EH&S Style Guide

12 • locked buildings If the spill is outside of the laboratory, 1. immediate clean up is essential, 2. remain upwind from the spill EH&S Bullets • level 1 ¤ ¤ level 2 – – level 3 Numbers Spell out whole numbers below ten, but use figures for ten and above. Common exceptions to this rule: a 5-year-old girl, 3 percent, 6 cents ; another common exception is that a number at the beginning of a sentence should be spelled out: Twelve program offices and all ten Regional offices think EH&S is a valuable resource. Also, when numbers below ten occur in the same sentence with numbers above ten, they should be formatted as numerals. Other recommendations: • Spell out common fractions and common expressions (e.g. one-third, Fourth of July). • When making a number plural, add an s, with no apostrophe (e.g. 1960s). • When two numbers are combined in a series, use words and numerals ( e.g. five 4-point scales). • Use combinations of numerals and written numbers for large sums ( e.g. over 6 million people). • Use the percent symbol with figures but not with written numbers ( e.g. 4%, thirty percent). • EH&S uses roman numerals for Title V, Region VII and Big XII. Serial Commas (Oxford Commas) Items in a series should be separated by commas, always put the comma before and. For example She took samples from the floor, the ceiling, and the walls. Please call EH&S for disposal of paints, chemicals, and other hazardous materials. Colon Do not use a colon to introduce a list if the colon would follow the word “including,” “included,” or “includes.” Use a colon to introduce a list only if the words before the colon form a complete sentence (subject, verb, and object.) The inventory included the following items: batteries, lanterns, and scales. The inventory included batteries, lanterns, and scales. URLS and Web Addresses When including a URL in text, for documents that will only be in print, set the address in lowercase letters. If an Internet address falls at the end of a sentence, use a period, but be sure to not hyperlink the period. If an address breaks between lines, split it directly after a slash or a dot that is part of the address, without inserting a hyphen. When referencing a site within text, and not directing people to that particular site, the text http://www . can be excluded from the beginning of the web address. Do not underline any text that is not a link , even if your links are not underlined. When a document is posted online, any underlined text can be easily mistaken for an interactive hyperlink. Underlines provide a strong perceived affordance of “clickability.” Hyperlinks should not be broken over two lines in a paragraph.