For example: You can visit someone in prison by booking online. Interview with Ingrid Mosquera Gende: How to make the most of your studying? A blog is the site on which a blog post is published. Different, right? Grammar matters, regardless of what anyone says. A Little/A Few. Only use bold to refer to text from interfaces in technical documentation or instructions. A systematic review of medical practice variation in OECD countries Health Policy 2014: volume 114, pages 5-14 (viewed on 18 November 2014). The best writing follows the rules of grammar (or breaks those rules only with good reason) and is clear, coherent, and consistent. In fact, some rules are really more like guidelines. Lower case, but use upper case for the acronym. Dont worry we wont send you spam or share your email address with anyone. Your ability to edit the fat out of sentences is tested in three ways: fixing overly wordy phrases, finding redundancies, and combining two simple sentences into a more complex one. Very long lists can be written as a paragraph with a lead-in sentence if it looks better: The following countries are in the EU: Spain, France, Italy. Lower case. Sentences are the most common type of grammatical unit found in writing. Dialogue is what the characters in your short story, poem, novel, play, screenplay, personal essayany kind of creative writing where characters speaksay out loud. Avoid using as it is not widely understood. And of course, sentence fragments that show up in the wrong contextsay, a term paper or a formal business documentcan come across as sloppy or too informal. When describing a VPN that is always on, write it like this: always-on VPN. Use a 0 where theres no digit before the decimal point. Use the block quote Markdown for quotes longer than a few sentences. Make sure to check the provided examples, so its easier to understand what were talking about. The period of time between 1 February and 31 December 2020 during which the UK and EU are negotiating their future relationship. Dont write ran quickly, goes the classic advice. For example, sometimes it just isnt important or helpful to specify who performed the action youre talking about. Grammar rules. EC should be used when its EC directives, EC Sales List. A to Z. Plain English is mandatory for all of GOV.UK so avoid using these words: Avoid using metaphors - they do not say what you actually mean and lead to slower comprehension of your content. For example, You must register by 11:59pm on Tuesday 14 June. can only be read one way, but You must register by midnight on Tuesday 14 June can be read in two ways (the end of Monday 13, or end of Tuesday 14). Only use in tables. Note that police force is usually avoided. Theyll feel more comfortable when you speak directly to them (later, well talk about addressing your reader to make them feel even more comfortable). Lower case, even when referring to the police. You just need to stay focused and make sure that the details you describe are on point. His message was quite rude, I dont want to talk to you again., His message was quite rude: I dont want to talk to you again., After a short pause, he said: Well redo everything., After a short pause, he said, Well redo everything., They said, Add the word that for clarity., They said, Add the word that for clarity.. These style points apply to all content published on GOV.UK. Start each part of the address on a new line. We are grateful for your feedback! Do not link to further information about the withdrawal agreement from guidance content. Do not use a hyphen unless its confusing without it, for example, a little used-car is different from a little-used car. In particular, if the English language isnt native to them. Active: Barry hit the ball. But there are some things that the passive voice can do better. Write out in full at first mention, then call it the Commission. You dont have time to ramble about random things, so your sentences should be short and straightforward. See change notes in the content design manual. Do not use login as a noun - say what the user actually needs to enter (like username, password, National Insurance number). Write with Grammarly What is dialogue, and what is its purpose? Include the amount of text thats just enough to make your point. They should follow the style guide. After all, when you need to make an important point in an essay or youre trying to add excitement to your novel, you cant just rely on punctuation marks. No need to explain the acronym if its used in content for a technical audience. This can be abbreviated to PAYE Online within the PAYE Online for employers area of the website. Really understanding how grammar works will help you use it better and with greater accuracy. Copyright by Jane Straus/GrammarBook.com. Verbs typically indicate what the subject (or main noun) in a sentence is doing or feeling. Well send you a link to a feedback form. Since 2010 has any minister sent out a request to civil servants regarding the use of grammar or the correct use of the English language? Midnight is the first minute of the day, not the last. You should: HM Revenue and Customs - Child Benefit Office But breaching the guidelines often leads to prose that sounds more natural. Upper case when referring to the business area covered