OUAC Call for Copy Guide

OUAC Style strives to be clear and direct to allow readers to easily understand the material.

Accessibility

• Do not use directional language (e.g., “above” or “below”).
• All web content must follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0.

Plain Language

We prefer text to be written in plain language – that is, written in a clear, direct way that allows the intended reader to understand the material on the first reading. This is also important for accessibility.

Tips for Writing in Plain Language

• Avoid contractions and idioms (these are not easily understood by English as a Second Language readers).
• Focus on the reader. Think about who they are, what they need to know and how much they need to know.
• Use the active voice and write in the first- or second-person perspective (using “I”, “we” or “you”). This makes the text easier to read and more direct.
• Use simple, familiar words and avoid jargon.
• Use positive language; negative language can be difficult to understand (e.g., “Your application remains active if you provide the information we request.” instead of, “Your application does not become void unless you fail to provide requested information.”
• Be concise. Remove unnecessary words (e.g., “please”), and limit sentences to 1 idea and paragraphs to 6-7 lines of text.

We have included a list of Style Guide preferences that we edit for most commonly.

Acronyms

• Spell out the first instance, followed by the acronym in brackets. Use only the acronym from that point forward.
• Introduce an acronym only if it is being referenced later in the text.
• Do not use periods with acronyms in English (except for “i.e.” and “e.g.”).
• See the OUAC’s List of Acronyms and Abbreviations.

Capitalization

• Generally used to distinguish the specific from the general.
• Capitalize the first word following a colon.
• Do not capitalize seasons (e.g., “fall”, “winter”).
• Capitalize specific course names, like “Introduction to Biology”, but use lower case letters for general subject areas (e.g., “you must take a course in biology”).
• University capitalization preferences are acceptable, but should be used consistently (e.g., “Biology program” vs. “Biology Program”).

Commas

• Do not use the serial comma (a.k.a., the Oxford comma), unless it is needed for clarity.
• “i.e.” and “e.g.” are always followed by a comma.
• “which” is always preceded by a comma. Use “that” whenever appropriate/possible.

Dates

• Date format: “November 5, 2019” (no superscript or ordinals – “nd”, “rd”, “st”).
• The year is followed by a comma if it appears in the middle of a sentence.

Emphasis

• Use bold formatting for emphasis.
• Do not use italics, underlining or ALL CAPS for emphasis.
• We use a “div box” instead of making a whole sentence bold. This makes it easier to read and stand out more.

Links

• Use text for links that is understandable out of context.
  • E.g., “More about the OUAC” instead of “Click here for more information about the OUAC”.
• Embed URLs (links) in text instead of spelling them out.
• Avoid embedding links in headings.
• Avoid redundant links (only link the first instance).
• Use “www” or “http://” before a URL (not both) to facilitate hyperlinks.
  • Use “http://” only if there is no “www” (e.g., https://go2.ouac.on.ca but www.ouac.on.ca).
  • Some universities have their own marketing practices in which they remove “www” or “http://” and may use a combination of upper and lower case letters (e.g., UniversityName.ca), but this is not preferred for style and accessibility reasons.
• Avoid using redundant words in links like “website” (e.g., “Go to the application” vs. “Go to the application website”)

“Website” or “Web Page”?

These are commonly confused. A website is the larger domain, usually made up of multiple web pages (e.g., “www.ouac.on.ca”).

A web page is a single document/page on the internet that has a unique URL (e.g., “www.ouac.on.ca/guide/undergrad-guide”). In these examples, the Undergraduate Application Guide web page is found on the OUAC website.

Lists

• Alphabetize lists, where possible.
• Lists should be preceded by a colon.
• Do not use “the following” when introducing a list. E.g., “Prerequisites include:”, not “Prerequisites include the following:”.
• The first letter in each list item should be lower case unless the list item forms a proper sentence.
  • Exception: The first word may be capitalized if all list items are brief (1 or 2 words).
• List items should be alike in their format/structure (e.g., all list items begin with an active verb).

Numbers

• Use numerals instead of spelling out numbers.
• Exceptions:
  • It is confusing (e.g., “You need six 4U/M courses” instead of “You need 6 4U/M courses”).
  • The number is the first word in a sentence.
  • You are referring to the ranking of something or using a superlative expression.
  • The numbers are larger than 999,999.
  • You are using ordinal numbers below 10 (e.g., first, second).

Quotation Marks

Use quotation marks for:

• button names
• direct quotes
• menu options
• when a verb precedes the term (e.g., In the Application Links menu, select “Choices”.)

Do not use quotation marks for:

• New: letter grades (e.g., A- and not “A-“)
• page names or titles (e.g., “The Personal Statement is found in the School Submissions section.” and not “The Personal Statement is found in the “School Submissions” section.”)
• field or menu names
• column titles

Do not use single quotation marks, except for when they fall inside double quotation marks.

• Include both feminine and masculine nouns when referring to students, applicants, etc. It is preferable to use the feminine first.
  • The verb is accorded to the closest subject.
  • Preference is to spell out both the English and French nouns. E.g., “la candidate et le candidat”.
  • Brackets are acceptable if space is limited. E.g., “les candidat(e)s”.
• Use “Nota” instead of “Note” (use “Notes” for plural).
• Date formatting: “le 24 août 2019” or “le lundi 17 novembre 2019”.
• Do not use numerals when referring to “one of” or “two of” something: Use “d’une”, not “d’1”.
• Use periods in academic program abbreviations (e.g., “B.A.”).

Since 1971, the OUAC has been a centralized application service for applicants to Ontario universities. We are a division of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) and facilitate the process of applying to an Ontario university.

Our application guides aim to help applicants navigate the application process. The guides provide 1 place where they can find information about applications for all of Ontario’s universities, presented in a clear, consistent manner.