Style Manual

Table of Contents
I. Introduction .......................................................... iv II. Using the Names of the KAB Foundation and Commission ......................................................... 1 General Instructions .............................................................. 2 Special Instances ................................................................... 3 III. Using Common KAB Foundation Words ................ 4 IV. Formatting .............................................................. 7 Font and Font Size Guidelines............................................... 8 Documentation Styles............................................................ 9 Specific Donor Business Letter .............................................10 General Donor Business Letter ............................................ 11 Memo .................................................................................... 12 Email Signature .................................................................... 13 Grant Proposals .................................................................... 14 News Releases ...................................................................... 15 V. Punctuation ........................................................... 16 Ampersands ( & ) .................................................................. 17 Apostrophes ( ).................................................................... 18 When Not to Use an Apostrophe ......................................... 20 Bulleted or Numbered Lists.................................................. 21 Colons ( : )............................................................................ 22 When Not to Use a Colon .................................................... 24 Commas ( , )......................................................................... 25 Em Dashes ( )................................................................... 32 En Dashes ( ) ..................................................................... 32 Hyphens ( - ) ........................................................................ 33 Punctuation within Italics ................................................... 35 Periods ( . )........................................................................... 36
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Quotation Marks ( ) .........................................................37 Semicolons ( ; ) .................................................................... 38 Punctuation within Spacing................................................. 39 VI. Capitalization ........................................................ 40 Dates and Events .................................................................. 41 People .................................................................................. 42 Places ................................................................................... 44 Products/Brand Names ....................................................... 46 Titles of Works ..................................................................... 47 VII. Acronyms and Initialisms ..................................... 49 Acronyms ............................................................................. 50 Initialisms ............................................................................. 51 VIII. Numerals .............................................................. 52 Numerals or Words ............................................................. 53 Measurements ..................................................................... 54 Percents ................................................................................55 Money .................................................................................. 56 Fractions .............................................................................. 58 IX. Appendices ........................................................... 59 Appendix A: Commonly Misused Words............................. 60 Appendix B: Works Referenced ........................................... 69 Appendix C: Wordpress Style Manual ................................. 70 Appendix D: Proposal ........................................................... 71 Appendix E: Cover Letter ..................................................... 77 Appendix F: Formatting Guidelines for the Style Manual .. 85 Appendix G: Style Sheet ...................................................... 87

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Introduction
You may be wondering what a style manual is and how to use it. Below are the answers to some frequently asked questions. 1. What is a style manual? A style manual is a set of standards that provides consistency in the writing and design for a specific organization. It provides uniformity in style and format both within a document and across multiple documents. 2. Who uses the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation (KAB Foundation) style manual? All Foundation employees, volunteers and marketing personnel should adhere to the style manual. 3. Why should I use the KAB Foundation style manual? You should use the Foundation style manual to help the Foundation achieve a cohesive and consistent style and voice in any published content. 4. To which content should I apply the style manual? The guidelines in the manual apply to the business letters, memos, grant proposals, press releases, the business plans, website content and emails. 5. How do I use the style manual? The manual is organized into nine sections: use of Foundation and Commission names, commonly used Foundation words, formatting, punctuation, capitalization, acronyms and initialisms, numerals, and a robust appendix. Refer to the table of contents if youre looking for a concept or a specific section.

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6. How can I access the Foundations style manual? The style manual is available as a physical guide as well as a digital form in Wordpress and in Microsoft Word on a flash drive. The digital style manual allows for regular updates.

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Using the Names of the KAB Foundation and Commission

General Instructions for Using the KAB Foundation and Commission Names
The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation (KAB Foundation) Spell out the full name Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation, followed by the initialism KAB Foundation in parentheses the first time you reference the Foundation. After its full, initial use, you may simply refer to the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation as the Foundation. If the term Foundation can be confused with another organization within the context of the sentence, use the term KAB Foundation. Do not ever use the initialism KABF. The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission (KAB Commission) In a similar way, after its first, full reference as the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission (KAB Commission), refer to it as the Commission. If Commission can be confused with another commission within the context of the sentence, use the term KAB Commission. Do not ever use the initialism KABC.

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Special Instances of Using the KAB Foundation and Commission Names

Foundation and/or Commissions Name in an Email Addresses When the Foundation or Commissions name appears in an email address, it appears in all lowercase letters.

bill@kabfoundation.org

Foundation and/or Commissions Name as a Web Address When the Foundation or Commissions name appears as a web address it retains the appropriate capitalized letters and does not contain the prefix www.

Visit us on the web at KABFoundation.org.

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Using Common KAB Foundation Words

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Using Common KAB Foundation Words

The following list contains words or phrases that have several variations in punctuation. Please adhere to the following choices.
anti-litter (hyphenated, in all uses) bimonthly (one word, no hyphen) certified local affiliate (lowercase) certified state affiliate (lowercase) Clean & Green Symposium (initial letters capitalized; use ampersand &) email (one word, no hyphen) error-free (hyphen) foundation board of directors (lowercase) full-time (hyphen) fundraising or fundraiser, not fund raising or fund-raising in-kind (hyphen) Internet (initial letter capitalized) KABFoundation.org (initial letters capped in web address) Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission (initial letters capitalized) Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation (initial letter capitalized) Litter-Free Zone (hyphen) new directors (lowercase) nonprofit (one word, no hyphen) nonstandard (one word, no hyphen) ongoing (one word, no hyphen)

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online (one word, no hyphen) part-time (hyphen) semimonthly (one word, no hyphen) The e-Keepsake (use uppercase "The"; lowercase "e"; uppercase "K"; italicize names of publications; use hyphen) the state (lowercase) State of Arkansas (capitalized when referring to the government entity) underwrite (one word, no hyphen) website (one word) well-being (hyphen)

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Formatting

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Font and Font Size Guidelines

Use the following font types and font sizes to create letters, memos, grant proposals and the KAB Foundation business plan:

Body Text: Georgia; 12-point size; regular face

Headers: Trebuchet MS; 16-point size; boldface

To avoid inconsistencies between different versions of MS Word and between different operating systems, convert the word document to a .pdf. To save the .doc or .docx as a .pdf, click "Save As" and select PDF under File Format.