by Money Laundering Regulations. A performance measure of level 3 vocational qualifications. Lower case in text, upper case in titles: Spencer Tracy, Non-executive Director, GDS. Lower case except where its a title with the holders name, like Chief Constable Andrew Trotter. Lower case even when referring to the defence team at the MOD. It looks like you have JavaScript turned off. Theres no need to insert huge paragraphs just for the sake of context. Even though these are quite basic writing rules, they often get ignored, leading to poor writing results. Examples: I, me, my, she, he, they, we, who, yours, them Verbs: Words that express actions or states of being. English punctuation rules Tenses Subject-verb agreement Order of adjectives and adverbs English connectors Who vs. whom Few, a few, fewer / little, a little and less Negation and double negation Active vs. passive voice Indirect speech and indirect questions An example of a grammar rule would be the . Use cannot, instead of cant. See also council. It may seem that this writing rule goes into controversy with the first one. Recognised term for children whose parents serve in the armed forces. See also Titles. Great work. Upper case. Write all other numbers in numerals (including 2 to 9) except where its part of a common expression like one or two of them where numerals would look strange. You can use bold to explain what field a user needs to fill in on a form, or what button they need to select. And it doesnt mean that you have to call them by their name. Newcastle Upon Tyne Step 3: Click a suggestion to accept it. "Write sprinted instead." It's true that sprinted is more precise and interesting than ran quickly. Hi Donna I love your article here. Use upper case Online if referring to the actual service, not if youre describing using the service: you can pay your Corporation Tax online or at the Post Office.. you made my presentation assignment super easier. Upper case because Gypsies are legally recognised as an ethnic group. Use MB for anything over 1MB: 4MB not 4096KB. Upper case when referring to the framework and method for developing products, otherwise use lower case. Lower case when referring to the activity not the regulation. Using old-fashioned expressions, passive voice, and writing in a completely different style to how they speak. When describing customer processes, use common language phrases like send your payroll information to HMRC or operate your payroll in real time. Nouns But to be a great writer, you also need to learn when to break those rules. These mistakes aren't typos or occasional oversights. Use select. Do not use white list or whitelist. Lower case unless its a full title. It also has to be consistent. Following even a single rule of writing can bring you desired results. We are going to cover them individually below. It contains lots of useful tools and tips to write well. Lower case unless used as the full title: Standing Order 22. Robert Lee Brewer Updated: May 18, 2021 Original: Jun 12, 2020 This single word will make your reader feel that youre in the same room, having a friendly conversation. This rule of writing is simple. Good grammar improves the clarity of your writing, enhances critical thinking skills, and increases a reader's confidence in your writing and ideas. Readers dont usually enjoy checking dictionaries every two pages. Do not say send your payroll under RTI or use the acronym, for example in RTI or under RTI. Treat as a singular noun: The data is stored on a secure server. Upper case. Hyphenated when used as a compound adjective: VAT-registered business. Life shouldnt be so difficult! United Kingdom. In general, the active voice is more direct and concise. Grammar-related exercises can be found here. Youll show readers that its worth paying attention to what you talk about without such tools. Click on the links below to learn about the different kinds of punctuation and how to use them properly. Find out about the Energy Bills Support Scheme, Read more about words to use and avoid when writing about disability, Read more about when to use we in content, A systematic review of medical practice variation in OECD countries, Read more about plain English and words to avoid, guidance on specific points of style, such as abbreviations and numbers, GOV.UK style for specific words and phrases, in terms of spelling, hyphenation and capitalisation. From: If that is not possible, use an alternative such as meaning or that is. You can forget about proofreading, and your coworkers wont say a thing, but theyll have to correct the mistakes later. Review the basics. When to Use Former vs. Latter, With Examples, use the active voice instead of the passive voice. Visualize this scene: I started to ask a question, but she motioned for silence. You do not need a lead-in line and you can use links and downloads (with appropriate Markdown) in steps. ): Rule 3: Every sentence should have SVO (Subject - Verb - Object). Theres nothing better than the holidays. Adjective clauses come after the noun. Avoid shouldve, couldve, wouldve, theyve too. If youre a government publisher and want to request an addition, change or clarification to the style guide, raise a support ticket. No apostrophe as its an attributive noun. Upper case for names