Energy Information Administration (EIA) Writing Style Guide
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EIA Wring Style Guide
April 2015
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon
Oce of Communicaons
This publicaon is available on the EIA employee intranet and at:
www.eia.gov/eiawringstyleguide.pdf
U.S. government publicaons are not subject to copyright
protecon, but you should acknowledge EIA as the source if you
use or reproduce this content.
Contents
Introducon to the EIA Wring Style Guide ........................................................................
Chapter 1: Editorial Voice and Words and Phrases To Avoid ..............................................
Chapter 2: Policy-Neutral Wring .......................................................................................
Chapter 3: Advice for Good Wring ....................................................................................
Chapter 4: Grammar ...........................................................................................................
Chapter 5: Commonly Misused Words ..............................................................................
Chapter 6: Capitalizaon ....................................................................................................
Chapter 7: Numbers ............................................................................................................
Chapter 8: Commas ..............................................................................................................
Chapter 9: Hyphens and Dashes ..........................................................................................
Chapter 10: Colons and Semicolons .....................................................................................
Chapter 11: Periods ..............................................................................................................
Chapter 12: Symbols .............................................................................................................
Chapter 13: Punctuang and Formang Quoted Text ........................................................
Chapter 14: Abbreviaons and Units ...................................................................................
Chapter 15: Itemized Lists and Bullets ................................................................................
Chapter 16: Footnotes, Sources, and Notes ........................................................................
Chapter 17: Hypertext Links ................................................................................................
Chapter 18: Brish versus American English ......................................................................
Index ....................................................................................................................................
1
9
19
21
29
33
47
57
67
73
83
87
91
93
97
107
113
121
125
129
Introducon to the
EIA Wring Style Guide
This style guide is
an update of the edition
released in November 2012.
1
The Wring Style Guide
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Wring Style Guide
Why a wring style guide?
Wring Style Guide
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•
•
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•
•
•
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•
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The 2015 EIA Wring Style Guide
2012 Wring Style Guide
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• online
EIA
Wring Style Guide
Did you know?
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
Do these guidelines apply to print and web content?
This Wring Style Guide
Wring Style Guide is
Are these hard-and-fast rules?
This is a Wring Style Guide
Where can I get more guidance on editorial style?
•
•
•
Other sources consulted in the preparaon of EIA’s Wring Style Guide:
• Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Beer Wring
• Merriam-Webster’s Diconary of English Usage, 1994
• The Elements of Style
• OECD Style Guide
• The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago
•
• Woe Is I
Wring
Style Guide
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
The
Wring well at EIA
Use short sentences
Use short paragraphs
Avoid jargon
Be consistent
• gasolinemotor
gasoline
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•
Consider your audience
Did you know?
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
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•
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Does the Wring Style Guide answer every wring queson?
Style Guide
percentonline
Quick Tips—Style, Wring, and Grammar
EIA style
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• Federal
Register
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• bolditalics
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• See the
• pastlast
Wring
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• Use sincebecause
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• Don’t use impact
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U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
Grammar
• Whichuse that
use thatWhich
that
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• whothat
• Is comprised
of
•
minus
•
•
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Editorial Voice and Words
and Phrases To Avoid
Your writing speaks to your
readers; it has a voice. At EIA,
we want our writing voice to be
professional, clear, and concise.
This chapter covers some of the
ways to create EIA’s voice.
•
•
Acve voice:
Acve voice:
Passive voice
Passive voice:
•
Acve voice
Passive voice
New Conservaon Guidelines.
Legislature Adopts New Conservaon
GuidelinesLegislature
New Conservaon Guidelines
1. Using an inverted pyramid format to structure your
wring
the
2. Choosing acve or passive voice
•
•
•
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
3. Words and phrases to avoid
so
so
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 11
to
in the event that
soon
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
enough
sunset end
so
use
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
Consistent verb tense
Inconsistent verb tense:
Appropriate shi in verb tense:
4. Using parallel structure
•
•
•
•
Parallel structure:
Not parallel structure:
• ing
• ing
• ing
5. Maintaining consistent verb tenses
•
•
• ed
• ed
• ed
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
What makes wring formal or informal?
•
• weEIA
•
7. Using a consistent point of view
6. Tailoring the formality of your wring to the audience
Today in Energy
Formal language:
on the
Informal language:
Formal language:
Informal language:
Formal language:
Informal language:
Formal language:
Informal language:
Formal language:
Informal language:
Three points of view for wring
First person
Second person
Third person
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
8. Emphasizing content
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•
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The Annual Energy Outlook
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9. Using italics
•
•
Shiing point of view:
Consistent point of view:
1
For EIA documents: 1Annual Energy
Outlook 2014,
Cing EIA in non-EIA documents: 1
Annual Energy Outlook 2014
Correct emphasismail
Incorrect emphasis
Incorrect emphasis:
CorrectSpring
Summer
Fall
Incorrectin the summer. Then in the winter
•
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
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10. Formang paragraphs
Correct:use of foreign oil oil dependence
Incorrect:
laissez-faire
Correct:
Correct: Clean Cies
Correct:
Incorrect:
CorrectAnnual Energy Outlook 2015
IncorrectAnnual Energy Outlook 2014 (AEO2015)
Roman type
Did you know?
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
The glass is never half
empty or half full. It’s just
an eight-ounce glass with
four ounces of liquid.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
spokesperson
Policy-Neutral Wring
19
EIA’s responsibility is to provide independent, policy-neutral informaon. We don’t
advocate or support policies, industries, fuels, or trends.
Somemes our wring may seem repeve, always saying increased or decreased,
rose or fell. Using dierent words to vary the text may seem like a good idea, but
oen the new verbs or adverbs have subtle or not so subtle connotaons, either
posive or negave.
1. Use policy-neutral words
The U.S. Bureau of Labor
Stascs doesn’t actually
have an ocial list of
approved verbs, but it
oen seems like they do.
There are verbs they are
trained to use (rose/fell,
increased/decreased),
and verbs and words
they are trained never
to use (skyrocketed,
phenomenal, dramac).
They don’t use many
adjecves or adverbs
either, but when they do,
the words are objecve.
EIA isn’t that strict, but
writers should not use
verbs or adverbs that have
connotaons, feelings,
or tones for ocial and
public-facing content.
Rising gasoline prices
aren’t posive or negave,
they are just prices that
are increasing.
Did you know?
Neutral: Prices fell
Not neutral: Prices plummeted
Neutral: Producon decreased, producon dropped
Not neutral: Producon was slashed
Neutral: Hydraulic fracturing requires large amounts of water
Not neutral: Hydraulic fracturing requires huge amounts of water
Neutral: Natural gas producon reversed its downward trend
Not neutral: Natural gas producon nally reversed its downward trend
2. Phrases to avoid
Quanfy statements where possible, but avoid these words and phrases. A 50%
increase may seem to be surging or skyrockeng, but let the reader make the
quanfying judgment.
• Appropriate acon
• Burgeoning
• Eecve policy
• Enormous
• Gale
• Jumped
• Huge
• Massive
• Obvious soluon
• Rebound
• Skyrocketed
• Slashed
• Soared
• Spiked
• Surging
• Tiny
3. Policy-neutral situaons to watch for
• Rising or falling prices—To a consumer, rising prices are usually negave, and falling
prices are usually posive. An energy producer may have the opposite perspecve.
EIA reports the trends with neutral words to avoid seeming like we are on one side
or the other.
• Instead of saying oil dependence, say use of foreign oil—The term oil dependence
inevitably leads to discussions about energy independence, which in a global
economy will never happen. Instead of dependence, use terms such as use of
foreign oil or imported oil as a share of U.S. oil consumpon.
• Environmental impacts of energy producon and consumpon—EIA can discuss
that there are impacts and list what they are, but we should not use judgmental
or advocacy words.
• Policies that support or do not support a specic fuel technology—Avoid appearing
like a cheering secon for a specic tool or technology. Just state the facts.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
20
Clarity does not come from
simple ideas, but from
presenting ideas in the
simplest form possible.
OECD Style Guide,
Second Edition, 2007
Advice for Good Wring
21
1. Updates on classic wring guidance
The way many people were taught to write in school is not necessarily the best way
to convey key points in EIA wring, especially for Today in Energy stories and short
reports.
Wring advice to avoid:
• The old advice “Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em, tell ‘em, then tell ‘em what
you told ’em” leads to excessive repeon.
• The ve-paragraph format—introducon, three supporng paragraphs, and
conclusion—also leads to wordiness and repeon.
• The thesis format of background, literature review, assumpons, research,
discussion, analysis, nally ending with the conclusion or ndings completely
buries the main points.
Wring advice to follow:
• Start with your main point. Avoid what some people call the voyage of discovery.
• Give details and numbers as needed.
• Use short sentences and short paragraphs.
• Don’t state the calculaon in a confusing number of dierent ways: for example,
consumpon was up by 2 million barrels per day, or 6% from last year and 21%
over the ve-year average, rising to 8 million barrels per day, which is 12% higher
than the peak in 1998, when it was 7.7 million barrels per day.
• Include supporng informaon and details in later paragraphs.
• Don’t write a conclusion that repeats points already stated. If your wring is
clear, you won’t need a conclusion.
Word choice advice to avoid:
• Always vary your word choice—don’t repeat the same term. Using dierent
words can confuse the reader.
Word choice advice to follow:
• Don’t feel compelled to vary your word usage (something English teachers
encouraged), especially for words with specic meanings. If you say consumpon
rst, sck with consumpon. Avoid saying consumpon was up during 2015, but
demand declined in 2016, when usage increased with higher economic growth.
If you say oil rst, don’t switch back and forth with petroleum and liquids. Even
though you know certain terms are interchangeable, if you use dierent words,
readers might think you’ve changed concepts. Adding modiers can also be
confusing because readers don’t know the terms mean the same thing. Don’t
switch from electricity consumpon to ulity-scale consumpon, for example.
EIA style includes advice from several dierent style guides that disagree on some
points. The style used by the U.S. Government Prinng Oce is somemes too formal.
AP Style (Associated Press) is somemes too informal. The Chicago Manual of Style is
close to EIA style, but not in all cases.
Remember, style is a preference; it is not right or wrong (unlike grammar, which does
have rules). The EIA Wring Style Guide reects what works best for EIA.
Start with your main
points. Ending with the
ndings or trends in a
conclusion buries the
main points.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
22
2. Important guidance on sourcing nonoriginal work
All nonoriginal work must be sourced and aributed. Sourcing can be shown as
footnotes, endnotes, notes, or inline text references. The source must follow EIA
format. See chapter 16 for footnote format and more guidance. In general, the source
should include the author’s name(s), the publicaon name, the publicaon date, and
page number.
• You must provide footnotes lisng sources for all nonoriginal work.
• You cannot reuse informaon you found on the Internet, in EIA reports, or from
any other source without aribuon.
• If you are uncertain about EIA’s sourcing policy or are not sure if you need to
include footnotes or endnotes in your work, talk to your supervisor.
• Be aware of any reuse restricons on third-party data. Send quesons to
thirdpartydata@eia.gov.
• Reuse of graphs, images, or photos is allowed only with documented permission
from the content owner. For example, a note under a non-EIA photo could
say “Reprinted with permission from XYZ Company.” Call or email the author,
company, or source for permission.
• See Using Third-Party Data and page 114 for more informaon on EIA’s third-
party data policy.
4. Spell check in Microso Word is a great copyeditor
Spell check looks at more than spelling. Spell check gives you three colors of squiggly
underlines in your content:
Spell check squiggly line color codes
Red = spelling error
Green = possible grammacal error
Blue = possible contextual error such as homonyms or similar words
3. Tips for proofreading your wring
• Read your work slowly out loud—This method forces you to read every word
individually and increases the odds you will nd a typo, missing word, or wring
mistake. This proofreading method almost guarantees you will nd common
errors like missing words, repeated words, and subject-verb disagreement.
Remember: read out loud, not just out loud in your head.
• Use spell check—Microso Word and Microso Outlook include spell check,
which catches much more than misspelled words. Review each squiggly
underlined spot to determine what the mistake might be. (See ps in
secon 4 below.)
• Force yourself to read each word—Consider each word. Read small secons.
• Proof a printed version—Many people nd it easier to proofread on paper
rather than on a computer screen.
• Ask a colleague to help—Four eyes are beer than two.
Read your work out
loud when proofreading.
Use spell check to nd
common mistakes in
spelling and usage.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 23
The period-space-
space reex is a relic
of the era of manual
typewriters, when all
leers (fat m, thin i)
took up equal amounts
of horizontal space.
The extra space aer a
sentence helped with
clarity. Now that leers
take up proporonal
space, typing two spaces
between sentences is no
longer necessary.
Did you know?
5. Follow basic style rules
• Use short sentences.
• Use short paragraphs. They are easier to read, especially online. Even if a long
paragraph is all one thought or topic, consider breaking it into two smaller
secons, or use bullets if there are related points in the paragraph.
• Begin with the fact or main point. Don’t start with aribuon or history or
assumpons.
• Avoid using too many introductory clauses.
Preferred: Oil producon rose during the last half of 2015.
Less preferred: During the last half of 2015, oil producon rose.
• Use bold text or italics rather than underline for emphasis.
• Use % in all EIA wring.
• Avoid using a string of adjecves to modify a noun. Adding too many qualifying
words before the noun requires the reader to deconstruct the meaning.
Stacked noun—dicult to read
Annual natural gas-red electric power generaon totals
Annual totals for electric power generated from natural gas
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Unstacked noun—easier to read
• Use one space between a period and the start of the next sentence. The use of
one space is accepted by many style guides and is the default in html.
Modern preferred style: one space
Old-fashioned style: two spaces
I like chocolate. You like fruit.
I like chocolate. You like fruit.
6. Avoid run-on sentences
A run-on sentence isn’t just a long sentence (a common misconcepon); it is two
sentences squished together without proper punctuaon.
Correct sentences: He ran home. She stayed behind.
Incorrect, run-on sentence: He ran home she stayed behind.
These squiggles indicate possible mistakes. Don’t ignore them.
But remember: spell check doesn’t catch every mistake, and some possible errors
agged by spell check may actually be correct. You sll need to proof your wring
carefully.
Somemes the autocorrect feature in Microso Word can introduce errors such
as capitalizing words you meant to be lower case. Again, your eyes are crical in
reviewing your work.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
24
7. Avoid excessive use of due to; because is beer
The use of due to is rampant in EIA wring. Grammar advice says that if you are having
trouble guring out whether to use due to or because, because is almost always the
beer choice. Also consider using as a result of.
Correct: It gets light in the morning because the sun comes up.
Incorrect: It gets light in the morning due to the sun coming up.
Correct: Oil demand is down as a result of (or in response to) higher prices.
Incorrect: Oil demand is down due to higher prices.
8. Use parallel wring styles
• Bullets should begin with the same part of speech (noun, verb, adjecve, etc.).
• Sentences should be parallel.
Correct split innive: To boldly go where no man has gone before.
Parallel: Natural gas was transported by pipelines and tankers.
Not parallel: Natural gas was transported by pipelines and tanker deliveries.
Parallel: Natural gas imports and crude oil imports
Not parallel: Natural gas imports and imports of crude oil
Correct: Oil producon was steady from 2001 to 2005, then it was down
from 2005 to 2011, but recently it was up.
Incorrect: Oil producon was up from 2001 through 2005, then it had been
decreasing from 2005 through 2014, but now it is up since 2014.
Parallel: (see chart above) Not parallel: (see chart above)
(see chart below) (see chart)
• Phrases and terms should be parallel.
• Tense should be parallel.
• References to charts and graphs should be parallel.
9. It’s OK to split innives
This rule was concocted by 19th century grammarians of English who tried to force
the consistency of Lan grammar onto English. In Lan, you can’t split the innive of
a verb because it is all one word. English isn’t Lan. It’s OK to split innives.
10. Use rst, second, third
• Use rst, second, third for connected points in text, not rstly, secondly, thirdly.
• If you have more than three points, consider numbering the items or using
bullets. Saying seventh is cumbersome and confusing.
Note: EIA preference is see chart above (or see graph above), not see above
chart. In longer reports with numbered charts, write see Figure 3. You don’t
have to indicate above or below if the gures are numbered.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 25
11. Ending a sentence with a preposion is OK
• Somemes it is relavely easy to rewrite the sentence so it doesn’t end in a
preposion and sounds ne, but don’t convolute the words or meaning to
follow this anquated rule.
• Avoid awkward-sounding syntax as you try to keep the preposion out of the
sentence-ending spot.
• One grammar expert says not ending a sentence with a preposion is one of the
biggest grammar myths of all me.
Clear: This is where oil comes from.
Awkward: This is from where oil comes.
Clear: What did you step on?
Awkward: On what did you step?
Clear: Oil prices are rising because demand is up and supplies are low. This rise in
oil prices is the result of…
Unclear: Oil prices are rising because demand is up and supplies are low. This is
the result of… (This what? Prices rising? Demand up? Supplies low? Don’t make
the reader guess.)
Clear: Electricity demand is aected by price and weather. These two factors are...
Unclear: Electricity demand is aected by price and weather. These are…(These
what?)
Correct: This change is because of the new law.
Incorrect: This is because of the new law.
Correct: The increase in demand is a result of the weather.
Incorrect: It is due to the weather.
Correct and preferred EIA style: Colombia’s oil producon (sounds like the country)
Correct but not preferred: Columbian oil producon (sounds like the people)
Correct and preferred EIA style: Kansas’s legislature
Correct but not preferred: Kansas’ legislature
Correct: OPEC’s producon
Correct: FDR’s policies
12. This or that?
A common but somewhat confusing style choice in some EIA wring is the use of
sentences beginning with this or that or they where the subject is not stated. (You
have to look for the subject in the previous sentence.)
13. This is because or that is the result of… what?
Do not write sentences that begin with This is because, That is because, Those are
because, or It is due to. Repeat the subject from the previous sentence.
14. Wring the possessive form
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
26
Equal: Prices went up because of weather and generator outages. (Both factors
are equally important.)
Unequal: Prices went up because of weather as well as generator outages.
(Outages are a less important factor.)
Correct: Central America and South America
Incorrect: Central and South America
Correct: North Dakota and South Dakota
Incorrect: North and South Dakota
Correct: Headline: Natural gas consumpon increases
Text: Natural gas consumpon rose by 3% in 2016 over 2015 levels.
Preferred: The sandwich I ate yesterday was good.
OK: The sandwich that I ate yesterday was good.
Preferred: The cars sold in 2015 have more airbags.
OK: The cars that were sold in 2015 have more airbags.
15. To use that or not to use that
Using the extra word that is not necessary in many sentences.
16. And, as well as, in addion
The words you write aer as well as or in addion to are not as important as the
words you write aer and.
17. Small words are oen beer than big words
Try to avoid:
• Addionally (use also or in addion)
• Furthermore (use also or in addion)
• Numerous (use many)
• Ulize (use use)
• Incenvize (use encourage or promote)
For a longer list of words to avoid, see page 11.
18. Repeat the full noun
Don’t omit words in a proper noun to make the list shorter. Include all the words in a
noun to be clear.
19. Headline wring
• Be short and concise.
• Some headlines have character limits. Today in Energy tles are limited to 90
characters.
