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#IABC Style Guide
Revised 15 April 2019
The purpose of this guide is to increase the consistency of writing style in IABC
publications and communications. It is based largely on The Associated Press Stylebook
and Libel Manual, but differs on some topics. In cases where Associated Press style
conflicts with IABC styl... |
# abbreviations
In most cases, spell out the word or words on first reference, followed by the
abbreviation in parentheses: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Thereafter, use just the abbreviation.
Some common abbreviations do not need to be spelled out on first reference: TV,
PR, WWW, CEO, etc. See addresse... |
# ABC
ABC is the abbreviation for Accredited Business Communicator, IABC’s
professional designation. [Note: The accreditation program closed in 2013.]
See accreditation.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# academic courses and departments
Capitalize the names of specific academic course titles: He teaches Professional
Communication Competencies in a Changing Environment at Towson University.
Lowercase the names of subjects or areas of study, unless the name contains a
proper noun or adjective: She teaches public rel... |
# academic degrees
Use bachelor’s degree instead of B.A. or B.S. and master’s degree in place of
M.A.
One receives a master’s and an MBA.
See MBA, Ph.D. and doctor/M.D.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# Academy
See IABC Academy
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# accreditation
Use a comma and the appropriate acronym after the first reference to people
who have been accredited by IABC (ABC), Public Relations Society of America
(APR) and the American Society of Association Executives (CAE) : Elaine
Chavez, ABC, director of employee communication.
Lowercase in references ... |
# accreditation committee
Lowercase, as with executive board and all IABC committee names. The committee was
dissolved in 2013. See Global Communication Certification Council.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# accreditation council
Use accreditation committee.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# addresses
Use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd. and St. only when preceded by a number: He
lived at 1820 Pennsylvania Ave. Otherwise spell out: He lived on Pennsylvania
Avenue.
Always spell out Alley, Circle, Court, Drive, Lane, Road and Terrace.
Use figures for an address number: 547 Willow Terrace.
Spell out... |
# adverbs
Where possible, place adverbs before the verbs they modify: Yes: You already have
seen her. No: You have already seen her.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# adviser
Not advisor.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# affect, effect
Even though either word can be used as a noun or a verb, it is preferable that affect be
used as a verb and effect as a noun. The effect of the weather will affect the travel
schedule. Occasionally, one can use affect as a verb, such as affect an accent (to put on
a false show). Effect, as a ... |
# African American
Capitalize the first letter of each word.
Hyphenate when using as a compound modifier: the African-American
experience.
Stay sensitive to changing terminology; follow individuals’ preferences in relation
to their heritage.
Identify by race or ethnic origin only when relevant.
See Black and racial/... |
# a.m.
To refer to the hours of midnight to noon, use lowercase letters with periods. Do
not precede with a comma: 8:15 a.m.
See time.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# America
Avoid the use of the word America i n reference to the United States. Specify whether
you are referring to North America, South America or both. America and the United
States are not synonymous; the U.S. is part of North America.
IABC Style Guide • Revised 15 April 2019 • Page 3 of 32
Source: IABC Style ... |
# American
As an adjective, avoid the use of the word American; it is too vague. Instead,
specify the part of the Americas to which you are referring: It was a U.S. trait. The
consultant worked with some of the biggest corporations in North America.
As a noun, American refers to a citizen of the U.S.
Source: IABC... |
# annual conference
See World Conference.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# apostrophes
See plurals and possessive forms.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# APR
See accreditation.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# area codes
See telephone numbers.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# Asian/Asian American
Capitalize.
Stay sensitive to changing terminology; follow individuals’ preferences in relation
to their heritage.
Identify by race or ethnic origin only when relevant.
See racial/ethnic/cultural references.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# attendees
Not attenders.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# audiovisual
One word as a noun or adjective.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# awards committee
Not Gold Quill Awards committee (per change to committee name in 2015)
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# best-seller
Per AP’s update of 29 March 2005, hyphenate in all uses.
IABC Style Guide • Revised 15 April 2019 • Page 4 of 32
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# black
Stay sensitive to changing terminology; follow individuals’ preferences in relation
to their heritage.
