apostrophe

An apostrophe conveys possession in most cases. The rules around apostrophe use change with singular nouns, plural nouns, if a word involves an s sound, or involves joint or multiple people possessing another object. It is best to check the rules when unsure of when to use an apostrophe.

Add an apostrophe followed by an s to:

• singular common nouns not ending in s (even if they end in an s sound such as -ce, -x, and -z)
• singular common nouns ending in s (unless the next word begins with an s)
• plural common nouns not ending in s
• compound words – add the apostrophe and s to the word closest to the object possessed, example: the surgeon general’s press release, the attorney general’s case
• joint possession – add the apostrophe and s after the word or name if ownership is joint, example: Jamie and Alex’s bookstore
• individual possession – add the apostrophe and s after both words or names if ownership is individual (example: Jamie’s and Alex’s books)
• double possessives – the word after of takes an apostrophe and s when (1) the word after of is an animate object and (2) the word before of is only a portion of the object’s possessions. Example: a friend of Jamie’s or a sibling of Alex’s
• for plurals of a single letter, example: every reporter knows the five W’s and one H or she got all A’s on her report card.

Add only an apostrophe, but no s, to:

• singular common nouns ending in an s when the next word begins with an s
• singular proper names ending in an s
• plural nouns ending in an s
• nouns plural in form and singular in meaning, for example: mathematics’ rules, measles’ effects
• to replace omitted letters, for example: rock ‘n’ roll, ’tis the season, ne’er-do-well, etc.
• in a contraction, for example: I’ve, you’re, it’s, don’t, etc.
• in omitted figures, for example: class of ’98, the Roaring ’20s

Special rules:

• Nouns the same in singular and plural form, such as corps, moose, deer, fish, etc., are treated by plural rules: one corps’ location, two moose’s tracks, five deer’s antlers, one fish’s fin.
• St. James’s Palace always gets an apostrophe and s.
• The phrases appearance’ sake, conscience’ sake, and goodness’ sake all use only an apostrophe without an s, but other special expressions generally use an apostrophe with an s.
• Personal interrogative and relative pronouns do not use an apostrophe: mine, ours, your, yours, his, hers, its, theirs, whose.
• Some governmental, corporate, and organizational names use an apostrophe in their names and some do not. Follow their practice in how they use the apostrophe in their name, for example: Ladies’ Home Journal, National Governors Association, Actors’ Equity, etc.

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brackets

Used by some in journalism to convey editorial insertion or clarification within quotes or to mark editor’s notes. For accessibility best practice, brackets are not read by screen readers and offer no compelling use in journalism. For example, clarification of quotes could be done after the quote noting that it is a clarification. An editor’s note could be marked with with <em> tags and the phrase Editor’s Note.

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bullets

Bullets are used to offset items on a list. The bullet is coded using <ul> tag to note that it’s an unordered list before the entire list. Each item in the list gets an <li> tag. For example:

This will render as:

To change the bullets to numbers (and ordered list), change the <ul> tag to <ol> to indicate that it is an ordered list. For example:

This will render as:

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colon

A colon can set off a list within a sentence or a bullet-pointed list. In either case, the first word of each item of the list is not capitalized unless it is a proper noun or a complete sentence. Follow the rules of lists per commas and semi-colons.

A colon can set off a clause for emphasis.

Examples:

• They had one dream: to have a dog.
• I promise you this: we will succeed.
• She had one goal: winning.

When used in dialogue or Q-and-As, place the speaker’s name followed by the colon.

In Biblical citation, the colon is used between chapter and verse after the book of the Bible. For example, John 3:16 or Josh 2:7.

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comma

Represents a short pause in a sentence, divide parts of a sentence, or divide items in a list. When commas divide parts of a sentence, they divide clauses and phrases.

General comma rules:

Serial commas (Oxford comma) divide words in a list:

Serial comma rules:

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ellipsis

Use an ellipsis to condense quotes, texts or documents — ensuring not to change the meaning of the quote, text or document. Set off with spaces on both sides of the ellipsis. Never use an ellipsis at the beginning or end of a quotation. However, it can be used at the beginning or end of a paragraph.

Examples:

• Without: We were working on several bills at the time none of which passed, Jones said.
• With: We were working on several bills … none of which passed, Jones said.

• Without: It has become evident to me that I no longer have a strong enough political base, Nixon said.
• With: It has become evident … I no longer have a strong enough political base, Nixon said.