• Include the me period if it’s important to the story.
• Use the present tense for headlines and leaders; use past tense for the text, if
appropriate.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 27
21. But it’s in the diconary
Just because it’s in the diconary doesn’t mean a word or phrase is correct. A
diconary reects how speakers use the language. As words such as irregardless
creep into our language, they are added to the diconary. Inclusion in a diconary
does not automacally make these words correct.
A style guide establishes standards of good usage. The EIA Wring Style Guide reects
choices made by EIA to establish consistency and correctness in our wring.
• A prescripve diconary is more concerned about correct and standard English.
It would include only standard usage, spelling, and rules.
• A descripve diconary describes the language as it is spoken, so it includes
commonly used words, even if they are nonstandard (like ain’t and irregardless).
A descripve diconary might also include nonstandard spellings and guidance
about which words are nonstandard or oensive.
There are two types
of diconaries—
prescripve and
descripve.
Historically, most
diconaries were
prescripve. The 20th
century saw a move
toward descripve
diconaries. Today,
most diconaries,
including Merriam-
Webster, are
descripve.
Did you know?
Not sure?: Can a sentence begin with 4%?
Write-around: A total of 4% was included.
Not sure?: On-line or online? (EIA writes online as one word.)
Write-around: began service or began operang
Not sure?: Is data singular or plural? (It’s plural at EIA.)
Write-around: The informaon is, the data series is, the dataset is—if you want to
use a singular verb.
20. When in doubt, use a write-around
Somemes you just can’t gure out how to write something clearly or correctly, you
can’t nd it in the style guide, or you don’t know where to look it up. Try this advice:
write around it. A write-around using slightly dierent words is a rephrasing that
avoids what’s confusing you.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
28
An entirely adequate description
of English grammar is still a
distant target and at present
seemingly an unreachable
one, the complications being
what they are.
Robert Burcheld,
Unlocking the English Language, 1991
Grammar
29
1. Which and that
• Which and that are not interchangeable. Which is not a more elegant or formal
or clever way to say that. Your choice is not a maer of style—this rule is a right-
or-wrong choice.
• Which: a pronoun that introduces nonessenal informaon. Use a comma
before a which clause. If a comma won’t work, then you should be using that. If
you crossed out the words in the which clause, the remaining words should sll
be a complete sentence.
• That: a pronoun used to introduce essenal informaon. Don’t use a comma
before that.
Correct: Power plants that burn fossil fuels emit pollutants.
Incorrect: Power plants which burn fossil fuels emit pollutants.
Correct: Power plants, which are one source of electric power, may emit
pollutants.
Incorrect: Power plants that are one source of electric power may emit
pollutants.
Correct: None of the proposals was accepted. (Not one was accepted.)
Correct: Neither answer was sucient.
Correct: Neither my ocemate nor I was planning to aend the conference.
Correct: Either my ocemate or my boss was the last person to leave.
2. He and I, you and me, myself
3. None is or none are, either...or, and neither...nor
• Deciding whether an indenite pronoun such as neither, none, everyone, no one,
and some takes a singular or plural verb can be tricky.
• When an indenite pronoun is the subject of a verb, it is usually singular.
• When comparing two items, you must say “either...or” or “neither...nor.”
Which and that are
not interchangeable.
Here’s the boom line
on which and that: If
you can use the word
that, use that. If you
don’t have a comma
before which, use that.
Each of these examples says send the informaon to me, which is correct.
Correct: Send the informaon to Mike and me.
Correct: Send the informaon to me and Mike.
Correct: Send the informaon to me.
Incorrect: Send the informaon to Mike and I.
(What you are really saying here is send the informaon to I.)
Incorrect: Send the informaon to Mike and myself.
(You are saying send the informaon to myself.)
Correct: I did the work myself.
Incorrect: The work was done by Chrisne and myself.
Correct: The work was done by Chrisne and me.
(The work was done by me, not by I and not by myself.)
Correct: Chrisne and I did the work.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
30
Preferred: Kansas’s legislature
Correct: Kansas’ legislature
Preferred: James’s
Correct: James’
More correct examples: Dickens’s novels, the Williams’s new house.
Correct: He is the person who came to the meeng.
Incorrect: He is the person that came to the meeng. (Many writers make this
mistake.)
Correct: This is the couch that I just bought.
Incorrect: This is the couch who I just bought. (No one makes this mistake.)
Correct: Lower imports
Incorrect: Fewer imports
Correct: Gasoline costs less than $4 per gallon.
Incorrect: Gasoline costs under $4 per gallon.
4. Showing possession for singular nouns ending in s
Both styles below are correct.
5. Using compound subjects
All examples below are correct.
6. A person is a who, not a that
Use who with he, she, people, etc. Use that with objects.
7. Fewer, less, lower, and under
Fewer and less mean the same thing, but you use them in dierent circumstances.
Use less for mass nouns (things you can’t count individually) and fewer for count
nouns (things you can count). Use lower for levels or percentages. Use under to
describe locaon or spaal posion (under the table).
• Mass nouns—less salt, less red, less money, less me (note: you can’t make
mass nouns plural)
• Count nouns—fewer apples, fewer reners, fewer dollars, fewer hours
• Describing levels or amounts—lower imports, higher prices, lower producon
Colleen’s and Melinda’s recipes (dierent recipes, some from Colleen and some
from Melinda)
Colleen and Melinda’s recipes (recipes both Colleen and Melinda use)
My aunt’s and uncle’s houses (each person has a house)
My aunt and uncle’s house (only one house)
The guest speaker and new author, Mr. Smith, will be at our meeng.
Ham and swiss is the only sandwich le on the plate.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 31
Correct: The author of the reports and analyses is…
Incorrect: The author of the reports and analyses are…
Correct: The import level of petroleum products and crude oil is…
Incorrect: The import level of petroleum products and crude oil are…
Correct: Our forecast, together with the appendix tables, shows that…
Incorrect: Our forecast, together with the appendix tables, show that…
Correct: One key factor, high oil prices, is the reason…
Incorrect: One key factor, high oil prices, are the reason…
Correct: Our experience in dealing with complex models makes us…
Incorrect: Our experience in dealing with complex models make us…
Correct: EIA sta includes economists and stascians. (Sta is singular.)
Not preferred: EIA sta include economists and stascians.
• But somemes it’s not the beginning leer but the pronounced sound of the
beginning leer that determines the correct arcle.
Correct: a united front
Incorrect: an united front
Correct: an MA degree
Incorrect: a MA degree
Correct: an hour, an honor, an heir, a historic day, a utopian society, an unfair
law, an MBA
10. Subject-verb agreement
Singular nouns take singular verbs, and plural nouns take plural verbs. This advice
sounds easy, but it’s confusing with collecve nouns (sta, family) and when plural
words are added between the subject and verb.
9. A and An
• Usually you use an a in front of nouns that start with consonants: a chair, a
piano, a barrel. You use an in front of nouns that start with vowels: an apple, an
electric power plant, an import level.
8. More than and over
The words more than and over have similar meanings. EIA style prefers more than to
over in these types of sentences.
Correct: Producon increased by more than 5%.
Incorrect: Producon increased by over 5%.
Correct: More than 15 students came to class.
Incorrect: Over 15 students came to class.
Subject-verb
disagreement is a
common mistake
in EIA wring.
Proofreading your
wring out loud will
help you catch this
mistake.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
32
Proper words in proper places
make the true denition of a style.
Jonathan Swift
Commonly Misused Words
33
Commonly misused words Denion and example Denion and example
about/around
(used with numbers)
about: approximately
preferred: about 4%; about 3 tons.
Don’t use either word with precise
number such as about 3.21 million
barrels.
around: near to, close to
not preferred: around 4%;
around 3 tons
accept/except accept: to receive; to agree
I accept your suggesons.
except: apart from; but;
excluding
We approve all your suggesons
except the last one.
addionally, in addion
to, also, besides
Same meaning. EIA prefers in
addion and also. Avoid
addionally.
Just OK: Addionally, the price of
gasoline went up.
Beer: The price of gasoline also
went up.
advice/advise advice: recommendaon;
guidance (noun)
EIA seeks advice from the
American Stascal Associaon.
advise: to recommend; to suggest
(verb)
We must advise you that email
is an insecure means of
transmission.
aect/eect aect: to inuence
Policy decisions aect energy
markets.
eect: a result (as a noun); to bring
about, to accomplish (as a verb)
What was the eect of the
commiee’s work?
The commiee’s work eected
major changes to the system.
aid/aide aid: the act of helping (verb)
Accepted students must apply for
nancial aid prior to enrollment.
aide: person acng as an
assistant (noun)
The polical candidates brought
campaign aides to the meeng.
a lot/alot/many/allot a lot: a considerable quanty or
extent; a lot is always two words.
allot: to parcel out; to assign a share
alot: not a word.
Correct: It takes a lot of coal to
generate electricity.
Incorrect: It takes alot of coal
to generate electricity.
many: consisng of or amounng
to a large but indenite number
Correct: It takes a lot of coal to
generate electricity.
Beer: It takes many tons of coal
to generate electricity.
Best: It takes more than 100 tons
of coal to generate that much
electricity.
all ready/already all ready: everything is ready
Once the papers are all ready, we
can send them.
already: before a specied me
The meeng is already nished.
all right/alright all right: a statement of arma-
on, sasfacon, agreement. EIA
preferred style
The calculaons in the report were
all right.
alright: a statement of armaon,
but this spelling is less preferred
and not standard. Not EIA style
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
34
Commonly misused words Denion and example Denion and example
although/though although: in spite of the fact that,
even though
EIA prefers the use of although, but
both are correct.
though: in spite of the fact that,
even though. Not EIA style
The dress, though expensive, was
just what I wanted for the party.
(although expensive is preferred)
although/while although: in spite of the fact that,
even though
Although I was full, I sll ordered
dessert.
while: at the same me*
*Not a hard-and-fast rule. Oen,
while can be used in place of
although. Be careful.
While we were sleeping, an inch of
rain fell.
all together/altogether all together: in a group, always two
words
We sat all together on the lawn at
the concert.
altogether: completely, in all, on
the whole
Altogether, the songs on this album
present vivid imagery.
alternate/alternave alternate: to change back and forth;
every other one in a series
When I cross-train, I alternate
between running and cycling.
I am the alternate member of
that group.
alternave: a choice between two
things or possibilies
An alternave to driving your car is
taking public transportaon.
Because the weather is cold, the
alternave to freezing is wearing a
heavy coat.
allude to/refer to allude to: to menon indirectly
The report alluded to problems with
the system.
refer to: to menon directly
The report referred to other refer-
ences on the subject.
amid/amidst amid: American English.
EIA prefers amid.
amidst: Brish English
among/amongst among: American English.
EIA prefers among.
He chose among the many opons.
amongst: Brish English
He chose amongst the many
opons. (not preferred)
any more/anymore any more: addional, any longer
I don’t want any more pizza.
The dierence between the two
meanings is shown in this sentence:
I don’t buy books anymore because
I don’t need any more books.
anymore: an adverb meaning now-
adays or any longer
I don’t jog anymore.
anyone/any one anyone: any single person or thing
Does anyone have a stamp?
any one: any person or thing
Any one of the sandwiches on the
menu would be ne.
backward/backwards backward: American English.
EIA prefers backward.
Count backward from 10 to 1.
backwards: Brish English
Count backwards from ten to one.
(not preferred)
because/since because: cause and eect; for that
reason
Because prices went up, demand
went down.
since: from a certain me. Not a
synonym for because
Since 1980, demand has gone up.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 35
Commonly misused words Denion and example Denion and example
because (of)/due to because (of): for that reason
Note: Because is almost always the
right choice.
due to: as a result of
Not correct: Producon went up
due to more exploraon.
OK: The producon increase was
due to more exploraon.
Beer: Producon went up
because of more exploraon.
between/among between: connecng or comparing
two objects
The driving distance between
Balmore and Philadelphia is
surprisingly short.
I had to choose between chocolate
and vanilla.
among: in or into the midst of;
connecng or comparing more
than two objects
Please speak freely. You’re among
friends.
I had to choose among the four ice
cream avors.
biannual/biennial/semi-
annual
biannual/semiannual: occurring
every half year, meaning twice a
year.
Note: EIA preference is to say twice
a year, which removes any possible
confusion.
We have a lease agreement
requiring that payments be paid on
a biannual basis in January and July.
This poetry anthology is updated
on a semiannual basis in June and
December.
biennial: occurring every two years
Note: EIA preference is to say every
two years.
Our group’s next biennial
conference will be in two years.
This insect has a biennial
lifecycle.
big/large big: oen countable (more
colloquial/common)
Not preferred: big price increase,
biggest nuclear reactor
large: related to objects that are
quanable
Note: In general, EIA prefers large.
Large price increase, largest
nuclear reactor, largest decrease
brake/break brake: a device for stopping or
slowing moon
The system captures excess energy
when the driver uses the brake.
break: to separate into parts; to
smash; a disrupon
The water in these tubes must be
very pure or the tubes might break.
New commercial building pracces
caused a break in the trend.
breakout/break-out breakout: shown in parts or
categories, as stascal data
The breakout of petroleum imports
showed levels by country. (not
preferred)
break-out: adjecve modifying ta-
ble or meeng; smaller or separate
item
The break-out session discussed
the issues.
canceled/cancelled canceled: American spelling,
preferred
cancelled: Brish spelling, not
preferred
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
36
Commonly misused words Denion and example Denion and example
carrot/carat/caret/karat carrot: a vegetable
carat: unit of mass used to measure
gemstones
caret: ^ a wedge-shape eding mark
karat: a unit of purity for gold
compare to/compare with compare to: to note similaries
between things.
Correct: Life can be compared to a
roller coaster ride.
compare with: to discern both sim-
ilaries and dierences between
things.
EIA wring more oen compares
with something. Most denions
say that with can be used for both
similaries and dierences, so EIA
writers cannot go wrong using
compared with.
Correct: The U.S. Congress can
be compared with the Brish
Parliament.
complement/compliment complement: to complete;
something that completes
Pipelines complement tankers at
key locaons by relieving bole-
necks.
This Climate Wise Primer is a
complement to EIA’s Form 1605.
compliment: to praise; an
expression of praise
My boss complimented me for my
good work.
We take it as a compliment that
journalists reuse Today in Energy
graphs.
comprise/compose comprise: to be made up of or
consist of; the whole comprises the
sum of its parts. Something is never
comprised of something else.
Note: These two words are not
synonyms. Is comprised of is
generally incorrect. Comprise does
not mean include.
Correct: OPEC’s membership
comprises 12 countries.
Correct: The United States
comprises 50 states.
composed of: to make up; to form
the substance of
Correct: OPEC’s membership is
composed of 12 countries.
connental U.S./
conguous U.S.
connental: on the connent,
which includes the Lower 48 states
and Alaska.
conguous: sharing a common
border; touching. This group would
only include the Lower 48 states.
connuously/connually connuously: uninterrupted or
constant
The video plays connuously.
connually: connued
occurrence; one reoccurrence
We connually review and
update our policies.
data/datum data: a collecon of pieces of factu-
al informaon including stascs;
the plural form of datum
For wrien EIA products, the word
data is plural.
Correct: The data are correct.
Incorrect: The data is correct.
datum: a single piece of factual
informaon
Datum is technically correct, but
not commonly used.
If you want to use a singular verb,
say informaon or data series or
dataset rather than data.
Comprise does not mean
include. Something is
never comprised of
something else.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 37
Commonly misused words Denion and example Denion and example
dierent from/dierent
than
Similar meaning. EIA prefers
dierent from. Dierent from is
almost always the correct choice.
Correct: My ideas are dierent from
yours.
Less correct: My ideas are dierent
than yours.
due to/because (of) due to: something that is owed or
expected; caused by
Note: Wider use of due to is
becoming more acceptable,
although many uses are
technically not correct.
Use because of, as a result of, or
caused by in most EIA wring. In
general, use due to when you can
replace it with caused by.
Correct: The plant failure was due
to unexpected fuel shortages.
Incorrect: The plant failed due to
unexpected fuel shortages.
Correct: The increase in oil prices is
due to the recent crisis.
Incorrect: Oil prices have increased
due to the recent crisis.
because (of): for that reason;
caused by; as a result of
Note: Because of is almost always
the right choice. In general, use
because of when you can replace
it with on account of in your
sentence.
Correct: Oil prices increased
because of the recent crisis.
Incorrect: The increase in oil
prices is due to the recent crisis.
email/e-mail EIA uses email—one word, no
hyphen. This form is a style
decision.
Correct: email
Incorrect: e-mail, Email, E-mail
ensure/insure/assure ensure: to make certain
We monitor network trac to
ensure site security.
assure: to state with condence;
to declare earnestly
The director assured the sta that
the project budget was adequate.
insure: to protect against nancial
loss
Indemnity clubs insure the tankers
that transport petroleum imported
into the United States.
everyday/every day everyday: commonplace; normal
These are my everyday shoes.
every day: each day; regularly;
daily
I go for a walk every day.
everyone/every one everyone: every person, everybody,
all the people
Everyone is welcome to aend the
meeng.
every one: each one of a number
of people or things
Every one of the chairs must be
stacked in the corner.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
38
Commonly misused words Denion and example Denion and example
expected/forecast/pro-
jected
expected or forecast (to be):
Esmates of what is expected or
forecast to happen, given historical
trends, recent data, and specic
assumpons.
projected (to be): Generally, pro-
jecons by EIA are not statements
of what will happen but of what
might happen, given the assump-
ons and methodologies used for
any parcular scenario.
farther/further farther: at or to a greater distance
An average vehicle traveled farther
in 2010 than in 2015.
further: moreover; to a greater
extent
In the United Kingdom, deregu-
laon is further along than it is in
other countries.
fewer/less fewer: for items you can count
Correct: There are fewer people at
the meeng this week.
Incorrect: There are less people at
the meeng this week.
less: for items you can’t count
This recipe calls for less salt.
ammable/inammable These words are synonyms. Both
mean ‘easy to burn.’ Best to avoid
the word inammable.
forward/forwards/fore-
word
forward: American English
(preferred) to go toward
The child walked forward.
forwards: Brish English (not
preferred)
foreword: introducon to a book.
Foreword is only a noun.
I enjoyed reading the foreword to
that book.
forecast/projected/
expected
forecast or expected (to be):
Esmates of what is expected or
forecast to happen, given historical
trends, recent data, and specic
assumpons.
projected (to be): Generally, pro-
jecons by EIA are not statements
of what will happen but of what
might happen, given the assump-
ons and methodologies used for
any parcular scenario.
forth/fourth forth: forward in me, place, and
order
Despite setbacks, we are moving
forth. (not preferred EIA style)
fourth: next aer the third. A
fourth, one fourth, and a quarter
are all correct.
The Surry nuclear plant is the
fourth-largest facility in the region.
I ate a fourth of the cake.
half/one half/a half/half
of/half a
half: preferred
Preferred: The glass was half full.
I ate half an apple.
one-half: not preferred
a half: not preferred
historic/historical historic: famous; important in
history
George Washington is a historic
gure.
historical: of, belonging to, or
referring to history
Gone with the Wind is a historical
novel.
hone/home in hone: to sharpen, make more
eecve
The candidate wants to hone her
argument.
