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Styles anding hierarc

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Styles and

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Guide for text formatting

Styles and

Styles anding hierarc

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© Wodonga Institute of TAFE 2012

First published 2007 Second edition 2012

This work is copyright. Apart from any use under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to:

Copyright officer Wodonga Institute of TAFE PO Box 963 Wodonga Victoria 3689

Important disclaimerNo person should rely on the contents of this publication without first obtaining advice from a qualified professional person. This publication is distributed on the terms and understanding that the:

• authors, consultants, and editors are not responsible for the results of any actions taken on the basis of information in this publication, nor for any error in or omission from this publication

• publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, professional, or other advice or services.

The publisher and the authors, consultants, and editors expressly disclaim all and any liability and responsibility to any person, whether a purchaser or reader of this publication or not, in respect of anything, and of the consequences of anything, done or omitted to be done by any such person in reliance, whether wholly or partially, upon the whole or any part of the contents of this publication.

Without limiting the generality of the above, no author, consultant, or editor shall have any responsibility for any act or omission of any other author, consultant, or editor.

AcknowledgementsThe sections on readability and large print formats are reproduced with permission from Vision Australia at www.visionaustralia.org.au

This guide has been formatted in accordance with the following publication.

Commonwealth of Australia 2002, Style manual for authors, editors and printers, 6th edn, revised by Snooks & Co, John Wiley & Sons, Australia.

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ContentsIntroduction ................................................................................................................1

Styles and text formatting ..........................................................................................3

Abbreviations and acronyms ................................................................................................................3

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples ....................................................................................3

Apostrophes ..........................................................................................................................................3

Bold .......................................................................................................................................................4

Boxing text ............................................................................................................................................4

Bulleted lists .........................................................................................................................................4

Capitalisation ........................................................................................................................................4

Colour ...................................................................................................................................................5

Fonts .....................................................................................................................................................5

Footers ..................................................................................................................................................5

Forms of address .................................................................................................................................6

Headings ...............................................................................................................................................6

Hyphens ................................................................................................................................................7

Italics .....................................................................................................................................................7

Language and spelling .........................................................................................................................7

Numbers ...............................................................................................................................................7

Page layout ...........................................................................................................................................8

Page numbering ...................................................................................................................................8

Plain English .........................................................................................................................................8

Plurals ..................................................................................................................................................9

Punctuation ..........................................................................................................................................9

Quotation marks ...................................................................................................................................9

Readability ..........................................................................................................................................10

Referencing .........................................................................................................................................11

Spacing ...............................................................................................................................................11

Table of contents ................................................................................................................................12

Tables ..................................................................................................................................................12

Templates and style settings .............................................................................................................12

Trademarks .........................................................................................................................................12

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HeadingCommonly-used words ............................................................................................. 13

Spelling, abbreviations, and contractions .........................................................................................13

Measurements and their metric symbols .........................................................................................18

Metric prefixes ....................................................................................................................................18

Preferred terminology ........................................................................................................................18

Layout of content for documents, reports, and resources ........................................ 19

Preliminary pages ..............................................................................................................................19

Text ......................................................................................................................................................21

Back pages .........................................................................................................................................21

Codes, qualifications, and titles ................................................................................ 23

Training package codes ......................................................................................................................23

Qualifications ......................................................................................................................................23

Units of competency codes and titles ................................................................................................24

Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 25

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Guide for text formatting | © Wodonga Institute of TAFE 1

Wodonga TAFE’s Guide for text formatting has been developed to help you present material consistently and professionally. Design, structure, and style are critical to maximising the readability, usability, and overall effectiveness of our products.

This guide contains:

• advice about standard text-formatting practices

• advice about writing, editing, and proofreading

• advice about design issues including page design and the use of colour and graphics

• advice about structuring information for a range of delivery media

• technical requirements and standards

• conventions for codes and titles in training packages

• specific requirements of Wodonga TAFE.

This guide applies to all print and electronic:

• documents and materials created by employees of Wodonga TAFE including teaching and learning resources, reports, tenders and submissions, correspondence, and policies and procedures

• marketing documents and materials produced by and for Wodonga TAFE including brochures, flyers, course guides, publications, presentations, advertising, and websites.

