If you wish to abbreviate a frequently used phrase or the name of an organisation in your copy, use the full phrase (or name) followed by the abbreviation or acronym in brackets the first time it appears. From then on, you can use the shortened form:
Department for Education (DfE)
Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ)
ⓘ on X (formerly Twitter), 'DM' may be used on its own without first writing out 'direct message'.
Don’t use abbreviations or acronyms in:
Department for Education (DfE)
Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ)
We try and avoid abbreviations which may not be accessible to all. Instead of using ‘e.g.’, use phrases like ‘for example’, ‘such as’ or ‘including’ or something similar that works in the specific context. ‘i.e.’ is used to clarify a sentence so try (re)writing sentences to avoid the need to use it. If that is not possible, use an alternative phrase such as ‘meaning’ or ‘that is’.
Where space is limited, such as in a table or a social media post, these abbreviations are acceptable and are written with full stops in them: e.g. i.e. etc.
Capitalisation
Capitalise:
the first word of a sentence, heading or sub-heading. Do not capitalise every main work in your titles and sub-titles:
What our teachers want Making the grades – a guide to awarding Living our values Centre declaration form.
If a colon is used in a heading then the next letter following the colon should also be a capital:
Teaching guide: Unseen poetry Notes and guidance: Sitting your GCSE Maths exam
proper names and terms treated as proper names:
the Government has… yesterday, Ofqual announced…
where a word is preceded by 'e-', capitalise the second letter (when the e-word is at the start of the sentence):
e-Assessment e-update e-learning. (one exception is that we treat ‘email’ as one word and do not hyphenate or add a capital M.)
qualifications and programmes of study
General Certificate of Secondary Education AS and A-level Level 3 Key Stage 3 Creative Enterprise Programme Foundation Tier/Higher Tier.
subject names when they refer to our courses:
AQA GCSE French, Geography courses A-level Biology, GCSE Art and Design English Language Unit 1 When studying A-level Physics.
but not when used as common nouns:
the key mathematical debate of today geographical date media-based activities resource materials for physics are available.
The exception is English which is always a capital E.
certain other academic terminology, including when referencing our question papers:
Year 10 Paper 1 Explorations in creative reading and writing Section 1
divisions and sub-divisions:
Corporate Affairs and Strategy Customer and Product People Group.
job titles when they appear before/after a name:
Jo Smith, Account Manager Thomas Brown, Lead Examiner
but not when used as common nouns:
You will be contacted by one of our account managers The examiners will be meeting next week.
when we are referring to an organisation by quoting their full name:
The London School of Art will...
but not when you are referring to an organisation in a general way:
the school will...
geographical areas and geographical locations:
Europe The River Thames The South-West
but not when they are used as common nouns:
turn south-west and head towards…. They crossed the river…
proper nouns which refer to a specific internally produced document should be in sentence case (capitalise the first letter only) and italicised:
Reform week The Customer experience programme Our Support through change campaign
One exception to this is that Unlocking Potential is always capitalised.
proper nouns which refer to a specific internally produced document should be in sentence case (capitalise the first letter only) and italicised:
Editorial house style, Tone of voice Unseen Poetry teaching guide Centre declaration form
Externally published texts should always follow the styling and punctuation of how they were originally published and be italicised:
Much Ado About Nothing The Importance of Teaching: Schools White Paper
Do not capitalise:
file names:
pdf jpeg png.
common nouns or generic terms, for example:
as advertised on the poster the start of summer term the government’s policy the awarding body has AQA controlled assessments are the coursework meetings the examiner’s report the moderator we encourage private candidates to in our specifications please refer to the teaching guide for more information. assessment objectives (unless shortening to, for example, AO2)
seasons:
spring summer autumn winter.
This includes references to academic terms such as ‘summer term’.
Contractions
We generally use contractions to create a friendlier tone, although their usage will depend on the context of the content.
Short, simple and positive contractions will usually be fine:
you’ll
we’ll
there’s
we’re
here’s.
We tend to avoid negative or conditional contractions as they may be harder to read for some users, and we would usually want to emphasise whichever action they are relating to:
use cannot instead of can’t
use do not instead of don’t
use will not instead of won’t
use should have instead of could’ve.
