VIS Writing Style Guide
For Webmasters
Volunteer Information Specialists (VIS) Committee
Elizabeth M. Swanay-O'Neal, National Chairman
Volunteer Information Specialists Committee
rev. July 2013
Page 1
VIS Writing Style Guide
~ For Webmasters ~
Why a Writing Style?
Surely no language known is as fluid and changeable as the English language, American style. A
single comma can be hotly debated – and both debaters can be absolutely correct – according to
the style of writing they use. We are a diverse people with great tolerance for the difference in
others, and it shows in our language and its use.
Many Daughters were taught a modified British method of punctuation which is now considered
sadly out of date. Others were weaned on “friendly” business language in the 1980s and 1990s,
where commas were scarce and nearly everything was a contraction.
In order to have consistency in DAR web sites, a writing style for web sites was adopted by the
VIS Committee. Many of the guidelines contained in the VIS Writing Style Guide are taken from
the recommended style guide adopted by the National Society.
Acronyms & More
C.A.R.
DAR
NSDAR
JAC
JROTC
ROTC
SAR
VAVS
Children of the American Revolution
C.A.R. has societies and periods in its acronym
Daughters of the American Revolution or
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (preferred) or
National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution or
National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution
DAR has chapters and NEVER has periods in its acronym
Junior American Citizens
Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps
Reserve Officers Training Corps
Sons of the American Revolution
Veterans Administration Voluntary Service
Some DAR Terms – A Capital Idea!
In DAR usage, it has been common to capitalize many words, such as “chapter,” “society,” and
“state.” A more modern trend is towards lower case usage. Below are some common examples.
Titles -- capitalize only when they are part of a name or when used in place of a name in a formal
introduction
Examples: President General Wright; Regent Smith; the regent; The Tennessee state
chaplain; the national chairman of the Bylaws Committee; the national chairman,
Chairman Jones.
Exception: Official titles of the members of NSDAR’s National Board of
Management should always be capitalized.
DAR Terms
Chapter / Committee -- capitalize only when used as part of the official name of a
particular chapter or committee.
Examples: St. Louis-Jefferson Chapter, the chapter, six chapters, the American
Heritage Committee, the committee.
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Daughter -- should be capitalized only when it refers to a member of DAR. In other
instances (e.g. Mrs. Smith’s daughter), daughter should not be capitalized. NOTE: the
term “DAR” or “DARs” should NOT be used when referring to a member of NSDAR.
Instead, the capitalized form of Daughter or a word such as “member” is used.
Flag -- capitalized when part of the name of the committee: The Flag of the United States
of America Committee, or part of the name of a publication, such as Flag Code. Other
general references to the flag are not capitalized.
History / Heritage -- capitalized only when used as part of the name of a specific
committee or scholarship. Otherwise, the word is lower case.
Examples: American Heritage Committee, American History Scholarship; in defense
of American heritage; the study of American history.
National -- capitalize only when used with “Society” or as part of an official title to refer to
the NSDAR; should not be capitalized when used as an adjective to modify a noun.
Examples: national winner; national committee; the national Resolutions Committee;
National Division Vice Chairman Jane Smith; national division vice chairman; send all
checks to National.
Society -- capitalize when it refers to the National Society DAR or to a specific state society
(such as California State Society). In other instances it should not be capitalized.
Examples: “In American society…”; “our lineage society…”; “DAR is a society
which…”; “…the history of our Society …” (direct reference to NSDAR).
State -- capitalize when used with the “Society” in reference to a particular state, but not
otherwise capitalized.
Examples: Missouri State Society; state societies, state flags, state chairman, state
winner.
ALWAYS Capitalize
Colors
DAR Banner
DAR Insignia
Revolution/Revolutionary
Junior, Junior Member, Outstanding Junior
Specific awards -- such as DAR Good Citizen; Outstanding Chapter Achievement
But do not capitalize general awards such as certificate of appreciation.
NEVER Capitalize **
docent, correspondent docent
flag
page
banner
insignia***
patriot
**Unless these words are part of the name of an official committee, event, or item.
***EXCEPTION: The disclaimer required on all web pages where the DAR Insignia is
used must read as follows, “The DAR Insignia is the property of, and is copyrighted by
the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.” The word should
be capitalized when used in association with “DAR,” as in “DAR Insignia.”
