When deciding what style to use in an organization website or documents, here are some key points to decide on for consistency. They relate to United Nations style.
10 key style points
- Spelling – use UK English spelling. Oxford dictionary online.
- Set your computer language to English UK.
- Spelling – use organization, not organisation (unless an organization spells its own name with an ‘s’).
- Write per cent in full and in two words.
- Dates and time – use the UK convention for dates (e.g. 7 July 2025), and the 12-hour clock (NB: WHO uses the 24-hour clock; and ILO uses the 24-hour clock in timetables and schedules, but the 12-hour clock elsewhere)
- Numbers under 10 are usually written in full.
- Use commas for thousands (e.g. 2,000).
- Don’t start a sentence with a number (e.g. Fifteen [not 15] representatives took the floor). For large numbers, consider redrafting the sentence, or adding a word at the beginning (e.g. Around 1,250 students signed up for the course).
- Acronyms and abbreviations – spell out in full on first mention.
- Acronyms and abbreviations – usually no article before the abbreviation (e.g. WHO, not ‘the WHO’).
Which of these do you follow? If you have a different style, it may be US style. Check which style your organization uses.
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Author: Carol Waites
Presentation/editing by Christina O’Shaughnessy
https://worldwidewriting.org/
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Carol Waites (PhD)
Email: carolswritingtips@gmail.com
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Carol’s memoir of her times at the United Nations, Behind the Flags, is available on Amazon and lulu.com