RCS England Style Guide

abbreviations and acronyms

• An acronym is an abbreviation that is spoken as a word, eg Aids, Unison and Bupa. The first letter will usually be in upper case and the following letters in lower case.
• An abbreviation that is not spoken as a word but instead as individual letters is usually capitalised throughout, eg HIV, HTML, DNA.
• There are some exceptions, such as DwSIs, NPfIT, WinS and OiS. Organisations, brands and products may have irregular capitalisation and it should be replicated if possible.
• Refer to their website or literature.
• There are some common abbreviations and units of measurement that are lower case throughout, such as cm, kg, ie, eg, cf.
• Do not use apostrophes for plurals of abbreviations or acronyms, eg CDs (not CD's).
• Do not use points or spaces between or after letters: US, mph, eg, etc.
• Spell out unfamiliar abbreviations on first mention and then follow with abbreviation in parentheses, eg British Medical Association (BMA), General Medical Council (GMC) and use the abbreviated form thereafter. Occasionally using 'the organisation' or 'the group' will add variety to your writing.
• Some things are lower case throughout when written in full but capitalised when abbreviated: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), traumatic brain injury (TBI), annual general meeting (AGM).
• When an abbreviation is the name of an organisation or company, the letters that form the abbreviation (usually the first letter of each word) remain capitalised when written in full, eg the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).
• There is no need to spell out well known abbreviations such as UK, US, EU, NHS.

active

Use active rather than passive language: 'We discussed', not 'It was discussed'.

Adrenalin

is a trade name; adrenaline is the hormone

Advanced Trauma Life Support® (ATLS®)

note italics and ® symbol. All branded College courses are italicised.

advisor

College style used to require an 'er' ending but this has been changed to reflect common usage.

American spelling and grammar

Use British rather than American spellings and grammar, ie 'organise' not 'organize', 'colour' not 'color'. Use 'outside' and 'off' but not 'outside of' or 'off of'. Use American spellings only in quoted material or company names.

among

do not use 'amongst'

ampersand (&)

Use in company names only when the company does, eg Johnson & Johnson, but never as shorthand within text

an

is used before a word beginning with a vowel or if the 'h' is silent, ie 'an honour', but 'a hospital'

aneurysm

not 'aneurism'

appellations

See 'titles' under 'T' below

apostrophes

• Plural nouns take a singular apostrophe (children's games, old folk's home).
• The possessive in words and names ending in 's' also takes the singular (Jones's, James's).
• Use apostrophes when writing 'two years' experience', '20 hours' work', 'three months' training'.
• Do not use apostrophes for the plurals of abbreviations (ie CDs not CD's).

armed forces, armed services

the army, the British army, the navy, the forces, but Royal Navy, Royal Air Force (RAF is acceptable).

balloted

not ballotted

Barts

abbreviation of St Bartholomew's Hospital. Note: the trust is known as Barts and The London NHS Trust.

Basic Surgical Skills (BSS)

See 'intercollegiate Basic Surgical Skills' under 'I' below

begging the question

Also called petitio principii, 'begging the question' refers to a specific logical fallacy (Wikipedia has a useful entry); unless this is what you intend, replace with 'prompting the question', 'inviting the question', 'making one ask', etc.

bi-

correct where it has the force of two, not half (ie bicentenary/bicentennial happening every 200 years, biennial occurring every two years, biannual occurring twice a year)

board

lower case except: Board of the Faculty of Dental Surgeons, Board of the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) and Board of Examiners; thereafter 'the Board'

book and magazine titles

in italics: Annals, The Lancet, etc

Use the spelling, capitalisation and definite article as it appears in the publication.

breech

This is often used by mistake when 'breach' is intended.

bullet points

Where the list consists of words that relate to the opening statement all initial letters should be lower case. Punctuate as follows:

We sought the views of:

• trainees
• SHOs
• consultant surgeons

Where the bulleted list consists of sentences or phrases that follow on from the opening statement, all initial letters should be lower case. Punctuate as follows:

With the aim of:

• equipping you to perform competently in the clinical environment;
• focusing and complementing your own reading and locally available training;
• preparing you for the IMRCS examinations and your future as a surgical trainee.

