A to Z style guide

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This A to Z style guide is a set of standards covering our style, spelling and grammar to make sure all our content published on gov.je is consistent.

Our content should be clear, understandable and open to users, following Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1.

You can feedback or request an addition to this guide by emailing digital@gov.je.

A

a or an?

Use an before a silent H (an hour, an heir, an honourable man, an honest woman), and use 'a' before a sounded H (a hero, a hotel). With abbreviations, be guided by pronunciation eg a GCSE student.

Abbreviations and acronyms

Except for well known abbreviations, such as GCSE, BBC, UK and EU, always use the full words of the acronym the first time with the acronym in brackets next to it, then use the acronym after that.

Don't use full stops in abbreviations, or spaces between initials, including those in proper names: IMF, mph, eg, 4am, WH Smith, etc.

Don't use full stops or apostrophes within acronyms (GCSEs, PDFs not G.C.S.E., P.D.F. or GCSE’s, PDF’s).

If the acronym is pronounced as a word, spell it out with an first initial in capital, for example, Unicef.

Accents

Use accents on French, German, Spanish, Irish Gaelic and Jèrriais words. Make sure that you spell and accent the words correctly for example:

Connétable
Comité des Connétables
Comité des Chefs de Police

If you're not sure how to spell or accent a word in Jèrriais, see the Société Jersiaise website.

Write in the active voice rather than the passive voice. Active sentences are shorter and communicate information quickly and easily. In active sentences, the person or thing doing the action comes before the verb for example:

Active voice (Correct)	Passive voice (Incorrect)
We will contact you	You will be contacted by us
You must fill in form C18	Form C18 must be filled in by you

Readbility app (Hemingway editor)

addressing the user

If you're writing copy for the website then address the reader as you where possible.

For example when content asks users for an action it should be written as, You can contact Revenue Jersey by phone and email or Pay your income tax by the end of May.

adviser

For example, special adviser. Not advisor. However, advisory is the correct adjective.

affect or effect

affect is almost always used as a verb. Use it to mean to influence someone or something, rather than cause something
effect is most often used as a noun. It points toward an event or a thing. It’s often used when an end result is being discussed

For example, the new office structure had no effect (noun) on the day-to-day running of the service and staff workload was not affected (verb) by the changes.

ages

Don't use hyphens in ages. For example, ‘a class of 15 16-year-old students’ should be written as ‘15 students aged 16’. Use ‘aged 4 to 16 years’, not ‘4-16 years’.

Avoid using ‘the over 50s’ or ‘under-18s’. Instead, make it clear who’s included: ‘aged 50 years and over’ and ‘aged 17 and under’.

Avoid using general terms like 'elderly' or 'children', use specific ages instead: 'adults aged 65 and over' or 'children aged 12 and under'.

A levels

No hyphen. Lower case level.

Amends

You 'make amends' to compensate for an injury or insult. You 'make amendments' to a document.

Americanisms

Don't use Americanisms. Use the -ise suffix rather than the American-ize suffix.

For example 'organise' not 'organize'. Exceptions include when it is part of a specific name.

ampersand (&)

Don't use ampersands; always spell out the word 'and', unless it's part of a specific brand.

and

Always spell out the word, do not use &, unless it's part of a specific name.

antisocial

No hyphen.

apostrophes

Apostrophes shouldn't be used in text to highlight a word, phrase or a quote.

apprenticeship programme

Lower case.

Assistant Greffier

Upper case.

autumn

Lower case.

B

Bailiff

Upper case.

Bank details

When adding bank details in content about paying a government body:

use spaces rather than hyphens in sort codes, for example 60 70 80 not 60-70-80
do not use spaces in acount numbers

baseline

One word, lower case.

Bitcoin

Upper case.

bold text

Don't bold any words or phrases within paragraphs for online content (use the appropriate heading style instead).

To emphasise words or phrases, you can:

front-load sentences
use headings
use bullets

brackets

Use brackets sparingly. If the sentence is logically and grammatically complete without the information contained within the round brackets, the punctuation stays outside the brackets. (A complete sentence that stands alone in round brackets starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop.)

Use (round brackets), not [square brackets].

Brexit

Upper case. But post-Brexit (lower-case 'p')

British citizen

Upper case British, lower case citizen.

British resident

Upper case British, lower case resident (or any other nationality).

Budget

The Draft 2011 Budget, but 'the budget' when not using full title.

bullet points and numbering

Make sure:

you always use a lead-in line
all bullets make sense running on from the lead-in line
you use lower case at the start of every bullet point
you dont use 'or' or 'and' at the end of the bullet point
you don't include any punctuation at the end of a bullet unless its a question
you don't put a semicolon at the end of a bullet
there is no full stop after the last bullet point

For online content, make sure you always format bullet points in the editing website (bullets copied and pasted from Notepad must be deleted and reformatted).

