Branding and Style Guide
We are following the trend to minimal punctuation in marketing materials. When using any word or sentence punctuation, ensure that it will add to the meaning and flow of the text.
Commas serve many purposes, however avoid over-using them. As a general rule use commas to:
Semicolons are stronger than a comma but weaker than a full
stop. Use them to separate a series of phrases where commas have already
been included:
eg The Division offers courses in media, arts and culture; psychology,
social work and human services; and education
Use colons to:
There are a number of rules about apostrophes, but they are generally used to indicate possession or contraction where letters are missing.
When used to indicate possession, place the apostrophe:
Where a person’s name ends with ‘s’, pronunciation should determine use: eg James’s idea, the Thompsons’ car
Note that possessive pronouns do not take apostrophes: eg his thesis; our campuses; their work; its approach
In contractions, apostrophes are used where letters have been omitted from a single word, or where two words have been joined: eg we are = we’re, would not = wouldn’t
Confusion arises between it’s and its. If you’re unsure, mentally substitute 'it is' for whatever you’re writing. If it doesn’t make sense, don’t use the apostrophe.
Never use an apostrophe in plural non-possessives: eg fresh apples NOT fresh apple’s
Note that apostrophes are now often omitted in generic phrases where the plural noun is more descriptive than possessive: eg drivers licence BUT the young driver’s licence
Although this convention is becoming increasingly common, we recommend including the apostrophe for expressions of time containing plurals: eg six weeks’ time
Do not overuse hyphens, but don’t omit them where they are necessary. Hyphenation can be a matter of taste but take a consistent approach as much as possible. Check an Australian English dictionary or style manual if in doubt.
While there are few firm rules on hyphenation, hyphens are generally used:
See the quick reference style sheet (RTF file) for some preferred UniSA-specific spellings as well as some general examples.
We prefer to use single quotation marks for all speech in marketing materials: eg ‘Clinical placements allow you to apply theory to a real-world situation,’ he says.
Note that double quotations are use for quotes within quotes: eg ‘She asked, "Why didn’t you revise?" and I didn’t know what to say.’
Punctuation marks that form part of a quote are contained within the quotation marks: eg ‘I hope to travel overseas and complete a master degree’, says Amy. ‘After that, world domination!’
Use square [ ] brackets within round brackets ( ) to differentiate between separately bracketed items: eg …(the Higher Education Loans Programme [HELP])
Use single spacing throughout marketing materials and after, not before, punctuation marks.
