Grammar & Style

Acronym Use

One of the main tenets of plain language is to minimize the use of acronyms because they often distract the reader. We acknowledge that the ship has sailed on this rule in the Planning Department and many other government institutions.

Think about whether your use of an acronym is already known to the public or whether you can substitute a simple word or phrase that stands for the name.

If not, here are some guidelines to make life easier for your reader:

• Spell out the full name on first reference and include the acronym in all capital letters in parenthesis immediately following the full name.
• If the acronym is in a long document, spell out the first reference in each chapter, and again periodically if the acronym is so far from the first reference the reader may not remember it.  
• If a name is only referred to once in the document, do not include the acronym.
• There are no periods in an acronym, except for those that end in a lowercase letter.

Examples:

✓	✗
a.m.	am
et al.	et al
vol.	vol

• There are no articles before an acronym (a, an, or the), even at the beginning of a sentence.

Examples:

✓	✗
DER approved the report.	The DER approved the report.
He read the DER-approved report.	He read DER-approved report.
M-NCPPC completed its report on the county trail networks.	The M-NCPPC completed its report on the county trail networks.

M-NCPPC

Below are a few reminders to help you remember the correct name for the Commission and its acronym:

✓	✗
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission	The Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission
	The Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission
	The Maryland-National Capitol Park and Planning Commission
	The Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission
M-NCPPC	The MNCPPC

Prince George's County

When referring to Prince George's County:

• Prince George's County is always spelled out. Do not abbreviate it as PG, PG County, or PG Co.

• Capitalize "County" on second reference. If the word refers to a different county, keep it lowercase until it is a proper noun.
  • The County is going to give all employees new cars.
  • Anne Arundel County employees would also like new cars.
  • Annapolis residents are petitioning the county to give them new cars as well.

Numbers

In general, numbers one through nine should be spelled out. Use figures for numbers 10 and above. However, there are some exceptions:

Exception	Example
Spell out any numbers that begin a sentence. But if that number is a year, use the numerals.	Twenty-three years ago, the legislation went into effect. 1923 was the year that the house was built.
When numbers below 10 are written as decimals, use the figures.	Trees should be planted 3.5 feet apart.
Figures are used for all ages, percents/percentages, units of currency, dimensions	the 53-year-old, 4 percent of the population, $2.00, 5-feet, 3-inches
If using orders of magnitude (hundred, thousand, million, etc.) after a single-digit number that does not represent currency, spell it out. However, if you are referring to currency, spell it out.	four million people, but $4 million.
If the number is part of a formal name, follow the style used.	7-Eleven or 4th Street
When two numbers are written next to each other in a sentence, one of them should be spelled out to avoid confusion. If one number refers to a measurement, it should remain a figure.	We asked for thirty 10-inch boards.

• Units of measure less than 1.00 are singular and take the singular verb.
• Ordinal numbers are expressed without the superscript, but spell out first through ninth (second, 31st).
• If there are many numbers within a paragraph, keep the numbers in each category consistent. Here are two examples:

  A mixture of buildings—one of 103 stories, five of more than 50, and a dozen of only 3 or 4―has been suggested for the area. In the second half of the nineteenth century. Chicago's population exploded, from just under 30,000 in 1850 to nearly 1.7 million by 1900.

• Use the word "number" instead of "#" or "no." (Note, however, that resolutions from the Planning Board use "No." For example, PGCPB Resolution No. 04-23.)
• Always spell out "percent" in text. The % symbol is acceptable in charts and graphs but must be used consistently.

Dates

• Abbreviate months only when using an exact date (Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec.).
• Use a comma after a complete date (day, month, year).
• No comma is used if the date includes fewer elements than the day, month, and year.
• Dates including only with month and year to not include an "of."
  • Jan. 10, 2017, was an important day for the Planning Board.
  • January 2017 was a remarkable month for M-NCPPC.
• When referring to decades, no apostrophe is used: 1990s.

Names & Titles

Use a person's full name and title on first reference. On subsequent references, use the last name only within the same section or chapter of a long document. Reintroduce the person in each section or chapter.

• Do not use salutations for names unless that person is a medical doctor. Use the last name on second reference. For suffixes (Jr., Sr., etc.) there is no comma before the suffix.

Example: Theodore Huxtable, who has a Ph.D in education, is the son of Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, an obstetrician-gynecologist.

• When using a title, capitalize the title if it precedes the name, but not if it follows the name.

✓ If you have questions, please contact Planning Director Lakisha Hull.

✓ If you have questions, please contact Lakisha Hull, the planning director of Prince George's County.

Comma Usage

The Department uses the Oxford, or serial, comma. This comma is used before the "and" in a list of three or more items.

Example:

✓ The Prince George's County Zoning Ordinance includes base zones, planned development zones, and overlay zones.

✗ The Prince George's County Zoning Ordinance includes base zones, planned development zones and overlay zones.