Style and writing guide
Punctuation and formatting
How to use punctuation and format your content.
- Bold
- Brackets
- Capital letters
- Colons
- Commas
- Contractions
- Dashes
- Fonts
- Hyphens
- Italics
- Job titles
- Quotations and speech marks
- Semicolons
- Slashes
- Spaces
Bold
Brackets
Use (round brackets), not [square brackets].
The only acceptable use of square brackets is for explanatory notes in reported speech.
Do not use round brackets to refer to something that could either be singular or plural. Aim to use the plural instead. This will cover each possibility. Be mindful of situations where referring to a plural may confuse the user. For example, referring to multiple documents when only one is required might cause an issue.
Example of square brackets
“Thank you [Foreign Minister] Mr Smith.”
Example of round brackets
Use: Check which documents you need to send to DVLA.
Avoid: Check which document(s) you need to send to DVLA.
Capital letters
Do not use block capitals as it makes it harder to read text.
Use sentence case as much as possible, particularly in page titles.
A capital letter should be used:
- at the start of a new sentence
- for proper nouns and titles
- where initials are used in acronyms
- for days, months and religious festivals
- for specific system names
- for specific job and role titles
For more details see the GOV.UK style guide entry on ‘Capital letters’
Colons
Use a colon to:
- lead into direct quotes
- introduce bullets
- start a list
In other circumstances, break up your content into separate sentences.
If you need to in offline content, you can use a single dash instead. However, you should avoid using dashes in online content as they are not compatible with screen readers.
Commas
If a comma is required in a sentence it suggests it may be too long and you should consider rewriting the sentence.
A comma would be used to break up items in a list but using bullet points would be a better way to display the content.
Avoid Oxford commas.
Contractions
Only use positive contractions.
Negative contractions should be written in full.
Examples
Use:
- we’re
- you’re
- I’m
- I’ve
- do not
- should not
Avoid:
- don’t
- shouldn’t
- should’ve
- could’ve
- would’ve
Dashes
Dashes are used to separate words which are added as an explanation after the initial statement.
Avoid using dashes wherever possible, particularly in any online content. Screen reading applications read out “en dash” for every “–”. Replace dashes with commas where you can.
Use ‘to’, not a dash for:
Dashes are different from hyphens.
For more information, check the Readability Guidelines entry on ‘Hyphens and dashes’.
Fonts
Read typography guidance for information on which fonts to use.
Notifications
Arial is the font we should use when creating notifications.
Content designers writing notifications can read internal guidance on:
Hyphens
Hyphens are used to connect words and change their meaning in a sentence. They can make the reader need to stop to unpick meaning. Only use a hyphen if you need it for clarity.
- ‘we received 80-odd applications’
- ‘we received 80 odd applications’
Hyphenate:
- re- words starting with e, like re-evaluate
- re-determination
- co-ordinate
- co-operate
- Short-term assistance
Do not hyphenate:
- reuse
- reinvent
- reorder
- reopen
Hyphens are also different from dashes.
For more information, check the Readability Guidelines entry on ‘Hyphens and dashes’.
Job titles
Specific job titles and ministers’ role titles are upper case:
- First Minister
- Minister for Social Security
- Director of Social Security
Generic job titles and ministers’ role titles are lower case:
- director
- minister
- client adviser
- case manager
- client experience officer
Quotations and speech marks
In long passages of speech, open quotes for every new paragraph, but close quotes only at the end of the final paragraph.
Single quotation marks
Use single quotation marks:
- in headlines
- for unusual terms
- when referring to words
- when referring to publications
- when referring to notifications such as emails or alerts
- when referring to SPM screen names and buttons
Double quotation marks
Use double quotation marks for direct quotations.
Example of single quotes
Download the publication ‘Adult Disability Payment statistics from January to March 2022’.
Example of double quotes
The user said “the application form was easy to understand”.
Slashes
Do not use slashes instead of 'or'.
Example
Use: Repeat the process 3 or 4 times.
Avoid: Repeat the process 3/4 times.