If you cannot find what you are looking for in this guide or if you need further assistance, please contact the Business Development and Marketing department at Wodonga TAFE for help.

Introduction

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Abbreviations and acronymsKeep the use of abbreviations and acronyms to a minimum.

Explain the acronym the first time you use it by writing it in full, followed by the acronym in brackets, for example, National Industrial Skills Training Centre (NISTC), technical and further education (TAFE), environmental impact statement (EIS). Use the acronym after that.

Do not use full stops between letters of the acronym, for example, TAFE, RTO, OHS.

Acceptable abbreviations and acronyms for Australia’s states and territories, and for New Zealand, are ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Tas, Vic, WA, NZ.

Write the words ‘for example’ and ‘that is’ in full. Insert full stops between the letters and write ‘e.g.’ and ‘i.e.’ if you have to abbreviate these terms.

Do not insert full stops or spaces between the initials of a person’s first names, for example, CW Brown.

If an abbreviation ends with the last letter of the word, for example, Mr or Mrs, do not insert a full stop.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoplesThe Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services, and Indigenous Affairs recommends the following as the most precise and inclusive references for Indigenous Australians.

CollectiveAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Individual (as a noun and as an adjective)Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

ApostrophesThe apostrophe has two main uses.

OmissionAn apostrophe shows that some letters in a phrase have been left out (or omitted). This often happens when words are contracted.

Styles and text formatting

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Full phrase Using the apostrophe to show omissiondid not didn’twe are we’reit is it’s

OwnershipWhen it used to show ownership, the apostrophe says ‘of’.

Full phrase Using the apostrophe to show ownershipThe clothes of the girl The girl’s clothesThe tail of the horse The horse’s tail

BoldUse ‘bold’ if you need to highlight a section of text. Avoid using italics, underline, or capital letters for emphasis.

Boxing textDo not box text unless you have a specific reason for doing this.

Bulleted listsEach bullet in a list must be a possible ending to the main phrase that precedes the list. A colon separates the main phrase from the list.

You must:

• insert a colon after the main phrase

• start the first word of a bullet point with a lower-case letter unless the word is a proper noun, an acronym, or a title

• end the last bullet point with a full stop.

Bulleted lists can also be lists of full sentences.

• Do not use a colon before the list of bullet points. Insert a full stop instead.

• Start each bullet point with a capital letter.

• Insert a full stop at the end of each bullet point.

CapitalisationUse minimal capitalisation.

Use a capital letter for the first letter of the first word of a heading.

Do not use capital letters for emphasis when you write. Although capital letters stand out, they are hard to read and they tend to ‘shout’ at the reader. Use bold for emphasis instead.

Use capital letters for proper nouns (for example, the Prime Minister of Australia), acronyms (for example, NISTC), personal names (for example, Jim Citizen), place names (for example, Albury Wodonga), and official positions and titles (for example, Justice of the Peace).

Use sentence case when you refer to an industry sector, for example, hospitality, child care, landscaping, information technology.

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ColourDo not use a coloured font in the body text of your documents. Black text on a white background is easiest to read on the screen and in print.

Corporate colours may be used in small amounts to highlight or emphasise your documents, for example, in headings, headers, footers, images, and so on.

See Wodonga TAFE’s Corporate communications guide for a list of corporate colours.

When you use colour, think about the ways in which documents and materials will be reproduced and made available to users. For example, there is no point using colour if you plan to print a document on a black and white laser printer or to photocopy it in black and white. Colour may be appropriate if the document is to be viewed electronically, for example, on a web page or a CD-ROM.

FontsA ‘serif’ font has ‘feet’, for example, times new roman or slimbach. Serif fonts allow text to flow and are therefore suitable for body text and bulleted lists.

A ‘sans serif’ font has ‘no feet’, for example, calibri, arial, or tahoma. Sans serif fonts have clean lines, are easy to read, and are suitable for text that needs to stand out, for example, headings.