Steps

Use numbered steps instead of bullet points to guide a user through a process.

business statement

Lower case.

C

call to action buttons

Online form links need to be displayed as a call to action button so they stand out. These need to open the link in a new window.

primary

Use the primary option for online form:

Apply for Pension Plus

secondary

Use the secondary option for a request to service and if you have multiple call to actions secondary to the main form:

Book an appointment with the work and family hub (under pension age)

capital letters

Use capitals for names and proper nouns only. See upper case, common nouns, proper nouns and headings for guidance on capital letters.

the days of the week and the months of the year are all written with a capital letter. Names of seasons are not.
names of languages are always written with a capital letter
words that identify nationalities or ethnic groups must be capitalised
for titles of books, laws etc the first word and every other significant word should be capitalised

Avoid using too many capitals. If using a specific name such as 'Government of Jersey' or 'the Health and Community Services department', then capitalise the official name. It is our house style to capitalise Government when referring to Government of Jersey, even when the full name is not used.

Capitalise Minister if specific to an individual.

care worker

Lower case and 2 words.

Census

Write Census with a capital when you’re referring to a specific census. For example, 'according to the 2011 Census...'

Use lower case when you’re not referring to a specific census. For example, 'census information shows that…'

checkbox

Not check box.

Chief Minister

Upper case.

Child Benefit

Upper case.

childcare

Not child care or child-care (except in names, such as Jersey Child Care Trust).

children and young people

If you're refering to a person who is under the ages 18 to use the phrase children and young people.

childminder, childminding

One word.

Christmas

Not Xmas or xmas.

civil servant or civil service

Lower case.

classwork

One word.

clichés

Clichés are sayings and metaphors. They should not be used because they can be misinterpreted, not understood, or take users away from the meaning of the content.

You don’t have to replace clichés, simply remove them.

Clichés include:

with all due respect
at this moment in time
to be honest with you
like (as in, like, this)
touch base
I hear what you're saying
going forward
blue sky thinking
upcoming (use 'forthcoming' instead)
have oversight of

click

When writing online copy, instruct readers to ‘select’ rather than ‘click’.

Don't write 'click here'.

Also see links.

colon

The colon announces what is to come. It follows a complete statement and introduces a defining example, a list or a quote:

she had only one person to blame: herself.
to be physically healthy we need 3 things: ample rest, a good diet and plenty of exercise.
John Smith commented: “It was a great win and the team should be proud.”

When a colon is used in a headline, the next word is lowercase, The Government of Jersey style guide: keeping it consistent’. The only exception is when the word following the colon is a proper noun, in which case it would be capitalised.

common nouns

Capitalise common nouns such as:

Library
Scheme
Law
Street

When they're an integral part of a name for example: the Jersey Library, the Advance to Work Scheme, the Social Security Law, Queen Street. Lowercase these nouns when they stand alone in subsequent references for example: a reading programme at the library, the scheme is aimed at children, the purpose of the law is, the street has been closed.

However, the following exceptions should always be capitalised, even as standalone references:

Assistant Greffier
Bailiff
Chief Minister
Deputy Bailiff
Deputy Greffier
Deputy Judicial Greffier
Deputy Viscount
Greffier
Judicial Greffier
Lieutenant-Governor
Viscount

There is only one Treasury and Exchequer department and only one Minister for Treasury, so they take capitals, but there are many Government departments and each has a minister.

Check individual entries in the style guide if you are unsure whether to capitalise a common noun. Any that are not listed in the style guide should be written in lowercase, as explained above.

complement, compliment and complimentary

To complement is to 'make something else seem better or more attractive when combining with it', for example: the work of the two departments complemented each other or make something complete, for example: a full complement of staff.

To compliment is to praise.

A complimentary copy is free.

Comptroller and Auditor General

Shortened to C&AG after first reference.

connétable

Use connétable instead of constable. Always uppercase when part of full name (the Connétable of Trinity) but there are many connétables in Jersey.

contact details

Do not use individual staff names, telephone numbers or personal email addresses; use general department contacts instead. This will help to guard against unwanted spam or wide distribution of personal contact details.

See email and phone numbers for guidance on the format of these.

contractions

You can use contractions such as ‘you're’, ‘we're’, 'you'll' and 'we'll'.

Do not use negative contractions such as ‘don’t’, ‘can’t’ and ‘won’t’. Some people rely on the 'not' to understand what is being said. Use 'cannot', 'do not' and 'will not' instead.

