Style Guide

• Affect/Effect
• E.g./I.e.
• Ellipsis
• Emphasis
• Shortcuts

Affect/Effect

Affect is a verb that approximately means alter.

Effect is a noun that approximately means result.

E.g./I.e.

E.g. means for example, from the Latin exempli gratia.

I.e. means in other words, from the Latin id est.

Ellipsis

Use an ellipsis to indicate unstated words, omitted text, or intentional silence.

Unstated Words

Use leading and trailing spaces without punctuation.

I never drink wine …

Quotation marks omit the trailing space.

“I never drink wine …”

Other punctuation marks omit both spaces.

I never drink wine…!

Omitted Text

Use surrounding brackets when condensing a quote.

Frankly […] I don't give a damn.

Intentional Silence

Use an ellipsis as its own line to indicate intentional silence.

Where shall I go? What shall I do?
…
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

Emphasis

Highlighted text stands out when glancing.

Bolded text stands out when scanning.

Italicized text stands out when reading.

Shortcuts

Encode pages as UTF–8 to use these characters directly; no need for HTML decimals.

<meta charset="utf-8">