Whether we communicate through tweets, announcements or proposals, we always write for the reader rather than ourselves.
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APSC writing styles
Whether we communicate through tweets, announcements or proposals, we always write for the reader rather than ourselves. To ensure that our audiences feel interested and included, we use:
- consistent typography
- engaging headlines
- short paragraphs
- bullet points
Most importantly, we thoroughly research our stories, focusing on precise information and details. As writers, if we genuinely care about the words we use and the communities we speak to, our readers will hear it in our voice.
To maintain a unified and consistent brand voice, our Faculty follows the UBC writing guidelines, with a few exceptions. APSC also uses the Canadian Press (CP) Stylebook.
Common Rules
Capitalization
| Use capitals for | Use lowercase for |
| only the first word of titles and headings* | subsequent words of titles and heading (i.e. sentence case)* |
| proper nouns and proper names e.g. UBC School of Engineering | referring to educational fields e.g. engineering student projects |
| full degree names | general references to degrees |
| “Faculty” when referring to the organization | “faculty” when referring to faculty members |
* Note: Pipeline Integrity Institute celebrates program milestone is correct. Pipeline Integrity Institute Celebrates Program Milestone is incorrect.
Punctuation
| Correct | Incorrect | |
| Do not use periods for degrees | BASc, PhD | B.A.Sc., Ph.D. |
| Do not use periods for provinces | BC | B.C. |
| Do not use apostrophes for time periods | 1990s | 1990’s |
| Avoid ampersands (unless it’s part of the official name) | faculty and staff | faculty & staff |
| Avoid terminal commas (except to avoid confusion when there are several “ands”) | faculty, staff and students | faculty, staff, and students |
| Add commas for 3-digit groups | 20,000 and $1,000 | 20000 and $1000 |
| Use periods for phone numbers | 604.827.4762 | any other punctuation |
| Use endashes “–” for lists (print-only) | – item 1 – item 2 – item 3 | – dashes — emdashes • bullets |
Resources
Our full writing style guide is available on the APSC intranet (EAD\CWL login).