Where the list consists of complete sentences, punctuate as normal, ie:

• The course provides a simple and effective mechanism for recording and managing trainees' progress.
• A final statement of the trainees' intentions may be submitted to the advisory board.

Care of the Critically Ill Surgical Patient® (CCrISP®)

note italics and ® symbol. All branded College courses are italicised.

capitals

• job titles: see 'job titles' under 'J' below; see 'President' under 'P' below
• departments: see 'departments' under 'D' below
• titles: see 'titles' under 'T' below
• royalty: upper case, eg Queen, Princess Royal, Duke of Edinburgh
• British government departments of state: upper case, eg Home Office, Foreign Office
• councils: lower case in general but upper case when specific, eg 'my local council' but 'Southwark Council'
• government agencies, commissions, public bodies, quangos: lower case, eg 'benefits agency', 'health authority' but specific uses have initial capitals eg North Thames Health Authority; Care Quality Commission; National Patient Safety Agency
• universities, colleges, hospitals: upper case for institution, lower case for departments, eg Sheffield University politics department; department of neurosurgery, St James's Hospital. However, if departments are unique or named after someone then use initial capitals, eg Kennedy Institute, Charing Cross Hospital; RAFT Institute of Plastic Surgery, Mount Vernon Hospital
• 'government' and 'cabinet' are always lower case; Parliament, Commons and Lords are upper case
• words and phrases that at one time were related to proper names but are now in common use (alsatian, champagne, french windows) are usually lower case

captions

When identifying faces with left and right, etc, use commas rather than brackets: 'Fred Smith, left, and his colleagues'.

centuries

• third century BC, AD1620, 1000BC, the 18th century, etc
• written if 1–10, eg fifth century
• adjectivally with a hyphen, eg 20th-century surgery
• See 'dates' under 'D' below

clichés/buzz words

are to be resisted

The Local Government Association has published a list of 200 words and phrases that public bodies should not use if they want to communicate effectively.

colons

• Colons separate two clauses where the second clause applies directly to the first. Use a colon to deliver what has been previously promised (eg 'From the outset our objective was clear: to save the limb at all costs').
• Avoid using colons to split sentences where a full stop should be used.
• Colons can be used to introduce a quotation in the middle of a sentence but only at the beginning of the quote, eg She said: 'How are you?'
• Avoid using an upper case initial capital after a colon (except for quotes).
• See 'bullet points' under 'B' above and 'semi-colons' under 'S' below

commas

• Do not use commas before 'and' when writing a list (ie: ‘vodka, whisky and gin'). Only use a comma before 'and' when one or more of the items already contains an 'and' (ie 'vodka and lemonade, whisky and soda, and gin and tonic'.
• When using three or more modifiers in a sentence, if the modifiers can be rearranged, use commas: 'We designed a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.' If the modifiers cannot be rearranged without loss of meaning, do not use commas: 'The patient has chronic progressive multiple sclerosis.'
• Do not use commas before parentheses. The comma should be inserted (when the sentence contains a clause) after the parentheses. (See 'parentheses' under 'P' below)
• Keep commas inside quotes in the following type of 'broken' sentence: 'On the other hand,' he said, 'this is a contentious issue.'

common sense

but a commonsense viewpoint

compass points

• are all lower case: north, south, the south-west, north-east England, the south Thames region, southern hemisphere
• the following are treated as specific geographical references: the West, Far East (though East Asia is preferable), West End (London), Middle East, Latin America, North America

complement

to complete, make whole

compliment

to praise or offer congratulations

complimentary

as in free gifts

comprised/composed of

never 'comprised of' or 'comprises of'

eg: 'The College Council is composed of 26 trustees' or 'The College Council comprises 26 trustees'. But not 'The College Council comprises of 26 trustees'.

consultant

If non-medical, please make this clear.

