Calendar Style Guide

University Style Guides

The following style guides are used in the University of Alberta Calendar:

• The Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

• University of Alberta Style Guide (2014)

• Government of Canada Translation Bureau - French Typographical Rules

Calendar Style Guide

Complexity of Language

• see the Plain Language Guidelines as set out under the Calendar Plain Language Review - approved by GFC Executive Committee June 20, 1997

Spaces

• No double spaces

• No spaces before commas, periods, colons, semicolons, etc. (Exception: French-language pages use French punctuation rules, including a space before colons and semicolons)

Capitalization

• Consistency in bulleted lists, numbered lists, etc.

• Proper use of semicolons

Comma

• No comma before "and" unless it separates two or more clauses

Parenthesis

• (The Calendar is published annually.) - The period is placed within the parenthesis, since a complete sentence is enclosed.

• The Calendar is published annually (in both print and online versions). - The period is placed outside the parenthesis, since it encloses additional information and is not a complete sentence.

• [See §121.2(2).] - Square brackets are used to enclose a sentence that uses parenthesis.  The same punctuation rules apply.

Italics

• The University of Alberta Calendar is published annually. - Titles of published books are italicized.  (Titles of published articles are placed within quotations.)

• The Faculté Saint Jean offers anglais langue seconde courses. - Text written in a different language is italicized.

Hyphen

• Three-week course

• Courses taught in the last three weeks of school

Dash

• See §52 - Augustana Chart 1. - Space between dash and text

Slashes to signify alternatives

• Where one or more of the terms separated by slashes is an open compound, a space before and after the slash can make the text more legible.

Notes

• Note: students are required to taken an additional 6 units in studio courses

• Notes

1. An additional 6 units in studio courses is required.

2. Students must take XXX during the term that falls between the IPT and APT

Use the legal names of Faculties (rather than marketing names):

• "School of Business" should be "Faculty of Business in the calendar

• "Campus Saint-Jean" should be "Faculté Saint-Jean" in the calendar

• "School of Native Studies" should be "Faculty of Native Studies" in the calendar

• "Faculty of Public Health" should be "School of Public Health" in the calendar

• "Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry" should be "Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry" in the calendar

Academic Schedule

• Holidays/breaks use the following format (consistent with Faculté Saint-Jean Schedule): Labour Day. University buildings closed.

• Period included after each event. Period is included within bracket if independent sentence enclosed, ex. (Bear Tracks registration open until midnight.).

• Numbers below 10 are spelled out, ex. block six, block three, three-week, 13-week, etc. (U of A Style Guide)

• No commas preceding "and" in lists, ex. "Summer program ends for first, second and third year DDS students."

Course Listings

• In a list of courses, course designators should only be repeated if each mention is turning into a course link.  Otherwise, designators should not be repeated (ex. AUENG 103, AUENG 104, AUENG 105 should be AUENG 103, 104, 105.).

• Proper use of commas/semicolons.