Style Guide

Introduction

Welcome to Write.com’s comprehensive style guide outlining our standards for grammar, spelling, punctuation and style. Fully understanding the rules of this guide are imperative to having success on not only the writing assessment but also as a freelance writer for Write.com.

Writing Opportunities

Write.com partners with the company CrowdSource.com to provide you with the opportunity to write for a variety of different genres. From writing product descriptions and FAQ articles to topical articles and blogs, you are sure to find something that piques your interest.

HIT Instructions

For a complete list of instructions, please review the instructions on the HIT itself.

250-300 Word Resource Articles

Every paragraph, with the exception of introductory and conclusion, needs a header. For FAQs, the question is the header. For articles and how-tos, you must write a creative, introductory header for each supporting paragraph.

All headers should use sentence capitalization. Punctuation is required for FAQ headers, but not needed for article and how-to headers.

Example:

1. How much does a gel fuel fireplace cost?
2. A new way to tie your shoes

Introduction and Conclusion

Articles, how-tos and FAQs all require an introduction paragraph. This paragraph should be minimum two to three sentences.

How-tos and FAQs do not require a closing paragraph; however, articles need a conclusion. The goal of the conclusion is to sum up and finish the main points of the article.

100 Word Product Descriptions

When writing these descriptions, assume the reader knows the basic information about the product. Your writing should teach him or her something new. Remember to stay focused; do not include any lengthy information about the product history or brand information.

Best Practices

1. Include the primary keyword in the first sentence of every product description.
2. An additional keyword, which you may choose one of six, must also be included in the paragraph. Do not forget to submit the additional keyword below the paragraph input.
3. An additional keyword, which you may choose one of six, must also be included in the paragraph. Do not forget to submit the additional keyword below the paragraph input.
4. Do NOT include references to other e-commerce stores, but you may refer to buying or finding the product “here.” For example: “Find all the best brands right here.”

20-25 Word Descriptions

This task is asking you to write the meta description for the page of content you are working with currently. A meta description is the content that appears under a page title on search engine results. The description can use one or two sentences.

This content has two purposes. First, it needs to inform the consumer of the contents on the page. Second, it needs to encourage the consumer to click.

1. Stay protected from the sun with a new beach umbrella. Check out full-shade or partial-shade options from this huge selection.
2. Stay protected from the sun with a new beach umbrella, and enjoy a care-free day on the beach with your family and friends.

Best Practices

1. Keep descriptions between 20-25 words since most search engines have a cap on character count.
2. To encourage click-through rate, start every description with an action word, such as “Read about…” or “Shop great shoes…“
3. Use the given keyword within the first six words of the sentence.

Spacing Issue

Please note: many outside programs, such as Microsoft Word, automatically insert two spaces after a sentence. All content should include ONLY ONE SPACE between sentences.

To avoid this issue, please write within the HIT. If need be, you can use Notebook or Notepad either to write or to copy/paste your content before inserting into the HIT.

Sentence Structure

Key Components

Focus on four key style elements when writing and editing sentences.

Direct

Speak directly to the reader when writing and editing sentences. The goal is to get the message across in a clear and simple way.

Informative

Teach the reader something about the subject. Write as if the reader is aware of the basic knowledge of the subject and is looking to learn more.

Concise

Present information in a quick and simple manner. Use concise terms and sentences, avoiding fluff and unnecessary terminology.

Varied

Mix short, direct sentences with a longer, complex thought. This keeps the reader interested and provides a smooth and appealing flow.

Verb Tense

Use present tense consistently throughout all written work. While special circumstances may present themselves, such as writing an article on the history of water polo, most content is e-commerce related and, therefore, best presented in present tense.

Example:

• Water polo is an exciting sport that is rapidly gaining popularity.

• Nike water polo suits were considered the best water polo suits available.

Grammatical Person

Unless indicated in the instructions, please write and edit in second or third person.

First person: This is used for debates and discussions.

Example:

• I, we

Second person: This is used for the majority of e-commerce paragraphs that address the reader directly.

Example:

• You

Third person: This is used for the majority of resource articles that discuss information and facts.