We avoid using a double contraction such couldn’t’ve or shouldn’t’ve.
ⓘ on X (formerly Twitter), we almost always use contractions as space is limited.
Dates
Use the simple format: day/date/month/year. Do not use 1st, 2nd, 3rd in dates.
Use an oblique for academic years and when a single year comprises two calendar years.
- Academic year 2023/24 - 1987/88
For other periods of time, use ‘from’ and ‘to’ or ‘between’ and ‘and’.
- From 1962 to 1967 - Between Monday and Friday
Write decades without an apostrophe: 1980s.
Write centuries: 19th century (if referring to the century itself) or 19th-century (if referring to something from that century) For example:
- At the turn of the 19th century - A 19th-century uniform
Where space may be limited eg tables and charts and tweets, months and days can be abbreviated.
- Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec - Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
- Friday 15 October 2001 - Monday 1 June 2013
Emojis
Do not use emojis. ⓘ Emojis and GIFs may be used in tweets with approval from the PR and Social Media Manager.
cyber attack log in (verb) log out (verb) help desk home page mark scheme no one on to pro forma resit sixth form web page work experience work placement
To comply with AQA’s Information handling policy, all documents should include one of the following in the footer. In Word.doc templates, select from footer drop down menu:
- strictly confidential - confidential – internal use only - non-confidential.
For documents published externally, the corporate footer should be used but only once. In Word.doc templates, select from footer drop down menu:
- AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 3644723). Our registered address is AQA Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX
AQA copyright should be used on all external publications
Use lists and bullet points to cut down text and aid readability.
Do not use bullet points for a single item (one item is not a list).
Use numbered lists (rather than bullet points) if:
- the items form a sequence or procedure - you need to refer to numbered points elsewhere in the document.
There are two variants of bullet. The primary version is solid round and the secondary is hollow round.
Use the formats below when each bullet is a complete sentence listed under a heading. Option 1: start bullet with upper case and end with a full stop. Use full stops to separate sentences within bullets.
Bringing the brand to life through language
If a brand just lets everyone use their own style, we are not giving customers a consistent personality to latch on to. The personality will vary depending on who’s writing or answering the phone. This makes it more difficult for customers to recognise a brand and to trust it.
By adopting the AQA Tone of voice and following the editorial guidelines we will convey our brand personality consistently, no matter who is writing or speaking.
Combining a consistent language style with our visual identity will help us achieve differentiation.
Option 2: for lists of short bullets full stops are not necessary but be consistent – either use full stops on them all or none at all. This option is acceptable for tables, presentations and ads, not for other documents.
Bringing the brand to life through language
Adopt our tone of voice
Follow editorial guidelines
Combine language and visual style
Be consistent
Apply guidance to all communications
Use the format below when you have an introductory line (ended by a colon) and then a list broken up by bullets.
Put a colon at the end of the intro line. Do not use initial caps or end punctuation (unless the punctuation helps create meaning, ie an exclamation/question mark). Use full stops to separate sentences within bullets (remember, no end punctuation unless it is the last bullet).
Our approach to bring our brand to life is to:
adopt the AQA tone
follow the Editorial house style
combine language and visual style. This will help us achieve greater differentiation
be consistent!
apply guidance to all communication.
Money
We use the simple format.
- £1.49 - £2,500.00
In millions, we have a space between the number and word.
- £1 million
Numbers
Use words for numbers one to nine.
ⓘ on Twitter, use figures for all numbers as space is limited
Use figures for numbers 10 and above.
Use figures for both if a number below and a number above 10 appear within the same paragraph, ie 6 and 16.
We also use figures for page numbers, qualification stages, lists and tables, percentages and time of day (am/pm).
- Page 1 of 26 - Key Stage 3 - 10am - 5%
We use figures for measurements. Measurements should be preceded by a half space.
5 kg 5 ft ⓘ on Twitter, do not insert space where space is limited
We follow the English system and use a comma as a thousand separator and a full stop as a decimal separator.
