OSC_Style_Guide.docx

Office of Sustainable Communities Style Guide

This guide is intended to help OSC staff and contractors write publications that use the office’s preferred messaging and clear, plain language. For grammar and punctuation issues, EPA follows the AP Stylebook, which EPA staff can access at www2.epa.gov/product-review/ap-stylebook. In addition, EPA has a writing guide (www2.epa.gov/stylebook/epa-communications-stylebook-writing-guide) to address things that the AP Stylebook omits. It is very useful and has good information on things like disclaimers, acknowledgments, and writing tips, as well as EPA-specific guidance. Another helpful resource is the federal plain language website, www.plainlanguage.gov.

This style guide addresses messaging, word choice, and other similar issues specific to OSC’s work. In addition, because some grammar issues are a judgment call, this guide makes those judgments so that OSC documents will follow the same rules. Although I have tried not to repeat too much from the AP Stylebook and the EPA writing guide, I have included some basic grammar rules here about which people often seem to be confused. If you come across anything else that you think should be in here, please let Megan Susman know.

Partnership for Sustainable Communities Punctuation Acronyms Active Voice vs. Passive Voice Capitalization Compounding Hyphenation URLs Locations Square Foot or Square Feet?

Numerals Word Choice Fighting the (Verbal) Obesity Epidemic Formatting References and Citations (footnotes/endnotes and bibliographies)

Partnership for Sustainable Communities

The correct name for the partnership is “the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities” (not “Sustainable Communities Partnership”). You can refer to it as “the interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities,” but in that case, do not capitalize “interagency.” If you call it “the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities,” there is no need to include the word “interagency”—it would be redundant. In subsequent references, call it “the Partnership” (technically it is incorrect to capitalize the word “partnership” in this case, but we are following EPA’s policy of capitalizing “agency” in subsequent references; see the Capitalization section below).

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Punctuation

Use serial commas (e.g., “Attractive, affordable, and environmentally sound development is known as smart growth”). This is the one rule on which this style guide differs from the AP Stylebook and EPA’s writing guide.

When writing a date with a year (e.g., “I’m responding to your June 1, 2005, letter”), set off the year with commas (however, if it’s just the month and year—“June 2005”—you don’t need commas at all). Same thing for states coming after a city name (e.g., “We have projects in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Ames, Iowa, underway”—if it’s a list of cities and states, use a semi-colon between each set to avoid confusion: “Cities as diverse as Portland, Oregon; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Cleveland, Ohio, have successfully used such policies”). In both these cases, the year or the state is further describing the date or the city, so it’s set off with commas.

Use one space after a period at the end of a sentence. That is the official EPA style.

Em dash — in the final draft of documents, use the em dash with no spaces on either side (e.g., “Use the em dash—found in the “Insert Symbol” button in Word—instead of the en dash.”). The en dash is what comes up automatically if you type a space, then two hyphens, then another space. Because it comes up automatically and the em dash requires more effort, typically it’s best to wait until the final draft to insert the em dashes. I will check for em dashes in my review, so please fix it before you give me a document to review.

Acronyms

Avoid using acronyms as much as possible. If it’s a two-word phrase, or if you are using the phrase only a few times in the rest of the document, do not use an acronym. Acronyms for federal agencies (HUD, DOT, EPA, USDA, etc.) are generally fine. If you use an acronym, make sure it’s spelled out the first time you use it with the acronym in parentheses behind—e.g., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—and then consistently use that same acronym.

Active Voice vs. Passive Voice (borrowed from Guide to Grammar and Style, by Jack Lynch, http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/p.html)

The active voice takes the form of “A does B”; the passive takes the form of “B is done [by A].”

Writers are often instructed to avoid the passive voice, and there are two reasons for this advice. The first is that sentences often become dense and clumsy when they’re filled with passive constructions. The more serious danger of the passive voice, though, is that it lets the writer shirk the responsibility of providing a subject for the verb. The active voice forces one to be specific and confident, not wimpy.