Hone in is used colloquially, but in
wring the correct usage is home in.
home in: direct onto a point or
target
The IRS is homing in on tax fraud.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 39
Commonly misused words Denion and example Denion and example
impact/eect impact: an eect, used only as a
noun
Don’t use impact as a verb. Use
aected or inuenced by.
Incorrect: Prices impacted demand
for gasoline.
Correct: The weather aected (not
impacted) the price of natural gas.
eect: a result; to bring about
Correct: What was the eect of
that legislaon?
impacted/aected impacted: packed or wedged in (like
wisdom teeth); colloquially, aected
or inuenced. Don’t use impacted
as a verb.
Correct: Britney’s wisdom teeth
were impacted.
Incorrect: Oil producon was
impacted by the new technology.
aected: to inuence or to change
Correct: Oil producon was
aected by the new technology.
Internet/intranet Internet: a global system of
interconnected public and
private computer networks
The World Wide Web is just one
service that uses the Internet.
Note that Internet is capitalized.
intranet: a private computer
network; an internal
organizaonal website
Use the intranet to nd
employee phone numbers.
Note that intranet is not
capitalized.
its/it’s its: belonging to it; its is the posses-
sive form of it.
EIA has consolidated its analysis
of world oil markets into its latest
report.
it’s: it is; it’s is a contracon
Correct: It’s cold outside today.
(which means) It is cold outside
today.
last/past last: nal
Incorrect: Prices increased the last
two months.
past: previous
Correct: Prices increased the past
two months.
later/laer later: at some me aer a given
me
I can meet with you later.
laer: of, relang to, or being the
second of two groups or things or
the last of several groups or things
referred to
I prefer the laer proposal.
lead/led lead: (verb) to guide; to show the
way
Our country connues to lead the
world in wind power growth.
lead: (noun) a bluish-white, so,
heavy metal
Lead was added to gasoline to
improve engine performance.
led: past tense of the verb lead
Improved technology led to deeper
reservoir drilling and access to
more resources.
loose/lose loose: not ght
The loose standards extend
throughout the industry and allow
for abuse.
lose: to give up; to misplace; to
not win
Both oil and coal lose market share
to natural gas.
The past tense of lead
is led. The noun lead
(pronounced led)
is a metal.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
40
Commonly misused words Denion and example Denion and example
majority of/most of majority of: only refers to a (count-
able) number of things or people.
Correct: The majority of the people
were Americans.
most of: when wring about a
noncountable amount
Correct: Most of (not the majority
of) the harvest was saved.
maybe/may be maybe: perhaps; possible
Maybe I will be able to come to the
meeng tomorrow.
may be: might be; could be
I may be able to come to the
meeng tomorrow.
more than/over/above more than: of a greater quanty
The price increased by more than
(not over) 5%.
There are more than (not over)
1,000 applicants for the posion.
over: above (preferred) or in excess
of
The price of gasoline went above
(not over) $4 per gallon.
none is/none are none can be singular or plural.
none singular: None can mean not
one and be followed by a singular
verb. It can also take a singular verb
when followed by a mass noun.
singular: None of the water is
polluted.
none plural: somemes none
means not any, in which case the
sentence can take a plural verb.
none plural: None of those people
are coming to the meeng.
online/on line/on-line online: Become operaonal; ready
for use; related to the Internet
Note: EIA uses online as one word
in all cases.
Correct: When you’re on the
Internet, you’re online.
Correct: The nuclear power plant
came online last year.
on-line: old usage, not EIA
preferred style
on line: not EIA preferred style
oral/verbal oral: spoken words
The lawyer presented oral
arguments in the trial.
verbal: wrien and spoken words
ambiguous: My partner and I had a
verbal business agreement.
clear: My partner and I had a
wrien business agreement.
overme/over me overme: extra work
Bob had to work overme this
weekend.
over me: over some length of
me
The stockpile was built over me.
pair/pare pair: two of a kind
Each module has a pair of small
turbines.
pare: to reduce; to peel
We should pare down this exten-
sive set of instrucons to three
simple steps.
palee/palate/pallet palee: an array of colors
palate: roof of the mouth
pallet: a wooden plaorm
Use online in all cases—
one word, no hyphen.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 41
Commonly misused words Denion and example Denion and example
personal/personnel personal: private
We do not collect personal
informaon for any purpose.
personnel: employees
The UN Secretary-General
announced the withdrawal of all
humanitarian personnel from Iraq.
precede/proceed precede: to go before
The 2012 Style Guide preceded the
current one.
proceed: to connue
Proceed down the hallway to the
exit.
previous/prior previous: coming before in me
EIA preferred: our previous
esmate; our previous report
prior: coming before in me
not preferred: our prior esmate;
our prior report
principal/principle principal: foremost
The principal use for this wax is in
candles.
principal: head of a school
Mr. Jones was named principal of
Maywood Elementary School.
principal: a sum of money
You paid back the principal of your
loan.
principle: a rule; standard of good
behavior
The nal decision was based on
principle, not prot.
projected/ forecast/
expected
projected (to be): Generally, pro-
jecons by EIA are not statements
of what will happen but of what
might happen, given the assump-
ons and methodologies used for
any parcular scenario.
forecast or expected (to be):
Esmates of what is expected or
forecast to happen, given histori-
cal trends, recent data, and specic
assumpons.
proved/proven (reserves) proved reserves: Term used in EIA
reports referring to reserves of
energy sources.
proven reserves: Not preferred EIA
style. Same meaning as proved re-
serves. Term referring to reserves
of energy sources.
quarter/fourth quarter: one-fourth; one of four
equal parts
Note: both quarter and one-fourth
are OK.
Correct: I ate a quarter of the pie.
Not preferred: I ate one-fourth of
the pie.
fourths: one of four equal parts
Correct: I ate a fourth of the pie.
regardless/irregardless regardless: despite everything
Regardless of the dangers, the
hikers went on.
irregardless: not a word
seams/seems seams: lines formed by sewing
together fabric, or a ssure or crack
across a surface
Coal comes from deep seams in the
earth.
seems: appears
Gasoline demand in the Midwest
seems to be growing faster.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
42
Commonly misused words Denion and example Denion and example
sight/cite/site sight: the act of seeing
Customers were excited by the
sight of the new model.
cite: to quote
Please cite all of your sources of
informaon.
site: a locaon
We don’t know how much radi-
um-bearing material is processed
at the site.
staonary/staonery staonary: not movable
The monitor is staonary,
so you’ll have to move your chair if
you cannot see it.
staonery: wring paper
Our oce will need to order more
staonery with our logo on it.
Remember: The last vowel in both
paper and staonery is an e.
than/then than: compared with
Developed economies use oil
much more intensively than the
developing economies.
then: at that me; next in me
The maps were developed using
GIS soware and then converted to
PDF format.
that/which that: a pronoun used to introduce
essenal informaon. That phrases
have no preceding comma.
That and which are not
interchangeable.
Correct: I like books that have good
stories.
Incorrect: I like books which have
good stories.
which: a pronoun used to
introduce nonessenal informa-
on. Nearly always has a comma
before it.
Correct: This book has a good
story, which is one reason I liked it.
Note: Which and that are not inter-
changeable. Which is not a more
elegant way to say that. If you can
use the word that, use that.
their/there/they’re their: belonging to them
We used their research in our book.
they’re: contracon of they are
The reneries undergo maintenance
when they’re switching from heat-
ing oil to gasoline.
there: in that place
Place your signed applicaon over
there.
thorough/through/threw/
though
thorough: complete; painstaking
Before hiring a new person, the
company conducts a thorough back-
ground check of the applicant.
through: from side to side or from
end to end; completed
The DOE list includes resources for
students in kindergarten through
twelh grade.
Preferred: I am nished with this
assignment.
Not preferred: I am through with
this assignment.
threw: tossed
Because your son threw the ball,
your insurance will not pay to
replace the window.
though: in spite of the fact that.
Informal version of although. Not
EIA preferred style. Use although
in formal wring.
Preferred: Although prices
increased, demand remained at.
Not preferred: Though prices
increased, demand remained at.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 43
Commonly misused words Denion and example Denion and example
toward/towards toward: American spelling:
EIA prefers toward
She walked toward the exit.
towards: Brish spelling
She walked towards the exit. (not
preferred)
traveled/travelled traveled: American spelling,
EIA prefers traveled
travelled: Brish spelling
upon/on upon: more formal term for on
Correct: (less preferred): Based
upon these assumpons.
on: less formal than upon
Correct: (preferred): Based on
these assumpons.
Note: If the word on works in the
sentence, use on. No need to use
the more formal word upon.
upward/upwards upward: American spelling.
EIA prefers upward
We revised the forecast upward.
upwards: Brish spelling
We revised the forecast upwards.
(not preferred)
variable/volale variable: likely to change; subject to
variaon.
The weather in October is variable.
volale: tendency to vary oen or
widely; likely to change suddenly;
unpredictable
Note: remember to note if it’s high
or low volality.
The stock market can be volale.
verbal/oral verbal: technically, both wrien and
spoken
oral: spoken
weather/whether weather: state of atmospheric
condions
The city’s website has a link to the
local weather forecast.
whether: used to introduce alter-
nave possibilies
This gure indicates whether mar-
kets are shiing.
web/the web web: an adjecve meaning related
to the World Wide Web; when used
as an adjecve, the word web is
lowercased.
I did web research to write my term
paper.
the web: short for the World Wide
Web, when used as a noun.
I used the web to research my
vacaon.
website/web page website: a collecon of web pages.
EIA uses website as a compound
word.
EIA’s website contains lots of infor-
maon.
The word webcast is also a com-
pound word.
web page: a single web page (with
a single url). EIA uses web page
as two words, where web is an
adjecve.
I researched electricity informaon
on EIA’s web pages.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
44
Him and me, he and I
The use of the words me and I is tricky and oen confusing. One way to gure out
if you’re using them correctly is to break the original sentence into two shorter
sentences. If your wording sounds correct when it’s separated, you’ve goen it right.
If the wording sounds o or incorrect, you’re using me and/or I incorrectly.
Correct: Give it to him and me.
Separated into two shorter sentences: Give it to him. Give it to me.
Incorrect: Give it to he and I.
Separated into two shorter sentences: Give it to he. Give it to I.
Correct: He and I went to the party.
Separated into two shorter sentences: He went to the party. I went to the party.
Incorrect: Him and me went to the party.
Separated into two shorter sentences: Him went to the party. Me went to the
party.
Correct: The party was fun for Sam and me.
Separated into two shorter sentences: The party was fun for Sam. The party was
fun for me.
Incorrect: The party was fun for Sam and I.
Separated into two shorter sentences: The party was fun for Sam. The party was
fun for I.
This grammar queson becomes more confusing when he and I are the subject of the
sentence rather than the direct object.
Give it to I is not correct,
so give it to he and I also
is not correct.
Give it to him.
Give it to me.
So, give it to him and me
is correct.
Commonly misused words Denion and example Denion and example
which/that which: a pronoun used to introduce
nonessenal informaon. Nearly
always has a comma before it
This book, which is one of my favor-
ites, is a historical novel.
Note: Which and that are not in-
terchangeable. Which is not a more
elegant way to say that. If you can
use the word that, use that.
that: a pronoun used to introduce
essenal informaon. Phrases with
no preceding comma
I like books that have good stories.
Incorrect: This is the book which I
bought yesterday.
Correct: This is the book that I
bought yesterday.
while/although while: at the same me; somemes
used to mean although
Not preferred: While producon
increased, prices stayed the same.
although: despite
Preferred: Although producon
increased, prices stayed the same.
while/whilst while: American spelling. EIA
preferred spelling.
While we were taking a test, the
teacher le the room.
whilst: Brish spelling
Whilst we were taking a test,
the teacher le the room. (not
preferred)
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 45
A certain amount of copy
editing has very little to do with
how great a writer you are.
Chicago Manual of Style
16th Edition, 2010
Capitalizaon
47
1. Capitalizaon (or not) for words and terms frequently used by EIA
A
B
C
D
E
F
the administraon (the Obama administraon)
the Arcc (when referring to the region; but arcc blast and arcc fox)
autumn
Brish thermal unit(s)—Btu is singular and plural. Not BTU (all caps is not correct)
Central me zone
Central America
central Asia
crude oil (but capitalize specic types or blends, for example, Brent, West Texas Intermediate)
Colorado state—or the state of Colorado
Census region, Census division
Congress
congressional commiee or report
the connental United States
U.S. Department of Energy
DOE
earth (except uses like Earth Day, or in lists with other planets: Earth and Mars)
east (compass direcons north, south, east, and west are not capitalized)
the East Coast
the East
Eastern Hemisphere
Eastern me zone
eastern part of the country
eastern United States—power comes from the northeastern part of the state. The weather is
hoer in the southern half of the country.
EIA (not the EIA and not U.S. EIA)
email (not Email, E-mail, or e-mail) The terms email and website have evolved over the past
decade and have become disnct words or terms that do not require hyphens or capitals.
email list (not Listserv, which is a protected trademark that EIA may not use)
ENERGY STAR®—all caps, with the register mark ® on rst use
the equator
EU (European Union)—no periods
euro
ExxonMobil (one word; camel-case M)
fall
federal—lower case for general uses
federal government
federal law
federal report
Federal Register Noce
Federal Reserve Board
Federal Trade Commission
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
48
G
H
I
K
L
M
N
Forrestal Building
gigawa (GW)
governor of a state
gross domesc product (GDP)
Gulf Coast (unless there is confusion, do not specify U.S. Gulf Coast)
Gulf of Mexico (GOM)
homepage (one word, lower case)
Hoover Dam; a dam
HR 2454 (for House of Representaves: no periods)
Imported Rener Acquision Cost
Internet (capital I)
Internet service provider (ISP)
investment tax credit (ITC)—lower case, spelled out
intranet (lower-case i)
kilowahour (kWh)
Lower 48 states (capital L and no hyphen)
Make sure you include the word states, not just Lower 48
megabyte
megawa (MW)
megawahour (MWh)
Middle Atlanc
Middle East
the Midwest (Census region)
midwestern states
moon
Mountain me zone
the naon (lower case)
New England
New York Harbor; the harbor
the North
north
northeastern states
the Northeast (Census region)
the North Pole
North Sea
North Sea Brent
Northern California
Northern Hemisphere
northern New Mexico
Nymex futures
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 49
Organizaon for Economic Cooperaon and Development (OECD)
Organizaon of the Petroleum Exporng Countries (don’t forget the the) (OPEC)
the Pacic Northwest
Pacic me zone
PAD Districts (PADD)
the Persian Gulf
polar regions
producon tax credit (PTC) lower case when spelled out
Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) upper case when spelled out. It’s fuel (not fuels) standard.
renewable porolio standard (RPS) lower case when spelled out
Rocky Mountain PADD
Rocky Mountains
seasons are lower case (spring, summer, winter, fall)—except when the seasons are part of a
proper noun such as Summer Olympics or Spring Semester
the South
the Southeast
the Southwest
spring
south (compass direcons north, east, south and west are not capitalized)
the South Pole
Southern California
southern France
South Africa, but southern Africa
South Korea
Southern Hemisphere
Silicon Valley
states (lower case)
state energy policy
the South (Census region)
the Southeast region
southern states
the South Pole
the state of Colorado
summer
sun
the territories
the union (not preferred; use the naon or the United States)
the West (Census region)
the U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon (but just EIA, not the EIA)
U.S. (with periods, never US; spell out United States when used as a noun)
U.K. (UK is not incorrect, just not EIA preferred style)
url
R
S
T
U
P
The word web is
lower case in all uses.
O
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
50
Correct punctuaon (none):
There are four energy-consuming sectors:
• Residenal
• Commercial
• Industrial
• Transportaon
For more informaon on capitalizing names of regions, localies, and geographic
features, see The Chicago Manual of Style: Popular Names and Terms or GPO Style
Manual: Capitalizaon Rules.
2. Capitalizing and punctuang bulleted or numbered lists
• Capitalize the rst word of each item in a bulleted or numbered list, whether the
bullets are complete sentences, phrases, or words.
• Don’t use any punctuaon at the ends of the bulleted items unless they are
complete sentences.
Washington state—Washington State is a university
Washington, DC
the web (short for World Wide Web) (Chicago Manual of Style prefers web)
web page
webcast
webinar
website
Western Hemisphere me zones (Eastern standard me, Eastern me zone, Mountain me)
western United States
west
the West Coast
the West (but western part of the state)
winter
World Wide Web (if spelled out)
W
Incorrect punctuaon (don’t end with semicolons):
There are four energy-consuming sectors:
• Residenal;
• Commercial;
• Industrial;
• Transportaon;
Incorrect punctuaon (don’t end with commas):
There are four energy-consuming sectors:
• Residenal,
• Commercial,
• Industrial, and
• Transportaon,
Incorrect punctuaon (don’t end with periods):
There are four energy-consuming sectors:
• Residenal.
• Commercial.
• Industrial.
• Transportaon.
In most cases, don’t
use any punctuaon
at the end of bullets.
Never end bullets with
commas or semicolons.
Capitalize the rst
leer of each bulleted
item.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 51
EIA capitalizaon style:
I have three pets:
• Bird
• Dog
• Cat
Alternave lower-case style
(not wrong, but not EIA style):
I have three pets:
• bird
• dog
• cat
Correct: Steps to apply:
• Fill out the form
• Sign the form
• Turn in the form
Also correct (adding
numbers indicates order)
Steps to apply:
1. Fill out the form
2. Sign the form
3. Turn in the form
Correct: There are three top
coal-producing states:
• Wyoming
• West Virginia
• Kentucky
Also correct (adding numbers
indicates rank)
The top three coal-producing
states are as follows:
1. Wyoming
2. West Virginia
3. Kentucky
• Somemes it is tempng to not capitalize the rst word of every bullet. This style
is not wrong; it’s just not EIA style.
• Note: Use numbers only for items that have a sequence (step by step) or an
intended order (top 10 oil-producing states). Otherwise, use bullets.
3. Capitalizing report tles and headings: tle or sentence case
There are two types of capitalizaon for tles and headings:
Example of tle case capitalizaon: Natural Gas Producon Increased in 2015
Title case: Capitalize the rst leer of each major word in the tle and rst-level
headings. Do not capitalize but, for, or, to, as, a, etc. Second-level headings and below
are sentence case.
All tles except the report tle and rst-level headings should be sentence case in EIA
style. The EIA report template uses this rule for capitalizaon.
4. Using tle case
• Capitalize the main words of table tles and most headings and subheadings,
including the second word in a hyphenated term (e.g., PV Program Five-Year
Plan, Short-Term Energy Outlook).
Capitalize the rst
word of each bullet
item, whether or
not the bullets are
complete sentences,
phrases, or words.
