28
Department of Marketing and Communications Please note: Web-specific guidelines are in blue. Unless otherwise noted, all other guidelines apply to all Montefiore print and web content. If you have any questions, or would like to suggest additions or changes, email James Fergusson at [email protected]. GENERAL GUIDELINES GENERAL GUIDELINES A ________________________________________________________________ a, an Use a before consonant sounds. Use an before vowel sounds: She obtained a master’s degree at Harvard. She obtained an MBA at Harvard. acronyms In general, avoid using acronyms, spell out abbreviations (exceptions: MMG, CHAM). Spell out in first use of an acronym followed by the word in parenthesis. Use acronym in second use of the word. Don’t use periods in acronyms: AIDS, HIV, HMO In print, the exception to the rule is commonly used acronyms. Spell out the full meaning, followed by the acronym in parentheses, at first use: Food and Drug Administration (FDA) active verbs Avoid passive verbs linked to am, is, are, has, have. Active verbs keep the reader interested by focusing on the point immediately. addresses Spell out and capitalize East and West in addresses: 3400 East 233rd Street Spell out and capitalize Avenue, Street, Road, Boulevard, Place, Drive, West, East, etc. The bus goes down Fifth Avenue. Use Bronx, never Bx or BX Use New York for print pieces and NY for web.

GENERAL GUIDELINES A

  • Upload
    others

  • View
    1

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

Department of Marketing and Communications

Please note:Web-specific guidelines are in blue. Unless otherwise noted, all other guidelines apply to allMontefiore print and web content.

If you have any questions, or would like to suggest additions or changes, email James Fergusson [email protected].

GENERAL GUIDELINESGENERAL GUIDELINES

A________________________________________________________________

a, anUse a before consonant sounds. Use an before vowel sounds:

She obtained a master’s degree at Harvard.She obtained an MBA at Harvard.

acronymsIn general, avoid using acronyms, spell out abbreviations (exceptions: MMG, CHAM). Spell outin first use of an acronym followed by the word in parenthesis. Use acronym in second use of theword.Don’t use periods in acronyms: AIDS, HIV, HMO

In print, the exception to the rule is commonly used acronyms. Spell out the full meaning,followed by the acronym in parentheses, at first use:

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

active verbsAvoid passive verbs linked to am, is, are, has, have. Active verbs keep the readerinterested by focusing on the point immediately.

addressesSpell out and capitalize East and West in addresses:

3400 East 233rd StreetSpell out and capitalize Avenue, Street, Road, Boulevard, Place, Drive, West, East, etc.

The bus goes down Fifth Avenue.Use Bronx, never Bx or BXUse New York for print pieces and NY for web.

Page 2: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

affect/effectThe verb affect means to influence, change or otherwise have effect:

Customer service affects patient care.The verb effect means to accomplish, complete, cause, make possible, carry out:

They effected changes in important statutes.The noun is almost always effect:

One effect was a hurried rewriting.

ages of peopleUse figures for ages of people:

Caroline Smith, 25 years old; 7-year-old boy; 3-month-old daughter; 42-year-old son.Use without hyphens in web content.

agreement of subject and verb (special problems)Neither-nor:

After a neither-nor construction, if the subjects are both singular, use a singular verb:Neither Jack nor Jill was happy.

If the subjects are both plural, use a plural verb:Neither the Yankees nor the Athletics were hitting.

If one subject is singular and the other plural, use the number of the subject after the nor:Neither the man nor his horses were ever seen again.Everyone, someone, none, no one, not one, each:

These subjects usually take a singular verb:Everyone is present. Someone is at the door.None are missing. No one is there. Not one is missing.Each is qualified to do the job. Each couple was asked to give $10.

Avoid using a plural pronoun to refer to a singular subject, as in Everyone is invited to bring theirlunch. But substituting his or her may be cumbersome. Try rewriting instead:

Everyone is invited to bring lunch (instead of his or her lunch).

alphabetical orderPlace bulleted lists and lists of faculty/physicians in alphabetical order unless the editorhas otherwise indicated. Do the same when listing specialties and services for a cleanerread.

amid, amidstAmid is correct

ampersandWithin running text, spell out “&” as “and” unless the ampersand is part of a trademarkedcompany name or is a reference to a section title.

Using an ampersand (&) is acceptable in section titles, tab navigations, local navigation,quick links, graphics and headers and where space and character count.The ampersand is not acceptable in standalone and embedded links or within the bodycopy, except when referring to section titles that include ampersands.

Page 3: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

anti-Most anti- words are hyphenated. Some medical exceptions: antibiotic, antihistamine,antidepressant, antibody.

B________________________________________________________________

beside, besidesBeside means at the side of. Besides means in addition to.

biannual, biennial, bimonthly, biweeklyThe prefix forms can be confusing. To aid comprehension, spell out the meaning.

biannual - twice a yearbiennial - every two yearsbimonthly - every two monthsbiweekly - every two weeks

See also semiannual, semiyearly, semimonthly, semiweekly.

bilingualNo hyphen

board certifiedNo hyphen

BronxSee addresses

by in large, by and largeThe expression is “by and large.”

