web viewit’s worth noting that ms word, excel, powerpoint and pdf files are the least...

deWeb Style Guide

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Scottish Court Service web style guide

Overview

Effective writing is simple, but that does not mean it is easy.

Here are three ways of saying the same thing:

The goal of effective writing is to convey the intended message Communication is only effective when the message gets across to the recipient Writing can be considered effective when it is easily understood by the reader

The English language is endlessly flexible. It allows the same information to be delivered inmany different ways, as the example above demonstrates.

This guide isn’t going to tell you what you should be writing, but it is going to tell you howyou should be writing.

It is a compilation of advice designed to improve the final product that appears on the webpage. It offers a few hints on sentence structure, some grammatical and punctuation rules, andtips on style aimed at achieving consistency across the whole website.

Keep it handy.

Refer to it when a problem crops up or the words don’t flow when you are writing. Always remember that the purpose of writing things down is so that other people can understand them.

Effective writing is easy, but that does not mean it is simple.


What is MySCS?MySCS is the Scottish Court Service’s intranet. It is entirely inward facing and can only beviewed by Scottish Court Service staff. On it you can find the latest news, links, applications, and a whole range of other important information we need to do our jobs every day.

MySCS also contains pages about the corporate side of SCS and court locations that make up the Scottish Court Service.

To create and update pages on MySCS users should send an email to [email protected] with as much information as possible. The webteam aim to respond to emails within 24hours.

If you find an error on a specific page, the easiest and quickest way to bring this to the attention of the website is to click on ‘Report a problem with this page’ which is located at the bottom of every page of MySCS. Enter in as much information as you can and the webteam will look in to the issue.

If you would like to find out more on how to update pages, report a fault, or other query on a MySCS-related subject, please contact the team via the webteam mailbox.

If you want to publish a news story, or have any questions/issues with the news on MySCS, contact the Corporate Communications Team via their mailbox (insert mailbox).

What is Scotcourts.gov.uk?Scotcourts.gov.uk is the Scottish Court Service public facing website. It contains a large volumeof information relating to legislation, paying fines, court information and news, and receives a substantial number of visitors.On average, around 100,000 people log on to the site each month.

Scotcourts.gov.uk is split into X sections:

These sections are self-explanatory. Your involvement will probably be in relation to addingcontent to the topic, publication and/or consultation sections.‘Topics’ should be a one-stop-shop for government policies. The topic pages have beenstructured to reflect how users might source information. They do not reflect the structure ofour directorates, because nobody outside the organisation will know – or care – about whata division in here is called.When you are creating content try to take a step back from work and look at the contentfrom an outsider’s perspective.If you would like to find out more about the website, contact the Online CommunicationsTeam via the Online Communications mailbox.

Williams, Owain, 02/03/12,

Enter number of sections once wireframe is agreed

mailto:[email protected]


AudienceBy the very nature of the world wide web, a visitor to our site could be anyone of themillions of people in the world that have access to the internet. This could be via theircomputer, television, mobile phone, tablet, and any number of the many devices that hit themarket every day.So we cannot make any assumptions about who they are, what they are looking for, and howlong they are willing to persevere in finding it.

There are some things we should always bear in mind:Where the user isThe user might not be living or working in Scotland, or speak English as their first language.DisabilitiesThe user might require special software/hardware to ‘view’ the site.EducationThe user might be anyone from a school pupil to a university professor. Never assume a levelof understanding in terms of acronyms and abbreviations, jargon and officialese. We mustalways assume that users do not have a full understanding of what the Scottish Court Serviceis, or what the functions of the civil service are. A middle ground that satisfies the full rangeof educational attainment is best.State of mindThe user could be busy and impatient. Is your content frustrating someone who just wants tofind specific information? The layout of your introduction page should be clearly structured topoint people in the right direction.How they got hereWe cannot assume that the user has ‘drilled down’ through your site from the homepage orintroduction. A single page within the site could be just part of a trail that the user is makingthrough a variety of different sites. Therefore all pages must make sense on an individual basis.1


StructureCareful thought needs to be given to the structure of your web content and the way thatinformation is presented.A well-organised web section is one that makes it easy and intuitive for visitors to find whatthey want. Good structure also makes it easy for you to manage and develop your pageslogically.Web sections are generally made up of three elements:Introductory pageSub-sectionsContacts and links pages

It is often useful to start with a pen and paper, listing the content that you have and thenorganising similar types of information into chunks. Your web section may contain a number ofsub-sections.

