A | The Style and Accessibility Guidehttps://styleguide.accessiblejournalism.orgThu, 09 Jul 2026 01:03:01 +0000en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2a-https://styleguide.accessiblejournalism.org/a/Wed, 01 Jan 2025 12:00:54 +0000https://eapmstyleguide.org/?p=987517543

a-

A prefix meaning not, without, lack of. Do not use a hyphen after attaching the prefix.

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]]>a, anhttps://styleguide.accessiblejournalism.org/a-an/Wed, 01 Jan 2025 12:00:51 +0000https://eapmstyleguide.org/?p=987517554

a, an

The articles a and an are not interchangeable.

A is used before words beginning with consonant sounds, such as in these examples:

  • a historic event (historic has a hard h sound)
  • a one-time payment (one has a hard w sound)
  • a United Airlines pilot (United has a hard y sound)
  • a horror movie (horror has a hard h sound)
  • a xylophone player (xylophone has a z sound)

An is used before words with vowel sounds or soft/silent h sounds, such as in these examples:

  • an x-ray technician (x-ray is said with a soft e like ex)
  • an emergency measure (emergency has an e sound)
  • an honorary degree (honorary has a soft/silent h sound)
  • an NAACP attorney (NAACP begins with n, pronounced en and begins with an e sound)
  • an 18-year-old (18 begins with a long a sound ate)
  • an apple pie (apple begins with a short a sound ant)
  • an Ypsilanti business (Ypsilanti begins with a short i sound like igloo)

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abbreviations

Avoid abbreviated words, when possible, with a few rare exceptions such as months when in a complete date; states when following a city name in text, datelines, and in addresses; some titles before names; legal statuses of companies when part of a name; and in a few other instances.

Months are abbreviated in a complete date. Example:

  • Jan. 31, 2025
  • Sign up for the contest by 4 p.m., Aug. 4.
  • The third installment of the series is slated for release at midnight on Oct. 31 — Halloween.

Abbreviated states vary by placement. Examples:

  • In datelines and in text, abbreviate with the standard abbreviation, such as Atlanta, Ga., or Tacoma, Wash.
  • In addresses, abbreviate using the postal abbreviation. For examples: 147 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02108

For all abbreviations remember to use the <abbr> tag for improved accessibility. Those with certain accessibility settings turned on can hear the full word or scroll over to see the full word, but only the abbreviation looks visible to the average user. For example:

  • <abbr title="January">Jan.</abbr> 31, 2025 will render as Jan. 31, 2025
  • Tacoma, <abbr title="Washington">Wash.</abbr> will render as Tacoma, Wash.

For abbreviated titles before names (Mr., Mrs., Ms., Mx., Rep., Rev., Lt., etc.), see titles applied to names.

The difference between using the tag and not using the abbr tag may only be obvious if tested with screen reader software. Taking the example of the abbreviation for the state of Georgia, for example, it becomes obvious.

  • Ga. reads either gah or G A.

Why? When the screen reader software encounters some abbreviations or acronyms not in its database, it will read them to the user as is, either as letters or sound them out as words. By adding the <abbr> tag, the screen reader software will give the user the readout of the abbreviation or acronym.

  • Ga. reads as Georgia.

Also see acronyms.

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]]>able-bodiedhttps://styleguide.accessiblejournalism.org/able-bodied/Sun, 13 Apr 2025 11:02:46 +0000https://eapmstyleguide.org/?p=987518506

able-bodied

Written either able-bodied or ablebodied. Avoid using. Instead see nondisabled for preferred wording.

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]]>ableismhttps://styleguide.accessiblejournalism.org/a_ableism/Wed, 01 Jan 2025 12:00:16 +0000https://eapmstyleguide.org/?p=987517589

ableism

Noun. Spelled a-b-l-e-i-s-m. Discrimination, both personal and structural, based on bias against disability. As an adjective: ableist, as in ableist comments or ableist actions.

When discussing discrimination such as ableism, racism, etc., it’s important to remember that there is both structural and individual discrimination, and these biases can be both implicit and explicit. It is also up to the community affected to decide what is and is not discrimination — though even then a community may not agree. It is also important to remember biases and discrimination intersect.