See 'job titles' under 'J' below

continuing professional development (CPD)

See 'abbreviations' under 'A' above

convenor

College style used to require an 'er' ending but this has been changed to reflect common usage.

coordinator

no hyphen

Council

(of the English College, no others) always initial capital.

dates

• use 23 April 2001, not 23rd April 2001/the 23 April 2001/April 23, 2001
• when citing periods of years, use 1992–1993 to avoid ambiguity
• the Forties, Eighties, Nineties (or 1940s, 1980s, 1990s) but with people's ages use lower case, as in 'she was in her forties', etc)
• AD1066 but 1000BC
• use 2000, not 'the year 2000'

dashes

Beware of sentences – just like this – with too many dashes – they can be confusing. Commas (or containing clauses within brackets) are often better.

data

Although now often used as a singular noun, 'data' is properly a plural.

dean

See 'capitals' under 'C' above

deanery

lower case unless specified individually, eg London Deanery, West Midlands Deanery

departments

• When referring to a College department or directorate in full use initial capitals, eg 'The Professional Standards and Regulations Directorate is involved in the project.' However if used in a general sense, eg 'She works in professional standards' there is no need for capitalisation.
• Use lower case when referring to departments in a general sense, eg 'James spent several years in human resources' and for departments in other organisations.
• Specific departments that are unique to the College take initial capitals, eg 'Women in Surgery' (WinS), 'Opportunities in Surgery' (OiS).
• Use upper case when departments are part of an author credit.
• Use upper case if a department is part of a job title (see 'job titles' under 'J' below), eg 'Director of Professional Standards and Regulation'.
• Those that are named after people, such as the Hunterian Museum and the Education Department, require capitals.

dependent

is correct unless you are talking about a person who is reliant on someone else: 'she had three dependants'

diplomates

but 'Diplomates Day'

disability

See 'inclusive language' under 'I' below

discreet

prudent

discrete

separate

disinterested

means having no stake or possible advantage in something. 'Uninterested' means indifferent or bored.

disk

computer storage device, use disc to refer to all others

due to/owing to

"Owing to" is adverbial; "Due to" is adjectival

ie "I was late for work owing to problems with my car", or "My lateness was due to problems with my car".

A good rule is that "due to" can always be substituted for "attributable to" and "owing to" can always be substituted for "because of".

earned

There is no such word as 'earnt'.

e.g.

full stops, always precede with a comma (except when first item is in brackets)

electrocardiographs

are machines for measuring heart function

electrocardiograms

are the tracings made by them

email

no hyphen (but 'e-commerce')

England

See 'Great Britain' under 'G' below

enquiry

Use 'enquiry' for an informal situation and 'inquiry' for a formal investigation: so, 'in answer to your enquiry about the photocopier' but 'the Bristol Royal Infirmary inquiry established'.

et al

italics, no full stop

See Appendix 1

etc

no full stops; always precede and follow with commas except when at the end of a sentence where it is followed by a full stop. Generally, try to avoid and aim to cite more specific examples.

EU

European Union (no need to spell out at first mention). Formerly EC (European Community) before that EEC (European Economic Community). EC must not be used as an abbreviation for the European Commission.

euro

currency, lower case

exclamation marks

try to avoid except when quoting

ex vivo

not italics

fellow

lower case, eg 'fellow of The Royal College of Surgeons of England'. Unless you are specifically referring to fellows in isolation, remember to include members but fellows should come first, eg 'fellows and members of the College'.

fewer

See 'less' under 'L' below

Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS)

refer to as 'the Faculty' (initial capital letter) on subsequent mention

Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK)

FGDP(UK): do not insert a space between 'FGDP' and '(UK)' except when spelling out ‘Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK)’ in full. Refer to as 'the Faculty' (initial capital letter) on subsequent mention.

fetus

rather than foetus when used in medical writing

figures

See 'numbers' under 'N' below

First World War

not World War One, upper case

focus, focused, focusing

note one 's'

foreign words and phrases

italicise, with roman translation in brackets if necessary. When the word or phrase has become part of the language use roman with no accents (eg 'an elite', 'a debacle', 'ad hoc'); otherwise, use italics (eg 'a bon mot', 'a bête noire', 'the raison d’être'). Do not risk confusing the meaning by using a foreign word where a suitable English equivalent exists.

fractions

two-and-a-half, three-quarters, etc

full stops

Avoid long sentences where possible. Shorter sentences can help the reader absorb the message.

full time/full-time

'The student works full time' but 'The full-time student'

gendered language

See 'inclusive language' under 'I' below

Great Britain

is Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and all the islands off the coast of Britain except Ireland. If you want to include Northern Ireland, use 'UK'. England is mainland England plus any islands (such as the Isle of Wight). Prefer 'UK and Ireland' to 'British Isles'.

