Writing guide

When we write, it’s important to not exclude people based on gender or gender identity. For example, we want to avoid using the pronouns “he” or “him” to refer to everyone. Inclusive language is also required under University Policy 20 — Guidelines for Gender Parity in University Texts.

Here are some ways to write gender-inclusive texts.

Put it in plural

Professors should tell their students to speak to an academic adviser.

not

The professor should tell his student to speak to an academic adviser.

Avoid using a pronoun

The occupational health and safety officer is responsible for general safety issues and ensuring a safe return to work.

not

The occupational health and safety officer is responsible for general safety issues. He ensures a safe return to work.

Repeat the noun

The selection committee should include the dean or the dean’s delegate.

not

The selection committee should include the dean or his/her delegate.

Address the reader directly

If you want to see your pension plan projections, go to the HR website.

not

An employee who wishes to see his pension plan projections should go to the HR website.

Use an article (“the,” “a”)

Replace the pronoun with an article.

A student who wishes to do a practicum must send the application form to the practicum coordinator.

not

A student who wishes to do a practicum must send his application form to the practicum coordinator.

Rewrite the sentence

Sometimes you have to do a rewrite.

A student who is frequently absent will fall behind academically.

not

A student who frequently misses his classes will fall behind in his courses.

Use the “singular they”

Referring to a single person or thing as “they” has traditionally been considered very informal.

I went to HR and they got me my T4 slip.

However, when you want to avoid repeating “he or she” and “him or her” (which may sound awkward or be rejected by those who don’t see gender in male/female terms) and the above solutions don’t work, you can use it as a last resort.  

You can also use the “singular they” when referring to people who don’t identify as strictly male or female and wish to be referred to by the pronouns “they” and “them.”

Tip: Avoid repeating “they” and “them,” though. Try using the person’s name, for example.

Stacey Lalonde is an associate professor of history. They received a PhD from McGill University in 2010. Professor Lalonde’s research interests include…

Gender-inclusive French vs. English

Unlike English, French uses masculine and feminine nouns. This calls for different gender-inclusive writing strategies, which you don’t always have to copy in English.

Learn more about gender-inclusive writing in French.

More on gender neutral writing

Techniques for achieving gender neutrality(uOttawa VPN required)

Gender-inclusive writing: correspondence

Gender inclusivity: pronouns

Elimination of Stereotyping in Written Communications

CO-OP

The abbreviated version of co-operative education at the University is CO-OP (all uppercase with a hyphen). The exception is for the software program COOP Navigator (no hyphen).

Faculty, department, service

Capitalize faculty, department or service when you write the unit's full name:

• Faculty of Health Sciences
• Department of Theatre
• Language Services

Retain capitals when popular usage has reversed a name and eliminated the "of"

• Theatre Department

Also retain the capital letter when going from the full name to the generic (Department, Faculty, Service, etc.) for concision:

• The Department of Theatre has added nine courses to its program offerings in 2010. The Department is also considering a new option in…

Faculty vs. faculty

When referring to the teaching staff, lower-case "faculty" to distinguish it from the academic unit.

• The University plans to hire 30 new faculty members over the next 12 months, mostly in the Faculty of Engineering.

Job titles

On invitations and in the University's Administration and Governance website texts, retain uppercase for job titles.

For publications such as The Gazette, news releases, Research Perspectives and Tabaret, use lowercase (Rocky Hillside, professor of geology at the Institute of…) unless the title directly precedes a name and replaces courtesy titles such as Mr. or Ms.:

• He presented the cheque to President Allan Rock
• The University honoured Professor Bill Melator.

Titles are lowercased when standing alone or pluralized:

• The president gave the welcoming remarks, followed by greetings from deans Antoni Lewkowicz and Denis Prud'homme.

Subject areas and disciplines

Subject areas like biology, sociology, engineering, women's studies and psychology are common nouns and don't normally take a capital letter.