Limit the number of different fonts that you use in a single document. A maximum of two fonts in each document is recommended.

Do not change the default leading (line spacing) or kerning (letter spacing) of the font that you choose.

Limit your use of reverse type (that is, light or bright letters against a dark background) and text over tints, screens, or colours. Reverse type, particularly in body text, is very difficult to read.

Remember to use an appropriate point size with your font of choice. All body text must be big enough so that it is easily read. If you can, assess the readability of your documents or materials with target user groups before you print them or make them live.

Primary fonts are your first choice when you need text in documents or materials. Complementary fonts may be used if primary fonts are not available on your computer.

See Wodonga TAFE’s Corporate communications guide for a list of corporate fonts.

FootersUse footers in preference to headers if you need to include the same information on each page of your document, or in a section of your document.

Make the size of the text in your footers between eight and 10 point.

The footer usually comprises the:

• page number (aligned to the outside for double-sided printing or to the right for single-sided printing)

• document title (aligned to the inside for double-sided printing or to the left for single-sided printing)

• relevant copyright information.

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Forms of addressForms of address refer to the ways in which you begin and end a letter. They comprise the:

• salutation

• recipient’s name

• complimentary close.

If you know the name of the recipient, the conventional form is ‘Dear Mr Smith ... Yours sincerely’.

If you do not know the name of the recipient or if you need to take a more formal approach, the conventional form is ‘Dear Sir (or Madam) ... Yours faithfully’.

HeadingsHeadings must stand out. They can vary in size from 12 point to 48 point or more, depending on the layout and heading hierarchy of your document.

Make your headings in sentence case. This means that you only use capital letters for the initial letter of the first word of your heading and for any proper nouns in your heading.

A section or chapter heading and three levels of sub-headings should be sufficient for most materials.

Heading hierarchyHeadings separate topics in a document. Using different point sizes is an effective way to show the difference between main headings, sub-headings, and sub-sub-headings.

Use a gradual reduction in point size as the importance of the headings reduces. The following heading hierarchy uses cats as an example.

Cats (heading 1)Types of cats (heading 2)Long-haired cats (heading 3)Characteristics of long-haired cats (heading 4)Care of long-haired cats (heading 4)

Short-haired cats (heading 3)Characteristics of short-haired cats (heading 4)Care of short-haired cats (heading 4)

Habitats of cats (heading 2)

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HyphensPrefixesA hyphen may help to prevent misreading if the vowel that ends a prefix is the same as the vowel at the start of the word attached to it, for example, de-emphasise (not deemphasise).

A hyphen may also clarify meaning that may otherwise be confused, for example, re-cover which means to cover again, and recover which means to retrieve.

Compound adjectivesA compound adjective that comprises two adjectives or a noun and an adjective is hyphenated when it precedes the noun that it describes, for example, the accident-prone child, the disease-free cattle.

Hanging hyphensHanging hyphens connect two words to a base word, for example, full- and part-time positions.

ItalicsItalics are used mainly in text for the titles of books, journals, newspaper, films, and television and radio programs. They also indicate foreign words and phrases that have not been incorporated into the English language.

Italics may also be used for lower levels of a heading hierarchy.

Italic type is not easily legible and should therefore be avoided if possible, particularly on the screen, because the slanting of the type may distort some characters.

Language and spellingMake sure that your text-processing software is set to ‘English (Australia)’.

When you write, use the suffix ‘ise’, not ‘ize’, for example, ‘rationalise’ not ‘rationalize’.

Use the Macquarie dictionary as your preferred reference for language and spelling.

The language that you use must be gender-inclusive.

NumbersIf you use a number to begin a sentence, either write the number in words or re-word the sentence. For example, write ‘One hundred thousand Australians ...’ or ‘Nine pieces of marble ...’

Always write the numbers from one to nine in words. Larger numbers can be written in figures, for example, five, seven, 10, 11, 100.

For numbers larger than 9999, use a comma to separate thousands, for example, 104,892. For 9999 and smaller numbers, do not use a comma to separate thousands, for example, 2537, 8619.

