🔤 Garbl's Editorial Style and Usage Guide: E–L

Entries from e.g, i.e. through lists.

A–B | C–D | E–L | M–O | P–R | S–Z
Introduction | Punctuation | Commonly Confused Words

E

e.g., i.e. Quickly, what are the Latin words for the abbreviation e.g.? Don’t know? Then don’t use e.g. Use English instead: for example. Same for i.e.; use that is instead to clarify words that come before it. Both abbreviations are overused and often confused.

Commas or semicolons usually go before the Latin and English forms, and commas usually follow both.

email A shortened version of electronic mail. Use email (no hyphen, lowercase) in all references, including first. Capitalize as Email only to begin sentences, headings, and headlines. Include a hyphen for words like e-book, e-business, and e-commerce.

Acceptable to use as a verb: Jane Fonda emailed her phone number to Gary. When used as a noun, email refers to email in bulk. It takes singular verbs and singular pronouns: He got so much email it overloaded his inbox.

When writing about email messages, it’s acceptable to refer to an email and several emails: She wrote an email telling friends about her new email address. He read eight emails about the project.

Write out email addresses in all lowercase, following web convention: theodore.roosevelt@whitehouse.gov. Email addresses are not case-sensitive. See internet, online, World Wide Web.

et al. Abbreviation for et alibi or et alii, meaning “and others.” You’re probably writing in English, so avoid using this abbreviation for Latin words. And be specific, if possible. Et al. may be used in technical reports as a reference citation: Light rail uses 34 BTUs of energy (Healy, et al., 1984).

etc. Abbreviation for et cetera, a Latin phrase meaning “and other things,” “and so on,” “and so forth.” It’s used for things, not people; the Latin et al. is the correct abbreviation for mentioning people. But avoid using the abbreviations; except for charts and tables, use the simpler English words instead. Also, don’t use etc. if introducing a list with for example or such as. And if you must use etc., don’t precede it with a redundant and. List at least two things before etc., and set it off with commas at both ends (unless it ends a sentence).

F

fractions Spell out amounts less than 1 in stories, and hyphenate between the words: two-thirds, four-fifths. Use numerals for precise amounts larger than one: 5 2/3, 59 5/8. Whenever practical, convert fractions to decimals: 5.5, 43.5, 8.25.

If using a whole number with a fraction, do not hyphenate: 4 3/8, 15 4/5.

Avoid numerals separated by a slash—5 1/2—when the typeface has case fractions as special characters, such as 5½. The fractions 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 are usually available as special characters in word processing and desktop-publishing programs.

With phrases like three-fourths of X, the verb agrees with X: Three-fourths of the project is done. Three-fourths of the visitors are from Andorra.

In charts and tables, always use numerals. Convert to decimals if the amounts involve extensive use of fractions. Also use figures for fractions in quotations. See decimals.

G

governmental bodies Capitalize the full, proper names of federal, state, and local governmental agencies, departments, and offices: the U.S. Department of State, the state Department of Ecology, Portland Department of Transportation, the county Department of Adult Detention. Also, capitalize the shortened version: the State Department, the Ecology Department, Transportation Department. But lowercase the department.

H

headlines, headings Preferred style for headlines is to capitalize only proper nouns and the first word. Think of headlines as sentences, with a subject and a verb. Document headings may be capitalized like composition titles: capitalizing proper nouns and key words. For consistency, choose either a headline style or a heading style.

Headings, subheads, and headlines help readers of all documents, not just reports, brochures, and newspaper articles. Use them in letters, memos, and email messages to guide readers and highlight information. To improve readability, avoid capitalizing all the letters in more than one or two words in headlines and headings. For emphasis, other typographical uses may be more effective: a different typeface, italics, color, boldfacing, larger type.

For headlines, state or imply a complete sentence in the present tense. Avoid using passive voice:

Omit most “helping” and “to be” verbs: Road improvements planned for Belvidere Avenue Southwest instead of Road improvements are planned for Belvidere Avenue Southwest.
Cut articles (a, an, the): School district schedules open house on proposed curriculum changes instead of School district has scheduled an open house on the proposed curriculum changes.
Infinitive is preferred to future tense: City Council to consider budget recommendation instead of The City Council will consider the budget recommendation.

In headlines with more than one line, avoid separating verbs of more than one word, modifiers from the words they modify, and prepositions from the phrases they introduce.

Figures may be used for numbers in headlines. If the meaning is clear, abbreviations may be used in headlines and headings. See abbreviations and acronyms, capitalization, numerals.