Identify by race or ethnic origin only when relevant.
See African American and r acial/ethnic/cultural references.
Acceptable as an adjective only.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# blogs
Capitalize the names of blogs: On her blog Fusion View, author Yang-Mai Ooi included a
“Getting Publishing” series that may be turned into a book.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# boardroom
One word.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# bullets
(adapted from The Gregg Reference Manual)
● Bullet points should be parallel in grammatical structure.
● Use a colon after all introductory expressions to list items that are placed on
separate lines, regardless of whether those expressions are complete sentences.
● Use periods after bulleted or numbered ite... |
# Managing change effectively
Measuring the performance of communication programs
Establishing a strong employer brand
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# CAE
See accreditation.
call for entries, call for nominations
Lowercase, except in headlines.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# Canadian provinces and territories
When referring to Canadian provinces or territories in text, spell out the names.
In mailing addresses, follow Canadian postal service style:
AB (Alberta)
BC (British Columbia)
MB (Manitoba)
NB (New Brunswick)
NL (Newfoundland and Labrador)
NS (Nova Scotia)
NT (Northwest Territories... |
# Career Road Map
Capitalize when referring to IABC’s set of standards for mastering particular areas of
expertise in a communication career.
IABC Style Guide • Revised 15 April 2019 • Page 6 of 32
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# certification
Use a comma and the appropriate acronym after the first reference to people
who have been certified by IABC (CMP) , Public Relations Society of America
(APR) and the American Society of Association Executives (CAE): Brad
Whitworth, CMP, director of employee communication.
Lowercase in references ... |
# Certification Council
See Global Communication Certification Council.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# cellphone
One word, per AP guidelines.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# Central American
See Latino/Latina.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# century
Lowercase: 21st century.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# CEO
CEO is acceptable in all references.
Uppercase all letters. Do not use periods or spaces between letters.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# chair, chairman, chairperson, chairwoman
Within IABC, the title chair is acceptable for chairman:
The magazine featured an interview with incoming IABC Chair Ginger Homan.
Always use chair when referring to IABC’s Chair’s Award (per change in 2017).
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# cities
When referring to most cities in North America (Canada, Mexico and the U.S.) in text,
follow the city name with a comma and the state or province, but not the name of the
country: Seattle, Washington; Regina, Saskatchewan; Guanajuato, Guanajuato.
IABC Style Guide • Revised 15 April 2019 • Page 7 of 32
On fi... |
# U.S. cities:
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Los Angeles
Miami
New York City
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, D.C.
Other cities:
Amsterdam
Baghdad
Bangkok
Beijing
Beirut
Berlin
Bogota
Brussels
Buenos Aires
Cairo
Copenhagen
Djibouti
Dubai
Dublin
Frankfurt
Geneva
Gibraltar
Guatemala City
Hamburg
Havana
Helsinki
Hong Kong
Islam... |
# CMP
CMP is the abbreviation for Communication Management Professional, IABC’s
professional generalist/specialist-level certification.
See certification.
IABC Style Guide • Revised 15 April 2019 • Page 9 of 32
coFollow AP guidelines, specifically: Retain the hyphen when forming nouns, adjectives
and verbs that i... |
# colons
Capitalize the first word of complete sentences following colons: The truth of the
matter was: All the programs were outdated.
Lowercase the first word of incomplete sentences following colons: He ordered
the following: a laser printer, a modem and a keyboard.
In headlines and subheads, always capitalize the... |
# commas in a series
Do not use a comma before the last conjunction in a series, unless it is needed for
clarity: He received manuscripts from Thompson, Laney, Wilson and Maize. Or: I had
juice, toast, and a spinach and mushroom omelet for breakfast.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# committees
Lowercase the title of IABC committees: ethics committee.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# communication
When referring to the process of communicating, use the singular form: He
studied communication in college. She was a communication expert.
Use the plural communications only when you are referring to more than one
message being delivered (She received several communications from her client.)
or wh... |
# company names
For company and organization names, follow AP style, specifically:
● Follow the spelling and capitalization preferred by the company: eBay; iMac.
