This guide establishes standards for grammar, tone, punctuation, formatting, and accessibility across public-facing Travis County websites. It ensures clarity, consistency, and inclusivity in communication. The guide draws from the AP Stylebook, 57th Edition and the Chicago Manual of Style, 18th Edition, while incorporating digital content best practices and accessibility standards.
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Do | Don’t | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Learn more about our services. | Click here for more info. | Hyperlinking the text “our services” lets readers know they can expect to be taken to a page specific to services. On the other hand, the text “here” can refer to any number of topics or subject matter. |
Learn more about our services. | Learn more about our services. | Lengthy hyperlinked text can cause confusion and negatively impacts the discoverability of content. Short descriptive text helps improve the discoverability and readability of content. |
Once the affidavit is signed by a notary, please submit it to the District Clerk’s Office. | Once the affidavit is signed by a notary, please submit it to the District Clerk’s Office. Visit their website at https://www.traviscountytx.gov/district-clerk | The hyperlinked text “District Clerk’s Office” complies with accessibility standards as the text is easily picked up by users who rely on screen readers. A URL hyperlink impacts the readability of the text as it is not easily or immediately recognizable where the URL redirects. |
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Always use the Oxford comma:
✅ familiesFamilies, veterans, and seniors.
5.2 Dashes & Hyphens
Hyphen (-): Use for compound adjectives (high-quality service)
En dash (–): Use for number ranges (pages 5–10)
Do not use en dashes for time ranges—use “to” instead
✅ February 14, 2025 to February 20, 2025.
Em dash (—): Use sparingly for emphasis
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Periods and commas go inside quotation marks.
Colons and semicolons go outside.
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6. Numbers, Dates, and Time
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Spell out numbers 1 through 9.
Use numerals for 10 and above.
Always spell out numbers at the beginning of sentences.
6.2 Dates
Use full month names (January 15, 2024).
Use abbreviated months only when space is limited.
Do not use ordinal suffixes (15th, 23rd).
6.3 Time Formatting
Use 12-hour clock, lowercase am/pm without periods (2:00 pm).
Do not use “12:00 am” or “12:00 pm”—write noon or midnight.
Time ranges should be written as: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (no hyphens).
6.4 Phone Numbers
Use all-dash format with no parentheses:
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Avoid over- or under-punctuating around quotation marks.
Only quote material that is accurate and attributable.