In your own writing, therefore, it’s wise to favor the active voice whenever you can. Instead of the passive “You will be given a guide,” try the active “We will give you a guide”—notice the agent (“We”) is still there.

Don’t go overboard, though. Some passives are necessary and useful. In scientific writing, for instance, sentences are routinely written in the passive voice; the authors are therefore given less importance, and the facts are made to speak for themselves. Even in non-scientific writing, not all passives can be avoided.

Don’t confuse am, is, are, to be, and such with the passive voice, and don’t confuse action verbs with the active voice. The real question is whether the subject of the sentence is doing anything, or having something done to it. I have been giving is active, while I have been given is passive.

Active voice is particularly important for much of the work we do, such as our technical assistance reports to communities, because we need to be clear about who is responsible for taking action. If we are providing options to a community, it is much more helpful if we say, “The planning department could hold workshops to educate the public,” rather than, “Workshops could be held to educate the public.”

Capitalization

In general, avoid unnecessary capitals.

Do not capitalize “smart growth.” (Also do not put it in quotation marks, except in situations like the preceding sentence.)

Do not capitalize “brownfields.”

Do not capitalize “federal” unless it is part of an official title.

Do not capitalize “state,” “city,” or “county” in situations like:

Do capitalize where the word is part of the official title: Arlington County, Oklahoma City.

However, in plural uses, lowercase the common nouns: Arlington and Fairfax counties, Main and State streets, lakes Erie and Ontario.

Capitalize common nouns only if they are part of the full name for an entity; lowercase them when they stand alone in subsequent references, e.g., “EPA announced the creation of the Governors’ Institute on Community Design. The institute will…”

· Exceptions: it is EPA policy to refer to EPA as “the Agency,” and we have adopted this policy for “the Partnership” (the Partnership for Sustainable Communities) as well.

Capitalize formal titles when used immediately before a name: “Planning Commissioner John Smith said…”

Lowercase formal titles when used alone or in constructions that set them off from a name by commas: “The planning commissioner said…” “John Smith, the planning commissioner, said…”

Compounding cleanup — The noun and adjective forms are “cleanup;” the verb form is “clean up.” Do not use “clean-up.”

email, not e-mail (the AP Stylebook recently changed this) flood plain — two words freshwater when it’s an adjective (e.g., a freshwater lake); fresh water when it’s a noun (e.g., our supply of fresh water) ground water — two words, not hyphenated listserv, not listserve or list serve (However, note that “listserv” is officially a trademarked name, and using it for anything besides a list using Listserv software is technically a trademark violation. Also, a listserv is generally an email list to which any member can post. It is not the same thing as an email list to which only the owner can post.)

nonpoint source, not non-point nonprofit — one word, not hyphenated online — one word, not hyphenated runoff — one word, not hyphenated stormwater — one word, not hyphenated water body — two words, not hyphenated Words that include "Web" — One word or two? Per the AP Stylebook, Web page, but webcam, webcast, website, and webmaster (also note which words should be capitalized).

Hyphenation

Hyphenate two adjectives before a noun if not hyphenating would be confusing, e.g., “large-animal facility” if it’s a facility for large animals, but “large animal facility” if it’s a large facility for animals (although in that case, because of the potential for confusion, it might be best to reword the sentence).

Exceptions:

Do not hyphenate the following commonly used phrases when they are used as descriptors:

low impact smart growth land use growth management sea level (as in “sea level rise”)

Do not hyphenate adverb-adjective pairs, e.g., “commonly used phrase,” not “commonly-used phrase” (the adverb can only refer to the adjective, not the noun, so there’s no potential for confusion).

Do not hyphenate Latin or other foreign phrases, e.g., “per capita income,” not “per-capita income.”

