English style guide by DTUdk

STYLE GUIDE

At DTU we use Oxford English as the University’s language standard at the corporate level.

The following is meant as a guideline and a helping hand to those who work as e.g. editors or proof readers at DTU.

If you have questions that you don’t find the answers to in this guide, please consult the full version of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) at Portalen http://www.oed.com.globalproxy.cvt.dk/

DIFFERENCES

IN OXFORD ENGLISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH SPELLING

List of frequently used terms

OXFORD ENGLISH STYLE GUIDELINES

-ize instead of -ise

The Oxford comma and how to use it

Dashes

‘That’ or ‘which’?

Bullet lists and how to make them

Capitalization in headlines

Quotation marks

Per cent (%)

Dates and times of day

Correspondence

Contact details and reference to websites

APPENDIX 1

Departments and support functions at DTU

APPENDIX 2

Job titles at DTU

DTU-SPECIFIC STYLE

At DTU we follow a number of linguistic traditions as outlined below.

Technical University of Denmark

Technical University of Denmark is always written without the definite article (‘the’):

DTU, Technical University of Denmark, is recognized as an elite technical university.

university or University with a capital U?

If you’re talking specifically about DTU, University is always with a capital U.

Use lower-case ‘u’ when university is simply a common noun:

DTU is an elite technical university. The University boasts state-of-the-art facilities.

Programmes and degrees

Bachelor (BSc or BSc Eng, BEng)

Use a small (lower case) b + ‘s when referring to a programme in general:

bachelor’s, bachelor’s degree, bachelor’s programme

Use a capital B when referring to a specific bachelor’s degree or bachelor’s programme:

He has a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. He has a BSc in Chemistry.

Bachelor of Science Engineering ( = Bachelor)

Abbreviation: BSc or BSc Eng

Bachelor of Engineering ( = Diplomingeniør)

Abbreviation: BEng

Master of Science (MSc)

Abbreviation: MSc or MSc Eng

Use a small (lower-case) m + ‘s when referring to a programme in general:

master’s, master’s degree, master’s programme

Use a capital M when referring to a specific master’s degree or master’s programme:

He has a Master of Science in Physics. He has a Master’s degree in Physics.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Use a capital ‘P’, a small ‘h’, and a capital ‘D’ without any punctuation:

DTU offers several PhD degree programmes. He has a PhD (degree) in Astrophysics

He is doing his PhD at DTU.

PhD is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by DTU.

At DTU, you can do either a regular PhD or an industrial PhD (= ErhvervsPhD), the latter with concurrent employment in a company.

Project, thesis, or dissertation?

At DTU, we distinguish between:

bachelor project master’s thesis

PhD thesis

doctoral dissertation

Departments and support functions

Please consult Appendix 1 for a translation of DTU’s departments and support functions.

Job titles

When to capitalize the job title—and when not to

Use capitals when referring to the specific person holding a specific position:

Anders Bjarklev became President of DTU in 2011.

Capitalize a job title that comes before or right after the person’s name:

Assistant Professor Niels Nielsen

Niels Nielsen, Assistant Professor at DTU Space

If a job title is not preceded or followed by a person’s name, it should still be capitalized if it is used as a name:

I went to see the President today.

In this case, ‘President’ is being used as a name and not in the sense of a general job title, as in:

Since 1829, we have had 15 presidents at DTU.

The job title is not capitalized if it follows the name of a person and there is a ‘the’ before the title:

Professor Claire Smith, the chairwoman of the Academic Council, is retiring.

Job titles at DTU

For a comprehensive list of DTU specific job titles please turn to Appendix 2.

