Editorial Style Guide and Usage

When possible, follow The Associated Press Stylebook (AP) guidelines, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary unless otherwise noted.

501(c)(3) – Never 501©3 or any other variations

Abbreviations and acronyms – In general, avoid alphabet soup. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms that the reader would not quickly recognize. An acronym is a word formed from the first letter or letters of a series of words. 

• Before a name: Abbreviate titles when used before a full name. Example: Mr., Mrs., Gov., Dr., Sen., etc.
• After a name: Abbreviate junior and senior after an individual’s name. Abbreviate company, corporation, incorporated, and limited when used after names of corporate entities.

Accordions – If the accordions use topics only (and not full sentences), use Title Case capitalization. If the accordions use sentence or question style (such as frequently asked questions), use sentence case for readability. Examples:

• Administration Information (Title Case)
• Where do I find my license renewal information? (Sentence case)

Acronyms – Spell out the name of the group or organization in the first reference (whether in a page title, header or text), followed by the acronym in parentheses. Use the acronym without periods in subsequent references. Example: Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

afterward – not afterwards.

ages – See Numbers category.

aka – Abbreviation for “also known as.” Do not use periods.

a lot – Two words, not alot.

alt text – Short for “alternative text,” which is text entered into the HTML, associated with an image on a webpage.

amid, amidst – The preferred U.S. word is amid. Amidst is chiefly British and considered a variant of amid.

Ampersands (&) or and – Use “and” in body text unless the ampersand or the word “and” is part of an official department or program name. In other cases, use ampersands (&) in

• Page titles
• Page descriptions
• H1 and H2 headings

backup (n., adj.), back-up (v.) – One word when used as a mount or adjective. Two words when used as a verb. Example: When the backup is complete, you’ll see a list of all files. We automatically back up your website.

bimonthly, biweekly, biannual(ly) – Means twice a month; to avoid reader confusion, write “meets twice a month” instead of using “bimonthly.” Biweekly means twice a week; to avoid reader confusion, write “meets twice a week” instead of using “biweekly.” Biannual means twice a year; to avoid confusion, write “meets twice a year.”

Bold and italics – Use bold only when emphasis is necessary, and even then, use sparingly. Never bold whole paragraphs, and avoid bolding entire sentences when possible. Never use bolded text to take the place of subheadings (H2, H3, etc.) Only use italics when referring to an authored work like a book, publication, or study. Get more bold/italics tips from Siteimprove.

• If bold or italics need to be used, use semantic markup tags, such as <strong> for bold and <em> for italics. 

breadcrumb – One word. Navigational term for the path you’ve taken to get to a certain webpage. 

Bulleted lists – Use bullets to break up text containing information that can be listed for easier scanning. 

• Use to list three or more short items or for two lengthy items.
• Capitalize only the first word of each bullet item.
• Try to keep bulleted lists to similar line length, if possible.
• Use parallel sentence construction - phrase each bullet item in a similar style.
  • For example, start each bullet with a verb
• Use punctuation consistently, all or none.
• Whenever possible, use bulleted lists for 8–10 items or fewer; break longer lists into multiple shorter lists or revise the copy to keep lists as short as possible
• Don’t start each bullet with the same word.
• Don’t use bullets in front of subheads. Bullets should be used for body text only.

Buttons, calls-to-action – Use sentence case for buttons, calls-to-action, and links. See also: Capitalization.

cancellation, canceled, canceling – Preferred U.S. spelling uses two L’s in a noun and one L in verb forms. 

Capitalization – Use sentence case across content. Use AP style with the following exceptions and clarifications:

Agencies and official departments – Capitalize the name of the agency in proper use, excluding propositions. Examples: County Auditor, Department of Transportation; Department of Natural Resources, Health & Human Services, etc. 

Button text – Sentence case.

Century – Lowercase (unless part of a proper name). Spell out numbers under 10: the first century, the 21st century.

City, county – Capitalize only as part of a proper name. Example: Iowa City or Warren County 

• Lowercase in other instances. Examples: the city of Bettendorf; the counties of Scott, Linn, and Marion; or Clark, and  Ringgold counties.

Headings – Title case. Capitalize major words but not minor words, such as prepositions. This includes page titles, promotion titles, and navigation.