Do not hyphenate a URL when it breaks across two lines unless the hyphen is part of the URL, e.g.:

www.epa.gov/smart growth not: www.epa.gov/smart-growth

URLs

In all publications and communications materials (aside from Web pages), always show URLs rather than hyperlinking a phrase in the text (e.g., “EPA’s smart growth website, www.epa.gov/smartgrowth” not “EPA’s smart growth website”). We want people reading our materials in hard copy to be able to see the URL.

URLs in the text should be written as: www.epa.gov/smartgrowth (italicized, no “http://”; if the text will be online, hyperlink it as above; if it will be hard copy, remove the hyperlink and do not underline)

If the URL starts with something other than “http://,” such as “ftp://,” leave it in.

Delete “/” if it appears at the end of a URL (e.g., www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/). It’s unnecessary.

Very important:

· www.epa.gov/smartgrowth will work as our home page URL for the foreseeable future. However, our URL has changed to www2.epa.gov/smartgrowth, and all URLs for our web pages aside from the home page should start with that. Never use any old aliases such as /dced, /livability, /livablecommunities—they no longer work.

· Do not use epa.gov for any EPA URL—it will no longer work after Sept. 30, 2015. All EPA URLs will start with www.epa.gov or www2.epa.gov.

When linking to a publication that is in PDF, use the HTML document page where one exists. For example, use www2.epa.gov/smartgrowth/getting-smart-growth-100-policies-implementation instead of www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-01/documents/gettosg.pdf. Going to the HTML page lets people see what the document is about before they download it. It also gives them information about ordering hard copies, which can be hard to find in the PDF. Also, many people might be using mobile devices or older computers that have trouble with large PDFs, and they need to know the file size before they click on it. Please follow this rule for non-EPA PDFs as well, if you can find an HTML page for them.

Locations

Generally, spell out the name of the state after a city:

Portland, Oregon, has strong smart growth policies.

The exception is the District of Columbia, which should always be abbreviated, have periods after the D and C, and be set off with commas (as other states are):

We have done several projects in Washington, D.C., over the past two years.

In shorter papers (less than 5 pages or so), where space is at a premium, you can abbreviate the state in the AP style:

Updated on 9/29/15

G:\OSC\Communications and Style Guide\Report Guidance and Style Guide\OSC Style Guide.docx Ala.

Alaska Ariz.

Ark.

Calif.

Colo.

Conn.

Del.

D.C.

Fla.

Ga.

Hawaii Idaho Ill.

Ind.

Iowa Kan.

Ky.

La.

Maine Md.

Mass.

Mich.

Minn.

Miss.

Mo.

Mont.

Neb.

Nev.

N.H.

N.J.

N.M.

N.Y.

N.C.

N.D.

Ohio Okla.

Ore.

Pa.

R.I.

S.C.

S.D.

Tenn.

Texas Utah Vt.

Va.

Wash.

W.Va.

Wis.

Wyo.

In tables or charts, use U.S. Postal Service two-letter abbreviations for state names that come after a city name, but spell out states on their own, e.g.:

Portland, OR

Oregon

The AP lists “dateline cities,” those that are “almost synonymous” with their state or region and thus do not need the state after them:

Atlanta Baltimore Boston Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Las Vegas Los Angeles Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh St. Louis Salt Lake City San Antonio San Diego San Francisco Seattle

Square Foot or Square Feet?

When the measurement is being used as a pre-noun modifier, use the singular “foot”: “The museum has added a 50,000-square-foot extension.”

When the measurement is not a modifier, use the plural “feet”: “The museum has added another 50,000 square feet.”

Numerals

See the AP Stylebook (www.apstylebook.com/epa/?do=entry&id=2089&src=AE) for specific guidance on and examples of when to use figures (“2”) and when to spell out numbers (“two”). In general, spell out one through nine, and use figures for 10 or above. However, use figures whenever the number is:

1. Preceding a unit of measure (4 miles, not four miles) or monetary unit (5 cents, not five cents).

1. Preceding million, billion, or trillion (2 billion, not two billion).

1. Preceding percent (3 percent, not three percent).

1. Referring to ages of people, animals, events, or things (5 years old, not five years old).

1. Appearing in a table or chart.

1. Appearing in statistical and sequential forms.

Word Choice

This is a matter of style, but in general, use the simplest words you can. “Use” instead of “utilize,” for example, or “help” instead of “provide assistance to.” Avoid business jargon like “incentivize,” “impact” as a verb, “drill down,” etc. (see www.comnetwork.org/resources/jargon.html or www.buzzwhack.com for more words to avoid).

