Style information for AELP guides
Aim for consistency throughout the document and between documents for the same client.
General points to note
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If the resource is being designed, it's not necessary to provide too much formatting; in fact
this can be more difficult for the designer. It is useful, however, to give the designer an idea
of how you would like things to be presented e.g. tables and diagrams. Just use notes in
brackets or different colours of highlighting to indicate items that should follow the same
design format.
Don't insert page numbers (use an 'X' instead in contents) as these may well change once the
resource has been designed.
There should be consistency between the contents and the section headings in the resource.
Make sure heading levels make sense and are consistent throughout.
Publications should normally be referenced following the standard format - i.e.
publisher/organisation, date in brackets and title of publication in italics (e.g. QCA (2010),
Claiming credit: Guidance...).
If listing sources of information/references etc at the end of the document, place in
alphabetical order of organisation/publisher.
Retain hyperlinks if the document is to be viewed as a PDF. Check that the hyperlinks work.
Agree with project manager/designer whether websites can be renamed.
Contracted forms (e.g. it's, they're) can be used if they seem appropriate, particularly in
activities and quotes.
Numbers one to ten should generally be presented as words rather than numerals (unless it's
a qualification level, age or it looks strange).
Numbers 11 and over should be presented as numerals (unless it looks odd where there's a
mixture e.g. eight out of ten people).
Don't underline - for emphasis, use bold (although the Foundation says to only use bold in
headings).
Use single letter spaces at the end of each sentence rather than double.
Don't insert spaces after slashes e.g. and/or.
Keep order the same if regularly grouping items e.g. 'English/maths' or 'study
programmes/traineeships'.
'Adviser' preferred to 'advisor'.
DfE prefers the term 'resource' rather than 'guide', but AELP ok with this terminology.
Don't abbreviate The Education and Training Foundation to ETF - if necessary call it 'the
Foundation'.
It's acceptable to use 'maths' rather than 'mathematics' but if talking about specific
qualifications e.g. GCSE or functional skill, 'mathematics' is preferred.
Make sure text is only justified to the left margin.
Check font size and style are consistent.
Check no odd spacing between bullets, paragraphs etc.
Do a final spell check.
Upper/lower case
Generally upper case should only be used when necessary, e.g. for publications (depending on how
they are titled), job titles of named people, organisation names, and certain schemes and programmes
etc. Here are some examples of when initial upper or lower case is used:
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apprentice/s (lower case)
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Apprenticeship/s in general and Intermediate/Advanced/Higher Apprenticeship (all upper
case)
awarding organisation (lower case)
awards/certificates/diplomas (lower case unless part of a specific qualification title)
board (as in board of directors - lower case)
Entry Level (upper case)
foundation degree, degree, doctorate etc (lower case)
Foundation Learning (upper case)
functional skills/key skills (lower case)
Funding Rules (upper case)
government in general (lower case), but the Government (upper case)
Jobseeker's Allowance; Income Support, Universal Credit (generally state benefits should be
in upper case)
Level 1, 2, 3 (normally upper case), especially if part of a specific qualification title
study programme (DfE prefers lower case)
subjects (e.g. mathematics, horticulture) should be in lower case unless a specific
Apprenticeship framework or qualification title (unless, of course, it's English, French etc)
Trailblazers (upper case)
traineeship (DfE and the Foundation prefer lower case)
Work Programme (upper case)
Youth Contract (upper case).
Hyphenation/one word or two?
Generally hyphenation should be used where the information is adjectival (i.e. describes something).