Avoid using as a pejorative, such as he, she, they is or are ableists, unless in a direct quote.

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]]>abnormalhttps://styleguide.accessiblejournalism.org/abnormal/Wed, 01 Jan 2025 12:00:12 +0000https://eapmstyleguide.org/?p=987517644

abnormal

Describes scientific, medical, statistical, environmental or situational anomalies.

As a term, avoid using to describe a person, disease, behavior or condition. Likewise, avoid comparing a person with a disease, behavior or condition to a perceived normal.

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]]>abortionhttps://styleguide.accessiblejournalism.org/abortion/Wed, 01 Jan 2025 12:00:30 +0000https://eapmstyleguide.org/?p=987517915

abortion

Medically speaking, abortion is a broad term that means the termination of a pregnancy before fetal viability. It includes elective abortion, therapeutic abortion (termination of pregnancy due to fetal abnormality, fetal illness, or health/life of the mother), and spontaneous abortion (also called miscarriage). Abortion also includes removal of ectopic pregnancies.

Legally speaking, abortion is defined and regulated differently by each state and territory in the U.S. Some states restrict elective abortions with attempted carve outs for therapeutic abortions; other states restrict all types of elective and therapeutic abortions; some states allow all types of abortions; some states allow most abortions up to a certain number of weeks. The variation has swept up women who have both spontaneous abortions and need assistance removing the remaining products of conception; women whose lives are endangered by their pregnancies; and women who have ectopic pregnancies.

For people who oppose rights to elective and therapeutic abortions, the correct term/phrase is anti-abortion rights. Examples:

  • The anti-abortion rights lobby is pressing the Arizona Republicans to vote against repealing the Civil War era law.
  • The anti-abortion rights protesters attended the annual Right to Life March in Washington D.C.

For people who support rights to elective and therapeutic abortions, the correct phrase is pro-abortion rights. Examples:

The pro-abortion rights group gathered signatures to support the ballot amendment at the farmer’s market Saturday.

The pro-abortion rights protesters stood silently as anti-abortion rights counter-protesters hurled insults at them.

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]]>absolutismhttps://styleguide.accessiblejournalism.org/absolutism/Wed, 01 Jan 2025 12:00:52 +0000https://eapmstyleguide.org/?p=987517950

absolutism

A political theory that absolute power or the means of government should be vested in one person, an absolute rule or authority. See authoritarianism.

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]]>accessibilityhttps://styleguide.accessiblejournalism.org/accessibility/Wed, 01 Jan 2025 12:00:17 +0000https://eapmstyleguide.org/?p=987517972

accessibility

Describes the broad concept of making environments, spaces, products, technologies, and services available to disabled people and people who need access not traditionally provided. This may be through universal design, through removal of barriers, through adaptive technology or equipment, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), or any the above.

In the physical world, accessibility may be seen in ramps, elevators, braille on elevator buttons, crosswalk signs that speak or emit beeps or sound, sidewalks with small ramps to the street at crosswalks called curb cuts and textured areas to mark street crossing, railings, and doors that open automatically.

On a website, accessibility is done by design using white space, text size, plain language, code that ensures a web site interacts properly with screen readers and braille keyboards, and uses high contrasting colors.

Accessibility strives to bring equity for all who interact with a space, product, or technology.

Also see universal design and WCAG.

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]]>accessible education, accessible learninghttps://styleguide.accessiblejournalism.org/accessible-education-accessible-learning/Wed, 01 Jan 2025 12:00:21 +0000https://eapmstyleguide.org/?p=987517955

accessible education, accessible learning

Broad terms that describe any adaptive or inclusive educational initiative or environment for inclusion of disabled people. This can include university adaptive housing or disability services; private adaptive tutoring; individual self-directed learning or educational programs; high-tech or low-tech individualized tools; IDEA-defined special education programs; private school programs; or any other way a learning environment is adapted for a disabled person.

Unless specifically discussing IDEA-defined special education, OAJ suggests using the broad terms accessible education and accessible learning.

See also IDEA and special education.

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