Hyphenate fractions that you write as words, for example, one-third, three-eighths. To express a fraction as a numeral, use the fraction bar rather than the forward slash to separate the numerator and the denominator, for example, ¾ not 3/4.

You can write percentages in a number of ways, for example, 18%, 18 per cent, or eighteen per cent. Only use the symbol % with numerals. The words ‘per cent’ can be used either with words or numerals.

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Insert a space between a number and its unit of measure, for example, 3 kg, 2 oC, 27 volts.

Write dates as ‘day dd month yyyy’ or ‘day d month yyyy’, for example, Friday 20 July 2012 or Wednesday 5 December 2012.

To express dates as numerals only, use ‘d(d)/m(m)/yyyy’, for example, 20/7/2012 or 5/12/2012.

Do not use an apostrophe if you refer to a decade, for example, the 1990s not the 1990’s. An expression like this is a plural noun, not a possessive noun.

When you write a time, insert a space between the numeral and ‘am’ (ante meridiem or before noon) or ‘pm’ (post meridiem or after noon), for example, 5 am, 12 am, 2.30 pm, 11 pm.

Always use four digits when you write a time using the 24-hour clock. The first two digits express the hours and the second two the minutes, for example, 1017 (= 10.17 am), 0713 (= 7.13 am), 2243 (= 10.43 pm). Do not insert punctuation or spaces.

For more precise times using the 24-hour clock, use colons as separators, for example, 20:19:03.

Write landline telephone and facsimile numbers as eight digits with a space between the two groups of four digits. Always include the area code without brackets before the number, for example, 03 9876 4321.

Insert a space either side of an operational mathematical sign, for example, 5 + 4 = 9. However, do not insert a space when a sign is used to denote a positive or negative value, for example, -24, 3-2, +6.

Page layoutA4 (210 mm wide x 297 mm high) is the standard Australian paper size. Do not set page layouts to the American ‘letter’ paper size.

The pages of most documents are set as ‘portrait’. You may need to include a page in ‘landscape’ if you want to incorporate tables, charts, and graphics into your document.

Set the margins of your page to create a layout that is well-presented and easy to read. Consider factors like the font, the point size of your font, page size, number of columns, grid layout, and whether pages are to be printed single-sided or double-sided.

Page numberingDo not put a page number on the title page of your document.

Use the page numbering function to insert a page number in the bottom, right-hand corner (into the footer) of each of the remaining pages of your document.

Plain EnglishUse plain English to communicate clearly. This means using:

• ‘everyday’ words, for example, ‘help’ rather than ‘assist’

• the ‘active voice’ rather than the ‘passive voice’ when you write, for example, ‘Clare mailed the letter’ rather than ‘the letter was mailed by Clare’.

Some plain English guidelines for language choiceSource Commonwealth of Australia 2002, p53

• Use familiar, everyday words that your readers will understand.

• Be precise, and use enough words to achieve clarity but avoid unnecessary words that can distract from your main points.

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• Vary sentence length, but keep to an average of about twenty-two words per sentence.

• Use the active voice rather than the passive voice if you can.

• Engage with your audience by using personal pronouns such as ‘we’ and ‘you’, except in formal contexts.

• Use verbs in preference to constructions based on nouns that are derived from verbs, for example, ‘explain’ rather than ‘provide an explanation’ or ‘apply’ rather than ‘make an application’.

• Break up dense strings of nouns or nouns and modifiers, for example, ‘the outline development plan land package release conditions’.

• Avoid euphemisms, clichés, and overused or ‘trendy’ words or phrases.

• Use simple sentence frameworks.

• Avoid convoluted constructions such as double negatives, for example, not unlikely.

PluralsDo not use an apostrophe when you refer to more than one of something, for example, two DVDs (not two DVD’s), five horses (not five horse’s).

PunctuationDo not use a slash (/) to show that something may be one or the other, for example, male/female, yes/no. The exception is and/or.

Do not use the ampersand (&) in text. Use the word ‘and’.

When you use an ellipsis ( ... ), make sure that you insert a space either side of it ... like this. Do not add a fourth stop if an ellipsis ends a sentence.

