Grammar and punctuation
Apostrophes
Use apostrophes to show possession.
Do
your vehicle's number plate (singular)
your customers' views (plural)
a week's time (singular)
in 2 weeks' time (plural)
Do
1990s – not 1990's
PhDs – not PhD's
Don't use apostrophes in plural abbreviations or decades.
Use apostrophes in place of missing letters in contractions.
Ampersands (&)
Don't use an ampersand in a sentence, unless it's part of an organisation's name.
Brackets
Use rounded brackets in a sentence to add comments, asides and definitions.
Capitalisation
See also Terms and spelling for capitalisation of words.
Keep capitals to a minimum.
Use initial capitals for proper nouns or titles as needed.
Capitalise any noun that an agency has identified as a proper noun in their style guide.
Headings
Use an initial capital for the first word and any proper nouns.
Government
Use initial capitals when referring to a specific government and using the full name.
Use lowercase in generic instances.
Do
NSW Government has announced energy rebates.
The Ombudsman is independent of the elected government.
Find your nearest local government preschool.
Use initial capitals when referring to a specific department.
Use lowercase in generic instances.
Example
The Department of Premier and Cabinet is a NSW Government department. The department provides strategic guidance to the public sector.
Commas
If there are too many commas in a sentence, consider shorter sentences or a bulleted list.
Do
Use an Oxford comma if it makes a list in a sentence easier to understand.
You may need to have your eyesight tested, a medical examination, or take a test before you can renew your licence.
Contractions
Use simple contractions to create a conversational tone.
Example
you'll
we'll
we've
you're
you'll
it's
Don't use complex or potentially confusing contractions. Avoid negative contractions like can't and don't as some people may misread or misunderstand them.
Dashes
Use an en dash (–) to explain, show an abrupt change, or set a phrase apart within a sentence (like brackets).
Use a space on both sides of the dash.
Exclamation marks
Don't use exclamation marks.
Full stops
Don't add a full stop if an email address is at the end of a sentence.
Use a full stop for other kinds of links that end sentences. The link text should form part of the sentence.
Do not
Don't use full stops for:
- contractions such as Mr, Dr or Mrs
- abbreviations
- acronyms and initialisms.
Hyphens
Use hyphens when 2 or more words form an adjective.
Don't use a hyphen if the adjectival phrase is after the subject.
Do
full-time work – to work full time
in-depth look – to look in depth
16-year-old driver
11-digit number
Don't hyphenate login or sign up.
Do
Use your login to log in to your account.
You'll need to sign up for an account.
Use a hyphen with double-up vowels to make it easier to understand and when without a hyphen it would be ambiguous.
Don't use hyphens for well known words.
Do
re-evaluate
re-engage
re-sign (sign again)
re-form (join up again)
coordinate
online
website
Plurals
Sparingly use brackets 's' to refer to something that could be either singular or plural. Rephrase if possible.
Do
Send your completed document(s) to the address on the form.
Quotation marks
Use single quotation marks, not double quotation marks.