Legislative titles – First reference, use Rep., Reps., Sen., Sens. as formal titles before one or more names. Spell out and lowercase representative and senator in other uses. Spell out legislative titles in all uses. Capitalize former titles (e.g. city councilor, delegate, tc.) when it precedes a name. 

• Add U.S. or state before a title if necessary to avoid confusion.
• Rep. and Sen. are preferred first-reference forms for a title used before names.
• Congressman and Congresswoman should be capitalized formal titles before a name only.
• Capitalize titles for formal, organizational offices within a legislative body when used before a name, e.g. Speaker John Doe.

Names – Capitalize all words in an employee/volunteer/testimonial name. Example: John Smith, Jane Doe, etc. Capitalize words denoting family relationships when they precede the name of a person, or when they stand unmodified.

Page titles – Title case. Capitalize major words but not minor words, such as prepositions.

Titles (Roles) – Capitalize all words in an employee or board member’s title when preceding a proper name. Example: Vice President and CFO Jane Doe. Do not capitalize when they follow a name.

Seasons – Lowercase all seasons unless they’re part of an event title or used in a slogan, e.g. “City of Five Seasons.”

chair, chairperson, congressperson – Use the gender-neutral terms.

City of, city – Capitalize City if part of a proper name, an integral part of an official name, or a regularly used nickname. Example: Kansas City, New York City. Do not capitalize when referring to a geographic location.

• Example: The City of Des Moines (government body) issued a snow ordinance for everyone in the city of Des Moines (geographic location).

Congress – Use when referring to both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Note capitalization.

Contractions – Use contractions, when possible, as they’re casual, conversational, and active. However, avoid using negative contractions when possible. See “Negative statements” for more guidelines.

Dates – When possible, spell out the day and month. Use numerals for the year. Abbreviate only when space is limited. Example: Saturday, June 26, 2023  or Sat., June 26.

daylight saving time – Lowercase in all uses. Note the word is saving, not savings. 

diagnosis, diagnoses – When possible, avoid defining patients by their disease: Use She has diabetes, not She is a diabetic. See also Disabled, handicapped, impaired category.

disabled, handicapped, impaired – In general, do not describe an individual as disabled or handicapped unless it’s pertinent to the text. If a description must be used, try to be specific. Avoid descriptions that connote pity, such as “afflicted with” or “suffering from.” See more examples from the National Center on Disability and Journalism.

• Blind - Describes a person with complete loss of sight; for others, use low vision
• Deaf - Describes a person with total hearing loss; for others, use partially deaf. Do not use mute, or deaf-mute. Never use deaf and dumb.
• Mute - Describes a person who physically cannot speak.
• Wheelchair-user - People who use wheelchairs for independent mobility. Do not use “confined”  or “wheelchair-bound.” If a wheelchair is needed, say why. 

diseases – Do not capitalize arthritis, emphysema, leukemia, pneumonia, etc. When a disease is known by the name of the person identified with it, capitalize only the individual’s name, such as Alzheimer’s disease, or Parkinson’s Disease. Refer to the AP Style Book or Webster’s Dictionary for further information.

doctor – Use Dr. in the first reference as a formal title before the name of an individual who holds a doctor of dental surgery, doctor of medicine, doctor of optometry, doctor of osteopathy, or doctor of podiatric medicine degree: Dr. Jonas Salk.  The form Dr. and Drs. in a plural construction applies to all first-reference uses before a name, including direct quotations. If appropriate in the context, Dr. also may be used on first reference before the names of individuals who hold other types of doctoral degrees. 

Earth, earth – Capitalize when used as the proper name of the planet. Lowercase in all other instances. Example: The third planet from the sun is Earth. The earth was ready for planting.

elderly, senior citizen – Use these words sparingly. Do not refer to a person as an elderly or senior citizen unless it is relevant to the article or context. It is appropriate in generic phrases that do not concern specific individuals, e.g. concern for the elderly. If the intent is to show that an individual’s cognition has deteriorated, cite a graphic example and give attribution. Use age when available and appropriate.  

fact – Use only in matters capable of direct verification, not in matters of opinion or judgment.

farther, further – Use farther when describing a distance; further as a time or quantity. Example: I chased the bar farther than usual. I’m further pursuing my passion.