Avoid using ‘should’ve’, ‘could’ve’, ‘would’ve’, ‘must’ve’ because they're harder to read.

co-operations

Hyphenated.

coronavirus (covid or COVID-19)

Most people are more familair with the term COVID (uppercase) instead of coronavirus.

Use coronavirus (lowercase) if you do need the full word.

When referring to the specific strain of coronavirus refer to COVID-19.

coursework

One word.

customer feedback

On any page where customer feedback or contact is invited, give an indication of response time.

customs

Uppercase when written as part of the department, Jersey Customs and Immigration Service. Elsewhere, customs lowercase, for example: if your goods are arriving from outside the EU , you may be liable to customs duties.

CV

Both letters in uppercase. Not Curriculum vitae, resume or résumé.

cyber bullying

Two words, lower case.

D

dashes

don't use dashes unless needed as users with screen readers will hear 'dash' when they are reading your copy online.

Do not use dashes when you could use the word 'to' (3-5 December should be 3 to 5 December).

Dashes are not the same as hyphens; see hyphens for more information.

data

Treat as a singular noun: the data is stored on a secure server.

data centre

Not datacentre.

data set

Not dataset.

data store

Not datastore.

dates

Dates should not be included unless relevant to the content, for example when a new law comes into effect. Write dates in the format Monday 7 July 2020.

Do not add 'st', 'nd', 'rd', 'th' after the digit (Monday 7th July) or spell out the digit (Monday seventh July), and do not write dates as digits (07/07/2020). Write 'on 7 July' not 'on the 7 July'.

Do not use a dash between dates (for example 16 - 22 November). Use the word 'to' instead.

Dean of Jersey

Upper case.

degrees

You should write temperatures as: ° 14°C.

Find out how to write a degree symbol

departments

Departments are singular units, not plural, for example: Justice and Home Affairs has issued a statement, not: Justice and Home Affairs have. This also applies to the Government of Jersey.

Write the names of departments in full. If you need to refer to the same department quite often in a document, write the name in full the first time it appears, followed immediately by the shortened form in brackets, for example: the Health and Community Services Department (HSC). Then use the shortened form throughout the rest of the document.

Department names

Current names of departments:

Chief Operating Office
Children, Young, People, Education and Skills Department
Customer and Local Services
Department for the Economy
External Relations
Health and Community Services
Infrastructure, Housing and Environment
Justice and Home Affairs
Non-executive and legal departments
Office of the Chief Executive
States of Jersey privacy policies and retention schedules
Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance
Treasury and Exchequer

dependant and dependent

A dependant is a person, for example: child or spouse. A dependent means reliant on.

Deputy Bailiff

Upper case.

Deputy Greffier

Upper case.

Deputy Judicial Greffier

Upper case.

Deputy Viscount

Upper case.

deputy

Always uppercase when part of full name (the Deputy of Trinity) but lower case when referring to ‘the deputy’ or several ‘deputies’.

Direct Debit

Upper case.

documents

Name links with the full document's name which should accurately describe the content. Do not include dates unless it's a publication with specific dates in the title. Include the file size for anything 10MB or larger. For example:

Framework for Speed Limits

The Creative Island, An Arts Strategy for Jersey 2022 to 2027 (13MB)

Display the document's icon and open in a new window. The 'description' field should remain blank.

Do not use 'download' or 'printable version'.

All files you save must follow the naming convention.

E

eco active

Lower case (previous branding was 'Eco-Active').

When starting a sentence use 'Eco active'.

email

Not Email, E-mail or e-mail.

Write email addresses in full and hyperlink the email address only. For example:

Email: customerservices@gov.je

You can embed email addresses into your sentence. The sentence should make sense when it stands alone. For example:

If you cannot find the information you're looking for email customerservices@gov.je or call +44 (0) 1534 444444.

Make sure you hyperlink the email address with 'mailto:' at the beginning and without spaces. For example: 'mailto:customerservices@gov.je'. The link should open in a new window.

etc

Avoid using 'etc'.

example, e.g., eg

eg can sometimes be read aloud as 'egg' by screen reading software. Instead use 'for example' or 'such as' or 'including', whichever is more appropriate.

Excel spreadsheet

Upper case because Excel is a brand name.

exclamation marks

Exclamation marks should be avoided because it is unlikely you will need to use them in Government documents, and they're almost always unnecessary.

executive

Lower case unless referring to a name, such as the Executive Leadership Team.

external websites (linking to)

When linking to external sites, the link text should be the full name of the website. Do not write out the URL as the link. So, Veterans UK website not www.veterans-uk.com.