25,000 and 425,000 0.67 and 2,756.02
Break up both landline and mobile telephone numbers for legibility.
We should think ‘digital first’ when preparing documents, materials and resources.
Do not use ‘http’ or ‘www’ in web addresses, simply: aqa.org.uk
Avoid the phrase ‘click’ or ‘click here’ when linking to web information ie link from relevant text.
Use the default style (AQA blue and underlined) for hyperlinks (do not underline in print docs).
A web link must be appropriately named, for example matching the main heading (or title) or the destination eg ‘See our previous announcement about marking problems'.
Preferred terminology and language usage
AQA preferred
Guidance
accessible
When saying a qualification is accessible, explain that it means the qualification is designed to give all learners the opportunity to achieve.
associates
Formally referred to as senior examiners.
AQA is
AQA in the third person is treated as a singular body.
awarding
Will your audience understand it? If not, provide a less formal explanation.
certificate (verb)
For example, learners who are certificated. Will your audience understand it? If not use a less technical term.
distinguish between
Distinguish is grammatically correct in this context.
English Baccalaureate
Write English Baccalaureate (Ebacc). Subsequent uses can be abbreviated to Ebacc.
example
Use this instead of 'exemplar' for plain English and readability.
exam
Write 'exam' instead of 'examination'.
examiners
We refer to these roles as 'Examiners' externally but as associates internally
exam/text/assessment
Use the appropriate term for different types of assessment.
exam board
We only use awarding body when communicating with the regulator. Ofqual refers to awarding organisations to encompass all types of awarders.
exam series
Will you audience understand it? If not, provide a less formal explanation.
Helping your learners to get the results they deserve/show what they can do
Use this expression instead of 'getting the right results' which could imply that teachers should teach to the test.
invitation (noun) to invite (verb)
Don't use 'invite' as a noun.
learner
Our generic term for someone in education or taking our exams. We allow the term 'student' if 'learner' could become repetitive.
learners of all abilities
Use this expression instead of 'low/high achievers'.
maths
Only use mathematics when part of a published title.
Moderators
We refer to these roles as 'Moderators' externally but as associates internally
new qualifications launch
Our preferred wording when communicating to customers about the products we have developed/are developing as a result of the Government's programme of reform.
pupil
Our preferred term for someone in primary school.
question papers
This is our default term.
Reform
Use this term only in the context of the Government programme of reform.
sample
Use this instead of 'specimen' for plain English and readability.
school/college
In most cases. Use centre for UAS, where users are not in schools/college. You can also use centre when referring to technical/regulatory issues.
specification
Will your audience understand it? If not, provide a less formal explanation eg use 'syllabus' for parents and learners.
standardisation
Will your audience understand it? If not, provide a less formal explanation of the process.
OxfordAQA
This is the shortened name for our joint venture with Oxford University Press. The full name is Oxford International AQA Examinations.
When we refer to these qualifications we use OxfordAQA International GSCE, AS or A-level and the subject. For example: OxfordAQA International GCSE Computer Science.
If we already know its an OxfordAQA qualification, we can shorten it to: International GCSE Computer Science.
We don’t use iGCSE; this is trademarked by Cambridge International.
Punctuation
We don’t generally use a comma before the word ‘and’.
No punctuation immediately after an email address or URL.
The registered symbol ® should appear on the line.
The trademark symbol ™ should appear as superscript.
We use the word ‘and’ not ‘&’ except when ‘&’ is part of a proper name eg City & Guilds.
ⓘ on Twitter, ‘&’ may be used to reduce characters.
Spelling
AQA preferred
Guidance
adviser
The preferred English spelling.
dispatch
Change to previous house style that reflects current usage.
flyer
Change to previous house style that reflects current usage.
focused
No double letters.
Time
You can use either the 12 or the 24 hour clock, but be consistent.
The 24 hour clock format is 15.30 (we use a full stop, not a colon).
The 12 hour clock format is 3.30pm.
We say 12 noon and 12 midnight when using 12 hour clock.
We use 12.00 and 00.00 for 24 hour clock.