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Documentation Styles
Adhere to the Associated Press (AP) for questions related to grammar, punctuation and abbreviations. When working with research that requires citations (for instance, when writing a grant proposal), adhere to the Modern Language Association (MLA) style.

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Email Signature

first and last name

William A. Smith, CFM Executive Director Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation 501-940-7734 (Phone) Website | Facebook | Twitter

position in the Foundation Foundation full name (keep on one line) work phone number hyperlinks for the KAB Foundation website, Facebook page and Twitter page (required)

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Grant Proposals
Most grant proposals are submitted electronically; however, if the Foundation must submit a paper copy of a proposal, please defer to the requirements and requests of the funder. If the funder doesn't specify any requirements, follow the guidelines for font size, font type, and line spacing listed under Formatting Guidelines in the table of contents. Additionally, a grant proposal should have 1.5 line spacing.

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News Releases
Follow the formatting choices and style of the advertising agency and the Associated Press (AP) for the produced deliverables below: brochures business cards icons logos news releases

The agency has control over the design of the release as well as style decisions, in the AP style guide. If the AP style guide doesn't address a certain word or formatting decision, the agency should defer to the KAB Foundation style manual.

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Punctuation

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Ampersands (&)
Definition: an ampersand is the symbol for the conjunction and.
Use the ampersand sign when it is part of a companys formal name, but never simply in place of the word and.

Rainwater, Holt & Sexton, P.A. Barnes & Noble Inc.

Incorrect: The KAB Foundation is a charitable & educational foundation.

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Apostrophes (')
Definition: apostrophes show possession or indicate contractions.
Use an apostrophe with an s to form the possessive case of nouns. The offices copier suddenly stopped working.

Use an apostrophe to mark the omission of letters or numbers in a contraction or date. youre lets its 02

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Use an apostrophe to form the plural of single letters, words or lowercase abbreviations if confusion might result from using s alone. I tried searching for Ingram under the is in the database. Make sure to use a font that easily distinguishes lowercase ls from 1s.

Use Arkansas as the possessive form of Arkansas. Arkansas' former motto was the "Land of Opportunity."

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When Not to Use an Apostrophe

Generally, do not use an apostrophe when referring to specific words as words or capital letters. At the board meeting, I received two nos and one yes. The Foundation made two As in terms of sustainability and safety standards.

Do not use an apostrophe for plurals of abbreviations with all capital letters (LOIs, SMEs) or a final capital letter (PhDs) or for plurals of numbers (3s, the early 1960s).

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Bulleted or Numbered Lists

Definition: a bulleted or numbered list is used to add emphasis and break down large paragraphs of information into manageable portions.

Make points on a bulleted or numbered list consistent in capitalization, punctuation, and syntax. For instance, if one item is a complete sentence, all items should be complete sentences; If one point begins with an active verb, all should begin with an active verb. If one point begins with a capital letter, all points should begin with a capital letter. The principle goals of the KAB Foundation are to secure funds for the Commission arrange events for recycling beautify the area make citizens aware of the environment

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Colons (:)
Definition: the colon is a mark of introduction that alerts readers to the connection between the first and second part of the sentence.
Use a colon to link independent clauses to words, phrases, clauses or lists that identify, rename, explain or illustrate the sentence that precedes the colon. Three topics will be discussed today: the volunteers, the donors and the staff.

Use a colon outside of quotation marks. There were three main points of the mayors address entitled, How We Got Here: responsibility, teamwork and dedication. Incorrect: There were three main points of the mayors address entitled, How we Got Here: responsibility, teamwork and dedication.

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Use a colon after a salutation in a business letter. Dear Mr. Jenkins:

Use a colon to a separate a title from a subtitle. Clearing the Air: A Special Report of the Air Quality of Arkansas

Use a colon to separate hours from minutes, except when describing time at the top of the hour. 2 p.m. 11:30 a.m.

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When Not to Use a Colon

Do not place a colon between a verb and its objects Incorrect: Three items to be discussed in the meeting are: the budget, the donors and the fundraising event.

Do not use a colon between a preposition and its object. Incorrect: The activities will be implemented in: Jefferson, Garland and Saline counties.

Do not insert a colon after words or phrases such as including, for example or such as when introducing a simple list. Incorrect: The KAB Commissions initiatives such as: antilitter, conservation and beautification program make our community a better place.

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Commas (,)
Definition: commas are used to link independent clauses, enclose nonessential elements, introduce elements and separate items in a series, among other uses.
The KAB Foundation does not adhere to the serial comma (otherwise known as the comma that is used before the conjunction that precedes the final item in a series). Communities that are clean, green and sustainable will ultimately drive the states economic prosperity and social well-being.

Place a comma inside the quotation marks when a quote comes before the source. Never before have environmental issues been of greater interest to Arkansans, remarked Senator Williams at the luncheon.

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Use a comma to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet. The rain had ended, but the clouds still hung overhead.

Use a comma after an introductory clause, phrases, or word that comes before the main clause. Common starter words for introductory clauses that should be followed by a comma include after, although, as, because, if, since, when and while. While I was in a meeting, my phone rang. Because her alarm clock was broken, she was late for the workshop. When the snow stops falling, we'll shovel the driveway.

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However, do not put a comma after the main clause when a dependent (subordinate) clause follows it (except for cases of extreme contrast). The senator was still quite upset, although she had won the race. (This comma use is correct because it is an example of extreme contrast) Incorrect: My phone rang, while I was in the meeting.