DIFFERENCES IN OXFORD ENGLISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH SPELLING

—frequently used terms

OXFORD ENGLISH AMERICAN ENGLISH

behaviour – flavour –honour color

OXFORD ENGLISH AMERICAN ENGLISH

Words ending in –el, -al doubles the consonant …but not in AmE enrol – enrolled, enrolment, enrolling enroll – enrolled, enrollment, enrolling model – modelled, modelling model – modeled, modeling travel – travelled, travelling , traveller travel – traveled – traveling - traveler cancel – cancelled, cancelling cancel – canceled, canceling

Both are correct (single and double consonant) In both Oxford English and American English focus – focused/focussed, focusing/focussing focus – focused/focussed, focusing/focussing benefit – benefited/benefitted, benefit – benefited/benefitted, benefiting/benefitting benefiting/benefitting

Does not double the consonant target – targeted/targeting target – targeted/targeting

defence – offence – pretence – licence defense

offense

pretense – license practice (noun), but practise (verb) practice (noun and verb)

Other useful words: programme (except computer programs) program analyse analyze aluminium aluminum realize realize autumn (Danish: efterår) fall (Danish: efterår) lift elevator flat apartment ground floor (Danish: stueetage) first floor (Danish: stueetage)

License (verb) – licence (noun) You can use licence/license as both a verb and a noun, but license is preferred

Practise (verb) – practice (noun) You can use practise/practice as both a verb and a noun, but practice is preferred

OXFORD ENGLISH STYLE GUIDELINES

There are some noteworthy differences between standard British English and Oxford English—particularly the -ize spelling, the Oxford comma, and dashes. -ize instead of -ise

Oxford English (and DTU) uses the ‘American’ -ize instead of the British -ise in words like:

organize/organization globalize/globalization recognize/recognizable

Please note:

The use of -ize instead of -ise does not affect the spelling of words that end in -yse, such as analyse, paralyse and catalyse.

The Oxford comma and how to use it

Use commas to separate the elements in a list of three or more items. Remember to include a comma in front of the ‘and’ that leads to the final item in the list:

DTU, the University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Business School, and the IT University of Copenhagen participate in the exchange programme. Mad, bad, and dangerous to know.

Dashes*

Use the em dash as a parenthetical dash (in Danish: ‘tankestreg’) to replace a colon:

Our main campus is located near Lyngby—a mere 15km north of Copenhagen He had many fruit trees in his garden—apples, pears, plumbs, etc.

Or to separate a phrase in a sentence (in Danish: ‘indskudt sætning’):

We believe that engineers play—and will continue to play—a central role in a modern, globalized world.

Use the en dash in a number range: 20–25 students per group

During the years 2012–2014

*How to create en and em dashes in Microsoft Word :

To insert an en dash, move the cursor between the words, add a space, type two hyphens, and another space and the next word: this is – a test

To insert an em dash, type two hyphens without adding a space before and after the hyphens: this is—a test.

‘That’ or ‘which’?

When to use ‘that’ and ‘which’ and where to put the comma is one of issues that belong among the top five FAQs in most style guides. The good news is that in many cases ‘that’ and ‘which’ are equally correct. You just need to know what meaning you wish to convey and which type of clause you are constructing.

Restrictive clause

(= bestemmende relativsætning/ henførende bisætning)

Definition:

Restrictive clauses contain essential information about the noun that comes before it. If you leave out this type of clause, the meaning of the sentence is affected.

No comma before the clause

She only attended courses which were obligatory. She only attended courses that were obligatory.

Explanation:

‘Which/that were obligatory’ provides essential information about the courses. If left out, the sentence would not have the same meaning.

Restrictive clauses can be introduced by: that, which, whose, who, or whom.

non-restrictive clause (= ikke bestemmende relativsætning/ henførende bisætning)

Definition:

Non-restrictive clauses sentences contain extra information that could be left out of the sentence without affecting the meaning or structure of the sentence.

Comma before the clause

The course, which runs for a few more weeks, has been a great success.

Explanation:

‘which runs for a few more weeks’ is just additional information about the course.

Bullet lists and how to make them

There are three categories of bullet lists:

1. Lists of short items (and incomplete sentences): Tonight’s agenda includes: review of capital gains issues presentation of new investments outstanding tax issues.