● Abbreviate Corp. and Co. at the end of a name: Gulf Oil Corp.; Ford Motor Co.
But, spell out Corporation and Company if they appear elsewhere in t... |
# composition titles
Italics and quotation marks
● Use italics for titles of complete works that are published as separate items—for
example, books, pamphlets, long poems, magazines and newspapers. Also
italicize titles of movies, plays, musicals, operas, television and radio series, long
musical pieces, paintings, and... |
# conference
See World Conference.
IABC Style Guide • Revised 15 April 2019 • Page 11 of 32
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# currency
When referring to U.S. dollars, precede each reference with US: The cost was
US$40.
When referring to Canadian dollars, precede each reference with CDN: The cost
was CDN$40.
Indicate other countries as appropriate by country name and currency symbol
(when possible): AUS$, British £.
Source: IABC Style Gu... |
# CW Radio
Referring to the companion podcast to CW magazine. Do not italicize CW.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# cyberspace
One word.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# dates
Spell out dates, in this order: day, month, year. Example: 22 September 1959. Do
not use numerals: 22/09/59. [EXCEPTION: Any references to September 11,
2001, including September 11, 2001; September 11; and 9/11.]
When listing a time duration, e.g., 30 November through 2 December, use an
en-dash (no s... |
# D.C.
See Washington, D.C.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# decades
Do not spell out decades; use numbers, even when beginning a sentence:
1990s, 1840s
On first reference to decades, it is preferable to use four digits so it is clear to
which century you are referring: Yes: 1990s No: ’90s
When using the contracted form, put the left-curving apostrophe before the first
numer... |
# decision maker
Two words, no hyphen.
Also: decision making.
IABC Style Guide • Revised 15 April 2019 • Page 12 of 32
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# decks
Do not use periods with decks, even if there is more than one sentence in the deck:
Head: Giving the CEO message a makeover
Deck: People stopped reading your publication’s “letter from the CEO” ages ago.
Don’t kill the column—make it better
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# department names
See formal titles.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# directions
Capitalize East, West, North, South, Midwest, etc. when they refer to locations:
The Far East is experiencing an economic rebirth. Remember that you are writing
for an international readership. Be careful to avoid terms that might not be
understandable to an international readership: The South will ris... |
# District of Columbia
See Washington, D.C.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# doctor, M.D.
Do not use the abbreviation Dr. before the name of a physician. Instead, follow
the name with a comma and the abbreviation M.D.: Luzviminda Balagtas, M.D.
Spell out if not used as a title: The doctor told the CEO his cholesterol was high.
See Ph.D.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# dollars
See currency.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# dos and don’ts
due in, due to
Do not use due to, when you mean because of or scheduled to. Use due only in
reference to something that is owed. Yes: Forty dollars is due on his account. No: The
meeting was canceled due to inclement weather. Yes: The meeting was canceled
because of inclement weather. No: T... |
# early-bird
• When used as an adjective, such as in reference to deadlines or specials, it should be
hyphenated: early-bird deadline.
IABC Style Guide • Revised 15 April 2019 • Page 13 of 32
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# e.g.
• Used in lieu of for example. Always insert a comma immediately afterwards: large
internet corporations (e.g., Google, Amazon.com, Yahoo!)
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# email
• Email is acceptable in all references. Lowercase the e.
• See email addresses.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# ellipses
Use three periods (with no spaces between them or the words they separate) to indicate
missing text: and then...the rest was history. W
hen using an ellipsis at the end of a
sentence, place a period at the end of the sentence, and then an ellipsis, followed by a
space: I lack the required motivation…. On... |
# email addresses
Try to avoid breaking web addresses over a line. When that can’t be avoided,
break the address before a punctuation mark:
Send your letters to cwmagazine
@iabc.com
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# e-newsletter
● See web addresses.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# ethics
Follow with a singular verb when referring to ethics as a field of study: Ethics is
the topic of the day.
Follow with a plural verb when referring to a set of principles: His ethics are
questionable.