If you're linking to a particular page on an external site, and not just its homepage, your link text should reflect that. For example, Minimum wage regulations 2009 on Jersey Law.

External websites should open in a new tab.

extra-curricular

Hyphenated.

F

FAQs (frequently asked questions)

FAQs are strongly discouraged on gov.je. If you write content by starting with user needs, you will not need to use FAQs.

FAQ's are discouraged because they:

duplicate other content on the site
can't be front loaded (putting the most important words people will search for), which makes usability difficult
are usually not frequently asked questions by the public, but important information dumped by the content editor
mean that content is not where people expect to find it, it needs to be in context
can add to search results with duplicate, competing text
go out of date quickly

fair, fare or fayre

A fair is a gathering of stalls.

A fare is a range of food.

A fayre can be used for both words but is old fashioned.

fewer and less

Fewer means smaller in number (fewer coins). Less means smaller in quantity (less money).

files

See documents.

fine

Use fine instead of financial penalty.

For example, you'll pay a £50 fine.

focused and focusing

Only use one s not two.

fonts

Use Arial for downloadable files, pdf documents, graphs or images which include text as its much easier to read.

forward slashes

Don't use forward slashes, use a commar instead.

full time

Not hyphenated and lower case.

further education (FE)

Lower case.

G

GCSE, GCSEs

No full stops between the initials. No apostrophe in the plural.

gender

Where possible, and appropriate, write in such a way as to indicate gender inclusivity:

head teacher not headmaster
firefighter not fireman
police officer not policeman
business community or people in business, not businessmen

Make sure text is gender neutral wherever possible, use ‘them’, ‘their’ or ‘they’ which we recognised as singular pronouns. If you do need to refer to gender, use ‘women’ and ‘men’ rather than ‘males’ and ‘females’.

Use sexual orientation or gender identity as descriptions, not as nouns. For example: ‘transgender person’, ‘cisgender person’ or ‘lesbian woman’.

Use ‘different sex’ instead of ‘opposite sex’. This recognises all genders instead of male and female only.

Do not make assumptions about marital or family relationships. Use ‘spouse’ or ‘partner’ instead of ‘husband’ or ‘wife’. Use ‘parent’ instead of ‘mother’ or ‘father’.

Geography and regions

Use lower case for north, south, east and west, except when they are part of a name or recognised region:

the south-west (compass direction)
the South West (administrative region).
West End (London)
Middle East
South America

Goods and Services Tax (GST)

If referring to a tax on goods and services cap down, but when it can be directly replaced by the abbreviation 'GST', cap up.

For example, 'Goods and Services Tax (GST) is charged at 5% on most goods and services in Jersey'.

GOV.UK

The UK Government write GOV.UK in upper case so do the same when linking to this website.

Government of Jersey

If you're referring to the Government of Jersey as a public-sector organisation providing services or as an employer, it is singular, for example, 'The Government has saved money and improved services by introducing a new system for'.

If referring to the Government of Jersey, use the Government.

Greffier

Upper case.

H

Havre des Pas

Not Harve des Pas. See place names.

headteacher

One word.

headings and heading styles

Separating lengthy text with headings helps readers and online users navigate information more effectively. Headings should be written in sentence case, like a title, with a capital letter at the start (Applying for a passport, Traffic around St Helier) and should describe the content underneath so that customers can decide whether they want to read that section or not.

For online content, heading styles should follow the correct hierarchy for accessibility reasons. Page titles automatically use a title Heading, so you should follow this with Heading 2, followed by Heading 3 if you need subheadings. If your page only needs headings (and no subheadings), use Heading 2.

health and medical terms

Find out what health or medical terms you should use on A to Z of NHS health writing.

higher education

Lower case.

homepage

One word. Lower case.

HTTPS

Upper case. No need to explain the acronym if it's used in content for a technical audience.

Hurricane

Upper case for named hurricanes: Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy.

hyperlinks

See links.

hyphens

Our style is to use one word wherever possible. Hyphens tend to clutter up text.

Do not use a hyphen unless it’s confusing without it, for example, a little used-car is different from a little-used car.

Use 'to' for time and date ranges, not hyphens.

I

idioms

Don't use them; they might confuse or offend our customers. They also don't fit the professional image or tone of our website.

ie

Try (re)writing sentences to avoid the use of 'ie'. If that is not possible, use an alternative expression such as 'which means', 'meaning' or 'that is' or for example.

inclusive language

Inclusive language avoids biases, slang, common phrases, or expressions that discriminate people. It treats all people equally, with respect, dignity and impartially regardless of their race, gender, socioeconomic status, culture, religion or beliefs, level of education, ability or age.

Our style guide reflects this so our content can be accessible to all.

