Copy Style Guide + -

Because the language of culture evolves, so will this guide. We have initially based the Copy Style Guide on The Associated Press(AP) Stylebook and Libel Manual. 

Used properly, this guide will help Chesapeake Regional present a clear and consistent flow of communication to our many publics. It provides guidelines for wording, capitalization, and punctuation.

Use extra caution when running your documents through the computerized spell check. 

Copy is not clinical. We avoid medical lingo and over used clichés. Smart humor is fine where appropriate to making a topic more interesting and relatable; it’s never over-the-top or slapstick.

We use plural as a rule.

Subheader

An appeal, introductory phrase – use you.

Body

Use the plural noun with the corresponding plural pronoun.

Active voice. 

Images have a stylish, aspirational feel using tasteful photography with interesting perspectives and cropping. They reflect moments that feel genuine and relatable to our target.

Where possible, use imagery that reflects our brand color standards.

Generally, capitalize formal titles when they appear before a person’s name, but lowercase titles if they are informal, appear without a person’s name, follow a person’s name or are set off before a name by commas. Also, lowercase adjectives that designate the status of a title. If a title is long, place it after the person’s name, or set it off with commas before the person’s name. Examples: President Bush; President-elect Obama; Sen. Harry Reid; Evan Bayh, a senator from Indiana; the senior Senator from Indiana, Dick Lugar; former President George H.W. Bush; Paul Schneider, deputy secretary of homeland security.

*CRH Style: While we follow this rule for articles and press releases, it is okay to capitalize titles that appear after a person’s name in documents such as letters, invitations, etc. When including the CEO or any executive’s signature in a document like this, follow this format:

Raymond McCue, MD
Chief Medical Officer 

Reese Jackson 
President & Chief Executive Officer 

*CRH Style: Titles such as RN and MD do not require periods between the letters. All titles are capitalized when attached to a name. 

*CRH Style: It is okay to use “Dr.” on all references when writing biographies for physician panel cards

For numbered addresses, always use figures. Always abbreviate Ave., Blvd., St., Pkwy., etc. and directional cues when used with a numbered address. If the street name or directional cue is used without a numbered address, it should be capitalized and spelled out. If a street name is a number, spell out First through Ninth and use figures for 10 and higher.

Here are some examples of correctly formatted addresses:

• 101 N. Grant St.
• Northwestern Ave.
• South Ninth St.
• 102 S. 10th St.
• 605 Woodside Dr.

736 Battlefield Blvd., N
Chesapeake, VA 23320

736 Battlefield Blvd., N | Chesapeake, VA 23320
736 Battlefield Blvd., N, Chesapeake, VA 23320

Our address is shortened. Other addresses are spelled out. 

Web Content

For ages, always use figures. If the age is used as an adjective or as a substitute for a noun, then it should be hyphenated. Don’t use apostrophes when describing an age range. Examples: A 21-year-old student. The student is 21 years old. The girl, 8, has a brother, 11. The contest is for 18-year-olds. He is in his 20s.

For Print

Up to nine. 10 above. 

Use quotation marks around the titles of books, songs, television shows, computer games, poems, lectures, speeches and works of art. 

Examples: Author Porter Shreve read from his new book, “When the White House Was Ours.” They sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the game.

Do not use quotations around the names of magazine, newspapers, the Bible or books that are catalogues of reference materials. Examples: The Washington Post first reported the story. He reads the Bible every morning.

Articles in quotes. Titles italicized. 

For dates and years, use figures. Do not use st, nd, rd, or th with dates.

Always capitalize months. Spell out the month unless it is used with a date. When used with a date, abbreviate only the following months: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec.

The first Wednesday in September.

The breastfeeding group will be on Wednesday, Sept. 10. 

Commas are not necessary if only a year and month are given, but commas should be used to set off a year if the date, month and year are given. Use the letter s but not an apostrophe after the figures when expressing decades or centuries. Do, however, use an apostrophe before figures expressing a decade if numerals are left out. Examples: Classes begin Aug. 25. Purdue University was founded May 6, 1869. The event is set for Thursday, Nov. 14, in the hospital lobby. The semester begins in January. The 1800s. The ’90s.

Sept. 24, 2018
September 2018

If you refer to an event that occurred the day prior to when the article will appear, do not use the word yesterday. Instead, use the day of the week. Capitalize days of the week, but do not abbreviate. 

757-312-8121
Ext. 1234 

*CRH Style: We capitalize the names of departments.

Examples: Marketing, Pharmacy, Infection Control, Labor & Delivery, Mother Baby.

Unit names are written as 2 West, 6 East, ICU-2, ICU-4.

Two words, not one. Except when mentioning Chesapeake Regional Healthcare, which can be shortened to CRH, not CRHC.

The only exception to this is when a company has the word in its name or a product name and writes it as one word instead of two.

Always use a person’s first and last name the first time they are mentioned in a story. Use first names on second reference. 

Web Content

Use courtesy and professional titles such as Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms. or Dr. when necessary.  

Press Release

Do not use courtesy titles, use last name after first reference. 

Never begin a sentence with a numeric figure, except for sentences that begin with a year. Examples: Two hundred freshmen attended. Five actors took the stage. 1776 was an important year. Use roman numerals to describe wars and to show sequences for people. Examples: World War II, Pope John Paul II, Elizabeth II.

For cardinal numbers, consult individual entries in the Associated Press Stylebook. If no usage is specified, spell out numbers below 10 and use figures for numbers 10 and above. Example: The man had five children and 11 grandchildren.

When referring to money, use numerals. For cents or amounts of $1 million or more, spell the words cents, million, billion, trillion etc. Examples: $26.52, $100, $200, $8 million, 6 cents.

Use a single space after a period.

Do not use commas before a conjunction in a simple series. Example: In art class, they learned that red, yellow and blue are primary colors. His brothers are Tom, Joe, Frank and Pete. 

However, a comma should be used before the terminal conjunction in a complex series if part of that series also contains a conjunction. Example: Purdue University's English Department offers doctoral majors in Literature, Second Language Studies, English Language and Linguistics, and Rhetoric and Composition. 

Commas and periods go within quotation marks. Example: “I did nothing wrong,” he said. She said, “Let’s go to the Purdue game.”

Web content

Do not place periods at the end of bullet points unless they represent an abbreviation. 

When the name of a state stands alone in a sentence, spell it out. When the name of a city and state are used together, the name of the state should be abbreviated (except for Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah). Examples: He came from Lafayette, Ind. The peace accord was signed in Dayton, Ohio. The wildfire began in California and moved east toward Carson City, Nev.

State abbreviations in AP style differ from the two-letter ZIP code abbreviations. Here is a sampling of how each state is abbreviated in AP style:

• Ala.
• Ariz.
• Ark.
• Calif.
• Va.

Use figures, but spell out Noon and midnight. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes, but do not use :00. Examples: 1pm, 3:30am

To list event times

• Capitalize Noon

In a sentence

• Lowercase noon

Digital

• am
• pm

Print

• a.m.
• p.m.

CamelCaps across the board:

Lisa.Cardona@ChesapeakeRegional.com
ChesapeakeRegional.com/Marketing

John.Doe@ChesapeakeRegional.com

ChesapeakeRegional.com
ChesapeakeRegional.com/Marketing