Jargon can be confusing, and it can make people who don’t understand the terms you use feel excluded (or make them think that you are lying to them; see www.bnet.com/blog/entry-level/business-jargon-makes-people-think-youre-lying-study-says/5048). We want our communications to be clear and to make people feel included. In the words of Tony Proscio, who has written a couple of guides on clear writing for foundations:

The repetitive, habitual use of insider lingo undermines the inherently public nature of the issues under discussion. Social issues, in a democratic society, are presumed to be the domain of ordinary people—voters, activists, volunteers, journalists, and other lay commentators—who feel (justly) entitled to participate in discussions equipped only with the general vocabulary of a reasonably well-educated person.

In Other Words: A Plea for Plain Speaking in Foundations, http://www.emcf.org/fileadmin/user/PDF/Other_Resources/jargon_inotherwords.pdf

The federal Plain Language site (www.plainlanguage.gov) is helpful, with before-and-after examples.

The “Omit needless words” section of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style (www.bartleby.com/141/strunk5.html#13) is concise and useful.

Also somewhat outdated but often useful is George Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language” (full text online at www.k-1.com/Orwell/index.cgi/work/essays/language.html). He is especially helpful when you’re thinking about how to evoke an image to help people understand your point.

Some pithy rules from George Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language”:

A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus:

1. What am I trying to say?

2. What words will express it?

3. What image or idiom will make it clearer?

4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?

And he will probably ask himself two more:

1. Could I put it more shortly?

2. Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?

One can often be in doubt about the effect of a word or a phrase, and one needs rules that one can rely on when instinct fails. I think the following rules will cover most cases:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/index.cgi/work/essays/language.html

Specific words/phrases to avoid:

1. “beta test” — this phrase has a very specific, technical meaning and is jargon. Use “test” instead.

1. “density” — use this word with caution. It consistently evokes negative reactions among general audiences. “Compact” is usually better than “dense.” In some cases, “density” is fine—for example, “a density of 10 units per acre.” But usually, you do not want to talk about “increasing density” as a strategy or “denser neighborhoods” as a goal. Talk instead about what more compact development brings, what it looks like, and what the benefits are.

1. “livability” or “livable communities” — Having a community that is “livable” doesn’t sound like a very high goal to some people; it suggests a bare minimum. Others have taken offense to “livable communities” because of the implicit suggestion that places that don’t use these strategies are “unlivable.” We stopped using these terms to avoid these problems. In general, “quality of life” works in place of “livability.” (Note: U.S. DOT used to use “livable” and “livability,” so these terms show up in older Partnership publications, but even DOT has stopped using the terms now.)

1. “sustainability” or “sustainable development” — these terms are very broad and go well beyond what we are typically talking about when we are discussing our issues. They also can come with a lot of baggage for some people. Use “sustainable communities” instead. If you really mean the full range of issues that “sustainability” covers, then use “sustainability,” but never use “sustainable development.”

1. Do not use judgmental words like “unfortunately” or “hopefully.”

1. Avoid jargon and technical language. If you must use a technical term that has no easy plain-language equivalent, like “heat island,” define it the first time you use it. We discourage using a glossary, because it essentially announces to the reader that the report is going to be so complex that they will need this guide to keep up.

1. Avoid language that might subtly undermine your point by sparking a negative reaction. “Transit benefits,” not “transit subsidies.” “Public transit,” not “mass transit.” “Compact development,” not “dense development.”