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children

no longer 'for Sick Children'

haemorrhage

heavy and potentially dangerous bleeding, not simply bleeding

headings/headlines

Try to keep headings concise and interesting. Avoid using exclamation marks

healthcare

one word is now preferred

health service

two words

historic, historical

'a historic event' rather than 'an historic event'

Take care with the use of 'historical' and 'historic'. The former can refer only to past history while the latter can refer to a contemporary event likely to be of long-term significance.

honorifics

Sir Jack Smith at first mention, thereafter Sir Jack, etc. Lord Irvine, the Lord Chancellor (first time), Lord Irvine (subsequent mentions). Do not use Hon, Right Hon, etc

See 'capitals' under 'C' above

HIV

The 'v' stands for virus so there is no need for 'HIV virus'.

hyphens

Generally be sparing with hyphens and run together familiar words, ie blacklist, businessman, goldmine, knockout, intercontinental, motorcycle, takeover and walkover. If in doubt check a modern dictionary for guidance. A few guidelines:

• Sometimes a hyphen is needed when the last letter of a prefix and the first letter of the second word are the same. There are exceptions, eg coordinate, cooperate, unnecessary, misspell. If in doubt, consult a dictionary.
• Use hyphens to avoid confusion: re-cover/recover; four year-old children/ four-year-old children, re-form/reform, re-creation/recreation, re-sign/resign.
  north-west, south-eastern, mid-western, etc
• mid-week, mid-January
• If the hyphen appears in a title, the first letter of the adjoining word is not capitalised: 'Long-term Benefits'.

i.e.

full stops, always preceded by a comma (except when first item in brackets)

inclusive language

The College has a duty by law not to discriminate against the people it employs and those that use its goods and services. This should be reflected in the language it uses.

Take care not to reinforce outdated stereotypes and be aware of your readers. Avoid gendered language where possible: 'chairman' and 'chairwoman' are acceptable but 'chair' is preferred when speaking generally or where the sex of the person concerned is not specified. Use 'humankind' or 'humanity' rather than 'mankind'; use 'staffing' or 'workforce' rather than 'manpower'.

Do not use 'his' to cover men and women. In sentences that apply to an individual who could be a man or a woman use 'his or her', not 'his' or 'their', or restructure the sentence, eg 'As part of the selection process an applicant must supply a reference from his or her supervisor' or 'A reference from the applicant's supervisor is required as part of the selection process.'

Refer to 'disabled, blind or deaf people' or 'people with disabilities, visual impairments, hearing impairments, learning disabilities or learning difficulties', never 'the disabled', 'the blind', 'the deaf' or 'the handicapped'. Disabled people do not 'suffer from', aren't 'crippled with' or 'afflicted by' a condition. Where appropriate, refer to 'accessibility' rather than 'disability' when talking about an entrance, toilet or parking space.

The Plain English Campaign has a document on design and layout that advises on making documents easy to read.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) publishes comprehensive information on how to make printed and electronic information accessible to blind and visually impaired people.

See it Right

Clear print guidelines

It is good practice to offer information in a range of formats including large print, audio, Braille, Moon or in easy words and pictures (for people with learning difficulties).
British Sign Language users may find complex written English hard to understand as this is not their first language. The British Deaf Association can transcribe information into signed video or CD format.

You may also need to offer translations of information into foreign languages.

