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[[Category:Help]]
<!-- cleaned and shared 3/2/06 -->
This '''Manual of Style''' has the simple purpose of making things easy to read by following a consistent format — it is a style guide. The following rules do not claim to be the last word on {{SITENAME}}<sup>TM</sup> style. One way is often as good as another, but if everyone does it the same way, the {{SITENAME}}<sup>TM</sup> will be easier to read and use, not to mention easier to write and edit.
Clear and informative writing is always more important than presentation and formatting. The {{SITENAME}}<sup>TM</sup> does not require writers to follow all or any of these rules: the joy of wiki editing is that the {{SITENAME}}<sup>TM</sup> does not require perfection.
==Article titles==
If possible, make the title the ''subject'' of the first sentence of the article (as opposed to putting it in the Predicate. For example, write "This Manual of Style is a style guide" instead of "This style guide is known as the Manual of Style." In any case, the title should appear as early as possible in the article — preferably in the first sentence.
The first time the article mentions the title, put it in bold using three apostrophes<nowiki>'''article title'''</nowiki> produces <span style="background-color: white">'''article title'''</span>. For example: "This '''Manual of Style''' is a style guide."
As a general rule, do not put links in
# the bold reiteration of the title in the article's lead sentence or
# any section title.
Also, try not to put other phrases in bold in the first sentence.
Follow the normal rules for italics in choosing whether to put part or all of the title in italics
==Headings==
Use the <tt>==</tt> (two equal signs) style markup for headings, not the <nowiki>'''</nowiki> (triple apostrophes) used to make words appear '''bold''' in character formatting. Start with "<tt>==</tt>", add the heading title, then end with "<tt>==</tt>".
Capitalize the first letter only of the first word and of any proper nouns in a heading, and leave all of the other letters in lowercase.
*Avoid links within headings. Instead repeat the word or phrase in the first sentence and wikify there.
*Avoid overuse of sub-headings.
*Avoid "The" in headings.
*Avoid repeating the article title in headings.
*If at all possible, avoid changing spelling of section titles, as other articles may link to a specific section.
==Capital letters==
Initial capitals and all capitals should not be used for emphasis.
==Italics==
Use the <code><nowiki>''</nowiki></code> (italic) markup. Example:
:<code><nowiki>''This is italic.''</nowiki></code>
which produces:
<div style="background-color: white">
:''This is italic.''
</div>
Editors mainly use italics to ''emphasize'' certain words. They also use them in these other cases:
*Titles
*When writing about words as words, or letters as letters.
===Use of punctuation in presence of brackets/parentheses===
Punctuation goes where it belongs logically; that is, it goes with the text to which it belongs. A sentence wholly inside brackets will have its punctuation inside the brackets. (As shown here, this applies to all punctuation in the sentence.) If a sentence ends with a clause in brackets, the final punctuation stays outside the brackets (as shown here). This applies to square "[ ]" as well as round "( )" brackets (parentheses).
===Serial commas===
* A serial comma can be used to avoid ambiguity.
* The sentence can be recast to avoid listing the items in an ambiguous manner.
* The items in the list can be presented using a formatted list.
===Colons===
Colons ( : ) should not have spaces before them:
*He attempted it in two years: 1941 and 1943 (correct)
*He attempted it in two years : 1941 and 1943 (incorrect)
===Spaces after the end of a sentence===
There are no guidelines on whether to use one or two spaces after the end of a sentence but it is not important as the difference shows up only in the edit box.
===Contractions===
In general, formal writing is preferred. Therefore, avoid excessive use of contractions — such as ''don't'', ''can't'', ''won't'', ''would've'', ''they'd'', and so on — unless they occur in a quotation.
==Acronyms and abbreviations==
Do not assume that your reader is familiar with the acronym or abbreviation that you are using. The standard writing style is to spell out the acronym or abbreviation on the first reference (wikilinked if appropriate) and then show the acronym or abbreviation after it. This signals to readers to look out for it later in the text, and makes it easy for them to refer back to it.
It can also be helpful in a longer article to spell out the acronym or abbreviation for the reader
again or to rewikify it if it has not been used for a while.
==Simple tabulation==
Any line that starts with a blank space becomes a fixed font width and can be used for simple tabulation.
foo bar baz
alpha beta gamma
A line that starts with a blank space with nothing else on it forms a blank line.
==Usage and spelling==
===Usage===
*Possessives of singular nouns ending in ''s'' may be formed with or without an additional ''s''. Either form is generally acceptable within the {{SITENAME}}. However, if either form is much more common for a particular word or phrase, follow that form, such as with "Achilles' heel".
*Abbreviations of Latin terms like "i.e.", "e.g.", or "n.b." should be avoided and English terms such as "that is", "for example", or "note" used instead.
*If a word or phrase is generally regarded as correct, then prefer it to any other word or phrase that might be regarded as incorrect. For example, "other meaning" should be used instead of "alternate meaning", since ''alternate'' only means "alternating" in British English (and also according to the ''American Heritage Dictionary'').
*Use an unambiguous word or phrase in preference to an ambiguous one. For example, "other meaning" should be used instead of "alternative meaning", since ''alternative'' commonly suggests "non-traditional" or "out-of-the-mainstream" to an American-English speaker.