• Without: The book, Investigative Reporting, by Clark R. Mellenhoff, describes his own experiences as a reporter, using it as a guide, he says to demonstrate to students and young journalists the anyone can be a competent investigative reporter. He says it takes hard work, often describing long hours and learning to play the politics of Washington.
• With: The book, Investigative Reporting, by Clark R. Mellenhoff, describes his own experiences … to demonstrate to students and young journalists the anyone can be a competent investigative reporter. …

Use three periods to make the ellipsis, not a false ellipsis — that is, one made as a single character from the HTML code … or the Unicode U+02026. Remember that a false ellipsis is not read by screen readers.

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em-dash

Use the em-dash between the dateline and the start of the first paragraph, surrounded by spaces; before attribution to a quote in a pull quote; and to indicate an interruption or an aside in a sentence. Surround the em-dash with a single space on each side.

Examples:

• Rapids City, IA — Three people sat in a silent protest outside city hall Tuesday.
• Seattle, WA — A new coffee business dedicated to disabled justice opened Thursday in the famed Public Market.
• “We need to make every single thing accessible to every single person with a disability.” ― Stevie Wonder, musician
• “I’m going to lower —” the president began to say as protesters interrupted his speech.
• This is the third time the bill was voted down — I think.
• I’m going to buy a house next year — if I save enough money.
• There were hundreds of people gathered — several groups including Disability Rights Atlanta, Long Covid Now and Georgia for Disability had put out the call — to hold a silent protest.

How to create an em-dash:

• On an Apple operating system: Shift+Option with the minus/hyphen.
• On a Windows operating system: Ctrl+Alt with the minus/hyphen OR use the key command Alt and 0151.
• HTML entity: —

Because screen readers may either misinterpret or ignore the em-dash, it is best to use the em-dash for interruptions and asides sparingly. When possible, move such content to a separate, following sentence.

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en-dash

Used to indicate a span of time or place, or to replace the word to. In headlines, sidebars, pullout, graphics, sports stories, etc., an en-dash is used to indicate the word to in scores, time, etc. For example:

• Red Sox top Yankees in final inning, 9–8
• The Boston Red Sox eked out a 9–8 win after entering the last inning trailing the Yankees when Wilyer Abreau struck a home run, and sent the Yankees packing…
• The Boston–New York line

However, screen readers will skip the en-dash, and simply read the content as if the en-dash isn’t there. It is always better to use the word to when the word to is indicated, or to reword so an en-dash is not indicated.

The examples from above, reworked:

• Red Sox top Yankees in final inning, 9 to 8
• The Boston Red Sox eked out a 9–to–8 win after entering the last inning trailing the Yankees when Wilyer Abreau struck a home run, and sent the Yankees packing…
• The Boston–to-New York line

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exclamation point

Only used in columns or op/ed pieces, with discretion. If used in a quote, it is placed inside the quotation marks and never followed by a comma.

Examples:

• We demand the ADA be updated so that it finally conveys our full rights as disabled people who live in this society!
• We are equal citizens under the law! Jones demanded.

To convey emphatic expressions or quotations in news pieces, describe the emphasis following the quote instead of using an exclamation point. This is the best practice because screen readers do not read the exclamation point or add emphasis to the words when it is present.

Examples:

• This poor treatment of children with IEPs simply cannot stand, shouted teacher Shirley Doe at the contentious school board meeting Tuesday.
• We are equal citizens under the law, Jones exclaimed, pounding his fist on the arm of his wheelchair.

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hyphen

A hyphen is used:

• in compound modifiers (two or more words that express a single concept) preceding a noun.
• in compound adjectives.
• to avoid duplicated vowels or tripled consonants, such as anti-intellectual.
• when large numbers are spelled out, such as twenty-two or one hundred and fifty-three;
• in suspensive hyphenation; for example: It’s a 10- to 15-month plan.
• to join words to avoid ambiguity; for example: The president will speak with small-business owners. While small and business would not normally be hyphenated, small and business are hyphenated in this instance so that we know small is modifying business and not modifying owners.
• in the instances of most prefixes when the prefix ends in the same vowel with which the adjoining word begins.
• to join doubled prefixes: sub-subparagraph.
• to join a prefix to a capitalized word.

It is important to remember that screen readers do not necessarily read hyphens, or dashes. When a screen reader encounters some of the above sample hyphens, it simply reads the surrounding words or parts of words. For example:

• It’s a 10- to 15-month plan. is simply read as It’s a 10 to 15 month plan.
• The president will speak with small-business owners. is read as The president will speak with smallbusiness owners. Notice small and business are read by screen readers as one word.
• sub-subparagraph is read as subsubparagraph, as if the hyphen does not exist.

However, it is still important to follow hyphenation rules.

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