Example of sentence case capitalizaon: Natural gas producon increased in 2015
Sentence case: Just like the capitalizaon in a sentence—only the rst word of the
tle or heading is capitalized (and, of course, any names and proper nouns). Use
sentence case for second-level headings and below. Also use sentence case for the
tles of graphs and tables.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
52
Correct tle case:
Projected Summer Gasoline Prices Are Near Last Summer’s Level
Chavez’s Opponents Accuse Him of Squandering Venezuela’s Resources
North American Electric Reliability Regions Map
U.S. Petroleum Administraon for Defense Districts (PADD) Map
Internaonal Energy Data and Analysis
Correct: The Signal Sciensts Wait For
Correct: Short-Term Energy Outlook
Correct: Long-Term Forecast Shows Growth
Correct: Researchers To Discuss Recent Findings
Correct: How To Subscribe to the Newsleer
• Capitalize all rst and last words in tle-case tles and headings even if the last
word is a preposion.
• Capitalize hyphenated words that would be capitalized if standing alone.
• Always capitalize the word to when it precedes a verb, if using tle case.
• Do not capitalize the word to in other uses.
Correct: Add Internaonal Data to Your Sample Set
Correct: Which state uses the most electricity?
Correct: The renewable iniave is a federal program.
Correct: How much oil does our naon import?
Correct: Both county and city governments levy gasoline taxes.
Correct: I was born in Carson City, Nevada.
Correct: Los Angeles County is in California.
5. Capitalizing governmental references
• Do not capitalize the words federal, state, naon, and government or the name
of any government enes below the state level, unless it is part of a proper
noun.
• Do not capitalize government enes below the state level, unless the enty
name is part of the proper name.
• Do not capitalize arcles (i.e., a, an, and the) unless they begin the tle or
heading; conjuncons (e.g., and, or, nor, and but); or preposions (e.g., for, of,
and to) unless they contain four or more leers. When to is used in a tle or
heading, it is capitalized as an innive and lowercase as a preposion. Verbs
are always capitalized, including is and are.
Correct: Grand Coulee Dam is the largest electric power facility in the country.
Incorrect: Grand Coulee Dam is the largest electric power facility in America.
• United States: Spell out United States when it’s used as a noun. Use terms such
as United States, country, or naon. Avoid using the term American, which can
somemes refer to more than just the United States.
Use sentence case
capitalizaon for tles
of graphs and tables.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 53
Correct: The Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) was promulgated by EPA in
March 2005. This rule was published in the Federal Register.
Correct: Oce of Communicaons
Correct: Petroleum Markeng Stascs Team
Correct: John Krohn, Content Operaons Team Leader
Correct: Gina Pearson, Assistant Administrator, Oce of Communicaons
Correct: Meet with your oce director.
Correct: EIA has many team leaders.
Correct: Important note: We review databases annually.
Incorrect: IMPORTANT NOTE: We review databases annually.
Correct: That is why these technologies must never be abandoned.
Incorrect: That is why these technologies must NEVER be abandoned.
Correct: The treaty set internaonal standards.
Correct: The U.S. Congress is considering amendments to energy legislaon.
The Congress did not pass the amendments.
Correct: The congressional session resulted in no acon.
• Congress: Capitalize the full names and shortened names of governmental
organizaons. Congress is capitalized, but congressional is not capitalized.
• Remember to be consistent in capitalizaon of governmental references within
each document.
6. Capitalizing acts, treaes, and government programs
• Capitalize formal or accepted tles of rules, pacts, plans, policies, treaes, acts,
programs, and similar documents or agreements.
• Do not capitalize incomplete or generic references to acts, treaes, and
government programs.
For more informaon on capitalizing governmental enes, see GPO Style Manual
Chapter 3: Capitalizaon rules and Chapter 4: Capitalizaon examples.
7. Using capitals in EIA organizaon names and tles
Capitalize names of specic oces and teams. Do not capitalize organizaon names in
generic, nonspecic references.
8. Using bold for emphasis instead of capitals
Do not write in all capital leers for emphasis, which is interpreted as shoung at
the reader. Use bold or italics instead of uppercase or underlining when you want to
emphasize a word or phrase.
Spell out United States
when it’s used as a noun.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
54
Examples:
Electric Power Monthly is released each month.
See What’s New in the Petroleum Supply Monthly for details.
Example: Informaon on pipeline capacity covers all four regions of the
United States.
Example: The updated informaon was released today.
homepage
Internet
Internet service provider (ISP)
intranet
url
the web (short for World Wide Web)
9. Capitalizing Internet-related words
Capitalizaon of Internet-related words is a style decision that has evolved over me.
Use these capitalizaon styles for EIA wring.
web page (web is lowercased a l l t h e
me)
webcast
webinar
website
World Wide Web
10. Capitalizing embedded hypertext links
• When the text in the embedded link is the tle of a publicaon or other proper
name, match the link capitalizaon to the capitalizaon of the publicaon’s tle.
• When the text in the embedded link is not a tle, use lower case.
• Do not capitalize embedded links that are not proper nouns or tles.
11. Using capitals in company names
• Capitalize the same way the company does.
Example: Use Twier and Tweet
Examples:
iPod
PayPal
PowerPoint
TiVo
ExxonMobil (one word) but Exxon Mobil Corporaon
Examples:
Bentek, not BENTEK
Nymex, not NYMEX
Pepco, not PEPCO
Energy Star (don’t use the ® symbol)
• Use camelcase (capital leers inside the name or word) only if it is the formal
company name.
• Avoid using all caps for company names and other names.
Use bold or italics
instead of uppercase or
underlining when you
want to emphasize a
word or phrase.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 55
If a page number in the table of contents is
wrong, the data in Table 4 is just as likely
to be wrong.
Carol Fisher Saller,
The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from
Chicago, 2009
Numbers
57
1. Wring out numbers or numerals
•
t
Correct
Correct
Correct
Correct
Correct
Correct
Incorrect
Correct
.
Incorrect
Examples
Example
Example
Example
•
•
•
•
•
th
th
•
Preferred Not preferred
Write out numbers from
one through nine.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
Correct, but confusing
Beer
Examples
fourths
Correct
Correct
Example
Correct
Incorrect
Correct
Incorrect
Correct
Correct
Incorrect
Example
Correct
Incorrectth of an inch.
•
2. Wring out or using numerals for fracons
•
•
• th
Correct
Incorrectth
• a, of, or an.
•
3. Always use the % sign for percent
•
• percent
•
•
•
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
4. Wring ranges of numbers and adjacent numbers
•
Correct
to)
Correct
Incorrect
numbers)
Incorrect
numbers)
Correct
Correct
Correct
Correct
Correct
Correct
Correct
Incorrect
Correct
Incorrect
Correct
Incorrect
Correct
Correct
Correct
Correct
•
5. Wring negave numbers or minus signs
•
•
• minus rather than using the minus
sign.
6. Using numerals with units of measure
•
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
Correct
Correct15¢) per
(or
Correct
Incorrect.
Incorrect
Correct
Correct
Correct
Incorrect
Correct
Correct
Correct
Examples
7. Using numbers with currency
• cents
•
•
•
•
•
8. Mixing numerals and wrien-out numbers for large numbers
•
Correct
Incorrect
Incorrect
Incorrect
Correct
Correct
Correct
Correct
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
9. Wring out or using numerals for dates and years
•
Correct
Incorrect
Correct
Incorrect
Correct
Incorrect
Correct
Correct
Incorrect
Correct
Correct
Correct
Correct
Correct
Correct
•
•
•
•
•
10. Wring out or using numerals for me
•
• noonmidnight
• o’clock.
Correct:
17,
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
Correct
Incorrect
Consistent
Inconsistent
Rounded
More signicance
Correct
Correct
Correct
Correct
11. Using commas in numerals of four digits or more
12. Using decimals and signicant digits
•
•
•
•
•
same units.
The Chicago Manual of Style,
GPO Style Manual, .
13. Formang phone numbers
Technical inquiries
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
•
or this other
this other amount.
Correct
Incorrect
or
Correct
Correct
Incorrect
Correct
Correct
Incorrect
Correct
Correct
16. Wring about numbers (also applies to wring in general)
More thanless
than refer to a number or an amount. Overunder
Fewerless
15. Using the correct verb when wring about numbers
A numbera number of? A number
the number
14. Wring about changes in values
•
Correct, more clear
Correct, possibly confusing
Correct
points.
then restate the same
change as a percentage,
the same change.
•
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
reliance on imports dependence on imports
natural gas gas
electricity electric
fuel use energy demand
about around or approximately 7
the lowest since… at the lowest levels since…
use usage
a total of
set a set a new record, all-me record high
more than over
more than over
Fewer than Under
for more than for over
more than 22% over 22%
dierence dierenal
fewer less
In Microso Word:
1.
(or superscript).
2.
5.
ctrl+
to
17. Typing scienc notaons and footnotes
2
18. Wring mathemacal equaons
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
Correctwj,t,l j,
tl
j = 1, … , k l ≥ 2. For j = 1,2, … , k ‒ 1
Incorrect
t
x1,tt
x2,t
t
x3,t
pert
εt
Correct
yt
t
x1,t t
x2,t
t
x3,t
per t
εt
expressions, use a
use the context to
characters.
(e.g., lI) can
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
Let’s eat Grandma.
Let’s eat, Grandma.
I like cooking my family and my pets.
I like cooking, my family, and my pets.
Commas save lives.
Commas
67
1. Using commas with items listed in sentences—EIA always uses
the serial comma
• Use commas to separate three or more items in a list. Don’t forget the comma
between the last two items. This comma is oen called the serial comma (or the
Oxford comma) and is an EIA style choice.
Correct: The pump price reects the costs of reners, marketers,
distributors , and retail gas staon owners.
Correct: The American ag is red, white , and blue.
Correct: For lunch I ate steak, french fries, and a chocolate and vanilla cake.
Example: When the Navy destroyers engaged North Vietnamese torpedo
boats in August 1964, the United States ocially entered the Vietnam War.
Example: The United States ocially entered the Vietnam War when the
Navy destroyers engaged North Vietnamese torpedo boats in bale in
August 1964.
Example: Issuing the regulaons begins the review process.
Example: Two girls, Chrisne and Michelle, went home. (two people)
Example: Two girls, Chrisne, and Michelle went home. (four people)
Ambiguous meaning: I would like to thank my parents, Albert Einstein and
Mother Theresa. (Who are my parents? Without the serial comma aer
Einstein, my parents appear to be those two famous people.)
Example: Aer draing the regulaons, the agency called for comments.
Correct (but oponal) commas
Example: In addion, federal taxes are added to the price of gasoline.
Example: In 2015, EIA published an updated Wring Style Guide.
Example: Of course, we approved the report.
• Somemes the serial comma is imperave for clarity. Adding one comma in the
second sentence below adds two people to the meaning.
• If the last item in the list has more than one part, use this punctuaon. The serial
comma is aer french fries, not aer chocolate.
• Here’s a classic example of the reason to use a serial comma.
2. Using commas with introductory phrases
• Use a comma aer introductory words, phrases, or clauses.
• Using a comma aer a short introductory phrase is oen oponal, but an
introductory phrase of four words or more should be followed by a comma to
make the sentence easier to read.
• Long introductory phrases require an introductory comma.
• One way to avoid this comma-use dilemma is to change the order of the
components of the sentence, so no comma is needed. It depends on what you
are trying to emphasize in the sentence.
EIA always uses the
serial comma.
• Don’t use a comma aer an introductory phrase that is followed by a verb.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
68
Correct: The amendments, adopted in 1960, changed enforcement
procedures.
Example: The amendments adopted in 1960 changed enforcement procedures.
Example: EIA’s conference chairs, which are old, will be replaced.
(All of EIA’s conference chairs will be replaced because they all happen to be
old.)
Example: EIA’s conference chairs that are old will be replaced.
(Only EIA’s old conference chairs will be replaced, but the new ones will not
be replaced.)
3. Using commas with which and that phrases
The words which and that are not interchangeable. You use the word which in cases
where the text that follows elaborates on the rst part of the sentence. You use the
word that in cases where the sentence doesn’t need a comma to break up the two
thoughts in the sentence.
• Use a comma before a clause that begins with which.
• Do not use a comma before that.
For more informaon on using which and that, see: Chapter 5 Commonly Misused
Words
• Use commas to set o supplemental or parenthecal informaon.
• Do not use commas if the phrase or clause restricts the meaning such that, if
you deleted the phrase or clause, the sentence would be unclear.
The commas seng o adopted in 1960 signify that the date of adopon
informs, but does not restrict, which amendments are being discussed.
Without commas, the sentence above indicates that the amendments that
were adopted in 1960 set forth the procedures. The phrase restricts which
amendments are being discussed.
Correct: John Smith, human resources director, issued the regulaons.
Correct: John Smith (human resource director) issued the regulaons.
Correct: John Smith—human resource director—issued the regulaons.
4. Using a comma to separate a name from a tle
Don’t forget the second comma. The tle or other addional informaon could also be
wrien in parentheses or with em dashes.
Use a comma before
a clause that begins
with the word which.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 69
5. Using commas with conjuncons and with two complete
sentences
Use a comma when two complete sentences (also called independent clauses) are
separated by a conjuncon, such as and, but, and or.
Complete sentence, but complete sentence.
Complete sentence, while complete sentence.
Complete sentence, and complete sentence.
Two sentences separated by a comma
Correct: I would like to aend the conference, but I can’t nd registraon
informaon.
Correct: Paul pumped the gas, and Mary got a soda.
Correct: I was hungry, so I went to the store.
One sentence with no comma
Correct: Paul pumped the gas and got a soda.
Incorrect: Paul pumped the gas, and got a soda.
Correct: I was hungry and went for dinner.
Incorrect: I was hungry, and went for dinner.
Preferred: I like ethnic food (for example, Thai, Mexican, and Indian).
Correct: I like ethnic food (e.g., Thai, Mexican, and Indian).
Preferred: The year has four seasons, that is, winter, spring, summer, and fall.
Preferred: The year has four seasons—winter, spring, summer, and fall.
Correct: The year has four seasons, i.e., winter, spring, summer, and fall.
Incorrect: October, 2012
Incorrect: Oct. 2012
Incorrect: October of 2012
Either put the thoughts in two separate sentences, or, if you put them together, use a
comma between the two complete sentences.
6. Using commas in dates
• Do not use a comma to separate the month from the year.
• Use a comma to separate the date from the year but not the month from the
year.
Correct: October 4, 2012
Correct: October 2012
7. Commas aer e.g. and i.e.
Always put a comma aer e.g. and i.e. Do not italicize e.g. or i.e. EIA preferred style is
to say for example or that is rather than to use these abbreviaons.
Use a comma when
two complete
sentences are
separated by a
conjuncon.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
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Correct: However hard I tried, I couldn’t stop eang chocolate. (no comma aer
however)
Correct: However, I didn’t gain any weight. (comma) (beginning a sentence with
however is not recommended)
Correct: I like it too.
Correct: I like it, too.
Correct: Oil prices rose from $80 per barrel to $100 per barrel, or 25%, between
2007 and 2008.
Incorrect: Oil prices rose from $80 per barrel to $100 per barrel or 25% between
2007 and 2008.
Correct: 1,200
Incorrect: 1200
Internaonal: 1 200
8. Using commas with however
9. Using commas with too
Either way is correct. Some style books say the comma puts a lile more emphasis on
the word too.
10. Using commas when restang a numerical change
Writers make this mistake when they state the change in units and then restate the
change as a percentage. It’s not that the item changed by this amount or by this other
amount. Rather, it’s that the item changed by this amount, or restated, it changed by
this other amount. The commas seng o the restatement are crical.
11. Using commas with large numbers
Use commas to show thousands in wring and on graph axes. Some graphing
packages drop the comma, just using 1000, 1200, 1400. This format is not EIA style.
Always put a comma
aer e.g. and i.e.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 71
Why we need hyphens: Because
a small-state senator is not the
same as a small state senator.
Grammar Monkeys blog and
other online sources
Hyphens and Dashes
73
1. Hyphen (-), En dash (–), and Em dash (—)
The two types of dashes and the hyphen have dierent uses and are not
interchangeable. Simply put, hyphens bring words together, en dashes show a span or
relaonship, and em dashes set words apart.
Example with all three: The three-year-old nuclear reactor—located at Crystal
Lake—will be closed 3–5 weeks for a safety evaluaon.
Correct: Consumpon of liquid fuels is projected to decline in 2016—a sharp
reversal from previous projecons.
Correct: Most—but not all—of the aendees were from EIA.
Incorrect spacing: Most — but not all — of the aendees were from EIA.
Correct: Three states (California, Texas, and New York) have high electricity
prices.
Correct: Three states—California, Texas, and New York—have high electricity
prices.
Correct spacing: I like cookies and—dare I say—cake.
Incorrect spacing: I like cookies and — dare I say — cake.
Correct: short-term forecasts, combined-cycle plant, shut-in capacity
Correct: The party is from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Correct: The party runs 3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Correct: Consumpon rose 2%–4%
Correct: Consumpon rose between 2% and 4%.
Incorrect: The party is 3:00 p.m.—5:00 p.m.
Incorrect: Producon decreased from 1997-2007.
Incorrect: Electricity demand ranged between 1-3 MWh.
Em dash and en dash are strange names for dashes, but they come from the historical
widths of the typeset capital leers M and N. You can remember an em dash is longer
than an en dash because a capital M is wider than a capital N.
The rules for using hyphens in compound words are somewhat exible. Compound
words frequently have a hyphen stage when they are newly combined, then the
hyphen disappears as the compound is commonly used and becomes one word. For
example, on line became on-line and is now online.
• Hyphen (-) connects words for clarity. It is the shortest of the three dash lines.
• En dash (–) shows a range from (something) to (something else), usually numbers
or dates. You should be able to substute the word to for an en dash. An en dash
is longer than a hyphen but shorter than an em dash.
• Em dash (—) is twice as wide as a hyphen and serves the same purpose as
commas or parentheses, with a phrase set between them. Em dashes are oen
used in pairs. Use an em dash to indicate a sudden break or abrupt change in
thought, or to emphasize an idea. Also consider using em dashes rather than
parentheses to set o examples or specic items.
• EIA style does not use spaces between hyphens and dashes and the surrounding
text.
The two types of dashes
and the hyphen have
dierent uses and are
not interchangeable.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
74
Examples:
bituminous coal industry
child welfare plan
civil rights case
per capita
Examples:
Spanish-American pride
Winston-Salem fesval
African-American program
Franco-Prussian War
Examples:
coal- and natural gas-red generaon (not natural-gas-red generaon)
highly service- and technology-oriented business
pro- and an-compeve pracces
long- and short-term forecasts
mid- and late-2000s
Typing an en dash: There is no computer key for typing an en dash. You can insert it
as a symbol, or, in Microso Word you can press Ctrl-Minus (the minus key is above
and to the right of the 9 key on the number pad of a standard keyboard). Don’t use
spaces between words and an en dash.
Typing an em dash: There is no computer key for typing an em dash. You can insert
it as a symbol, or, in Microso Word you can press Ctrl-Alt-Minus (the minus key is
above and to the right of the 9 key on the number pad of a standard keyboard). In
Microso Word you also can type two hyphens aer a word, and then leave no space
between the second hyphen and the next word. Microso Word will automacally
convert the two hyphens to an em dash when you connue typing. Don’t use spaces
between words and an em dash.
2. Hyphenang compound words
• Use a hyphen between words when they are combined to modify the word that
follows.
• Don’t use a hyphen in compound words when the meaning is clear without the
hyphen and the hyphen will not aid readability.