1. Never say a policy or design is intended to force people out of their cars, make people drive less, or even reduce automobile travel. We are trying to give people more options. We believe that if they have these options, some people will choose not to drive because walking, biking, or transit is more convenient, cheaper, or more pleasant for them.

1. Avoid using “urban” if possible. Many people have a negative reaction to the word, and it’s inappropriate when the project is in a rural or suburban community—many people live in these places precisely because they don’t want an “urban” neighborhood, so telling them the town is trying to create an “urban feel” is not going to appeal to them. Many times it’s unnecessary; for example, “growth boundary” instead of “urban growth boundary” works just fine.

1. Terms like “measure,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “quantify,” etc. have a precise meaning; please use them correctly. A model almost never measures something. At best a model can forecast or estimate. Not all estimates are forecasts; we can estimate the effects of a $2 per gallon gas tax, but such an estimate would be a forecast only in the loosest sense. And we would not be measuring such effects, because they haven’t happened yet. A forecast is usually a prediction of what will happen absent further action. Except in rare circumstances, measurements are inputs to models, not outputs.

Other miscellaneous word-choice issues:

1. “Quality” is a neutral word. Don’t use it to mean “high-quality” (as in “Residents want a quality development”)—it sounds like something a used-car salesman would say. Use instead something more descriptive (like “attractive” or “appealing”) or, as a quick fix, “high-quality.”

1. “Effort” is a vague word and often misused. See the section further down about abstract nouns. In many cases, you can easily rewrite the sentence to eliminate these words.

1. “Leverage” (as a verb) has been corrupted from its original meaning and is now so misused that it’s often hard to tell what the writer means when she or he uses it. It also sounds jargony. If you must use it, stick to the dictionary definitions: “To enhance as if by supplying with financial leverage; to use for gain; exploit.” In general, many uses of “leverage” can be replaced by “influence” or “use.”

1. “Grow” is also jargony when used as: “They want to grow their economy.” Talk instead about strengthening the economy.

1. “Accessible” can mean many different things—easily understood or appreciated, easy to reach by transit or on foot, easy for handicapped people to use, etc. If you use this word, be clear about what you mean (e.g., “transit accessible”).

1. “Represents” is not a synonym for “is,” and using it as such makes writing sound stilted. “The square represents a gathering place for people” is incorrect. The square is a gathering place. “The flag represents our nation’s unity” is correct, however, because the flag is not our nation’s unity—it’s a representation of it.

1. Similarly, “serves as” also sounds stilted and is often incorrectly used in place of “is.” Use “serves as” only when you’re talking about something being used for a purpose other than its usual one(s). “The square serves as a gathering place” is incorrect because one typical purpose of a public square is to be a gathering place. “The school serves as a polling place once a year” is correct because it is not typically used as a polling place.

1. “Unique” means one of a kind. In most places where people use “unique,” they really mean “distinctive.” Rural communities do not have a unique character—they have a distinctive character. Do not use “unique” unless you truly mean that there is nothing else like it. For most of what we do, “unique” is not appropriate because there are other, similar situations or examples.

1. Instead of saying “a new study” or “recently, the city council approved…” or “for the next six months,” give a specific date or date range. We don’t know when people will be reading our publications, so it is better to say, “In March 2010, the city council approved…” or “A 2009 study…”

1. “historic” versus “historical”: A historic event is an important occurrence, one that stands out in history. Any occurrence in the past is a historical event.

1. “traditional”: We often use “traditional” in the context of “traditional neighborhood development.” For that reason, using phrases like “traditional zoning code” or “traditional subdivisions” can be confusing. If you mean something that is typical or the way things have typically been done, use “conventional” and save “traditional” for when you’re talking about traditions we want to promote.

Fighting the (Verbal) Obesity Epidemic (adapted from Ken Smith’s Junk English)

Again, this is style, not a concrete rule—sometimes the phrases Smith dubs “obese” or “roundabout” are okay in context—but here are some suggestions if you want to put your prose on a diet:

Warning sign of an obese phrase: An abstract noun at the end of the phrase—alternative, arena, basis, character, concept, effect, effort, experience, fashion, level, manner, mode, nature, plane, process, prospect, quality, situation, thing

Clinton entered the political arena [politics] at an early age.

