Written style guide

abbreviations

• Avoid adopting (or inventing) obscure acronyms or abbreviations, or relying too heavily on University acronyms. It’s appropriate to use the full name at first reference, then to use generic terms like ‘the association’, ‘the group’ or ‘the committee’ in later references.
• When using a term in place of a specific unit with the University, capitalise (e.g. ‘the University’, ‘the Institute’, ‘the Faculty’, ‘the School’).
• Spell out ‘Professor’ and ‘Associate Professor’: do not abbreviate to ‘Prof’ and ‘A/Prof’.
• Spell out ‘and’: don’t use ampersand (‘&’) unless part of an official title (e.g. H&M), in a table, or space is very tight.
• When writing about academic programs, always use their full name at first mention (e.g. Bachelor of Commerce). If appropriate, and if the reader will understand, you can then refer to a program’s abbreviated form (e.g. BCom). Never use full stops in program abbreviations. Refer to UQ's Awards Table (PDF 242.3 KB) for a full list of program abbreviations.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

• Always use the full term ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ in the first instance before using shorter terms such as 'Indigenous', ‘First Peoples’, ‘Indigenous Australian peoples' or ‘First Nations’ to avoid repetition – but note the use of capitals in all instances.
• Refer to an Aboriginal person by their clan if it is known (e.g. use ‘Turrbul woman Casey says that...’ rather than ‘Aboriginal woman Casey says that...’).
• Always use 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' in full – don’t abbreviate to ‘ATSI’ or 'A&TSI'.
• Don't use 'aboriginal' as a noun (e.g. 'the aboriginal') and never use the word ‘aborigine’.
• Be conscious in your writing not to exclude or isolate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (e.g. stating that ‘all Australians have access to quality medical care’ excludes the lived experience of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples).
• Don’t trivialise or misrepresent important cultural beliefs and practices (e.g. don't refer to the Dreamtime as myths or legends).
• Don’t make assumptions about someone’s ancestry or identity based on their physical features. Terms such as ‘half-caste’, ‘full-blood’ and ‘part-Aboriginal’ should not be used.

accessibility

• Ensure all web content complies with UQ’s Web Accessibility Guidelines

alumni

• ‘Alum’ is singular and ‘alumni’ is plural. UQ's preference is to use 'alum' as a non-gendered, less formal alternative to 'alumnus'.
• An 'alum' is any student who has attended UQ (e.g. exchange students are UQ alumni, even though they graduate at their home universities). A ‘graduate’ is someone who completes their degree at UQ.
• For female alumni, use 'alum' for singular or 'alumni' for plural. Do not use the Latin feminine versions 'alumna' for singular or 'alumnae' for plural – although these loanwords are traditionally associated with female alumni, UQ's preference is to use non-gendered terms.

apostrophes

• For year abbreviations following degree qualifications, point the apostrophe toward the omitted characters (e.g. Bachelor of Science '69).

bachelor's degree

• Not bachelors degree or bachelor degree.
• Use an apostrophe, and don’t capitalise unless part of a degree title (e.g. Bachelor of Arts, bachelor’s degree in arts).
• Plural: bachelor’s degrees.
• Always write out dual degree titles in full (e.g. ‘Bachelor of Journalism / Bachelor of Arts’ – do not abbreviate to ‘Bachelors of Journalism/Arts’).

building names

• Capitalise the official names of campus buildings, as well as levels and room designations (e.g. Room 4, Level 2, JD Story building).
• Do not capitalise the word ‘room’, ‘building’, or ‘campus’ unless it forms a part of an official name (e.g. Campus Travel can be found at the St Lucia campus; I visited the JD Story building).

campus

• Do not capitalise ‘campus’ unless it forms a part of an official name (e.g. Campus Travel can be found at the St Lucia campus).
• When referring to campuses, say either ‘UQ St Lucia’, ‘UQ Gatton’, ‘UQ Herston’ or ‘St Lucia campus’, ‘Gatton campus’, ‘Herston campus’.
• Do not use both in combination as a general rule (don’t say ‘the UQ St Lucia campus’); however, for media releases sometimes this is appropriate.