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Put a comma after a common introductory phrase including a participial and infinitive phrase, absolute phrase, nonessential appositive phrase, and/or long prepositional phrase (over four words). Having finished the evaluation, he left the room. To get answers, you have to ask questions. After the meeting but before lunch, I ran an errand. The sun radiating intense heat, we sought shelter in the cafe.

Put a comma before the common introductory words yes, however, well. Well, you never know until you try. Yes, I will be here tomorrow. However, its not what it seems.

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Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Use one comma before to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause.

Clause: That Tuesday, which happens to be Labor Day, is the only day when I am available to meet. Phrase: This restaurant has an exciting atmosphere. The food, on the other hand, is rather bland. Word: I appreciate your hard work. In this case, however, you seem to have over-exerted yourself.

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Do not use commas to set off essential elements of the sentence, such as clauses beginning with that (relative clauses). That clauses after nouns are always essential. That clauses after nouns: The watch that I borrowed from you is excellent. The pears that fell out of the basket are bruised.

Use a comma to set off all geographical names, items in dates (except the month and day), addresses (except the street number and name), and titles in names. I moved from Kansas City, Missouri, to Little Rock, Arkansas. May 27, 1903, was a momentous day. Who lives at 1607 Brighton Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania? Carson Matson, MD, will be the attending physician.

(When you use just the month and the year, no comma is necessary after the month or year: "The average temperatures for August 2012 are the highest on record for that month.")

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Use a comma to shift between the main discourse and a quotation. John said, "I'll see you tomorrow." "I cant tonight," she answered, "I have to work."

Do not use a comma between a persons name and Jr. or Sr. Royce Anderson

Use a comma wherever necessary to prevent possible confusion or misreading. To Rachel, Megan had been a sort of mother.

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Em Dashes ()
Use an em dash (almost the length of a capital M) with spaces on each side to show an interruption or break in thought.

My favorite type of tree the magnolia tree is in full bloom.

En Dashes ()
Use an en dash (almost the length of a capital N) between numerals to express a range of numbers.

Please review pages 4852 in the manual before the next meeting.

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Hyphens (-)
Definition: hyphens are used to link and separate words and parts of words. They may also be used to connect two or more words or numbers into a single concept.
Use a hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun, but not after.

She was the curly-haired girl. The girl had curly hair.

Use a hyphen with compound numbers when the rule for use of digits doesnt apply; also use a hyphen with fractions.

forty-two three-fourths

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Use a hyphen when a number or letter modifies another noun.

26.2-mile race T-bone accident

Do not use a hyphen when joining a word with the prefixes "bi-" or "semi-." bimonthly semiannually

Use hyphens to separate the area code and the digits in appropriate places in a telephone number.

501-257-4972 Incorrect: (501) 257-4972

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Punctuation within Italics

Use italics to denote emphasis and to distinguish foreign expressions. Please do not write your name on the evaluation form. My boss and I saw each other vis--vis through the window.

Use italics to punctuate the titles of long works such as magazines, books, newspapers, films and television shows.

National Geographic (magazine) Silent Spring (book) Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (newspaper) 60 minutes (TV show)

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Periods (.)
Use periods in abbreviations with lower-case letters. a.m. p.m.

Do not use periods in abbreviations with upper-case letters. FBI CIA

Place a period inside quotation marks. Senator Williams remarked, Conservation, recycling and clean water and air are issues that are changing the way we think about the environment.

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Quotation Marks ( )
Definition: quotation marks are used to punctuate titles of short works including short stories, magazine or newspaper articles, essays, speeches, chapter titles, television episodes and radio shows.
The Gift of the Magi (short story) Goodnight, Seattle (TV episode) I Have a Dream (speech)

Use quotation marks around direct quotes. Place commas and periods inside the closing quotation mark, and place colons and semicolons outside. The placement of exclamation and question marks depends on the situation. Community is the smallest unit of health, said Wendell Berry. Wendell Berry once said, Community is the smallest unit of health. The mayor asked me, What do you think of the proposal?

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Semicolons (;)
Use a semicolon to link two independent clauses when they balance or contrast one another. The year was off to a good start; all the funding requests had been met with a surplus. He supported the building proposal; however, I opposed it.

Use a semicolon to join elements of a series when individual items of the series already include commas. Members present at the meeting included John Harlem, chair of the board; Melissa St. John, vice chair; and Kristin Westover, secretary.

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Punctuation within Spacing

Use only one space between the ending period of one sentence and the first letter of a new sentence. Beautification projects bring a community together. It is more than just picking up trash; it is about preserving Arkansas natural beauty and sustaining a culture of care and stewardship.

Do not put a space between initials.

A.M. Waller K.H. Walker

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Capitalization

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Dates and Events

Capitalize the names of months, days of the week and holidays. On May 25, we will host a recycling day at an elementary school. The Foundation is open Monday through Friday. The Foundation is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. events. Capitalize the names of historic The Civil Rights Movement gained momentum from 1955-1965. The Industrial Revolution created smoke pollution in large cities.

Do not capitalize the names of seasons, unless the season is part of a title. We will launch our event in the spring. During the UALR Spring Commencement, 459 students will graduate.

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People
Capitalize the names of people. Luke went to Sarah's house. Julie sent the memo to Bill.

Capitalize titles, like doctor, professor and judge, when they refer to a specific person. Dr. Rollins would like to donate to the KAB Foundation. I have a meeting with Professor Nahrwold at two o'clock. Vice President Jill Holt is the keynote speaker. Do not capitalize titles when they refer only to the occupation. The foundation hired a new executive director. Who is the new provost?

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Capitalize family relationships only when they are used as part of a persons title. Your Aunt Christy is a clever person. Christy is my aunt.

Capitalize the names of political, racial, social, national, civic and athletic groups. The Foundation chooses not to endorse the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. I attended the Rotary Club luncheon on Tuesday.

