abbreviations and contractions
Mr, Mrs, Dr — i.e. no terminating full point.
In formal writing, the full name of a given institution should be spelled out when used for the first time with the accepted abbreviation trailing in parentheses; the abbreviation can be used alone thereafter.
ABC [the]
advice, advise
I have found the best way to give advice to children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it. (Harry S Truman)
affect, effect
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect [verb] those around him positively. (Bob Marley)
Genius is the ability to put into effect [noun] what is on your mind. (F Scott Fitzgerald)
In tough times, we all hope for the knights in shining armour, or the cavalry, to show up and effect [verb] change. (Dean Devlin)
agreement
any more
any time
anyone
around, about
at about
bete noire
backbench
barbecue
beachfront
between you and me
biweekly
caddie, caddy
Coca-Cola
dashes
Use an en dash to indicate spans of number, measure or time: 10–25, 4 April–6 May. Note no spacing either side of en dash.
Spaced em dashes — like these — can be used for parenthetical clauses.
dates
different from
disinterested, uninterested
dissociate
ellipsis
An ellipsis ( … ) is spaced either side and does not have an additional full point when used at the end of a sentence. (This latter form of the ellipsis, sometimes called the 'four-dot ellipsis', is ugly, creates unnecessary complexity, does nothing a regular ellipsis doesn't do, and should be discouraged.)
emphasis
Use italics for emphasis, not bold type.
If the text is already set in italic type such as might be the case with a block quote, use roman type for emphasis.
end result
Saturdays boys live life with insults, Drink lots of beer and wait for half-time results ... (The Jam/Paul Weller)No they don't; they might have waited for the half-time score, but a result is only ever a conclusion. You can't have a part result. Similarly, a full-time result or an end result is tautological.
enquire, inquire
farther, further
Use farther for distance, further when indicating an addition or increment: a further question.
flier
for ever, forever
got, gotten
height
hung, hanged
-ise, -ize
It’s almost always -ise in Australian English, but check dictionary for rare exceptions.
American English goes with -ize, but there are lots of exceptions (far more than taking the -ise route); in Britian, the Oxford and Cambridge University presses prefer -ize, despite both their official dictionaries opting for -ise. As with many points of editorial style, consistency should be your aim.
ice cream
italics
Use italics for emphasis, cross-references, running asides and running notes. Unless a specific style dictates otherwise, italics can also be used for extended quotes of a paragraph or more in length.
See also entry on published works.
judgment
justice of the peace
knots
La Jolla
Labor, labour
lackadaisical
lama, llama
The one-l lama, he's a priest,
The two-l llama, he's a beast,
And I will bet a silk pyjama there's no such thing as a three-l lllama.(Ogden Nash)
Macintosh, McIntosh
mangoes, mangos
naught, nought
numbers
obviate
Pepsi-Cola
published works
Magazine and book titles take italic; chapter titles and articles take quotation marks: Chapter 2, ‘The long walk home’, in A Trip of a Lifetime
Album titles italic (Desire), song titles quotation marks (‘Hurricane’).
pyjamas
questionnaire
quotation marks
remunerate
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time
- Her day begins at four o’clock in the morning.
- The meeting continued until half past two.
- We’ll start again at ten thirty.
titles, ranks and offices
Almost all titles (or more accurately, offices) are lowercase unless the full title and person is cited: prime minister and president in general writing, but the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, met with President Donald Trump to discuss new directions in Lego. (Note that the phrase ‘Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’ is a newspaper invention and there is no such office, officially speaking.)
Typically ranks are in lowercase, except when cited in direct speech: Said one sergeant to the other: ‘Good evening, Sergeant.’
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was/were (subjunctive)
Wrong: "If 6 Was 9." (Axis, The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
Right: "If 6 Were 9."
Most commonly, were is simply the past tense of the verb was. But you may need to check if the verb is used in the subjunctive mood to ensure you don't replicate Jimi's mistake above.
What's the subjunctive?
A verb (in this case, was) is in the subjunctive if it expresses an action or state that is not real — that is, if it's hypothetical, wished for or conditional.
In the above example, 6 and 9 are numerals with specific values; one can never be, nor stand in for, the other. Consider the following:
I wish I was as good a guitarist as Jimi Hendrix.
That's never going to happen. As such it's a hypothetical statement, and should read I wish I were as good a guitarist as Jimi Hendrix.
word spacing
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