Preferred spellings & other tips

The University uses the Macquarie Dictionary as its primary resource for the spelling of words. Where two spellings are acceptable (for example, adviser and advisor), the first listed spelling is generally the preferred choice.

A–B | C–D | E–F | G–H | I–J–K | L–M–N | O–P–Q | R–S | T–U–V | W–X–Y–Z

A – B

a/an, 'a' is used before words that start with a consonant sound, including some that start with the letter h (hotel, historic) but 'an' precedes words that start with a vowel sound

acknowledgement, not acknowledgment

adaptation, rather than adaption

adviser, not advisor

alternative means one or the other; alternate means switching between two things

alumni when referring to more than one former student; alumnus is the male singular, alumna the female singular

among rather than amongst in almost all cases

apostrophes, see entry on punctuation

Australian Government is the preferred term; the term Commonwealth Government is no longer widely used. See also Government terms.

bachelor's degree, lower-case 'b' and apostrophe

backup, rather than back-up

barbecue, not barbeque

C – D

CD-ROM, with hyphen

child care, but childcare centre

colons, see entry on punctuation

commas, see entry on punctuation

complimentary means free or flattering while complementary means something that completes or supplements

continuous/continually, the former means 'without ceasing', the latter 'repeatedly'

convener, not convenor

cooperate, cooperative, no hyphen

coordinate, coordinator, no hyphen

coursework, one word

cross-cultural

cross-faculty

dashes, see entry on punctuation

database, one word

disc/disk, the former refers to compact discs or anatomical terms, the latter only describes internal computer storage (for example hard disk drive)

disinterested, means unbiased, uninterested means indifferent

E – F

ecosystem

effect is used mainly as a noun, whereas affect is the verb ('the effort affected the effect')

eg, no full stops

email

enclose, rather than inclose

enquire, enquiry

enrol, enrolment, enrolling and enrolled, not variations of same

etc, but better to use English phrase such as 'and so on'

face-to-face, note hyphens

faculty, capitalise when referring to a specific title (for example the Faculty of Science), otherwise use lower case (the faculty has more than 5000 enrolled students)

fax, not facsimile

federal government, a broad term for the Australian government, does not need to be capitalised. See also government terms.

FEE-HELP, part of the federal government's Higher Education Loan Programme

fewer than, use fewer when referring to numbers of individuals or individual items, less for quantities (for example "fewer than 10 students attended" but "the queue stretched for less than 100 metres")

fieldwork, one word

focused, focused, focusing

framework

full-fee course, full-fee place

full-time students, but to study full time; abbreviate as FT rather than F/T

fundraising, one word

G – H

government terms Australian Government is the preferred term. Federal government does not need to be capitalised. Capitalise when referring to the particular (and official) titles but use lower case for generic and plural references ("the Australian Government is responsible for ..." but "the government proposes to ..."). Government bodies should be capitalised when using the official name, otherwise use lower case ("the NSW Department of Health regulations ... ", but "the health department regulations ... "). Use lower case when referring to more than one body ("the Queensland and New South Wales parliaments").

handbook, University handbooks but the Arts Handbook
The University handbooks follow the Style Guide. For specific information about editing and updating handbooks please see Handbooks Online, the University handbooks website, or contact Katie Leach, the handbooks editor ().

health care, rather than healthcare

HECS-HELP, part of the federal government's Higher Education Loan Programme

home page, rather than home-page or homepage

hyphens, see entry on punctuation

I – J – K

ie, no full stops

indigenous, for generic use (as in 'indigenous to the area') but Indigenous (as in 'Indigenous Australians')

infrared, one word

interdepartmental

interfaculty

intergovernmental

international students, use lower-case 'i', ie not 'International students'

internet, lower-case 'i'

interprofessional

interrelationships

interstate

intranet

italics
Use sparingly for emphasis, but try to avoid online. The Latin names of plants and animals, both genus and species are italicised. See also Titles and citations of publications for use of italics when referring to published books and so on.

its/it's, the former is the possessive pronoun; it's is a shortened version of it is

judgement (rather than judgment)

L – M– N

language other than English is preferred to 'non-English-speaking background'

less than, see fewer than

licence/license, noun/verb

life cycle

life span

lifelong

long-term

macroeconomics

marketplace

master's degree, note lower-case 'm' and apostrophe

means-test, means-testing

microeconomics

multicultural

multidisciplinary

multimedia

multinational

multiskilled

multistorey

noticeboard

O – P– Q

off-campus, on-campus

offshore

Olympic

one-to-one

online

organisation, unless referring to a proper name, such as the World Health Organization

part-time students, but to study part time; abbreviate as PT rather than P/T.

payroll

per cent, two words; only use % in tables, headlines etc.

pm in times, no full stops

postgraduate, one word

pro rata, two words

Pro-Vice-Chancellor is always capitalised and hyphenated

program, rather than programme

Quadrangle, not Main Quadrangle

quotation marks, see entry on punctuation

R – S

semesters
Use Semester One, Semester Two rather than March Semester, First Semester etc. In handbooks and on the web Semester 1 and Semester 2 may be appropriate.

school leaver, two words

semicolons, see entry on punctuation

South-East Asia

specialty, not speciality unless talking about a cook’s finest dishes

spelling
Use Australian English (ie –ise rather than –ize endings). The Macquarie Dictionary (available to University staff and students online through the library website is the primary reference.

standalone

subcommittee

sub-dean

subediting, subeditor

sub-faculty

subtotal

subsection

T – U – V

that/which
Many writers do not worry about the distinction between that and which; often it boils down to what the writer thinks sounds better.

In general the rule is 'that' is used to define something ("the clock that works is on the table") whereas 'which' informs ("the clock, which was a birthday present, struck midday").

Another example: "This is the house that Jack built", but "this house, which Jack built, is falling down").

Note that you can remove 'that' from the above phrases and they retain their sense. The same is not true if you remove 'which'.

timetable, one word

undergraduate, one word

university, write the University (when referring to Sydney), but universities in general

Vice-Chancellor is always capitalised and hyphenated

W – X – Y – Z

web page, two words

website, one word

weekday, one word

wellbeing, one word

which/that, see that/which

while, rather than whilst

workload, one word

workplace, one word

world-class

X-ray (capital 'x')