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Places
Capitalize the names of specific places: cities, countries, geographic regions, street names, schools and universities and landmarks. The West Coast lifestyle is often stereotyped as beaches, bikinis and blondes. I enjoy the culinary specialties of the South. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock partnered with the Clinton School of Public Service.

Capitalize words that are derived from the names of places, including languages. Applicants must be fluent in French, Spanish and German. We are reaching out to predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods .

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Do not capitalize directions or other general geographical words. Head east on Cantrell Road to find the Foundations office. There are efforts to beautify southwest Little Rock.

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Products/Brand Names
Capitalize the brand names of specific products. iPhone Microsoft Word

Do not capitalize the general names of products unless they are trademarked. The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation gave me a flash drive. Can you please pass me a Kleenex?

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Titles of Works
Capitalize the titles of articles, books, magazines, songs, albums, television shows and plays. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published an advertisement about the Litter-Free Zone program. Bill McKibben will read from his book End of Nature.

Do not capitalize short prepositions, articles, coordinating conjunctions or the to in infinitives if they arent the first word of the title. The Merchant of Venice (preposition) "A Dialogue between the Soul and Body" (preposition) Romeo and Juliet (coordinating conjunction) How to Play Chess (infinitive)

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Capitalize the following parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and subordinating conjunctions. The Flowers of Europe (noun) Save Our Children (pronoun) The Mouse That Roared (adjective) The Ugly Duckling (adjective) Only Slightly Corrupt (adverb) One If by Land (subordinating conjunction) Anywhere That Chance Leads (subordinating conjunction)

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Acronyms & Initialisms

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Acronyms
Definition: an acronym is a group of letters formed from the initial letters of consecutive words; the letters are pronounced as a word.
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization) RADAR (radio detection and ranging)

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Initialisms
Definition: an initialism is a group of letters formed from the initial letters of several words; each letter is pronounced.
BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) CD (compact disc) COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) The first time an acronym or initialism is used, spell out the words that form the acronym or initialism. Then, follow the spelled out words with the acronym or initialism in parentheses. When using several abbreviations in a document, repeat the full term in parentheses after the acronym or initialism regularly to remind readers of the abbreviations meaning. The letter of Intent (LOI) is due December 15. Remember that the LOI (Letter of Intent) is due December 15.

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Numerals

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Numerals or Words
Write out numbers zero through nine as words; write numbers above 10 as numerals. I have called the office three times. There were 132 competitors in the race.

Spell out numbers that begin a sentence, even if they would otherwise be written as numerals. One hundred and thirty-two competitors biked in the race.

Spell out approximate and round numbers. The Frueauff Foundation received more than five hundred applications for the matching grant.

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Measurements
Express units of measurement as numerals. 3 kilometers 55 lb. 7 feet

When two numbers are placed side-by-side in a sentence, write one as a number and one as a word. We had 12 eight-foot beams ordered. Twenty 5-year-olds attended the childrens festival.

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Percents
Write percents as numerals along with the word percent Approximately 40 percent of the territory remained vacant.

When percents are used in a table, write out the number and the use the percent symbol.

Categories of Land in Aspen County Inhabited 30% Vacant 40% Potential for Restoration 30%

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Money
Use numbers to express exact or approximate amounts of money, and use words to express indefinite amounts of money. The cost is $25.00 per unit. (exact) The new firewall cost nearly $12,000.00. (approximate) The catering costs totaled several hundred dollars. (indefinite) Always include a decimal point and two zeros for whole dollar amounts.

$25 not $25.00

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For rounded amounts of money over one million dollars, use numerals and words.

$4.2 million (Note: Do not write out the word dollars after an exact or approximate amount of money)

Use a comma to separate numbers every three places from the right when you have numbers with four or more digits. $546,900 $4,243,130

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Fractions
Express fractions as numerals when they are written with whole numbers. 27 inches

Spell out fractions when they are expressed without a whole number. one-fourth

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Appendices

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Appendix A: Commonly Misused Words

A
accuracy/precision: accuracy means error-free and correct; precision is used mathematically, specifically, to measure the "degree of refinement" for a measurement, e.g. a measurement carried to five decimals is more precise than one carried to two decimals; however, it is not necessarily more accurate. adapt/adept/adopt: adapt means to "adjust to a new situation;" adept means "highly skilled;" adopt means to "take or use as one's own." all ready/already: all ready is a two-word phrase meaning "completely prepared;" already means "before this time" or "previously." all right: all right means "all correct." It is always two words; alright is nonstandard. all together/altogether: all together means "all acting together" or "all in one place;" altogether means "entirely" or "completely. allude/elude/refer: allude means to make an indirect reference to something; elude means to escape notice or detection; refer is used to indicate a direct reference to something.

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amount/number: amount measures mass or non-countable items; number measures countable items. the amount of paperwork or the amount of energy required the number of pennies as/because/since: all three words are used to mean "because." as is the least definitive to indicate causeavoid using it; since is a weak substitute for because when indicating cause: use since when the emphasis is on circumstance, condition or time rather than on cause and effect; because is the strongest in showing cause-and-effect relationships. awhile/a while: awhile means "for a short time;" a while means "a period of time."

B
be sure to: "be sure and" is colloquial and unidiomatic when used for be sure to. Example: When you sign the contract, be sure to keep a copy; not, When you sign the contract, be sure and keep a copy. beside/besides: beside means "next to" or "apart from;" besides means "in addition to" or "other than." between/among: between is used to relate only two items or persons; among is used to relate more than two. "amongst" is a variant (British spelling).
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bi-/semi-: bi- means "two" or "every two," as in bimonthly, which means "once in two months;" when used with periods of time, semi- means "halfof" or "occurring twice within a period of time," e.g. semimonthly biannual/biennial: biannual means "twice during the year;" biennial means "every other year."

