Archive for category: Style

BizWritingTip reader: “For headings or titles that contain a hyphenated word, do you capitalize the second word in the compound word? For example, would I write: ‘City of Thunder Bay 2010 By-election’ or ‘City of Thunder Bay 2010 By-Election’? Does the rule work the same way for compound adjectives also?”

BizWritingTip response: When writing a heading or a title, you should capitalize all the elements of the hyphenated words — except for short prepositions (e.g., on, out, to, up, by, at, and of) short conjunctions (or, nor, if, as, but, or and), and articles (the, a or an). Naturally, if an article starts the title, it is capitalized.

Examples (Hyphenated words in headings or titles)
City of Thunder Bay 2010 By-Election
Up-to-Date Report on Housing (To and on are short prepositions.)
The Mid-Winter Snow Shovelling Crisis (Title begins with an article.)
Report on the Mid-Winter Snow Shovelling Crisis (The short proposition and article are not the first word.)

If a hyphenated word appears at the beginning of a sentence, however, capitalize only the first part.

Example (Beginning a sentence with a hyphenated word)
Mid-winter is not a great time for golfers. (The second hyphenated word is not capitalized.)

BizWritingTip reader: “I have recently seen what appears to be a different version of the i.e. guideline. The short form was viz. followed by a group of names or items. ‘There were three people elected to the 2010 board of directors, viz., Mr. Smith, Mr. Hall, and Mr. Kelly.’ I cannot think of any Latin term for this abbreviation.”

BizWritingTip response: The abbreviation “viz.” is from the Latin “videlicet.” It means “namely” or “precisely.” Therefore, the example you provided is correct, and I have seen the word often in academic writing.

However, my feeling is that viz. is a little like saying something is “whiter than white.” The abreviation extends the meaning of i.e. The abbreviation i.e. (from the Latin “id est”) means “that is.” It denotes everything that follows.

Example (correct)
There were three people elected to the 2010 board of directors, i.e., Mr. Smith, Mr. Hall, and Mr. Kelly.

Viz. means “precisely everything that follows.” It emphasizes your exactness.

Example (correct)
There were three people elected to the 2010 board of directors, viz., Mr. Smith, Mr. Hall, and Mr. Kelly.

You would never use viz. if you were referring to examples. It would be better to use e.g. (for example).

Example (correct)
Three people may be elected to the 2010 board of directors, e.g., Mr. Smith, Mr. Hall, and Mr. Kelly.

Although viz. is a stronger abbreviation than i.e., there are a number of readers who might not recognize it. My preference is to stick with i.e. But that’s me!

Note: There is always a period after the abbreviation. And if you were reading it aloud, it is an English language custom to verbally substitute the word “namely” instead of saying “viz.”

BizWritingTip reader: “When you are referring to a person’s title, i.e., nurse, doctor, accountant, etc., when do you capitalize the first letter in their title and when do you not?”

BizWritingTip response: According to The Canadian Press style book, Caps and Spelling, the style for capitalization is “modified down.” This means that occupations and job descriptions are written in the lower case.

Examples
We need to hire more nurses.
There is a shortage of doctors.
He has been appointed vice president.
Have you met our accountant Susan Smith?

The way to separate occupations from titles is to determine how you would address someone. You would never say, “Good morning, Investment Counsellor Jones.” Therefore, you know not to capitalize “investment counsellor.”

When you would address someone with his or her title, you capitalize the title. But if you are using the plural form of the title, lowercase it.

Examples
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Mayor McCallion
Monsignor Shields
Sgt. Smith
Dr. Eisen
Councillor Jones
We want to invite premiers Dalton McGuinty and Jean Charest. (The title is plural.)

There are a lot more rules with regard to the capitalization of job titles.

BizWritingTip reader: “I was told that it is not correct to add a period after Ms as it isn’t a short form of a word as Mr. is for Mister. Is this correct?”

BizWritingTip response: Yes, Ms. is not actually a short form. It was coined by well-known author Germaine Greer and other feminists in the 1970s to match Mr. Their point was that men and women should be treated equally in the workforce. Mr. does not designate whether a man is married. Why treat a woman differently? People should be judged on how well they do their jobs, not on their marital status.

The Canadian Press style guide for CAPS AND SPELLING recommends a period with Ms. I believe it is because with the period it truly does look similar to Mr.

By the way, I just read on an Internet site that Ms. indicates a “divorcee or a woman past a certain age when the word Miss is too youthful.” Wrong!

According to the Oxford Canadian Dictionary, Ms. (with a period) is “a title prefixed to the name of a woman regardless of her marital status.”

Note: Some women do prefer the term “Mrs.” There is nothing wrong with that. Their wishes should be respected.