Income Support

All names of benefits are upper case.

income tax

income tax always lower case.

Only exception is the Income Tax (Jersey) Law which is capped up because it is the full name of the law.

The former Taxes Office is now Revenue Jersey, which is capped up.

Inquire or enquire

When you enquire you ask. Enquire is more informal than inquire, which is used for formal investigations.

inset day

Lower case.

International Baccalaureate

Upper case.

internet

Lower case.

IP

When used in the technical context (for example 'internet protocol'), there's no need to explain the acronym.

Island and Islander

When referring to Jersey or people living in Jersey, use uppercase 'I'. Use island and islander when referring to other islands.

Islanders refers to all people in Jersey, no matter what their residential or employment status.

In all cases, people live in Jersey, not on it.

italics

Do not use italics; they're very difficult to read.

its

'Its' only contains an apostrophe if it is the shortened version of 'it is' or 'it has'. It never has an apostrophe when it is used in its possessive form:

it is impossible to predict = it's impossible to predict

the dog hurt its tail (even though the tail 'belongs' to the dog, it should have no apostrophe)

J

Jersey Telecom (JT)

Not Jersey Telecoms.

job titles

Specific job titles and ministers' role titles are upper case: Chief Executive, Minister for Education.

Generic job titles and ministers' role titles are lower case: director, minister.

judgment

Not judgement.

Judicial Greffier

Upper case.

K

key stage

Lower case and numeral: key stage 4.

keyword

Not key word.

For keywords on a webpage, slang, familiar words or common expressions can be used. This will help users search the site.

the King

Upper case, lower case the King. After the first reference, you write His Majesty.

L

last updated

Don't include references to when a webpage was ‘last updated’. It can make content which does not change very often look out of date (when it isn’t).

laws

The full name of a law should be upper case. When referring to general laws then write in lower case:

Income Tax (Jersey) Law
according to the tax laws

layby and laybys

Not lay-by.

legal content

Legal content can still be written in plain English. It's important that users understand content and that we present complicated information simply.

If you have to publish legal jargon, it will be a publication so write a plain English summary.

Where evidence shows there's a clear user need for including a legal term, always explain it in plain English.

liaison officers

Lower case.

licence and licensing

Noun: licence (such as a driving licence or business licence)

Verb: license (including a licensed driver and driver licensing)

Lieutenant-Governor

Upper case.

log book

Two words.

looked-after children

Hyphenated.

lunchtime

One word.

M

military

Lower case.

millions

Always use million in money: £138 million.

Use millions in phrases: millions of people.

Do not use million for amounts less than £1 million.

Do not abbreviate million to m.

minister

Capped up when it's part of a full title, such as the Minister for Education, but otherwise it's lower case, for example, when ministers are appointed.

Assistant Minister: upper case if writing about a specific person or role, otherwise lower case.

ministry

Under the arrangements for ministerial government, this word has no real meaning. Use minister or department, or both.

money

Use the £ symbol: £65.

Do not use decimals unless pence are included: £65.01 but not £65.00.

Write out pence in full.

Currencies are lower case.

months

All months should begin with a capital letter (for example, August) but seasons should be lowercase (for example, summer).

Mr, Mrs, Ms, Mx and Miss

No full stop afterwards (not Mr. and Mrs.).

If using Mrs, Ms, Mx or Miss, try to find out what that person prefers. If you can't find out, use Ms.

multilingual

One word.

myself

Myself is what's described as a reflexive pronoun and is often used incorrectly to make a sentence more formal. You should not use it to replace the personal object pronoun 'me'. This is a common mistake:

they gave presents to my brother and myself. (incorrect)
they gave presents to my brother and me. (correct)

The golden rule is that you should only use 'myself' if the word 'I' comes before it in the same sentence:

I did the job myself. (Nobody helped me.)
I ate all the cake myself. (Nobody else ate any.)

N

N/A

Do not use N/A, use not applicable.

Naming conventions

All uploaded documents must be named following the naming convention. In the file name:

do not use symbols, such as, ampersands, backets, colons, dashes
do not put your initials
do not include the date you upload the file. Only add dates when relevant, for example if the document is an Agenda
do not add the document type, for example 'PDF' or 'Excel'
only capitalise the first word, unless relevant
use spaces between each word

For example, 'List of surveyors for all vessels' not 'ListOfSurveyorsForAllVesselsJR21 20161026 JP PDF'.

names of departments, places, schemes and job titles

See common nouns.

names of people

For the first mention, use first name and surname. After that, use their title and surname. See Mr, Mrs, Ms, Mx and Miss.