Type format and text alignment
Use Source Sans Pro font for editable documents – eg Word, PowerPoint, PDFs.
Use Open Sans font for web and print.
Standard body text size is 11pt for all print communications.
All text, titles, headings, body text and text in tables and in graphics should be left aligned rather than centred or justified.
Numbers can be right aligned or aligned to decimal point.
Use AQA colour palette for emphasis and for table headings, as per Basic brand elements.
Use bold occasionally for emphasis.
Only use underline for hyperlinks (not for printed documents).
Use italics for:
- project/campaign names (capitalise first letter only) - Reform week - The Customer experience programme - Our Support through change campaign
- latin names of plants and animals - words or phrases from other languages - film and television titles - Titanic; Emmerdale.
- internally produced documents and externally published texts - Much ado about nothing - The importance of teaching: schools white paper
Avoid block capitals
Be consistent throughout.
Version numbering
Internal documents that are likely to go through several changes benefit by having version numbers. Suggested naming convention:
working version number (before first publication): v0.1, v0.2 etc
published version number: v1.0, v2.0 etc
version number for minor changes: v1.1, v1.2 etc.
Editorial house style
This guide outlines our house rules on language usage, preferred spellings and correct terminology, punctuation and grammar. This will ensure we are consistent in all our communications (excluding question papers). It gives our current preferences but, inevitably, will evolve over time. You should use this in conjunction with our Tone of Voice and Basic brand elements.
If you wish to abbreviate a frequently used phrase or the name of an organisation in your copy, use the full phrase (or name) followed by the abbreviation or acronym in brackets the first time it appears. From then on, you can use the shortened form eg:
Department for Education (DfE)
Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ)
ⓘ on Twitter, 'DM' may be used on its own without first writing out 'direct message'.
Don’t use abbreviations or acronyms in:
document titles or headings (unless it’s a very common term such as GCSE or AS)
webpages (unless it’s a very common term such as GCSE or AS) since people tend to scan text rather than read online
We also don't use full stops in abbreviations ie, Dr, NB, am, etc, eg.
Capitalisation
Capitalise:
the first word of a sentence, heading or sub-heading. Do not capitalise every main word in your titles and sub-titles
What our teachers want
Making the grades – a guide to awarding
Living our values
proper names and terms treated as proper names
the Government has…
yesterday Ofqual announced…
where a word is preceded by 'e-', capitalise the second letter (when the e-word is at the start of the sentence)
e-Assessment
e-Update
e-Learning
(one exception, we treat email as one word and do not hyphenate – send an email (no caps, no hyphen))
qualifications and programmes of study
General Certificate of Secondary Education
AS and A-level
Level 3 Technical Level (Tech-levels)
Key Stage 3
Creative Enterprise Programme
Foundation Tier/Higher Tier
qualifications and subjects on specification and resources document covers (block capitals) eg
AS AND A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY AS (7181) A-LEVEL (7182) Specification
AS AND A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY AS (7181) A-LEVEL (7182) Specimen papers and mark schemes
subject names when they refer to our courses,
AQA GCSE French, Geography courses
A-level Biology, GCSE History
English Language Unit 1
When studying A-level Physics
but not when used as common nouns
the key mathematical debate of today
geographical date
media-based activities
resource materials for physics are available
exception is English, which is always a capital E
divisions and sub-divisions
Corporate Affairs, Qualifications and Markets, Human Resources and Assessment Design
job titles before/after a name
Jo Smith, Regional Officer
but not when used as common nouns
you will be contacted by one of our regional officers
when we are referring to an organisation by quoting their full name
the London School of Art will...
but not when you are referring to an organisation in a general way
the school will...