C________________________________________________________________

campusMoses CampusNorth CampusEast Campus (Use of this term is currently being finalized; Weiler Hospital should be used whenreferring to this specific building.)

cancel, canceled, canceling, cancellation

cannot, can notUse cannot

CAT scan, rather than CT scan

Page 4: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

capitalization in headlinesIn cap-and-lowercase headlines: Capitalize nouns, pronouns, verbs and all other words of four or more letters. Lowercase a, and, as, at, but, by, for, if, in, of, on, or, the, to, except when they appear at the

beginning of a line or when connected with the preceding word, as in:Mayor Drops In (not Mayor Drops in)Girl Cared For by Montefiore Team (not Girl Cared for by Montefiore Team)

In general, in hyphenated words in a headline, lowercase after the hyphen:Cease-fire, Able-bodied, Make-believe; One-fifth; Re-elect, Re-entry

centerIf a clinical activity isn’t formally known as a program or center, do not include the wordprogram or center, i.e., Radiation Therapy Center versus Montefiore Organ and Tissue DonationInitiative (a program).

Chair/chairmanCapitalize as a formal title and use Chair. Do not capitalize when chairman is used to describea person:Chair Shalom Kalnicki is the chairman for the Department of Radiation Oncology.

citationsIf there are four or more authors mentioned, cut all but the first three and add “et al”.Refer to PubMed for the correct citation style.

If there are four or more authors mentioned, cut all but the first three and add et al.

Journals with volumes and page numbers:I.e., Davis JT, Allen HD, Power JD, Cohen DM. Population requirementsfor capitation planning in pediatric cardiac surgery. Arch Pediatr AdolescMed. 1996; 150:257-259.

Without volume numbers:I.e., Timmerman MG. Medical problems of adolescent female athletes. WisMed J. June 1996:351-354.

Supplements:Lagios MD. Evaluation of surrogate endpoint biomarkers for ductal carcinomain situ. J Cell Biochem. 1994;19(suppl): 186-188.

Published abstract presented at a conference:Schwartz RH, O’Donnell R, Mann L, Baugh J. Adolescents who smoke cigarettes:criteria for addiction, health concerns, and readiness to quit [abstract].AJDC. 1993;147:417. Abstract 3.

City, city Capitalize City when it is an integral part of an official or regularly used name only for all 5boroughs:

New York City, the City of New York Capitalize City when used with the name of a New York City agency:

the City Planning Commission.

Page 5: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

Lowercase when city is general:The city sued the state.

New York, NY is Manhattan.

clichésAvoid using clichés such as state-of-the-art or world-class. Unique words rank higher insearch engines and set Montefiore apart.

Better choices are “nationally recognized” (as we often have patients coming from otherareas of the nation and can back this claim up) or “internationally recognized” if patientsare coming from other countries or if the physician has credits such as speaking regularlyat global conferences or even “distinguished.”

co-authorUsed hyphen to separate prefix.

colonUsed as a mark of introduction to a word, phrase, sentence, passage, list, tabulation, text, textualexcerpts, etc. The first word after a colon is not capitalized if what follows is not a completesentence.

He promised to consider the following: expense, time and feasibility. (no initial cap aftercolon)

He promised this: The company will make good all the losses. (initial cap when what followscolon is a sentence)

He promised to consider expense, time and feasibility. (colon not needed)

Use a semi-colon to separate doctors’ names in a sentence if there are more than two doctors andtheir job titles are included.

comma Do not use a comma before and in a series unless the other elements of the series are

separated by semicolons:Automobiles, buses and trains were stalled.Jack Jones, the manager; Jeff Jones, the coach; Dick Smith, a player, and Harry Roberts,an umpire, were arrested.

Use commas in compound sentences:They left early, and their mother said they would arrive before lunch.

When clauses are short, omit the comma:Nero fiddled and Rome burned.

Use commas to set off a nonrestrictive clause:The house, which was 100 years old, was still in good condition.

Do not use the comma after an identifying noun used in the restrictive sense:The painter Van Gogh had a struggle.His brother George was best man. (Without commas, the meaning is that the bridegroom

has more than one brother.)His brother, George, was best man. (With commas, the meaning is that the bridegroom

has only one brother.)

Page 6: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

Between adjectives in a series or a pair, use a comma if the adjectives are of equalsignificance:

a tired, disillusioned politician. But a gray iron cot.

Use in quotes:He said, “I will be back.”

“I am ready,” he said.

Do not use a comma before of indicating place or position:George H. Brown of Brooklyn

When a geographical name or a date is made up of two or more parts, use a comma aftereach item except in the case of a month followed by a day. Use commas to set off a titlefollowing a name:

Geographical Name Houston, Texas, is a rapidly growing city.Date On September 19, 1939, German panzers invaded Poland.Name With Title Jim Thon, MD, is the medical director. OR Bob Scott, Jr., is theoldest.Don’t use a comma before II, III, etc.

company and corporation namesAlways spell out Company, Corporation, Industries, Brothers, Associates, etc. when they are part of aname.

Use lowercase “the” unless it’s part of the company’s formal name.

comprise, composeComprise means to consist of, to be made up of, to include or contain (in other words, the wholecomprises the parts). Compose means to form in combination, to make up, to constitute (in otherwords, the parts compose the whole).

A baseball team comprises nine members; a team comprising nine members (not comprisedof nine members)Nine members compose a baseball team; a team composed of nine members

comptroller, controllerComptroller is accurate for government financial officers.

continual, continuousContinual means intermittent; repeated regularly and frequently; recurring often. Continuousmeans extending or prolonged without interruption or cessation; unceasing; unbroken.

the continual banging of the shutter in the winda continuous downpour

contractionsSpell out contractions in published material, except in quotes:

is not, has not, do not, will not, I have, you will, they are, etc.

copyright©

Page 7: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

Apply copyright sign to brand names when necessary. Confirm copyright with brandwebsite. This rule also applies to use of trademark, or ™ and registered trademark or ®.Use the brand name only when necessary.