Quotation marksSingle quotation marksUse single quotation marks to identify direct speech.

He said, ‘It is a beautiful day’.

‘Yes, it is’, she said.

Single quotation marks are also used to identify the work of other writers. You must take great care to do so exactly and precisely.

Double quotation marksDouble quotation marks are used to identify quotes within quotes.

Susan said, ‘James asked me, “What’s for dinner tonight?” so I told him’.

Note that any punctuation marks are kept inside the quotation mark if they are part of the quotation. If punctuation marks are not part of the quotation, place them outside the quotation mark.

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ReadabilitySource www.visionaustralia.org.au

People may have difficulty reading or managing printed information because of:

• a vision impairment that makes reading difficult

• a physical impairment that makes it difficult to handle printed material

• visual-processing impairments like dyslexia that make it difficult to interpret print.

There are practical ways to make text more legible.

ColourThe clearest colour combination is black and white. Restrict the use of other colours to larger or highlighted text, for example, headings and titles. To retain legibility, maintain a high contrast between light and dark. Dark text on a light pastel background may be a readable combination. Pink text on a blue background is a less readable choice.

ColumnsAvoid columns in print as text can be difficult to read if it is in this format.

ContrastText should be printed with the highest possible contrast. Dark text on a light background is ideal. However, light (white or yellow) letters on a dark (black) background are acceptable and are certainly more readable than dark letters on a dark background.

Dividing or splitting wordsAvoid dividing or splitting words as doing so can make them difficult to read.

GraphicsTry to avoid text being printed over a background design or other graphical material as this will cause readability issues.

When you create materials that are highly graphical in nature, for example, maps, graphs, and charts, make sure that you adhere to the general readability guidelines described here.

IndentingDo not indent paragraphs. Doing so can make it difficult for readers to find the first word of the paragraph because the left-hand margin is used to orientate the reader.

Large printProducing materials in large print is one way to help ensure all learners are equally able to access information and training. Large print means a point size of at least 18.

MarginsA wide binding margin is especially helpful with bound material because it is then easier for the reader to hold the volume flat. Many visual aids, for example, stand and video magnifiers, are easiest to use when they are on a flat surface.

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PaperPaper which has a glossy finish can reduce legibility as light and glare reflect off it. Use paper which has a matt finish.

TypeThe relationship between readability and the point size of your font varies depending on the font you use. Generally, type is at least 12 point for optimal readability. For documents in large print, use 18 point.

Widows and orphansIf a paragraph is split so that its first line is at the bottom of a page or column, the single line is called an ‘orphan’. If the last line of a paragraph starts a new page, it is called a ‘widow.

Widows and orphans impede the flow of text, thereby causing a readability problem.

Make sure that at least two lines of the last paragraph on a page are retained or else move the whole paragraph to the next page or column.

Make sure that you do not leave a heading alone at the bottom of a page, separated from the text that it describes.

ReferencingReferencing is done according to specific styles. Wodonga TAFE’s referencing style is based on the APA system for books, articles, and all other sources of information.

You must fully acknowledge all your sources of information. Failure to do so is plagiarism which is a form of cheating or stealing.

SpacingUse the formatting capability of a computer program (styles, settings, and templates) to set your documents up and to format your text.

White space is important for readability so choose your line and paragraph spacings accordingly.

Use a single space after all punctuation in the text. This includes the full stop.

Use the ‘before and after’ paragraph tool to set spacings between paragraphs.

Spacing and justificationSpacing between lines of text should enhance the clarity of the text and not make it look too busy. Insert at least 1.25 spaces between lines of print.

Many people have difficulty finding the beginning of the next line when they read text. Therefore, aim for consistent spacing between words by justifying text to the left-hand margin to retain legibility and neatness. Justifying left-hand and right-hand margins results in wide and variable spaces between words, so avoid this.

Spacing between lettersText whose letters are spaced close together can be particularly difficult for people to read, especially for people who have central visual-field defects. Spacing between letters should be even and not dense.

