer, third-party
Never use hyphens after adverbs, e.g. genetically modified, politically naive. But do use them to form compound adjectives, eg two-tonne vessel, three-year deal
Do use hyphens where not using one would be ambiguous, eg to distinguish "black-cab drivers come under attack" from "black cab-drivers come under attack"
See long hyphens.

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i.e.
do not use, ever (see e.g., etc.)

impractical / impracticable
The adjective impracticable applies to a course of action that is impossible to carry out or put into practice; impractical, though it can be used in this way, also can be weaker in sense, suggesting that the course of action would yield an insufficient return or would have little practical value. A plan for a new stadium may be rejected as impracticable if the site is too marshy to permit safe construction, but if the objection is that the site is too remote for patrons to attend games easily, the plan is better described as impractical. See Usage Note at practicable.

indispensable
not indispensible

infinite
without limit; does not mean very large

infinitives, split
"The English-speaking world may be divided into (1) those who neither know nor care what a split infinitive is; (2) those who do not know, but care very much; (3) those who know and condemn; (4) those who know and distinguish. Those who neither know nor care are the vast majority, and are happy folk, to be envied" HW Fowler, Modern English Usage, 1926

It is perfectly acceptable to sensibly split infinitives, though to always do so may sound inelegant — so use common sense. And remember George Bernard Shaw's reaction after an editor tinkered with his infinitives: "I don't care if he is made to go quickly, or to quickly go — but go he must!"

information technology
l.c. initials when spelled out, however IT when abbreviated

innocuous
internet, net, website, web, world wide web; all l.c.

into
but on to

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JAR
JAR-145, use hyphen

job titles
l.c.  manager, technical services.  Except airline cargo management where u.c.

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kilogram, kilometre, kilowatt
abbreviate as follows: kg, km, kW. No space between figure and abbreviation e.g. 30kg, not 30 kg or 30 kgs.

knots
measure of nautical miles per hour; do not say “knots an hour”

Korean names
Like Hong Kongand Taiwanese names, Korean names are written in two parts with a hyphen, eg Kim Jong-il, Kim Dae-jung

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less or fewer?
less means less in quantity, eg less money; fewer means smaller in number, eg fewer coins

licence
noun, license verb

like/as if
never use the former to mean the latter: "it looks as if he's finished" not "it looks like he's finished"

likely
takes the infinitive (he is likely to win) or a qualifier (he will very likely win), not "he will likely win" — if you want to use that form, say "he will probably win"

Lloyd's
of London; names l.c.

location
facilities are in, not at. E.g. in Filton, UK, exept in the context of an airport, e.g. at London Heathrow.

long hyphens
Use keystroke ALT + 0150 for symbol (–). Place a long hyphen, not short (-), before an aircraft/engine variant/type when used on its own, e.g.–56B. Do not overuse in text.

lower case airline names
If starting a new sentence use a capital letter, regardless of correct spelling.

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Malaysian names
generally the surname comes first, so Mahathir Mohamad becomes Mr Mahathir on second ref. Chinese Malaysian names, like Singaporean names, are in three parts: eg Ling Liong Sik (Mr Ling)

manhours

measurements
all measurements should be given in metric format, except nmph or mph. Conversion rates are:

memorandum
plural memorandums. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

mid-Atlantic
but transatlantic

million
$1 million, not $1million or $1m, except when given as a conversion eg £100 million ($153m)

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names
Use forename and surname at the first use, then surname only thereafter. Do not use Mr, Mrs, Ms, Miss unless forename or initial is not known (try to obtain). If Dr, do not use a full point.

Nasa
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, but no need to spell out

Nato
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, but no need to spell out

none
takes singular verb: none is, not none are

north
north London, north-east England, the north-west: all lc

northern hemisphere

numbers
See figures.

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on board
for ship or plane, not aboard

outsource
no hyphen

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percentages
write as a number. 1% 17%, 95%. Use percent if awkward to use %. For ranges omit first % sign: eg between 5 and 15% increase

percentage rises
an increase from 3% to 5% is a 2 percentage point increase or a 2-point increase, not a 2% increase

practice noun, practise verb

president
lc except in title: President Clinton, but Bill Clinton, the US president

preventive
not preventative

programme/program
Use program if referring to software, otherwise programme.