D

dates

Numerals are used to designate specific years, decades and centuries:1884, the 1990s, the 1800s

An apostrophe is used before the numeral when referring to a single year without thecentury but not in giving decades of years without the century:

the class of ‘63, the 70s Spans of years are given as follows:

1884-1999, 1986-91, 1903-4 Spell out numbers of centuries from first through ninth and lower case. Use numerals from10th on

the first century, the 21st century Don’t start a sentence with a date. In dates giving the month and the year but not the day, omit the comma between month andyear:

He left Boston in April 1969 and never returned. When the day is given, use a comma between day and year, and a comma or someother punctuation mark after the year.

He left Boston on April 15, 1969, and never returned. Articles in internal publications should not reference the year.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on October 5. Articles in external publications/press releases should reference the year.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on October 5, 2005.

Always spell out the month. E.g. September; Wednesday, January 16; April 2005, etc. Omitthe th, rd, st after the number.

Capitalize but do not abbreviate days of the week. E.g. Wednesday not Wed. As content is always available, dates (except for milestones) could turn evergreencontent into seemingly outdated facts. Decide whether or not the content will berelevant in six months.

databaseOne word

days of the weekSee dates

degrees Do not capitalize general references to degrees.

The college offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees.

Page 8: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

The college offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, master of arts, master ofscience, master of fine arts and doctor of philosophy degrees.

Academic degrees are abbreviated as follows (without periods):BA, BS, MA, MS, MPH, PhD, EdD, MD, RN, MSN (See Montefiore-specific guidelines

to determine which titles to use/omit.)

When a person is first mentioned, use the full name followed by the degree(s):John Smith, MD; Jane Doe, PhD

Subsequent references are as follows:Dr. Smith; Dr. Doe

dietitianNot dietician

different fromAvoid different than.

diseasesDon't capitalize diseases unless it is written in the Latin form. The exception is a disease whichincludes a proper noun such as Down syndrome, or Parkinson’s disease, or Alzheimer’sdisease.

disinterested, uninterestedDisinterested means unbiased or impartial. Uninterested means not interested.

dollars and cents In general, sums of dollars and cents are given in figures:

5 cents, 25 cents, $5, $25, $12.25, $10,629 Spell out million, billion, etc. for large, round sums of money:

$1 million, $3.6 million, $895 million, $1.5 billion

E

east/westSee addresses

East CoastCapitalize the first letters of each word.

email Do not use a hyphen to separate “e” from the word mail and do not capitalize.

In print copy, do not use a colon before the word email:For more information, email Dr. Katz.

In web copy, always include email address if available in contact information,followed by a colon and the actual email address. Don’t bold.

Page 9: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

em-dash

Use this writing device sparingly in print pieces and only for dramatic effect inhuman interest pieces such as patient stories or pages dedicated to e-marketing, specialevents or awards. E.g. The parent organized her time so that any question about her son’shealth—whether financial, medical, or personal—could be answered while she waspresent.

If possible, rewrite sentence using commas or parentheses. There is no space before and after an em-dash. Avoid em-dashes in headings. Use catchy phrase or relevant title instead.

E.g.wrong: Multidisciplinary Approach — Family-Centered Careright: Neuro-Oncology Team — Nation’s Finest Pediatric Specialists

Use em-dashes sparingly and mostly in feature pieces such as Patient Stories ornews related pages. (Words punctuated before and after em-dashes are harder tosearch.)

en-dashUse en-dashes in telephone numbers (e.g. For more information, please call 718-920-4011.)

Every day (adv.), everyday (adj.)She goes to work every day. He wears everyday shoes.

Ex-Former is usually better.

F________________________________________________________________

family-centered carelowercase, with hyphen

farther, furtherFarther refers to physical distance, further to more abstract concerns of time or degree. Youtravel farther but pursue a topic further.0

fellow, fellowshipWhen used alone, lowercase, but capitalize in combination with the name of a grantingorganization.

She received a Guggenheim Fellowship. She was one of four fellows chosen fromCalifornia.

fewer

Page 10: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

See less, fewer.

flaunt, floutTo flaunt is to make an ostentatious or defiant display; to flout is to show contempt for.

follow-up vs. follow upfollow-up (n. and adj.) and follow up (verb)

Full time, full-timeHyphenate when used as a modifier. She works part time. She has a part-time jobs.

G________________________________________________________________

globalAvoid idioms and American colloquial expressions to appeal to a global audience.

gradesHyphenate both the noun forms (first-grader, 10th grader, etc.) and the adjectival forms (afourth-grade student, a 12th-grade student, etc.)

H

healthcareHealthcare is always one word, unless it appears as two words in the name of anorganization, e.g. the Alliance for Advancing Nonprofit Health Care.

high-intensityException: High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU)

hopefully means in a hopeful manner:They sought hopefully for the solution.

Do not use hopefully to mean it is hoped that, as in:Hopefully, they will find the solution.

house staffLowercase, two words.

