Web writing wonders: A tutorial on titles for people

What are the rules for proper online citation of individuals’ professional titles?

Capitals count, particularly in job titles. However, what rules apply for web writing, when it comes to capitalizing professional and personal titles?

Professional writers may turn to several sets of style standards, including the Yahoo Style Guide (a primary source of guidelines for online writing), the Associated Press Stylebook (a long-time handbook to print journalism standards) and the Modern Language Association Handbook (a traditional sourcebook for academic and research paper formatting).

For web writing, the Yahoo Style Guide is a popular resource, offering detailed and specific standards for various stylistic formatting issues. For example, the Yahoo Style Guide includes a section specifying rules for capitalization of people’s titles online.

Here is a basic guide to online capitalization of individuals’ personal or professional titles, based on information from the Yahoo Style Guide.

NOTE: Written by this author, this copyrighted material originally appeared on another publisher’s site. That site no longer exists. This author holds all rights to this content. No republication is allowed without permission.

A person’s title should be capitalized, if it appears immediately before his or her name.

In such a case, a personal or professional title may be considered to be part of the proper noun (the person’s name). This Yahoo Style Guide rule of capitalization applies to official positions in government, religious or ecclesiastical hierarchies and corporate or organizational entities.

Fictional and hypothetical examples of this capitalization might include:

• President Justin B. Potus invited former President Seymour Links to a private dinner at the White House.
• Chief Justice Stormy Gavil shook hands with International Olympic Committee Chairman Leif Garland.
• Elementary school Principal Bella Scholari sent a personal memo to club Treasurer Ernie Moneyman.
• Pope Benedict XVI blessed city Mayor Mia Townsman during her visit to the Vatican City, accompanied by U.S. Marine Corps General Will March.
• The Reverend Alf Holyfield chaired the interfaith council of churches for the entire city.

The Yahoo Style Guide also specifies that honorific titles, such as “Reverend” (for clergy) and “Honorable” (for a judge) should be preceded by “the” in proper noun (capitalized) usage.

Adapted by this user from Pixabay public domain photo.

A person’s title should not be capitalized, if it appears apart from his or her name.

If a personal or professional title is included without immediately preceding that individual’s proper name, then that title is not capitalized, according to the Yahoo Style Guide. In such usage, the title is used more generically.

Here are a few examples (again, fictional and hypothetical):

• The chairman of the board appointed a newcomer to serve as liaison to the mayor.
• Stan Letterman had never served as postmaster general before, but he was ready for the challenge.
• Once the votes were counted, Crystal Ball was elected president of the public library’s strategic planning committee.
• My favorite teacher of all time was Mr. Walter Whiz, a trigonometry professor at the local university.

What additional considerations might apply to proper capitalization of people’s titles?

Although popular and familiar titles, such as familial tags, are not clearly specified in the Yahoo Style Guide, a similar pattern of capitalization may be applied to these citations.

Consider these fictional and hypothetical examples:

• My grandmother was a wonderful storyteller; that’s where Mom heard several tall tales.
• When Father married Mother, he already had a son, so he was a father before.
• I call my aunt on my mother’s side Marnie, but her husband is Uncle Jake.
• My brother is a monk, so he is known as Brother Arnold.

Generally, a common-sense approach may apply to such formal and informal usages.

Titles can be tricky, particularly when it comes to capitalizations, but a clear set of standards (such as the Yahoo Style Guide) can make the clarification much simpler for web writers.

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Writing workshop: What is an oxymoron?

“Oxymoron” is not a dirty word – at least, not usually.

“Oxymoron” is not a disparaging term, an off-color remark or a description of less-than superior intelligence. Instead, an oxymoron is a figure of speech, a literary device and a way of wording descriptions in a striking manner.

What is an oxymoron?

Basically, an oxymoron is an exercise in contrasts, as when two seemingly opposite words are juxtaposed paradoxically to describe something more fully or perhaps even alarmingly.

The word “oxymoron” is derived from two ancient Greek terms: “oxus” and “moros.” “Oxus” meant pointed, or sharp, and “moros” meant blunt or dull.

The correct plural form of “oxymoron” is “oxymora.”

NOTE: Written by this author, this copyrighted material originally appeared on another publisher’s site. That site no longer exists. This author holds all rights to this content. No republication is allowed without permission.

Here are a few examples of oxymora.

