This is an unpublished draft preview that might include content that is not yet approved. The published website is at w3.org/WAI/.

Grammar

in Style Guide

Capitalization

Abbreviations

See Capitalization in abbreviations.

All caps

Avoid using all capital letters for words (except acronyms).

Braille

Use lowercase for “braille” (unless you are referring to Louis Braille).

Glossaries

Use lowercase for glossary terms (except for proper names).

Headings

See Capitalization in headings.

Lists

See Capitalization and punctuation in lists.

Official names versus common terms

Singular forms

Capitalize terms when they form part of an official name. Use lowercase when using a common term instead of its official name.

Common term Example official name
advisory board W3C Advisory Board
advisory committee W3C Advisory Committee
candidate recommendation W3C Candidate Recommendation
code of conduct W3C Code of Conduct
editor's draft W3C Editor's Draft
group note W3C Group Note
interest group WAI Interest Group
invited expert W3C Invited Expert
member W3C Member
participant W3C Participant
patent policy W3C Patent Policy
process document W3C Process Document
recommendation W3C Recommendation
staff contact W3C Staff Contact
statement W3C Statement
task force COGA Task Force
technical report W3C Technical Report
working draft W3C First Public Working Draft
working group ARIA Working Group
workshop W3C Workshop

Use official names where practical. This reduces ambiguity.

Examples:

Use:

  • the W3C Advisory Board
  • the WAI Interest Group
  • the ARIA Working Group

Avoid:

  • the Advisory Board
  • the Interest Group
  • the Working Group

Plural forms

Use lowercase for plural forms. This applies even when the singular form is capitalized as part of an official name.

Examples:

  • The organization joined as a W3C Member to work with us.
  • Organizations of all sizes and all types are W3C members.
  • We have published a new W3C Recommendation.
  • We have published several W3C recommendations.
  • WCAG 2.2 includes Success Criterion 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum).
  • WCAG 2.2 contains 86 success criteria.
  • The Accessibility Guidelines Working Group is discussing the issue.
  • Three working groups support W3C’s mission to make the web accessible to people with disabilities.

Proper nouns that have become common nouns

Use lowercase for the following nouns, unless these are part of a name or title:

That versus which

That: Introduces essential information needed to understand the sentence

Example:

The time is essential to identify specific meetings: “The meeting that starts at 10:00 is online. The other meetings are in-person.”

Which: Introduces extra information that is not essential.

Example:

The time is not essential: “The meeting, which starts at 10:00, is online.”

Punctuation

Commas

In a phrase listing three or more items, place a comma before the final conjunction (“Oxford comma”).

Example:

I bought apples, oranges, and bananas.

Dashes and hyphens

Em dash (—)

Put a space before and after an em dash.

For em dashes in sentences, see Em dash (optional) in Related information in sentences.

Em dashes for list items

Use em dashes when list items have a short phrase followed by an explanation or clarification.

Example:

Users of this curricula include:

  • faculty lecturer — selects topics from the foundation, developer, and designer modules to teach accessibility to computer science students
  • employee training coordinator — compares the course content offered by different providers based on the modules provided in this resource
  • procurer — includes requirements in a training Request for Proposals (RFP) based on the modules provided in this resource

En dash (–)

Examples:

  • The years 1990–2000 were transformative.
  • Read pages 10–15.
  • They defeated the defending champions 106–76.

Hyphen (-)

Use a hyphen to join compound adjectives.

Examples:

  • peer-to-peer connection
  • short-term memory
  • well-known technique

Do not hyphenate:

Examples:

  • They are two closely related concepts.
  • The technique is well known.

Use a hanging hyphen when two compound adjectives modify the same noun.

Example:

The pre- and post-deployment stages are equally important.

For guidance on terms we no longer hyphenate and are written as one word, see the section on Spelling.

Ellipsis (…)

Use an ellipsis to show:

Add a space before and after an ellipsis.

Example:

I was wondering … but it’s probably not important.

Headings

See punctuation in headings.

See punctuation in links.

Lists

See punctuation in lists.

Numbers

See punctuation in numbers.

Parentheses

See Parentheses (optional).

Quotation marks

Use double quotation marks to reference a term.

Example:

This accessibility requirement is sometimes called “sufficient color contrast”; however, the technical term is “luminosity contrast”.

Avoid using quotes in a way that could be taken to suggest irony or in a non-standard way. For more information, see scare quotes.

Semicolons

See Semicolon (optional).

Slashes

Forward slash

Generally, only use a forward slash in dates, fractions, and URLs.

Do not use a forward slash to indicate an optional plural. Use parentheses instead.

Example:

  • Avoid: Test/s
  • Use: Test(s)

Try not to use a forward slash to show two things that have a close relationship or that are in opposition. Use a hyphen or words like “and” or “or” instead.

Example 1:

  • Avoid: The issue was part of the larger nature/nurture debate.
  • Use: The issue was part of the larger nature-nurture debate.

Example 2:

  • Avoid: The project examines cause/effect relationships.
  • Use: The project examines cause-and-effect relationships.

Example 3:

  • Avoid: If/when I have a dog, I’ll need a fenced yard.
  • Use: If or when I have a dog, I’ll need a fenced yard.

Example 4:

  • Avoid: Add a potato and/or an onion.
  • Use: Add a potato, or an onion, or both.

Exception: You can use a forward slash if it shows a relationship or contrast better than when using words.

Example:

  • Avoid: In inclusive writing, avoid gender pronouns (she or her, he or his).
  • Use: In inclusive writing, avoid gender pronouns (she/her, he/his).
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This is an unpublished draft preview that might include content that is not yet approved. The published website is at w3.org/WAI/.