When building your web section you should be aware that visitors could enter this from anypage, so you should always make it clear how they can get between pages easily. All pagesmust make sense on an individual basis.For further advice on how best to structure your web pages contact the Webteam via their mailbox.

Dos and don’ts1. Do take time to clearly map out the structure of your web pages when creating new

content2. for the web. Don’t start creating web pages until you have done this.

3. Do keep the number of web sections to a minimum (ideally, no more than seven).

4. Do check existing content before creating new web sections to avoid duplication. Where possible, try to slot any material into a relevant existing category.

5. Do contact the webteam or communication office if you are in any doubt.1


Writing an introductionFirst impressions count. The first page of your web section is the ‘shop window’ for thecontent beneath. A well-written, user-friendly introduction lets your audience know they’vefound what they’re looking for. It can convince people to read on, or it can put them off.The introduction should be engaging and informative, perhaps containing a key fact or statistic.

Keep it short – a maximum of three paragraphs.

It’s important to remember that you’re introducing the subject and not your team or division.Try to avoid stating the obvious - an introduction like ‘Here you’ll find information ontransport’ doesn’t offer the reader anything of value.A good introduction is straightforward, to the point and informative. A poor introduction isfull of meaningless pleasantries and doesn’t actually tell the user anything about the subject.

RightPublic sector spending on goods and services across Scotland amounts to around £8billion per year. Procurement guidelines govern the purchasing of these goods and servicesin areas such as health and education services, IT and telecoms, and local government.The Public Procurement Reform Programme aims to drive up standards in the way thepublic sector procures goods and services to ensure that taxpayers money is spent aswisely as possible.WrongWelcome to the website of the Procurement and Best Practice Team which we hopeyou will find interesting and informative. In these web pages, you will find information onprocurement.The site will be updated on a regular basis to include new material as it becomes availableas well as other items of interest. To navigate round the site, simply click on any of theheadings at the side.

Dos and don’ts Do get to the point. Keep the first page short and try to avoid the user having to scroll. Don’t start with a history of events leading up to the policy. Remember, users tend to

prefer the latest information up front, rather than have to wade through text to find it. Don’t use phrases like “Welcome to our website” or “this web section contains

information on…” they are completely unnecessary and a waste of the user’s time. Don’t use too many links in the text of the first page, two or three at most. You want to

get the main points across without distracting the user.1


Dates and numbersDates in the format:

March 21, 2008.... spoke at a conference on March 21.... regarding the March 21 event.

Always use a hyphen in preference to a slash (/) in dates: 2009-10.

Numbers - one to nine written out in full:One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine …

From 10 upwards always in digits:… there were 15 people present …

Thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands use internal comma:2,500 or 10,678 or 650,400

Millions (& billions) as combination of letters and digits:25 million NOT 25m

Follow same style for money references:£25,000,000 or £25 millionException: To start a sentence with a number convert it to letters:Ten thousand people met … NOT 10,000 people met ...Never start a sentence with a monetary amount unless it can be prefixed by:More than £5 million …orAround £13 million will be spent …

Ranges Write out the first number in full and then write out the digits that change in the second number:

pages 1,022–34 2011–13 1992–2012 9–10 months 10, 000–12, 000


Dates and numbers

Ratios a 9:7 ratio

Times 07.00 13.20

Midnight 24.00 for periods ending at midnight and 00.00 for periods starting at midnight

1Naming conventionsCabinet Secretaries and Ministers should always have their titles written out in full on firstmention.First Minister Joe Public then becomes the FM or Mr Public on second and subsequentmention.Secretary can be used on its own e.g. Justice Secretary.CS should not be used as an acronym of Cabinet Secretary.Only FM and DFM can be written as acronyms.Minister for Environment/Community Justice is interchangeable with Environment/CommunityJustice Minister.