2. One main verb in at least one sentence (complete sentences): The agenda for tonight is as follows: we will conduct an annual review of capital gains issues; CFO Paul Smith will presents new investments in Finance; our Accountant, Elizabeth Hall will clarify outstanding tax issues.

3. Two or more main verbs in at least one sentence (several complete sentences):

Please be aware that:

If you do not apply by the stated deadlines, we cannot guarantee any of the above.

Non-restrictive clauses can be introduced by: which, whose, who, or whom. You should never use that to introduce them.

DTU recommends that you apply as early as possible; the number of places in each programme is limited. You can apply for only one programme at a time.

Capitalization in headlines

Only capitalize the first letter of the opening word in headings and captions—and any other word that would usually be capitalized (names of people, places, concepts, days, months, etc.)

Location and campuses

Researchers at DTU push new boundaries

The Smith lab opens in June

Quotation marks—single or double?

Use double quotes (“) as primary quotation marks.

Use single quotation marks (‘) for titles, to enclose words or phrases, and for a quotation within a quotation:

Professor Flynn said that, “Even if you’ve never read a word of Shakespeare, I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase ‘To be or not to be’ a thousand times.”

Punctuation inside or outside quotation marks?

DTU follow the US practice of placing all punctuation—comma, full point, question marks, etc.—inside the closing quotation mark, regardless of whether they are part of the quoted material or not.

“What is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations?”

Per cent (%)

The symbol % is not used in a text but written out in two words.

An impressive 98 per cent rates study life at DTU ‘exceptionally good’.

The symbol % is only used in tables, notes, parenthetical material, and captions. Please note that there is no space before the symbol % = 75%

Dates and time of day

Use the sequence: day – month – year

28 June 2014

A named day preceding a date is separated by a comma: Friday, 28 June 2014

a.m. or p.m.?

Use a.m (= ante meridiem, before noon) and p.m. (= post meridiem, after noon) as indications for hours/time of day:

Let’s meet at 10 a.m. and conclude the meeting at 4.30 p.m.

Noon: noon, 12 noon, or 12.00

Midnight: midnight, 12 midnight, or 24.00

Correspondence

Basic pairs in ascending order of formality:

Informal More formal Formal

Dear Mark, Dear Mr Hansen, Dear Sir, Dear Mrs Hansen, Dear Madam, Dear Ms Hansen, Dear Dr Hansen,

Best regards, Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully, Kind regards, Best wishes,

Contact details and references to websites

No space between e and mail = email

Telephone numbers

Tel. +45 45252525

Addresses

Do not use country codes (DK-2800) but simply put 2800 Kgs. Lyngby as in:

Technical University of Denmark

Anker Engelunds Vej 1

Building 101 A 2800 Kgs. Lyngby DENMARK

Reference to websites

For reference to websites, avoid using expression such as ‘click here’ or ‘go to’ (followed by the address). Work the link into your text instead:

Access the Department of Physics for more information (letting the words in red constitute the link).

For more information about our degree courses, visit [Link]

You may also choose to simply add the link/website address after your sentence. People are so accustomed to web references that they don’t actually need to be told what to do.

APPENDIX 1

DTU departments and support functions

Departments

DTU Aqua

DTU Chemical Engineering

DTU Chemistry

DTU Civil Engineering

DTU Compute

DTU Electrical Engineering

DTU Energy

DTU Environment

DTU Food

DTU Fotonik

DTU Management Engineering

DTU Mechanical Engineering

DTU Nanotech

DTU Physics

DTU Space

DTU Systems Biology

DTU Transport

DTU Vet

DTU Wind Energy

Support functions

IT service

Office for Finance and Accounting

Office for Human Resources/Corporate HR

Office for Research and Relations

Office for Innovation and Sector Services

Office for Study Programmes and Student Affairs

Campus Service

APPENDIX 2

Job titles

DIREKTIONEN EXECUTIVE BOARD

Rektor President

Prorektor Executive Vice President, Provost

Universitetsdirektør Executive Vice President, University Director

Koncerndirektør

Dekan (for hhv. civil- og diplomstudiet)

