Style Preferences:

• No serial commas: apples, oranges and bananas — not apples, oranges, and bananas.
• The dashes we use are em dashes with a space on either side: The CEO — whom the board tried to fire — addressed the scandal.
• Commas and periods go inside the end quote marks. ALWAYS.
• No double spaces after periods. To repeat: NO DOUBLE SPACES AFTER SENTENCES.
• Single quotes belong only around quotes within quotes and in headlines and subheads. NOWHERE ELSE.
• Do not put in your own hyperlinks. Hyperlinks are not allowed.
• Use one-sentence paragraphs sparingly. Too many will make your piece clunky. Two to three sentences is an ideal paragraph length.
• Please use they/them pronouns instead of binary he/she unless it’s appropriate to use he/she.
• A company or organization or government agency is an “it,” never a “they.” For the possessive pronoun, when you refer to possession by a single person or company, use “its,” not “their.” Similarly, when you write about a company’s web audience, mention “the audience’s members” before saying “them.” An audience is not a “them.”
• Be consistent: If you start with the pronoun “you,” stick with it. Avoid mixing “we,” “I,” “he/she,” “you” and “they” all in the same article.
• Be sure to use the same verb tense throughout.
• Check for repetition of the same words, points and themes. Do not use the same word twice in the same paragraph.
• Numbers under 10 are written out (unless they’re percentages). Numbers 10 or higher are written as numerals (unless they start a sentence). Years are always expressed with numerals. Use “more than” rather than “over” with numbers.
• Check quotes with reliable sources. Brainyquote and unedited blogs are not reliable.
• If you must use jargon, particularly abbreviations and acronyms nobody else knows, spell these out on the first reference (followed by the abbreviation in parentheses).
• Names: For the first reference, use the full name: Dr. Stephen Porges. For subsequent references, use the last name only.