geographical areas and geographical positions
Europe
Far East
The South-West
but not when used as common nouns
turn north-east and head towards
proper nouns which refer to projects/programmes should be in sentence case (capitalise the first letter only) and italicised
Reform week
The Customer experience programme
Our Support through change campaign
one exception: Unlocking Potential
proper nouns which refer to a specific internally produced document should be in sentence case (capitalise the first letter only) and italicised
Editorial house style, Tone of voice
Unseen poetry teaching guide
externally published texts should also be in sentence case (capitalise the first letter only) and italicised
Much ado about nothing
The importance of teaching: schools whitepaper
Do not capitalise:
file names
pdf, jpeg, png, etc
common nouns or generic terms eg:
as advertised on the poster
the start of summer term
the government’s policy
the awarding body has
AQA controlled assessments are
the coursework meetings
the examiner’s report
the moderator
we encourage private candidates to
in our specifications
please refer to the teaching guide for more information
seasons
spring
summer
autumn
winter
Contractions
We generally use contractions to create a friendlier tone eg:
are not – aren’t
cannot – can’t
could not – couldn’t
do not – don’t
will not – won’t
I am – I’m
I will – I’ll
we are – we’re
John is – John’s
here is – here’s
ⓘ on Twitter, we always use contractions as space is limited.
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
When referring to the recent pandemic, use 'Coronavirus (COVID-19)' in the first instance, followed by 'Covid'.
Dates
Use the simple format: day/date/month/year. Do not use 1st, 2nd, 3rd in dates.
Friday 15 October 2001
Monday 1 June 2013
Use an oblique for academic years and when a single year comprises two calendar years.
Academic year 2012/13
1987/88
For other periods of time, use ‘from’ and ‘to’ or ‘between’ and ‘and’.
From 1962 to 1967
Between Monday and Friday
Write decades without an apostrophe: 1980s.
Write centuries: 19th century (if referring to the century itself) or 19th-century (if referring to something from that century) For example:
At the turn of the 19th century
A 19th-century uniform
Where space may be limited eg tables and charts and tweets, months and days can be abbreviated.
Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Emojis
Do not use emojis.
ⓘ Emojis and GIFs may be used in tweets with approval from the PR and Social Media Manager.
Hyphenation and word breaks
HyphenateDo not hyphenateOne word24-hourcyber attackcoordinatorA-levellog in (verb)databasecross-curricularlog out (verb)emaile-AQAhelp deskhelplineface-to-facehome pagelifelongfull-time and part-time (adjective/adverb)mark schemelogin (noun)in-school (adjective)no onemarksheetlong-term (adjective)on tomarkupon-demand testspro formaongoingon-screen (adjective/adverb)resitonlinepost-16sixth formpostcodere-markweb pageproofread(er)self-assessment (noun/adjective)work experienceresubmitTech-levelwork placementschoolchildrenthree-unit GCSE (adjective) timetableup-to-date websitepost-results
To comply with AQA’s Information handling policy, all documents should include one of the following in the footer. In Word.doc templates, select from footer drop down menu:
strictly confidential
confidential – internal use only
non-confidential.
For documents published externally, the corporate footer should be used but only once. In Word.doc templates, select from footer drop down menu:
AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 3644723). Our registered address is AQA Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX
AQA copyright should be used on all external publications
Use lists and bullet points to cut down text and aid readability.
Do not use bullet points for a single item (one item is not a list).
Use numbered lists (rather than bullet points) if:
the items form a sequence or procedure
you need to refer to numbered points elsewhere in the document.
There are two variants of bullet. The primary version is solid round and the secondary is hollow round.
Use the formats below when each bullet is a complete sentence listed under a heading.
Option 1: start bullet with upper case and end with a full stop. Use full stops to separate sentences within bullets.
Bringing the brand to life through language
If a brand just lets everyone use their own style, we are not giving customers a consistent personality to latch on to. The personality will vary depending on who’s writing or answering the phone. This makes it more difficult for customers to recognise a brand and to trust it.
By adopting the AQA Tone of voice and following the editorial guidelines we will convey our brand personality consistently, no matter who is writing or speaking.
Combining a consistent language style with our visual identity will help us achieve differentiation.
Option 2: for lists of short bullets full stops are not necessary but be consistent – either use full stops on them all or none at all. This option is acceptable for tables, presentations and ads, not for other documents.
Bringing the brand to life through language
Adopt our tone of voice
Follow editorial guidelines
Combine language and visual style
Be consistent
Apply guidance to all communications
Use the format below when you have an introductory line (ended by a colon) and then a list broken up by bullets.