Punctuate headlines like sentences. Some exceptions:

Commas may substitute for the word and.
Use semicolons instead of periods to show sentence breaks within the headline. But put no period after the headline.
Use single quotation marks instead of double quotation marks.
In attribution, colons may substitute for said after the speaker’s name (before a statement), and dashes may substitute for said before the speaker’s name (after a statement).
Avoid unnecessary hyphenation in headlines and headings.

highway designations For highways identified by number, spell out and capitalize on first reference: Highway 99, U.S. Route 2, Interstate 5, State Route 520. On second reference, interstates and state routes may be abbreviated. Capitalize and use a hyphen: I-405, I-5, SR-520. Don’t abbreviate Highway or Route.

holidays, holy days Capitalize all holidays and holy days: Christmas, Columbus Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Groundhog Day, Halloween, Hanukkah, Independence Day, Indigenous Peoples Day, Juneteenth, Labor Day, Lunar New Year, Memorial Day, Pride Day, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day, etc. Punctuate these holidays as shown: Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, New Year’s Day, New Year’s Eve, Martin Luther King Jr. Day (no comma before Jr.), St. Patrick’s Day, Washington’s Birthday, Presidents Day (no apostrophe), Valentine’s Day, Veterans Day (no apostrophe). See designated days, weeks, months.

homepage One word. It’s the “front” page or main page of a website; it’s not synonymous with webpage or website. See internet, online, World Wide Web.

A–B | C–D | E–L | M–O | P–R | S–Z
Introduction | Punctuation | Commonly Confused Words

I

including, such as Use including and such as when listing examples or when the items that follow are only part of the total; don’t list everything or end the list with words such as and more, and others, etc.: He’s a fan of British rock groups such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. He’s a fan of British groups that include The Beatles and the Stones.

If the words that follow including and such as are essential to the meaning of a sentence, do not put commas before (or after) the phrase. But if the words that follow these terms are not essential, commas are appropriate. (Words are nonessential if they can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence. They provide extra information.)

inclusive language Inclusive language helps readers feel respected and understood. This guide addresses selected usage issues (such as singular they and gender-neutral pronouns). A more comprehensive Inclusive Language Guide is planned for Plainly, Garbl.

incorporated Abbreviate and capitalize as Inc. when used as part of a corporate name. Inc. is usually not needed in company names, but when it is, don’t set it off with commas: I.M. Riche Co. Inc. Spell out Incorporated in business correspondence.

internet Lowercase. The internet is a massive hardware combination of millions of personal, business, and governmental computers. It is not interchangeable with the World Wide Web. Also see email, home page, online, World Wide Web.

J

job titles and descriptions Consistency is key. Capitalize titles before a name when they identify a formal position; lowercase them when used alone or after a name. See titles for additional advice.

junior, senior Abbreviate Jr. and Sr. only with full names. Do not separate the abbreviation from the name with a comma: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Also, do not use a comma to separate Roman numerals from names: Larry Moe IV, M.D., is losing his patience. Larry Moe V is in the nursery. Pope John Paul George Ringo IV.

L

legislative titles Use Rep., Reps., Sen., and Sens. as formal titles before one or more names. Spell out and lowercase representative and senator in other uses. Add U.S. or state before a title if necessary to avoid confusion: U.S. Rep. Warren Jackson spoke with state Sen. Henry Magnuson. Do not use legislative titles before a name on second reference unless they are part of a direct quotation.

lists Introduce the list with a short phrase or sentence, followed by a colon: Our sponsors: or Here are our sponsors: or Our sponsors are:

Follow these formatting basics:

Capitalize the first word of each item.
Put a space between the bullet or number and the first word of each list item.
Use a period at the end of each complete sentence (including commands and requests).
Use no punctuation at the end of phrases or single words, including semicolons.
Don’t end list items with and or or.

Use a bulleted list when order doesn’t matter. Use a numbered list when showing steps or ranking items.

Use parallel structure:

Begin each item with the same part of speech (like a verb).
Use the same verb tense (past, present, or future).
Stick with either active or passive voice.
Use the same type of sentence (statement, question) for each item.

Make each list item about one idea, and keep the items clearly related to the same topic.

Examples:

When reviewing your draft, check for:

Sentence length
Word choice
Active voice
Use of transitions

Here are ways to structure items in a list:

Write a full sentence that states a complete idea.
Begin with a verb to create instructional steps.
Use phrases or single words for quick reference.

A–B | C–D | E–L | M–O | P–R | S–Z
Introduction | Punctuation | Commonly Confused Words