The withholding concept [Withholding] is often poorly understood.

He had a brash character [was brash].

Thank you for making this a rewarding experience [so rewarding].

You need to exercise on a daily basis [daily].

It’s almost a spiritual thing [spiritual].

In documents I’ve reviewed, I’ve noticed people often refer to “a set of” or “a series of” something. These phrases can usually be deleted, which will make the sentence tighter and easier to read. Examples of where using these phrases might be appropriate: if you’re truly talking about a “set of policies” in the sense that the policies are one package (versus just “policies,” which better describes most of what we provide communities because they can pick and choose from the options we provide), or a “series of policies,” which means that communities would have to implement them in a certain order, each building upon the previous one. But most of the time, these phrases just add words without adding meaning.

Formatting References and Citations

Wikipedia Do not cite Wikipedia as a source. It can be changed at any time. The Wikipedia entry should have an original citation for whatever statistic or other information you are citing; use that original citation instead (and check it to be sure the source says what the Wikipedia entry claims it says).

In general, think carefully about the sources you cite and whether they are reliable enough to be used in a government publication. Do not cite work from an individual or organization unless they are credible and not seen as political.

Direct Quotes Material taken directly from another source must be in quotation marks. Using text verbatim from another source without quotation marks, even if it’s cited, is plagiarism. If you use a direct quote, you should include in the citation the page number(s) on which the quote appeared, if applicable (a quote that comes from a Web page, for example, would have no page number that you could use, but a quote in a book does).

Footnotes/Endnotes Use footnotes or endnotes rather than in-text citations. Use footnotes for fact sheets, white papers, booklets, and other relatively short publications. Use either footnotes or endnotes in books, as in Getting to Smart Growth. In the text, the numbers should go after punctuation—e.g., the first footnote.1

If you are including a footnote with more information (for example, the text mentions form-based codes, and a footnote defines form-based codes), do not simply say, “For more information, see [URL].” You must give the name of the organization and, ideally, the title of the page (for example, “For more information, see the Form-Based Codes Institute, “What Are Form-Based Codes?” at http://formbasedcodes.org/what-are-form-based-codes.”).

We follow the MLA style with a few tweaks (structure and examples below adapted from the Purdue Online Writing Lab, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/06). Most of our reports are not long enough to warrant a bibliography or works cited section at the end, but some, such as Our Built and Natural Environments, are. (A bibliography includes all materials consulted, even if they are not directly cited in the text; a works cited section includes only materials cited in the text.)

Format for footnotes or endnotes in a paper with no bibliography/works cited section, or for a bibliography/works cited section

Report Author last name, first name. Title of Report. Publisher/organization. Year. URL if available.

Book Author last name, first name. Book Title. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

Book with one author Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987.

Book with more than one author: The first author appears in last name, first name format with a comma before and after the first name; subsequent authors appear in first name last name format.

Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000.

If there are more than three authors, you can choose to list only the first author followed by “et al.” in place of the subsequent authors' names.

Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition. Logan: Utah State UP, 2004.

or Wysocki, Anne Frances, Johndan Johnson-Eilola, Cynthia L. Selfe, and Geoffrey Sirc. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition. Logan: Utah State UP, 2004.

Two or more books by the same author: List works alphabetically by title (ignore articles like A, An, and The). Provide the author’s name in last name, first name format for the first entry only. For each subsequent entry by the same author, use an em dash and a period.

Palmer, William J. Dickens and New Historicism. New York: St. Martin's, 1997.

—. The Films of the Eighties: A Social History. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1993.

Periodical (magazines, newspapers, and journals) Author last name, first name. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical, Month Year. [Abbreviate all months with three-letter abbreviations.]

For monthly publications, you need only the month and year in the date. Weekly and daily publications need the day as well.