Put a colon at the end of the intro line. Do not use initial caps or end punctuation (unless the punctuation helps create meaning, ie an exclamation/question mark). Use full stops to separate sentences within bullets (remember, no end punctuation unless it is the last bullet).
Our approach to bring our brand to life is to:
adopt the AQA tone
follow the Editorial house style
combine language and visual style. This will help us achieve greater differentiation
be consistent!
apply guidance to all communication.
Money
We use the simple format.
£1.49
£2,500.00
In millions, we have a space between the number and word.
£1 million
Numbers
Use words for numbers one to nine.
ⓘ on Twitter, use figures for all numbers as space is limited
Use figures for numbers 10 and above.
Use figures for both if a number below and a number above 10 appear within the same paragraph, ie 6 and 16.
We also use figures for page numbers, qualification stages, lists and tables, percentages and time of day (am/pm).
Page 1 of 26
Key Stage 3
10am
5%
We use figures for measurements. Measurements should be preceded by a half space.
5 kg
5 ft
ⓘ on Twitter, do not insert space where space is limited
We follow the English system and use a comma as a thousand separator and a full stop as a decimal separator.
25,000 and 425,000
0.67 and 2,756.02
Break up both landline and mobile telephone numbers for legibility.
Landlines: 01483 506 506 or 020 7486 8900
Mobile: 07777 123 456
International numbers: +44 (0)1483 506 506
When writing contact details use:
T: (telephone number)
E: (email)
M: (mobile)
Online
We should think ‘digital first’ when preparing documents, materials and resources.
Do not use ‘http’ or ‘www’ in web addresses, simply: aqa.org.uk
Avoid the phrase ‘click’ or ‘click here’ when linking to web information ie link from relevant text.
Use the default style (AQA blue and underlined) for hyperlinks (do not underline in print docs).
A web link must be appropriately named, for example matching the main heading (or title) or the destination eg ‘See our previous announcement about marking problems'.
Preferred terminology and language usage
AQA preferredGuidanceaccessibleWhen saying a qualification is accessible, explain that it means the qualification is designed to give all students the opportunity to achieve.associatesFormally referred to as senior examiners.AQA isAQA in the third person is treated as a singular body.awardingWill your audience understand it? If not, provide a less formal explanation.certificate (verb)For example, students who certificated. Will your audience understand it? If not use a less technical term.distinguish betweenDistinguish is gramatically correct in this context.English BaccalaureateWrite English Baccalaureate (Ebacc). Subsequent uses can be abbreviated to Ebacc.exampleUse this instead of 'exemplar' for plain English and readability. examWrite 'exam' instead of 'examination'.examinersWe refer to these roles as 'Examiners' externally but as associates internallyexam/text/assessmentUse the appropriate term for different types of assessment.exam boardWe only use awarding body when communicating with the regulator. Ofqual refers to awarding organisations to encompas all types of awarders.exam seriesWill you audience understand it? If not, provide a less formal explanation.Helping your students to get the results they deserve/show what they can doUse this expression instead of 'getting the right results' which could imply that teachers should teach to the test.invitation (noun)
to invite (verb)
Don't use 'invite' as a noun.mathsOnly use mathematics when part of a published title.ModeratorsWe refer to these roles as 'Moderators' externally but as associates internallynew qualifications launchOur preferred wording when communicating to customers about the products we have developed/are developing as a result of the Government's programme of reform.pupilOur preferred term for someone in primary school.question papersThis is our default term.ReformUse this term only in the context of the Government programme of reform.sampleUse this instead of 'specimen' for plain English and readability.school/collegeIn most cases. Use centre for UAS, where users are not in schools/college. You can also use centre when referring to technical/regulatory issues.specificationWill your audience understand it? If not, provide a less formal explanation eg use 'syllabus' for parents and students.standardisationWill your audience understand it? If not, provide a less formal explanation of the process.studentOur generic term for someone in education or taking our exams. We allow the term 'learner' for someone in vocational studies.students of all abilitiesUse this expression instead of 'low/high achievers'.OxfordAQA
This is the shortened name for our joint venture with Oxford University Press. The full name is Oxford International AQA Examinations.