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HeadingTable of contentsThe table of contents is a list of the main sections of a document. It is designed to help your readers navigate their way through the document. The table of contents shows:

• section and major headings to a maximum of three heading levels, for example, section heading, heading 1, and heading 2

• the starting page number of each section or major heading

• the page numbers of any additional information found in the back pages of the document, for example, appendices and their titles, the glossary, further resources, the bibliography, and so on.

The table of contents does not include any headings from the preliminary pages, for example, acknowledgements.

Do not create the table of contents manually. Use the style settings on your computer to generate the table of contents as this enables you to refresh and customise your table of contents.

TablesLeft-justify the content of the cells of a table unless they contain numbers (particularly currency) in which case right-justify the content.

Centre cell contents horizontally.

Limit your use of shading in tables.

Templates and style settingsIt is good practice to establish templates and style settings to use with word-processing software packages and in the development of print and electronic documents and materials.

A series of standard Wodonga TAFE templates has been developed for:

• communications, for example, an email signature template, a PowerPoint® slide template

• marketing materials, for example, a letterhead template in Microsoft® Word, a certificate of appreciation template in Microsoft® Word.

TrademarksTrademarks are the names of goods or services that have been adopted by their manufacturers or suppliers to distinguish them from other similar goods or services. Some are registered by their owners under the relevant legislation of their countries of origin. In this case, the symbol ® is used. For an unregistered trademark, add the symbol ™ after the name. There are many examples of a trademark becoming the common way of referring to a type of object, for example, a Biro® when you refer to a ballpoint pen, or an Esky® when you refer to an insulated cooler.

If you can, use the generic name (ballpoint pen, insulated cooler) rather than the trademarked name.

There are times when the trademark must be used, for example, if you refer to software that is used in training (for example, Microsoft® Word®). Make sure that you use the ® or ™ symbol as appropriate.

Please contact the copyright officer for more information about using trademarks.

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Spelling, abbreviations, and contractionsSpelling conventions follow those of the Macquarie dictionary (www.macquarieonline.com.au/). Wodonga TAFE prefers the words and phrases provided here when more than one is possible.

A• acknowledgement

• advanced diploma

• advisor, adviser

• affect (verb)

• agribusiness

• Albury Wodonga

• analyse

• and/or

• appendix, appendices

• Australian Government, the government

B• Board room

• bushfire

C• café

• CD-ROM, CD-ROMs

• channelled

• colour, coloured

• commit, committing, committed, commitment

• Commonwealth

• complement (to complete)

Commonly-used words

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• compliment (to praise)

• computer-aided design (CAD)

• cooperate, cooperation

• coordinate, coordination

• curriculum (singular), curricula (plural)

• customise

D• database

• decision making, decision-making process

• degree

• desktop

• diploma

• disk

E• e-commerce

• effect (noun)

• e.g.

• eLearning

• email

• enrol, enrolled, enrolling, enrolment

• etc

• everyday (adjective)

• ex- (takes a hyphen when it is used as a prefix)

F• face-to-face (adjective)

• fax

• federal government initiative

• feedback

• fee-for-service (adjective)

• first-aid (adjective), first aid (noun)

• flow chart

• focus, focusing, focused

• follow-up

• full stop

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• full-time (adjective)

• fundraiser

G• Gantt chart

• (the) government

H• higher education programs

I• i.e.

• interact, interactive

• internet

• its (possessive), it’s (it is)

J• judgement

K• Koori

L• labour, labourer

• La Trobe University

• learned (not learnt)

• licence (noun), license (verb), licensing

• liveable

• long-term

M• mature age student

• mid-year

• milestone

• Motorsports Training Australia (MTA)

• multicultural

• multilingual

• multimedia

N• non-compliance

• non-compliant

• north-east Victoria

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O• occupational health and safety (OHS)

• Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Act

• on-campus (adjective), off-campus (adjective)

• online

• on-site (adjective), off-site (adjective)

• on-the-job (adjective), off-the-job (adjective)