• The University of Ottawa has programs in an array of disciplines, from mathematics and medicine to chemistry and criminology.

The same applies to broader areas:

• Professor Doesitall has published extensively in the humanities, pure and applied sciences and arts.

NOTE: Capitalize the first letter in disciplines and subject areas only:

in an official academic unit title:

• School of Psychology; Department of Theatre, etc.

on a diploma or certificate:

• …so and so has met all of the requirements of the Master's in Linguistics

and

in lists of official degree titles:

• The Department of Social Sciences offers these degrees: Honours Bachelor of Social Science; Master's in Sociology…

University or university?

If you're talking about the University of Ottawa, University is always uppercase, even if standing alone; the same applies when you shorten the name of other universities in a text:

• The University of Calgary has a large campus. The University also boasts state-of-the-art chemistry laboratories.

Use lowercase "u" when university is simply a common noun:

• The university setting can be intimidating for first-year students.

and when you pluralize it before a series of specific institution names:

• The event attracted representatives from the universities of Calgary, Ottawa, Windsor and Toronto.

Viewbook

The University produces a publication for prospective and incoming students called the Viewbook. It is capitalized and written as one word.

uOttawa brand

Always use a lowercase u with the brand name uOttawa. Avoid starting a sentence with uOttawa; either use the full name or reword the sentence so uOttawa is not at the beginning.

Spelling—Specific cases at uOttawa

This section proposes standard uOttawa spelling for words our clients ask us about most often. Again, for the most part, we follow what's used in the Canadian Oxford, Canadian Press Caps and Spelling and The Canadian Style.

"e" words (email, e-business, etc.): Write email without a hyphen. However, other constructions retain the hyphen: e-commerce, e-business, e-learning, etc.

percent: Whenever possible, use the symbol (see also percent symbol under Style conventions). If, however, you must write out the word, spell it percent.

postsecondary: Write postsecondary as a single word without a hyphen.

Web: When Web stands alone as the short form for World Wide Web, write Web with a capital W.

"web" words: As in the Canadian Oxford, use a lowercase w both for single words (webcast, webinar, weblog, webmaster, website, etc.) and for split words (web page, web server, web conference).

Full-time or full time?

Is the hyphenation in this sentence correct?

• Full-time students can't work full time and expect to get top grades.

Yes, it is.

When full-time is placed before the noun, it is a compound adjective and takes a hyphen. When placed after a verb, it becomes an adverbial phrase and no longer needs a hyphen. It's as if you wrote "Full-time students can't work all day and expect…." You wouldn't hyphenate "all day" in this case.

The same logic applies to part-time:

• Part-time students take courses part time.

Resumé or Résumé?

Use the first spelling (no accent on the first "e") because it reflects not only the Canadian Oxford spelling but also the English pronunciation. Only the final "e" is pronounced with the "ay" sound of the French accent.

List of commonly hyphenated words and expressions

Generally, compound words placed before the noun they modify become a single unit of meaning and need a hyphen. At uOttawa, be sure to always hyphenate the following expressions as shown; leaving the hyphen out not only hinders readability but can also change the meaning, sometimes with comical results:

• Hazardous-waste management (vs. hazardous waste management, meaning the management is hazardous)
• Hazardous-waste disposal (vs. hazardous waste disposal, meaning the waste disposal is being done hazardously)
• Infectious-disease monitor (vs. infectious disease monitor, meaning the disease monitor is infectious)
• Part-time student (but study part time—no hyphen)
• Full-time student (but study full time—no hyphen)
• On-campus housing
• In-class assignment
• Take-home exam
• Three-credit courses
• Six-credit courses
• Non-credit courses
• Campus-wide services
• Off-campus housing
• Second-language course
• Long-term plan/short-term plan
• Small-business grant (vs. small business grant, meaning the amount given was small)

Sources for spelling and writing

Word processing language:

Set to Canadian English

Dictionary:

Canadian Oxford

When in doubt, use the Canadian Oxford spelling for the entry that's accompanied by the definition.