When we refer to these qualifications we use OxfordAQA International GSCE, AS or A-level and the subject. For example: OxfordAQA International GCSE Computer Science.
If we already know its an OxfordAQA qualification, we can shorten it to: International GCSE Computer Science.
We don’t use iGCSE; this is trademarked by Cambridge International.
Punctuation
We don’t generally use a comma before the word ‘and’.
No punctuation immediately after an email address or URL.
Email brandqueries@aqa.org.uk
Please visit aqa.org.uk
Use single quotation marks for phrases.
Click the ‘submit’ button
Use double quotation marks for reported speech.
She said: “…”
We have one space after a full stop.
Do not use spaces around a forward or back slash.
Before/after
2013/14
References
When referring to a book or article title, use the format: author, initial, title (in italics), ISBN, place of publication, date.
Smith J, Science scheme of work, AQA, Guildford, 2012.
The registered symbol ® should appear on the line.
The trademark symbol ™ should appear as superscript.
We use the word ‘and’ not ‘&’ except when ‘&’ is part of a proper name eg City & Guilds.
ⓘ on Twitter, ‘&’ may be used to reduce characters.
Spelling
AQA preferredGuidanceadviserThe preferred English spelling.dispatchChange to previous house style that reflects current usage.flyerChange to previous house style that reflects current usage.focusedNo double letters.
Time
You can use either the 12 or the 24 hour clock, but be consistent.
The 24 hour clock format is 15.30 (we use a full stop, not a colon).
The 12 hour clock format is 3.30pm.
We say 12 noon and 12 midnight when using 12 hour clock.
We use 12.00 and 00.00 for 24 hour clock.
Type format and text alignment
Use Arial 11pt as standard body text size for all communications. Never use below 11pt for standard body text.
All text, titles, headings, body text and text in tables and in graphics should be left aligned rather than centred or justified.
Numbers can be right aligned or aligned to decimal point.
Use AQA colour palette for emphasis and for table headings, as per Basic brand elements.
Use bold occasionally for emphasis.
Only use underline for hyperlinks (not for printed documents).
Use italics for:
project/campaign names (capitalise first letter only)
Reform week
The Customer experience programme
Our Support through change campaign
latin names of plants and animals
words or phrases from other languages
film and television titles
Titanic; Emmerdale.
internally produced documents and externally published texts
Much ado about nothing
The importance of teaching: schools white paper
Avoid block capitals
Be consistent throughout.
Version numbering
Internal documents that are likely to go through several changes benefit by having version numbers.
Suggested naming convention:
working version number (before first publication): v0.1, v0.2 etc
published version number: v1.0, v2.0 etc
version number for minor changes: v1.1, v1.2 etc.
Capitalise
the first word of a sentence, heading or sub-heading. Do not capitalise every main word in your titles and sub-titles What our teachers want Making the grades – a guide to awarding Living our values proper names and terms treated as proper names the Government has… yesterday Ofqual announced… where a word is preceded by 'e-', capitalise the second letter (when the e-word is at the start of the sentence) e-Assessment e-Update e-Learning (one exception, we treat email as one word and do not hyphenate – send an email (no caps, no hyphen)) qualifications and programmes of study General Certificate of Secondary Education AS and A-level Level 3 Technical Level (Tech-levels) Key Stage 3 Creative Enterprise Programme Foundation Tier/Higher Tier qualifications and subjects on specification and resources document covers (block capitals) eg AS AND A-LEVELPSYCHOLOGYAS (7181)A-LEVEL (7182)Specification AS AND A-LEVELPSYCHOLOGYAS (7181)A-LEVEL (7182)Specimen papers and mark schemes subject names when they refer to our courses, AQA GCSE French, Geography courses A-level Biology, GCSE History English Language Unit 1 When studying A-level Physics but not when used as common nouns the key mathematical debate of today geographical date media-based activities resource materials for physics are available exception is English, which is always a capital E divisions and sub-divisions Corporate Affairs, Qualifications and Markets, Human Resources and Assessment Design job titles before/after a name Jo Smith, Regional Officer but not when used as common nouns you will be contacted by one of our regional officers when we are referring to an organisation by quoting their full name the London School of Art will... but not when you are referring to an organisation in a