capitalisation

• Capitalise:
  • 'the' in The University of Queensland, even if in the middle of a sentence
  • names of faculties, institutes and schools (e.g. the School of Education, the Faculty of Science)
  • the words ‘University’, ‘School’, ‘Institute’, ‘Centre’ or ‘Faculty’ if you are using them to stand in for a specific UQ body or an official title (e.g. ‘He advised that the School has expertise in the arts.’)
  • program names (e.g. Bachelor of Architectural Design) – use lower case when referring generally to a program/degree (e.g. arts program, law degree, UQ engineering students)
  • names of program majors and fields of study (e.g. Peace and Conflict Studies, Political Science, Marine Biology) – use lower case when referring to general areas (e.g. studying politics, studying science) and remember, a student can study marine biology without majoring in Marine Biology
  • general titles, job titles, academic titles, executive titles (e.g. Mr, Mrs, Communications Manager, Dr, Professor, Vice-Chancellor, Chief Executive Officer)
  • titles of events or event series (e.g. Open Day, O-Week, Research Week, Global Leadership Series); however, note that only the official event title should be capitalised, and the description of the type of event, such as ‘webinar’, should remain in sentence case (e.g. Global Leadership Series: The Future of Cybersecurity webinar)
  • building names (e.g. UQ Centre, Brian Wilson Chancellery), but not ‘building’ (e.g. JD Story building)
  • the word ‘Indigenous’ in all contexts
  • set periods of time (e.g. Semester 1, Semester 2, Trimester 1, Trimester 2, Trimester 3, Year 1, Year 2, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Mid-Semester Break, Year 12 student).
• The following words should not be capitalised in general use:
  • alum, alumni
  • bachelor’s program
  • building
  • campus
  • first-year, second-year, third-year (as adjectives for ‘student’)
  • high school
  • master’s program
  • postgraduate
  • student (e.g. student ID card, student resources)
  • undergraduate.

course

• The University uses ‘course’ to refer to the individual study components that make up a degree program (e.g. ‘She is studying 4 courses in Semester 1.’).
• A ‘subject’ is a specific branch of knowledge or a theme (e.g. ‘The subject of the lecture was Chinese philosophy.’).
• Capitalise official course titles (e.g. Auditing and Public Practice, Introduction to Web Design).
• Do not use ampersands in course titles – always spell out ‘and’ in full.

coursework

• Use one word (e.g. ‘master’s by coursework’ not ‘master’s by course work’).

degree

• Students enrol in programs and are awarded degrees – a program is an approved sequence of study that leads to the award of a degree qualification.
• Capitalise the full and formal names of specific programs (e.g. Bachelor of Architectural Design, Doctor of Philosophy).
• When referring to programs, disciplines or degrees in general ways, use lower case (e.g. studying arts; courses about politics; bachelor’s degree; undergraduate programs).
• Insert space for dual degrees (e.g. Bachelor of Journalism / Bachelor of Arts).
• Higher degree by research (HDR) programs at UQ include the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and the Master of Philosophy (MPhil): note these were previously called Research Higher Degrees (RHD).

faculty

• Capitalise the proper names of UQ’s faculties, schools, research institutes and centres.
• Use lower-case ‘university’, ‘faculties’, ‘schools’, ‘institutes’, or ‘centres’ if you are using these words in general ways or for a plural (e.g. ‘UQ has 6 faculties.’).
• Use upper-case ‘University’, ‘School’, ‘Institute, ‘Centre’ or ‘Faculty’ if you are using these words to stand in for a specific body or an official title (e.g. ‘He advised that the School has expertise in the arts.’).

forward slash

• Use a space before and after a forward slash when writing groups of words (e.g. Bachelor of Commerce / Bachelor of Arts; Foreign Correspondence Manager / Corporate Relations Adviser).
• Don’t use spaces when you use a forward slash to stand in for ‘per’ (e.g. $800/week, 60km/hr), or when you are separating small words or values (e.g. his/her, he/she, and/or, 8/9).
• If using a space improves readability, use one.

graduate certificates and diplomas

• Capitalise for specific degrees (e.g. a Graduate Certificate in Writing, Editing and Publishing).
• Use lower-case for general use (e.g. She’s completing a graduate certificate).

inclusive language

• Use language that is respectful and promotes the acceptance and value of all people: see
  • Inclusive language: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (PDF, 116KB) (staff login required)
  • Inclusive language: Age (PDF, 109KB) (staff login required)
  • Inclusive language: Cultural and linguistic (PDF, 118KB) (staff login required)
  • Inclusive language: Disability (PDF, 126KB) (staff login required)
  • Inclusive language: Gender (PDF, 118KB) (staff login required)
  • Inclusive language: Sexuality and gender diversity (PDF, 142KB).
  (staff login required)
• Refer to the Diversity Council Australia Words at Work guidelines for more information.

master's degree

• Not masters degree or master degree. Use an apostrophe, and don’t capitalise unless part of a degree title (Master of Science; master’s degree in science).
• Plural: master’s degrees.