If you would like advice on issues relating to disability you can try the following organisations:

• RNIB
• British Deaf Association
• Mencap
• People First
• Sense

infinitives, split

avoid (ie 'to go boldly' not 'to boldly go') unless in informal context

initials

no spaces or points, whether businesses or individuals, eg WH Smith, Mr AMC James

See 'abbreviations and acronyms' under 'A' above

inquiry

See 'enquiry' under 'E' above

intercollegiate Basic Surgical Skills (intercollegiate BSS)

italics and initial capitals when referring to the intercollegiate course but 'basic surgical skills' when writing about surgical skills in general

internet, net

lower case

inpatient

no hyphen

in vitro, in vivo

not italics

inverted commas

When used for 'emphasis' they can be annoying to read so use sparingly. Use single inverted commas for reported speech and quotations, and double quotation marks for quotes within a quote, eg John said 'the College described this as "most encouraging" in their report'.

italics

• Use italics for titles of: books, poems, short stories, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, white papers, green papers, official reports and studies, programmes on radio and television, films, plays, computer games, musical works including operas, songs, hymns, album titles, paintings, drawings, sculptures, titles of exhibitions, lectures
• Titles of courses appear in italics.
• Foreign words can appear in italics.
• Occasionally, a word may be italicised for emphasis. Avoid bold and underlined text.

See 'foreign words and phrases' under 'F' above

jargon

See 'clichés/buzz' words under 'C' above

job titles

• Lower case when used in a general sense, eg 'the presidents of several societies agree', 'an administrator and editor work together' or 'a consultant neurosurgeon attended the lecture'.
• Use upper case initials for specific or identifiable individuals, eg 'the President of The Royal College of Surgeons of England', 'Andy Burnham, Secretary of State for Health' or 'the Director of Education welcomed the news'.
• Use upper case initials when a job title unambiguously refers to an individual, eg 'The Prime Minister said today' (there is only one prime minister) but lower case if used without an individual in mind, eg 'a future prime minister may disagree'.

Job titles can be used in both a general and a specific sense following a named individual, eg 'James Smith, the consultant neurosurgeon leading the campaign, agrees with this view' would be lower case but 'James Smith, Consultant Neurosurgeon, leads the campaign' would be upper case.

• Upper case initials should be used when an author is credited, eg Janet Williams, Consultant Paediatrician, St James' Hospital.
• In correspondence it is courtesy to replicate the same system of capitalisation as the sender in your reply.

journal titles

are italicised. If possible use the Index Medicus abbreviation.

See 'newspapers' under 'N' below

judgement

is the preferred spelling; 'judgement' is used in legal contexts, eg 'the judge delivered her judgement'.

last

'In the last Bulletin' implies that there will be no more issues published; use 'the previous issue' or 'last month's Bulletin' instead.

learnt

is the preferred spelling of the past tense and past participle of 'learn'. Learned should only be used as an adjective.

less or fewer

Use 'less' when what you are talking about cannot be counted individually, eg less knowledge, less information or less progress. Use 'fewer' when you can count the object individually, eg fewer coins, fewer apples or fewer reasons.

linchpin

not 'lynchpin'

logbook

not 'log-book' or 'log book'

media

plural of medium

When referring to mass media, use in singular form: 'The media has blown that story out of all proportion.'

medical terms

See mondofacto for a list of useful medical terms

medicolegal

no hyphen

member

lower case, eg 'member of The Royal College of Surgeons of England'

Remember also to refer to fellows if appropriate.

See 'fellow' under 'F' above

naive, naively, naivety

no accent

National Collaborating Centre for Acute Care (NCC-AC)

has moved to the Royal College of Physicians and is now known as the National Clinical Guidelines Centre for Acute and Chronic Conditions (NCGC).