of groups, directorates and organisations: Knowledge and Innovation Group. News stories, speeches, letters and notices, Reports, analysis and official statistics, Data, Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports. Address the user as you where possible and avoid using gendered pronouns like he and she. Heres an example where the passive voice is the better choice: This house was built in 1960. Passive: The ball was hit. Denominal adjectives. When using real time information in any other sense, it should be lower case. If its only mentioned once, do not abbreviate. A performance measure linked to GCSEs. Lower case in text. This area includes resources on grammar topics, such as count and noncount nouns, articles (a versus an), subject-verb agreement, and prepositions. To help us improve GOV.UK, wed like to know more about your visit today. Thanks a lot for sharing such a helpful article. A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a period/full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark. Long sentences using semicolons should be broken up into separate sentences instead. A department using an ampersand in its logo image is fine but use and when writing in full text. Sentences are used to express anything from a statement, a question, a request, an instruction, or an exclamation. These OWL resources will help you use correct grammar in your writing. Thank you Donna, great resource and interesting read! Do not use the terms BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) and BME (black and minority ethnic). Use bold sparingly - using too much will make it difficult for users to know which parts of your content they need to pay the most attention to. and More Occasionally the definite article will be dropped, for example in calculations, where we use Patent Box deduction and when using phrases like Answers to your Patent Box questions. Thank you. When writing a reference: If the reference is available online, make the title a link and include the date you accessed the online version: Corallo AN and others. Dont include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. Grammar: rules and resources 4 Ways of packaging information in sentences 5 Linking markers 6 Relative clauses 8 Paragraphing 9 Extended Writing Task (Task 1.13 or 1.14) 11 Study Notes on Unit 12 Unit 2 INFORMATION SEQUENCE: Describing 16 Ordering the information 16 If you have to publish legal jargon, it will be a publication so write a plain English summary. The governing body is meeting today. Write out and hyphenate fractions: two-thirds, three-quarters. Use common sense to capitalise shortened versions of the Secretary of State titles: the Shadow Health Secretary. Parliamentary is upper case and report is in lower case. Do not use hyphens in ages unless to avoid confusion, although its always best to write in a way that avoids ambiguity. Instead, its about ditching some of those to deliver the right meaning. Here are five pieces of good writing advice that you can and should ignore once in a while. American proper nouns, like 4th Mechanized Brigade or Pearl Harbor, take American English spelling. Over the years, studies have consistently shown Blooms taxonomy is a set of hierarchical models that classify educational learning objectives. Upper case. You can use bullets to make text easier to read. The first time you use an abbreviation or acronym explain it in full on each page unless its well known, like UK, DVLA, US, EU, VAT and MP. For example: HMPO is the sole issuer of UK passports. General references to tax returns are lower case. See also council. Lists should be bulleted to make them easier to read. When referring to the product/relief/regime, then say the Patent Box. We will show you what our best writing strategies are and different ways to use them. Examples: I wrote a sentence. Upper case because its the name of an organisation. No apostrophe in the plural. But whats the point of having short sentences when theyre filled with words that a regular person would rarely use in everyday life? Legal content can still be written in plain English. Upper case, but generic references to tax credits are lower case. And you want your visitors to stay on the page as long as possible. Lower case except when in the title: the Department of Health and Social Care. Lower case unless the full name of the foundation trust is being used: Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. The most important thing to remember is that writing is about communicating. For example: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (put different days on a new line, do not separate with a comma), do not use quarter for dates, use the months: department expenses, Jan to Mar 2013, when referring to today (as in a news article) include the date: The minister announced today (14 June 2012) that, re- words starting with e, like re-evaluate, when referring to notifications such as emails or alerts. Upper case. Trade mark is 2 words but trademarked is one word. Use upper case when referring to the actual Construction Industry Scheme (CIS, not the CIS). Rule 4: The Subject and Verb forms are interrelated in the sentence. The opposite of active voice is passive voice. Punctuation is a system of signs, marks, or symbols used in