O-Week

• O-Week (not OWeek, O Week or O’Week) is the name of UQ’s orientation week. O-Week is the official start to several weeks of activities for new and continuing students.

phone numbers

• Use different phone number formats for different audiences. If you have multiple audiences, use the highest level in the order shown; also note formatting and spaces for separating area and dialling codes, not brackets or dashes:
  • International: +61 7 3365 1111
  • Domestic: 07 3365 1111
  • Local (South East Queensland): 3365 1111
  • UQ Internal: 336 51111 (the preferred format for publications such as UQ Update, which are sent to all staff, including those who work from home or off-site and can’t access UQ’s phone system)
  • Web: ensure phone numbers work on mobile by using the following code (change number as required): <a href="tel:33651111">3365 1111</a>.
  • Mobile phones international: +61 404 000 000
  • Mobile phones domestic: 0404 000 000.

placement

• A placement is any course or activity that gives students an opportunity to undertake practical experience in an authentic work environment. It is also known as a:
  • clinical immersion
  • clinical placement
  • clinical practice
  • externship
  • fieldwork
  • industry experience
  • industry study
  • internship
  • practicum (prac)
  • teaching practice
  • work placement.
• Use ‘placement’ if you need a general term to describe any activity where a student gets to apply their classroom knowledge in a work setting.
• Other words, such as ‘internship’, will mean different things to different audiences (e.g. a medical internship is different to a marketing internship). If you are ever unsure, just use ‘placement’.

place names

• Common place name spelling preferences:
  • Asia–Pacific region (note en-dash instead of hyphen)
  • Central West Queensland
  • Far North Queensland
  • Middle East
  • North West Queensland
  • Northern Hemisphere
  • Queensland's south-east corner
  • South East Asia
  • South East Queensland
  • south eastern Queensland
  • South Pacific
  • South West Queensland
  • Sub-Saharan Africa.
Queensland, south, north, east, west, place

Policies and Procedures Library

• UQ's Policies and Procedures Library (PPL) contains all of UQ's procedures, policies and guidelines that provide the framework for UQ's operation and activities.
• Use the following conventions when writing about the PPL:
  • When writing for a general audience (e.g. students, external stakeholders, alumni), if you are referring to a policy, procedure or guidelines from the PPL, refer to it by using the relevant name. Don’t use the document number, and don't use italics (e.g. 'See the Higher Degree by Research Examination Policy', not 'See 4.60.08 Higher Degree by Research Examination Policy').
  • When writing for staff, if you are referring to policies, procedures or guidelines from the PPL, refer to it by using the relevant name, followed by the number in square brackets. Don't use italics (e.g. 'See the Higher Degree by Research Examination Policy [4.60.08]').
• Where possible, direct readers to a specific section of a policy, procedure or guideline (e.g. 'To learn more about oral examinations, see section 9 of the Higher Degree by Research Examination Policy.' – reference to the actual section here helps the reader navigate to the most relevant information).

program

quotations

• Avoid using synonyms for ‘said’.
• Use the person's full name (including awarded titles only) on first mention (e.g. 'Dr Elliot Parker said', 'Sasha Jones said') but only use their last name (and awarded title if relevant) for the rest of a page, story or article ('Dr Parker said', 'Jones said').
• Always write ‘said’ after the name of the quoted person:
  • e.g. “It’s groundbreaking technology,” she said (not ‘said she’).
  • e.g. “It’s groundbreaking technology,” Dr Parker said (not ‘said Dr Parker’).
• Always include a quote exactly as written or said by the source, unless they have approved any changes. It is appropriate to reduce the word count of quotes by including an ellipsis (...) to indicate missing content, as long as you don’t alter the meaning (note: do not add a space after an ellipsis when using it in the middle of a sentence):
  • e.g. “It was a great course…one of the best,” she said.
• When writing quotes that run over more than one paragraph, omit the closing quotation marks on all paragraphs except the final one.
  • e.g. “I had always loved education but I had probably taken it for granted until I came to Brisbane,” Milbourne said.
    
    “UQ set me on a completely different path and I think that’s where I really grew.
    
    “I learned that words and actions actually could make a difference.”
• To clarify information within a quote, use square brackets:
  • e.g. “He [Jones] was so rude to me,” Ms Chan said.

quotation marks

• Use double quotation marks for direct quotes, and use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes.
• Also use double quotation marks for the following:
  • titles of unpublished documents
  • titles of small parts of a larger work
  • titles of articles in a journal or periodical
  • titles of essays, lectures, poems, or songs (e.g. “You’re the Voice” from John Farnham’s Whispering Jack).
• Use single quotation marks to draw attention to single words or phrases that aren’t direct speech (e.g. click the ‘Financial’ tab in mySI-net).
• Avoid ‘scare quotes’ – using quotation marks for emphasis – as they can seem insincere, sarcastic, or suggest the opposite meaning to what was intended (e.g. Mrs Lovett’s pies contain a ‘special ingredient’; UQ offers the ‘best’ programs).

semester

• Capitalise 'week' and 'semester' when referring to the academic calendar and use numerals (e.g. Semester 1, Week 9).
• Use lower-case 'week' and 'semester' in other instances.
• Insert comma before year (e.g. Semester 2, 2022).

