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About DMOS

3
  • Acknowledgements
  • Copyright notice
  • Welcome
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Effective writing

24
  • What is effective writing?
  • Why is effective writing important?
    • Key principles
    • The importance of clarity
    • Why are rules and conventions important?
  • Guidelines for effective writing
    • 01 Writing guidelines
    • 02 Follow the six basic patterns
    • 03 Follow standard word order
    • 04 Restrict sentences to one central thought
    • 05 Don’t say more than two things in a sentence
    • 06 Forget myths and ignore hearsay
    • 07 Use short sentences for emphasis
    • 08 Use the active voice when possible
    • 09 Avoid ambiguity
    • 10 Use commas correctly
    • 11 Use lists
    • 12 Eliminate wordiness
    • 13 One word, one meaning
    • 14 Don’t omit essential words
    • 15 Use verbs as verbs and nouns as nouns
    • 16 Avoid idiomatic or colloquial expressions
    • 17 Avoid unnecessary use of jargon
    • 18 Hyphenate to make your meaning clear
    • 19 Cite your sources
    • 20 Make comparative statements parallel
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Planning & design

49
  • Designing a document
    • 01 Designing a document
    • 02 Document structures
  • Document types
    • 01 Technical study
    • 02 Public report
    • 03 Environmental study
    • 04 Letter report
    • 05 Persuasive documents
    • 06 Email
    • 07 Proposal
    • 08 Presentation
  • Plan before your write
    • 01 Plan before you write
    • 02 Know your audience
    • 03 Be aware of unintended audiences
    • 04 Don’t overload the reader
  • The parts of a document
    • 01 Covering letter
    • 02 Cover and title pages
    • 03 Legal notices
    • 04 Document control
    • 05 Preface
    • 06 Executive summary
    • 07 Table of contents
    • 08 Lists of figures and tables
    • 09 List of abbreviations and symbols
    • 10 Introduction
    • 11 Foundation topics
    • 12 Discussion
    • 13 Conclusions and recommendations
    • 14 Glossary
    • 15 Bibliography or references
    • 16 Index
    • 17 Appendices
    • 18 Attachments
  • Create an outline
    • 01 Decide which parts are required
    • 02 Create a document skeleton
    • 03 Add the themes to each section
    • 04 Review your design
  • Titles and headings
    • 01 Titles and headings
  • Numbering sections, pages, tables, and figures
    • 01 Numbered or unnumbered?
    • 02 Always use auto-numbered headings and captions
    • 03 Numbering sections
    • 04 Numbering tables and figures
    • 05 Numbering appendices
    • 06 Page numbering
  • Follow the corporate QC process
    • 01 Follow the corporate QC process
  • Creating an index
    • 01 Creating an index
  • Writing tips
    • 01 Don’t leave it too late
    • 02 Tell the story
    • 03 Review your work
    • 04 Proofreading
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Formatting

