Different organizations use different style guides for use of capital and lower case letters. The World Health Organization (headquarters) and the United Nations use British style rather than United States style. What does this mean?
You’ll find some similarities and some differences between style guides.
If you’re unsure what style to use, check with the communications department. The UN style guide is here, and the WHO style guide is here.
Both of them use British style for capital letters.
British style means you use capital letters when it is a specific title or reference to a named thing, while when it is general, it is lower case. Let’s look at some examples. Identify which style it is.
For the following examples, see if you can identify WHO or UN style:
- 1. Dr K. Sambo, Regional Director or regional director for Kenya?
- 2. The governing bodies or Governing Bodies of WHO?
- 3. Member States or member states of WHO or UN?
- 4. We invited several regional directors or Regional Directors to the meeting.
- 5. The thirteenth meeting or 13th Meeting of the Working Group for governance or Governance of the South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund or south-east
- 6. Conference Room 4 or conference room 4?
Answer key
- 1. Dr K. Sambo, Regional Director for Kenya (WHO style, UN style)
- 2. The governing bodies of WHO (WHO style)
- 3. Member States (both)
- 4. regional directors (both)
- 5. The thirteenth meeting (in running text) or 13th Meeting (in a title) of the Working Group for governance of the South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund (SEARHEF). (Check with the WHO official website)
- 6. Conference Room 4 (When a specific room, use capital letters.)
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Carol Waites (PhD)
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