Messaging and Editorial Style

One of the best ways that we can communicate the strengths and impact of an HGSE education is through our written content on the web and in print. We rely on every member of the HGSE community to help tell the HGSE story. Why is an HGSE education so transformative? What are the unique advantages of the Harvard experience? What makes Cambridge and Boston such an ideal place to be a student? Every time you write a blog post, news story, program description, alumni profile, or any other Ed School-related content you contribute to this story.

The following editorial guidelines help us tell HGSE’s story online in a clear, cohesive, and compelling voice. 

Tone and Voice

Harvard is a prestigious university, but that doesn’t mean that our writing is stuffy and formal. Avoid academic jargon and use specific examples as much as possible. Employ direct address — “you” instead of “students” — to engage the reader as part of the story.

WRONG STYLE: The Ed.L.D. Program prepares students for impactful careers in leadership in schools, districts, government agencies, and education nonprofits.

RIGHT STYLE: In the Ed.L.D. Program, you will understand that the ambitious goal of transforming preK–12 education will not be accomplished by one individual alone, but by a diverse movement of leaders in school systems, government, and education-focused organizations.

In writing, tone and voice describe the “attitude” of a writer toward the subject and the reader. Avoid using a formal, detached, or overly academic voice when writing for the web. Instead, convey a genuine excitement about the subject; talk to the reader directly using clear and compelling language; and invite the reader to learn more. Here are some useful tips:

Use direct address – Third-person construction can come across as too formal online.

WRONG WAY: Students in the Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology Program can create their own web apps.

RIGHT WAY: In the Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology Program, you can create your own web apps.

Use active voice – In web copy, active voice is clearer and more engaging than passive voice. By combining direct address with active voice, you draw the reader into the conversation.

Use calls to action – Reading a website is only the beginning of the conversation. At the end of each page, include calls to action that encourage readers to contact HGSE, talk to an admissions counselor, read more stories of impact, visit campus, and more.

Web vs. Print

When writing for the web, we first need to understand how we read online vs. in print. When reading in print, we’re more likely to read each individual word and finish long passages. Readers on the web are scanners. Our eyes dart around the page scanning for information: bold headers, links, photos, and select keywords. We are much less likely to read long chunks of text in a web browser, and not at all on a mobile device.

Write like a Scanner

There’s an inverse law to writing marketing content for the web: the more you write, the less anyone is to read it. Avoid large blocks of text at all costs. Instead, break information down into short sections with bold subheads. Subheads are like titles for each section of the page. Use subheads as a hook to catch the reader’s eye as she scans for key information. Once you have her attention, you have three to four sentences (100 words, maximum) to keep it. Tell your story quickly, clearly, and creatively, and provide embedded links to learn more.

Inverted Pyramid

In journalism, reporters generally follow the inverted pyramid rule when writing a news story. Start with the most important information, called the lede, and fill in the rest of the story, with increasing detail, in the paragraphs that follow. A webpage should read the same way. A reader should know exactly what the page is about by quickly scanning the page title, header, and first couple of sentences. If the subject interests them, they will dig deeper, scan subheads, and click on links.

Page Title and Header

The page title is the very first thing the reader will see. Page titles should be clear and concise. Unless you’re writing a news story or blog post, stick to the facts and keep the title to five words or fewer. The header, on the other hand, is your first chance to really tell your story. The header is like the subtitle of a book. In 30 words or fewer, make a compelling case for reading the rest of the page.

WRONG HEADER: “Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology is a yearlong master’s program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.”

RIGHT HEADER: “In the Technology, Innovation, and Education Program, you will design creative solutions to meet the greatest challenges in teaching and learning.”“In the Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology Program, you will design creative solutions to meet the greatest challenges in teaching and learning."

Embedded Links

We go to the web to quickly find information, and links offer a fast way to “dig down” to the details. Embedded links are text links embedded in the natural flow of a sentence. By embedding a link, you increase the odds that the reader will actually read the surrounding text. You can also include adjectives and other descriptors in the link text that help to tell your story.

WRONG WAY: “Click here for a list of our master’s programs and doctoral programs.”

RIGHT WAY: “We offer master’s and doctoral programs that will prepare you to make an impact in every facet of education.”

WRONG WAY: “HGSE was founded in 1920. Learn more about our history as a leader in education research, policy, and practice.”

RIGHT WAY: “Founded in 1920, HGSE is one of the nation’s top education schools within one of the world’s best universities.”