See common nouns.

net zero

No hyphen

numbering

Use numbers instead of bullet points when a list of actions or directions must be followed in a certain order. When editing online copy, use the numbering format from the content management system to create numbered lists, as it will indent and punctuate correctly. As with bullet points, do not use capital letters at the beginning or punctuation at the end of each piece of information.

numbers (ordinals)

We do not use ordinals (first, second and third) in dates.

Spell out first to ninth. After that use 10th, 11th and so on.

In tables, use numbers throughout.

numbers

Use ‘one’ unless you’re talking about a step, a point in a list or another situation where using the number makes more sense: ‘in point 1 of the design instructions’, for example. Or this:

You’ll be shown 14 clips that feature everyday road scenes.

There'll be:

1 developing hazard in 13 clips
2 developing hazards in the other clip

Write all other numbers in digits, including 2 to 9, except where it’s part of a common expression like ‘one or two of them’ where numerals would look strange.

For numerals over 999, insert a comma for clarity: 9,000.

Do not use spaces between digits and measurements (for example, 1am, 6.30pm and 100ml).

Avoid using the 24 hour clock where possible in public documents because people may find it hard to understand.

For dates, use 1 October 1980, not 1st October 1980 or October 1st 1980.

Use digits when stating an exact number as a statistic/fact (there have been 2,692 page views) but use words for numbers that do not represent specific facts (there have been thousands of page views; half of all people questioned).

Use words for first, second, third (not 1st, 2nd, 3rd) up to ninth, and thereafter use the number, for example 10th and 102nd.

Do not use apostrophes in numbers, for example, 1970s not 1970's, under 5s not under 5's, unless it is possessive, for example, 1971's statistics revealed.

nursery school

Lower case.

O

occupational pension

Lower case. This term covers both company and public sector pension schemes. Only use this term if explaining tax rules that are specific to occupational pension schemes.

onegov account

Customers can set up a onegov account to access online services on gov.je. When referencing this use onegov not one.gov.

online

One word.

online forms and one.gov.je

Links to online forms on one.gov.je need to be added as a 'call to action' button with a clear description of what the customer will be able to do.

opening times

Avoid using 24/7, use 'always open' or 'open all day, every day' instead.

or

Do not use slashes instead of or. For example, Do this 3/4 time', should be, Do this 3 or 4 times.

Ouaisné

Starts with an O, not a Q.

May also be reffered to as Le Quaisné.

overseas-trained teacher

Lower case. Hyphenated.

P

page titles

Page titles need to be brief, clear, relevant and include keywords. Make sure they can stand alone within search results. Try to make titles around 6 words long, and write them in sentence case (capital letter at the start) with no punctuation at the end.

page URLs

These are automatically generated from the page title however, you should edit them so that:

they do not include spaces
they do not include punctuation and link words (and, or, the)
each new word is capitalised (RecycledBookScheme)

If you're including webpages in any kind of promotional material then the Web Services Team can set up redirects, which are easier for people to get to, and remember (for example, www.gov.je/recycle).

paragraphs

Stick to 1 point per paragraph and front-load them so that the important information is at the beginning.

parentheses

Don't put spaces immediately inside brackets (MMR), not ( MMR ).

parishes

The names of parishes should be capped up (St Helier, St Martin) with no full stop (not St. Helier, St. Martin) and not include an 's' at the end.

'parish' should always be lowercase unless part of full name (the parish initiative, the parish community). Parish hall should also be lowercase unless as part of full name (St Brelade's Parish Hall, the parish hall is open).

St Aubin (not St Aubins) is in the parish of St Brelade, it's not a parish.

passport

Lower case. Also see e-Passport.

payroll

Lower case.

pay scales

Lower case, 2 words.

PDF

Upper case. No need to explain the acronym.

The Web Services team encourage HTML by default for website content. We aim to make government information and services open to all, easy to find and easy to use. PDF content published on government websites should follow PDF content standards.

Also see documents.

percent and percentages

Use percent not per cent. Percentage is one word. Always use % with a number.

phone numbers

Write phone numbers in the format: +44 (0) 1534 123456.

physical education or PE

You can write in full or use the initials.

place names

Always check your spelling and accents for place names, including street names. For example, the correct format is Rue de la Place, not Rue De La Place.

Plain English

As a standard, all digital content should be written in Plain English. This means

choose easy and short words not formal, long ones
jargon and buzzwords are unlikely to be clear language
write conversationally, in first person, using the active voice

Further information on Plain English is on Readability Guidelines.

please

We don't write please or thank you in web content as it is considered uneccessary.

police

Unless referring to the full name (States of Jersey Police), then ‘police’ is lower case.

PowerPoint presentation

Upper case because PowerPoint is a brand name.

practice and practise

Noun: practice (the GP practice).

