Format your content

Correct writing style for our website is critical. The corporate writing style must be followed when writing for any online or print communications.

Using punctuation

  • Don’t use bolded text.
  • Don’t underline text, this will make the reader assume it is a link.
  • Don’t use coloured text, links and page titles will default to the appropriate colour.
  • Don’t use exclamation marks!
  • “Only use quotation marks (“) for personal quotes”. Refer to the ECU Style Guide for Writing.
  • Don’t use italics unless it is for a name/title of a publication/journal/article: The West Australian.

Formatting time and dates

  • 12.00 noon―7.00pm, Monday to Friday
  • Monday, 1 January 2010 (not compulsory to include day)

Variations

  • Sunday, 18 July Not: Sunday 18th July or July 18
  • 18–21 July 2010 Not: 18 to 21 July 2010
  • Sunday, 18 to Wednesday, 21 July 2010 Not: Sunday, 18 July 2010 to Wednesday, 21 July 2010
  • 10.00am–3.00pm, Monday to Friday Not: 10.00am to 3.00pm, Monday – Friday

Referring to event details

Display event details as follows:

Joondalup Open Day Use Heading 3 for event name.
Date: Sunday, 18 July 2010 Spell out day. If over multiple days, display 18-21 July 2010.
Time: 10.00am–3.00pm Use dash rather than the word ‘to’ for the time.
Venue: Joondalup Campus, 270 Joondalup Drive For a specific room location: Building 2, Room 2.123.

* When entering event details in the ECU WebCMS editing pane, instead of returning at the end of each line, use ‘Shift+Return’ to include a break rather than a paragraph break to reduce the line spacing. Don’t bold the words Date; Time; Venue.

Using numbers and measurements

For the web, it is okay to always use numbers rather than spelling out.

Watch out for hyphens and commonly misspelt words

Use hyphens for.. Don’t use hyphens for… Commonly misspelt words
co-ordinate
first-year *
mid-year
off-campus
on-campus
part-time
Pro-Vice-Chancellor
re-enrol
two-thirds full
Vice-Chancellor

* first-year student,
not to be used for: 
it was the students first year

 misprint
offshore
ongoing
online
onshore
override
postgraduate
statewide
underestimated
 academic staff
campuses (plural)
faculty
internet
intranet
Joondalup Campus
Joondalup Campus Library
Library
Mount Lawley Campus (not Mt Lawley)
semester 1 (numeral for web only)
South West Campus (not Bunbury)
web page
website

Referring to a faculty or centre

  • When referring to a department and its staff, refer to it as team and use office for a formal organisational context. Refer to the ECU Style Guide for Writing for appropriate use of capitals for a faculty or centre.
  • e.g. The Alumni team can assist you in reconnecting with an old ECU friend.
  • e.g. The Alumni and Development office has a dual function of co-ordinating alumni and donations (note: office is not capitalised).

Using bulleted lists

All lists should begin with an introductory sentence, then a colon:

  • For complete sentences use a full stop and begin the sentence with a capital.

For lists of items, introduce the list first with a sentence, then a colon:

  • do not start each line with a capital;
  • do not use a full stop;
  • semi-colons (;) should be used at the end of each line; and
  • end the list with a full stop at the end.

Formatting contact details

Contact details can be laid out in several different ways on a standard page.

On a standard page, in content

Instead of including the contact details, where possible provide a link to the ‘Contact’ web page for your faculty or centre on a new content line.

E.g. For more information on enrolments or alternative entry pathways, contact us.

On a standard page, specific to content 

For sections that do not have a dedicated ‘Contact ’ page, or if the details are specifically related to content, i.e. Research profiles - provide contact details, below a horizontal line, like so:

Contact [heading 3]
Executive Dean (Faculty of Education and Arts)[bold]
 Professor Brenda Cherednichenko
Telephone: (61 8) 9370 6535
Email: a.staff@ecu.edu.au 

The 'Contact' web page 

You should display contact details in this order in any situation. Only include the details required:

Faculty of Name [heading 3]
Professional Title [bold]
Professor Full Name
Building Name
Joondalup Campus: Building 2, Room 2.133
Telephone: (61 8) 6304 5555
Mobile: 0412 234 456
Facsimile: (61 8) 6304 5556 
Email: a.staff@ecu.edu.au  

Linking staff to their profile page

For linking multiple staff members to their profile pages, show the contact details as follows

Faculty of Name [heading 3]
Professional Title, [bold]Professor Full Name
Professional Title, [bold] Dr Full Name

For linking a single staff member only to their profile page, show the contact details as follows:

Faculty of Name [heading 3]
Professional Title [bold]
Professor Full Name