• organise, organisation

P• part-time

• per cent

• practice (noun), practise (verb), practising

• pre-apprenticeship

• prerequisite

• print-based

• proforma

• program

• proofread

Q• quality assurance

R• recognise

S• salesperson

• self-employed

• shareware

• short-term

• spreadsheet

• storyboard

• subcontract

• summarise

T• TAFE

• target, targeting, targeted

• team leader

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• team-leader role

• teamwork

• time frame

• timetable

• trade-off

• tradesperson

• training package

• trial, trialled, trialling

U• URL

V• value-add, value-added

• Victorian Government

W• waterproof

• web page

• website

• wellbeing

• while (not whilst)

• word processing

• work-based

• workbook

• workforce

• workplace

• workshop

• Working with Children Check

• World Wide Web (WWW)

Y• year 10, year 12

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Measurements and their metric symbolsMeasurement Unit of measurement Symbollength, width, distance, thickness, girth, and so on

millimetre centimetre metre kilometre

mm cm m km

mass gram kilogram tonne

g kg t

temperature degree Celsius O Carea square metre m2

area (land) hectare (10,000 m2) ha volume (liquid or other) millilitre

litremL L

volume cubic centimetre cubic metre

cm3 m3

density kilogram per cubic metre kg/m3

velocity metre per second kilometre per hour

m/s km/h

force newton Npressure, stress kilopascal kPaenergy kilojoule kJpower watt

kilowattW kW

electric current ampere A

Metric prefixesPrefix Symbol Value

giga G 1,000,000,000 or 109

mega M 1 million or 1,000,000 or 106

kilo k 1 thousand or 1000 or 103

centi c 1/100 or 0.01 or 10-2

milli m 1/1000 or 0.001 or 10-3

micro µ 1/1,000,000 or 0.000001 or 10-6

nano n 1/1,000,000,000 or 0.000000001 or 10-9

Preferred terminology• Learner (not student)

• Teacher (not trainer)

• Staff learning and development (not professional development)

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In general, the order of the content of a document is as follows.

• Preliminary pages (or front matter)

- Title page

- Imprint page

- Foreword (or preface)

- Acknowledgements

- Table of contents

• Text

- Introduction

- Content (or body)

- Conclusion

• Back pages (or end matter)

- Appendices

- Glossary

- Abbreviations and acronyms

- Lists, further reading, references, resources

- Bibliography

- Index

The items in the preceding list will not all appear in every document.

Preliminary pagesTitle page• Full title of the document

• Logos of Wodonga TAFE and/or business division

• Any other relevant logo(s)

Layout of content for documents, reports, and resources

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• Depending on the type of document

- Tender numbers or references, tender details

- Course/unit of competency codes

- Qualification (full and correct title)

- Type of resource

- Date

Imprint pageThe imprint page follows the title page. It is used for statements by the publisher and for details that are not included on the title page.

• Standard copyright statement

© Wodonga Institute of TAFE

Published in xxxx

This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to:

Copyright officer Wodonga Institute of TAFE PO Box 963 Wodonga Victoria 3689

• Relevant dates for publication history and version control

• Disclaimer

• Acknowledgements

- Only include names, not organisational logos, in the acknowledgements

- Project team including the name of the department if applicable, for example, Business Development and Marketing

- Industry personnel, reviewers, steering committees

- Other people who have contributed to or who were contracted to work on the document

- Use of material for which copyright release has been granted by a third party

- ‘Thank you’ statements

ForewordThe foreword outlines the purpose of the text. It is usually not written by the author of the document. When included, it contains information about the preparation of the document. It can include acknowledgements if they are not incorporated elsewhere. No organisational logos are included in the foreword.

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Table of contentsThe table of contents is a list of the main sections of the document. It must help readers to find their way around the document.

TextIntroductionThe introduction is the beginning of the text. It indicates the purpose of the document, how it should be used, and how it has been structured.

ContentThe content is the main body of the document. It is the reason for the document, is structured properly, and follows a logical pattern.

ConclusionThe conclusion marks the point at which you make your final arguments and summarise the points of your discussion.

Back pagesAppendicesAdditional materials, text, or articles that supplement the main text in the document can be added as appendices. Appendices may also include material that is too long to incorporate into the document without interrupting its flow.