Example:

• He, she, it, they

Do not ever switch person in the middle of a paragraph or article. Always stick to one or the other.

• Glass cupboard knobs look great in both modern and traditional kitchens. You can find several different styles, colors and brands.

• Glass cupboard knobs look great in my kitchen and will look great in your kitchen too.

Parallelism

Sentences that have matching parts of speech in related parts of a sentence are much easier to read. At the very least, any elements joined by a conjunction should take the same form.

Example:

• Julia likes swimming, traveling and playing cards.

• Julia likes swimming, traveling and to play cards.

Compound vs. Complex

A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinator. A comma should always precede a coordinator in a compound sentence.

Compound Example:

• Rose has been playing video games since she was five, and she finds it easy to write about them.

A complex sentence has an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses joined by a subordinator. If the dependent clause comes first, a comma should follow. If the dependent clause comes second, a comma is not included.

Complex Example:

1. Jen helps her old boss when she isn’t working on her new website.
2. If Stephanie leaves later than noon, she will miss her flight.

Capitalization and Titles

The following guidelines apply to all CrowdSource.com content types:

Title Case

1. No matter the length of the title, always capitalize the first and last words.
2. Capitalize all verbs, adverbs, adjectives, nouns and pronouns in between the first and last words.
3. Capitalize prepositions with four or more letters (like, with) in between the first and last words.
4. Capitalize conjunctions with four or more letters (than, unless.)
5. Capitalize if, how and why.
6. The following are words that you do not need to capitalize in the title:
   1. Articles: a, an, the
   2. Most conjunctions with three or less letters: as, and, or, but
   3. Prepositions with three or less letters: of, in, for

Example:

1. “What’s the Deal With Her”
2. “Turn On the Lights”
3. “All He Could Do Was Laugh”

Sentence Case

For the headers and text in the paragraph(s), capitalize the first word of the sentence and other words that need capitalization, such as proper nouns.

Example:

1. Previous Grammy winner Taylor Swift walks home empty handed.
2. Money from iPhone sales continues to grow.

Company and Product Names

Follow an organization’s or business’s conventions for how it capitalizes and punctuates its name.

Example:

1. Yahoo!
2. MasterCard
3. Old Navy
4. FedEx
5. Forever 21
6. eBay

Education Degrees

Degrees from an educational institution are capitalized ONLY when given in the proper degree title.

Example:

1. Master of Music degree (M.M. or M.Mus.)
2. music master’s degree
3. Master of Business Administration (MBA or M.B.A.)
4. master’s degree in business administration

Titles of Work That Need Quotes

1. Artwork

   Example:

   1. “The Mona Lisa”
   2. “American Goth”
2. Book, chapter, heading or other part of a book

   Example:

   1. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”
   2. “The Boy Who Lived”
3. CD, record album, song or DVDs

   Example:

   1. “Born This Way”
   2. “A Hard Day’s Night”
   3. “Titanic”
4. Lectures

   Example:

   • “The Impacts of the Industrial Revolution”
5. Magazine and newspaper articles

   Example:

   • “Lose Weight in 10 Days”
   • “President Obama Signs Bill”
6. Movies

   Example:

   • “Spider-man”
7. Operas or Plays

   Example:

   • “Cassanova’s Homecoming”
   • “Fiddler on the Roof”
8. Podcast or podcast episodes

   Example:

   1. “ESPN Radio Podcast”
   2. “NBA Finals Recap”
9. Poems

   Example:

   1. “The Raven”
   2. “Phenomenal Women”
10. Television, radio program or individual program episodes

    Example:

    1. “Seinfeld” (TV show)
    2. “The Puffy Shirt” (TV episode)
    3. “Mother to Mother” (radio show)
11. Web videos

    Example:

    • “David After Dentist”

Titles of work that do not need quotes

1. Computer games, video games or board games

   Example:

   1. The Sims
   2. Call of Duty
   3. Monopoly
2. Magazine titles

   Example:

   1. New York Times Magazine
   2. People Magazine
   3. Cosmopolitan magazine
3. Note: In running text, lowercase “the” in a newspaper’s name, even if it is part of the paper’s name. Do not capitalize the word “magazine” unless it is part of the publication’s title.