Many popularly used phrases actually contain oxymoronic phrases, such as accidentally on purpose, accurate rumors, active retirement, agree to disagree, alone in the crowd, awfully good, bittersweet, cautiously optimistic, civil strife, constant variable, controlled chaos, cruel kindness, definite maybe, dress-casual, dull roar, extremely average, fairly obvious, fine mess, friendly fire, fuzzy logic, genuine imitation, minor disaster, never again, objective opinion, open secret, original copy, pretty ugly, quiet riot, spendthrift and more.

What is an oxymoron? (Pixabay public domain photo)

 

Oxymora are frequently found in classic literature.

Skilled wordsmiths have traditionally employed the oxymoron as a literary device.

For example, in William Shakespeare’s tragic drama, Romeo and Juliet, the heroine utters these famous oxymoronic words: “Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow” (Act II, Scene 2).

John Donne crafted these oxymoronic phrasings in his poetic work, Devotions Upon Urgent Occasions: “O, miserable abundance, O, beggarly riches!”

American classic novelist Herman Melville penned these lines in his masterpiece work, Moby Dick: “There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness is the true method.”

Oxymora often appear in advertising, corporate and product names.

Although product promoters may choose to tag the items they market with oxymora to grab potential buyers’ attention, oxymora more often seem to draw skepticism instead.

Consider these examples of oxymora used in product names, titles and descriptions: Advanced BASIC, authentic reproduction, baby grand piano, freezer burn, graphite woods (golf clubs), Hell’s Angels, icy hot, instant classic, jumbo shrimp, living dead, old news, relaxation exercise, student teacher, and virtual reality.

Many book titles, television show names and movie titles have included oxymoronic phrases, such as Back to the Future, Eyes Wide Shut, The King of Queens, Little Big Man, Slumdog Millionnaire, The Little Giant, True Lies, and Urban Cowboy.

Occasionally, oxymora may occur unintentionally and ironically.

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, speakers and writers often use oxymora without meaning to do so.  Some of the most pointed examples of unintentional oxymoron use might include airline schedules, budget deficit, butthead, corporate conscience, disaster preparedness, free trade, government efficiency, holy war, marital bliss, military intelligence, soft porn and more.

The oxymoron is essentially word-crafting in contrasts – no sure bet, but a wicked good way to work words.

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Vocab review: Let's decipher top web and texting acronyms

Here’s a guide to 115 commonly used acronyms/abbreviations for online chats, emails, instant messaging, and texting … plus 30 traditional ones.

(Be sure to bookmark this page for easy reference.)

Acronyms are almost everywhere in electronic communications.

Shortcuts abound in emails, text messages, chat room dialogues, and social networking page comments. Although spelling teachers and editors might balk at the invented spellings that frequently appear, convenience seems to be winning out.

Like it or not, we find that acronyms and abbreviations have taken hold in daily usage. The most popular terms, though tersely expressed, may speak volumes about current communication and even the subjects upon which folks may focus.

Here (by special request) are 115 of the most acronyms and abbreviations most frequently used in electronic communications (listed alphabetically).

1)      2G2BT = too good to be true

2)      AAR = at any rate (also AAR8 = at any rate)

3)      ABT2 = about to

4)      ADDY = address

5)      B/C = because (also BC = because)

6)      B4 = before

7)      BAK = back at keyboard

8)      BB4N = bye-bye for now

9)      BCNU = be seeing you

10)  BEG = big evil grin

11)  BF = boyfriend

12)  BFF = best friend forever

13)  BIBI = bye-bye

14)  BIL = boss is listening

15)  BIL = brother-in-law

16)  BIO = bring it on

17)  BITD = back in the day

18)  BKA = better known as

19)  BRB = be right back

20)  BTD = bored to death

21)  BTDT = been there, done that

22)  BTDTGTS = been there, done that, got the tee shirt

23)  BTN = better than nothing

24)  BTW = by the way

25)  BW = best wishes

26)  BWTM = but wait, there’s more

27)  BZ = busy

28)  C/S = changing the subject

29)  C4N = ciao for now

30)  CIL = check in later

31)  CNP = continued in next post

32)  CRAT = can’t remember a thing

33)  CRB = come right back

34)  CTO = check this out

35)  CTRN = can’t talk right now

36)  CU = see you

37)  CUL8R = see you later

38)  CWOT = complete waste of time

39)  CYA = see ya

40)  D/C = disconnect

41)  DEF = definitely

42)  DEGT = don’t even go there

43)  DH = dear husband

44)  DHYB = don’t hold your breath

45)  DIKU = do I know you?