Senate

• For non-UQ audiences, always use ‘the UQ Senate’ first, then ‘the Senate’ for subsequent mentions.
• For internal UQ audiences, use ‘the Senate’, unless you need to distinguish the UQ Senate from the Senate of Australian Parliament; then use ‘the UQ Senate’.
• Always capitalise ‘Senate’.
• Refer to members as ‘Senate members’ (don’t call them ‘Senators’) – this is consistent with the University of Queensland Act 1998.

subject

time

• Use a colon between hours and minutes (not a full stop) with no space between the number and am/pm; not necessary to use :00 if the time is on the hour (e.g. 9am, 9:30am not 9.00am, 9.30am).

titles

• For academic rank holders in the first instance use:
   
  1. [title] Emeritus Professor
  2. [first name] Stuart
  3. [last name] Pegg
  4. [postnominals if applicable] AM
  Thereafter use:
  1. [title] Emeritus Professor
  2. [last name] Pegg
• For non-academic rank holders: give full name (and postnominals if applicable) at first mention, and then use last name only (e.g. UQ’s COO is Andrew Flannery. Flannery was previously…)
• If it is necessary to give a title to a non-academic rank holder, use ‘Mr’ and ‘Ms’ rather than ‘Miss’ or ‘Mrs’, unless otherwise requested.
• For visiting international academics, refer to them by their international rank.
• For professionally qualified people without a doctorate or extended master’s degree – such as doctors, veterinarians, psychologists and dentists – attribute them as ‘Dr’ only when they are addressed in the context of their profession (e.g. 'Veterinarian Dr Chris Brown cared for some of the animals’ is fine, as is ‘Chris Brown was one of the event attendees, who said…’); this is because:
  • UQ aims to distinguish between people who have received a doctoral qualification and those who practise in a medical field, and
  • in fields other than human medicine, regulatory bodies (such as the Veterinary Standards Board, Dental Board and Psychology Board) require that practitioners only use the title ‘Dr’ in context with their degree postnominals or in a way that could not mislead the public to think they are a human medicine professional.
• UQ Executive titles:
  (abbreviations are shown after full titles below. Note hyphenation in full titles and spacing in abbreviations. In written communication and stories, use full title and name and then [title] [last name] as per advice under academic rank holders below).
  • Chancellor. Do not abbreviate.
  • Deputy Chancellor. Do not abbreviate.
  • Vice-Chancellor and President. Do not abbreviate. For international audiences, reverse order: President and Vice-Chancellor.
  • Provost.Do not abbreviate.
  • Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic). Abbreviation: DVC(A).
  • Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement). Abbreviation: DVC(GE).
  • Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement). Abbreviation: DVC(IE).
  • Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation). Abbreviation: DVC(RI).
  • Pro-Vice-Chancellor. Abbreviation: PVC.
  • Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Advancement). Abbreviation: PVC(A).
  • Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning). Abbreviation: PVC(T&L).
• UQ academic levels and titles:
  (first mention with full name; subsequent mentions with title and/or last name only)
  • Level A: Associate Lecturer. Title: Dr (if they have a PhD).
  • Level B: Lecturer. Title: Dr (if they have a PhD).
  • Level C: Senior Lecturer. Title: Dr (if they have a PhD).
  • Level D: Associate Professor. Title: Dr (if they have a PhD) (no abbreviation for subsequent mentions).
  • Level E: Professor (no abbreviation for subsequent mentions).
  • Honorary: Adjunct Professor (same rules as above depending on their level at another institution).
  • Honorary: Emeritus Professor. Do not abbreviate. See: UQ PPL 5.20.16).
    • Plural is ‘emeritus professors’, not ‘professores emeriti’ unless for a formal/traditional purpose; note all lower-case for plural (e.g. ‘Emeritus Professor John Smith AO presented at the conference along with other emeritus professors. Emeritus Professor Smith is well known to the group as a generous philanthropist.’).
• UQ research-only positions(use titles according to academic rank in previous item):
  • Level A: Postdoctoral Research Fellow (or Research Officer, Research Assistant)
  • Level B: Research Fellow (or Senior Research Officer)
  • Level C: Senior Research Fellow (or Research Scientist)
  • Level D: Principal Research Fellow
  • Level E: Professorial Research Fellow, Senior Principal Research Fellow.
• If you’re ever unsure what title to use, ask the person what their preference is.
• Contact events@uq.edu.au for advice about acknowledgements or protocol events.

university

UQ Library

web addresses

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