Excellence in Communication Leadership (EXCEL) Award
In reference to the award granted by IABC to chief exec... |
# Excellence Gala
Used to refer to the awards ceremony and gala at the World Conference to honor
winners of the Gold Quill Awards, including special award winners, and the new
class of IABC Fellows.
Not Excellence Awards Gala
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# executive board
Lowercase.
IABC Style Guide • Revised 15 April 2019 • Page 14 of 32
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# extensions
See telephone numbers.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# fewer, less
Use fewer f or individual items, less f or bulk or quality. Yes: Fewer than 20 people
attended the seminar. Yes: Quantity is less important than quality to the director. Yes:
She lent me less than $50 (an amount). And: I gave her fewer than 20 $1 bills (individual
items).
Source: IABC Style Guid... |
# food service
Two words.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# footnotes
Use footnotes only in research reports or books, whenever a note or source
reference would be too cumbersome or too distracting to incorporate into the text.
For magazine and web articles, incorporate references into the text.
• To reference a footnote within the text of the article, use a superscript figur... |
# foreign countries
Avoid references to foreign countries. No country is foreign to itself, and IABC has
members in many countries. Try using other words as appropriate to the context, such
as “other countries.”
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# formal titles
Use lowercase for a formal title when not using a name: The managing editor
didn’t agree.
Use lowercase for a formal title when separating it from a name by commas:
Caroline Ashbury, president, will be awarded the trophy tonight. The director of
human resources, Mark Kohl, does not plan to attend.
When... |
# Fortune 500, Fortune 100, Fortune Global 500
The Fortune 500 is Fortune magazine’s annual ranking of the largest
corporations in the U.S.
The Fortune 100 refers to the top 100 companies in the Fortune 500.
The Fortune Global 500 is Fortune magazine’s annual ranking of the world’s
largest corporations.
Fortune al... |
# freelance, freelancer
One word as noun, adjective or verb.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# full service
Two words. Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# fundraiser, fundraising
One word in all cases.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# generations
Lowercase millennial.
Lowercase baby boomer.
Lowercase traditionalists.
IABC Style Guide • Revised 15 April 2019 • Page 16 of 32
Capitalize Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# Global Communication Certification Council
Initial caps. An independent entity from IABC. Not: certification council,
Certification Council, IABC Certification Council or IABC Communication
Certification Council.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# Global Seven-point Scale of Excellence
(not service marked)
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# Gold Quill Award
Capitalize the first letter of each word.
When referring to the Gold Quill Awards program, use the singular: The Gold
Quill Awards is the preeminent benchmark of communication excellence.
Include “Award,” especially on first mention, for readers who may not be familiar
with the program. Yes: She wo... |
# Gold Quill Awards program
Use the plural Awards in reference to the name of the program.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# Gold Quill Award winners
Use instead of “Gold Quill winners.”
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# hardcover (adj.)
• One word: hardcover book.
• See softcover.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# health care
Two words.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# Hispanic
Capitalize.
Be sure that Hispanic is the word you want to use. Hispanic refers to people or
cultures from parts of the New World that were once part of Spain’s colonial
empire. The people and culture of Brazil are not Hispanic because Brazil was
colonized by Portugal, not by Spain. In most cases, the br... |
# human resources, HR
HR i s acceptable in all references.
Lowercase human resources.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# hypertext
One word.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# hyphens
Hyphenate measurements when they are used as part of a compound modifier: He
spoke before a 200-person group.
● Do not hyphenate phrasal verbs (verbs that include another element like an
adverb or preposition to create a specific meaning). E.g. Be sure to back up your
data. Not Be sure to back-up your dat... |
# IABC
In internal publications, IABC i s acceptable in all references.
In external publications, write out International Association of Business
Communicators followed by IABC i n parentheses on first mention.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# IABC National
IABC is an international organization, so IABC National is incorrect when referring to the
global head office. Use IABC world headquarters in publications. Also acceptable: IABC
International.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# IABC Foundation
On subsequent references, it’s acceptable to use the Foundation or the foundation
(lowercase). Not IABC Research Foundation.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
# IABC World Conference
See World Conference.
Source: IABC Style Guide, revised 15 April 2019 |
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