Verb: practise (he is practising the piano).

preschool and pre-school

Preschool is a place (the preschool has been reopened).

Pre-school refers to an age or stage (at pre-school age, in the pre-school years).

press releases

Content for news releases must be sent to the department's Communications Team. They will write a draft, get approval from relevant departments, send to the media and upload news releases to the Newsroom section of gov.je.

Prime Minister

Upper case.

principle and principal

Principle is a standard or rule of personal behaviour, or a moral rule that you hold or stick to.

Principal is the first (in status, importance, rank and so on).

program and programme

Use program when it relates to computers. Use programme in all other cases.

proper nouns

Proper nouns should be capitalised. A proper noun names a specific person, place or thing. For example, an individual person (Attorney General), an individual place (States Chamber, Rozel), an individual institution (Government of Jersey), or an individual event (Battle of Flowers).

There is only one Justice and Home Affairs department and only one Minister for Home Affairs, so they take capitals, but there are many Government departments and each has a minister.

pros and cons

Not pro's and con's.

public health

Lower case.

punctuation

Use punctuation correctly.

Try not to overuse it in web content (it clutters up the screen and makes reading difficult).

Detailed guidance is available on the use of parentheses (brackets), quotation marks, exclamation marks, forward slashes, dashes and hyphens.

puns

Don't use them, they might confuse or offend our customers.

They also don't fit the professional image or tone of our website or publications.

purdah

Refers to the pre-election period. Specifically in Jersey this is the time between the nominations meetings and the election of the last minister into office, which is when the new Council of Ministers is formally established.

During this period, the current Council of Ministers and ministers retain executive responsibilities, and the essential business of government must be carried on. However, ministers and assistant ministers should observe discretion in initiating any new action of a continuing or long-term nature. There are also restrictions placed on the nature of publicity that ministers may issue in connection with their role.

Q

quotation marks

Use quotation marks for quotes. Use single quote marks for sayings, slogans, unfamiliar terms, quotes within quotes and titles of articles.

quotes

Introduce quotations using a colon rather than commas. For full quotations, start with a capital letter and end with the full stop inside the quotation marks:

The spokesperson said: "These changes are welcome."

For partial quotations, integrate them into the sentence, with a lower case beginning and punctuation outside the quotation marks:

The spokesman said the changes were "welcome".

When you break a long quotation into separate paragraphs, open quotation marks should start each paragraph but closing quotation marks should be at the very end of the last paragraph only.

R

racial terminology

Many black and minority ethnic (BME) people living in Jersey were born here. Do not assume people are not from Jersey, or from the UK.

Avoid the word immigrant when you are writing in a local context. It is offensive to many people, not only because it is often incorrectly used to describe people who were born in Jersey (or the UK), but also because it is perceived as negative.

The words Portuguese, black and Asian should not be used as nouns, but adjectives. For example, Portuguese and Madeiran people, rather than the Portuguese, the Madeirans.

re and re-

Use re- (with a hyphen) when it's followed by the vowel e: re-entry, re-examine.

Use re- for re-read.

Use re (no hyphen) when followed by the vowels a, i, o or u, or any consonant: rearm, rearrange, reassemble, reiterate, reorder, reuse, rebuild, reconsider.

Use a hyphen when confusion with another word would arise: re-cover and recover, re-form and reform, re-creation and recreation, re-sign and resign.

references

References should be easy to understand by anyone, not just specialists.

When writing a reference:

do not use italics
use single quote marks around titles
write out abbreviations in full, for example page not p
use plain English, for example use 'and others' not 'et al'
do not use full stops after initials or at the end of the reference

If the reference is available online, make the title a link and include the date you accessed the online version.

religious education

Lower case.

residential and employment status

Capitalise only the first letter: Entitled, Licensed, Entitled for work or Registered. Do not use apostrophes ('').

risk assessment

Lower case.

retain

Keep.

royal

Lower case unless part of an official title (such as the Royal Ballet or Royal Mail). So, royal family, royal couple, royal wedding and so on.

S

sat nav

Two words, lower case.

school subjects

Lower case for all subjects except languages (such as French) and initialisations (such as PE).

school years

When writing a school year, you should capitalise Year and use the digit for the numbers: Year 2.

You should also capitalise Reception and Sixth Form.

schools workforce

No apostraphe.

schoolwork

One word.

seasons

spring, summer, autumn and winter are lower case.

self-assessment

This compound noun should be hyphenated, unless it’s an HMRC title.

Self Assessment

Capped up when referring to HMRC title.

self-employment

Hyphenated.

semicolons

Do not use semicolons as they are often mis-read. Long sentences using semicolons should be broken up into separate sentences instead.