writing to separate sentences and clarify how a sentence should be read. Thank you for reading the article! Use double quotes in body text for direct quotations. You can forget about proofreading and your coworkers wont say a thing, but theyll have to correct the mistakes later. Show all sections. But in some cases, a well-chosen adverb is the clearest, most concise way to add detail and dimension to a description. Read more about when to use we in content. Use the minus sign for subtraction. For example, sometimes it just isnt important or helpful to specify who performed the action youre talking about. Use active voice whenever possible. Look closely at the rule Sometimes grammar rules can be complex. Do not use proforma - say what it is in plain English: a template or form, for example. In long passages of speech, open quotes for every new paragraph, but close quotes only at the end of the final paragraph. Upper case when referring to the national Adoption Register. a verb (Katie plays the violin.) Content on the site often makes a direct appeal to citizens and businesses to get involved or take action: You can contact HMRC by phone and email or Pay your car tax, for example. Instead, you can make a short introduction to make a point of a quote clearer. For example, a class of 15 16-year-old students took the A level course can be written as 15 students aged 16 took the A level course. Until all hard-coded instances of Activation PIN have been removed from the Online Services pages, use Activation Code (also known as Activation PIN). You should consider using 11:59pm to avoid confusion about a single, specific time. Especially when quickly scanning through an article. Lower case unless used as the full title: Standing Order 22. A blanket ban on adverbs removes an important tool from a writers toolkit. Even more, you also want to have consistency in the way you build your sentences. For Self Assessment (paper or online) use send or file the return. Upper case because its the name of a programme, but note that its Green Deal programme, Green Deal team, Green Deal assessment. Not zero-hour contract or zero hours contract. Write email addresses in full, in lower case and as active links. You're going to find eight key grammar rules in this post, and they're all simplified and easy to understand. Use and rather than &, unless its a departments logo image or a companys name as it appears on the Companies House register. This has been produced by the Office for National Statistics for all members of the Government Statistical Service. Rules may sometimes be broken, but usually breaking the rules of grammar leads to prose that sounds awkward and is indisputably incorrect. Using basic punctuation Summary of how to use basic punctuation. Used in a technical context theres no need to explain the acronym. While keeping your sentences short and to the point, you also need to provide your reader with enough details. One word. Use local council instead of local authority where possible. Please note that the acronym has changed to Bacs. I am happy. I conduct training workshops in email and business writing skills, and am always surprised how many people are still writing like its the 60s. Use UK English spelling and grammar. Where evidence shows theres a clear user need for including a legal term (like bona vacantia), always explain it in plain English. Build your sentences correctly. Read Style.ONS to find out how to write about statistics. The learning materials are organised into two sections, organised by English level . Always use % with a number. The golden rules are: You need to be able to fit up to 35 words in it. Grammar rule #2: A complete sentence must include a subject and a predicate The subject refers to the person, place or thing which the sentence is about. Overly Wordy Phrases The SAT deeply believes in Shakespeare's maxim that "brevity is the soul of wit": if you can say the same thing with fewer words, do it. Guidelines vs. grammar rules. Once again, with short and simple sentences, youll be able to beat the readers short attention span and deliver your message before they decide to walk away. 2. If you write content by starting with user needs, you will not need to use FAQs. For example, unique identifier (UID). Try using for example or such as or like or including. Much/Many. Step 2: Hover over the underlines to see suggestions. If its not clear from the context, you may need to clarify that its a classification not a general description: information classified as Official rather than Official information. Use the correct symbol for the multiplication sign (), not the letter x. For example Reading Borough Council, Warwick District Council and Swanage Town Council. Then refer to it by initials, and use acronym Markdown so the full explanation is available as hover text. Do not use British citizen unless youre referring to people with that particular type of British nationality. In conclusion, its fair to mention that you can find many more writing rules to pay attention to than just the ones that weve listed here. Stands for Software as a Service. Punctuation marks An introduction to using punctuation marks. Each rule includes a quick breakdown and links to a post that goes into more detail with examples. Steps end in a full stop because each should be a complete sentence. Upper case when referring to proper titles for the first time: Company Tax Return, Partnership Tax Return, Employer Annual Return. Avoid using the over 50s or under-18s. Use one unless youre talking about a step, a point in a list or another situation where using the numeral makes more sense: in point 1 of the design instructions, for example. Upper case for named hurricanes: Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy. Lower case, except when it refers to a field within a form. