Grammar & Style

Use of Acronyms & Abbreviations

(See the List of Department Acronyms and Abbreviations.)

One of the tenets of plain language is to minimize the use of acronyms because they often distract the reader.

The window of opportunity for reigning in acronyms in the Planning Department, as with many other government agencies, has closed.

But 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 it easier for your reader to navigate your acronym use:

• 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:

• Always spell out Prince George's County. 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 unless 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.

District of Columbia

When referring to the District of Columbia:

• use District of Columbia or Washington, DC. Do not use "Washington, D.C."

See the acronyms and abbreviations commonly used by the Department.

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, 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 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. Exception: scientific documents or documents that depend heavily on statistics.

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.
• When referring to decades, no apostrophe is used: 1990s.
• Dates that include only the month and year do not include an "of:"

✓	✗
January 2017 was a remarkable month for M-NCPPC.	January of 2017 was a remarkable month for M-NCPPC.
Jan. 10, 2017, was an important day for the Planning Board.

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 it.

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

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

Capitalization

Excessive capitalization slows down the reader and can affect their comprehension of the material. Capitalize the following words and phrases:

1. titles and headings
2. proper nouns
3. the first word of a sentence (including a direct quote if it is a complete sentence)
4. months and days (seasons are not capitalized - "fall of 2020")
5. geographical terms (except for directional words that are not part of proper nouns (east, west, north, south) and recognized regions (Southern Maryland, the West)
6. historical periods and events
7. brand names

Commonly used Planning Department terms and phrases should not be capitalized unless they are part of a proper noun even you use them as an acronym. For example:

• working group
• block, lot, or parcel
• transit-oriented development (TOD)
• level of service (LOS)
• public participation process (PPP)
• building restriction line (BRL)
• critical lane volume (CLV)

An exception to this rule applies if the phrase is only used once in a sentence (so no acronym) and may confuse the reader if not capitalized. But in general, if there is no need to abbreviate, there is no need to capitalize.

When referring to Prince George's County:

• capitalize "County" on second reference. If "county" refers to a different county, keep it lowercase until it is a proper noun (Montgomery County):
  1. The County is going to give all employees new cars.
  2. Anne Arundel County employees would also like new cars.
  3. Annapolis residents are petitioning the county to give them new cars as well.
• Prince George's County is always spelled out. Do not abbreviate it as PG, PG County, or PG Co.

When referring to the Prince George's County Planning Department:

• Capitalize "Department" after the full name is introduced.
• Do not capitalize "division" or "section" unless it is part of a title or proper noun.
  • The Information Management Division wrote the report.
  • Contact the division of DPIE that handles business licensing.

Comma Use

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.

Compound Words

Compound words formed from the prefixed below are to be used as single words without hyphens:

ante	counter	macro	multi	pre	socio	ultra
anti	extra	meta	neo	pro	sub	un
bi	infra	micro	non	proto	super	under
bio	inter	mid	over	pseudo	supra
co	intra	mini	post	semi

But there are exceptions:

Exceptions	Rule	Example
base word begins with the same letter that ends the prefix	use a hyphen	anti-inflammatory, semi-independent
prefix ends with "e" or "o" and the base word begins with the same letter	hyphen is generally omitted	coordinate, reexamine, preexisting
hyphen is needed to eliminate confusion between words	use a hyphen	co-op, re-create, re-cover
base word is normally capitalized	use a hyphen	mid-August, pseudo-Victorian, trans-Atlantic

Below is a list of commonly used Planning Department terms and phrases that are either compound, open, or hyphenated words (*denotes hyphenation when used as a modifier):

African-American	cross-reference	home ownership	multijurisdictional	preempted	stormdrain
Asian-American	cross section	in depth*	multimodal	preschool	stormwater
antebellum	cut-through traffic	infill	multi-tenant	quasi-public	streetline
areawide	day care	in-migration	nationwide	rear yard	subarea
auto body shop	decision-makers/making	interagency	neotraditional	reenact	TheBus
ball fields	deemphasize	interjurisdictional	noncommercial	reevaluate	time consuming*
bicounty	Departmentwide	interoffice	nonemergency	reexamine	time frame
bijurisdictional	districtwide	interrelationship	nonexistent	regionwide	timeline
				return on investment*
bike paths	drainageway	kiss-and-ride	nonindustrial	ridgelines	town center
biweekly	drive through*	landform	nonnative	right-of-way	townhouse
bufferyard	email	landowner	nonprofit	rip-rap	twofold
buildout	endwall	land-use planning	nonresidential	roofline	viewshed
build-to lines	fast food*	level-of-service X (no hyphens for level of service alone)	nontidal	row house	walk through
built environment*
bypass	floodplains	log-on to	off-street	rubblefill
car wash	floodwater	long range*	online	runoff
centerline	flowchart	low density	off-site	sectionwide
chain link*	follow up*	low intensity	on-site	semiannual
child care	foursquare	low-rise	out-migration	semirural
colocation	freestanding	low-suburban	overbuilt	side yard
Commissionwide	fundraising	manmade	owner occupied*	sight-tight
communitywide	ground cover	Metrobus	park-and-ride	sign-off*
corridorwide	ground water	Metrorail	parkland	single-occupant(cy)
council member	high-density housing	mixed-use*	place-making	split-rail fence
countywide	high-rise	multidisciplinary	policy-maker	stakeholder
cross gable*	high-quality housing	multifamily	pre-charrette	statewide