Senator

Uppercase when part of full name (Senator John Le Fondré) but lower case when referring to 'the senator' or several 'senators'.

sentences

Keep sentences short and to the point. Try to use about 15 to 20 words per sentence and do not include lots of punctuation and linking words (and, therefore, however) when it would be easier to read if sentences were separated.

site titles

Site titles should be written in sentence case with no punctuation at the end.

smokefree

In all cases, write as 1 word.

Social Security

Upper case.

spaces

Single space after full stops.

spelling

Use English, not American, spellings. This usually means using an s rather than a z:

minimise, not minimize
organisation, not organization

square metres

Not 'square meters' or 'm2'.

St 'Parish'

See parishes.

States

The following departments in Justice and Home Affairs remain part of the States of Jersey:

Combined Control Room
Fire and Rescue Service
Health and Safety Inspectorate
Police
Ambulance Service
Prison Service

When referring to the States Assembly as a group of people, it is plural: The States have agreed to.

If you're referring to the Government of Jersey as a public-sector organisation providing services or as an employer, it is singular: The Government has saved money and improved services by introducing a new system for.

Not all references to the States will use a capital:

States Assembly
States day (note lower case 'day')
States debate
States decision
States Greffe
States Member
States messenger
States sitting
States Members' pay

You don't need to use a possessive apostrophe when referring to something owned by the States of Jersey or the States Assembly:

States Members
States buildings

street names

See place names.

summary description (for web content)

The summary description appears on the summary or index page at the level above your page content. Keep the summary brief and start with a capital letter, but don't use punctuation at the end.

summer school

Lower case.

T

Taxes Office

Now Revenue Jersey.

teamwork

Lower case, one word.

telephone numbers

Phone numbers

temperatures

You should write temperatures as: 14°C.

How to Make a Degree Symbol on wikiHow

text alignment

Don't justify or centre text.

Both are difficult to read, especially for people with dyslexia or other conditions.

that or which?

'That' defines: This is the house that Jack built.

'Which' informs: This house, which Jack built, is now falling down.

As a general rule 'which' acts as an invisible bracket. If you delete 'which Jack built', from the second example, the sentence still makes sense.

this page is currently under construction

Don't ever use this or any holding page on the website.

If a page is under construction, down for maintenance or being updated or reviewed then it shouldn't be live on the site.

those

Avoid using the word those when referring to people. Use the word people instead.

times

Avoid using the 24 hour clock.

Do not include a space between the number and the time of day and do not use punctuation in between am and pm:

9am
5pm
6.30pm

titles

When referring to a minister, write their ministerial title, with States title within commas, and carry on the sentence: The Chief Minister, Senator (insert name), has addressed Islanders.

Ministerial titles, for each department, are:

Office of the Chief Executive:

Chief Minister
Deputy Chief Minister
Assistant Chief Minister
Minister for International Development

Justice and Home Affairs:

Minister for Home Affairs

Growth, Housing and Environment:

Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture
Minister for the Environment
Minister for Infrastructure

Children, Young People, Education and Skills:

Minister for Education
Minister for Children and Education

Health and Community Service:

Minister for Health

Customer and Local Services:

Minister for Social Security

Treasury and Exchequer:

Minister for Treasury

When writing a letter or email to a minister or assistant minister, address them by their States title (Dear Senator/Deputy/Connétable), not their ministerial title (Dear Minister/Assistant Minister).

Find information about titles on web pages.

tone of voice

The tone of voice for our web content should be friendly and approachable.

When writing about and to our customers, use 'you' for information directed at a customer (for example, 'We will contact you' or 'You can contact us').

When referring to ourselves (as a department or organisation), we should use 'we', 'us' and 'our' (for example, 'we'll contact you within 2 working days', 'contact us if you need any help' and 'our new guidelines will be published shortly').

The tone of voice for legal documents, reports and publications is more formal than web content so you should avoid using 'we', 'us' and 'our' when referring to the Government.

trade marks

Avoid using trademarked names where possible. Tablet not iPAD or search engine not Google.

Trade mark is 2 words but trademarked is 1 word.

A to Z style guide

Accents​

apostrophes​

Assistant Greffier​​

Bitcoin​​

brackets​

Steps

primary

secondary

Census

colon​​

complement, compliment and complimentary​​​​​

dashes​

dates​

departments​​

Department names

deputy​

email​​

files​

forward slashes​

headteacher​

Accents

apostrophes

Assistant Greffier

Bitcoin

brackets

colon

complement, compliment and complimentary

dashes

dates

departments

deputy

email

files

forward slashes

headteacher