Ministers with more than one portfolio should use the element of their title relevant tothe subject in question. Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Rural Affairs becomesEnvironment Secretary or Rural Affairs Secretary.

Write Director Human Resources rather than Director of Human Resources. The Executive Team is made up of Chief Executive Eleanor Emberson supported by three Executive Directors:

Executive Director Field Services Eric McQueen Executive Director Strategy and Infrastructure Neil Rennick Executive Director Judicial Office for Scotland Steve Humphreys

1HyperlinksHyperlinks are an essential feature of the web, allowing users to move directly to differentpages and different websites instantly. Virtually all web pages contain hyperlinks.Hyperlinks are identified on a page by blue text that is underlined. The cursor changes whenyou hover over a link. Links should be used wisely. Take the following text and how it should


Rewrite for Lord’s Sheriff’s etc…


be dealt with in terms of links:

WrongIn the following web section you will be provided with a range of information about theScottish Court Services national people strategy.It also provides more information on court locations. There are also specificsub-sections for those looking for more detail on paying your fine and on how tohave your say on the strategy.

The above paragraph is completely unnecessary, and should be replaced with four links:

RightNational People StrategyCourt LocationsPaying your fineHave your sayWe have been trained to write full sentences and full paragraphs, but on the web these fullsentences and paragraphs can often get in the way. On the web, people generally want to skipthe details and get straight to the point.A paragraph of text can quickly become cluttered with links, and this can be distracting for auser reading the content. If you have several links relating to a paragraph of text, then just listthe hyperlinks in bullet points at the end of the paragraph.

Dos and don’ts Don’t overuse hyperlinks – keep them relevant. For example, you don’t have to create

a link to the Scottish Court Service ‘About’ section every time you refer to the Scottish Court Service!

There are a couple of other rules to remember when you are creating hyperlinks: Never use ‘click here’ – it is unnecessary and can be confusing for assisted technologies

that read out links on the page. Always spell out what the link is about and do not use urls for links. For example: more

information about the Scottish Court Service NOT http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/aboutscs/

1

Images


Images can really help to improve the look and feel of your web section. What may otherwiseappear to be a dull paragraph of plain text can really be made more interesting and user friendly with the use of even a single image.Relevant images may be found in the online image gallery. The webteamcan offer general advice on sourcing images and ensuring these are of the optimum size, correct quality for web use and that copyright has been granted.

HANDY HINTSSize - On topic pages, avoid using images that are either too large or too small. Anappropriate size would be between 230 to 300 pixels wide.

Positioning - Images should generally be placed on the right hand side of a web page. To wraptext around the image, right click on the image and select the ‘Right of Text’ option.

Dos and don’ts Do enter a proper ‘Alternative Text’ description if are you are uploading a new image

into the online gallery. Simply typing ‘image’ or ‘picture’ is unhelpful for anyone using assisted technologies like screen readers for the blind.

Don’t take your subject too literally. Images that represent the subject are fine. For example:

o Use a picture of a school road sign to represent the subject of school buildingso Use a picture of cows to represent Foot and Mouth or Bluetongueo Never use an image unless you are sure you have permission to do so.