46)  DILLIGAR = do I look like I give a rip?

47)  DISTO = did I say that out loud?

48)  DKDC = don’t know, don’t care

49)  DLTM = don’t lie to me

50)  DMI = don’t mention it

51)  DNC = does not compute

52)  DP = domestic partner

53)  DQMOT = don’t quote me on this

54)  DW = dear wife

55)  EAK = eating at keyboard

56)  EOM = end of message

57)  F2F = face to face

58)  FCFS = first come, first served

59)  FCOL = for crying out loud

60)  FIL = father-in-law

61)  FITB = fill in the blanks

62)  FTR = for the record

63)  FTTB = for the time being

64)  G1 = good one

65)  G2G = got to go

66)  G4N = good for nothing

67)  GAL = get a life

68)  GBTW = get back to work

69)  GF = girlfriend

70)  GG = good game

71)  GJ = good job

72)  GMAB = give me a break

73)  GN = good night

74)  GNSD = good night, sweet dreams

75)  GR8 = great

76)  GTG = got to go

77)  GTK = good to know

78)  HI5 = high five

79)  IBRB = I’ll be right back

80)  IDK = I don’t know

81)  ILY = I love you

82)  IM = instant message

83)  IMHO = in my humble opinion

84)  IRL = in real life

85)  JK = just kidding

86)  JTOL = just thinking out loud

87)  K = OK

88)  L8R = later

89)  LMAO = laughing my a** off

90)  LOL = laughing out loud

91)  MIL – mother-in-law

92)  MOF = matter of fact

93)  NNWW = nudge, nudge, wink, wink

94)  OMG = oh, my goodness

95)  PAL = parents are listening

96)  PAW = parents are watching

97)  PM = private message

98)  QOTD = quote of the day

99)  QT = cutie

100)                      RBTL = read between the lines

101)                      ROFL = rolling on the floor laughing

102)                      ROTM = right on the money

103)                      RU = are you

104)                      SIL = sister-in-law

105)                      SLAP = sounds like a plan

106)                      TMI = too much information

107)                      TY = thank you

108)                      VBG = very big grin

109)                      W8 = wait

110)                      WOOT = we own the other team

111)                      WTG = way to go

112)                      WTH = what the heck

113)                      Y = why

114)                      YGBK = you’ve got to be kidding

115)                      YW = you’re welcome

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Acronyms and abbreviations are not a new concept, despite their growing popularity.

Several more traditionally used acronyms and abbreviations may also appear in contemporary electronic communications (such as internet chat rooms, IMs, text messages and more). Many of these shortcuts started with industrial, military and technical applications – but later spread to popular culture.

1)      411 = information

2)      911 = emergency

3)      AKA = also known as

4)      ASAP = as soon as possible

5)      AWOL = absent without leave

6)      BYOB = bring your own bottle

7)      DIY = do it yourself

8)      EZ = easy

9)      FAQ = frequently asked questions

10)  FWD = forward

11)  FYI – for your information

12)  GIGO – garbage in, garbage out

13)  IOU = I owe you

14)  KISS = keep it simple, stupid

15)  MIA = missing in action

16)  MSG = message

17)  MYOB = mind your own business

18)  OBO = or best offer

19)  OTC = over the counter

20)  PDQ = pretty darn quick

21)  PLZ = please

22)  PS = post script

23)  R&R = rest and relaxation

24)  SWAK = sealed with a kiss

25)  T&C = terms and conditions

26)  TBD = to be determined

27)  TGIF – thank God it’s Friday

28)  TLC = tender loving care

29)  TTFN = ta-ta for now

30)  TXS = thanks

Several profane acronyms have also become popular in electronic communications, but these bear no repeating here. Such shortcuts may be simple to decipher – at least, by those who desire to do so.

CTRN?

Go for brevity. Try giving out the 411 with a shortcut. BTW, even TLC may be expressed with just a few keystrokes, so BIO.

Just don’t try it in a book manuscript, an article, or another item aimed for publication (unless you’re citing a text or electronic message). Editors tend to frown on such acronyms.

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 from public domain image

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