   Example:

   1. Read the Chicago Sun
   2. Cosmopolitan magazine
4. Software

   Example:

   • Safari
5. Speechs

   Example:

   1. The State of the Union Address
   2. “I Have a Dream”

Note: Speeches with a specific title need quotes

CrowdSource capitalization preferences

When referencing the “internet” in any case, it is not capitalized; however, if you are writing an article with the word “Internet” used in a title or as a proper noun, such as Internet Explorer, then it is capitalized.

Please note: while the spell-check tool may mark this term as incorrect, please disregard this and use the rules above for the content.

For terms like “Wi-Fi” and “Blu-ray,” use the Merriam-Webster dictionary or Wikipedia for proper capitalization.

Numerals

For answers to numeral questions that you cannot find here, please reference an official AP style guide.

Use Figures for…

1. numbers 10 and above
2. physical dimensions, such as height, width, weight, mass, volume and distance
3. ages
4. fractions and decimals
5. percentages (followed by the word “percent” – 50 percent)
6. dates (spell out month – May 2, 2011)
7. decades (followed with the letter “s” – 1980s)
8. centuries with proper suffix (17th century)
9. ranges of numbers (even if the numbers are less than 10 – “on a scale of 1-7″)
10. dollar amounts ($6 coffee – $1,000 wine bottle)

Use Words for…

1. numbers nine and below
2. numbers that begin sentences (Twenty men came over…)

Use Both for…

1. numbers over million, billion, trillion, etc. (8 million)
2. percentages (followed by the word “percent” – 50 percent)
3. currency amounts under a dollar (75 cents)

Punctuation

For answers to punctuation questions that you cannot find here, please reference an official AP style guide.

Hyphens

Use a hyphen for compound adjectives preceding a noun. Do not use a hyphen for compounds including more, less, most and least.

Example:

1. Check out high-quality footwear.
2. Check out the most colorful footwear on the web.

Use a hyphen to avoid a double vowel for prefixes.

Example:

• semi-invalid

Dashes

Use a dash to emphasize a fragment thought within or after a complete sentence.

Example:

• Readers would lose interest immediately — and so would you!

Use a dash when denoting an open range.

Example:

• Mick Jagger (1943—) and Brian Jones (1942-1969) were original members of the Rolling Stones.

Commas

Use a comma to separate two independent clauses in a sentence.

Example:

• Ryan writes for CrowdSource.com, but he works from home.

Use a comma when denoting a series of three of more items. AP format dictates that the comma before the conjunction, also known as the serial comma, is omitted.

Example:

• Nike squash shoes are stylish, durable and supportive.

Use a comma when a noun has two or more adjectives describing it.

Example:

• The powerful, resonating writer caught our attention.

Use a comma when adding or supplementing information to the subject.

Example:

• CrowdSource.com, a requester on Mechanical Turk, has many interesting HITs available.

Use a comma to separate an introductory phrase from the rest of the sentence.

Example:

• After eating, Zac and Lucy are watching a movie.

Do not use a comma before “as,” “while” or “since” if you mean when in a sentence.

Example:

• We cheered on the workers as they completed their projects.

• We cheered on the workers, as they completed their projects.

Use a comma before “as” or “since” if you mean why and before “while” if you mean whereas.

Example:

• Sammie writes with her heart, as she has a strong desire to do it professionally.

• Sammie writes with her heart as she has a strong desire to do it professionally.

Dates and Places

Use a comma when referring to a city and state. Also use a comma to set off parts of an address or a place name.

Example:

• Kelly works in Swansea, Illinois, but lives in Arnold, Missouri.

When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with commas.

Example:

• June 30, 2010, is the day Julia has been waiting for all year.

Do not use a comma when a date lists only a month and year.

Example:

• The new squash shoe line will be released in late May 2011.

Semi-colons & Colons

Use a semi-colon to separate two related but independent clauses.

Example:

• I write for CrowdSource; however, I still work as a teacher during the day.