If in doubt, contact the webteam via their mailbox.1

Web addresses


Check in sitefinity whether this terminology is correct


Create a image gallery in Sitefinity


Setting up a short simple web address (domain name) makes it easier for people to getstraight to your content. They are especially useful if you have advertised your site on printedmaterial or in emails. There are two ways to give your site a specialised web address:1. Registering a new web address. e.g. www.SCSinitiative.gov.uk2. Using a short scotcourts.gov.uk address. e.g. www.scotcourts.gov.uk/payyourfineOption one is only available by contacting the webteam with a business case. Examples that have been set up are public inquiries. www.valeoflevenhospitalinquiry.org.If you are setting up a new website. Registering new addresses can be costly and domains require annual renewal. In addition to your preferred address you should also consider registering the suite of related domains (.com, .co.uk, .org. org.uk) to prevent others from using them inappropriately (cyber squatting).Option two is the preferred SCS approach in most cases, as we are aiming to promote thewww.scotcourts.gov.uk web address and provide information through this single channel. Having one core address helps people remember where to find the information.ExampleHere a shortened address has been created to direct users to the complaints section.http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/you_and_us/complaints_faq.asp towww.scotland.gov.uk/complaints

Short and snappy addresses are much easier to remember.

Dos and don’ts Do create short (friendly) web address under scotland.gov.uk. To do this, email your

request to the webteam mailbox. Do try to ensure related organisations link to your shortened address. Do seek advice from the webteam, via their mailbox, before registering a new web

address. Don’t register new addresses unless it’s absolutely necessary.

1AccessibilityThe Scottish Court Service is committed to making information available to all. In practicalterms this means making sure anyone who cannot see or hear still has a means of accessinginformation and is not disadvantaged. The web provides more opportunities to do this thantraditional mediums like print, television and radio.

The Web Accessiblity Initiative (WAI) sets the standards for accessible information and we aimto achieve a minimum ‘AA’ rating. For more information see www.w3c.org/WAI

The Website Content Hub (WCH or Hub) will help you with accessibility, but the most important factor is using Plain English. It’s worth noting that MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint and PDF files are the least accessible formats and should be avoided if a web page can be used instead.

Web address examples

http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/you_and_us/complaints_faq.asp

http://www.valeoflevenhospitalinquiry.org/


An example from the Schools Topic illustrates how web content can be simplified and mademore accessible.WrongThe new concept of ‘additional support needs’, introduced by the Education (AdditionalSupport for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, refers to needs arising from any factor whichcauses a barrier to learning, whether that factor relates to social, emotional, cognitive,linguistic, disability, or family and care circumstances. Click here for more information.RightSome children need extra support to help them learn. This might be because ofreasons like temporary medical conditions, family circumstances, bullying, language andcommunication disorders or sensory impairment.Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004Dos and don’tsDo use Plain English, avoid government speak and overly complex language.Do avoid using too many acronyms/abbreviations and always explain those that you do use.Do provide appropriate alternative text for images. ‘Picture’ or ‘Image’ isn’t good enough.Do use the print contractor for all official publications. They ensure the accessibility standardsare met.Don’t make links using the words ‘click here’.Don’t upload Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF files. Contact the Online Communicationsmailbox for advice.1MultimediaUse of interactive media (video, audio, blogs, online forms etc) can enhance the presentationand engage an audience in a way that text alone cannot always achieve.VideoWe all know the saying ‘a picture is worth 1,000 words’. The principle is the same for a videoon a website. Video produced for the website covers ministerial events and, increasingly, topicbased news.

Blogs and forumsBlogging is an informal means of gathering opinion and conducting online debate. Blogs areused in a variety of ways on the website, but typically each blog starts with the views of anindividual and allows the public to post their comments. All comments are moderated beforeappearing on the site. Blogs are most successful when they are regularly updated, so considerthe upkeep before you decide to launch a blog.

Online formsOnline feedback forms are a good way of allowing the public to get in touch directly withyour team, give their opinions and let you know what they think of your website section.

If you are running a consultation you should consider an online response form to allowpeople to give their views through the website.Interactive features

Owain Williams, 02/03/12,

Look in to blog option for SCS and forums.


In addition to text pages the website supports interactive opportunities such as onlinedatabases and search engines.