FAQ – Stands for frequently asked questions, and usually refers to a list of questions. Spell out “frequently asked questions” on first reference, and use FAQs elsewhere in the copy.

fewer, less – In general, use fewer for individual items, and less for bulk or quantity. 

figuratively, literally – Figuratively means in an analogous sense, but not exact sense. Literally means an exact sense; do not use it figuratively. 

file name – Two words, not “filename.”

Gender and sexuality – Avoid using gendered terms unless it’s necessary. When possible, use gender-neutral terms for roles and jobs, such as “server” rather than “waiter/waitress” or “airline attendant” rather than “stewardess.” Use “they” as a singular pronoun rather than “guys” or “girls.” Other rules:

• Don’t use same-sex marriage when referring to marriage. It’s just “marriage.”
• Don’t use the words homosexual, lifestyle, or preference when referencing LGBTQ+ communities.
• Words like lesbian, gay, trans, nonbinary, etc. can be used as modifiers, but never as nouns.
• Use preferred pronouns or the person’s name, when not explicit.
• When possible, use -person as a modifier. For example, congressperson instead of congressman or congresswoman.

Headlines (headings) and subheads – Headlines (H1s) should only exist to display the page topic or page title at the top of a page. Subheads (H2s, H3, H4, etc.) should be used hierarchically as needed.

• Page titles should use Title Case
• Headlines and subheadings should use title case, without punctuation
• Use sentence case if the heading is a question, e.g. an FAQ in an accordion

House of Representatives – Always capitalize the singular form: U.S. House of Representatives, Iowa House of Representatives. May also be shortened: the House, the U.S. House, the Iowa House. Lowercase the plural form: the Iowa and Illinois houses.

Iowa - See State of Iowa, state of Iowa

Latino, Latina (n., adj.) – Generally preferred to “Hispanic.” Latino refers to men; Latina refers to women. Plural: Latinos, Latinas. When possible, be more specific, e.g.: Colombian, Mexican American, Puerto Rican.

like – Acceptable when used in place of such as, but not in place of as or as if.

Links and linking – Do not use the words “click here” or “here” when referring to a link. Instead, link to the words that describe the link. Descriptive links highlight the subject, not the action.   

When linking to a file in text, include the file type and size so the person knows what to expect. Always use descriptive text when linking to a document or file. Do not use the file name in text. 

• Good:
  • Contact our agency for more information about local services.
  • Download a petition form (PDF, 25 kbs) to get started.
  • Get answers to questions about Medicaid.
• Bad:
  • Click here to contact our agency for information about our services.
  • Download our form: petitionform.pdf
  • Download our form here.
  • Learn more about Medicare coverage.
• Additional tips:
  • Use active verbs - explore, learn, register, etc. - to inspire action
  • Use descriptive language in link text - never use “click here”
  • Link only the most useful and clear words to help users know where they’re going
  • Don’t make headings and subheadings links
  • Don’t use URLs as links, use words

Links and linking (in microcontent) – When building landing pages or using microcontent, such as promos, use Title Case for headings. However, action-oriented links (such as a “View more events”) should be in sentence case for readability and accessibility. 

long-term and long-range, but not longtime

medical and mental conditions – Don’t refer to someone’s medical condition unless it’s pertinent to your story or content. Never assume a medical or mental condition. Never describe someone as “mentally ill.” If a medical condition is necessary, state it directly.

• Avoid using phrases like lame, deaf (e.g. falling on deaf ears), blind (e.g. blind to truth), dumb even when not in reference to medical conditions. 

Military rank – Capitalize before a name; lowercase when a title stands alone: General Pershing, but the general.

• Spell out with only a last name; abbreviate with first and last: Sergeant York, but Sgt. Alvin York.
• Spell out and lowercase a title when it is substituted for a name: Gen. John Jones is the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. The general endorsed the idea.
• Abbreviations for common military titles include Gen. for general; Col. for colonel; Lt. for lieutenant; and Sgt. for sergeant. See AP Stylebook for more.

Months – Capitalize the names of months in all uses.

