Federal Student Aid Writing Style Guide Page 1 of 20 Federal Student Aid Writing Style Guide Updated July 2013 This style guide is intended as a reference to some of the style issues that are unique to Federal Student Aid (FSA) publications, websites, videos, infographics, social media, and other written communications. For the most part, we use the style guidelines set forth in the Guide to Publishing at the U.S. Department of Education, which requires adherence to the latest editions of the following style guides (in this order): Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary; the Associated Press Stylebook; and the Chicago Manual of Style. We have repeated material from the AP Stylebook only if it is particularly relevant to FSA communications or if there are variations that would be more appropriate in addressing FSA’s diverse audiences. This guide is organized in five parts: Program Names ................................................................................................. 3 Punctuation and Formatting .............................................................................. 8 Spelling, Capitalization, and Usage ................................................................ 12 Plain Language Checklist ................................................................................ 14 Internal Guidelines for Use of Trademarks in U.S. Department of Education Publications .................................................................................... 16 Page 2 of 20 Program Names DIRECT LOANS William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program: Use this, the complete program name, at first mention and in each new section of a publication or website. A new section is a separate chapter of a publication or page of a website. Direct Loan Program: Use this, the short version, after first mention. That is, in the rest of the publication or website section (subsequent use). Direct Loans: Name to encompass all loans from this program. The following are the four loans in this program. On the left is the complete program name; on the right is the loan name. Program Loan Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Loan Program Direct Subsidized Loan Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford/Ford Loan Direct Unsubsidized Loan Program When referring to both sub and unsub, use “and” (do not use a slash), and use initial caps in Unsubsidized and Subsidized Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans Federal Direct PLUS Loan Program Direct PLUS Loan [optional: it’s okay to say “PLUS loans” without “Direct” but note lowercase l] Federal Direct Consolidation Loan Program Direct Consolidation Loan When referring to Special Direct Consolidation Loans (available 1/17/2012 – 6/30/2012), use “Special Direct Consolidation Loan,” “Special Direct Consolidation Loans,” “Special Direct Consolidation Loan opportunity,” or “Special Direct Consolidation Loan initiative” (do not use “Program” or “program”) When referring to traditional Direct Consolidation Loans and Special Direct Consolidation Loans in the same statement or document, use “traditional Direct Consolidation Loan” and “Special Direct Consolidation Loan” or their plural forms Page 3 of 20 FFEL PROGRAM LOANS Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program: Use this, the complete program name, at first mention and in each new section of a publication or website. A new section is a separate chapter of a publication or page of a website. FFEL Program: Use this, the short version, after first mention. That is, in the rest of the publication chapter or website page (subsequent use). FFEL Program loans: Name to encompass all loans from this program [note the lowercase L in “FFEL Program loans”]. The following are the four loans in this program. On the left is the complete program name; on the right is the loan name. Program Loan (note that acronyms should never be used without spelling out on first mention) Federal Stafford Loan Program Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan Federal Consolidation Loan Program FFEL Consolidation Loan Federal PLUS Loan Program FFEL PLUS Loan Page 4 of 20 WHEN WRITING ABOUT DIRECT AND FFEL TOGETHER At first mention Subsequent use There is no official short loan name when referring to both Direct and FFEL together. Therefore, this shorter version must be in lowercase because it’s not the name of a specific loan program. Note: it’s best to avoid going this route. Name loans when possible. Direct Subsidized Loans and Subsidized subsidized loans Federal Stafford Loans Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Unsubsidized unsubsidized loans Federal Stafford Loans Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized subsidized and unsubsidized loans Loans, Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans, or [or “and”] Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans or [or “and”] Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans Direct Consolidation Loans and FFEL consolidation loans Consolidation Loans [note: if you haven’t spelled out “FFEL” yet, you’ll need to find a way to do