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Qantas

queueing
not queuing

quotation marks
Use double quotes at start and end of quoted section, with single quotes for quoted words within that section. Place full points and commas inside the quotes for a complete quoted sentence; otherwise point comes outside.

"Mary said, 'Your style guide needs updating,' and I said, 'I agree.' "

but: "Mary said updating the guide was 'a difficult and time consuming task'."

Headlines and standfirsts (sparingly), captions and pullout quotes all take single quotes

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ranges
$20 to $30 million rather than $20 million to $30 million or $20 – $30 million. For percentages use: between 5 and 10% increase

ratios
70:30

runway
not run way, run-way

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seas, oceans
l.c., Red sea, Caspian sea, Pacific ocean

seasons
avoid using spring, summer, autumn, winter – we have readers in southern hemisphere as well. Use early, mid or late. eg early 2004.

sentences
do not start a sentence with a double space

set-up
shareholder

Singaporean names
in three parts: eg Lee Kuan Yew

south
south London, south-west England, the south-east: all l.c.

southern hemisphere

span of years
1995-99; but between 1995 and 1999, not between 1995-99

spell-checker
use your computer's spell-checker before submitting copy.

split infinitives
“The English-speaking world may be divided into (1) those who neither know nor care what a split infinitive is; (2) those who do not know, but care very much; (3) those who know and condemn; (4) those who know and distinguish. Those who neither know nor care are the vast majority, and are happy folk, to be envied" HW Fowler, Modern English Usage, 1926

It is perfectly acceptable to sensibly split infinitives, though to always do so may sound inelegant — so use common sense. And remember George Bernard Shaw's reaction after an editor tinkered with his infinitives: "I don't care if he is made to go quickly, or to quickly go — but go he must!"

standfirsts
No punctuation at end of standfirst.

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tables and diagrams
If embedding in WP file, send graphic or excel file separately.

Taiwanese names
like Hong Kong and Korean names, these are in two parts with a hyphen, eg Lee Teng-hui

takeoff noun, take off verb

takeover
one word

talk to
not talk with

targeted, targeting

taxi, taxiing
of aircraft

temperature
write as 12 degrees C or 59 degrees F

tense
quotes in general articles should be written as in present tense. E.g. he says, comments Smith, etc.

that
do not use automatically after the word "said", but take care to use it in clauses where without it the meaning would be ambiguous

that or which?
that defines, which informs: this is the house that Jack built, but this house, which Jack built, is now falling down

the
Leaving "the" out often reads like jargon: say the conference agreed to do something, not "conference agreed"; the government has to do, not "government has to"; the Super League (rugby), not "Super League"

theirs
no apostrophe

third-party
third-party services, etc, but third party when used on its own.

third world
developing countries is preferable

time
use 24 hour clock; eg 0700, 1946.

todate
word does not exist!

tonne
not ton: the metric tonne is 1,000 kilograms (2,204.62lb), the British ton is 2,240lb, and the US ton is 2,000lb; usually there is no need to convert.

towards
not toward

try
to, never try and: eg I will try to do something about this misuse of language

turnaround or turntime
not turnround

turnkey, no hyphen

20th century

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UN
no need to spell out United Nations, even at first mention

uncooperative

up front
not up-front

up to date
but in an up-to-date fashion

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versus
vs. not v.

vice chairman, vice president
not hyphenated, avoid VP unless lengthy title

vortex
plural vortexes

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war
first world war, second world war; Crimean/Boer/Vietnam/Gulf war; hundred years war

Do not say "before/after the war" (which war?)

west, western, the west, western Europe

who or whom?
From a Guardian report: "The US kept up the pressure by naming nine Yugoslav military leaders operating in Kosovo whom it said were committing war crimes"

The "whom" should have been "who".
If in doubt, ask yourself how the clause beginning who/whom would read in the form of a sentence giving he, him, she, her, they or them instead: if the who/whom person turns into he/she/they, then "who" is right; if it becomes him/her/them, then it should be "whom"

worldwide, no hyphen

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X-ray
not x-ray or xray

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year
say 2000, not "the year 2000"

yours
no apostrophe

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