The first appendix begins on a new page. Then, depending on its length, each additional appendix may also begin on a new page.

Conventions that apply to body text also apply to appendices.

GlossaryA glossary is a list, in alphabetical order, of key terms, unfamiliar words, and technical jargon used in the document, and their definitions.

Definitions must be short and written in plain English.

Make the words being defined distinct in some way from the explanatory text. The definition of ‘glossary’ is used in the following example.

Glossary A list of technical, dialectical, or difficult terms in a subject or field, or in a particular text with definitions

Abbreviations and acronymsRemember to include an alphabetical list of any abbreviations and acronyms that you use in the text of your document, together with their full wordings. Some examples follow.

DEEWR Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations

DHS Department of Human Services

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HeadingLists, further reading, references, resourcesOccasionally, other lists are needed for further reading or research purposes.

List these in alphabetical order using the author-date referencing system. Items in these lists may also be included as part of the bibliography to avoid repeating entries.

BibliographyA bibliography is a list of source material used or consulted in the preparation of your document.

IndexAn index is an alphabetical listing of topics, names, and key items contained in the text of your document. It lists the number(s) of the pages where references to these items are made.

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Codes, qualifications, and titles

Training package codesEach industry training package has a unique national code of five characters, assigned when it is endorsed, for example, BSB07, HLT07.

The first three characters of this code identify the industry that the training package covers.

The last two characters of this code identify the year in which the training package was endorsed. This helps with version control.

Always use the full code.

Do not insert spaces between any of the characters of the code.

Use letters in uppercase.

Use arabic numerals.

Take care when you use the numbers 1 and 0 which can be mistaken for I and O, and vice versa.

QualificationsEach qualification has a unique code of eight characters, for example, BSB60407, HLT51607.

• The first three characters of the qualification code identify the training package that the qualification comes from, for example, business services, health.

• The fourth character is an arabic numeral that reflects the AQF level of the qualification. For example, BSB60407 is an advanced diploma, and HLT51607 is a diploma.

• The fifth and sixth characters are arabic numerals that identify the position of the qualification in the sequence of qualifications at that level.

• The seventh and eighth characters are arabic numerals that identify the year in which the qualification was endorsed, for example, BSB60407 was endorsed in 2007.

Always identify the qualification as by its full code and then its title, using roman numerals in upper case in qualification titles.

Follow this with the word ‘in’ for qualifications at certificate level and ‘of’ for qualifications at diploma and advanced diploma levels.

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HeadingAdd the industry descriptor and then, if applicable, the occupational or functional stream in brackets. Some examples follow.

• BSB20107 Certificate II in Business

• BSB31107 Certificate III in Business Administration (Medical)

• CHC40108 Certificate IV in Aged Care

• CHC50908 Diploma of Children’s Services (Early childhood education and care)

• BSB60607 Advanced Diploma of Occupational Health and Safety

Units of competency codes and titlesEach unit of competency has a unique code. These codes are assigned when a training package is endorsed or when new units of competency are added to an existing, endorsed training package.

A typical code comprises up to 12 characters, normally a combination of arabic numerals and letters in uppercase.

• The first three characters identify the training package from which the unit of competency is derived.

• The next group of characters identify the unit of competency’s industry sector, function, or skill area. Up to eight letters or arabic numerals can be used.

• The last character is always a letter which identifies the version of the unit of competency.

Use sentence case for the title of a unit of competency, with capitalised proper nouns if applicable.

Do not use ampersands (&) in titles. Use ‘and’ instead.

Identify the unit of competency fully by its code and then its title.

ExamplesSome examples follow.

AURT225667A Use and maintain measuring equipment

PMLQUAL401B Apply quality system and continuous improvement processes

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Commonwealth of Australia 2002, Style manual for authors, printers, and editors, 6th edn, revised by Snooks & Co, Wiley & Sons, Australia.

Lawler, BP 2006, The official Adobe print publishing guide: the essential resource for design, production, and prepress, 2nd edn, Pearson Education & Adobe Press, California.

training.gov.au, accessed at http://training.gov.au

Bibliography