Lists – capitalize the “major words” in a list. Normally, prepositions are not capitalized:
News of Our Chapter
Visit the National Society
Becoming a Member of DAR
Sights in Our City
Internet and Computer Terminology
Computer terminology is as diverse as our language. For DAR usage, please use these spellings
and capitalizations:
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Internet
e-Membership
e-mail OR email (Use one form consistently.)
webmaster (not webmistress)
(World Wide) Web web site or website (Use one form consistently.)
DAR Members’ Web Site (Always use this form.)
Periods



Sentences:
Always be sure to end a sentence with a period, question mark, or exclamation mark.
Examples:
We will attend the meeting on Monday.
Will you bring your suggestions to the next meeting?
We had a wonderful meeting!
Abbreviations:
Use a period after abbreviations.
o Mr. Jones, Mr. John Blake, Mrs. Robert W. Smith, Ms. Mary Brown
o M. S. Kingston, W. Mason Burton, Ralph W. Grant, J. C. Fulton
o Miss is not an abbreviation. Miss Jane Evans
Lists:
It is not necessary to use periods in a list:
o About Our Chapter
o How to Join DAR
o Chapter Activities
Commas
As a general rule, commas are used to separate clauses, series of items, and sometimes to
enhance the clarity of a very complex sentence. There are some rules specific to more modern
writing styles that should be noted:
Dates:
 On December 9, 2000, the committee will…
Always set off the year with the second comma.
 Charles and I traveled to Tahiti in November 1998.
A comma is not used when only the month and year appear.
 On Sunday, April 15, the event will begin.
 Avoid adding st, nd (etc.), to dates:
nd
February 2
NOT
February 2 .
 Use complete dates and years:
NOT 6/3/00
NOT March 15, 01
 Also correct is the inverted method of writing dates, with no punctuation:
George Washington was born on 22 February 1732 (OR 22 Feb 1732). HOWEVER, if
this style is adopted, it should be used consistently.
Cities and States:
 Always put a comma after the state, as well as before it, unless the state name ends the
sentence:
We visited Scranton, Pennsylvania, on our vacation.
On our vacation, we visited Scranton, Pennsylvania.
 Always spell out the name of the state.
Series:
When writing a list, always use a comma before the final item:
We chose apples, oranges, and pears for our fruit selection.
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Note: When writing a title which uses an ampersand, do not insert the final comma –
The law firm of Jones, Jones & Jones.
Those Pesky Clauses
Don’t be intimidated by punctuation in clauses. In most cases, they are just common sense. If you
try reading a sentence out loud, many commas are readily apparent because they are natural
“pause points” in your speaking. While this section is not meant to be a complete English
language lesson on clauses, following are some of the more common ones, with examples. There
are many style guides on the Internet for the person who would like to learn more.
If, indeed, a comma’s before
Know ye that there must be more
Always add to front and end
And you’ll be right, you can depend
Introductory Clause – this is a group of words that begins the sentence:
By the time I get to Phoenix, you’ll be sleeping.
Introductory clauses of three or more words should be separated with a comma.
Appositional or Identifying Clause – this is a group of words that more or less explains what
comes before or after it:
We knew that Mrs. Brown, who was going to join our chapter, would be a great member.
These clauses should be separated before and after by commas.
Bunches of Adjectives – these are descriptive words that come before, and describe, a noun:
Mrs. Jones was a thoughtful, conscientious, and reliable employee.
(Notice we slipped a series into this example, as well!)
Suffering Suffixes – these are words that come after a name or title:
Brown’s Carpet Cleaning, Inc., cleaned our carpet after the flood.
A comma before and after “Inc.” should be used.
John Jones, Jr., was the son of John Jones, Sr.
Use a comma before and after “Jr.” and “Sr.” unless it ends the sentence.
Note: In more recent times, it has become common for a firm or person NOT to use commas
at all in their name (i.e. John Jones Jr.). If no comma is used by that person before the “Jr.” in
his name, then one would not be used after it. The important thing is consistency; deceased
persons cannot be counted on to let us know their preference.
Colons & Semicolons
Generally, colons follow an introductory expression leading to a series, or sometimes an
additional, related complete thought:
 The essential courses are as follows: typewriting, computer skills, and English.