C
capital/capitol: capital refers to cities that are seats of government, such as the capital city of Little Rock; capital also refers to a financial context; capitol refers to buildings. cite/sight/site: cite means "acknowledge" or "quote on authority;" sight is the ability to see; site is a plot of land or the place where something is located. complement/compliment: complement means "anything that completes a whole;" compliment means "praise." compose/constitute/comprise: compose and constitute both mean "make up a whole;" comprise means "include," "contain" or "consist of." continual/continuous: continual implies "happening over and over" or "frequently repeated;" continuous implies "occurring without interruption" or "unbroken." credible/creditable: credible means something is believable; creditable means something is worthy of praise or credit.

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D
defective/deficient: defective means something is faulty; deficient means something is lacking or incomplete.

E
economic/economical: economic refers to the production, development and management of material wealth; economical means "not wasteful or extravagant." e.g./i.e.: e.g. is a Latin abbreviation for exempli gratia, which means "for example;" i.e. is a Latin abbreviation for id est, which means "that is." etc.: etc is a Latin abbreviation for et cetera, which means "and others" or "and so on." It is redundant to use "and" in front of etc. Do not italicize etc.

F
flammable/inflammable/nonflammable: both flammable and inflammable mean "capable of being set on fire, but it is clearer to use flammable because the prefix "in-" usually causes the base word to take the opposite meaning, therefore, implying that inflammable means not capable of being set of fire; nonflammable, in contrast, means "not capable of being set on fire."

fewer/less: use fewer to modify plural nouns; use less to indicate a smaller amount or quantity and use less with singular mass nouns. Fewer sandwiches could have been ordered; I don't think we could have vacationed with less money.
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I
imply/infer: imply means a to hint at or suggests something; infer means to reach a conclusion based on evidence or interpretation. in/into: in means "inside of;" into implies movement from the outside to the inside. insure/ensure/assure: insure, ensure and assure all mean to "make secure or certain;"assure refers to people, and it has the connotation of setting a person's mind at rest; ensure and insure mean "make something secure from harm;" insure is often used in the sense of guaranteeing the value of life or property.

L
lay/lie: lay is a transitive verb (a verb that requires a direct object to complete its meaning) that means "to put" or "to place;" lie is an intransitive verb (a verb that does not take a direct object) that means "to recline" or "to remain."

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lie I lie in my bed at night. I lay down on the floor. The dog had lain on her bed after she ate.

lay I will lay the book on the table.

the book = direct object At my job today, I laid tile.

lie lay

tile = direct object Table 1: Verb Tenses of lie and lay Have you laid the baby down? Present Past Past Perfect lay lain laid the babylaid = direct object

M
mutual/common: mutual can mean "shared," but usually implies something given and received reciprocally, and it is used to reference only two persons or parties; common is used when two or more persons share something or possess it jointly.

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O
on/onto/upon: on means "attached to" or "located at;" on also stresses a position of rest; onto implies movement to a position on or movement up and on; upon emphasizes movement or a condition, e.g. The report is due upon completion of the project.

P
percent/percentage: percent is normally used to replace the symbol % (except in tables); percentage is never used with numbers, but represents a general size. principle/principal: principal means "an amount of money on which interest is earned or paid" or "a chief official in a school or court proceeding; principle means "a basic truth or belief" or "main, primary."

R
regardless/irregardless: regardless means "despite everything;" irregardless is not a word; avoid using it. respective/respectively: respective means "separate" or "particular;" respectively means "in the order given."

T
tenant/tenet: tenant is a person who holds or possess real estate or personal property; tenet is a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true.

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there/they're/their: there refers to a particular place or location; they're is a contraction of the two words "they" and "are;" their is possessive pronoun: it shows possession of an object, idea or person.

W
who's/whose: who's is a contraction of the two words "who" and "is;" whose is a relative pronoun that shows possession of an object, idea or person. who/whom: who is a relative pronoun that functions only in the subjective case; i.e., it functions as a noun would; whom is a relative pronoun that functions only in the objective case; i.e., it functions as an object would. One easy way to discern whether to use who or whom is to ask if whom can be replaced with any objective pronoun such as him, her, them, or us. Who went to the store? The best way to track the thief is to find who left the office at noon yesterday. Jeff went to the prom with Cayley, whom he asked two days ago. With whom did Ashley go skiing? *Note: whom is considered obsolete to some linguists. If you aren't sure which one to use, consider rewriting the sentence.

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Y
your/you're: your is a possessive pronoun, and it's used to show ownership of or relationship to an object, idea or person; you're is a contraction of the two words "you" and "are".

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Appendix B: Works Referenced

Alred, Gerald J., Charles T. Brusaw and Walter E. Oliu. Handbook of Technical Writing. 10th Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. Print. Punctuation. owl.english.purdue.edu. The Writing Lab the OWL at Purdue, and Purdue University, 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. Rude, Carolyn D., and Angela Eaton. Technical Editing. 5th Ed. Boston: Pearson, 2011. Print.

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Appendix C: Wordpress Style Manual

The KAB Foundation style manual is not only available as a physical copy and as a digital copy on a flash drive, but the contents of the manual are also available in a private Wordpress page. Each section of the style manual is displayed as a "parent" page, and the information in each section is nested under each "parent" page. The Wordpress page provides two benefits: first, the Wordpress interface allows the Foundation to update the style manual contents easily and without paper; second, the page is on the web, which makes it accessible to KAB Foundation employees who work from home and don't have access to the bound, printed copy or the flash drive. The Wordpress login information is below.

username: kabfoundation (lowercase) password: kabf12 (lowercase)

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Appendix D: Proposal
2801 S. University Little Rock, AR 72204 October 9, 2012

Mr. Bill Smith Executive Director Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation P.O. Box 7582 Little Rock, AR 72217-7582 Dear Mr. Smith: As we discussed during our meeting, we will create a style manual for the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation. We believe a style manual will reinforce the foundations mission, as well as create a standard of consistency for written communication. In this letter, we will analyze the needs of the users of the manual, analyze the needs of the foundations audience, state our editing goals for the style manual, create an organizational plan, delegate team roles in a management plan, and outline deadlines.