===Avoid self-referential pronouns===
{{SITENAME}} articles should not be based solely on opinion. Thus, "I" should not be used, except, of course, when it appears in a quotation. For similar reasons, avoid the use of "we" and "one", as in: "We/One should note that some critics have argued in favor of the proposal", as it sounds more personal than informative.
Nevertheless, it might sometimes be appropriate to use "we" or "one" when referring to an experience that ''anyone'', any reader, would be expected to have, such as general perceptual experiences.
==Images==
Please contact [http://www.hmc-benchmarks.com The Healthcare Management Council, Inc.] if you would like to upload an image to an article within the {{SITENAME}}.
==Bulleted items==
The following are rules for using lists of bulleted items:
* When using complete sentences always use punctuation and a period at the end.
* Incomplete sentences don't need terminal punctuation.
* Do not mix sentence styles; use all complete sentences, or use all sentence fragments.
* Each entry begins with a capital letter, even if it is a sentence fragment.
==Identity==
This is perhaps one area where {{SITENAME}}<sup>TM</sup> participants' flexibility and plurality are an asset, and where one would not wish all pages to look exactly alike. {{SITENAME}}<sup>TM</sup> neutral point of view and take precedence.
==Wiki-Linking==
Make only links relevant to the context. It is not useful and can be very distracting to mark all possible words as hyperlinks. Links should add to the user's experience; they should not detract from it by making the article harder to read. A high density of links can draw attention away from the high-value links that you would like your readers to follow up. Redundant links clutter up the page and make future maintenance harder..
==Make comments==
Avoid highlighting that the article is incomplete and in need of further work. Similarly, there is little benefit to the reader in seeing headings and tables without content.
If you would like to communicate with other potential editors please use the '''discussion tab'''.
==Legibility==
Consider the legibility of what you are writing. Make your entry easy to read on a screen. Make judicious use of devices such as bulleted lists and bolding.
==External links==
Links to articles outside of {{SITENAME}}<sup>TM</sup> appear as internal footnotes and can appear in a list at the bottom of the article. They should not appear as their native URLs, but should be formatted to describe the website and the topic. <nowiki>Not written as: [http://www.hmc-benchmarks.com]. But should be written as: [http://www.hmc-benchmarks.com The Healthcare Management Council]</nowiki>. When wikified it will appear as: [http://www.hmc-benchmarks.com The Healthcare Management Council]
==Page Layout==
See the NoSubject [[Help:Guide to layout|Guide to layout]].
<!-- cleaned and shared 3/2/06 -->
This '''Manual of Style''' has the simple purpose of making things easy to read by following a consistent format — it is a style guide. The following rules do not claim to be the last word on {{SITENAME}}<sup>TM</sup> style. One way is often as good as another, but if everyone does it the same way, the {{SITENAME}}<sup>TM</sup> will be easier to read and use, not to mention easier to write and edit.
Clear and informative writing is always more important than presentation and formatting. The {{SITENAME}}<sup>TM</sup> does not require writers to follow all or any of these rules: the joy of wiki editing is that the {{SITENAME}}<sup>TM</sup> does not require perfection.
==Article titles==
If possible, make the title the ''subject'' of the first sentence of the article (as opposed to putting it in the Predicate. For example, write "This Manual of Style is a style guide" instead of "This style guide is known as the Manual of Style." In any case, the title should appear as early as possible in the article — preferably in the first sentence.
The first time the article mentions the title, put it in bold using three apostrophes<nowiki>'''article title'''</nowiki> produces <span style="background-color: white">'''article title'''</span>. For example: "This '''Manual of Style''' is a style guide."
As a general rule, do not put links in
# the bold reiteration of the title in the article's lead sentence or
# any section title.
Also, try not to put other phrases in bold in the first sentence.
Follow the normal rules for italics in choosing whether to put part or all of the title in italics
==Headings==
Use the <tt>==</tt> (two equal signs) style markup for headings, not the <nowiki>'''</nowiki> (triple apostrophes) used to make words appear '''bold''' in character formatting. Start with "<tt>==</tt>", add the heading title, then end with "<tt>==</tt>".
Capitalize the first letter only of the first word and of any proper nouns in a heading, and leave all of the other letters in lowercase.
*Avoid links within headings. Instead repeat the word or phrase in the first sentence and wikify there.
*Avoid overuse of sub-headings.
*Avoid "The" in headings.
*Avoid repeating the article title in headings.
*If at all possible, avoid changing spelling of section titles, as other articles may link to a specific section.
==Capital letters==
Initial capitals and all capitals should not be used for emphasis.
==Italics==
Use the <code><nowiki>''</nowiki></code> (italic) markup. Example:
:<code><nowiki>''This is italic.''</nowiki></code>
which produces:
<div style="background-color: white">
:''This is italic.''
</div>
Editors mainly use italics to ''emphasize'' certain words. They also use them in these other cases:
*Titles
*When writing about words as words, or letters as letters.