209
  • Abbreviations, initialisms, & acronyms
    • 01 Using abbreviations and acronyms
    • 02 Abbreviation, initialism, acronym, or symbol?
    • 03 Shortened words
    • 04 Shortened names and titles
    • 05 Defining acronyms and abbreviations
    • 06 Formatting acronyms and abbreviations
    • 07 Using symbols as abbreviations
    • 08 Common abbreviations
    • 09 Definite article and acronyms
    • 10 Indefinite article and acronyms
    • 11 Spelling out acronyms
    • 12 Possessive of acronyms
    • 13 Plural of acronyms
    • 14 Acronyms in headings
    • Standard abbreviations
      • Acts and regulations
      • Australian states and territories
      • Bibliographic abbreviations
      • Calendar and financial years
      • Canadian provinces and territories
      • Chemical symbols and compounds
      • Clock time
      • Commercial and legal
      • Compass points
      • Countries and regions
      • Currency
      • Data values
      • Days and months
      • Financial
      • Foreign phrases
      • General abbreviations
      • Geographical
      • Graphical
      • Information technology
      • Initials
      • International organizations
      • Numerical abbreviations
      • Organizations
      • Symbols
      • Time zones
      • Units of measurement
      • Units of time
  • Art, captions, & callouts
    • 01 Cite the source
    • 02 Appearance and placement of art
    • 03 Placement of captions and call-outs
    • 04 Referencing untitled art
  • Bibliographies and citations
    • 01 Citing sources of information
    • 02 Terminology
    • 03 Citation methods
    • 04 Citing by author-date
    • 05 Reference the whole and then cite the specific
    • 06 Citing titles and document details in text
    • 07 Files cited as a data source
    • 08 Citing acts, ordinances, bills, and regulations
    • 09 Citing case law
    • 10 Formatting documentary notes
    • 11 Formatting references
    • 12 Italic or quotation marks?
    • 13 Undated and anonymous works
    • 14 Referencing company reports and unpublished reports
    • 15 Referencing books, printed articles, and conference papers
    • 16 Referencing electronic documents
  • Capitalization
    • 01 Capitalization guidelines
    • 02 Title-style rules
    • 03 Titles and headings
    • 04 Capitalization in lists
    • 05 Cross-references
    • 06 Technical terms and jargon
    • 07 Minerals and geological terms
    • 08 Place names
    • 09 UI elements
    • 10 Capitalization following a punctuation mark
  • Company names
    • 01 Referring to companies
    • 02 Person and number of company names
    • 03 Possessive of company names
  • Computer program elements
    • 01 Formatting UI elements
    • 02 Formatting code, macros, and scripts
  • Coordinates
    • 01 Axis and units
    • 02 Datum and projection
    • 03 Order of coordinates
    • 04 Elevations and RLs
    • 05 Negative coordinates
    • 06 Grouping digits
    • 07 Geographic coordinates
    • 08 Coordinates examples
  • Copyright notice
    • 01 Need for copyright notice
    • 02 Determining the copyright date
    • 03 Format of copyright notice
    • 04 Placement of copyright notice
  • Credits and permissions
    • 01 Attribute the original work
    • 02 Format of credit line
    • 03 Placement of credit line
  • Cross-references
    • 01 Cross-references
    • 02 Syntax of cross-references
    • 03 Formatting cross-references
    • 04 Cross-references to art
    • 05 Cross-references in online documentation
  • Defined terms
    • 01 Defined terms
    • 02 Code- and rules-defined terms
    • 03 How to define a term
  • Equations
    • 01 Complex equations
    • 02 Simple equations
    • 03 Mathematical symbols
  • File names, extensions, and URLs
    • 01 Quoting data files and electronic documents
    • 02 Syntax of file names and network addresses
    • 03 Formatting folder names and drive names
    • 04 File name extensions
    • 05 Literals and placeholders
    • 06 Punctuation after a file name or internet address
  • Footnotes
    • 01 Using footnotes
    • 02 Footnotes, endnotes, or bibliography?
    • 03 Numbering footnotes
    • 04 Footnote identifiers
    • 05 Referencing footnotes
    • 06 Table notes
  • Lists
    • 01 Using lists
    • 02 List style
    • 03 Punctuating lists
    • 04 Bulleted lists
    • 05 Numbered lists
    • 06 Labelled lists
    • 07 Unnumbered lists
    • 08 Term lists and glossaries
    • 09 Nested lists
    • 10 Vertical sentence
  • Job titles
    • 01 Job titles and positions
    • 02 Professional qualifications
  • Measurements
    • 01 Use numerals for all measurements
    • 02 Symbols
    • 03 Spelling out units of measure
    • 04 Ranges
    • 05 Hyphenating number and unit
    • 06 Dimensions
  • Money and currencies
    • 01 Rates of cost and revenue
    • 02 Exchange rates
    • 03 Currency abbreviations
    • 04 Numerals vs words
    • 05 Amount, sum, or quantity?
    • 06 Consistency within a category
    • 07 Thousands, millions, and billions
    • 08 Rounding currency
  • Numbers
    • 01 Numerals vs words
    • 02 Rule of categories
    • 03 At the beginning of a sentence
    • 04 Measurements
    • 05 Negative numbers
    • 06 Aligning numbers in tables
    • 07 Singular vs plural
    • 08 Fractions as words and decimals
    • 09 Compound numbers
    • 10 Adjectival compounds
    • 10 Ranges
    • 11 Commas and spaces in numbers
    • 12 Ordinal numbers
    • 13 Numbered sections
    • 14 Numbers from examples
  • Ornamentation
    • 01 Ornamentation guidelines
    • 02 Ornamenting general text
    • 03 Ornamenting text in user guides (IT)
  • Post-nominals
    • 01 Using post-nominals
    • 02 Order
    • 03 Punctuation
    • 04 Formatting
    • 05 Long form
    • 06 Degrees and diplomas
    • 07 Absorption
    • 08 Professional memberships and accreditations
  • Quotations
    • 01 Formatting quotations
    • 02 Punctuating quotations
    • 03 Carrier expressions
    • 04 Attribute to the source
    • 05 Block quotation
    • 06 Long quotations
    • 07 Errors
    • 08 Editor’s notes and implied words
    • 09 Omitted words and letters
  • Special characters
    • Special characters
  • Symbols
    • 01 Using symbols
    • 02 Punctuating symbols
    • 03 Plurals of symbols
    • 04 SI symbols
    • 05 SI units
    • 06 SI prefixes
    • 07 SI operators
    • 08 Non-standard units
    • 09 Imperial units
  • Tables
    • 01 Using tables
    • 02 Capitalization and punctuation
    • 03 Content
    • 04 Column headings
    • 05 Formatting
    • 06 Numbering tables
    • 07 Pagination
    • 08 Table notes
    • 09 Long tables
    • 10 Wide tables
    • 11 Examples
  • Telephone numbers
    • Telephone numbers
  • Terms of government
    • Terms of government
  • Time
    • 01 Time periods, general
    • 02 Measurement and rates of time
    • 03 Dates
    • 04 Time measurement
    • 05 Time, precision
    • 06 Clock time, general
    • 07 Clock time, 24-hour
    • 08 Time stamp
    • 09 Time record with seconds
    • 10 Frequency and the prefix bi-
    • 11 Eras, centuries, and decades
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Punctuation