Analysis of Style Manual Users

The users for this style manual include foundation Executive Director Bill Smith, Associate Director of Public Relations Julie C. Robbins, Senior Copyeditor Robert Dunn, and Commission Executive Director Bob Phelps. The users direct need includes an accessible, easy-to-use guide to inform and standardize formal and informal, internal and external methods of written discourse, which will, in turn, establish consistency in marketing and communication, as well as promote a reputation of professionalism and integrity. The style

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manual will be offered in bound hard-copy form, as well as on a travel drive and stored in an online backup to ensure extended usability for future users as the foundation grows.

Analysis of Foundation Audience

Though the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission benefits extend to all Arkansans, the target audience of the foundation includes the visible, educated, and highest net worth members of the community who are interested in supporting the improvement of their communities by, preventing litter, recycling and keeping Arkansas beautiful. This audience realizes the need to, accept responsibility for maintaining Arkansas scenic beauty, environmental health and quality of life, and understands how, these efforts positively impact civic pride, livability and economic growth creating communities where people want to work, live and play. These high net worth members, for whom the foundation hopes to receive funding, expect a high level of professionalism, accuracy, and consistency. A style manual will enable the foundation to write uniformly and enable them to send out grant proposals, business letters, and other formal written communication. When these documents follow an established style manual, they will reflect organization and the good efforts put forth by the foundation. A well-written, well-edited, and well-designed document can make the difference of receiving or not receiving grant money from large corporations and individuals. Despite the style manuals perceived smallness in the larger sense of the foundation, we believe the manual will play a great role in securing the confidence and philanthropy of both high net worth community members and corporations. As stated before, the target audience is high net worth people, but the foundation recognizes a secondary audience, the general population of Arkansas. Community members in Arkansas will access the foundation in two ways. First, they can visit the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation website. The websites content is designed to appeal to a general

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viewer seeking more information. The formality level is low and narrative-like in tone. The style manual will record the change in formality for website content as opposed to business letters or press releases. The general viewer needs comprehensive, concise information that will direct them to various ways for helping the foundation. The style manual will guide the writer of future revisions of the website so that the content will be consistent from revision to revision. Too, the foundation does not know will view the website; therefore, it is imperative for the content to stay accurate and appear professional, in the instance that the site attracts an unsolicited donation. The second way a general member of the population will access the foundation is through a personal business letter. The business letter, unlike the website content, must be formal, polite, and invite its reader to become involved with the foundation, through either donations or volunteer work. The style manual will record the nuances of the foundations business letter in order to ensure each letter is consistent.

Editing Goals
The primary editing goal for the style manual is to create a consistent voice and style across the four major categories of publicationincluding grant proposals, formal letters, press releases, and the website. This consistency of voice and style will be used to reinforce the professionalism and mission of the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation. Additionally, we will strive to make the manual as accessible and user-friendly as possible in order to accommodate any untrained volunteers that may need to access the manual in the future.

Organizational Plan
As determined in our meeting, the style manual will be designed and organized but is not limited tothe following five sections: Grant proposals

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Business letters Website content (KAB Foundation and Litter-Free Zone) Press releases Business plan In each section, the style manual will dictate the proper formatting and document

design for the document, the special rules for abbreviations, acronyms, punctuation, branding, and other special rules that need to be recorded for future documents.

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Explanation of Deadlines Project Description

Proposal Letter In-class work: Multi-pass editing for business plan, business letters, grant proposals, press releases, and website content (KAB Foundation website and Litter-Free Zone website). Include accompanying style sheets In-class work: Designing of hard-copy manual (tabs, layout, charts, table of contents, headings); writing draft for cover piece Complete, typed draft of Style manual In-class work: Peer editing In-class work: Peer editing In-class work: Peer editing Edited manuals due back to writers (3 copies) Kelsie and Anna Kelsie and Anna Kelsie and Anna Kelsie and Anna November 6 November 8 November 13 November 15 Kelsie and Anna November 1 Kelsie and Anna October 30

Managed by
Kelsie and Anna Kelsie and Anna

Deadline
October 9 October 25

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In-class work: Editing style manual (final pass) Thanksgiving Holiday: UALR closed In-class grad presentations In-class work: Editing cover piece (final pass) Final copy of style manual, style sheets, and cover piece due

Kelsie and Anna

November 20 November 22

Kelsie and Anna Kelsie and Anna Kelsie and Anna

November 27 November 29 December 6

We thank you for the opportunity to work with you on this style manual. We look forward to our next meeting when we will discuss the first, complete draft of the manual. We will contact you to set up an appointment. Please contact Anna Waller (amwaller@ualr.edu; 501-240-4653) or Kelsie Walker (khwalker@ualr.edu; 504-4421648) if you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns. Thank you for your cooperation and support! Sincerely,

Anna Waller and Kelsie Walker Graduate Students Department of Rhetoric and Writing University of Arkansas at Little Rock cc: Dr. Cindy Nahrwold

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Appendix E: Cover Letter

TO: Dr. Nahrwold Cc: KAB Foundation FROM: Anna Waller and Kelsie Walker DATE: 6 December 2012 SUBJECT: Style Manual for the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission I. The Context

We created our style manual on behalf of the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation (KAB Foundation), a charitable organization that exists with the exclusive purpose of supporting and benefiting the programs and activities of the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission (KAB Commission). In turn, the mission of the KAB Commission is to inspire and educate individuals to prevent litter, recycle and keep Arkansas beautiful. The purpose of the style manual was to gather a set of writing and design standards across the major publication categories including external business letters to donors, internal memos, grant proposals, and news releases. We were committed to working with this specific organization because we realized our efforts had the potential to have a practical, positive impact on the well-being and growth of the Foundation and the beautification movement in Arkansas. As the new Executive Director Bill Smith explained, even though the Foundation has been around since 2002, part of the largest reason it has been unable to flourish is due to inconsistent language usage in publication and branding materials. Therefore, our goal for the manual became not only to provide uniformity in style and formatting within a document and across multiple documents, but, ultimately, to also assist the Foundation in creating an appealing and memorable presence in the community that will attract financial donors and sponsors. From the very beginning, we realized that if we did not make the manual simple, accessible, and user-friendly, the manual would fail to become the dynamic, valuable asset it was intended to be. Our thought process was that if we could make the style manual simple, it could be usable; and once it was usable, it could generate consistency.