• Proper noun compounds: with hyphens.
• Dangling hyphens: when two or more hyphenated compounds have a common
element and this element is omied in all but the last term.
Examples:
near-term contract
agreed-upon standards
long-term forecast
combined-cycle plant
ve-year period
high-level discussion
high-volume wells
second-largest producer
h-largest region
Never use a hyphen in
place of a dash. When
people say use a dash,
they almost always
mean an em dash.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 75
• Two modiers before a noun with an adverb that ends in “-ly.”: no hyphen,
because ambiguity is unlikely.
• Compound that includes a non-English phrase: no hyphen.
• Dierent hyphenaon using the same words.
• The terms end use and end-use are oen used in EIA wring. A hyphen is
required when end-use is used as an adjecve but not when it’s used as a noun.
Examples:
rapidly growing economy
frequently missed deadlines
heavily skewed results
compevely priced fuel
I walked the much-loved dog.
The dog was much loved.
We use a low-cost fuel.
That fuel is low cost.
It’s a day-to-day task.
I take life day to day.
I bought a new air-condioning unit.
I am chilled by the air condioning.
Examples:
bona de transacon
ex ocio member
per capita consumpon
Correct: Residenal is one of the end-use sectors.
Incorrect: Residenal is one of the end use sectors.
Correct: The end uses of electricity include powering lights and providing air
condioning.
Incorrect: The end-uses of electricity include powering lights and providing
air condioning.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
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3. Using a hyphen to avoid mispronunciaon or ambiguity in
context
In some cases, you should use a hyphen to prevent mispronunciaon or to avoid
ambiguity of a word.
Examples:
24-inch ruler
10-minute delay
275-page book
3-to-1 rao
18-year-old power plant
over a 12-month period
ve-year plan
three-week period
Correct: one-thousandth
Correct: two-thirds
Correct: three-fourths of an inch
Clear: The scienst tested a new defect-causing gas.
Not clear: The scienst tested a new defect causing gas.
Clear: The silver-jewelry cart has nice gis.
Not clear: The silver jewelry cart has nice gis.
• Somemes a hyphen is needed to prevent ambiguity in a sentence.
The hyphen makes it clear the gas is causing defects.
The hyphen makes it clear the jewelry is silver, not the cart.
4. Using hyphens with numbers
• Use a hyphen when the number is a descriptor and a modier.
• Use a hyphen between the elements of a fracon.
Write: To avoid confusion with:
pre-posion preposion
re-creaon recreaon
re-sorng resorng
un-ionized unionized
re-press repress
re-treat retreat
trans-shipment transshipment
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 77
• Do not use a hyphen to indicate a range. Use an en dash.
Correct: between 25 inches and 30 inches
Correct: 25–30 inches
Incorrect: 25-30 inches (hyphen isn’t correct)
Correct: Imports minus exports.
Incorrect: Imports-exports.
Examples of single tle: no hyphen
major general
former president Clinton
Examples of double tle:
secretary-treasurer
treasurer-manager
Example:
President-elect
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development-designate
ambassador-designate
• Do not use a hyphen to mean minus in text. The hyphen below looks like a dash,
not a subtracon sign.
5. Using hyphens with civil and military tles
• Do not use a hyphen with a civil or military tle denong a single oce, but do
use a hyphen for a double tle.
• Use a hyphen with the adjecves elect and designate.
6. Big list of commonly hyphenated and nonhyphenated words
and phrases
The Chicago Manual of Style says probably the most common spelling quesons for
writers and editors concern compound terms. Oen it’s dicult to decide which form
to use: spell the term as two words (in the long term, where long term is a noun);
hyphenate it (long-term forecast, where long-term is an adjecve); or close up the two
words to make one word (no hyphen and no space, as in online and website).
Prexes can be troublesome, The Chicago Manual of Style says. Some observaons:
• Compounds formed with prexes (pre, re, non, ex, an, bi, co, mid, semi) are
normally closed, with some excepons.
• A hyphen is used with the prexes listed above if the second part of the word
begins with a capital leer: non-American, non-OPEC, sub-Saharan, pro-United
States, ex-Marine.
• With frequent use, open or hyphenated compounds tend to become closed
(e-mail to email, on-line to online).
For more informaon on hyphens, see The GPO Style Manual, Chapter 6:
Compounding Rules and Chapter 7: Compounding Examples.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
78
aboveground ulity
above-target supply
agencywide
agreed-upon standards
air condioning
air-condioning unit
around-the-clock basis
baseload
belowground lines
bidireconal
breakout (not break-out)
Brent-like crude
cap-and-trade legislaon
coalbed (methane)
coal-exporng infrastructure
coal-red generaon
combined-cycle unit
combined-heat-and-power facility
cooling degree days
coproducer
copyeditor
cost-of-living increase
coworker
database
datasets
day-ahead prices
day-ahead schedule
day-to-day tasks
debolenecking
decision makers
decommission
deepwater play
degree days
drawdown of inventory
draw down stocks
drought-stricken area
dual-red plant
electrically powered furnace
email (not e-mail)
end use
end-use consumpon
end-use sector
energy-consuming state
energy-related legislaon
English-speaking naon
feedstocks
rst-half 2015
rst half of 2015
at-tax shorall
freeze-os
full-power days
government-owned stocks
heang degree days
higher-cost mines
high-octane fuel
high-speed line
high-value asset
homepage
in depth
in-depth analysis
in-state
inter-island travel
intraregional
kilowahour
land-use restricons
large scale
large-scale project
late-winter weather
lead-free paint
lifecycle
lightbulb
light-year
line-item veto
long term
long-term contract
long-term forecast
low-cost housing
low-demand hours
Lower 48 states
lower-cost coal
lower-than-usual demand
low-sulfur diesel
lump-sum payment
market-based pricing
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
K
L
7. Hyphen guidelines
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 79
megabytes
mid-1990s
midday
mid summer
mid-summer weather
mid-June
midcentury
midconnent
midterm
midweek
mulple-purpose uses
mulstage
mulyear
naonwide
natural gas-red generaon
near term
near-term contract
newly discovered resources
nonassociated
nonaainment
noncovered sectors
nonenergy
nonessenal
nonfederal
nonhighway
nonhydrocarbon
nonhydroelectric power
nonliquid
non-OECD
non-OPEC
nonproducing regions
nonprot corporaon
nonrenewable
nonsalt
nonscienc
nonshale oil
nonspecic
nonstascal
nonulity
o-highway use
oine
oshore
one-on-one situaon
one-stop shop
online
onshore
onsite
part me
part-me employees
passenger-mile
per capita
per household
per-household consumpon
policymaker
power plant
preexisng
prerecession
preregister
presalt
pretax
re-export
regasicaon
reinjecon
reopen
run-up
second half
second-half 2015
second-largest increase
self-contained units
short term
short-term outlook
shut down
shut-down mode
shut in (e.g., the capacity is shut in)
shut-in capacity
smaller-volume producers
stakeholders
state-of-the-art technology
statewide
subbituminous
subhourly
subsalt
systemwide
third-quarter prices
third-largest producer
third-party data
T-shaped
t-test
U.S.-owned property
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
80
ultra-low sulfur diesel
up front
up-front money
up-or-down vote
vercally integrated ulies
web page
website
wellhead
winter-grade gasoline
world-class agency
worldwide
year-on-year increase
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 81
Grammar is a piano I play by ear.
All I know about grammar is its
power. Many people know about
camera angles now, but not so
many know about sentences. The
arrangement of words matters.
Joan Didion
Colons and Semicolons
83
The purpose of the colon is to introduce, list, or dene something. A colon transforms
the sentence into a word equaon. It signals that what comes next is directly related
to the previous sentence. The word following the colon is normally lowercase.
The purpose of the semicolon is to signal that two clauses are related, but each clause
could stand on its own as a sentence if you wanted it to. The word following the
semicolon is normally lowercase.
A semicolon is stronger than a comma but weaker than a period.
1. Using colons with bulleted or numbered lists
• Use a colon to introduce a bulleted or numbered list if it’s introduced by a
complete sentence. Never use a colon aer a sentence fragment.
Correct: The price consumers pay for heang oil can change for a variety of
reasons: (complete sentence, so the colon is used correctly)
• Seasonal demand
• Fluctuaons in crude oil prices
• Compeon in local markets
Example: The requirement for claiming a tax credit is clear: you must have
purchased the product in 2014.
Correct: I have three pets: (complete sentence)
• Cat
• Dog
• Bird
Correct: Forecasts (phrase, so no colon)
• Annual Energy Outlook
• Short-Term Energy Outlook
• Internaonal Energy Outlook
Incorrect: My pets include: (not complete sentence)
• Cat
• Dog
• Bird
• But omit the colon if a word or phrase introduces a list.
For more informaon on punctuang lists, see Chapter 15: Itemized Lists and Bullets.
2. Using colons with examples
Use a colon to introduce an example or explanaon of the idea to the le of the colon.
The word following the colon is normally lowercase, unless it is a proper name or more
than one sentence.
Use a colon to introduce
a bulleted or numbered
list if it’s introduced by a
complete sentence.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
84
Example: The report is on our website; you can download it.
Example: The price of the car is high; however, it includes taxes.
Example: Our regional oces are in Miami, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; and Phoenix,
Arizona.
Example: Data are available in three reports: STEO, AEO, and IEO.
Example: Write sentences using commas, hyphens, and dashes. (no colon
aer the word using.)
Example: The Administrator said: “The forecast shows rising natural gas
producon.”
3. Using colons with quotaons
When you have a quotaon that is at least one complete sentence, you can choose to
introduce it with a colon. This opon is stronger and more formal than using a comma.
4. Using semicolons to join independent clauses
• Use a semicolon instead of a period to join two independent clauses to
emphasize a close relaonship between the two clauses. Do not capitalize the
word aer the semicolon.
• Use a semicolon between two independent clauses (sentences) joined by a
transion word such as therefore and however.
5. Using semicolons in a series
Use a semicolon to separate the items in a series when the items already include
commas.
6. Using a colon to introduce a list
• Use a colon if the introductory phrase is a complete sentence.
• Don’t use a colon if the introductory phrase is not a complete sentence.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 85
The full stop is surely the
simplest mark to understand—
so long as everyone continues
to have some idea what a
sentence is.
Lynne Truss
Eats, Shoots & Leaves, 2003
Periods
87
• Use periods for U.S.
Correct: U.S. imports
Incorrect: US imports
Correct: U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon
Incorrect: US E.I.A.
Incorrect: U.S. EIA
Incorrect: the U.S. EIA
Correct: 7:00 a.m.
Incorrect: 7:00 am
Incorrect: 7:00 AM
Period outside: …(phrase). If the content inside the parentheses is a phrase,
the period goes outside the close paren.
Period inside: (Complete sentence.) If the content inside the parentheses is a
complete sentence, the period goes inside the close paren.
Period outside and inside: Sentence...(Complete sentence.).
Correct source: the U.S. Environmental Protecon Agency
Correct: Note: PADD means Petroleum Administraon for Defense Districts.
Correct: The greatest gains were at Apple, Inc.
Incorrect: The greatest gains were at Apple, Inc..
Correct bullet punctuaon:
• Full sentence (oponal period)
• Full sentence (oponal period)
• Full sentence (oponal period)
USSR (EIA prefers Former Soviet Union)
BC
HR (House of Representaves)
PhD
• Use periods for me a.m. and p.m.
• Periods inside or outside parentheses.
• Use a period at the end of notes and footnotes. Do not use a period at the end of
sources.
• Use only one period at the end of a sentence, if the last word also includes a
period.
• No periods in abbreviaons.
MA, MS
BA, BS
Washington, DC
Dec 2012 (in tables)
• Periods at the ends of some bullets.
Correct bullet punctuaon:
• Phrase (no period)
• Phrase (no period)
• Phrase (no period)
Write me as 7:00 a.m.
and 8:30 p.m.
Not am/AM or pm/PM.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
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Preferred: namely California, Texas, and Alaska (avoid using i.e. if possible)
Preferred: that is (or specically) California, Texas, and Alaska
Correct, not preferred: i.e., California, Texas, and Alaska (always use a comma
with i.e.)
Preferred: for example, bridge and gin rummy (avoid using e.g. if possible)
Preferred: including (or such as) bridge and gin rummy
Correct, not preferred: e.g., bridge and gin rummy (always use a comma with
e.g.)
Preferred: I like chocolate. You like vanilla.
Not preferred (old fashioned): I like chocolate. You like vanilla.
• Periods using i.e. and e.g.
• Use only one space aer the period between sentences.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 89
Our language is funny—a fat
chance and a slim chance are
the same thing.
J. Gustav White
Symbols
91
& Ampersand
Almost never use the ampersand sign; use it only in very informal wring. You can use & if
it is part of a proper name (H&M Department Store or Oil & Gas Journal) or phrase (R&D).
Correct: cap and trade
Incorrect: cap & trade
Correct: imports and exports
Incorrect: imports & exports
First level: […(…)…]
Second level: {…[…(…)…]…}
[ ] Bracket sequence
Avoid using nested parentheses or brackets except in mathemacal equaons. In
text, rewrite the sentence or break it into two sentences to eliminate the need for the
nested parentheses. Pairs of em dashes can also be used to set o informaon that
might be put in parentheses.
… Ellipses
The most common and formal use of ellipses is to indicate an omission—to show that
you’ve dropped words or sentences from a quotaon. The most common reason for
doing this is to focus aenon on just part of what someone said or wrote.
A more informal use is in email messages, where the ellipses is used to indicate a pause
or break in thought. It can show a list is incomplete or the speaker has le something
unsaid. Do not use this form of ellipses in formal EIA wring. Do not use ellipses to
mean etc. or to indicate an unnished sentence.
An ellipses is three dots, never two dots, and never four dots.
To form the ellipses, type three periods in a row, and the AutoCorrect feature in
Microso Word changes three periods in a row to a single special ellipses character. If
your AutoCorrect feature is disabled, you can insert the ellipses by holding down alt +
ctrl + the period (.) key.
* Asterisk
An asterisk is usually used as an informal footnote. In most cases for footnotes, EIA uses
numbers (for text and graphs) or, in some cases, lower-case leers (in tables). It’s not
pronounced asterix or asterick.
! Exclamaon point
Never use an exclamaon point in formal EIA wring.
% Percent
Always use the % sign in EIA wring. There is no space between the number and the %.
Almost never use the
ampersand sign.
An ellipses is three dots,
never two dots, and
never four dots.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
92
A writer is someone for whom
writing is more difcult than it is
for other people.
Thomas Mann
Essays of Three Decades, 1942
Punctuang and
Formang Quoted Text
93
1. Using quotaon marks with direct quotes
• Use quotaon marks to set o direct quotes. Ending periods and commas go
inside the close quote.
Example: The Senator said, “We must pass the legislaon during this session.”
Example: “But you said the rate was $6.95 per pound!” he said to the cashier.
Example: The Senator said that it is important to pass the legislaon in this
session.
Example: What did the oce director mean when he asked, “When will you
be nished with the report”?
Example: The president said, “All federal employees will have the Friday aer
Christmas o.”
Example: The director said that energy consumpon in transportaon had
“increased signicantly.”
Example: “Good morning, everyone,” said Secretary Moniz.
Example: Secretary Moniz began his presentaon by saying, “Good morning,
everyone.”
Example: I always read The New Yorker’s “Talk of the Town”; it keeps me
up-to-date on many issues.
Example: I enjoy reading “Talk of the Town”: it’s a great current events
column.
• Do not use quotaon marks if the text is paraphrased or not exactly what the
person said or wrote.
• Periods and commas always go inside the quotaon mark.
• Semicolons and colons always go outside the quotaon mark.
• When the queson or exclamaon is part of the quotaon, the punctuaon goes
inside.
• When the queson, exclamaon, or interrupon applies to the whole sentence,
the punctuaon goes outside.
2. Using a comma to set o quoted text
• Use a comma to separate text from quoted material when the quoted material is
a complete sentence or paragraph.
• Omit the comma to separate text from quoted material when the quoted
material is a phrase or fragment integrated into the sentence.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
94
Example: “The regulaons specify clean air standards...and compliance
regulaons.”
Example: Will you come...?
Example: The director explained, “The HR handbook says ‘employees have two
weeks of annual leave,’ not three weeks.”
Example: EIA is required to report “the number and type of alternave fuel
vehicles in existence.”
Example: “Clean air standards are under review,” said the director.
Example: Which congressional staer said, “You must complete the report
by the end of the scal year”?
Example: The director asked, “Do you have a deadline for the project?”
3. Using punctuaon marks with closed quotaon marks
• Place a period or comma inside the closing quotaon marks.
• Place colons, semicolons, queson marks, and exclamaon points outside of
closing quotaon marks, unless a queson mark or exclamaon point is part of
the quoted material.
4. Using single quotaon marks to set o quoted content within
quotaon marks
5. Using ellipses in quoted text
• Use ellipses—three dots or periods—to indicate the omission of text from a
quoted passage. An ellipses consists of three periods (...).
• Ellipses may be combined with other punctuaon, such as a comma, period,
or queson mark. There is no space between the nal ellipsis point and the
punctuaon.
6. Formang long quoted text as a block quotaon
Integrate short quotes into the text; but indent a block of long text. Block quotes are
not enclosed by quotaon marks. Remember to provide the appropriate aribuon in
source notes, footnotes, or endnotes.
The press spokesman explained the purpose of the new publicaons:
Energy educaon is a crical part of EIA’s mission. At a me when consumers
face many energy-related challenges, it is more important than ever to provide
the public with reliable energy informaon in a format that is useful and
accessible by the widest possible audience.
Place a period or
comma inside the
closing quotaon marks.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 95
Incorrect examples:
“Free” delivery
“Down” elevator
“Licensed” plumber
7. Never rephrase or add words or addional content to a quote
Never add more informaon to a quote, even in parentheses. This restricon includes
adding denions or claricaons. Either put the new informaon in a footnote or in
a separate sentence at the end of the quote.
8. Avoid using double quotes to emphasize words or phrases
• In most cases, avoid using quotaon marks around specic words. Where
possible, use italics for the word or phrase you want to emphasize.
• Nicknamed “scare quotes,” the double quotes signal to the reader that this is
not how the term is usually used. The intent may be to emphasize the quoted
words, but the quotes may actually mislead or confuse the reader.
Correct: The new producon process is called fracking.
Incorrect: The new producon process is called “fracking.”
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
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If I had more time, I would have
written a shorter letter.
Variations attributed to
Blaise Pascal, Mark Twain,
Ben Franklin, Woodrow Wilson,
John Locke, and others
Abbreviaons and Units
97
1. Dening abbreviaons, acronyms, and inialisms
In this guide, the word abbreviaon will be used generically to refer to abbreviaons,
acronyms, and inialisms.
Correct: This new Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) is now available. STEO
provides short-term energy forecasts.
Correct: The U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon’s (EIA) projecon shows the
price of natural gas is decreasing.
Abbreviaon Shortened form of a word or phrase.
etc. for etcetera
Dec for December
Dr. for doctor
Acronym A word formed from the inial leers of other words. It’s pronounced as a word
rather than read as separate leers.