31
  • Apostrophe
  • Colon
  • Ellipsis
  • Em dash
  • En dash
  • Full stop
  • Other symbols
  • Punctuation hierachy
  • Question mark
  • Semicolon
  • Slash mark
  • Comma
    • 01 Function of the comma
    • 02 At discretion of the writer
    • 03 Punctuating a series
    • 04 Punctuating independent adjectives
    • 05 Separate transitional words and phrases
    • 06 Separate independent clauses
    • 07 Separate non-restrictive phrases
    • 08 End introductory phrases with a comma
    • 09 Don’t separate a restrictive phrase or dependent clause
    • 10 Don’t separate a verb from its subject
    • 11 Don’t use commas in dates
    • 12 Format numbers with commas
  • Parentheses and brackets
    • 01 Parentheses
    • 02 Formatting parentheses
    • 03 Square brackets
    • 04 Nesting
    • 05 Other brackets
  • Quotation mark
    • 01 Using quotation marks
    • 02 Placement of quotation marks
    • 03 Single quotation marks
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Hyphenation

38
  • Purpose of hyphenation
  • Compound words
    • 01 Compound words and phrases
    • 02 Simplified rules for hyphenating compounds
    • 03 Hyphenating compounds
    • 04 Open, closed, or hyphenated?
    • 05 Hyphen or dash?
    • 06 Compounds of compounds
    • 07 Words commonly used in compounds
    • 08 Suspended hyphens
    • 09 Examples of hyphenated words and phrases
  • Prefixes and suffixes
    • 01 Simplified rules for hyphenating prefixes and suffixes
    • 02 Hyphenating prefixes and suffixes
    • Common prefixes and suffixes
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Language

51
  • Accessible documentation
    • Accessible art
    • Accessible documentation
    • Accessible Web pages
    • Accessible writing
  • Americanisms
    • Americanisms
    • Common spelling differences
  • Anthropomorphism
    • Anthropomorphism
  • Art
    • Art
  • Bias-free communication
    • Bias-free pronouns
    • Eliminating bias
    • Ethnicity
    • First Nations peoples
    • Gender-neutral terms
    • People with disabilities
  • English language
    • English language usage
  • Foreign words and phrases
    • Abbreviations of foreign phrases
    • Accepted foreign phrases
    • Avoid non-English expressions
    • Don’t translate jargon
    • Don’t Romanize spelling
    • Maintain hyphenation of original
    • Show foreign words in italic
    • Use an extended font
  • Humour
    • Humour
  • Idioms
    • Idioms
  • Jargon
    • Jargon
  • Privacy
    • Legal requirements
    • Privacy considerations
    • Safeguarding PII
    • Sensitive vs non-sensitive PII
  • Spelling
    • Adding -able, -ability, -ably, -ableness
    • Adding -ed and -ing
    • Adding -ly
    • Adding -ment, -mental, -mentally
    • Adding other suffixes
    • Doubling the final consonant
    • One or two l’s?
    • Spelling patterns
    • Use the main listing and ignore alternative spellings
  • Vulgarisms
    • Vulgarisms
  • Word usage
    • Word usage
  • Writing for translation
    • 09 Avoid ambiguity
    • Avoid idiomatic or colloquial expressions
    • Avoid long and complex sentences
    • Avoid wordiness and jargon
    • Follow standard word order
    • Samples, scenarios, and art
    • Text expansion
    • Use correct terminology and consistent wording
    • Use verbs as verbs and nouns as nouns
    • Writing for translation
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Grammar