Senior Vice President, Private and Public Sectors Services

Senior Vice President, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Senior Vice President,

Dean of Graduate Studies and International Affairs

Senior Vice President, Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Student Affairs

ANDRE CHEFSTILLINGER OTHER MANAGERIAL POSITIONS

Institutdirektør Head of Department

Direktør (Nationallaboratorium) Director of xx

Direktør (Centerdirektør) Director of xx (e.g. Danchip)

Vicedirektør Director of xx

Underdirektør Director of xx

Viceinstitutdirektør Deputy Head of Department

Direktør Director of xx (e.g. Danchip)

Kontorchef Head of xx (e.g. Head of Communications)

Sektionsleder/afdelingsleder Head of xx Section (e.g. Head of Accounts Section)

AKADEMISKE TITLER ACADEMIC TITLES

Faculty

Professor Professor

Ingeniørdocent Professor

Docent Professor

Lektor Associate Professor

Adjunkt Assistant Professor

Gæsteprofessor/forsker/lektor etc. Visiting Professor/Researcher/Associate Professor, etc.

Adjungeret Professor Honorary Professor

Hjælpelærer Teaching Assistant

Undervisningsassistent Assistant Lecturer

Censor External Examiner (ekstern) Co-examiner (intern)

ADMINISTRATIVT PERSONALE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Chefkonsulent Senior Executive xx Officer (Senior Executive Communications Officer)

Specialkonsulent Senior xx Officer (Senior Communications Officer)

AC Fuldmægtig * Academic Officer, xx (f.eks. Academic Officer, HR)

Kontorfuldmægtig Administrative Officer, xx

Forretningsudvikler Business Developer

Secretaries and office staff You can use either ‘Secretary’ or ‘Assistant’, but it is always a good idea to add your area of responsibility.

Chefsekretær Executive Secretary/Assistant to xx (Executive Assistant/Secretary to the University Director)

Afdelingssekretær Section Secretary, xx (navn på sektionen)

Institutsekretær Department Secretary

Research staff

Seniorforsker Senior Researcher/Associate Professor

Forsker Researcher

Seniorrådgiver Senior Adviser

Postdoc Postdoc

Centersekretær Centre Secretary

Studiesekretær Programme Secretary

Studienævnssekretær Secretary to the Board of Studies

Kursusadministrator Administrative Officer, Course Administration

Kontorassistent Administrative Assistant (Administrative Assistant, Undergraduate Affairs)

Servicemedarbejder Service Staff

Studentermedhjælper Student Assistant

ADMINISTRATIVT PERSONALE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Økonomi

Økonomicenterchef Finance Manager

Business Controller med ledelsesanvars Project Finance Manager

Business Controller uden ledelsesansvar Finance Partner

Projektøkonom Project Controller

Økonomimedarbejder Accountant

Projekt regnskabsmedarbejder Project Accountant

HR partner HR Partner

Rektutteringskonsulent Recruitment Officer

Rekrutteringsleder Team Manager, Recruitment

DOC teamet Document Management Officer

ANDET

Studieleder Head of Studies / Programme Director

Projektleder Project Manager

Please note:

*We distinguish between ’AC fuldmægtig’ (Academic Officer) and ’Kontorfuldmægtig’ (Administrative Officer) and no longer use ’Head of Section’.

Internal consultants are called ’officers’ and not consultants.

(’Consultant’ is only used for external consultants). Managers are responsible for the staff. Officers are not.

Clear indication of jobfunction and area of responsibility

The English job titles should make it clear what your jobfunction and area of responsibility is:

Anders Andersen, Communications Officer, DTU Space

Anna Andersen, Administrative Assistant, Undergraduate Affairs, DTU Space

BETEGNELSER FOR INSTITUTENHEDER NAME OF DEPARTMENTS ETC.

institut department sektion section center centre gruppe group afdeling office program programme