I________________________________________________________________

infinitivesIn general, avoid split infinitives in formal writing (insertion of a word, usually an adverb,between to and the verb):

Page 11: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

Split: to boldly go where no one has gone beforeRevised: to go boldly where no one has gone before

Internet, intranet

it’s, itsIt’s is a contraction meaning it is. Its is a possessive meaning of it.

Montefiore is located in the Bronx. It’s the borough’s only academic medical center andits largest private employer.

J________________________________________________________________

jargonAvoid medical jargon unless the language is a direct quote.

K_______________________________________________________________

keynoteOne word, not hyphenated

keywordsSee Style section below.

L________________________________________________________________l

lab coatlab coat is always two words, never one

less, fewerIn general, fewer refers to units you can count or a group of distinct elements. Less refers to anaggregate amount, a quantity you can’t count or countable items that are not being consideredindividually.

I have fewer dimes than you.I have less money than you.The campaign raised less than $500.

legislationBills are passed, laws are enacted.

M________________________________________________________________

Page 12: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

Medicaid, MedicareCapitalize

metropolitanLowercase: “…in the New York metropolitan area”

modifiersAvoid using too many modifiers. Adverbs and adjectives often muddy perfectly concisecontent.

Misplaced: As a new Montefiore associate, I am very pleased to welcome you to the medicalcenter.Revised: I am very pleased to welcome you, as a new Montefiore associate, to the medical center.

monthsSee dates.

more than vs. overMore than is preferred with using numbers. E.g. There are more than 3,000 nurses atMontefiore.

Mr., Ms., Mrs.In general, Mr., Ms. or Mrs. is used in second and subsequent references to people.Ms. is now generally used in second and subsequent references to a woman unless the womanspecifically requests that Miss or Mrs. be used.Dr. is used in second and subsequent references to doctors (MDs, PhDs, EdDs, etc.).

multidisciplinaryDo not use a hyphen to separate the prefix from the suffix.

N

Neuro-oncologyUse a hyphen to separate the prefix from the suffix when the letters between the hyphen are thesame.

New YorkIn running text, use New York. Also see addresses.

New York metropolitan area (or region) Also see regionUse this terminology when describing the local region for marketing/mailing purposes.The metropolitan area of New York City, also called Greater New York or Greater New YorkCity is defined by the U.S. Census as the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT Metropolitan Statistical Area based on broad social and economic integration, which isdivided into four Metropolitan Divisions. The metropolitan area includes New York City, most of

Page 13: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

northern New Jersey, eight counties in New York State, southwestern Connecticut, and a smallpart of Pennsylvania which is not normally considered part the New York City area itself.

noninvasiveDo not use a hyphen to separate the prefix from the suffix.

non-profit, nonprofitNonprofit

numbersIn general, spell out the first nine cardinal and ordinal numbers. Use figures for numbers abovenine:

He walked six miles. There were eight applicants. The table was set for 10.He was sixth. The game ended in the fifth inning. The game finally ended in the 15th inning.

Some exceptions to the spelling-out-below-10 rule: ages of people, figures in headlines andtables, figures containing decimals, percentages, sums of money, times of day, days of month,degrees of temperature.

O

off-siteUse hyphen

one time, one-timeHe did it one time. A one-time director.

onlyPlace it after the word it modifies:

He ate only a sandwich, not He only ate a sandwich.

on-siteHyphenate

orthopaedicUse orthopaedic in the instances of orthopaedic surgery and orthopedic in instances oforthopedic medicine, rehabilitation or nonsurgical therapy. The ae version of orthopaedicis more commonly used in medical journals and medical society websites in referring toorthopaedic surgery.

outpatient and inpatientDon’t hyphenate.

overWhen describing an amount greater than a number, use “more than” rather than “over”(e.g., More than 20,000 patients received the treatment.).

Page 14: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

P________________________________________________________________

Past PresidentUse title caps for Past President.

patient-centeredHyphenate

percentage Write out % symbol as “percent”. If using bullet points, the % symbol is okay. Percent is one word, and a preceding number is expressed in figures (except when the

number begins a sentence): 80 percent, 89 percent, one-half of 1 percent. Do not use percent when percentage point is meant: If a rate rises to 11 percent from 10

percent, it is a rise of one percentage point, but it is an increase of 10 percent. As a general rule, use the written out form of the word in text unless the nature of the text is

such that the percent symbol (%) would be expected or would making reading easier. (e.g.charts, graphs or documents where percent is repeated numerous times)

periods In general, periods should be omitted from acronyms and academic and professionaldegrees, especially when it is desirable to conserve space or create cleaner looking copy. Alsoperiods should be omitted from phone numbers (only use dashes) and when distinguishing time ofday such as “am” or “pm” Only use periods in bulleted lists if there is more than one sentence. Also seebulleted lists. Periods are acceptable after links as the URL doesn’t appear on the page.(Sometimes a reader will copy the period with the url and are unable to reach the link.) Ifthe link appears on the page as the last word, make sure the period isn’t included in thehyperlink.

phone numbersUse hyphens when referencing phone numbers. Don’t use periods or parentheses.