===Use of punctuation in presence of brackets/parentheses===
Punctuation goes where it belongs logically; that is, it goes with the text to which it belongs. A sentence wholly inside brackets will have its punctuation inside the brackets. (As shown here, this applies to all punctuation in the sentence.) If a sentence ends with a clause in brackets, the final punctuation stays outside the brackets (as shown here). This applies to square "[ ]" as well as round "( )" brackets (parentheses).
===Serial commas===
* A serial comma can be used to avoid ambiguity.
* The sentence can be recast to avoid listing the items in an ambiguous manner.
* The items in the list can be presented using a formatted list.
===Colons===
Colons ( : ) should not have spaces before them:
*He attempted it in two years: 1941 and 1943 (correct)
*He attempted it in two years : 1941 and 1943 (incorrect)
===Spaces after the end of a sentence===
There are no guidelines on whether to use one or two spaces after the end of a sentence but it is not important as the difference shows up only in the edit box.
===Contractions===
In general, formal writing is preferred. Therefore, avoid excessive use of contractions — such as ''don't'', ''can't'', ''won't'', ''would've'', ''they'd'', and so on — unless they occur in a quotation.
==Acronyms and abbreviations==
Do not assume that your reader is familiar with the acronym or abbreviation that you are using. The standard writing style is to spell out the acronym or abbreviation on the first reference (wikilinked if appropriate) and then show the acronym or abbreviation after it. This signals to readers to look out for it later in the text, and makes it easy for them to refer back to it.
It can also be helpful in a longer article to spell out the acronym or abbreviation for the reader
again or to rewikify it if it has not been used for a while.
==Simple tabulation==
Any line that starts with a blank space becomes a fixed font width and can be used for simple tabulation.
foo bar baz
alpha beta gamma
A line that starts with a blank space with nothing else on it forms a blank line.
==Usage and spelling==
===Usage===
*Possessives of singular nouns ending in ''s'' may be formed with or without an additional ''s''. Either form is generally acceptable within the {{SITENAME}}. However, if either form is much more common for a particular word or phrase, follow that form, such as with "Achilles' heel".
*Abbreviations of Latin terms like "i.e.", "e.g.", or "n.b." should be avoided and English terms such as "that is", "for example", or "note" used instead.
*If a word or phrase is generally regarded as correct, then prefer it to any other word or phrase that might be regarded as incorrect. For example, "other meaning" should be used instead of "alternate meaning", since ''alternate'' only means "alternating" in British English (and also according to the ''American Heritage Dictionary'').
*Use an unambiguous word or phrase in preference to an ambiguous one. For example, "other meaning" should be used instead of "alternative meaning", since ''alternative'' commonly suggests "non-traditional" or "out-of-the-mainstream" to an American-English speaker.
===Avoid self-referential pronouns===
{{SITENAME}} articles should not be based solely on opinion. Thus, "I" should not be used, except, of course, when it appears in a quotation. For similar reasons, avoid the use of "we" and "one", as in: "We/One should note that some critics have argued in favor of the proposal", as it sounds more personal than informative.
Nevertheless, it might sometimes be appropriate to use "we" or "one" when referring to an experience that ''anyone'', any reader, would be expected to have, such as general perceptual experiences.
==Images==
Please contact [http://www.hmc-benchmarks.com The Healthcare Management Council, Inc.] if you would like to upload an image to an article within the {{SITENAME}}.
==Bulleted items==
The following are rules for using lists of bulleted items:
* When using complete sentences always use punctuation and a period at the end.
* Incomplete sentences don't need terminal punctuation.
* Do not mix sentence styles; use all complete sentences, or use all sentence fragments.
* Each entry begins with a capital letter, even if it is a sentence fragment.
==Identity==
This is perhaps one area where {{SITENAME}}<sup>TM</sup> participants' flexibility and plurality are an asset, and where one would not wish all pages to look exactly alike. {{SITENAME}}<sup>TM</sup> neutral point of view and take precedence.
==Wiki-Linking==
Make only links relevant to the context. It is not useful and can be very distracting to mark all possible words as hyperlinks. Links should add to the user's experience; they should not detract from it by making the article harder to read. A high density of links can draw attention away from the high-value links that you would like your readers to follow up. Redundant links clutter up the page and make future maintenance harder..
==Make comments==
Avoid highlighting that the article is incomplete and in need of further work. Similarly, there is little benefit to the reader in seeing headings and tables without content.
If you would like to communicate with other potential editors please use the '''discussion tab'''.
==Legibility==
Consider the legibility of what you are writing. Make your entry easy to read on a screen. Make judicious use of devices such as bulleted lists and bolding.
==External links==
Links to articles outside of {{SITENAME}}<sup>TM</sup> appear as internal footnotes and can appear in a list at the bottom of the article. They should not appear as their native URLs, but should be formatted to describe the website and the topic. <nowiki>Not written as: [http://www.hmc-benchmarks.com]. But should be written as: [http://www.hmc-benchmarks.com The Healthcare Management Council]</nowiki>. When wikified it will appear as: [http://www.hmc-benchmarks.com The Healthcare Management Council]
==Page Layout==
See the NoSubject [[Help:Guide to layout|Guide to layout]].