Usage and style conventions:

Canadian Press Stylebook and Canadian Press Caps and Spelling. If neither publication covers your question, refer to The Canadian Style.

Use of commas in dates

When writing the date out in full in a sentence, use the following format:

• The meeting was held on Tuesday, March 17, 1963, at the Faculty.

Use commas to separate the day, month and date, year. Be sure to also include a comma after the year if the date does not end the sentence.

"La rentrée"

The French term "rentrée" doesn't have a true, straightforward, one-word equivalent in English.

Of course, most everyone has heard of "back to school" time, used especially for elementary and secondary school pupils. Below are a few rough equivalents adapted to postsecondary studies but not meant as direct translations of "la rentrée." Consider them instead as ways of conveying the idea or message when you translate; that's what matters most.

French:

1. La rentrée est prévue pour le 8 septembre cette année
2. L'Université prévoit encore toute une gamme d'activités sociales pour la rentrée cette année
3. L'Université marque la rentrée comme d'habitude par la tenue de la Semaine u101

English translation:

1. Students head back to class on September 8 this year.
2. The University is again hosting a full slate of social activities to welcome students back to class (or campus) this fall.
3. As usual, the University is ringing in the new academic year with u101 Week.

"Respect" the procedures, regulations, policies, rules… (respecter)

The verb respect in English has two common meanings: to feel or show esteem for something or someone; to show consideration for or to recognize something or someone. However, it doesn't commonly mean obey, comply with, conform to, abide by or follow, as does its French-language counterpart respecter.

Here are suggestions for translating respecter into English when it means "obey":

• Comply with academic regulations
• Abide by departmental policies
• Follow lock-down procedures

A capability of + ing verb (capacité de)

Consider this sentence: 

• The ventilation system will still work, but without a capability of cooling.

You can indeed say, for instance, He has the capability of performing first-rate work. In the sample sentence above, however, the expression is a direct translation of …une capacité de refroidissement. The use of the the little word a throws it all off in English.

So, you could at the very least go with …but without the capability of cooling. But to give your English text its own true flavour, write something like …will still work, but won't be able to cool / but won't provide cooling / but without cooling capacity.

Bursary or scholarship (bourse)?

Sometimes it's hard to know whether "bourse" in French is a scholarship or bursary.

Scholarships are generally awarded for academic achievement or other types of merit (community service, athletic excellence and so on).

Bursaries, on the other hand, are associated with either financial need or a neutral criterion like being a first-generation student in a family or a student with disabilities.

Consider this excerpt from the Ontario Student Assistance Program website:

A bursary is financial aid that isn’t a loan and that you typically don’t have to pay back. A bursary is usually awarded based on financial need and other factors.

A scholarship is a type of aid you typically don't have to pay back. A scholarship is usually awarded based on academic merit and other factors.

The French equivalents in most cases are:

• bourse d'excellence (scholarship)
• bourse d'études or bourse d'aide financière (bursary)

Charged with + ing verbs (chargé de)

When you see chargé d'animer, chargé de coordonner, chargé d'inscrire, etc. in French, avoid translating these as charged with leading, charged with coordinating or charged with registering, which are not standard English. Try using, quite simply, leads, coordinates or registers. This will also avoid making the English text sound too much like its French equivalent.

While it's common in English to find charged with in phrases, like charged with defrauding, charged with stealing, charged with assaulting, the verb charge here implies an accusation. In French, however, chargé de is a neutral expression.

Conference (présenter ou prononcer une conférence)

The word conference in English refers to a meeting where people gather to exchange ideas and information, hold discussions, present discoveries, etc. It usually has a formal agenda and multiple speakers or sessions, and often runs over multiple days. So when you see présenter/prononcer une conférence in French, lecture or talk is usually the right choice in English. If you see colloque, however, the correct word in English is usually conference and possibly symposium.