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Do not use FAQs on GOV.UK. Thank you so much for the advice Donna, I will definitely take it into account when writing my book. Lower case. Depending on the verb, a complete sentence also known as an independent clause might also have a direct object (Katie plays the violin ). I was happy to be going back home, but I was worried when I left the building. In technical writing, dont write identification or identifier, unless its part of a standard abbreviation. 1. Not advisor, but advisory is the correct adjective. Does it really matter who built the house? Just make sure not to use ones that require the words very or really before them. For example, Do this 3/4 times. To leave your readers satisfied and give them what they came for, you need to act fast. Use millions in phrases: millions of people. You need to learn some rules. Not transition phase, implementation phase or implementation period. Use technical terms where you need to. The trick is to avoid going overboard. It means offering multiple ideas and using consistent grammar forms for a smoother delivery. While focusing on them, dont forget that adjectives can strengthen your writing too. The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation leans towards usage rules in CMS along with other authoritative texts and does not attempt to conform to the AP Stylebook, which differs significantly in some aspects. And if its impossible to avoid it, provide your reader with more information so that they can understand what youre talking about. The Secretary of State for XXX is upper case whether or not its used with the holders name because there is only one. Not Open Source software or OS software. Material created by Jane Straus and GrammarBook.com. If the measurement is more than one word, like kilometres per hour, then spell it out the first time its used with the abbreviation. If you're comparing two or more arguments, it's best to maintain the same structure for both arguments (and the paragraphs that explain them). NE88 1AA It divides them into levels that differ in their specificity and complexity. Use self-driving vehicle not automated vehicle. You just need to explain what they mean the first time you use them. Use SME for the singular. So feel free to experiment and find ones that are the most suitable for you. I like many different fruits, such as oranges, apples, plums, and pears. For Church of England when referring to school names. Hyphenated. See British people. Do not use British nationals unless you need to refer to them in a legal context, for example in eligibility criteria. Now picture this one: I started to ask a question, but she frantically motioned for silence. These are a few main qualities that modern education fosters so far: Creative and critical thinking skills,Interaction and How to make the most of your studying? Use the singular verb form when referring to organisations by name. Stands for Platform as a Service. Or are you simply looking to refresh and improve your test-taking skills? If theres a quotation within a quotation, then use single quotation marks for the quotation within the quotation, such as in the third example below. Send is better. Use per cent not percent. Unlike normal adjectives that usually come before the noun they modify, adjective clauses always come after it. You can make a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, but not a request under the FOI Act. Too many fragments will make your writing choppy and confusing. Never use etc at the end of a list starting with these words. Easy Grammar Reference Check and improve your grammar with our basic grammar reference guide. Lower case for all except languages and initialisations. Upper case. References should be easy to understand by anyone, not just specialists. Lower case unless its the title of an organisation: North East and Central London Health Protection Unit. Sometimes, theres no better way to strengthen your writing or to make a point than to share other peoples ideas or words. All rules apply to writing research papers and presenting them in class: A versus an: Many college students know that a is used before a word that begins with a consonant such as a student , and an is used before a word that begins with a vowel such as an apple . Lower case. You can prepare this meal whenever you want. Generally, the more 'fundamental' a grammar rule is, the more likely it is to impact meaning. If it does, your reader wont have any doubts that they will get what they want. Punctuation. When you use a verb, choose the active tense of that verb. a subject ( Katie plays the violin.) Use KB for anything under 1MB: 569KB not 0.55MB. Twitter is a trademarked name. Upper