Dos and don’tsDo speak with the webteam for advice on using interactive media on your topic pages. Currently we are limited to what can and can’t be put on Scotcourts.gov.uk.

Grammar – acronyms, ages, addresses


Acronyms such as COSLA or SERC should always be spelled out on first mention with initialscontained in brackets:Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)Thereafter:COSLA has … or The Convention has …The NHS and the BBC are exceptions as they are so well known.Do not use capital letters for things like 'working groups' or 'review bodies'. If in doubt uselower case.Ages normally in digital form:Mrs Smith, 45 …Alternatively:45-year-old Mrs Smith …Children aged nine and under rendered as:Young Jenny, 7 …But as:... seven-year-old Jenny (following numbers style)Addresses - no commas in 3 Regent Road etc, and do not abbreviate Road, Street, Avenueetc.Postcode (no hyphen) but a space between i.e. EH1 3DG1Grammar – commas, colons and hyphensCommas are punctuation marks used for indicating a division in a sentence.HANDY HINTThink verbally. If you would pause during saying a sentence, that is when a comma is oftenrequired. Technically it indicates divisions within the grammatical structure of a sentence.Although sitting on the mat, the cat was nowhere to be seen.The people arrived, left their coats in the cloakroom, and went through the main hall.Wild horses, imported from the west, could not drag him away.____________________________________________________________________Direct speech (quoting somebody) should always be contained within double invertedcommas.A colon introduces direct speech.He said: “Hello there …”Paragraphs within direct speech begin with inverted commas, but are only closed once thefinal paragraph is reached:"Hello there and how are you?"That is generally how it works."

A colon can also be used to precede a list of items. There are five senses: sight, smell, touch,hearing, taste.Single inverted commas are used to denote a short quote within a sentence of text.The Sheriff said the situation was ‘unacceptable’.1Grammar – commas, colons and hyphens


A semicolon is a strange beast.It is used to bind together two closely related sentences that would otherwise be twoseparate sentences.Or it can be a kind of ‘super comma’ to mark a division in a sentence where commas are alsoincluded.HANDY HINTSemicolons are best avoided.

_____________________________________________________________________Composite words require a hyphen when the two joining letters in the middle are the same.Pre-emptCo-operateFilm-makerEXCEPTION ALERTNo hyphen when there is a double r in the middle: override, overrule.Other composite words should not be hyphenated.GrandmotherTakeoverKnockout


Grammar – the truth about apostrophesThe apostrophe has three functions:Function 1. To denote possessionThe Sheriff’s speech (meaning the speech of the Sheriff)HANDY HINTThink logically. If a phrase such as ‘the Sheriff’s speech’ can be turned round as ‘the speech ofthe Sheriff’ then an apostrophe is required.If the word already ends in s then the apostrophe goes after the s that is already there. Thisapplies mostly to plurals.The dogs’ bowls (meaning the bowls belong to some dogs)The boys’ coats (meaning the coats belong to some boys)The cars’ wheels (meaning the wheels belong to some cars)But it can also apply to the singular.James’ dog (James’s is also grammatically correct but James’ is the preferred version)SPECIAL CAREPossessive pronouns don’t need apostrophes: his, hers, its, yours, ours._____________________________________________________________________Function 2. To denote a missing letter or lettersIt’s (meaning it is)HANDY HINTThink logically. An apostrophe is required where a letter or letters are missing. Imagine the fullversion and put the apostrophe in the place of the missing letter or letters.SPECIAL CAREIts and it’s are two entirely separate terms. Its is a possessive pronoun (same as his and hers)while it’s denotes a missing letter (it’s pouring rain – it is pouring rain)._____________________________________________________________________Function 3. To denote the plural in cases when a letter is used as a word e.g. there are twol’s in bell.WrongSME’s, CD’s, DVD’s, MoT’sRightSMEs, CDs, DVDs, MoTsGrammar – rulesAct(s) as in ‘... of Parliament’ always capped, whether fully identified or not.acting always lower case: acting First Minister, acting committee chairman.adviser not advisor.aeroplane not airplane.adverbs a joining hyphen is rarely needed when they are used to qualify adjectives e.g.smartly dressed, heavily laden, beautifully formed. Hyphen to be used only when meaningwould otherwise be ambiguous.airbase, airstrip, airspace (no hyphens).alternative of two, choice of three or more.amid, not amidst; among, not amongst.Bill(s) as in Parliamentary Bill always capped (as with Acts above).