 The following members were absent: Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Blake, and Mrs. Adams.
 The house has many attractive features: cross ventilation in every room, a very large
living room, and two terraces.
 And don’t forget one thing: nothing can take the place of experience.
Semicolons are used in compound sentences when “and, but, or nor” (conjunctions) are omitted.
They are also very useful in complicated series. Remember to be consistent in using semicolons
in a series:
 The author practiced tolerance; his critic merely advocated it.
 He took a long walk; the exercise failed to relax him.
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 The logic is sound; therefore, we must accept the conclusion.
 The members came from Provo, Utah; Miami, Florida; and Waterloo, Iowa.
BUT
 He was tired, so he took a nap.
Quotation Marks
When using direct quotations, they should be enclosed in quotation marks ( “ ). A quote within a
quote is enclosed in single quotation marks ( ‘ ). Generally, periods and commas should always
be inside quotation marks; question marks, exclamation points, colons, and semicolons, which
are explained separately, have special rules.
Examples of commas and periods inside quotation marks:
 George Washington was known as “Father of his Country.”
 The title of the poem is “The Charge of the Light Brigade.”
 An interesting program, “Florida in the Eighteenth Century,” will be presented.
Question marks and exclamation points:
If the quoted portion is a question or is exclamatory, then the question mark or exclamation point
belongs inside the quotes:
 Mr. Henry asked, “Do you know what happened?”
 “What a fine piece of work you have created!” exclaimed Mrs. Anderson.
If the quoted portion is not the question, but rather the entire sentence is the question, then the
question mark (or exclamation point) belongs outside the quotes:
 Do you know what he meant when he said “I am leaving now”?
 Have you read “The Charge of the Light Brigade”?
If both the quoted portion and the entire sentence are questions, then only one question mark is
used, outside the quotes:
 Was it Mrs. Jones who asked, “Where will the meeting be held”?
Semicolons or colons and quotation marks:
The semicolon and colon are written OUTSIDE the quotation marks.
 I told Mrs. Thompson, “This will save you money”; she disagreed.
 I like these “School Subjects”: reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Single and Double quotation marks:
A quotation within a quotation should be enclosed in single quotation marks

“When you have a problem,” said the speaker, “you will do well to remember the
statement made by John Barry Jones, Jr.: ‘Acquire the habit of studying the facts.’”
Hyphens
When using a compound adjective immediately before a noun, it is hyphenated. When the
compound adjective follows the noun, it is not hyphenated. Sometimes a hyphen is used because
the word is just confusing without the hyphen.
Examples of using hyphens when the compound adjective comes before a noun:
 This store sells high-quality material.
 He had reached his forty-fifth birthday.
 We went for a three-mile walk.
 I have up-to-date software on my computer.
Examples of not using hyphens, when the compound adjective comes after a noun:
 The material this store sells is high quality.
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 The software on my computer is up to date.
Examples of confusing words, which are proper with or without a hyphen:
Reenter
re-enter
Reissue
re-issue
Reinlist
re-inlist
Note that these words have “re” before a vowel, and that sometimes is confusing to the
eye.
Apostrophes
Apostrophes are used in two situations – to form contractions and to show possession. Pronouns
never contain apostrophes to show possession, but do contain apostrophes when they are part of
a contraction.
Contractions are “combined” words:
They’re
(they are)
It’s
(it is)
You’re
Didn’t
(you are)
(did not)
Possession shows ownership and an “s” is usually added:
Mary’s
(belongs to Mary)
Chapter’s
(belongs to the chapter)
BUT:
Its
(belonging to it – NEVER it’s to show possession)
Yours
(belonging to you – NEVER your’s to show possession)
UH-OH! It already has an “s” – now what?
First, you need to figure whether the “s” is silent. If the “s” is not silent, merely put an apostrophe
after the “s” in the word.
Jones
Jones
Jones’
Joneses
Trudeax
Trudeax’s
Trudeauxs
(belonging to Jones -- possession)
(several Joneses – to make a plural)
NEVER Jone’s or Jones’s to make a plural
If the “s” is silent, an apostrophe and an “s” are added:
(belonging to Trudeaux)
(multiple Trudeauxs)
Webmasters, just do your best! VIS Approval and Review teams
are ready to help polish your writing, using this style guide. Enjoy!
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rev. July 2013
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