NCCG

non-consultant career grade surgeon

See 'capitals' under 'C' above

newspapers

With 'The' in the masthead: The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Mirror (formerly Daily Mirror), The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, The Mail on Sunday, The Spectator, The Economist, The Lancet, The Big Issue, The Independent, The Observer

Without 'The' in the masthead: News of the World, Financial Times, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Star, Daily Sport, Sunday Sport, Sunday Mirror, Sunday Express, Sunday People, Evening Standard, Independent on Sunday, British Medical Journal

new year

lower case but 'New Year's Day', 'New Year's Eve', 'New Year Honours' or 'New Year's Honours List', also 'the Queen's Birthday Honours'

Newcastle upon Tyne

but Newcastle-under-Lyme

NHS

not necessary to spell out; health service is also OK

NICE

is now the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

no one

no hyphen

numbers

• Write from one to ten in full, and 11 upwards as numerals, but be consistent within a sentence: 'The number injured rose from eight to fourteen.'
• Do not mix fractions and decimals in the same sentence.
• If using a number to start a sentence, write it in full.
• In body text, write £5 million, but abbreviate to £5m in titles.
• Write out millions from one to ten in full and thereafter 11 million, etc.
• Use the form 2.5 million rather than two-and-a-half million.
• Insert a comma in numbers in the thousands, ie 25,000.

online

not on-line

on call/on-call

'The surgeon was on call' but 'The on-call surgeon was with a patient'

on to

not 'onto'

outpatient

no hyphen

parentheses

If the whole sentence is inside the brackets, insert the full stop before the second bracket. If only part of the sentence is in brackets, insert the full stop outside the second bracket.

part time/part-time

'The student works part time' but 'The part-time student'

past participle

Use British word (eg 'learnt', 'spelt')

See 'earned' under 'E' above

patients

are discharged from hospital, not release

per cent

In text use '%' or 'per cent' but be consistent.

percentage points

Take care. If there is a rise from eight per cent to ten per cent, the rise is not two per cent but two percentage points (or a two-point increase).

phone numbers

020 7278 2332, 01892 456 789; do not use dashes or parentheses. Visit the BT website should you need to check a number.

plurals

• syllabus: syllabuses or syllabi
• index: indexes or indices
• appendix: appendixes or appendices
• formula: formulas or formulae

Either plural form is acceptable but the Latin form is more formal.

politically correct language

Avoid the term 'politically correct'.

See 'inclusive language' uner 'I' above

postmortem

means after death (it is an adjective); use 'postmortem examination' or 'autopsy'

practice/practise

practice is a noun and practise is a verb, eg 'doctors practise at their practice’' Try substituting 'advice' or 'advise' into your sentence to see which sounds correct.

President

President always has an initial capital when referring to PRCS in any context, eg 'the President appeared on television'or 'John Black, President, applauded the initiative'.

For other presidents see 'job titles' under 'J' above

preoperative/postoperative/perioperative/intraoperative

no hyphen

preventative

though interchangeable, 'preventative' is often used as a noun and 'preventive' as an adjective, ie 'my research in preventive medicine led to some effective preventatives against colds'.

primary care trust

lower case

principal

main or first; principal boy

principle

a basic truth

professor

is preferred to 'prof'; 'Prof' should be used only in an address or list

program

for computers

programme

for TV, lecture programmes, etc

proofreading

some tips:

• Check the spellings of names, addresses, etc.
• When quoting material, ensure the source is clearly cited in the reference list at the end of the document.
• Check for consistency; dates, level of headings and page numbers can often be overlooked.
• Always pass the material on to a second person to check – everybody tends to miss something.

punctuation

See 'commas' & 'colons' under 'C' above, 'dashes' under 'D' above, 'parentheses' above, and 'semi-colon' under 'S' below

Queen, the

Queen Elizabeth if necessary. She is HM, never HRH.

See 'capitals' under 'C' above

question marks

act as a full stop

question marks in quotations

can go inside or outside quotation marks

Their position depends on whether the question is in the quotation or the sentence that surrounds it: eg (When the surgeon returned he asked: 'Do you feel any pain?') Do not add another full stop if there is already a question mark at the end of a sentence.

quotation marks

Always use double (") marks when indicating quotations. Use single quotation marks (') when indicating a quote within another quote. 

radiographer

takes x-rays

radiologist

interprets the results

re/re-

See 'hyphens' under 'H' above

region

always lower case, eg 'West Midlands region'

royal

royal colleges, medical royal colleges, surgical royal colleges (all lower case) but Royal Family