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II.

The Users

The users for this style manual include Foundation Executive Director Bill Smith, Associate Director of Public Relations Julie C. Robbins, Senior Copyeditor Robert Dunn, and Commission Executive Director Bob Phelps. The users direct need is an accessible, easy-to-use guide to standardize formal and informal, internal and external methods of written discourse. The users indirect need is consistent voice, style and design in marketing and communication publications, as well as a reputation of professionalism and integrity. III. The Rhetorical Techniques

Every rhetorical technique and design choicefrom the causal tone to the abundant white spacewas intended to simplify navigation and use for the user. Our references for the style manual included the Handbook of Technical Writing (10th Ed.), Technical Editing (5th Ed.), and the Punctuation pages on the Purdue OWL website. We choose to use these references as our foundation for creating the manual because they were accessible and offered straight-forward and concise explanations. From page one, we tried to keep our words short and sweet. We decided to make our introduction of the manual a Q and A set-up to provide a friendly welcome to the otherwise dreaded task of cracking the cover. We attempted to answer the questions a nervous or otherwise less-than-enthusiastic user might ask. Questions include, What is a style manual? Why should I use the style manual? and, How do I use a style manual? We knew a user would not feel like digging for these answers in a couple of chunky-sized paragraphs, because we knew we would not appreciate that, either. With the swift and sturdy handshake of our introduction in place, we moved on to considering the organization of our style manual, a task that was no small matter. We chose to organize the manual into eight different sections in descending order of priority: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Using the Names of the KAB Foundation and Commission Using Common KAB Foundation Words Formatting Punctuation Capitalization Acronyms and Initialisms

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7. Numerals 8. Appendices For each of these sections, we kept the Foundation's vocabulary and usage in mind and employed simple illustrations. In the punctuation, capitalization, numerals, and acronyms and initialisms sections, we introduced a simple, imperative rule, and then followed up with a pertinent example, usually thematically related to the Foundation itself or the environment in general. If necessary, we added a brief definition to the item before presenting the rule and example. Figure 1 shows the format for the illustration of a capitalization rule along with its example.

Figure 1: Example of a capitalization rule 1. Using the Names of the KAB Foundation and Commission From the very beginning, our most basic objective for the project was to standardize the Foundation and Commission names and initialisms across the organization. During our first meeting, our clients, Bill and Julie, expressed frustration regarding the inconsistency in this area; some staff used the initialism KABF, while others used KAB Foundation, and still others simply used Foundation. Julie made it very clear that she did not approve of the initialism KABF, so we swiftly implemented the initialism KAB Foundation. This section also contains instructions on how to use the name in special instances, such as in the web address or in an email address. We hope that if this manual does not accomplish anything else, it will help to standardize the usage of the Foundation and Commissions names. As noted previously, this sections top priority earned its spot as the first section.

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2. Using Common KAB Foundation Words The second most important priority we determined for the style manual was the standardization of Using Common KAB Foundation Words . We created an alphabetized list of the Foundations commonly used words or phrases that have several variations in punctuation. Though we had originally separated this section into two different sections (one called Comma Rules for Commonly Used KAB words and another called Hyphen Rules for Commonly Used KAB words), we soon realized that it was better to compile all commonly used words into a single list to ensure simplicity and usability. 3. Formatting We created the formatting section with the hope that it could become the one-stop station for users who have questions on how to format aspects of correspondence, whether a signature on an email or a formal business letter to a prospective donor. Not surprisingly, this section involved the most exhaustive efforts and evolved more than any other section throughout our drafting process. First, we set forth the guidelines for using font and font size and established the documentation style. These choices were easy to establish as we knew that we needed a universal serif font (we decided on Georgia, 12 pt.) and were instructed to adhere to the AP style for questions of grammar, punctuation, and abbreviations. The Foundation, however, had not decided on a documentation style for citing sources and left that decision up to us. We proposed using MLA to document source citations because we thought that it would be the simplest style to follow. Bill and Julie agreed. Next, we provided marked-up illustrations of templates for the external business letters and internal memos. The goal was to show examples for formatting rather than to give a model for the content. Therefore, in the case of the memo, when we thought that body text would be too confusing for manual users, we replaced the body text with Lorem Ipsum. We also choose to include templates for constructing an email signature and guidelines on formatting grant proposals and news releases. The email signature was an especially important rhetorical decision because it was one that the KAB Foundation had not made yet. In fact, before we began the style manual, the way Bills email signature was set up split the KAB Foundations name into two separate lines, violating the branding rules.

