House style guidelines

This section provides details of LTS's preferred spelling, hyphenation or capitalisation for specific words or phrases that come up frequently in LTS content.

As a general rule, use Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (available online at http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk).

When using MS Office software, ensure that the default language is set to English (UK).

Numbers 0-10, words and phrases A to E
Words and phrases F to L
Words and phrases M to R
Words and phrases S to W

0-10

Term/phrase	Notes
5-14	Use hyphen on web pages

A

Words and phrases beginning with A
Term/phrase	Notes
Access	Capital 'A' when this refers to a qualification level
acknowledgement	spelling, acknowledgement
Act - parliamentary	capital A
Advanced Higher	qualification title - use capitals
adviser	spelling: adviser, not advisor; no capital
agenda	agendas (plural)
antidiscrimination	no hyphen
appendix	appendices (plural)
the arts	no capitals
attainment outcome	no capitals
attainment target	no capitals
audiocassette	no hyphen
audiovisual	one word
autumn	no capital

B

Words and phrases beginning with B
Word/phrase	Notes
Becta	no capitals - not BECTa
benefited	spelling, benefited
bilingual	one word
bill - parliamentary	no capitals
Braille	capital
British sign language (BSL)	no capitals on sign language
budgeted	spelling, budgeted
Burns's (Burns's poems)	note use of apostrophe s
Burns Night	name of festival (no apostrophe)

C

Words and phrases beginning with C
Word/phrase	Notes
CD-ROM	hyphen, capitals
chat room	two words
checklist	one word
clip art	two words
co-ordinate	hyphen
core skills	no capitals
coursework	one word
criterion/criteria	singular/plural
curriculum/curricula	singular/plural
Curriculum for Excellence	use initial capitals; in italics in print/PDF/Word publications

D, E

Words and phrases beginning with D and E
Word/phrase	Notes
disc	spelling (eg to describe CD-ROM) but hard disk
dispatch	spelling
Eco Schools	(no hyphen for Scottish Eco Schools programme)
e-learning	hyphen
email	no hyphen
early years	no capitals; can be used interchangeably with ‘pre-school’. Do not use term ‘pre-five’.
east	no capital unless part of the title of an area or political division, eg East Africa
eg	no full stops; comma before it; always consider using ‘for example’
encyclopaedia
erratum/errata	singular/plural
euro(s)	no capital

F

Words and phrases beginning with F
word/phrase	Notes
factsheet	one word
flow chart	two words
focused	spelling, focused
footnote	one word
formula/formulae	singular/plural
forum/forums	singular/plural
foundation (level)	no capital unless part of a qualification, eg Standard Grade Science Foundation Level
framework	as in 'curriculum framework'; no capital
further education	no capitals but FE in abbreviated form

G, H

Words and phrases beginning with G and H
Word/phrase	Notes
the government (generally)	no capital
the Government (specifically)	capital
groupwork	one word
guides for teachers and managers	no capitals
HTML	capitals
handheld	one word, no hyphen
headteacher	one word, no capital
helpdesk	one word
Higher	use capital when referring to qualification level
higher education	no capitals unless in abbreviated form (HE)
a holistic ...	takes 'a' not 'an'
home page	two words
the humanities	no capitals

I, J, K

Words and phrases beginning with I, J and K
Word/phrase	Notes
ie	no full stops; comma before it; always consider using ‘that is’
information and communications technology	no capitals
interactive	one word
interdisciplinary	one word
Intermediate	use capital when referring to qualification level, eg Intermediate 1
internet	no capital
-ise not -ize	organisation, not organization
it’s/its	‘it’s’ can be used in informal documents for ‘it is’; its is a possessive pronoun
judgement	spelling, judgement not judgment
kb/s	abbreviation for kilobits per second

L

Words and phrases beginning with L
Word/phrase	Notes
Level A, B, C	capital for specific 5-14 level but not for range of levels
licence/license	spelling, licence (noun), license (verb)
lifelong learning	lifelong - no hyphen; no capitals
logbook	one word
log-in	hyphen - adjective
log in	two words - verb
LTS	abbreviated form of Learning and Teaching Scotland
LTS's	note use of apostrophe s
LTScotland.org.uk	note no gap and capitals ‘LTS’ in web and email addresses

M

Words and phrases beginning with M
Word/phrase	Notes
manmade	one word
medieval	(not mediaeval)
mind map	two words
minibeast	one word
multicultural	one word
multilingual	one word

N, O

Words and phrases beginning with N or O
Word/phrase	Notes
National Qualifications	capitals
national guidelines	no capitals
north	no capital unless part of the title of an area or political division, eg North America
ongoing	one word (no hyphen)
online	one word
on-screen	hyphen
out of date	after a noun (no hyphens)
out-of-date	before a noun

P, Q, R

Words and phrases beginning with P, Q or R
Word/phrase	Notes
PDF	capitals
plugin	one word, no hyphen
post-14	hyphen, no capital
postcode	one word
post holder	two words
practice/practise	spelling, practice (noun), practise (verb)
pre-school	no capitals; can be used interchangeably with ‘early years’; do not use term ‘pre-five’
Primary 4	not ‘primary four’
printout	one word
proforma	one word
program	electronic sense
programme	general sense
rollout	no hyphen

S

Words and phrases beginning with S
Word/phrase	Notes
secondary guidelines	no capitals
south	no capital unless part of the title of an area or political division, eg South America
stand-alone	hyphen
Standard Grade	capitals
strand	no capitals
subgroup	one word, no hyphen
subheading	one word, no hyphen
syllabus/syllabuses	singular/plural

T

Words and phrases beginning with T
Word/phrase	Notes
tapescript	one word, no hyphen
targeted	spelling, targeted
teacher's handbook	apostrophe
teamwork	one word
toolbar	one word, no hyphen
trialled	spelling, trialled

U, V

Words and phrases beginning with U or V
Word/phrase	Notes
under-16s	hyphen
up to date	after a noun (no hyphen)
up-to-date	before a noun
video cassette	two words
videoconferencing	not video conferencing or video-conferencing

W

Words and phrases beginning with W
Word/phrase	Notes
web	not Web
webcam	one word
web link	two words
web page	two words, no hyphen
website	one word, not web site or Web site
wellbeing	no hyphen
west	no capital unless part of the title of an area or political division, eg Western Australia
(Government) White Paper	capitals
word bank	two words
workstream	one word