Use a colon to introduce a list after an independent clause that ends in a noun.

Example:

• Example: Emtek cupboard knobs are offered in three colors: black, brown and white.

Quotations

Use double quotation marks for a direct quote from a person or taken from literature. Include commas and periods within the quotation marks if they fall after the quote.

Example:

• ”The 2010 line of Nike squash shoes is the best yet,” said Amy Conner.

Apostrophes

Use an apostrophe to indicate possession. Do not use an apostrophe for possessive pronouns or for the possessive form of “it.”

Example:

• Singular Noun: Maggie’s

• Plural Noun: students’

• Possessive Pronoun: hers

Word & Phrase Preferences

The following guidelines apply to all CrowdSource.com content types.

Hyphens

Example:

• e-commerce

• email

Infinitives

Do not split infinitive phrases by adding adjectives or adverbs in between the “to” and the verb.

Example:

• Jan likes to write quickly.

• Jan likes to quickly write.

Contractions

Do not include any contractions in professional writing. Exceptions would be blogs, forum posts and debate arguments.

Example:

1. can’t = cannot
2. you’re = you are

Verbs

Do not use direct descendants of the verb “to be.” This verb does not give the reader any useful information. This rule does not apply to “am, is, are” forms of the verb – just direct descendants like “being, become, be.”

Example:

• Many people enjoy writing.

• Many people like to be a writer.

Company Names

Always follow an organization’s conventions for how it spells, capitalizes and punctuates its name.

Example:

• FedEx.

• Fedex.

When referring to a company or brand, use third-person singular pronouns. A company is treated as a collective noun and requires a singular verb and pronoun.

Example:

• Olay is a terrific brand for cosmetics. Its lotion line is very popular.

• Olay is a terrific brand for cosmetics. Their lotion line is very popular.

“Compliment” vs. “Complement”

Use compliment when you are praising someone or something. Use complement when you are improving or adding value to something.

Example:

1. I complimented the bride on her lovely wedding gown.
2. The sparkly shoes complemented the gown perfectly.
3. I complimented the host on his wide variety of red wines.
4. At the dinner party, I learned that red wine complements steak better than white wine.

“Such as” vs. “Like”

Although “like” seems to be the word of choice for all generation y-ers, its overuse in the English language has caused much confusion about when it is actually appropriate to use and when it is not, particularly in formal writing. However, most attentive editors make an attempt to discern between the two.

When used as a comparison or example, the word ‘like’ is typically used to exclude person or thing from the group that the writer is discussing.

Example:

When a team has player like David Freese, they are likely to continue winning despite its struggling pitching.

When used as a comparison or list of examples, the words ‘such as’ are typically used to include the person or thing in the group that the writer is discussing.

Example:

When baseball announcers, such as Mike Shannon or Tim McCarver, give ridiculous or erroneous stats during a baseball game, listeners tend to yell at their TV screens.

“That” vs. “Which”

“That” precedes a restrictive clause. These clauses are essential to the meaning of a sentence – if it’s removed, the meaning of the sentence changes. Because they are restrictive, no commas are necessary.

Example:

• Maggie’s diamond ring that is from her boyfriend fits perfectly.

“Which” precedes a non-restrictive clause. These clauses can be left out without changing the meaning of a sentence. Because they are non-restrictive, commas are needed before and/or after the clause.

Example:

• Maggie’s diamond ring, which is from her boyfriend, fits perfectly.

The preceding sentence indicates that Maggie has only one diamond ring, and it happens to be from her boyfriend.

Prepositions

Do not end sentences in prepositions. While many modern style guides allow this, it is not appropriate for professional writing.

Example:

• Writing about products is fun.

• Products are fun to write about

Conjunctions

For professional writing, do not use the conjunctions “and, or, but” to begin sentences.

Helpful Links

Style Guides

• Yahoo Style Guide
• The Basics of Associated Press Style
• OWL General Writing Resources

Published Sites

• BedSheets.com
• CosmeticConcealers.com
• LaserPrinters.com
• CorkBoards.com
• CancerSymptoms.org
• SunProtected.com