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4. Punctuation This section is the most extensive because we wanted it to be a comprehensive reference for any punctuation question. The punctuation marks chosen for explanation and illustration in this section were selected based on their frequency of occurrence in the KAB Foundation documents that we reviewed. More emphasis was placed on items that reoccurred most often. For example, because use of semicolons and hyphens were cited as the most number of times in confusion and/or error, these were the sections that received the most attention. Conversely, because italics were most often used correctly in the discourse we reviewed, this section was much shorter. Perhaps the most significant item we standardized in this section was the decision to not use the oxford comma. This was one of the most difficult rules for us to follow in the style manual as we were both so accustomed to using the oxford comma (please note that we allowed ourselves to use the oxford comma in this cover letter as it is not intended as an example for the Foundation). 5. Capitalization We referred to the rules from the Purdue OWL to establish the Foundations standards for capitalization. We explained the rules on capitalization for people, places, dates and events, titles of works, and products/ brand names, as we anticipated that these would be the categories that most of the manuals users would have questions about. 6. Acronyms and Initialisms The purpose of this section was to define the difference between acronyms and itialisms to encourage correct usage. We felt that if we defined what and why these items were important, users of the manual would be motivated to use the correct form of the Foundation and Commissions names, along with other critical acronyms such as email, PDF, and RFP. 7. Numerals We chose to dedicate an entire section to discuss the rules for using numerals because we saw this as a reoccurring point of confusion and inconsistency in the document samples we received from the KAB Foundation. We organized this section into the categories related to numerals or words, measurements, percents, money, numbers with more than four digits, and fractions, to give the user the ability to easily target the appropriate category with the least amount of confusion.

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8. Appendices We choose to include a robust appendix to provide further explanation and assistance with using the style manual. The appendices sections include commonly misused words, guidelines for news releases, works referenced, formatting guidelines for the style manual, and our style sheet. Appendix A includes an alphabetized list of commonly misused words that clarifies the common mistakes and misunderstandings between and among words (for example, the difference between allude, elude, and refer). With the inspiration from homework assignments in the Handbook of Technical Writing, we used our daily schedule to pinpoint tricky words whose explanations would be relevant to the literature and correspondence of the Foundation. We realized this was an important section because we knew first-hand how easy it can be to get confused on word usage. We chose to detail the guidelines for writing and designing a news release in Appendix B because we felt that this was one item of publication whose strict adherence to the specified standards could not be overemphasized. Appendix C simply shows the list of works that we referenced in the making of this style manual, while Appendix F shows the guidelines for maintaining the formatting for the style manual. Appendix F is especially relevant to the manual in that it will be the key that enables the users to maintain and update the manual in years to come. Finally, the style sheet in Appendix G outlines our record of stylistic decisions. IV. Multimodal Formats of the Style Manual

To allow for adaptability, expansion, and revision, we chose to make the style

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manual available in hard-copy as well as digital form in Wordpress and on a flash-drive. In order to ensure successful turnover to the new Wordpress administrators, we included a section with the log-in codes and brief explanation of how to access the site. In our clients hard copies of the style manual we will attach the flash drive on the inside cover. V. Overall Experience

Practicing what we were preaching proved to be the most challenging aspect of this project. We discovered this first-hand as we (two distinct writers with two distinct writing styles) attempted to make the case for unifying style and formatting in this style manual while simultaneously trying to follow the rules we were creating. Fortunately, we came to the realization that our drafting experience provided a built-in usability test. After testing out the manual for ourselves, we can certainly empathize with the user that it is a challenge to strive for unification and uniformity in the midst of a multiplicity of voicesand we only had two writers! We are grateful for the chance to have engaged in a collaborative, authentic activity that allowed us to serve real-world clients. Though writing a style manual can be tedious work, it is rewarding to reflect on our compilation and imagine how our rhetorical contributions might play a part in creating a new reality for the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation.

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Appendix F: Formatting Guidelines for Style Manual

Section Breaks: Trebuchet MS; 36-point size; boldface; middle aligned

Level 1 Headings: Trebuchet MS; 28point size; regular type; left aligned
Alphabet letters in Commonly Misused Words section: Trebuchet MS; 22-point size; regular type; left aligned
Level 2 Headings: Georgia font type; 16-point size; boldface; left aligned
Body Text: 1.15 spacing

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 Definitions or explanations: Georgia font type; 18point size; boldface; left aligned
Examples: Georgia font type; 14-point size; regular type; left align the word "Examples:", but indent actual examples 0.5 inches. If there are more than four examples, use 1.5 line spacing. Formatting Textboxes: Georgia; 12-point size; regular type; centered Email Signature Example: Trebuchet MS; 14-point size; regular face
Page numbers (Body): Georgia; 12-point size Page numbers (Front & Back Matter): Georgia; 12-point size Footer: Georgia font type 12-point size

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A antilitter (one word) Arkansas (to show possessionno s) a.m. (lowercase, period)

Appendix G: Style Sheet

B

E even-numbered years (hyphen) email (oneword, no hyphen)

F Foundation (use in a text after Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation is introduced; use KAB Foundation if "foundation" can be confused with the funding foundation. See KAB Foundation) foundation board of directors (lowercase) full-time (hyphen J

C D certified state affiliate (lowercase) certified local affiliate (use for local organizations; lowercase) Clean & Green Symposium (initial cap; use ampersand) capacity-building strategy (use hyphen) Clean & Green Team (Initial cap; use ampersand) G H hands-on lesson plans (hyphen)

K KeepArkansasBeautiful.com (initial cap in web address) Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission (initial cap) KAB Commission (insert in parentheses after introducing Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation

L litter prevention, recycling and beautification (use in that exact order) litterprevention program
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N new directors (lowercase) nonessential (no hyphen)

KAB Foundation ( in paren. after introducing full name; use only if "Foundation" is ambiguous) O ongoing (one word) odd-numbered years (hyphen)

P part-time (hyphen) p.m. (lowercase, period)

S start-up (hyphen) state state's future (use apostrophe) semicolon (one word)

U underwrite (one word) Numbers 501 (c)(3) (use a space between 501 and (c); dont use a space between (c)(3) $25.00

V volunteer-led leadership Miscellaneous

W well-being (use hyphen) website (one word) Punctuation Do not use the oxford comma. use punctuation between items in a list. Use em dash to emphasize clauses.

T The e-Keepsake (use "The"; lowercase "e"; capital "K"; italicize names of publications; use hyphen) top-of-mind (use hyphens) XYZ Zeros (no second e) Formatting Use bullets in business plan objectives

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