Style Guide

With a few exceptions, HGSE adheres to AP style in all publications, both print and online. You can purchase hard copies of The Associated Press Stylebook at the Harvard Coop or download online and mobile versions at apstylebook.com.

The following entries cover some of the most common style rules for writing about HGSE and its programs:

Capitalization

Course names
 Use title caps on course names. No italics, no quotation marks.

  • Bridget Terry Long teaches The Economics of Colleges and Universities.
     

University and school
Do not capitalize the words “school” or “university” when used alone, not as part of an official name.

  • The university announced today that ROTC would be returning to campus in September.

Fellow or scholar
Capitalize ONLY if it's part of the official name:

  • Reynolds Fellow
  • Urban Scholar
  • He is a fellow at the Gates Foundation.
     
 

Programs
Capitalize the names of programs, including the word “program.” Do not capitalize “program” when used alone.

  • Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology Program
  • Ed.L.D. Program
  • Students applying to the program should turn in applications by May 15.

Title case
Capitalize all words except prepositions of five or fewer letters, conjunctions, and articles.

  • Duck in the Truck University and school: Do not capitalize the words “school” or “university” when used alone, not as part of an official name.
  • The university announced today that ROTC would be returning to campus in September.

Degrees and Schools

Degrees
Always use periods with degrees.

  • Ed.M.
  • Ph.D.
  • Ed.L.D.

Acronyms and initialisms
Acronyms and initialisms do not use periods.

  • LDIT
  • HTF
  • HKS
School name
Spell out the full name of the school the first time it is used; the HGSE can be used on subsequent uses. Periods should not be used. (“Ed School” may also be used in second and following instances. It should becapitalized.)
  • Each fall the Harvard Graduate School of Education hosts a career fair that includesnational and international education organizations. HGSE students find the fair provides an excellent start for their job searches. [Or: Ed School students find the fair provides an excellent start for their job searches.]

Universities with multiple campuses
Write out full name of the school. For universities with multiple campuses, use the school’s preferred style in writing out name.

  • The University of Texas at Austin University of California, Santa Barbara.




 

Frequently Used Terms

Frequently Used Terms

Geographic Locations

Geographic Locations

The major cities listed above (as defined by The Associated Press Stylebook) do not need to be followed by the name of the states.

All other domestic cities and towns need to include state names. Exception: Cambridge, Massachusetts may be referred to as Cambridge.

  • He visited Boston on his way to Waterbury, Connecticut.

Avoid using two-letter post office abbreviations for states, except when referring to a political party.

  • The statue is in Concord, Massachusetts. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) helped provide the funding.

School districts: Capitalize all words if you are using the official name of the entity. Otherwise, all are lowercase except the city name.

  • Boston Public Schools, San Diego Unified School District
  • San Diego public schools, public schools in Boston
     

 

 

 

United States: Do not abbreviate when used as a noun. It is acceptable to abbreviate as part of a name or an adjective. Use periods in text; do not use periods in a headline.

  • He lives in the United States.
  • She works for the U.S. Department of Energy.  
  • He is a U.S. citizen.
  • U.S. Senator to Speak on Education Reform


 

 

 

Numbers

Range of numbers
En dashes, rather than hyphens, should be used to indicate a range of numbers.

  • 1960–66
  • Pages 149–50
  • $1,300–$1,800

Plurals 
Form plurals of acronyms by adding an “s”; do not use an apostrophe.

  • MBAs
  • PTAs
  • YMCAs
     

Ordinals
Do not use superscript for nd, th, or st.

  • 31st, 42nd

Starting sentences 
Spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence.Thirty-five people attended the seminar.

 

Figures or words
Spell out numbers under 10. Use figures for 10 and higher. Follow these rules, even when a sentence contains both types.

  • She is taking four classes.
  • She also works 35 hours a week.
  • He has five cats and 13 rabbits.
Exceptions
  • Dollar figures ($2 million), percentages (8%), page numbers (page 48)
  • Addresses (1 Appian Way), time (8 p.m.),
  • Numbers between one thousand and ten thousand that can be expressed in terms of hundreds (He wrote an essay of fifteen hundred words. She wrote an essay of 1,432 words).
     

People and Job Titles

Courtesy titles
Do not use Mr., Mrs., or other courtesy titles unless part of a formal name.

  • We went to Mr. Tux to get clothing for the prom.
                Dean Bridget Long
Bridget Long is referred to as Dean Bridget Long, unless in the signature of a letter, in which case he is referred to as Bridget Long, Dean of the Faculty of Education and Saris Professor of Education and Economics.

