The Record Style Guide

In order to ensure cohesion and uniformity in our articles and stories, all contributors are required to strictly adhere to the following style recommendations.

Commas

  1. Do not use a comma before "and" in a series

    Example: cars, kittens and chickens...
  2. Use a comma in a geographical name

    Example: Nsukka, Anambra State...
  3. Use a comma to set off the year in a date

    Example: October 1, 1977
  4. Use a comma in interjecions

    Example: No, you are to...
  5. Use a comma and semi-colon in lists of names and titles

    Example: Professor Paul E. Modum, dean of the faculty of arts; and Dr. Meki Nzewi, head, department of music.
  6. In numbers of four or more digits

    Example: 1,000; 286,000

Quotation marks

  1. Use quotation marks for titles of books, plays, songs, operas, paintings, magazine articles, subjects of lectures and sermons.

  2. Omit quotation marks from names of characters, newspapers, ships, trains, animals and nicknames.

  3. Use quotes at the begining of each paragraph of continous quotation of more than one paragraph but at the end of the last paragraph only.

  4. Use quotation marks to enclose the exact words of the speaker you are reporting.

  5. A quotation within a quote requires single quotation marks; a quote within a quote within a quote reverts to double quotation marks.

  6. Terminal punctuation belongs inside quotation marks.

    Example: He asked, "must this country arm to the teeth?"
    Wrong: He asked, "must this country arm to the teeth"?

Colons

  1. Use a colon in reporting time

    Example: 10:50 a.m.
  2. Omit the colon in the flat hour

    Example: 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Hyphens

  1. Use a hyphen in "vice-chancellor", "vice-president" and "by-line."

Titles

  1. Use a person's full name (including at least one intitial) the first time he is mentioned in a story.

    Example: Mr. Ikenna O. Nwankwo.
  2. Always precede the name with Mr., Mrs., or Miss, unless the person referred to is under twelve Avoid double titles like the "The Rev. Dr. Chukwulozie." The other honours can be mentioned as the story progresses.

Abbreviations

  1. Abbreviate names of months containing more than four letters when the day of the month is included.

    Example: Jan. 1, 1964
  2. Abbreviate (and capitalise) organisation names which through usage have become widely known

    Example: UNN, OAU, OPEC and OAS. Omit the fullstop from these forms.
  3. Abbreviate (without capitalisation) time designations

    Example: a.m., p.m.
  4. Do not abbreviate professional titles or positions such as "chancellor", "engineer", "dean", "lecturer", "assistant lecturer", "accountant", and so on; extra mural programme or department.

Figures

  1. Numbers above nine are to be put in figures and those from one to nine are to be spelled out, with some exceptions.

  2. Use figures at all times for the following

    • Dates: Jan. 4, 1994.
    • Temprature: It was only 8 degrees warm.
    • Money: ₦18.35k.
    • Percentages: 6 per cent.
    • Time: 1 a.m; 5:07
    • Score: Benin, 48; Enugu, 3.
  3. Spell out simple fractions but not mixed fractions (1 ⅓)

  4. Spell out the number if it is the first word in a sentence

  5. Use the one-to-nine rule for ordinals

    Example: first, second, fifth, ninth, 11th, 22nd 43rd

Capitalisation

Note: when in doubt use the lower case.
  1. Capitalise proper names, names of months and days of the week and market days.

  2. Capitalise titles preceding names

    Example: Vice-Chancellor Chinyere Ikoku.
  3. Capitalise names of sections of the country

    Example: Anambra State, Enugu State.
  4. Capitalise names of races (bu not black and white) and nationalities

    Example: Negro, French, Japanese.
  5. Capitalise abbreviations of university degrees

    Example: B.A; Ph.D.
  6. Capitalise names of political parties. Do not capitalise derivatives like republican government, socialism, socialistic.

  7. Capitalise principal words in titles or boards, plays, songs, poems and lectures, including "A" and "The."

General rule:

Capitalise the distinguishing words, but not every word, in names of streets, schools, rivers, islands, churches, clubs, societies, courts and business organisations.

Example: Niger river, Tanzanian consule, Eze Opi Crescent, Elias avenue, First Baptist church.

Do not capitalise:

  1. Titles used after names

    Example: Professor Paul E. Modum., dean; Mr. U. Umeh, registrar.
  2. Seasons

    Example: rainy, dry and harmattan.
  3. Compass points unless part of an address

    Example: east, west, north, south
  4. Schools, colleges, departments or faculties, except when proper nouns are used

    Example: geology department, department of management, faculty of business administration.
  5. Common religious terms

    Example: devil, biblical, heaven

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