so; e.g., “consolidation loans from the Federal Family Education Loan Program”] When talking about all federal student loans: Direct Loans and FFEL Program loans [do not say “Direct and FFEL loans” because that sounds like “Direct and FFEL” is a single program from which the loans come] When talking about multiple types of PLUS, refer to “PLUS loans” [note lowercase l in loans] Page 5 of 20 DIRECT PLUS LOANS FOR PARENTS AND GRADUATE OR PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS Correct Incorrect Why is it incorrect? The most commonly used option appears first Direct PLUS Loans for parents Parent PLUS Name does not exist or Direct PLUS Loans borrowed by You can receive, apply for, Direct PLUS Loans received by parents or get a loan; but not parents borrow a loan [Note: it’s also correct to refer to a “parent PLUS borrower” or “Direct PLUS Loans for parent borrowers”] Direct PLUS Loans for graduate Grad PLUS loans Name does not exist or professional students Direct PLUS Loans borrowed by You can receive, apply, or or graduate or professional students get a loan; but not borrow a Direct PLUS Loans received by Direct PLUS Loans for loan graduate or professional students graduate/professional students When we want to indicate [Note: it’s also correct to refer to an alternative, we use “or,” a “student PLUS borrower” or not slash “Direct PLUS Loans for student borrowers”] Page 6 of 20 OTHER FEDERAL STUDENT AID PROGRAMS Use the full program name at first mention and the acronym or short grant name thereafter. Program Name Grant/Loan/Aid Name (note that acronyms should never be used without spelling out on first mention) Federal Pell Grant Program Federal Pell Grant or, on subsequent mention, Pell Grant [Note: OPE would prefer if we could use “Federal” as part of the name as much as possible] Federal Perkins Loan Program Federal Perkins Loan or Perkins Loan Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity FSEOG Grant (FSEOG) Program Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program Federal Work-Study or FWS Teacher Education Assistance for College and TEACH Grant Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant Program Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) ACG Program Grants for Access and Persistence Program GAP (GAP Program) Note: This was going to replace SLEAP, but it never got off the ground Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership LEAP Program (LEAP) National Science and Mathematics Access to National SMART Grant Retain Talent Grant Program (National SMART Grant) Special Leveraging Educational Assistance SLEAP Partnership Program (SLEAP) Page 7 of 20 Punctuation and Formatting Addresses. In most cases, the addresses for FSA and ED offices are preceded by “U.S. Department of Education”: U.S. Department of Education FSA Integrated Partner Management 830 First St. N.E. Washington, DC 20202-5402 U.S. Department of Education IPEDS Universe Coordinator Rm. 8122 1990 K St. N.W. Washington, DC 20006 However, some FSA services for the public are simpler: Federal Student Aid Information Center P.O. Box 84 Washington, DC 20044-0084 (Note punctuation of “P.O. Box” in these examples.) Ampersands. Following the AP Stylebook, the ampersand (&) should not be used in body text except when it is part of a company’s formal name or of a title. For instance, do not use “FERPA & Privacy Act” or “grants, work-study, & loans” in body text. However, for publications, ampersands can be used in titles and subheadings for copy-fitting and for visual impact. For instance: “Policy Q&As,” “Statute & Regulations.” Dashes. • Hyphen. The hyphen is used to separate numbers that are not inclusive, such as Social Security numbers, and in compound modifiers (e.g., “half-time student,” “less than half- time,” “ability-to-benefit,” “four-year program”). • En-dash. The en-dash is longer than a hyphen (produced by a keyboard combination of the Alt/Option key and the hyphen on a Mac, or CTRL and the hyphen on the number pad on a PC). It is used to connect a range of dates, times, or numbers, such as “2007–08 award year” or “pages 49–55.” For automated indexing purposes, the en-dash must be used for complex page numbers, such as “2–25,” where “2” denotes the chapter or volume and “25” denotes the page number. • Em-dash. The em-dash is twice as long as the en-dash (produced by a keyboard combination of the shift key, Alt/Option key, and the hyphen on a Mac, or CTRL plus ALT Page 8 of 20 plus the hyphen key on the number pad on a PC). It is typically used to indicate a pause or abrupt change in thought (e.g., “There’s money available—but you need to apply.” or “They will tell you how much—and what sorts of—aid you qualify for.”) Lists. You might come across Federal Register style in your research. Federal Register style uses semicolons in most lists, but ED does not use Federal Register style. All choices for lists shown in the Chicago Manual of Style (6.127 ff) are acceptable. The most important standard for lists is consistency of construction. Some examples of lists from FSA publications are below. An introductory partial sentence followed by a list that completes it.