OPEC (Organizaon of the Petroleum Exporng Countries)
NASA (Naonal Aeronauc and Space Administraon)
Inialism A term read as a series of leers. Inialisms can’t be pronounced as words.
EIA
MER
FBI
IRS
2. Spelling out a term the rst me it is used
Spell out an abbreviaon or acronym when it’s rst used. Follow it with the
abbreviaon in parentheses. If in doubt about the full name or correct spelling, check
the primary source. Italicize report names but not the abbreviaon (for example,
STEO).
If your content is presented on one long web page with links to separate secons of
the content, and if that content has acronyms that you dene at the top, you should
spell them out again farther down the page (or deeper in the report), so people who
don’t read from the top won’t have to hunt around for the denion.
This guidance also applies to long paper documents. If you haven’t used the acronyms
in several pages or when you start a new chapter, you should spell out the acronyms
again. If the acronym is spelled out in a secon header or chart, you sll need to spell
it out the rst me it’s used in the text. The graphs should be able to stand alone,
independent of explanaon in the text.
In general, avoid using too many abbreviaons and acronyms. In a short document, try
to avoid using them at all, especially if the term is only used once or twice. Oen it’s
easier to spell out the term twice. Don’t include the acronym if you aren’t going to use
it again later in the text.
Italicize report names
but not the report
acronym: Short-Term
Energy Outlook (STEO)
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
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In an address: Los Angeles, CA
In a bibliography: Richmond, VA
Correct as a noun: Temperatures vary across the United States.
Correct as an adjecve: U.S. temperatures vary widely.
Incorrect as a noun: Temperatures in the U.S. vary widely.
Correct: Washington, DC (no periods)
Correct: The earthquake happened near San Francisco, California.
Incorrect: The earthquake happened near San Francisco, CA.
Correct: Mexican oil, United States coal, and Canadian natural gas.
Incorrect: Mexican oil, U.S. coal, and Canadian natural gas.
Correct: Each commiee reports to the U.S. Congress regarding naonal
energy needs and resources.
Correct: U.S. oil producon rose in 2015.
Correct Incorrect
EIA the EIA
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon the U.S. EIA
U.S. Department of Energy U.S. DOE
DOE the U.S. DOE
For more informaon on abbreviaons, see the following sources:
• EIA’s current list of energy-related abbreviaons
• GovSpeak: A Guide to Government Acronyms & Abbreviaons
• GPO Style Manual, Chapter 9: Abbreviaons and Leer Symbols
• The Chicago Manual of Style, Chapter 10: Abbreviaons
3. Referencing EIA and DOE
4. Abbreviang and spelling out United States
• Spell out United States when it is used as a noun.
• Use the abbreviaon U.S. when it’s used as an adjecve, such as when it
precedes the name of a government organizaon or a domesc energy stasc.
• Always use periods in U.S. (do not write US).
• Spell out United States, as a noun or an adjecve, when it appears in a sentence
or on a graph containing the name or names of other countries.
5. Abbreviang the names of states and foreign countries
• In running text, spell out the state name when it stands alone or when it follows
the name of a city. Do not use postal codes (CA, MI)—except for Washington, DC
where the postal code is part of the city’s name—in text or tables or graphics.
It’s only OK to use state postal codes in addresses and bibliographies.
• In bibliographies, lists, and mailing addresses, use the U.S. Postal Service’s two-
leer no-period abbreviaons.
• Rarely abbreviate the names of foreign countries except U.K. and FSU for Former
Soviet Union countries. Always spell out U.K. and FSU the rst me you use it.
Always use periods in
U.S. (do not write US).
Do not use postal codes
in text, in tables, or in
graphics.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 99
6. Using periods with abbreviaons
• Most abbreviaons are wrien without periods, especially the ones that are
pronounced leer by leer, including units of measure.
Examples:
ATM
BA, BS (bachelors’ degrees)
Btu
CAFE (no accent on the E)
DOE
gal
kg (kilogram)
MA, MS (masters’ degree)
PADD (or PAD Districts)
PhD
Examples:
OECD
OPEC
MER
AER
AEO
ENERGY STAR® (include trademark
symbol only for the rst use)
Examples:
a TVA project (T consonant sound)
an EIA forecast (E vowel sound)
a RECS survey (pronounced wrecks‒begins with R consonant sound because
RECS is pronounced)
an RPS policy (begins with are vowel sound because each leer is pronounced)
• Do not use periods or spaces with abbreviaons that appear in capitals, whether
two leers or more.
• Do not use periods for the names of laws.
Correct: HR 2454
Incorrect: H.R. 2454
Correct: The project team will meet at 10:30 a.m.
• If an abbreviaon that takes a period is used at the end of a sentence, use a
single period.
7. Using a or an before abbreviaons
• If the abbreviaon starts with a consonant sound (not a consonant leer), use a.
If the abbreviaon starts with a vowel sound, use an.
8. Using abbreviaons in lists
The Lan abbreviaons e.g. and i.e. do not mean the same thing. Avoid confusion by
just wring for example, such as, or that is.
• e.g. = for example, like, such as; provides examples for the content being
discussed.
• i.e. = that is, in other words; provides a descripve or denive statement about
the statement already made.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
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Examples: FAQs
FTEs
LDCs
Excepon: Btu—do not add an s to the end of Btu. Btu is both singular and
plural. Also, remember abbreviaons like LPG and GHG end in a plural word,
so you don't need to write LPGs or GHGs.
Examples: DOE’s policy
OPEC’s members
This LDC’s price hike
Examples: She earned all A’s on her report card.
The class recited the abc’s.
Example: The RNs’ strike
The various LDCs’ price hikes
Correct: There are many fun things you can do on the Internet (e.g., read,
plan travel, play games).
Correct: The three people who aended the meeng (i.e., Maya, Zoë, and
Carson) agree with the plan.
Correct: OPEC (Organizaon of the Petroleum Exporng countries)
Correct: IRS (Internal Revenue Service)
Correct: LED (light-eming diode)
• ex. = for example. Very informal. EIA prefers wring out for example or such as.
• Always put a comma aer e.g. and i.e.
• Never italicize these abbreviaons.
9. Using the abbreviaon rst
In a few cases, when the acronym is widely known, you can write the acronym rst
and then explain it in parentheses. Use this exibility sparingly.
10. Forming plural abbreviaons
• Add an s to form a plural abbreviaon.
• Add an apostrophe before the s if the abbreviaon consists of lowercase leers
or a single leer.
11. Forming possessive abbreviaons
• To form a singular possessive, use an apostrophe before the s.
• To form a plural possessive, use an apostrophe aer the s.
12. Abbreviang months
• Names of months followed by the day, or day and year, may be abbreviated
in footnotes, tables, and bibliographies where space is limited. Spell out the
months in text.
Use lowercase a.m. and
p.m. with periods.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 101
• In tables, EIA uses the style where periods are omied and all months are
wrien as three-leer abbreviaons.
• In text or in a footnote, either spell out the full name of the month or, if you must
use the abbreviaon, put a period at the end.
13. Using abbreviaons with me
• Time zones. Abbreviated me zones are wrien without periods.
• EIA prefers the abbreviaon ET (Eastern Time), which is the unchanging denion
of the me zone of the far eastern United States. EST (Eastern Standard Time)
and EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) are correct, but each applies to roughly half of
the year, as daylight saving me is in eect in most of the United States from the
second Sunday in March unl the rst Sunday in November.
• Time of day. Use lowercase a.m. and p.m. with periods. Put a space between the
number and a.m. or p.m. The abbreviaon for ante meridiem (before noon) is
a.m. and the abbreviaon for post meridiem (aer noon) is p.m. If you note ET or
PT, don’t use a comma aer a.m. or p.m.
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Correct: February in Washington, DC can be brutally cold.
Correct: February 12, 2016
Correct: February 2016
Correct, less preferred: Feb. 12, 2016 (use only if space is limited)
Incorrect: February of 2016
Incorrect: February, 2016
Correct: 10:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Incorrect: 10:00 am and 2:30 pm
Incorrect: 10:00 AM and 2:30 PM
Incorrect: 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Correct: BA, BS, MA, MS, PhD
Incorrect: B.A., B.S., M.A., M.S., Ph.D.
Example: Release schedule: Monday between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET
• Time in history. Write 1,000 BC (no periods).
14. Abbreviang academic degrees
EIA style prefers no periods in abbreviaons of academic degrees. Omit the periods
unless they are required for tradion, consistency, or personal preference for your
own degrees.
15. Referencing legislaon
The acronym for the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is EISA2007.
Adding the date to the acronym makes it clear this stands for legislaon.
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16. Abbreviang units of measure and common acronyms
AC: alternang current
AC/DC: alternang current/direct current
a.m.: ante meridiem (not AM or am)
b: barrel(s)
Bcf: billion cubic feet
b/d: barrels per day
BkWh: billion kilowahours
Btu: Brish thermal units. Not BTU or Btus
BTL: biomass to liquids
Bcf/d: billion cubic feet per day
Bcf/y: billion cubic feet per year
BOE: barrels of oil equivalent
CAFE: corporate average fuel economy
CAIR: Clean Air Interstate Rule
CHP: combined heat and power
CFL: compact uorescent lighng
CNG: compressed natural gas
CO2 preferred, or CO2: carbon dioxide
cents/gal or ₵/gal: cents per gallon
cents/kWh: cents per kilowahour
CO2e: carbon dioxide equivalent
°C: degrees Celsius
CDD: cooling degree day(s) (no hyphen)
cpg: cents per gallon (not preferred)
DC: direct current
$/gal: dollars per gallon
DWT: deadweight tons (vessel capacity)
EOR: enhanced oil recovery
EUR: enhanced ulmate recovery
°F: degrees Fahrenheit (75°F, no spaces)
FY: scal year ex. FY 2015
gal: gallon(s)
GHG: greenhouse gas(es)
GTL: gas to liquids
GW: gigawa
GWe: gigawa electric
GWh: gigawahour(s) (capital G and capital W)
A
B
C
D
F
E
G
The EIA abbreviaon
for barrel(s) is now b,
so barrels per day is
wrien b/d.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 103
HDD: heang degree day(s) (no hyphen)
Hg: mercury
HGL: hydrocarbon gas liquids, not HGLs
K: kelvin (temperature scale)
kV: kilovolt
kW: kilowa
kWh: kilowahour(s) (lowercase k and capital W)
LDV: light-duty vehicle, with a hyphen
LED: light-eming diode
LPG: liqueed petroleum gas(es), not LPGs
LLS: Light Louisiana Sweet
LNG: liqueed natural gas
Mb: thousand barrels (not preferred usage)
Mb/d: thousand barrels per day (not preferred usage)
Mcf: thousand cubic feet (not preferred EIA unit)
MM: million (106). M is the Roman numeral for thousand, so MM equals a thousand mes
a thousand, which is a million. (For more informaon on using M, see page 105.)
MMcf: million cubic feet
million b/d (preferred) or MMb/d: million barrels per day
million Btu (preferred) or million Brish thermal units
MMBtu: million Brish thermal units
million kilowahours (not MMkWh)
million MWh: million megawahours
MMBtu: million Btu
MMcf/d: million cubic feet per day
MMgal/d: million gallons per day
MMmt: million metric tons
MMst: million short tons
mpg: mile(s) per gallon
mst: thousand short tons (not preferred usage)
mt: metric ton (not wrien metric tonne, which is internaonal spelling) (not commonly
used at EIA)
MW: megawa
MWh: megawahour(s)
MWAC/MWDC: megawa AC/megawa DC
MWe MW of electricity capacity
MY: model year (used for vehicles) MY 2015
NGPL: natural gas plant liquids
NGL: natural gas liquids (not NGLs)
N2O: nitrous oxide
NOx: nitrogen oxides (plural)
North Sea Brent (rst use): subsequent use can be Brent
M
N
K
L
H
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
104
O
P
R
S
V
U
Q
T
W
Did you know?
The leer M is used
in a lot of EIA units:
MMb/d, Mcf, MWh,
mst. But the M’s mean
dierent things in
dierent units.
OPEC: the Organizaon of the Petroleum Exporng Countries
Petroleum Administraon for Defense Districts: PADD (preferred) or PAD District
p.m.: post meridiem (aer noon) (not PM or pm)
PTC: producon tax credit
ppm: parts per million
PV: solar photvoltaic
quads: quadrillion Brish thermal units, or quadrillion Btu (which is plural)
rpm: revoluons per minute
RFS: renewable fuel standard
RPS: renewable porolio standard
RTO: regional transmission organizaon
SOx: sulfur oxides
st: short ton
Tcf: trillion cubic feet
tonne: internaonal spelling of metric ton (not preferred usage)
t-test: stascal test of the means of two samples (italicized t)
TWh: terawahour(s) (capital T and capital W)
USD: U.S. dollar, when comparing with foreign currencies. Wring specic amounts:
US $5 million. Don’t use the D with the $.
V: volt
VMT: vehicle miles traveled
W: Wa
Wh: Wahour
Notes: For metric or Internaonal System of Units (SI) not covered here, see
standards and convenons on proper use and abbreviaon of these units. All unit
abbreviaons are assumed to be both singular and plural (MWh = megawahours)
unless a plural form is provided.
17. What do all the M’s and m’s mean?
The leer M is used in a lot of EIA units: MMb/d, Mcf, MWh, mst. But the M’s mean
dierent things in dierent units. It’s confusing.
In some units, M is the Roman numeral for 1,000. So a thousand is M, and a million,
which is a thousand thousand, is MM.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 105
And, yes, MM in Roman numerals does equal 2,000. So somemes the M’s are added
and somemes they are mulplied. Technical usage seems to support MM = 1 million.
This use of M to mean thousand and MM to mean million is true in these cases:
MMb/d = million barrels per day
MMBtu = million Btu
MMcf = million cubic feet
MMst = million short tons
On the other hand, the abbreviaon for million short tons of coal is somemes mst,
with a lower-case m. To complicate the issue, various sources also use MST and Mst as
abbreviaons for million short tons.
In a third variaon, acronyms for cubic feet for natural gas volumes other than Mcf
and MMcf do not use Roman numerals or lower-case leers. The B in Bcf stands for
billion, and the T in Tcf stands for trillion.
To confuse maers further, the M in MWh (megawahour) stands for mega, not a
thousand or a million, even though a megawahour happens to be equal to a million
wahours, or a thousand kilowahours.
Somemes mWh can mean milliwahour. This isn’t a very common unit, but it’s yet
another use of the leer M.
So be careful when you use M. Spell out your units, and make sure you have the right
M and the right number of M’s.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
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Synonym (n): The word you use
when you can’t spell the other one.
Baltasar Gracián, 17th century author
Itemized Lists and Bullets
107
Big paragraphs are dicult to read quickly. Bullets are a visual way to show a group of
similar ideas. Bullets make it easier for readers to see your main points. To improve the
scannability of content, use vercal lists rather than connuous text to present a series
of related items.
Don’t put semicolons or commas at the end of bullets. Only use ending periods for
long bullets that are complete sentences. Capitalize the rst word of every bullet.
1. Introducing lists within text
• Introduce the list with a statement that encompasses all of the items in the list.
• Use a colon at the end of the introductory statement if it is a complete sentence.
Don’t use a colon if the introducon is a phrase.
Example:
The price that consumers pay for heang oil can change for a
variety of reasons:
• Seasonal demand
• Fluctuaons in crude oil prices
• Compeon in local markets
Example: The two reasons for increased demand are
• Lower prices
• Higher economic growth
Example: Carbon dioxide is emied when burning three fossil fuels:
• Petroleum
• Coal
• Natural gas
Forecasts
Annual Energy Outlook
Short-Term Energy Outlook
Internaonal Energy Outlook
• To enhance the scannability of your content, you can add a line of space between
introductory text and the beginning of a bulleted or numbered list.
• Wrap lines of each bullet under each other, not under the bullet point itself.
Correct bullet wrap:
• There are 99 commercial nuclear reactors at 61 nuclear power plants in
31 states. Since 1990, the share of the naon’s total electricity supply
provided by nuclear power generaon has averaged about 20%.
Incorrect bullet wrap:
• There are 99 commercial nuclear reactors at 61 nuclear power plants
in 31 states. Since 1990, the share of the naon’s total electricity supply
provided by nuclear power generaon has averaged about 20%.
2. Introducing lists of links or items
Provide a descripve heading at the top of each list, and don’t use a colon.
Recent Country Analysis Brief Updates
China
Argenna
Iraq
Don’t put semicolons
or commas at the
end of bullets.
Capitalize the rst
word of every bullet.
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Correct: The working group should meet to perform the following funcons:
(three verbs)
• Evaluate the department’s progress
• Provide suggesons for improving performance
• Collaborate on systems analysis
Correct: There are four types of coal prices: (four adjecves)
• Spot
• Capve
• Open
• Delivered
Correct (parallel beginning words):
To reduce natural gas bills, customers can do three things:
• Check appliances for ecient operaon
• Obtain an energy audit
• Reduce thermostat sengs
Incorrect (not parallel beginning words):
How to create eecve teams:
• To nd the best soluon to our problems
• Asking people to help us with the soluon
• Idenfy champions for soluon teams
• Strategic goals
• And have regular meengs
3. Using parallel structure for each item in the list
• Begin each item with the same type of word (noun, verb, innive, etc.).
• Use the same grammacal form for each item (word, phrase, or sentence).
Begin each bulleted
item with the same
type of word.
• Present the same type of informaon, in a similar format, to make the
informaon easier for readers to understand.
Correct: Relevant denions include
• Deepwater—water depth that is greater than 200 meters but less than
1,500 meters
• Ultra-deepwater—water depth that is equal to or greater than 1,500
meters
Correct: We emied more CO2 from petroleum than other fuels:
• Petroleum—2.6 billion metric tons (44%)
• Coal—2.1 billion metric tons (36%)
• Natural gas—1.2 billion metric tons (20%)
Correct: Learn more
• For projecons of U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, see the
Annual Energy Outlook.
• For projecons of foreign energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, see
the Internaonal Energy Outlook.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 109
Correct: Because the United States is the world’s largest importer, it is easy
to forget that it is
• The oldest major global oil producer
• Formerly the number one global oil producer
• Currently the number two global oil producer (no ending period)
Correct: Several consumer trends have increased demand and oset these
gains: (bullets are all complete sentences, so an ending period can—but does
not have to—be used)
• Homes are larger and consume more energy.
• Appliances such as at screen TVs are larger and consume more energy.
• Computers and other electronic devices increase the demand for
energy.
4. Punctuang itemized lists
• Listed items require no end punctuaon unless they are complete sentences.
Items that are sentences can but do not have to be followed by a period.
• Do not use a comma or a semicolon at the end of each list item.
• Do not use a period at the end of the last bullet. Bullets either all have oponal
periods (if they are complete sentences) or all have no ending punctuaon (if
they are phrases or words).
Correct: Use these steps to sign up for email subscripons:
1. Enter your email address
2. Check the names of the publicaons you’d like to receive
3. Click subscribe
This is a sequence. Ending periods are correct—but oponal—because each
item is a complete sentence.