The Royal College of Surgeons of England

• When writing out the full name, 'the' is not capitalised: 'the Royal College of Surgeons of England'.
• Use 'RCS England' on subsequent mention.
• 'the College' can also be used. This does not apply to other colleges.
• Avoid the abbreviation RCSEng. Use RCS England. The Edinburgh college is always RCSEd.

scientific terms

If employing Latin terminology, use an initial capital on the first word (genus) then lower case for the second (species). Italicise for all but the most common, eg Homo sapiens, E coli (but Escherichia coli), Turdus turdus (song thrush).

seasons

always lower case

Second World War

upper case

seize

not 'sieze'

semi-colons

• Semi-colons can be used to separate independent clauses. They should only be used when the first clause relates to the second enough to justify keeping it within the same sentence but not enough to separate the two (ie 'The condition of 56% of the patients improved; another 15% withdrew from the study.')
• They can also be used to separate lists where the components are not easily split using commas: 'A number of questions remained: whether the logo should be green; what weight of paper should be used; and what typeface suited the material.'
• Care should be taken with their use as complex sentences can result.

See 'colons' under 'C' above

siege

not 'seige'

spaces

• Do not use double spaces to separate words, sentences or paragraphs.
• Try not to insert a space before or after carriage returns.

specialist register

lower case

specialty

not 'speciality' when referring to medical specialties

specialty skills programme

lower case

square brackets [ ]

use for interpolated words in quotations

St Thomas' Hospital, London

not St Thomas's

St James's University Hospital

is in Leeds

Statistics

paired t-test

SPSS® version XXX (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, US)

Student's t-test (no article – 'Student' was the nom de plume of the inventor)

chi-square

STEP®

Surgical Training Education Programme®; always use the ® symbol. Also: eSTEP®, STEP® Core and STEP® Foundation

subcommittee

no hyphen

subspecialty

no hyphen

supersede

not 'supercede'

swap

not 'swop'

targeted, targeting

not 'targetted' or 'targetting'

that or which?

that defines, which informs (eg 'This is the house that Jack built’ but ‘this house, which Tom built, is now falling down')

theirs

no apostrophe

times

Always use figures and 12-hour clock; 'am' and 'pm' is lower case

10am, 3.45pm, 12 noon, 12 midnight

titles

general rules:

• first mention: Brian Jones, Julie Williams, thereafter Mr Jones, Mrs/Miss/Ms Williams
• For material in the main body of an article, put the name first, then the job description, eg 'William Rogers, Consultant Neurosurgeon'. Avoid 'Neurosurgeon William Rogers'.
• Surgeons become Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms when they pass the MRCS exams.

See 'capitals' under 'C' above; see 'job titles' under 'J' above

For more clarification and for armed forces titles see The Guardian style guide.

trust

lower case unless referring to a specific trust, eg 'hospital trusts' but 'Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust'

UK

See 'Great Britain' under 'G' above

under way

not 'underway'

uninterested

indifferent, bored

units of measurement

Use the International System of Units (SI), which is a standard version of the metric system:

Exceptions:

• celsius, centigrade use either term. Do not use the degree sign.
• Fahrenheit is not an SI unit but if it is necessary to use it, it is capitalised.
• blood pressure in mmHg and haemoglobin in g/dl

up to date/up-to-date

'They are up to date' but 'in an up-to-date fashion'

US

for United States, not 'USA'; no need to spell out even at first mention. 'America' is technically the continent but is a commonly used and acceptable reference for the US. Please avoid 'the States'.

underline

never underline for emphasis, use italics

Vice-President

Vice-President has initial capitals when referring to a vice-president of the College.

For other vice-presidents see 'job titles' under 'J' above

web

web page

website

who/whom

'who' is the nominative, 'whom' is the accusative and/or dative

See The Guardian style guide for detailed guidance.

while

not 'whilst'

x-ray

use lower case

References

There are two styles of references that are in common usage: the Harvard and the Uniform Requirements of the ICMJE, also known as the Vancouver style.

The Vancouver style should be used. References are numbered consecutively within the text with superscript numbers and full references listed at the end of the text in the numerical order in which they appear. Reference numbers in the text appear after commas and full stops but before semi-colons and colons.