For more information, please call 718-920-4011 or 1-800-MD-MONTE.

physician listRefer to all lists of physicians who all have MDs as a physician list and a listing in which not allpersonnel listed are all MDs as a medical team. Place all lists in alpha order unless the editor hasindicated otherwise.

plurals of abbreviations, acronyms and figuresIn general, form the plural just by adding s:

MDs, MSNs, MBAs, HMOs, 1960s

possessives In general, the singular possessive is formed with ‘s and the plural with s’

the boy’s coat; the boys’ coats For a plural that does not end in s, the possessive is formed with ‘s:

women’s, children’s

Page 15: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

Apostrophes are omitted in the names of many organizations:Citizens Union, Teachers College, Doctors Hospital

Online, us s’ for proper names ending in s (e.g., Jones’).

post-mortemUse hyphen

postpartumNo hyphen

PostdoctoralNo hyphen

PostgraduateNo hypen

procedures (surgical and clinical)Don't capitalize names of procedures

programIf a clinical activity isn’t formally known as a program or center, do not include the wordprogram or center.i.e., We provide treatment for Sarcoma through our Pediatric Sarcoma Program and Leukemiaand Lymphomia at the Department of Pediatric Oncology. (See Addendum)

pronounsCorrect pronoun usage is determined by the function of the pronoun in the sentence. The subjectforms of the personal pronouns are: I, we, you, he, she, it, they. The object forms are: me, us,you, him, her, them. Using another noun with any of these pronouns does not change the formthat is correct.

The flowers were given in honor of Maria and me.Maria and I were presented with flowers at the ceremony.

public officialsA directory of elected officials, including a guide to the correct form of address, is available fromthe League of Women Voters. To obtain a free copy, call (212) 677-5050 and ask for theLeague’s publication They Represent You or type in your address here:http://www.lwvnyc.org/TRY_find.html.

Capitalize Assemblywoman, etc., before a person’s name. But “a/the assemblywoman.”

publicationsSee citations

Q________________________________________________________________

Quotations In general, favor full quotes over partial quotes.

Page 16: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

Quotation marks should appear after the period or comma. If the quote is two or more sentences long, place the attribution after the first sentence. Said or says are usually preferable to explained, highlighted, stated, etc.

Content is searchable with or without quotation marks. Quotes are searchable in apull out quote or in the body of the text. Quotes with external links to the original articlewill rank even higher. Most importantly, shorter and more concise quotes are the highestranked in search engines. Don’t use block quotes prefaced by the name of author followed by colon. Separate quotes of more than two sentences into a separate paragraph.

R________________________________________________________________

reading levelReading level: Use Fry’s Readability Graph to access reading level of content. Seehttp://www.idph.state.ia.us/health_literacy/common/pdf/tools/fry.pdf.Write for 8th to 10th grade reading levels for landing page and linking text; secondaryand tertiary pages can be written as high as 12th grade reading level (Use Mayo andCleveland clinic as models. This doesn’t apply to the professional pages.)

region: “New York metropolitan area” (or region)Use this terminology when describing the local region for marketing/mailing purposes.The metropolitan area of New York City, also called Greater New York or Greater New YorkCity is defined by the U.S. Census as the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT Metropolitan Statistical Area based on broad social and economic integration, which isdivided into four Metropolitan Divisions. The metropolitan area includes New York City, most ofnorthern New Jersey, eight counties in New York State, southwestern Connecticut, and a smallpart of Pennsylvania which is not normally considered part the New York City area itself. Is itsynonymous with tri-state area.

S________________________________________________________________

seasonsDo not capitalize winter, spring, summer, fall, autumn in the context of a sentence.

semiannual, semiyearly, semimonthly, semiweeklyThe prefix forms can be confusing. To aid comprehension, spell out the meaning.

semiannual, semiyearly - twice a year.semimonthly - twice a month.semiweekly - twice a week

See also biannual, biennial, bimonthly, biweekly.

semicolon

Page 17: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

The semicolon is used principally as a mark of division in sentences containingstatements that are closely related but require a separation more emphatic than a comma:

The assignment was difficult; still, he carried it out.

The semicolon is also used to separate items in a series when the items are long and complex orcontain internal punctuation. Note that when semicolons separate the elements of a series, acomma (rather than no punctuation) is used before the and before the last item:

The officers of the board were as follows: Susan Smith, chair; John Jones, vice chair; RobertPeterson, treasurer, and Paula Gold, secretary.

spellingUse U.S. spelling with the exception of titles cited.i.e., etiology (British: aetiology) or estrogen (British: oestrogen).

State, state In general, capitalize New York State but not state of New York. Lowercase references to specific states when standing alone:

The state sued the city. The state government acted. Capitalize State when used with the name of an official agency or with an official title:

the State Department of Health, State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer Ordinarily the word State is included in references to New York State or Washington State todistinguish them from the cities with the same names. Spell out state names in a general reference but abbreviate if identified with a city or address

state-of-the-artUse hyphens to separate words

streets and avenuesIn giving the names of streets, avenues, etc., in ordinary text, spell out and capitalize ordinalnumbers through the ninth. Spell out (do not abbreviate) and capitalize Avenue, Street, West,East, etc.

The bus goes down Fifth Avenue.Also see addresses

subspecialtySubspecialty is one word, no hyphens

T

teenage (adj.), teenager (n.)

that, whichWhich is used to introduce relative clauses C ones that give additional information aboutsomething in the sentence and can be removed without affecting the statement made in the mainclause. Which in a relative clause is preceded by a comma:

Montefiore, which is located in the Bronx, New York, won the award. (The clause, “which islocated in the Bronx,” is an aside; it can be removed from the sentence without affecting themain statement that “Montefiore won the award.”)