Correct: Five countries supply most U.S. petroleum imports (listed by rank):
1. Canada
2. Mexico
3. Saudi Arabia
4. Venezuela
5. Nigeria
Correct: This report has two purposes:
1. To provide background informaon on alternave transportaon fuels
2. To furnish preliminary esmates of the use of these fuels and of
alternave fuel vehicles
5. Using a numbered list
• Use numbered lists to indicate steps, sequence, or ranking.
• Use numbered lists to rank order or count the content.
• Use numbered lists if you want to emphasize the number of items.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
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Correct: Steam is produced in several ways:
• From water that is boiled by burning fossil fuels, nuclear ssion, or biomass
materials
• From geothermal resources where steam under pressure emerges from the
ground and drives a turbine
• From a uid heated by the sun (solar power)
6. Using a bulleted list
Use a bulleted list when the order of the items is not important and when the list
is not about steps or procedures. Use a bulleted list rather than sentences in a
paragraph when you want readers to clearly see the main points.
Correct: Most requested Informaon (in order of the number of requests)
• On-Highway Retail Diesel Prices
• Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update
• Natural Gas Storage Report
Correct: The mission covers four technology developments: (in order of
priority)
• Extending scienc understanding
• Developing new technologies
• Enhancing exisng technologies
• Pursuing challenges
Correct: Four State Energy Proles have been updated: (alphabecal order)
• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
Correct: Four State Energy Proles have been updated: (chronological order)
• Michigan (August 2015)
• California (September 2015)
• Tennessee (December 2015)
• Alabama (January 2016)
7. Ordering a bulleted list
When determining the order of the listed informaon, consider what order is most
logical from a user’s point of view. For example, lists can be ordered chronologically,
step-by-step, by ranking, by most requested, by most important, or alphabecally.
Avoid alphabecal order unless the listed items are commonplace proper names, such
as states, or the list serves as an index. Use bullets rather than numbers if the order of
the items doesn’t maer.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 111
9. Presenng successive points in text—rst, second, third
Bulleted lists are preferred for highlighng points and improving readability. If you
must write your points in paragraph form, use rst, second, third. Do not use rstly,
secondly, thirdly.
If you have more than three points, consider lisng numbered items or using bullets.
Saying seventh, eighth, etc., is cumbersome.
Correct: Three factors compel the United States to reconsider how it
produces, delivers, and uses energy:
• Energy security
• Environmental quality
• Internaonal compeon
8. Capitalizing items in a list
Capitalize the rst word of each bullet, even if the listed items are not sentences. This
rule is an EIA style choice. Be consistent.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
112
True, the writer’s name is in the
byline, but it’s not the author’s
right to offend or confuse the
reader, defy the rules of standard
English, fail to identify sources,
or lower the standards of your
institution.
Carol Fisher Saller
The Subversive Copy Editor:
Advice from Chicago
Footnotes, Sources, and
Notes
113
EIA writers must provide full source informaon when content from other sources is
used or referenced in EIA reports.
1. Rights, permissions, copyright, and author’s responsibilies
• EIA has a detailed policy on Using Third-Party Data in the Informaon Quality
secon of InsideEIA. The policy includes resources to help authors determine if
informaon is protected by a copyright or license agreement, and, if so, how to
obtain or conrm that EIA has appropriate permission to use the material.
• From The Chicago Manual of Style: “Publishing agreements place on the author
the responsibility to request any permission needed for the use of material
owned by others.”1 And, “With all reuse of others’ materials, it is important to
idenfy the original as the source. This not only bolsters the claim of fair use but
also helps avoid any accusaon of plagiarism.”2
• Academic, journalisc, and government informaon generally is not subject to
copyright protecons. EIA authors only need to properly cite that informaon.
But data from private vendors that EIA subscribes to and content found on the
Internet are oen protected by copyright and require permission for use in
addion to citaon in accordance with the spulaons of the data owner and
the EIA Wring Style Guide.
• In a nutshell, don’t copy other people’s work, ideas, phrasing, content, images,
artwork, or graphs without aribuon and, in some cases, explicit permission.
Just because it’s on the Internet or EIA’s website doesn’t mean it’s acceptable to
portray the content as your original ideas or your original work.
• A simple Internet search of a text string can determine the original source and
idenfy nonsourced content. Make sure to fully aribute content you use that is
not original.
• Most websites have a Copyright Noce or Terms of Service link at the boom
of their home page that will clarify republicaon rights. Authors need to get
permission to reuse content from this website. Always check the agency or
company’s copyright policy. EIA has a Copyright and Reuse Policy posted on its
homepage.
• For internal documents, you should idenfy third-party sources in case the
document or any poron of it is used by others in EIA for a publicaon or
presentaon outside of the agency. References in internal materials do not need
to adhere to the EIA Wring Style Guide.
1 University of Chicago Press, The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edion, The
University of Chicago Press (2010), p. 185.
2 Ibid., p. 190.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
114
• Dierent EIA products have dierent sourcing formats including endnotes,
footnotes, or full inline aribuon. EIA authors are responsible for cing
informaon appropriately and using the appropriate format for their reports.
• You must cite the source for ideas, phrasing, facts, and similar content taken
from other sources. Changing a few words does not exempt you from cing the
source.
• Cing the organizaon or publicaon name without providing informaon
about the source is not sucient. Avoid wring “...according to...” without a
source. Include a link to the source or make sure you have a full source citaon
elsewhere in the report.
Don’t use italics or
quotes when cing form
names.
Cing an online document: the tle of the document should be a hypertext link within
the footnote.
Cing EIA forms: Form 1, Form Name. No italics or quotes for the form name.
In 2006, about 7.1 billion metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) of
greenhouse gases were emied by the United States.1
1 Values expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) are calculated based on
their global warning potenal.
Form 914, Monthly Natural Gas Producon Report
EIA projects that electricity generated from renewable sources will account for
13% of total electricity generaon in 2016.1
For EIA documents: 1 U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon, Annual Energy
Outlook 2012, Table 8.
Cing EIA in external documents: 1 U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon, Annual
Energy Outlook 2012, Table 8, accessed March 11, 2008.
Cing a url: Company or publicaon name, “arcle name” (accessed June 8, 2015),
full url.
2. Using footnotes for explanaon, comment, and citaon
Use footnotes for explanaons or comments about specic informaon within the
body of documents, tables, or graphics.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 115
4. Using ibid in footnotes and endnotes
The term ibid (which in Lan means same as above, or in the same place) is
somemes used in footnotes, endnotes, and biographic references to save space. The
term refers to the source menoned in the immediately preceding reference. Ibid is
a fancy form of dio marks. If the enre reference is the same, you can use the word
ibid. If any informaon (like a page number) is dierent from the previous entry, that
informaon must be included following ibid.
Example:
1. Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edion, p. 669. (rst footnote)
2. Ibid. (content being noted is on the same page of the previous source)
3. Ibid., p. 701. (content being noted is in the same source, but on a dierent page)
5. Deciding what terms to dene and choosing the correct format
• Dene terms you think a nonstascal, nonscienc reader might not
understand. Denions can be provided six ways:
– In the text, add explanatory words either in the sentence or in parentheses
– In a note (Note: RAC means rener acquision cost.)
– In a footnote or endnote
– With a link to the EIA Glossary
– With a link to addional EIA material
– With a link to an outside source
• Remember to link the term, phrase, or report name itself rather than saying click
here.
Correct: See the latest Short-Term Energy Outlook
Incorrect: For the latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, click here.
3. Using endnotes or footnotes
Endnotes have the same informaon as footnotes, but instead of being at the boom
of each page, they are all together in one list at the end of the report. In most cases,
use endnotes for EIA documents like the Annual Energy Outlook and the Country
Analysis Briefs that are mostly or enrely in html. Endnotes involve html coding on
one page rather than on many pages, which is faster and easier.
Footnotes are more appropriate for technical reports (such as model documentaon)
and journal arcles. These types of reports are predominately in PDF format.
Note that some EIA content—Today in Energy (TIE) is a good example—does not have
footnotes or endnotes. Source/aribuon informaon in the TIE stories is either a
link directly to the source or in a note under the graph.
Ask the Oce of Communicaons sta or your supervisor if you have quesons about
which type of sourcing to use.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
116
The denion is crical to the audience’s understanding
The denion is short and succinct
The document is likely to be printed
The denion is not in the EIA glossary
The denion is too long or complicated to integrate into the text
The document is likely to be read online
An understandable denion is in the EIA glossary
• Use a footnote or endnote when
• Use a link to the EIA glossary when
An understandable denion isn’t in the EIA glossary
The concept denion is long or technical–not appropriate for a footnote.
The best denion is on someone else’s site
• Use a link to an outside source when
7. Formang footnotes correctly in text
• Footnotes are numbered consecuvely beginning with 1.
• In short documents that don’t have chapters or secons, footnotes should be
sequenal throughout the document.
• In longer documents that have chapters or secons, footnotes should be
numbered sequenally by chapter or secon.
• Footnotes in an appendix should begin with 1.
6. Using the most appropriate path to denions
• Use an in-text denion when
Numbered footnote example: Renewable energy consumpon increased
7% between 2005 and 2006, contribung about 9% of total U.S. electricity
generaon in 2006.1 Electricity producers 2 consumed 63% of total U.S.
renewable energy in 2015 for producing electricity.
1 U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon, Renewable Energy Consumpon
and Electricity Preliminary Stascs, 2014.
2 Electrical ulies, independent power producers, and combined heat and
power plants.
• Footnotes should appear at the boom of the page where the term or fact is
referenced. (Consider using endnotes as an alternave.)
• Footnotes should be idened by a superscript, both within text and in the
corresponding note at the boom of the page.
• All footnotes end with periods, even if they are not complete sentences.
• Avoid overly long footnotes, if possible.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 117
8. Formang or displaying footnotes with tables, charts,
and other graphics
• Footnotes should be embedded into the image le so they print out as part of
the graphic.
• Footnotes should appear beneath the graphic in a smaller, but readable, font
size.
• In data tables, leers are recommended for footnotes to avoid confusion with
the numbers in the table.
Correct: see graph above
Incorrect: see above graph
9. Referencing graphs in text
• Always reference graphs in the order they appear. Don’t discuss/reference Figure
3 before you have referenced Figure 2.
• Follow the established numbering format for the specic report or document.
(For example, AEO uses MT-1, MT-2; MER uses 1.1, 1.2; Today in Energy doesn’t
number graphs.)
• Say see graph or see graph above/below, when graphs are not numbered in
short arcles.
• Say see Figure 1 (not see Figure 1 above) when graphs are numbered.
• Make sure you recheck the sequenal references to graphs if the text is
rewrien or reordered.
Leered footnote example:
Summary of oil prices 2014-15
a West Texas Intermediate.
b Average pump price for regular gasoline.
2014 2015
WTI crude a ($/barrel) 92.64 93.81
gasoline b ($/gal) 3.59 3.72
10. Formang source citaons
Include the following informaon in source citaons that appear as either notes or
footnotes for online EIA arcles, graphs, and images. The tle of the report or product
should be in italics.
Correct: U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon, Petroleum Supply Monthly,
Table 3, December 2016.
Correct: U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon, using data from Bentek and
Reuters.
Correct: U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon, based on Bentek data.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
118
2. Title of publicaon (if applicable); tle of book or journal appears in italics
3. Publicaon number (if applicable)
4. Reference to specic web page, table, or graphic. This reference may be a
publicaon tle, a web page tle, or a tle of a chart or other graphic. The tle
should be hyperlinked to the referenced informaon. For example, if the data
are from a table, the link should be to the table, not to the beginning of the
document or secon. All sources end with a period.
5. The date of publicaon of the informaon, or the date the informaon was
accessed
Example: U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon, Annual Energy Outlook
2014, Table 1A, Total Energy Supply and Disposion Summary, accessed
March 18, 2014.
Example: U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon, State Electricity Proles,
DOE/EIA-0348(01)/2 (Washington, DC, November 2014), p. 145.
Example: Simon, A., Energy Consumpon in India, World Bank (December
2006), p. 6.
Two or more two authors example: Falter, Laurie and Stefanie Palumbo (only
the rst name is inverted)
12. Format for sourcing print arcles and newspapers
Include these elements in the order they are listed.
1. Author: last name, rst name (if known) or inial
2. Title of arcle: tle is shown in quotaon marks
3. Title of publicaon: tle of book or journal appears in italics
4. Volume or publicaon number (if applicable)
5. Date of publicaon (in parentheses)
6. Page number of specic informaon being cited, ending with a period.
Examples: Saraf, S. “India Set To Revise Hydroelectric Policy,” Power in Asia,
No. 471 (February 1, 2007), p. 8.
13. Format for sourcing printed books
Include these elements in the order they are listed.
1. Author: last name, rst name (if known) or inial
2. Book tle: tle of book appears in italics
3. Publisher
4. Date of publicaon (in parentheses)
5. Page number
11. Format for sourcing online informaon
Include these elements in the order listed here:
1. Organizaon or publisher (for example, U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon,
or the U.S. Census Bureau)
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 119
If there is more than one note, use Notes. Put the content for both together, or write
it in two separate sentences. If the combined note gets too long, consider numbering
the notes.
14. Using notes
Use notes for denions, explanaons, or comments that refer to the overall content
of the document, table, or graphic, rather than for specic data.
Example with one note:
Note: Gain from processing is about 5%.
Example with two notes:
Notes: Gain from processing is about 5%.
Data for 2013 are preliminary.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
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Say all you have to say in the fewest
possible words, or your reader will be
sure to skip them; and in the plainest
possible words, or he will certainly
misunderstand them.
John Ruskin
Hypertext Links
121
Example: The Primer on Diesel Fuel Prices explains how diesel fuel is made.
Example: Gasoline is rened from crude oil.
Example: Forecasts
Annual Energy Outlook
Short-Term Energy Outlook
Internaonal Energy Outlook
Learn more: Petroleum Supply Monthly
Good example: Diablo Canyon Unit 2 was taken oine on April 27.
Less clear: Diablo Canyon Unit 2 was taken oine on April 27.
Good example: The company presented the Integrated Performance Plan in
response to the ooding.
Less clear: The company presented the Integrated Performance Plan in
response to the ooding.
Correct: Nuclear outages in 2011 were unusually high.
Not preferred: In 2011, nuclear outages were unusually high.
Correct: EIA’s automated email system provides updates.
Incorrect: Click here to receive updates via EIA’s automated email system.
Incorrect: Receive updates via EIA’s email system on this link: hp://www.
eia.gov/
Correct: Sign up for email updates.
Correct: Learn more about how to save energy.
1. Using embedded and stand-alone hypertext links
• Hypertext links can be embedded, or they can stand alone.
• Embedded links are contained within text.
• Stand-alone links are menu links or links at the beginning or end of a secon of
text, such as the Learn more links added to Energy in Brief arcles.
• Try not to link to too many things within a block of text. Too many links makes
the content dicult to read.
• Hyperlink enough of the text to be clear about what the link is going to.
• If possible, the hyperlink should not contain two phrases separated by a comma.
2. Wring clear hypertext links
• Never use click here or click here or see here as a link. Don’t write text that
menons the link itself.
• Using click here forces sighted users to read the surrounding text to understand
the context of the word here. It also prevents visually impaired users who rely on
screen readers from fully understanding where the link is going.
• Don’t underline links. When providing hyperlinks in text, just copy the link you
want to lead readers to, highlight the word or phrase you want to hyperlink,
right click on the highlighted word or phrase, select hyperlink, and insert the link.
Once the text is hyperlinked, remove the automated underline.
• Write descripve, concise links that tell users what they will get or can
accomplish when they click the link.
Never use click here.
Don’t underline links.
Just link the words,
which will automacally
make them blue.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
122
Correct: Take advantage of lower heang fuel prices for winter 2016, and
guard against future price spikes by invesng in energy ecient technologies.
Not preferred: Take advantage of lower heang fuel prices for winter
2016 and guard against future price spikes by invesng in energy ecient
technologies.
Correct:
Below is renewable energy informaon for
• Homeowners
• Small businesses
Incorrect:
Below is renewable informaon for
• Renewable energy informaon for homeowners
• Renewable energy informaon for small businesses
Correct link: See Short-Term Energy Outlook March 2016
Correct landing page: Short-Term Energy Outlook March 2016
Correct link: See Short-Term Energy Outlook March 2016
Incorrect (not matching) landing page: Spring Outlook
Examples:
In 2016, about 20% of the petroleum consumed in the United States is
expected to be imported from foreign countries.
Table 4: U.S. Energy Consumpon provides usage data by state.
See Short-Term Energy Outlook March 2016 for gasoline projecons.
The chart, U.S. Oil Imports, shows how much oil the United States imports
from Mexico.
• Try not to create links that wrap to a second or third line. Wrapped links can be
hard for users to read and cut-and-paste.
• Emphasize only the disncve words in a list of links.
• The wording of the link and the tle of the desnaon page should be the same.
If the tle of the page you are linking to is not clear, consider changing the
page’s tle.
3. Using hypertext links to provide addional informaon
• Use links to provide related content such as glossaries, tables, reports, and
graphics.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 123
Examples: The Comparison Calculator (xls) will help you choose a fuel-
ecient heang system.
Examples: Learn more: EIA Weekly Retail On-Highway Diesel Prices.
4. Using fully qualied links in content that is printed
• If the link is in a printed report (pdf), the link should be fully qualied (www.
eia.gov/petroleum/ or hp://www.eia.gov/petroleum/) so when the report is
printed, the full url is available.
• If the link is in a web report (html), link from real words in the text—use intuive
names or phrases for the content you are linking to. Don’t underline linked
context. Examples: addional analysis or nd emission data by state.
• Sources in footnotes and endnotes should be fully qualied.
• The linked words can idenfy EIA reports or analysis.
• Use links sparingly throughout a report. Pung in too many links makes the text
hard to read.
• When linking to a le other than a web page, indicate the le format aer the
link. Links should inform what kind of page will open if it’s not html, which is
normally the default. Use icons including pdf, xls, and ppt as appropriate for le
types.
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
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A preposition is a terrible thing to
end a sentence with.
Winston Churchill
Brish versus American
English
125
American Brish
amid amidst
among amongst
while whilst
aerward aerwards
backward backwards
cooperaon co-operaon
downward downwards
forward forwards
toward towards
upward upwards
canceled cancelled
traveled travelled
gray grey
license/license(noun/verb) licence/license (noun/verb)
sulfur sulphur
analyze analyse
organizaon organisaon
recognized recognised
U.K. UK
American Brish
presently = now, currently presently = soon, in the future
loan and lend are synonyms loan is a noun; lend is a verb
table an idea = postpone table an idea = to present something,
to bring it to the table
slated = scheduled slated = severely cricized
scheme = devious or secret plan
(negave connotaon)
scheme = program, plan (no negave
connotaon)
which and that = two dierent words which and that = no disncon
There are dierences between Brish and American English in spelling, usage, and
punctuaon. No wonder we get confused wring travelled to London. EIA prefers
American spelling and usage.
1. Spelling dierences
2. Usage dierences
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
126
American: She said, “Put it down.” (period inside)
Brish: She said, “Put it down”. (period outside)
American: 1,000
Brish: 1 000
American: Greenhouse gases (e.g., carbon dioxide) may contribute to global
warming.
Brish: Greenhouse gases (e.g. carbon dioxide) may contribute to global
warming.
