Publishing conventions

Publishing Conventions

(From the former Victorian Board of Studies)

Text

· one space after a full stop

· one space after all punctuation

· consistency with capitalisation of headings and names

· consistency with margin widths, page numbering, column spacing, indention

· minimal use of font sizes

· Australia-Post preferred style for envelopes (no underscore, no punctuation in final line)

· consistency with dates, for example, 27 April 2001. Note: no punctuation; date/month/year in full

· use a serif font (has small strokes at the end of the character) for paragraph text

· use a sans-serif font for headings, tables and diagrams.

Numeric Information

· money values usually have two decimal places or none

· numbers are right-aligned in columns

· align decimal points (within a column and in totals)

· numbers that appear in text use a space or comma to separate number of 10,000

· numbers that appear in text and are less than 10 are written out in full

· when a number starts a sentence it is written out in full

· position labels next to single numbers, for example, $5

· position labels for of columns of numbers at the top of the column

· percentages in text are written out in full, for example, 25 per cent

· percentages in columns appear at the top of the columns, for example, %

· telephone area codes should be in brackets, with one space after the first four digits.

Graphics and Colour

· graphs and charts have titles

· x-axis and y-axis must be labelled

· use a key if more than one set of data is provided on the same graph or chart

· include author identification and/or source of data, date and a file name (if appropriate)

· include unit of measurement on relevant axis

· label each segment of a pie chart

· arrange segments (starting a 12 o'clock position) from largest to smallest

· include absolute figures as well as percentages

· choose colours that match the information being discussed.

Presentation Formats and Conventions

Letters

· minimise punctuation, for example, no commas at the end of each line in the inside address or salutation and complimentary close

· text is usually left aligned

· leave between 3-8 cm at the top of page (depends on length of letter)

· date written in full, for example 8 May 2000

· if more than one page, include page number on additional pages but not on the first page

· use Australia-Post preferred style for envelopes.

Tables (Text and Numeric)

· use a heading hierarchy

· position column headings appropriately, for example, use a left-aligned heading for text that is left-justified in the column

· if columns contain figures, then right-align headings and column information

· usually have equal spacing between columns

· subtotals have a single line above the total

· grand totals have a single line above and below the total, with the totals set in bold.

Financial Reports

· use a space or comma to separate numbers of 999

· use italics to indicate addition or subtraction

· subtotals have a single line above the totals

· grand totals have a single or double line below the totals

· grand totals are in bold

· include $ sign in column headings rather than next to each money value

· right-align dates to allow for double figures.

Program Listing

· highlight key words in bold

· use comments at the beginning of procedures or functions to briefly describe their purpose

· use comments at the beginning of program to identify the program, its purpose and any special conditions

· use meaningful names for all constants, variables, procedures and functions

· use named constants for any constant other than zero (0) or one (1)

· use indentation to emphasise the structure of program control statements, making sure that the level of indentation matches the level of the structure

· use blank lines to separate groups of statements.

Charts and Graphs

· use bar charts to show the differences between values or to show changes over a period of time

· use pie charts to compare parts of a whole or relationships between segments

· use graphs to show trends or relationships between values on each axis

· if more than one line is used in a line graph, vary the thickness or line type of each one

· limit the number of items represented in a chart to five or six.

Reports

Reports consists of:

· a title page (stating an appropriate title, the author, the name of the person commissioning the report, and the date)

· a contents page (indicates content segments and page numbers)

· an introduction (states the purpose of the report)

· the body of the report, which can contain text, tables, graphics

· conclusions

· a list of references or a bibliography.

Report Formats and Conventions Include:

· all pages of a report are numbered except the title page

· consistent application of a heading hierarchy

· single quotation marks when quoting work from another author

· quotations exceeding 50-60 words are indented and single spaced

· appropriate entries for books in a list of references (or bibliography) - name of author; first initial; date of publication; title of publication (in italics); publisher; place of publication

· appropriate entries for articles from newspapers, journals and magazines in a list of references (or bibliography), - name of author, first initial, date of publication, the title of the article (in quotation marks); title of publication (in italics), publisher; place of publication; date and page number, if appropriate

· if no author is identified begin with the title of the publication followed by the year.

Presentations

· use a dark-coloured background for slides

· use a light-coloured background for slides if printing as a handout

· use a light-coloured background if making overhead transparencies from the slides

· use sans-serif font for headings (48 point)

· use 32 point for text

· limit the number of points on a slide to five or six

· enhance slides with graphics.

Flow Charts

· use standard symbols

· show the version number, creation number and author

· show the direction of the program flow by using arrows

· minimise text within a symbol; write explanatory notes alongside the chart if necessary

· use only one page to represent the program

· show only one entry into and one exit from program control statements.

Spreadsheets

· treat a spreadsheet printout as a report, hence report conventions apply

· suitably centre a sheet on a page

· briefly explain the purpose of the spreadsheet and identify the author

· where cells require user input, clearly label what has to be entered (left side of cell)

· group input cells, frame them or use a suitable colour to distinguish them

· where cells display results, clearly indicate the cell (and the unit of measurement)

· group output cells, frame them or use a suitable colour (but different to input cells) to distinguish them

· group/frame cells that will be printed, with cells not for printout located outside

· list all equations in a separate document.

Desktop Publishing

· page layout should direct the reader from the top left corner down to the bottom right

· use a restricted number of typefaces

· use column widths of between 20 and 40 characters

· minimise the use of uppercase letters in headlines

· restrict the number of consecutive line endings with a hyphen

· avoid widows and orphans.

Suggested Web Formats and Conventions

The following list of formats and conventions are suggestions only. Electronic publishing is in its infancy, and as a consequence a set of mandatory formats and conventions has not been developed. Identify those that you feel are appropriate to a solution, and expect students to apply them consistently.

Text

· only centre short units of text (usually left justify)

· sans-serif font for main text to ensure readability

· consistent fonts, type sizes (usually 9-12 pt)

· no longer than 60-character line length (10-11 words)

· limit paragraph size (4-8 lines)

· use wide margins

· avoid using all capitals

· no underscore

· consistent headings

· use bold and italics sparingly.

Sound

· clarity of sound

· length - not too long

· indicate length of sound track, file type and size such as WAVE (type), 645K (size), 1 minute (length)

· for hearing-impaired people, also include a transcript of speeches, etc.

Still / Moving Images

· keep videos short/images small to reduce transfer time

· give a description of the video and file size and type, for example AVI (.avi), MPEG (.mpg; mpe), QUICKTIME (.qt; .mov)

· make images less than 480 pixels

· small coloured graphics can be used as organisation and navigation buttons.

Purpose

· personal

· commercial

· other (sharing information, entertaining readers, creating a fun club, sharing knowledge).

Colours

· avoid red text on blue background

· most text is in black

· most backgrounds are white or grey

· avoid red and green together (difficult to distinguish for colour-blind people)

· be colour consistent

· use negative space (white space)

· use links as the source of colour

· limit the number of colours used in text and figures to four.

Web Pages

· each page should contain a different concept or idea

· display the most important information first

· each segment should fill a single screen - if not enough text, combine with another

· if page is longer than five screens, break into smaller segments

· at the end of each page include name, email address, and date of last modification

· home page/core page should not take more than 15 seconds to load

· provide common element/theme/look such as logo

· 3 hops/clicks is maximum number to get to important information

· 4-5 hops should take users to 80 per cent of the documents they may want to view

· placement of navigation bar depends on length of page - at top usually, unless page warrants a couple of scrolls

· create one main frame.

Source: Extract from Resource material to assist in the implementation of VCE Information Technology May 2000