Page 18: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

That is used to introduce clauses that identify the thing to which they are attached and cannot beremoved without affecting the statement made in the main clause. These clauses form a senseunit with the word they are attached to; that’s why they are not separated by a comma:

The hospital that I like most is Montefiore.

time Use noon for 12:00 pm; use 12:00 am for midnight When the possibility of confusion exists, use 12:00 noon or 12:00 midnight. (for formal

communication only, periods may be used in titles and times) No periods in am or pm am and pm should be lowercase Don’t repeat am or pm. E.g. 1:00 – 3:00 pm not 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm.

titles of peopleIn general, capitalize titles of people:

President of Montefiore; Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics; Director of PublicRelations

If the title is general, lowercase:William Bodner, MD, oncologist

titles of publicationsItalicize book titles and names of newspapers, magazines and journals. Use quotes for titles ofarticles in magazines or journals.

UVW________________________________________________________________

under wayUnder way (two words) is a commonly used adverbial phrase meaning in motion or operation;started; already commenced or initiated; in progress; afoot.

The review is under way

utilizesAvoid using utilize as it sounds too impersonal. Replace instances of utilize with use.

vs.Use versus rather than the abbreviation vs.

viaUse through rather than via.

we/ourrefer to “we” and “our” in text, but minimize use of “you” and “your.” Make people feelconnected and engaged. In titles/subheadings use patient in lieu of you/your whenpossible. i.e., instead of A Guide to Your Health write A Guide for Patient Health. Theexception is handouts or patient-directed pages which are usually tertiary pages.

Page 19: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

websiteone word, no hyphen

who, whom Use who when it is the subject of a verb (as a substitute for he, she or they); use whom whenit is the object (as a substitute for him, her or them):

John P. Manley is the one who was in the lab. (Who is the subject of was: he was in thelab.)Joan Manley is the one whom I saw in the lab. (Whom is the object of saw; I saw her inthe lab.)

Do not be misled by the verb in a parenthetical phrase between the pronoun and its verb, as in:John P. Manley is the one who we thought was in the lab (Who is the subject of was; wethought he was in the lab).

WiFi, Wi-FiUse WiFi

XYZ________________________________________________________________

X-ray (n.) versus x-ray (v.)

Please note:When the topic isn’t mentioned here consult the online AP Style Guide. http://www.apstylebook.com/.

Page 20: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

MONTEFIORE-SPECIFIC STYLE & USAGEGUIDELINES

DEPARTMENTS, DIVISIONS AND PROGRAMS

FULL NAME/ FIRST REFERENCE SUBSEQUENT SHORTENED REFERENCES (IN THE SAMEARTICLE)

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

(No “the” before Albert Einstein Collegeof Medicine. Check with Einstein forspecific Einstein department, division andprogram names.)

Einstein

Moses CampusNorth CampusEast Campus (also see campus in GeneralGuidelines)

Moses, North, East.

The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore

(Note the capitalized The)

The full name of the hospital, or CHAM, can be used insubsequent reference.

(the) Carl Sagan Discovery Program the Discovery ProgramCenter for Advanced Cardiac Therapy Use Center for Advanced Cardiac Therapy on first instance

of the name and the Center on all other instances of the name.Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Use Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore on first

instance of the name and the Center on all other instances ofthe name.

Montefiore Cough Center Use Montefiore Cough Center on first instance of the nameand the Center on all other instances of the name.

Department/Division Mention department/division name in first paragraph

(the) Tower at Montefiore Medical Park the Tower

For example:(the) Department of Medicine

(the) Division of Cardiology

Medicine OR the Department

Cardiology OR the Division

Note: Capitalize the name of a department or division whenthe full name is used. In subsequent, shortened references,either the name of the specialty alone (e.g., Medicine /Cardiology or the Department / the Division can be used.

Emerging Health, Montefiore InformationTechnology

Montefiore IT. Also see the Brand Center oneMontefiore for the distinction between internal and

Page 21: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

external references.Jerome L. and Dawn Greene Medical ArtsPavilion

Refer to as Greene Medical Arts Pavilion on the web. Allother places, use Medical Arts Pavilion.

Montefiore/Montefiore Medical Center

(Use Montefiore Medical Center on allexternal materials and publications, unlessthe first reference is in a call-out box on aphysician announcement. In this instance,just use Montefiore. In materials andpublications for an internal audience, useMontefiore on the first reference.)

MontefioreDo not use MMC

CMO, Montefiore Care Management CMO

Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care

(never hyphenate Montefiore and Einstein)

Use Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care on firstinstance of the name and the Center for Cancer Care on allother instances of the name. Don’t use the Cancer Center orthe acronym MECCC.

Montefiore Einstein Center for Heart andVascular Care

(never hyphenate Montefiore and Einstein)

Use Montefiore Einstein Center for Heart and Vascular Careon first instance of the name and the Center for Heart andVascular Care on all other instances of the name.

Montefiore Einstein Center for Transplantation

(never hyphenate Montefiore and Einstein)

Use Montefiore Einstein Center for Transplantation on firstinstance of the name and the Center for Transplantation on allother instances of the name.

Montefiore Medical Group MMG on second mention. Don't include MontefioreMedical Group before the title of each MontefioreMedical Group site.

Montefiore Medical Park the Medical Park

Mosholu Preservation CorporationThe community development affiliate of Montefiore MedicalCenter; use MPC on second reference.

(the) New York Metropolitan FamilialColorectal Cancer Registry

the Registry

Programs(the)Suzanne Pincus Family Learning Place the Family Learning Place or “FLP”Arrhythmia Program Always list arrhythmia services as part of the Arrhythmia

Page 22: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

Program.