blackspot one word; similarly, troublespot, hotspot.bridges cap when refering to name, as in Forth Bridge, Erskine Bridge.budget cap the Scottish Budget, otherwise lower case.Burns Night caps, no apostrophe.burned, not burnt.by-election, bypass (noun or verb).Cabinet always capped (as with Act and Bill).census cap in specific cases, such as the 1901 Census, the 2001 Census, but lower casegenerally.Civil List (caps).Civil Service (caps), but civil servants.co- A hyphen is required to separate vowels.Commission, Commissioner caps.committee lower case unless full title i.e. Health Committee.1

Grammar – rules


councils cap in full title e.g. Edinburgh City Council, otherwise lower case.Court of Session, Edinburgh.courts cap all courts when specific e.g. Dunfermline Sheriff Court: always cap the HighCourt, but lower case sheriff court, district court or youth court etc.daytime, but night-time.desktop, laptop, handheld, palmtop: no hyphen.disc when describing a musical recording, or shape; but disk in general computing contexte.g. floppy disk.EC is abbreviation for the European Commission, not the European Community. Capthe Commission throughout as a noun, but lower case when adjectival e.g. a commissionruling: cap the commissioner only when referring to a specific person (e.g. Mario Monti, theCompetition Commissioner; thereafter, the commissioner). The President of the EuropeanCommission is capped throughout (as with all foreign Presidents).e.g. with points.elections general election ALWAYS lower case; similarly by-election, European elections etc.embassy same style as for Ambassador e.g. the French Embassy in Rome, thereafter theembassy.euro the European single currency, takes lower case (as euro, pound, etc).First Minister's Questions, Question Time etc caps, but questions (lower case) to theFirst Minister, etc.focused has only a single 's'.Foot and Mouth Disease capped, then FMD.government don't cap all governments Scottish, UK and overseas, even when referring to aspecific one.Holyroodhouse, Palace of or Holyrood Palace (interchangeable).honours people are appointed Privy Counsellor, Baronet, KBE, CBE, OBE, MBE etc; neversay made, received, were awarded, or got the OBE etc. Peers and above (viscounts etc) arecreated, not appointed etc. At investitures, those honoured receive the insignia of the award,not the award itself.1

Grammar – rules


i.e. use points.inpatients, outpatients (no hyphen).inquire, inquiry NOT enquire, enquiry.last, past last should not be used as a synonym of latest, ‘the last few days’ means the finalfew days; ‘the past few days’ means the most recent few days.Legal TermsScottish Englishaccused defendantaliment alimonyarbiter arbitratorco-accused co-defenderculpable homicide manslaughterdefender (civil) defendantexpenses costsfire-raising arsonhousebreaking burglaryinterdict injunctioncontinued (judgement) reservedconfirmation probate (wills)pursuer plaintiffreset receivinguttering (presenting) forgerymidday, midweek (no hyphens).multimillion pound.Parliament always cap, parliamentary lower case.Private Member's Bill (caps).Queen, HM the Queen.1