Here are some decisions:
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avoid saying 16- to 19-year-olds (or 16 to 19 year-olds etc) as confusion over use of hyphens
- if possible, just put those 'those aged 16-19' or '16-19 programmes' etc
A level (no hyphen and lower case 'l')
classroom-based provision/programmes/learning etc
co-ordinate; co-operate; co-funded
full-time or full time (depending on sentence e.g. full-time learner, the course is full time)
higher-level skills/course/provision/work/programme/study/qualifications/offer etc
Jobcentre (one word) Plus
jobseeker (one word)
joined-up provision
long-term unemployed
online (one word)
on-programme
on-the-job training
part-time or part time (see full-time above)
post-16
pre-Apprenticeships
problem-solving
roll-on/roll-off
self-employment
standalone (one word)
stepping-stone qualification (hyphenate if adjectival)
sub-contract/sub-contractor
teamwork (one word)
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work-based learning/programmes/degree/activity etc
work-ready/readiness
workplace (one word)
work-related learning/qualifications/skills etc.
Bullets
Always a tricky one as there are no hard and fast rules and lots of inconsistency even within docs and
websites of same organisation, but we:
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always make sure each bullet makes sense if it follows on from a statement (normally this
statement ends with a colon)
if each bullet is a full sentence (or more than one full sentence), use upper case at beginning
and full stop at the end of each bullet
if each bullet is a list, use lower case at beginning of each bullet and either no punctuation at
the end of each bullet or a semi-colon (apart from after the last bullet, which should usually
be a full stop)!
Other punctuation
Once again, there are no real rights and wrongs, but here are some decisions made:
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e.g. not eg
i.e. not ie
N.B. not NB
master's and bachelor's have apostrophes if followed by 'degree' or 'programmes'; or can just
put 'master' and 'bachelor' degree
it's acceptable to use hyphens (-) not n dashes (–) throughout (as long as consistent)
% preferred to percent
if taking about one year to another, put as follows: 2013-14 (rather than 2013/14).
Acronyms
Put abbreviations in brackets after their first mention; after this, just use the acronym. However, put in
full if in a forward, heading/title or if written as such in a quote from another document.
If there is an appropriate acronym but you're only referring to it in full once, it's not necessary to
include the acronym. Acronyms are only used to save constantly referring to longer titles.
Don't put full stops in acronyms (e.g. use AELP not A.E.L.P.).
If something is very widely known by its abbreviation or, if over the years its name has changed but
its original acronym is still used, there's no need to include its full title. Examples include: GCSE,
BTEC, VAT and UK, but depending on the readership, there may be others (e.g. AELP, CPD, ILP,
NEET, OCR, Ofsted, Ofqual, QCF).
Here are some examples of acronyms used in various AELP resources (also note use of
capitalisation):
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AO = awarding organisation (do not use abbreviation if likely to be confused with 'assessment
objective, as in GCSE guides)
APL/RPL = Accreditation of Prior Learning/Recognition of Prior Learning
ASB = Adult Skills Budget
BIS = Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
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CPD = continuing professional development
DfE = Department for Education
EFA = Education Funding Agency
EIF = Employer Investment Fund
ESF = European Social Fund
FE = further education
FHEQ = framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland
GLH = guided learning hours
HE = higher education
HEFCE = Higher Education Funding Council for England
HEI = higher education institution
IA = initial assessment
IAG = information, advice and guidance
ICT = information and communication technology
IGCSE - international GCSE (note cap 'I')
ILP = individual learning plan
ITP = independent training provider (DfE prefers 'commercial and charitable providers' or just
'providers'
JSA = Jobseeker's Allowance (note apostrophe)
LARA = Learning Aim Reference Application
LARS = Learning Aim Reference Service
LAs = local authorities
LDD = learning difficulties and/or disabilities
LEP = local enterprise partnership/Local Economic Partnerships
LSIS = Learning and Skills Improvement Service
MEG = Mixed Economy Group
NAS = National Apprenticeship Service
Ofqual = Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation
Ofsted = Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
PfU = programmes for the unemployed (plural)
QA = quality assurance
QAA = Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
QCF = Qualifications and Credit Framework
RPA = Raising the Participation Age
SASE = Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England
SFA = Skills Funding Agency (N.B. in the past we've been advised to refer to 'the Agency'
but now agreed that SFA is acceptable)
SSC = Sector Skills Council.
Debbie Steel
(Updated April 2014)