• When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec.; Spell out March, April, May, June, and July.
• Spell out when using alone, or with a year alone: January was a cold month or January 2016 was a cold month. But abbreviate when using with date: Jan. 2 was the coldest day of the month.
• When a phrase lists only a month and a date, do not separate the date with a comma: His birthday is May 8.
• In tabular material, use these three-letter forms without a period: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.

Native American or American Indian – When referring to an individual, use the person’s preference. Where possible, be precise and use the name of the tribe: He is a Navajo commissioner.

• Words such as wampum, warpath, powwow, teepee, brave, squaw, etc., can be disparaging and offensive.
• In Alaska, the indigenous groups include Aleuts, Eskimos, and Indians, are collectively known as Alaska Natives. First Nation is the preferred term for native tribes in Canada.
• In general, when referring to groups, use the term Native Americans.
• Use Indian only to refer to someone from India, in a direct quote, or in the name of an organization, such as Indian Health Service.

Negative statements  – Reframe negative sentences into positive ones whenever you can. Often, making them actionable can remove the negative version.

• Good: Submit your claim form online.
• Bad: You can’t call us to make a claim.

nonprofit, not-for-profit – Many people consider these terms interchangeable, however, in some legal and financial contexts, they do have different meanings. Confirm correct word usage for the organization in question.

Numbers / numerals – Spell out numbers less than ten and use numerals for numbers greater than 10. Example: Our office includes six board members and 15 official volunteers.

Ages – When referring to ages of children or staff, use numeric and spell out “years old.”  Example: Our first visitors to Santa at the Christmas Party were a 5-year-old girl and  10-year-old boy. 

Beginning of a sentence – If a sentence begins with a number, spell out the word. 
Example: Two-hundred children attended the annual Christmas Party. Fifteen volunteers  helped set up the event. 

Dollars – Always lowercase. Use figures and the $ sign in all except casual references or  amounts without a figure. Example: The book cost $4. Dad, please give me a dollar. For  specified amounts, the word takes a singular verb: He said $500,000 is what they want. 

Figures and words – Spell out first through ninth when indicating a sequence in time or  location: first base, First Amendment, he was second in line. Use numbers for 10th (tenth)  and above when needed. 

Percentages – Spell out numbers less than ten and use numerals for numbers greater than  10 but use the % sign instead of the word “percent” or “percentage.” Example: The  department saw a 15% increase in revenue. However, when starting a sentence off with a  percentage figure, spell out the number as follows: Twenty percent of Medicare patients  reside in assisted living.

Telephone numbers – Use figures. Use hyphens between number sets, unless otherwise  preferred. Telephone numbers should be linked for click-to-call on mobile devices. If  extensions are required, format it with abbreviation and numeral.

Temperature – With whole numbers, usually spell out degrees rather than using the  degree symbol °.

• Do not use Fahrenheit or Celsius unless it is not clear which scale is being used.
• In cases when it is appropriate to use F or C, the form is 37°F.
• For temperatures exact to a tenth of a degree, use the form 98.6°F.

Pacific Islander (n., adj.) – Two words, no hyphen. Refers to the native peoples of Polynesia (including Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, and Tonga), Micronesia (including Guam, the Northern Marianas, and Palau), and Melanesia (including Fiji and Papua New Guinea).

Person-first language – Do not label people with terms. Instead, use person-first language that focuses on attributes and traits, rather than defining the whole person. And some language, such as “abusive relationship” is grammatically incorrect.  Use the phrases in parentheses instead:

• Victim, survivor (person who has experienced or person who has been impacted by)
• Mentally ill (person living with a mental health condition)
• Addict (person with a substance use disorder)
• Homeless person (person without housing)
• Prisoner, convict (person who is/has been incarcerated)

President, president – Lowercase unless used as a formal title before a name: President Joe Biden. In this case, may also be abbreviated to Pres. (note period) Pres. Biden. Do not use president or President to refer to former presidents.

President-elect – Note hyphen. Refers to a candidate who has been elected but not yet inaugurated. Use President-elect before a name: President-elect Joe Biden. Otherwise use president-elect: He was the first president-elect.

printout (n.), print out (v.) – One word when used as a noun. Two words when used as a verb. Example: I’ll print out a copy of the article and mark my edits on the printout.