case when referring to the departments that, collectively, support the British Royal Family. Here are more than 100 grammar rules for writers to assist them with better writing skills. Only use upper case when part of the title of a specific customs union: the European Union Customs Union, for example. Addresses: use to in address ranges: 49 to 53 Cherry Street. If you were taught that a sentence fragment is a grammatical error, youre not alone. Get Grammarly It's free Already have an account? These 20 rules even boggle the minds of grammarians.. Adverbs get a bad rap because its so easy for writers to rely on them to pad out a sentence full of bland verbs. Use lower case when writing about local councils in general. Only use upper case if the name of the service youre referring to contains named thing. Upper case in titles: Spencer Tracy, Chairman, GDS. Lower case: youth offending team, Behavioural Insights team. Check sentences with more than 25 words to see if you can split them to make them clearer. Use upper case for the acronym. Your writing needs to express confidence. The software helps to manage tasks like communicating, writing logs, and formulas calculations. Upper case because its the name of a programme, but programme is lower case. The free grammar check trusted by leading brands Writing, grammar, and communication tips for your inbox. No need to explain the acronym. Thank you very much for taking a moment and writing your feedback. How wonderful. Do not capitalise a named strategy: national health and welfare strategy. write the town and postcode on separate lines, write the country on the line after the postcode, not before, only include a country if there is a reasonable chance that the user will be writing to the address from a different country, do not use a table - use bullet points and a lead-in line instead, use spaces rather than hyphens in sort codes - 60 70 80 (not 60-70-80), avoid using spaces in account numbers unless they are very long (like an International Bank Account Number), 31 December 2020 rather than Brexit or when the UK left the EU, before 31 December 2020 rather than during the transition period, after 1 January 2021 rather than after the transition period, the bullets make sense running on from the lead-in line, you use lower case at the start of the bullet, you do not use more than one sentence per bullet - use commas or dashes to expand on an item, you do not put or or and after the bullets, you do not make the whole bullet a link if its a long phrase, you do not put a semicolon at the end of a bullet, there is no full stop after the last bullet, checking if there are other conditions (or if the list is actually complete), listing the conditions which apply to the most users and removing the rest, consider broader terms in the list which capture more scenarios (and could make the list exhaustive), creating a journey to specialist content to cover the remaining conditions, departments (specific government departments - see below), the Civil Service, with lower case for the, titles like Mr, Mrs, Dr, the Duke of Cambridge (the duke at second mention); Pope Francis, but the pope, faculties, departments, institutes and schools, names of groups, directorates and organisations: Knowledge and Innovation Group, titles of specific acts or bills: Housing Reform Bill (but use the act or the bill after the first time you use the full act or bill title), names of specific, named government schemes known to people outside government: Right to Buy, Kings Awards for Enterprise, specific select committees: Public Administration Select Committee, titles of books (and within single quotes), for example, The Study Skills Handbook, World War 1 and World War 2 (note caps and numbers), minister, never Minister, unless part of a specific job title, like Minister for the Cabinet Office, department or ministry - never Department or Ministry, unless referring to a specific one: Ministry of Justice, for example, white paper, green paper, command paper, House of Commons paper, budget, autumn statement, spring statement, unless referring to and using the full name of a specific statement - for example, 2016 Budget, sections or schedules within specific named acts, regulations or orders, director general (no hyphen), deputy director, director, unless in a specific job title, group and directorate, unless referring to a specific group or directorate: the Commercial Directorate, for example, departmental board, executive board, the board, policy themes like sustainable communities, promoting economic growth, local enterprise zones, general mention of select committees (but do cap specific ones - see above), Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), primary for a component that controls other components, secondary for a component thats controlled by the primary component, Covid-19 with only the first letter capitalised, coronavirus as COVID-19 is the specific condition, use upper case for months: January, February, do not use a comma between the month and year: 4 June 2017, when space is an issue - in tables or publication titles, for example - you can use truncated months: Jan, Feb. we use to in date ranges - not hyphens, en rules or em dashes.
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