Grammar – rules


re- where possible, run the prefix on to the word it qualifies e.g. readmission, remake,rework, etc: but there are two main classes of exceptions:where the word after re- begins with an ‘e’ e.g. re-election, re-emerge,re-examine, re-enter etc,where there could be serious ambiguity in compounds such as re-creation (recreation), recover(recover).Register of Members' Interests (caps).Royal Assent (caps).roads M8 not ‘the M8 motorway’ as ‘the A91 road’, but correct to say ‘the M8 Edinburgh toGlasgow motorway’.royal, royalty lower case for royalty but cap the Royal Family; royal is usually lower casewhen an adjective; royal approval, the royal wave, but takes the cap in titles such as RoyalAssent, Royal Collection, Royal Household, Royal Yacht etc.Stage 1, Stage 2 of a Bill etc, caps also with Section 2, Article 8, etc.State cap in context of the State as a wide concept, but not in the welfare state, or usedadjectivally such as state benefits.Third World (caps).titles of books, films, discs, programmes etc, avoid initial caps for every word (e.g.do not write The Hound Of The Baskervilles). Use lower case for prepositions, conjunctions,definite and indefinite articles.weights and measures abbreviations: context will determine when to shorten kilometres,grams, feet, etc. ‘He was 6ft 7in’ (not ins, and no space between number and abbreviation),but ‘she stood two feet from the kerb’. Similarly, ‘she weighed 8st 12lb’ (not lbs), but ‘he wasseveral pounds overweight’.who, whom which of these to use is determined solely by its function in the relative clause.Remember that whom has to be the object of the verb in the relative clause. Thus, ‘she is thewoman whom the police wish to interview’ (i.e. the police wish to interview HER, not SHE):the other most common use of whom is after a preposition such as by, with or from e.g. ‘theperson from whom he bought a ticket’.workers farmworkers, metalworkers and roadworkers each one word, but two for carworkers, oil workers, office workers etc workforce, workshop, work-to-rule.1

Use capital letters sparingly.


Use capital letters for specific titles, names, nationalities, geographical places, institutions, organisations, days, months (but not seasons), festivals, holidays, published titles and trade names (or follow company preferences):

Advocate Depute Joe Blogs works in the GH&I Sheriffdom the Deputy Principal Clerk of Session severe weather in the North (a region), but facing west (a direction) the Sheriff or the Minister Elgin Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court the Scottish Government, but government policy Erskine Bridge The Civil Service AXA, easyJet the Service (when referring to the SCS).

Use lower case letters for general titles, names and drugs: part-time sheriffs sheriff and justice of the peace courts in all sheriffdoms several procurators fiscal an advocate depute ecstasy local authorities.

Capitalise only the first word of a heading or caption.

Normally court documents and legal terms are not capitalised, for example, initial writ, social enquiry report and affidavit but the following are legal documents and other terms that should be capitalised.

Acts of law, Regulations and Articles Civil Evidence (Scotland) Act 1988 in the Annex to the Council Regulation (EC) Article 6

Appendixes mentioned in Appendix 2

Bills The Private Member’s Bill

Budgets The Scottish Budget, but many budgets are affected

Cabinet The Scottish Cabinet Cabinet Minister Joe Smith

Civil Service The Civil Service but civil servants


Commissions The Commissioner

Committees The Health and Safety Committee but all the committees

Conventions, Articles and Schedules the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extra-Judicial Documents in

Civil or Commercial Matters Article 52 of the Convention in Schedule 1 or 3C to that Act

Courts (specific) and some parts of the court the Bench Teind Court Court of Session

Faculties, Boards and official offices Faculty of Advocates Board of the Pension Protection Fund a British Consular Office Gender Recognition Panel

Financial terms the Budget Budget 2011 Spending Review

Government bodies and professional groups the Scottish Parliament, but not many parliaments Member States another Contracting State Commission for Equality and Human Rights

Hearings (capitalise specific hearings only, not generic references) Options Hearing the date of the hearing

Registers Register of Inhibitions and Adjudications

Rule of Court: Forms, Parts and Chapters In the case of personal injuries actions within the meaning of Part AI of Chapter 36, by

initial writ in Form PI1Titles (specific)

the Keeper of the Records of Scotland the Auditor of the Court of Session

Lists and bullet points


Start a list of bullet points with an introduction ending in a colon. If a bullet point is an incomplete sentence use lower case and no punctuation until the full stop after the final point. However, if the bullet point is a full sentence, use a capital letter and full stop for each point. It is acceptable to mix these formats.