Buchman, Dana. "A Special Education." Good Housekeeping, Mar. 2006.

Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time, Nov. 20, 2000.

Brubaker, Bill. "New Health Center Targets County's Uninsured Patients." Washington Post, May 24, 2007.

If the newspaper is a less-known or local publication, include the city name and state in brackets after the title of the newspaper.

Behre, Robert. "Presidential Hopefuls Get Final Crack at Core of S.C. Democrats." Post and Courier [Charleston, SC], Apr. 29, 2007.

For an editorial or letter to the editor, include the designation "Editorial" or "Letter" to identify the type of work it is.

"Of Mines and Men." Editorial. Wall Street Journal, Oct. 24, 2003.

Hamer, John. Letter. American Journalism Review, Dec. 2006/Jan. 2007.

For anonymous articles, cite the article title first, and finish the citation as you would any other for that kind of periodical.

"Business: Global Warming's Boom Town; Tourism in Greenland." The Economist, May 26, 2007.

For an article in a scholarly journal, provide issue numbers, when available.

Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume.Issue (Year): pages.

Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature 15.1 (1996): 41-50.

Duvall, John N. "The (Super)Marketplace of Images: Television as Unmediated Mediation in DeLillo's White Noise." Arizona Quarterly 50.3 (1994): 127-53.

Web page Organization. “Page Title.” URL [unlike in the text, do not italicize, and it’s okay to leave “http://” in]. Accessed date [Spell out date and abbreviate month with three-letter abbreviation, e.g., Accessed Jun. 1, 2012].

(Note that you need only use the “accessed date” when the item is a Web page that could be changed; if the source is a publication, press release, article, report, etc. that is posted on a website but will not be changed, you don’t need to include the “accessed date,” just the date that the item was released.)

Press release Organization. “Title.” Press release, Month Day, Year. URL if available.

Conference presentation Presenter last name, first name. “Title of Presentation or Paper.” Conference Name, Month day, year. URL if available.

Personal communication Personal communication with [full name, position, organization], on [date (Month day, year)].

Regulation, legislation, resolution, code, and other documents adopted by a government body Jurisdiction name. Name of Code. Section or Title Number (if applicable). Adopted [or Effective, Amended, Revised, etc.] [date (Month day, year)] (if known). URL (if available).

For sub-state jurisdictions, such as cities and counties, include the state name unless it is a dateline city (see list above). You can abbreviate the state name with the two-letter postal abbreviation to save space. If you do so, do it consistently in all the footnotes in the document.

City of Portsmouth, VA. Zoning Ordinance. Revised Jul. 24, 2012. http://www.portsmouthva.gov/planning/docs/municodefinalJuly242012.pdf

Park City, UT. Park City Municipal Code. Title 15: Land Management Code – Chapter 2.21. Adopted Aug. 2008. http://www.parkcity.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=217.

Do not abbreviate the state’s name if it is the jurisdiction you are citing.

State of Maryland.

In the case of resolutions, a specific government entity will usually be the author rather than a jurisdiction. Put the resolution name in quotation marks.

County Council for Montgomery County, MD. “Resolution 16-809 (Approval of Executive Regulation 31-08 AM, Context Sensitive Road Design Standards).” Adopted Dec. 9, 2008. http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/res/20081209_16-809.pdf.

Format for footnotes/endnotes if you have a bibliography or works cited section, and for previously cited works

You can use a short citation in a footnote or endnote if you have the full citation in a bibliography or works cited section, or if you have previously cited the same source in a footnote earlier in the document. A short citation is generally the author’s last name or the name of the organization and the year. If you are citing a quote or a specific piece of information and want to show what page it came from, you can add the page number(s) after the year. If you have multiple sources with the same author and date, be sure to differentiate among them by including the title in the footnote.

Buchman 2006.

EPA Reducing Urban Heat Islands—Trees and Vegetation 2008.

EPA Reducing Urban Heat Islands—Cool Roofs 2008.