Introduction
This page sets out our approach to punctuation, capitalisation, and grammar to help ensure content is clear, consistent and accessible.
It covers how we use sentence case for headings, when to use en dashes and hyphens, and our preferences for contractions, plurals and quotation marks.
You will also find examples of common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Capitals
We use capitals for proper nouns. The only time we do anything different is if we are talking about a brand name or proper name, like EasySite or Department for Work and Pensions.
We write page titles and headings in sentence case – they are easier to read and understand.
There are words that are commonly written with a capital letter that should not have one.
Commas
We use the Oxford or serial comma if it makes a list in a sentence easier to understand.
En dash
We use an en dash (with a space on either side) to separate ideas in a sentence. We do not use semi-colons or comma splices – we will write 2 sentences instead, or separate the clauses using an en dash.
Hyphens
We sometimes hyphenate words to make sure their meaning is clear.
Apostrophes
We do not add an extra ‘s’ after nouns or names ending in ‘s’. Exceptions are okay where the alternative reads more naturally.
Quotation marks
We use single quotation marks for
- short quotations
- direct speech.
We do not use quotation marks around document or publication titles. Or exclamation marks at the end of sentences.
Titles of documents or publications
We use sentence case for the titles of documents or publications. We do not use italics to separate document titles from their surrounding text.
Plurals
We do not use brackets or ‘/s’ to refer to something that could be either singular or plural, like ‘Send your completed document(s) to the HMRC’.
We use the plural instead, as this covers both possibilities: ‘Send your completed documents to the HMRC’.
We use plurals as they would be in English – rather than adopting rules from other languages.
For example – ‘formulas’ not ‘formulae’, ‘octopuses’ not ‘octopodes’.
Use of "and/or"
We do not use and/or. One or other is usually more appropriate, and we use that depending on the situation.
And, But, Or and Because
We start sentences with ‘And’, ‘But’ ‘Or’ and ‘Because’ when we need to. This can make information more meaningful and improve impact where necessary. There is no point getting people to struggle through words like ‘however’, ‘additionally’, ‘moreover’ and ‘alternatively’ when there are simpler alternatives.
Contractions
Contractions make text feel more conversational and friendly. They also make complex sentences easier to read.
When we use them, we only use simple contractions
We do not use complex or potentially confusing contractions like
- should’ve, would’ve, they’ve
- mustn’t, aren’t, couldn’t, haven’t
- it’d, it’ll.
But, the punctuation can make sentences harder to read for some users. We rewrite sentences to avoid using contractions if it fits with the overall tone.