general way the school will... geographical areas and geographical positions Europe Far East The South-West but not when used as common nouns turn north-east and head towards proper nouns which refer to projects/programmes should be in sentence case (capitalise the first letter only) and italicised Reform week The Customer experience programme Our Support through change campaign one exception: Unlocking Potential proper nouns which refer to a specific internally produced document should be in sentence case (capitalise the first letter only) and italicised Editorial house style, Tone of voice Unseen poetry teaching guide externally published texts should also be in sentence case (capitalise the first letter only) and italicised Much ado about nothing The importance of teaching: schools white paper
Don’t capitalise
file names pdf, jpeg, png, etc common nouns or generic terms eg: as advertised on the poster the start of summer term the government’s policy the awarding body has AQA controlled assessments are the coursework meetings the examiner’s report the moderator we encourage private candidates to in our specifications please refer to the teaching guide for more information seasons spring summer autumn winter
Contractions
We generally use contractions to create a friendlier tone eg: are not – aren’t cannot – can’t could not – couldn’t do not – don’t will not – won’t I am – I’m I will – I’ll we are – we’re John is – John’s here is – here’s ⓘ on Twitter, we always use contractions as space is limited.
Dates
Use the simple format: day/date/month/year. Do not use 1st, 2nd, 3rd in dates. Friday 15 October 2001 Monday 1 June 2013 Use an oblique for academic years and when a single year comprises two calendar years. Academic year 2012/13 1987/88 For other periods of time, use ‘from’ and ‘to’ or ‘between’ and ‘and’. From 1962 to 1967 Between Monday and Friday Write decades without an apostrophe: 1980s. Write centuries: 19th century (if referring to the century itself) or 19th-century (if referring to something from that century) For example: At the turn of the 19th century A 19th-century uniform Where space may be limited eg tables and charts and tweets, months and days can be abbreviated. Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Emojis
Do not use emojis.
ⓘ Emojis and GIFs may be used in tweets with approval from the PR and Social Media Manager.
cyber attack log in (verb) log out (verb) help desk home page mark scheme no one on to pro forma resit sixth form web page work experience work placement
Use lists and bullet points to cut down text and aid readability.
Do not use bullet points for a single item (one item is not a list).
Use numbered lists (rather than bullet points) if:
the items form a sequence or procedure
you need to refer to numbered points elsewhere in the document.
There are two variants of bullet. The primary version is solid round and the secondary is hollow round.
Use the formats below when each bullet is a complete sentence listed under a heading. Option 1: start bullet with upper case and end with a full stop. Use full stops to separate sentences within bullets.
Bringing the brand to life through language
If a brand just lets everyone use their own style, we are not giving customers a consistent personality to latch on to. The personality will vary depending on who’s writing or answering the phone. This makes it more difficult for customers to recognise a brand and to trust it.
By adopting the AQA Tone of voice and following the editorial guidelines we will convey our brand personality consistently, no matter who is writing or speaking.
Combining a consistent language style with our visual identity will help us achieve differentiation. Option 2: for lists of short bullets full stops are not necessary but be consistent – either use full stops on them all or none at all. This option is acceptable for tables, presentations and ads, not for other documents.
Bringing the brand to life through language
Adopt our tone of voice
Follow editorial guidelines
Combine language and visual style
Be consistent
Apply guidance to all communications
Use the format below when you have an introductory line (ended by a colon) and then a list broken up by bullets.
Put a colon at the end of the intro line. Do not use initial caps or end punctuation (unless the punctuation helps create meaning, ie an exclamation/question mark). Use full stops to separate sentences within bullets (remember, no end punctuation unless it is the last bullet).
Our approach to bring our brand to life is to:
adopt the AQA tone
follow the Editorial house style
combine language and visual style. This will help us achieve greater differentiation
be consistent!
apply guidance to all communication.