There are four possible outcomes today: a guilty verdict a not guilty verdict a not proven verdict The case will be continued.

References

Title (in italics), author/institution, date Writing and house style guide, HM Treasury, October 2008.

Include ISBN if the reference is to a book and ISSN if it is to a journal.

Corporate identity

The corporate screen style is Arial, regular, 12. Information about the Scottish Court Service corporate identity is available on the intranet (http://myscs/pages/Support/templates.aspx)

The approval processScotcourts.gov.ukAll content published to the live website passes through several stages of quality control. This


Find out usability setup.

http://myscs/pages/Support/templates.aspx

http://myscs/pages/Support/templates.aspx


approval process aims to ensure that material is relevant, accurate and that style rules foronline content are maintained.There are three main roles that make up the approval chain.The owner – creates and maintains web content.The approver – overseeing content added by owners, the approver (usually branch head)has overall responsibility for the quality of the information.The Web Information Co-ordinator (WIC) – your WIC has two roles. In additionto co-ordinating content across a range of subject areas, the WIC acts as final approver. Finalapproval focuses on consistency and style rather than accuracy.Speak to your WIC – they are there to help, giving advice and guidance on all online contentmatters.For a full list of WICs see http://sh45inta/wics

MySCSThere is no formal approval process currently in place. All updates should be sent to the webteam mailbox and they will contact you if they have any questions.

Once approved, pages go live.1

HelpWho do I contact? The webteam – Webteam mailbox


Need to agree this section


Website content issues – Communications mailboxWebsite technical issues – Webteam mailboxPublications – Communications TeamIntranet content issues and technical issues – Webteam mailboxIntranet news – Communications mailbox

I need to publish an official documentAlways ensure official publications are sent to the print contractor for web conversion. If you have questions about what is/isn’t an official publication contact the Publishing Team.

I need to publish minutes of meetingsMinutes of meetings are not official publications. To publish these to the website you must use the website publishing system.

Contact a member of the Online Communications Team.

I need an online form Do we start to introduce online forms – creation of PDFs and slowly convert everything to online?

I’d like some statistics about my websiteThe webteam can provide a tailored set of statistics on the usage of your pages.

Contact the webteam mailbox.

I’d like to add a video to my webpagesThe webteam are the first point of contact for video content. If you’d like to discuss production of a video for your topic, please get in touch via the Communications mailbox.1

Help

I don’t have permission to edit / approve content on Scotcourts.gov.uk


Question


To be answered…

My usual approver isn’t availableThere are usually several people with permission to approve a page.Alternatively, contact the webteam and they can tell you who should be approving your content.

I’ve created content in the wrong placePages can be moved to the correct place. Just email the webteam mailbox with the page address (e.g. http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/mypage along with the location you would like to move it to (e.g. http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/newsection/mypage).

How do I delete content?

1

Handy hintsUse short, concise sentences and paragraphs.Get straight to the point.


Do we allow people to delete content or should it be approved?


Question


Do not underline text. Underlined text indicates a web link.Do not use italics. They are difficult to read on screen and some browsers such as InternetExplorer cannot handle them correctly and formatting problems can result.Do not use CAPITAL LETTERS - it slows reading and can look like you are SHOUTING!Do not use paragraph numbering. It slows reading and makes updating web documentsdifficult.Scottish/Scotland to be used sparingly as an adjective, assuming references apply to Scotland inthe first instance:People not Scottish people, the Health Service not the Health Service in Scotland.Per cent in full, NOT %.Do not use a full stop at the end of a sentence when a bullet point is used:

400 deaths occured on Scotland’s roads 700 people harmed by fireworks Safety campaign called ‘Drive Safely’

Always write in the third person. Only quotes should be written in the first person.