• Professor Doesitall will give a lecture entitled…
• Professor Doesitall will be giving a lecture at the nanotechnology conference.

Opening hours (heures d'ouverture)

Reference works disagree on the validity of "opening hours" because the actual "opening" takes only a few moments; it doesn't work logically like "visiting" hours does. For that reason, and to break away from more literal translation, these terms are used at uOttawa:

• business hours
• office hours
• hours of operation
• hours

Participate to (participer à)

This is a direct translation from the French participer à. In English, the verb participate teams up with the preposition in.

Examples:

• Participate in an event
• Participate in a campaign
• Participate in a program
• Participate in a rally

Providers of service (fournisseurs de service)

The idiomatic expression in English is service providers. Inverting the words and eliminating the of (de) often goes a long way in avoiding overly literal translations.

Register to a course, a program (inscrire à)

The correct phrasing in English is register for…

Responsible to + verb (chargé de)

We often see the responsible to + verb combination used as a literal translation of the French chargé de…

If you come across phrasing like … is responsible to develop strategies… and is responsible to supervise student employees, change it to is responsible for developing…for supervising. Better still, go with a single active verb, as in The coordinator supervises... The manager develops...

Degree abbreviations

Write all degree abbreviations without periods and without spaces for simplicity and consistency:

• PhD, MA, MSc, BComm, BSocSc, MD, BA

Year of graduation after degree abbreviation

After an abbreviated degree (MA, BA, PhD, LLB, etc.), write the year of graduation as follows:

• - LLB '98 (that is, apostrophe and two digits, regardless of the century)

Language Services and Alumni Relations use this style, so you'll see it in most every text where the names of alumni are followed by their degree and year of graduation.

This is strictly a matter of ensuring consistency at uOttawa, as other usages are equally acceptable. Many institutions, for instance, drop the apostrophe before the year (BA 78) or write the year in full (BA 1978).

Dr. (Doctor)

We often see the professional title Doctor (Dr.) used in academic settings to refer to people with a PhD outside the health care field. In Canada, however, the provinces decide which licensed health care professionals may use the title Dr., generally physicians, dentists and psychologists.

When you refer to an individual who holds a PhD or an honorary doctorate, we suggest you replace the title Dr. with something like this: 

• Susan Doesitall, PhD, will be ….
• Jim Doesitall, who holds an honorary doctorate from Concordia, will be...

In a list of individuals at a conference where some are medical doctors and some hold PhDs, simply include the designation after the names: 

• Jack Wilson, MD, infectious-disease specialist
• Jill Smith, PhD, expert in international development

Hyphenation in French street, building and place names, and in scholarship, bursary, award titles

In English, retain the hyphen for French-named campus streets and buildings:

• Marie-Curie Street
• Séraphin-Marion Street
• Jean-Jacques-Lussier Street
• Roger-Guindon Hall (Guindon Hall is also used)

Off-campus examples:

• René-Levesque Blvd.
• Sainte-Catherine Street
• Mont-Laurier (the town)

Retain the hyphens in French-named bursaries and scholarships:

• the Yvan-Lepage Memorial Scholarship
• the Huguette-Labelle Scholarship Fund

For more information and additional examples of French names in English texts, see the section titled French in the Canadian Press Stylebook and Chapter 15 of The Canadian Style.

Number symbol and abbreviation (no., nos., #)

Use the abbreviations in the body of a text and keep the symbol strictly for tables and charts.

Examples:

• Item no. 2 was dropped from the agenda.
• Nos. 9 and 10 require essay-style answers.

Percent symbol (%)

Use the symbol (%) whenever possible. Examples:

• The Board recommends a 5% cut for all faculties and services.
• Registrations increased by 1% in 2008 and 1.5% in 2009.

If you choose to write the word out in a very formal text, spell it as one word, percent.