Style guide

This style guide provides basis for writing. It contains rules to be applied during
writing punctuation marks, numbers, spellings, names and phrases. It also provides
grammar and general tips.

Refer to this style guide to ensure consistency and quality in content produced and
edited by the Portal Management section.

Version
Follow UK English.

You can follow US English in names of entities, departments, organisations etc. if

that is how the entities spell it.

Collective nouns
Use singular verb form for collective nouns. For e. g. The IT team at Ministry of
Health has decided to implement the eHealth Card service in several phases.

Punctuation marks
Quotation marks
Use “double quotation marks” for writing direct speech. For unusual terms, use
‘single’ quotation marks. 1

Parentheses
Use this type (). Do not use [], <> and {}.

Ampersand (&)
Do not use ampersand (&) in sentences unless it is part of a proper noun and if this
is the way the company/entity writes it. For e.g. General Authority of Islamic Affairs
& Endowments.2

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Numbers
Spell out numbers 0 to 9. For writing numbers from 10 onwards, use figures.

Percent
Spell per cent as two words and percentage as one word.
Use the sign (%) in table, illustration, graph, chart etc.

Money
Express money and currency like this: AED57.4 billion.

Use singular form million and billion for money. Use plural in phrases; for e.g.
‘millions of people’.3

Write AED 55,000 not AED 55,000.00 (if there is no fils value).

If there is a value in fils, write AED 55,000.55 not AED 55000,00.

Dates
Write dates like this: Date Month Year (9 December 2015).

Use short (Jan, Dec) in tables, graphs etc.4

When writing ‘In the 1950s, the archaeologists discovered….’, write without an
apostrophe.5

Refer to the Gregorian calendar. For explaining Islamic festivals, events,

observations etc. refer to the Islamic calendar.

For e.g. Eid Al Fitr is celebrated on the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal.

Measurement
Follow International System of Units. (Express in kilometres, not miles).

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Source: The Guardian, the UK
Do not use a space between the numeral and abbreviated measurement - 3,500kg
not 3,500 kg. Abbreviating kilograms to kg is fine - you do not need to spell it out.

If the measurement is more than one word, e.g. ‘kilometres per hour’, then spell it out
the first time it is used with the abbreviation. From then on, abbreviate. If it is only
mentioned once, do not abbreviate.6

Ranges
When talking about ranges in the text, do not use hyphen. Say from x to x or between
x and x.

Ages
Use numerals to write ages.

Temperature
When writing temperature, write 55 degrees Celsius. You can write 55°C in tables,
graphs etc.

Time
Use 12-hour clock system. Write HH:MM; 10:10. Use am and pm (Without space after
the digits).

Telephone numbers
Write with full code like this:
Telephone: 0097141234567
Mobile: 009715012345677

Writing like this offers convenience to people using portable devices.

Directions/places
When writing north, northeast, etc. do not capitalise the first alphabet.

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When using abbreviated form such as NE, use capital letters.

Similarly, use capital letters when writing South East Asia, Far East, Middle East
Asia and West Asia.8

Spellings
Electronic
Write eGovernment, eServices, eTransformation, mGovernment, mServices etc. even
if the word comes first in sentence.

World Wide Web is spelt with capital Ws. However, spell all other words like website,
webpage with small case.

Contractions
Do not use don’t, won’t, shouldn’t. Write do not, will not, would not, should not etc.

Abbreviations and acronyms

Use only established abbreviations and acronyms.

Write the complete word the first time you use it and then write the
acronym/abbreviation in brackets.

Do this:
 on every page
 even if it is an established and widely known acronym

Do not write the acronym/abbreviation in brackets if you are not going to use them
again in the article.

When writing the plural form, use ‘s’ in small: Members of Parliament or MPs.

Confusing spellings
 Sheikh – maintain this spelling for Sheikh
 Username is one word

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  Log on – to log on; it is a verb. So say: log on to the portal.
 Log in – to log in; it is a verb. So say: log in with your username and password.
 Login – noun; use this word to say: enter your login details.
 Write homepage, webpage, website as one word
 Wi-Fi
 Write Undersecretary as one word

Referring to government entities

While referring to government entities the first time, write their full name. Later,
you can say the entity, the body, the authority or the ministry (lower case) or ‘it’; not
they (use third person, singular).

You can write the entity’s name is short forms. Stick to the short forms that the
entity uses (do not create one).

Similarly for the emirates. You can say RAK and UAQ, but explain it the first time
you use it on every page.

Phrases
 Use Mobile Government or mGovernment BUT NOT Smart Government
 Similarly, Mobile Government Initiative
 Federal Network to be contracted as FedNet
 Information and eGovernment sector (later, you can write the sector)
 Portal Management section (later, you can write the section)
 Development department (later, you can write the department)
 Federal Law No. xx of xxxx concerning the xxxx (later, you can write the
law/the act)
 Ministry of Economy (later, the ministry)
 Write H. E. Sheikh Xyz bin Xyz Al Xyz, Minister of Economy. When used
without the name, write shortened titles in lower case. For e.g. ‘The health
minister welcomed the research team’.9

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Names
General
Capitalise the first alphabet of the names of roads, wadis, beaches, mangroves, oases,
deserts, cities, emirates etc.

Do not capitalise the first alphabets of the words roads, wadis, beaches, mangroves,
oases, deserts, cities, emirates etc. For e.g. write the Liwa oasis; not Liwa Oasis.

When talking about them later in the text, you can write: the road/s, wadi/s, beach/es,
mangrove/s, oasis/es, desert/s, city/ies, emirate/s etc.

Names of emirates and their order10

1. Abu Dhabi
2. Dubai
3. Sharjah
4. Ajman
5. Umm Al Quwain
6. Ras Al Khaimah
7. Fujairah

Rulers’ names
Maintain this format: H. H. Sheikh Xyz bin Xyz Al Xyz11

In addition, for the rulers of Abu Dhabi and Dubai:

1. H. H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime
Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai

2. H. H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Ruler of
Abu Dhabi

Names of books, documents, magazines and TV programmes

Write them within single quotation marks.

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Use of the article ‘the’
Use the definite article with:
 Countries whose names include words like kingdom or states
 Countries that have plural nouns in their names (The Netherlands and The
Philippines)

And
Avoid starting a sentence with ‘and’.

Colon
Use it when something follows it (list).

Lists
Write either sentences or phrases in the list; not both.

If you are writing sentences use full stop.

Begin sentences with capital letter and phrases with small.

Cases
While writing Federal Law No. xx of xxxx concerning the xxxx, use title case.

General tips
 Address the reader as you.
 Use you/your. Avoid using third person. If you have to, write he/his/him
(where needed) considering that the word man in general includes man and
woman (for e.g. Man is a social animal. He likes to live in colonies.)
 Use active voice; place subject first.
 Use keywords in the beginning of a sentence.
 You can use racy, friendly, inviting (but not promotional which sounds too
direct) text while writing for visitors.
 Use plain language everywhere else.
 Write special needs; not handicapped, disabled, differently abled, challenged
etc.
 Write positive sentences.
  Write residents or expatriate residents; not expatriates.
 Write UAE nationals or Emiratis; not locals.

References:
 The official website of the UAE Cabinet
 The official portal of the UK Government
 The Guardian