• Author name. Surname followed by initials without full stops. For more than one author, comma between names. If there are more than three authors, list the first three names, followed by et al.
• Title. Retain spellings, abbreviations and style for numbers used in the original. Generally, for articles, parts of books or titles of articles in journals capitalise only the first word of the title (as well as proper names, place names). For books capitalise as the original. Do not use quotation marks around the title.
• For names of journals, abbreviate according to the Index Medicus.
• For comprehensive Vancouver referencing instructions, please refer to the BMJ guide.
• Please pay attention to the exact location of punctuation marks and formatting such as bold and italic text.

Journals

1. Author's name
2. Title, including subtitle
3. Abbreviated name of journal, following Index Medicus abbreviations italicised
4. Year
5. Volume number
6. Part or supplement number
7. Inclusive page numbers

Example:

Raf LE, Harris SC, Slater DN et al. Causes of abdominal adhesions in cases of intestinal obstruction. Acta Chir Scan 1969; 135: 73–76.

Books

1. Author's name
2. Title, including subtitle, italicised
3. Editor's name, if any
4. Volume number and volume title where there is more than one volume
5. Edition number (do not include first edition)
6. Place of publication
7. Name of publisher
8. Year of copyright
9. Page numbers if cited

Examples:

Sherlock S. Diseases of the Liver and Biliary System. 9th edn. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications; 1993. pp 58–69.

Sherlock S. Diseases of the liver and biliary system. In: Smith J, ed. Liver Disease. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications; 1993. pp58–69.

For chapters of a book

1. Newspapers
2. Author's name
3. Title of article
4. Name of newspaper, italicised
5. Date in the format year month day
6. Section, if any
7. Page numbers

Example:

Ahuja A. Cancer: what can you do? The Times. 1998 April 21: 18.

Government bulletins

1. Author's name, which can be a government department or office
2. Title of bulletin, italicised
3. Place of publication
4. Name of issuing body, which may be the same as author
5. Date
6. Page numbers
7. Publication number, if any
8. Series number, if any

Example:

US Bureau of the Census. Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1993. 113th edn. Washington, DC: US Bureau of the Census; 1993.

Theses and dissertations

1. Author's name
2. Title, italicised
3. Location of university
4. Name of university
5. Date

Example:

King L. Modern Literary Apparitions and Their Mind-Altering Effects [master's thesis]. Evanston, Ill: Northwestern University; 1994.

Items presented at a meeting

1. Author's name
2. Title of item
3. To whom presented
4. Date
5. Place

Example:

Channa JS, Grobbelaar AO, Gault TD. Tissue expansion: friend or foe in reconstruction of auricular deformity. Presented at: Meeting of the European Association of Plastic Surgeons; May 1997; Amsterdam.

Journal in electronic format

1. Author
2. Title
3. Journal title
4. Date
5. Date cited (month and year)
6. URL

Example:

Morse SS. Factors in the emergence of infectious diseases. Emerg Infect Dis 1995 Jan–Mar (cited June 1996); 1. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/index.htm.

Websites

1. Title of page
2. Title of website
3. URL
4. Date cited

Example:

Research: The Role and Responsibilities of Doctors. General Medical Council. http://www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/ethical_guidance/research.asp (cited June 2010).

Use italics only if the website is a journal: eBMJ, Pediatrics.

Nice guidance/quality standards

NICE guidance. Laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer (TA 105). Issued August 2006. http://publications.nice.org.uk/laparoscopic-surgery-for-colorectal-cancer-ta105 (cited February 2014).

Tables

Tables should be numbered consecutively throughout the text using brackets and in upper case, eg '(See Table 2.)'.

Generally, these appear below the table.

eg: 'Table 1: Risk factors for cardiac arrest'

Figures

Figures should be numbered consecutively throughout the text using brackets and in upper case, eg '(See Figure 1.)'.

Generally, these appear below the figure.

eg: 'Figure 1: The number of respondents by specialty'

It is good practice to ensure your figures are correct. Always check totals on tables.