3. Punctuaon dierences
• Brish writers put closing punctuaon outside the close quotaon mark.
American writers put the punctuaon inside.
• Americans put commas in number to mark thousands. European writers use a
space.
• Americans use a comma aer i.e. and e.g., but the Brish don’t.
I travelled to London,
where I was amongst
friends on a grey, cloudy
day. We walked towards
the Brish Museum
whilst analysing our
holiday plans.
Can you nd the Brish
spellings?
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 127
Index
A
%
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 129
% sign 2, 5, 6, 59, 92
a and an 32
with an abbreviaon 100
a lot vs. allot, vs. a lot vs. many 34
a.m. and p.m. 102
period use with 88
abbreviaons (also see acronyms)
and units 103–105
how to dene 98
in a list with e.g. or i.e. 100
in tables and footnotes 101–102
no periods in 88
of academic degrees 102
of thousand, million, and billion 105–106
of month names 101
of United States 99
plural forms 101
possessive forms 101
units of measure list 103–105
when to spell out 98
with a and an 100
with periods 100
with me (a.m. and p.m.) 102
about and around 34, 65
above vs. more than vs. over 41
academic degree, abbreviaon of 102
accept vs. except 34
acronyms 6, 17, 98
acve voice 10
acts (laws), capitalizaon of 54
adding informaon to a quote, restricons 96
addionally, not recommended 27, 34
adjacent numbers 60
advice for good wring 22
advice vs. advise 34
aect vs. eect 34
aid vs. aide 34
all ready vs. already 34
all right vs. alright 34
all together vs. altogether 35
all-caps, not recommended 16
allot 34
allude to vs. refer to 35
alot (not a word) 34
alphabecal order in lists 111
already vs. all ready 34
also 34
alternate vs. alternave 35
although vs. though 35
although vs. while 35, 45
altogether vs. all together 35
ambiguity, avoiding it with hyphenaon 77
American English vs. Brish English 6, 126–127
amid (U.S.) vs. amidst (U.K.) 35
B
C
D
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
130
among (U.S.) vs. amongst (U.K.) 35, 126
among vs. between 36, 126
ampersand 92
any more vs. anymore 35
anyone vs. any one 35
around and about 34, 65
as well as (when to use) 27
assure vs. ensure vs. insure 38
asterisk 92
aribuon of third-party sources 114
audience awareness (EIA customers) 4–5, 15
audience, tailoring content to them 15
author’s responsibilies for sourcing 114
backward (U.S.) vs. backwards (U.K.) 35, 126
barrel, abbreviated as b 103
because 26
because of vs. due to 36, 38
because vs. since 35
besides, in addion 34
between vs. among 36
biannual vs. biennial vs. semiannual 36
big vs. large 36
billion, abbreviated as B 106
block text for long quotes 95
bold 24
for emphasis 6, 16, 54
bracket sequence, for mathemacal equaons 92
breakout vs. break-out 36
Brish English vs. American English 6, 126–127
bulleted lists 7, 108, 111
capitalizaon in 51
colon use with 84
how to punctuate 6
introducing the list 108
numbered vs. unnumbered list 110–111
ordering the bullets 111
parallel structure 109
period at end of 88
spacing with 108
canceled (U.S.) vs. cancelled (U.K.) 36
capitalizaon 6, 48–55
and punctuang bulleted or numbered lists 51
for emphasis, not recommended 54
for governmental references 53
for Internet-related words 55
for job tles 54
for report tles and headings 52–53
in abbreviaons, period use with 100
in lists, capitalize rst word of each bullet 112
list of examples 48–51
when not to 16
carrot vs. carat vs. caret vs. karat 37
cents, wring about prices 61
centuries, how to represent 62
change in value, how to represent 64
charts, parallel references to 25
chronological order in lists 110, 111
citaon of sources 114–120
cite vs. sight vs. site 43
civil and military tles, hyphen use with 78
clauses linked with semicolon 85
CO2 65, 103
colon
and semicolon 84–85
introducing a list 84–85, 108
no capitalizaon aer colon or semicolon 84
with an example 84
with quotaon 85, 95
comma 68–71
aer e.g. and i.e. 70, 101
between independent clauses 70
in dates 70
in lists 68
in large numbers 71
in numbers with four or more digits 63
serial or oxford comma 68
when restang a numerical change 71
with e.g. and i.e. 70, 100
with however 71
with introductory words, phrases, clauses 68
with which or that 69
with quotaon 95
commonly misused words 34–45
company names, capitalizaon of 55
ExxonMobil 55
Nymex 55
complement vs. compliment 37
compose and comprise 7, 37
compound subject, how to write it 31
compound words with hyphen 74, 78–81
comprise vs. compose 7, 37
conjuncons, comma use with 70
consistency 3, 4, 15
in bulleted lists 109
in point of view 15
in verb tenses 14
connental U.S. vs. conguous U.S. 37
connuously vs. connually 37
contracons, use of in EIA wring 15
copyright 114–115
currency, numbers with 61
dash — hyphen, en dash, em dash 74
data vs. datum 37
dates 6, 62
as numerals 62
comma use with 70
DC (Washington, DC), how to write it 6
decades, how to write 62
decimals 63
at end of sentence 59
dening terms in text 116–117
colon use with 84
(U.S.) Department of Energy, how to write
the name 99
E
H
G
F
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 131
descripve vs. prescripve diconary 28
diconaries 28
dierent from vs. dierent than 38
direct quotaons, formang 94
document tles, using italics 16–17
DOE, how to write the name 99
dollar amounts 61
in foreign currency 61
dollar sign 61
due to 6, 25, 38
due to vs. because of 36, 38
e.g. 7, 100
comma use with 70
periods with 89
editorial voice and words and phrases to avoid 10–13
eect vs. aect 34
eect vs. impact 40
EIA, how to write it 6, 99
EIA organizaon names and tles, capitalizaon of 54
either…or; neither…nor 30
ellipses 92, 95
em dash 7, 74–75
email vs. e-mail 6, 38
embedded hypertext links 122
capitalizaon of 55
embedded (nested) parentheses 92
emphasis
preferred techniques 16
with bold and italics 6
with em dash 74
with quote marks, not recommended 96
en dash 7, 74–75
ending a sentence with a preposion 26
endnotes 23, 115–116
end-use vs. end use 76
(U.S.) Energy Informaon Administraon
Oce of Communicaons 3
(U.S.) Energy Informaon Administraon,
how to write the name 6, 99
ensure vs. insure vs. assure 38
equaon editor 66
everyday vs. every day 38
everyone vs. every one 38
examples, colon use with 84
except vs. accept 34
exclamaon point, not recommended 92
with quotaon 95
expected vs. forecast vs. projected 39, 42
farther vs. further 39
federal, when not to capitalize 6, 53
feedback on the EIA Wring Style Guide 2–3
fewer vs. less 31, 39, 64, 65
rst person 15
rst, second, third 25
rstly, not recommended 25, 112
rstly, secondly, thirdly 25
ammable (recommended) vs. inammable 39
font choice with numbers and equaons 66
footnotes 23, 115, 116, 117
asterisk use with 92
copyright rules 114
footnotes vs. endnotes 116
footnotes, how to format 117
in tables and graphics 118
period use with 88
rights and permissions 114
using ibid 116
for example, with i.e. and e.g. 7
forecast vs. expected vs. projected 39, 42
foreign country names, abbreviaons of 99
foreign currency, how to write it 61
foreign language words and phrases 17
formal wring 15
formang paragraphs 17
forth vs. fourth 39
forward (U.S.) vs. forwards (U.K.), vs. foreword 39
fourth vs. quarter 42
fracons 59
hyphenaon with 77
write out or numerals 59
further vs. farther 39
furthermore, not recommended 27
good wring advice 22
government programs, capitalizaon of 54
governmental references, capitalizaon of 53
grammar 30–45
grammacal consistency in lists 109
graphics, footnotes in 118
graphs, how to reference in text 118
gray (U.S.) vs. grey (U.K.) 126
half vs. one half vs. a half vs. half of vs. half a 39
hard and fast rules? 3
he and I 30
headings
capitalizaon 52
for lists 108
headline wring 27
him and me vs. he and I 45
historic vs. historical 39
homepage, wrien as one word 6
hone vs. home in 39
however, comma use with 71
hypertext links 122–124
capitalizaon of 55
embedded and stand-alone links 122
fully qualied links 124
hyphen 74–81
en dash 74
em dash 74
list of hyphenated and nonhyphenated
words 79–81
typing 75
I
J
K
L
N
M
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
132
hyphen (connued)
used to avoid mispronunciaon and
ambiguity 77
with compound words 7, 75–76
with numbers 77
I vs. me 30
i.e. 7, 100
comma use with 70
periods with 89
Ibid in footnotes and endnotes 116
impact as a verb, not recommended 6, 40
impact vs. aect 40
impact vs. eect 40
in addion 27, 34
incenvize, not recommended 27
increase–decrease, words to use 20
indenng rst line of paragraph 17
independent clauses
linked by conjuncon, comma use with 70
semicolon use with 85
innives, ok to split 25
inammable (not recommended) vs. ammable 39
informal wring 15
inialisms, denion 98
inline text references for sourcing 23
insure vs. ensure vs. assure 38
Internet vs. intranet 40
Internet-related words, capitalizaon of 55
interrupons, with quotaon marks 94
introducing a list 108
introductory word, phrase, or clause,
comma use in 68
inverted pyramid format 10
irregardless (not a word) 42
italics 6
for emphasis 6, 16
for report tles 16
restricon on use with e.g. or i.e. 101
itemized lists and bullets 108–112
its vs. it’s 40
jargon 4, 11–13
karat vs. carrot vs. carat vs. caret 37
large numbers
comma use with 71
how to write them 61
large vs. big 36
last 10 years vs. past 10 years 6, 40
last vs. past 40
later vs. laer 40
lead vs. led 40
legislaon, abbreviaon with 102
less than 64
less vs. fewer 31, 39, 64, 65
lists
abbreviaons in 100
alphabecal 111
bulleted 111
capitalizaon in 112
chronological 111
colon use with 84
commas in text lists 68
heading style 108
how to introduce 108
parallel structure 109
punctuaon of 110
rank order 110, 111
me order 110, 111
use of parallel style in 25
within text 108
loose vs. lose 40
lower vs. under 31
m as an abbreviaon 105–106
majority of vs. most of 41
many 34
mathemacal equaons 65–66
maybe vs. may be 41
me vs I 30
Microso Word
equaon editor 66
spell check for copyeding 23
military and civil tles, hyphen use with 78
million abbreviated as MM 105–106
minus sign 60, 78
mispronounced words, avoiding with hyphens 77
misused words list 34–44
months, abbreviaons of 101–102
more than vs. over. vs. above 32, 41, 64, 65
most of vs. majority of 40
myself 30
he and I 30
and me vs. and I 30
name and tle, comma use with 69
naon, don’t capitalize 6
negave numbers 60
neither…nor 30
nested parentheses 92
neutral wring 6, 20
new content in 2015 Wring Style Guide 2
newspapers, sourcing guidelines 119
none is vs. none are 30, 41
non-English words, how to write them 17
nonhyphenated words 78–81
nonoriginal content, aribuon of 23, 114
nonparallel style 25, 109
O
P
Q
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 133
notaon, scienc, how to express 65
notes
and footnotes, period use with 88
in tables and other graphics 120
in text 23
nouns, when to repeat 27
numbered lists, 110
alignment of text 108
capitalizaon in 51, 112
colon use to introduce 84
numbers 58–66
adjacent references 60
at beginning of sentences 6, 58
changes in values, wring about 64
for dates and years 62
hyphen use with 77
in a range, 2%–4% 60
mathemacal equaons 65–66
negave 60
percent sign 59
range of, with en dash 74
singular or plural verb with 64
whether to spell or use numerals 58
with currency 61
with four or more digits, commas in 63
numerals
for fracons 59
in dates and years 62
in me 62
vs. wring out numbers 58
with units of measure 60
numerical change, comma use with 71
numerous, not recommended 27
Oce of Communicaons, Style Guide contact 3
omissions with ellipses 92, 95
on vs. upon 43
online (EIA style) vs. on line vs. on-line 2, 5, 41
online informaon, sourcing guidelines 119
oral vs. verbal 41, 44
ordering bulleted lists 111
ordinal numbers (rst, second, third, etc.) 25, 58, 112
over and under 65
over vs. more than vs. above 32, 41, 65
overme vs. over me 41
oxford comma 6, 68
p.m. and a.m. 102
period use with 88
palee vs. palate vs. pallet 41
paragraph format 17
parallel structure
in lists 7, 14, 109
in text 25
paraphrased text, don’t use quote marks with 94
parentheses 92
parenthecal informaon 69
period use with 88
passive voice 10
past 10 years vs. last 10 years 6, 40
past vs. last 40
percent vs. % sign 2, 6, 24, 59, 92
percentage change 64
periods 88–89
at end of bulleted list 88
in abbreviaons 88, 100
in U.S. 88
with a.m. and p.m. 88
with capitalized abbreviaon 100
with e.g. 7, 89
with i.e. 7, 89
with parentheses 88
with quotaon 95
permission to use copyrighted material 114
person: rst, second, and third 15
personal vs. personnel 42
phone numbers, format of 63
phrases to avoid 11–13, 20
plain language 5
plural of an abbreviaon 101
p.m. and a.m. 102
point of view, making it consistent 15
policy neutrality 6, 20
possessives, 26, 31
of abbreviaons 101
postal codes 6, 99
precede vs. proceed 42
preferred vs. nonpreferred expressions for
numbers 65
prexes, hyphen use with 78–81
preposions 26
ending a sentence with 26
prescripve vs. descripve diconary 28
previous vs. prior 42
prices, how to write 61
principal vs. principle 42
print arcles, sourcing guidelines 119
print vs. web, applicaon of wring styles 3
printed books, sourcing guidelines 119
prior vs. previous 41
proceed vs. precede 42
product names, how to write them 16
projected vs. forecast vs. expected 39, 42
pronouns 30
proofreading techniques 23–24
proved vs. proven (resources and reserves) 42
providing feedback on the EIA Wring Style
Guide 2015 2, 3
punctuaon 4
colons and semicolons 83
commas 67
for quote within a quote 95
hyphens and dashes 73
inside or outside quotes 7, 94
of lists 110
periods 87
quarter vs. fourth 42
T
R
S
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide
134
quotaons 94
adding informaon to (never do this) 96
as block of text 95
marks for emphasis, not recommended 17, 96
colon use with 85, 95
ellipses in 92, 95
exclamaon point with 95
for emphasis, not recommended 96
formang long quotes 95
punctuang 94–95
queson mark with 95
semicolon use with 95
with an interrupon 94
with direct quotaon 95
within a quote 95
range of numbers 60
with en dash 74
ranking order in lists 110–111
references to charts 25
regardless vs. irregardless 42
repeon, how to avoid it 22
report tle
capitalizaon of 52
using italics 17
restang numerical change, comma use with 71
run-on sentence, denion 24
scare quotes 96
scienc notaon, how to write it 65
seams vs. seems 42
second person 15
secondly, not recommended 112
semiannual vs. biannual vs. biennial 36
semicolon and colon 84–85
in a series 85
no capitalizaon aer semicolon or colon 84
restricon in lists 108
used to join independent clauses 85
with quotaon 95
sentence case vs. tle case 52
sentences
ending in a decimal number 59
in bulleted items, period use with 88
run-on 24
short sentences preferred 4, 22
spacing aer period (one space) 24, 89
sequence of brackets 92
sequenal order in lists 110
serial comma 4, 6, 68
series, semicolon use with 85
shi in verb tenses, when it’s OK 14
shi in point of view 15
short paragraphs, 4, 22, 24
sight vs. cite vs. site 43
signicant digits in decimals 63
simple words are beer 6, 11–13
since, used with me 6, 35
since vs. because 35
single quote marks for quote within a quote 95
site vs. cite vs. sight 43
sources, citaon of 114–116, 118–119
sourcing nonoriginal content 23, 114
spaces
between sentences, single space
recommended 24, 89
with hyphen 74
with en and em dashes 74
spacing in bulleted and numbered lists 108
spell check in Microso Word 23–24
split innives 25
stacked adjecves, not recommended 24
stand-alone hypertext links 122
state, when not to capitalize 6, 50, 53
state names, using abbreviaons of 99
state postal codes, don’t use except in
addresses 99
staonary vs. staonery 43
subject–verb agreement 32
subscripts in scienc notaon 65
superscripts
in dates 62
in ordinal numbers 58
in scienc notaon 65
supplemental informaon, commas with 69
symbols 91–92
tables 118
abbreviang months in 101–102
footnotes in 118
tailoring your wring to the audience 15
temperature, wring °F, 103
th, as in 7th, how to write 58
than vs. then 43
that 27
that vs. who 7
that or this 26
vs. which 7, 30, 43, 44, 69
vs. who 31
their vs. there vs. they’re 43
thesis wring format, not recommended 22
third person 15
third-party data sources 114
this is because, don’t use 26
this is the result of, don’t use 26
that, beginning a sentence 26
thorough vs. through vs. threw vs. though 43
though vs. although 35
thousand abbreviated as a Roman numeral M
105–106
threw vs. thorough vs. through vs. though 43
me of day 6, 62
tle and name, comma use with 69
tle case capitalizaon 6, 52–53
tle case or sentence case, denions 52
too, comma use with 71
toward (U.S.) vs. towards (U.K.) 44, 126
traveled (U.S.) vs. travelled (U.K.) 44, 126
treaes, capitalizaon of 54
U
V
W
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon | EIA Wring Style Guide 135
U.S.
how to write the country name 6, 99
noun vs. adjecve, when to spell out 6, 99
period use with 88
U.S. DOE, how to write the name 99
U.S. Energy Informaon Administraon,
how to write it 6
unclear pronoun reference 26
under and over 65
under vs. lower 31
underlining, not recommended 6, 16, 24
United States, spelled out 6, 99
unit list 103–105
units of measure
how to abbreviate 103–105
using numerals with 60
upon vs. on 44
upward (U.S.) vs. upwards (U.K.) 44, 126
use vs. usage 13, 65
ulize, not recommended 13, 27
value, wring a change in 64
variable vs. volale 44
variables in equaons 65
varying word choice, when not to do it 22
verb tenses, consistency with 14
verbal vs. oral 41, 44
verbs with numbers, singular or plural 64
verb–subject agreement 32
voice 10
volale vs. variable 44
Washington, DC, how to write it 6
web links 122–124
don’t underline, just use blue 122
don’t use click here 6, 122
embedded vs. stand alone 122
fully qualied links 124
how to write them 122
web vs. print Style Guide applicaon 3
web vs. the web 44
website (EIA style) vs. web site 6, 44
which vs. that 7, 30, 43, 45
comma use with 69
while vs. although 34, 45
while (U.S.) vs. whilst (U.K.) 45, 126
who uses EIA data? 4–5
who vs. that 7, 31
why a wring style guide? 2
word choice, when not to vary it 22
words to avoid 11–13
write-around 28
wring guidance 22
wring out numbers vs. numerals 58
years, wrien as numerals 62
you and me vs. you and I 30
your vs. you’re 44
Y