Citations & Footnotes

Citations

Published Plans: When referring to a published plan, indicate the year the plan was published and then italicize the official title:

• 1994 Approved Master Plan and Sectional Map Amendment for Bladensburg-New Carrolton and Vicinity (Planning Area 69).

On second reference, use a short name that includes enough information to identify the document:

• The Master Plan for Bladensburg-New Carrolton and Vicinity.

See the list of frequently used plan names.

Development Activity Monitoring System Cases: The citation starts with the case name, case number, Prince George's County Planning Department (App. [approval date])

Example: IZZO Property, Case No. NRI-018-05, Prince Geroge's County Planning Department (App. May 18, 2005).

Books:

Periodicals:

Online sources:

Footnotes

• Minimize your use of footnotes in a document, as they are distracting to your audience. If supplementary information is necessary for the reader to understand the text, the information should exist in the body of the text.

• Using footnotes to cite general Department statements or policies are unnecessary - the government is the authoritative source.

• The Planning Department does not use endnotes in its publications.

Inclusive Language

Way With Words and the Chicago Manual of Style maintain flexibility in how individuals and groups are referred to, as language is constantly evolving.

Here are some general guidelines:

• Avoid referring to personal characteristics such as race, sex, gender, ethnicity, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status unless the terms are relevant to the topic discussed.

• The terms "Black" and "White" are capitalized when used to describe race. The research section, which uses racial terms in its demographic statistics uses the all-encompassing phrase "Black or African-American" to reflect County residents who are African-American as well as residents whose immediate ancestry is from Africa, the Caribbean, or other parts of the African diaspora. However, documents relating to County history will exclusively use "African-American."

• The Planning Department also uses the phrase "Hispanic or Latino," although specific events, such as "Hispanic Heritage Month," may use one term or the other.

• The disabled community generally prefers person-first language ("person who is blind" or "person who is autistic").

• Do not use gender-specific nouns. There is almost always a gender-neutral alternative. Here are some examples:

✗	✓
chairman/woman	chair
actor/actress	actor/performer
fireman	firefighter
policeman	police officer
man/woman	person/adult
waiter/waitress	server
maiden name	family name/surname

The most recent edition of the Chicago Manual of Style accepts use of the "singular they" in formal writing. See the chart below for a list of other methods of achieving gender neutrality when referring to people:

Method	✗	✓
Omit the personal pronoun.	The analyst should update the land use inventory when the GIS section transfers to her updated parcel data.	If there is only one analyst: The analyst should update the land use inventory when the GIS section transfers the updated parcel data.
Repeat the noun. If a noun and its pronoun are separated by many words, try repeating the noun. (Do not overuse this technique- it will irritate your reader.)	The author should be careful not to needlessly antagonize readers because her credibility would otherwise suffer.	The author should be careful not to needlessly antagonize readers because the writer’s credibility would otherwise suffer.
Use a plural antecedent. By using a plural antecedent, you eliminate the need for a singular pronoun.	A contestant must conduct himself with dignity at all times.	Contestants must conduct themselves with dignity at all times. This method may cause a slight change in connotation. In the example, a duty becomes a collective responsibility rather than an individual one.
Use a(n) (in)definite article instead of a pronoun.	A student accused of cheating must actively waive his right to have his guidance counselor present.	A student accused of cheating must actively waive the right to have a guidance counselor present.
Use the neutral singular pronoun "one."	A planner in Prince George's County is likely to earn more than he is in Mississippi.	A planner in Prince George's County is likely to earn more than one in Mississippi.
Use the relative pronoun "who." This technique works best when it replaces a personal pronoun that follows '"if.'"	Employers presume that if an applicant can’t write well, she won’t be a good employee.	Employers presume that an applicant who can’t write well won’t be a good employee.
Use the imperative mood.	A lifeguard must keep a close watch over children while she is monitoring the pool.	Keep a close watch over children while monitoring the pool.
Revise the sentence. If no other technique produces a sentence that reads well, rewrite the sentence so that personal pronouns aren’t needed.	If a student misbehaves, his or her privileges will be revoked.	If someone misbehaves, that person’s privileges will be revoked.

Source: Chicago Manual of Style, § §5.255-5.256.