Punctuation – Use the following rules:

• Ampersands - See “& or and”
• Colons - Use colons to offset a list. For example, I ordered three types of donuts: Vanilla, chocolate, and cherry.
• Commas - When writing a list of things, use a comma before the “and” in the final item. This is known as a serial or Oxford common. Example: Go to the store and pick up milk, bread, and cheese.
• Dashes and hyphens
  • Em dashes should be used without spaces on either side to connect a sentence. 
    Example: You’ll get a new coffee mug—one of many perks—as a new member.
  • En dashes should be used to show a range. 
    Example: We’re open Monday - Friday.
  • Hyphens should be used for links in a single word or phrase. 
    Example: high-fidelity
• Exclamation points - Use sparingly. If used to show excitement, use only one at a time.
• File extensions - Use the letters capitalized without periods when referring to a file type. Example: PDF, JPEG, PNG. Use lower case in naming a file. Example: file.jpeg.
• Parentheses - Use sparingly. Best used when referring to examples. Place a period outside a closing parenthesis if the material inside is not a complete sentence.
• Periods - Periods go inside quotation marks, and at the end of sentences. They should not be used on bulleted lists unless bulleted list items are full sentences.
• Quotation marks - Use quotation marks to refer to words and letters, titles of short works (like articles and poems), and direct quotations.

Racial categories – Do not hyphenate the following: African American, Asian American, Native American, etc.

religion, religious affiliations – Capitalize the names and related terms applied to members of orders. Example: He is a Catholic. He is a member of the Society of Jesus. See the AP Style Book for all religions and affiliations and their appropriate usage. 

• Religious movements, such as the evangelical movement, should not be capitalized. Evangelicals, by and large, represent several broader denominations, particularly conservative Protestants.
• Holidays and holy days should be capitalized. For example, Hanukkah, Easter, etc. See the AP Style Book for specific holidays, their annual designation, and federal status.

Senate – Always capitalize the singular form: U.S. Senate, state Senate, the Senate. Lowercase the plural form: the Iowa and Illinois senates.

senator – Use Sen. or Sens. before a name: Sen. Olympia Snowe; Sens. Snowe and McCain. Otherwise lowercase and don’t abbreviate: The senator from Maine.

select, choose – Use ‘select’ or ‘choose’ to describe choosing an action, button, or link rather than ‘click. Select is device-ambiguous and inclusive of all users across devices and assistive tools.

Social network (n.), social-network (adj.) – Note hyphen when used as an adjective. Two words when used as a noun. Examples: Social-network analysis is a key technique to understanding social networks.

spokesperson – Use the gender neutral term instead of “spokesman” or “spokeswoman.”

State of Iowa, state of Iowa – Title case when using to describe the government body; lower case in other uses

• In references to state property, agencies, and proper names, “State” should be capitalized.
  • E.g. State of Iowa Employment
• In reference to a location, and/or geography, “state” should be lowercase
  • E.g. The state of Iowa is in the Midwest. 

that, which – That is the defining, or restrictive pronoun, which is the nondefining, nonrestrictive. Use a comma before “which.” Example: The lawnmower that is broken is in the garage. The lawnmower, which is broken, is in the garage.

Time – Use figures except for noon and midnight.

• In general, do not use periods for a.m. and p.m.
• Do not use 9 am; 5 pm: Use 9:00 am; 5:00 pm.
• Use the word “to” to designate range. Do not use en dashes.
• Use 24/7 for twenty-four hours, seven days a week.

URLs, weblinks, and websites – Capitalize the names of websites and web publications. Don’t italicize. When quoting a direct website, use the domain but not the http://www. Always link the web address when given. Example: For more information, visit aclu.org. 

• Do not capitalize the words “web” and “website” unless appearing as the first word of a sentence.
• Always test the URL to make sure it works.
• Some websites may require the www to work. In those cases, include it in your text.

United States, U.S. or U.S.A. – Use periods except in headlines.

Years – 1970s or '70s; 1970's (possessive); spell out seventies only when referring to someone's age.

• When a phrase refers to a month, day, and year, set off the year with commas: Feb. 14, 1987, was the target date.

year-round – Always hyphenate when referring to ongoing events.