Doctor
Do not use “Dr.” for academic or medical doctors.

  • Jane Doe, a pediatrician at Mount Auburn Hospital, visited the school in June.
 

Endowed professorships
Endowed professorship titles are not used in narrative settings (with the exception of specific development communications).

  • Professor Howard Gardner has a new book coming out in May.

Emeriti faculty
Include a comma before the word “emerita” or “emeriti.”

  • Courtney Cazden, professor of education, emerita
     
 

Middle initials
Only include if the person’s name commonly includes the initial.

  • Michael Rodman
  • Michael J. Fox

Names
Refer to people by their full names on first mention and by last name after that.

  • John Doe, Ed.D.’82, is a professor of education. Doe teaches educational history and policy.
     
 

Degrees
List after people’s names with no space between the last period and the apostrophe. For more than one degree, list in ascending date order and separate by commas. Use only HGSE degrees; non-HSGE degrees can be used in lists, however.

  • John Doe, Ed.M.’02, Ed.L.D.’14

Alphabetization of non-married names and hyphenated last names
Always alphabetize by the first letter of the last name. If a person uses a non-married name and her married name without hyphenating, alphabetize by the name that comes last. A hyphenated last name is treated as one element and is alphabetized by the first letter of the first word in the pair. The following list is in correct alphabetical order:  

  • Mary James, Susan Moore Johnson, John Klein, Ellen Condliffe Lagemann, Ann Marshall, Jane Moore-Johnson

Capitalization
As a general rule, if the title comes before the name, the title should be capitalized. If the title follows the name, it should be lowercase. In letters and lists, a title can be capitalized even when it follows the name.

  • Dean Bridget Long visited the KIPP school last week.
  • Bridget Long, dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, visited the KIPP school last week.

Publications

Books, journals, magazines, movies, software, collections of poems, long poems, plays, operas and major musical compositions, paintings,
and other artworks should be italicized. Only capitalize and italicize “the” or “magazine” if that is how the publication uses it. (The masthead will provide this information.)

  • The New York Times
  • Gone with the Wind
  • Newsweek
  • the Boston Herald
  • the Mona Lisa
  • Harvard Ed. Magazine

Punctuation

Ampersands

Do not use ampersands, plus signs, or other symbols that denote "and." Write out the word.

Commas
Always use the serial, or Oxford comma.

  • The American flag is red, white, and blue.
   

En dash and em dash

There should be spaces on either side of dashes in most cases.

  • Exception: en dashes denoting a span of time or age. Example: Grades 11–12

For instructions on how to make an en dash or em dash

Percent
Use the % symbol, not the word percent. 		  Periods
There should only be a single space after periods.

Possessive
Singular proper names ending with “s” are made possessive by adding an apostrophe.

  • Jarvis Givens’ op ed was about the history of anti-racist teaching.
 

Quotation marks
Quotation marks should always be outside other punctuation, with the exception of question marks, dashes, semicolons, and exclamation marks that are not part of the quotation.

  • He said he was “going to Longfellow Hall.” •
  • Did he say, “I am going to Longellow Hall”?

Times and Seasons

Seasons
Do not capitalize names of seasons unless part of a formal title.

  • He will graduate in summer 2005 and start work in the fall.
  • In September, we will attend the Fall Harvest Festival in Wellesley.




     
   

Time
Do not use 12:00; use either noon or midnight.
Do not use double zeros for any time.
When using a.m. and p.m., use lowercase and include periods.
If indicating a range of time, do not use a.m. or p.m. after the first time unless it is different than the following time.
Use an en dash to indicate time range.

  • He arrived at noon. Class starts at 8 a.m.
  • The meeting is from 1–3:30 p.m.
  • The meeting is from 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

 

Web and Email Addresses

Email
Spell email with a lowercase “e,” except at the beginning of a sentence. Do not use a hyphen.

  Website 
Website is one word and is lowercase unless used at the beginning of a sentence.

Print
Write email addresses in lowercase and italicize. Do not use hyphens to break email addresses.

  

Web
Write email addresses in lowercase and link to the address, but do not italicize. Do not use hyphens to break email addresses.

Online
Use “online,” not “on-line” or “on line.”





  		 

URLs
URLs are typically all lowercase; it is not necessary to include “http://” or “www” when writing a URL as part of a text. Only use “www” if it is necessary. (Some sites require the leading “www.”) A URL should be italicized in text.

  • She wrote an op-ed that appeared on cnn.com.