75
  • Ambiguity
    • Beware of dangles
    • Causes of ambiguity
    • Don’t omit essential words
    • End an introductory phrase with a comma
    • Make sure that the object of the pronoun is obvious
    • Use commas correctly
    • Use modal verbs with care
    • Use the word that most closely describes your meaning
  • Conjunctions
    • Beginning with a conjunction
    • Like, with, and then
    • Precede by a comma
    • Using conjunctions
  • Contractions
    • Contractions
  • Dangling modifier
    • Dangling modifier
  • Gerunds
    • Gerunds
  • Modal verbs
    • Modal verbs
  • Mood
    • Mood
  • Negative construction
    • Negative construction
  • Nominalization
    • Nominalization
  • Nouns
    • Nouns
  • Number
    • Match the number of the verb to its actor
    • Singular collectives
  • Paragraphs
    • Introduce the theme in the first sentence
    • Introduce the topic in the first paragraph
    • One theme per paragraph
    • One thought per sentence
    • One topic per section
    • Present information in a logical order
    • Use continuity devices to make your writing flow
  • Parallelism
    • Parallelism
  • Person
    • Person
  • Plurals
    • Plurals
  • Possessives
    • Possessives
  • Prepositions
    • Beginning with a preposition
    • Ending with a preposition
    • Grammatical conventions
    • Stacked prepositional phrases
    • Types of prepositions
  • Pronouns
    • Pronouns
  • Sentences
    • Six basic patterns
    • Standard word order
    • The parts of a sentence
    • Use the form that best reflects its importance
  • Set-offs
    • Don’t over-use set-offs
    • Em dash or parentheses?
    • Nesting set-offs
    • Punctuating set-offs
    • Using set-offs
  • Speech vs writing
    • Speech vs writing
  • Tense
    • Avoid complex tenses
    • Tenses
    • Use the appropriate tense
  • Tone
    • Abbreviations
    • Acronyms
    • Contractions
    • Informal vs formal
    • Person
  • Verbs
    • Gerunds
    • Infinitive
    • Participles
    • Transitive and intransitive verbs
    • Use simple tenses in the active voice
    • Use strong verbs
  • Voice
    • Converting passive to active
    • Use the active voice whenever possible
    • Voice of headings
    • When to use the passive voice
  • Wordiness
    • Awkward phrasing
    • Causes of wordiness
    • Filler words and phrases
    • Many-to-one
    • Nominalizations
    • Passive voice
    • Prepositional phrases
    • Redundant information
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Word usage

26
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  • R
  • S
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  • X
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Writing and editing tools

13
  • Microsoft Word
    • About Microsoft Word
    • Customizing the Quick Access toolbar
    • Fixing a corrupted document
    • Formatting with Microsoft Word
    • Pasting text into a Word document
    • Setting up Word options
    • Typing shortcuts
    • Working with headers and footers
  • Adobe FrameMaker
    • Why use Adobe FrameMaker?
  • AI tools
    • Best practice for AI prompting
    • Guidelines for using AI
    • Risks of using artificial intelligence
    • Uses of artificial intelligence
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Glossaries

33
  • Abbreviations and symbols
    • Abbreviations and symbols
  • Grammar
    • A–C
    • D–G
    • H–L
    • M–P
    • Q–S
    • T–Z
  • Mining
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    • F
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  • Home
  • DMOS
  • Punctuation

Punctuation

  • Apostrophe
  • Colon
  • Ellipsis
  • Em dash
  • En dash
  • Full stop
  • Other symbols
  • Punctuation hierachy
  • Question mark
  • Semicolon
  • Comma
    • 01 Function of the comma
    • 02 At discretion of the writer
    • 03 Punctuating a series
    • 04 Punctuating independent adjectives
    • 05 Separate transitional words and phrases
    • 06 Separate independent clauses
    • 07 Separate non-restrictive phrases
    • 08 End introductory phrases with a comma
    • 09 Don’t separate a restrictive phrase or dependent clause
    • 10 Don’t separate a verb from its subject
    • 11 Don’t use commas in dates
    • 12 Format numbers with commas
  • Parentheses and brackets
    • 01 Parentheses
    • 02 Formatting parentheses
    • 03 Square brackets
    • 04 Nesting
    • 05 Other brackets
  • Quotation mark
    • 01 Using quotation marks
    • 02 Placement of quotation marks
    • 03 Single quotation marks
  • 1
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