蘑菇TV

Writing for Web

October 30, 2050  / Tags: Abbreviation, Capitalization, Tone, Web, Punctuation, Links, Writing

Tone & Structure

Write in a conversational tone, professional and authoritative but not stiff or institutional. Use an
accessible, upbeat approach 鈥� but avoid exclamation points!!!

• Write in active voice instead of passive. We launched the program in 2018 instead of The program was launched in 2018.
• Vary sentence length and rhythm. Avoid long, complex sentences that users can get lost in.
• Prioritize information and present it in easily digestible chunks. Web users are scanners. Use bullet points when appropriate.
• Avoid repeatedly identifying 蘑菇TV or a college or program name on the same page 鈥� users know whose website they鈥檙e looking at and repetition just causes additional reading.
• Use pronouns when you can. The web user is 鈥測ou.鈥� 蘑菇TV is 鈥渨e.鈥�
• Please avoid the word 鈥減lease鈥� in calls to action 鈥� we don鈥檛 need to be so polite and it鈥檚 excess verbiage.
• Limit use of italics, boldface type, ALL CAPS, underscoring or exclamation points! to convey emphasis. Users can interpret this as scolding or condescending.

Academic Speak

Avoid insider terminology or jargon on landing pages, which are the front doors to visitors and should not confuse or intimidate.

Examples:

• Pedagogy/pedagogical
• Cohort
• Academe
• Matriculation
• Modalities
• Methodologies
• Synergistic/synergies
• Competencies

Capitilization, Abbreviation & Punctuation

University, college, school, program, department names: Capitalize when the full name is used.
Examples: School of Nursing, Nurse Anesthesia Program, Office of Undergraduate Studies. Do not capitalize in second references on the same webpage if not using the proper name (the university, the center, the college, the department, the committee, the board). (Note: In business/official written correspondence, University is typically capitalized when referring to 蘑菇TV.)

Academic degrees: Use bachelor of arts, bachelor鈥檚 degree, a B.A.; a master of science, a master鈥檚, an M.S. (Note: The possessive pronoun 鈥� her doctorate 鈥� is not used.)
Examples: She has a bachelor (or master) of arts degree in English literature. He is getting a master鈥檚 in dance.

Professional titles: Capitalize only when they appear immediately before a proper name:
Professor John Smith taught the class. John Smith, associate dean of Marieb College, addressed the class. The provost met with committee members.

Courtesy titles: (Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss) are not used.

Departments, offices and programs: Capitalize only when full name is used: Chemistry Department, Alumni Relations, Art Program but psychology, economics, advancement (including references such as: All education majors must complete)

Semesters/seasons: No need to capitalize spring 2019 or fall 2020.

Spacing: Use a single space after a period at the end of a sentence.

Serial or Oxford commas: Are not used before the conjunction in a series. They just take up space online. The flag is red, white and blue 鈥� not The flag is red, white, and blue.

(Parentheses): No longer being used around telephone area codes: 239-590-1000

Dates: When posting exact dates of events, abbreviate the longer months (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.) to save characters, but spell out March, April, May, June, and July. With dates, use Jan. 1 not Jan. 1st. If using a month alone without a date, or just a month and year, spell out the month, January 2019.

Times: Use a hyphen to save space in time spans, as in 3-5 p.m. instead of 3 to 5 p.m. Eliminate
double-zeros in hours such as 3:00 p.m. by saying 3 p.m. Use periods in a.m. and p.m.

Ampersands: A matter of individual preference when it comes to labels and headers. Generally ampersands (&) shouldn't be used in stories or text blocks unless it's part of a proper noun, like College of Arts & Sciences.

Dashes & hyphens: Insert a single space 鈥� before and after 鈥� an 鈥渆m鈥� dash (long dash). Do not use extra spaces with hyphenated-word constructions, or use hyphens in place of em dashes.
Hyphenate compound modifiers except those including adverbs ending in 鈥渓y鈥� and an adjective: the newly elected president.

Acronyms: Avoid long, obscure acronyms like MCHHS (Marieb College of Health & Human
Services) and SACSCOC (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges). Say Marieb College or the commission for subsequent references. Shorter, more familiar acronyms are OK after the official full name has been introduced on a page: Counseling and Psychological Services then CAPS.

Addresses: Abbreviate avenue, boulevard, street and directions only in numbered addresses, as in 10501 蘑菇TV Blvd. S. Spell out and capitalize when part of a formal street name without a number. 

Links

In most cases, you should insert a hyperlink in the text rather than spell out the URL: Visit our
website for more information 鈥� not Visit our website at www.fgcu.edu/info for more information.

Users are accustomed to seeing hyperlinks in text, so it鈥檚 not necessary to say, Click here for an application. Instead, write Submit an online application and then insert the link in the appropriate words. Users will get it.

It鈥檚 email, not e-mail.