Montefiore’s To Your Health! associatewellness program.

(Always italicize. Note the exclamation mark.)

To Your Health!

Special Casesthe Moses Emergency Department (ED)

the Weiler Emergency Department (ED)

the North Division Emergency Department(ED)

the Pediatric Emergency Department (ED) atThe Children’s Hospital at Montefiore

The ED

EDUCATION, TRAINING & DEGREESDegrees Do not capitalize general references to degrees:

Dr. White holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees.The college offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science,master of arts, master of science, master of fine arts, anddoctor of philosophy degrees.

See also degrees in the General Guidelines.Faculty versus teachers Avoid the word “teachers” – use faculty or faculty

membersFellowships/Residencies/Other Training Do not capitalize the specialty areas of residencies,

fellowships or other postgraduate training:Dr. White completed a surgical oncology fellowship. Dr.White completed his residency in surgical oncology.

See also fellow, fellowships in the General Guidelines.

Only provide links to training/fellowships at Montefiore(anchor links) or noteworthy nonprofits like Medical Corps(deep links).

Job titles Capitalize titles, unless the title is general, e.g WilliamBodner, MD, oncologist. See also titles of people in theGeneral Guidelines.

In general, include all a physician’s Montefiore and Einsteintitles.

When possible, group Montefiore titles and list them first.Physicians names When referring to a physician for the first time, use

“MD” (no periods) after the name. For example: Stephen

Page 23: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

Amis, Jr., MD, Chairman of the Department ofRadiology for first reference. Dr. Amis for secondreference.

Refer to research specialists with PhDs as doctoral researchersor doctoral physicists. (If they are the leader of program orcenter, include their bio.)

Where possible, group Montefiore titles and list them beforeEinstein titles or other titles.

Use physicians’ names, same as quotes, case by case.This is a good page of reference, but a full paragraph ortwo before the bullets of service would be preferred (andpossibly a subheading):http://www.devoschildrens.org/body.cfm?id=871

CONTACT INFORMATIONAddresses See addresses in General Guidelines.

Always provide addresses on our location pages and at thebottom of each clinical page of a website.

Contacts Always place each person’s contact information one afterthe other for webpages. No Tables.

Contact Information Always label the contact information section as: ContactInformation and enclose in an <h2> tag. Always providecomplete contact information (contact name, address, phonenumber and email) on our location pages and at the bottom ofeach clinical page of the website.

Email See email in the General Guidelines.

Email (in bold): (address) should always appear as a linkand after the phone number.

Fax numbers Don’t publish fax numbers on webpages. For printpublications, phone number rules apply.

Phone numbers Use dashes in telephone numbers (e.g. For more information,please call 718-920-4011.). No periods and no parentheses.

The phone number should appear in Contact Informationas follows: Phone: 718-920-4011

MONTEFIORE LOGO & MAILING GUIDELINESUse one-color marketing logo in left-hand corner of mailing panel and include return address directly underneath

Include “Address Service Requested” (smaller/bold) underneath return address (physician mailing listsonly). Determine correct indicia by mailhouse selected.

Page 24: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

PUBLICATION DISCLAIMERThe following disclaimer should be included on the back panel of all medical-related external publications:The articles in this publication are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations to any individualor group. This publication is for information purposes only. Entire publication © Montefiore Medical Center.All rights reserved. (Applies to print publications only)

CLINICAL TRIALS TITLESCapitalize all words except:

articles: a, an, theconjunctions: and, but, or, norprepositions that are less than five letters long: at, by for, from, in, into, of, off, on, onto, out, over, to, up, withas (unless it is followed by a noun) (Applies to both Web and print publications currently)

WEB GUIDE

OrganizationBulleted list List of programs and services, equipment or affiliated

departments (Avoid using bulleted list forsymptoms/conditions on clinical pages.)

These are easy to read, SEO-friendly and the subheadsare easy to follow. Refer to Cancer pages bulleted lists.

Do not end bulleted lists with punctuation If the item is more than one sentence, use a

period Use clear bullet such as ○ to indicate a sub-list

beneath a bulleted item List bullets in alpha order Use the % symbol in bulleted lists, rather than

spelling out “percent”Contact tag (See contact information table)

Navigation Navigation within a section should be intuitive andsimple to understand. If the content is buried too deeply,the reader may give up or become bored. If the pagedoesn’t include all basic information in the sidebar, abullet point list or in a drop down menu of the first page,the reader may search elsewhere for answers.

Headings (see H2 tag)

Page title (see H1 tag)

Page 25: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

Paragraphs Do not adhere to strict paragraph structure online. “Chunk”copy into shorter blocks of information for readability.

Subheading Bold text

Topical pages Break down content by subject matter and createseparate pages or include the specialties in a collapsibleside bar menu.

StyleBold text Bold subhead of H2 sections.

Bold keywords/phrases for SEO.Call to action Add call to action on the department webpages such as:

make an appointment, contact your doctor andcomprehensive information on cancer treatments, painmanagement and other tips with a link to page in thelibrary.

Hyphen Avoid hyphens if hyphenation is optional. Hyphenatedwords are harder to search. Use “family health center”instead of “family-friendly health center” or chooseanother word.

Location Can reference on landing pages “Bronx, NY” or “NewYork City” but don’t overuse “NY”. Also, use countryspecific or location specific words when possible.Identify the native country of international patientstreated (if patient permission is granted).

Main idea Web content is organized by ideas. Each page shouldcontain one main idea. Only the facts that support themain idea of the paragraph or page are necessary. Everyother detail is linked to the page.

Natural language Natural language is important. If the text sounds forcedto accommodate key words, it will be flagged.

Negative phrases When possible, say things positively, not negatively.E.g. “The impact on the patient’s lifestyle was minimal,”rather than “The prosthetic didn’t have a large impact onthe patient’s lifestyle.”

Quotes Include quotes if warranted (many pages will not havethem).

RepetitionAvoid it unless the word is a keyword (Even then, don’trepeat more than three times in a page.) Use keywordbank or Google Keywords for high ranking synonyms.

Selling point Focus on selling points of the department/division infirst paragraph. For example, innovative technology, keyaccomplishments, etc. Avoid clichés in the selling pointand use unique phrases whenever possible.

Sentence structure Keep sentence structures short and concise. Longintroductory clauses can stop reader before they get tothe main clause.

Page 26: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

Word choice Do not start every sentence with the same noun (as inhttp://www.alegent.com/body.cfm?id=5109).

Wordiness Be succinct

all of the=all

On the other hand=conversely

small number of=few

in the event that=if

came to the conclusion=concluded

complained of, exhibited, suffered from=hadTone

Brand Brand positioning needs to be part of it through theentire site and a unique voice is absolutely necessary.Focus on national approach. Avoid phrases like “close tohome” and “nearby.” Use phrases like “convenientlylocated” instead.

Place “Montefiore” before “Einstein” on montefiore.orgin describing co-branded initiatives, unless Einstein isclearly the lead.

Patient-driven Content should be patient-driven and informational,while not overlooking which physicians and recruitsvisit this page.

Subheadings Keep subheadings short. Don’t use prepositions underfour letters if possible. This also applies to titles.

Key WordsKey word density Look at Google Search for key word density (Google

tolerates no more than two percent percent density,MSN and Yahoo is five percent.)

Local and relevant terms Use local and relevant terms, i.e. neurology New Yorkinstead of neurology.

Long tail termsUse specific words to describe a person, procedure,field, etc. (i.e., Pediatric neurologists New York ratherthan neurology.) This will help increase traffic volumeand page ranking.

Word Bank See word bank of keywords to the style guide based onhigh ranking and successful key words used bycompetitors and ourselves.

Key words The average keywords per paragraph is four.

Page 27: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

LinksAnchor Links Do not use contact us at or for more information, etc

unless requested. Choose SEO high ranking wordscarefully for words linking reader to another page.

Broken links Double check links from external websites. Broken linksdon’t take you to any webpage at all. The address is incorrector faulty.

Deep Links Add deep links to health library content.External links Use off-site/off-page links to improve search ranking in

search engines. Only reliable sites should be linkedwithin content such as NIH, CDC, HHS, Einstein,Krames, and Staywell.

i.e.: Dr. Michler’s video on Clinton’s Transplant shouldalso be linked to: NBC program on transplants andsocial media sites, YouTube.

Avoid deep links to private businesses that produce ourmedical or surgical equipment. i.e., Intuitive Surgical(maker of da Vinci Surgical System).

Actively link to the Einstein website where appropriate.Internal links Do not use underscores in URLs. Include alt tags with

images. Also use automated URLs/In house renderedURLs to prevent losing links over time.

Link Baits (a note for designer/editor) Incorporate link baits such as: interviews with keypeople on individual webpages (See Cleveland Clinicpage at the bottom).

Off page links The meaning is the same as external links or linksleading the user outside of the website. See links sectionfor more details about internal (on page links) andexternal links. Be sure to have external links open in anew window so that users are not navigated off of theMontefiore website.

Shortened URLs Use a url shortener when necessary (e.g., social media,custom-named links), such as bitly.

Subspecialty links Provide links to subspecialty pages.

SEO Coding/Design Directions

Copyright © 2010 Montefiore (at the bottom left hand side ofevery webpage)

Page 28: GENERAL GUIDELINES A

H1 Use h1 tags for page titlesH2 Use H2 tags for headingsAlt attributes (a.k.a. alt-tags) Name images (jpegs, pdfs, etc.) for SEO and

accessibilityhigh-ranking words Use SEO strong high ranking words. See keyword bank

and use Google keyword while writing.Links Embed links as follows into copy:

National Institutes of Health“Read more” links When linking to a full article, be specific with the link

copy. E.g. “Read the full Newsweek article here.”

Meta tags Add Meta description (no period at the end of thedescription), meta keywords (internal searches) and pagetitles (See page titles.) Put Montefiore last–users knowthey are on our site.

Page title Be specific. Page title should include topic of page,clinical or subject area, department and location. 165characters is the maximum limit. (This rule can bebroken for longer department names. Montefiore doesn’tneed to be in the page title.) i.e.: Pediatric Oncology -The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore - New York City

Privacy policy Each webpage should have privacy policy disclaimerlisted in the footer.

Repurposing If content is repurposed from print copy, check relatedweb pages to ensure copy hasn’t been used somewhereelse. This would create duplications in search engineresults.

Style guidelines for Transplant, HeartCenter and Surgery

The format is slightly different but all style guidelinesapply with the exception of sidebar area and contactinformation.

Privacy policy Each webpage should have privacy policy disclaimerlisted in the footer.