Style and Formatting
Abbreviations
Abbreviations—general rule: Content-specific and general abbreviations (e.g., SSA, LR) should be spelled out the first time they appear, followed by the abbreviated form in parentheses. Terms that are usually abbreviated can be used without spelling them out first.
Examples:
Western Governors University (WGU), local area network (LAN).
Exceptions:
AAV, DNA, HTML, etc.
File types: PDF, JPEG, etc. (all caps)
Units of measurement: Regardless of the context, spell out units when they are not tied directly to a number (e.g., how many centimeters?) or when students would not be expected know the abbreviated form of a unit and it would be clearer to spell it out, with the abbreviation following the spelled out form in parentheses.
Nonmathematical, Nontechnical, and Nonscientific Contexts
Spell out units when the number is less than 10 (e.g., the tree was six feet tall). A period should appear after abbreviated U.S. units of measure (e.g., 10 in. is equal to 0.254 m).
Mathematical, Technical or Scientific Contexts
Numbers appearing before units of measurement should be written as numerals, regardless of whether the number is less than 10, and periods after U.S. units of measurement should be omitted (e.g., 8 m, 4 in). The following abbreviated units of measurement for time may be used, if desired: sec., min., h. or hr. Do not abbreviate days, weeks, months, or years.
U.S. (adjective): use periods and no space when used as an adjective.
Versus: Typically spell out versus in running text. Exceptions include court cases where v. is used and potentially graphics, glossaries, or notes.
WGU state universities: Do not spell out Western Governors University for the WGU state universities. The state universities are called WGU [State].
Brand Names
Brand-name services or resources should not be endorsed or promoted over others without a specific or approved purpose. Brand names that are registered trademarks should be capitalized according to their respective company's preferences. Substitute a generic term when available. For example, replace "Create a PowerPoint to explain what you have learned in this section" with "Create a multimedia presentation (e.g., Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote) to explain what you have learned in this section."
Titles
Large-scale content such as book titles, movie titles, etc. should appear in italics, without quotation marks. Small-scale content such as chapter titles and blog posts should be in roman and use quotation marks. Generally, titles should also follow headline-style capitalization, but more specific guidelines and exceptions are noted in the following sections.
Capitalization
WGU follows a "down" style of capitalization—using caps sparsely. Writers often capitalize terms specific to their fields. However, such terms should generally not be capitalized unless they include proper names.
Headings and title capitalization (headline style): Generally, titles and headings should be capitalized according to the following headline-style capitalization guidelines from The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago 8.159):
- Capitalize the first and last words in titles and subtitles, and capitalize all other major words (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and some conjunctions).
- Lowercase the articles the, a, and an.
- Lowercase prepositions, regardless of length, except when they are used adverbially or adjectivally (up in Look Up, down in Turn Down, on in The On Button, to in Come To, etc.) or when they compose part of a Latin expression used adjectivally or adverbially (De Facto, In Vitro, etc.).
- Lowercase the common coordinating conjunctions and, but, for, or, and nor.
- Lowercase to not only as a preposition but also as part of an infinitive (to Run, to Hide, etc.), and lowercase as in any grammatical function.
- Lowercase the part of a proper name that would be lowercased in text, such as de or von.
- Lowercase the second part of a species name, such as fulvescens in Acipenser fulvescens, even if it is the last word in a title or subtitle.
Hyphenated compounds in titles and headings: In headings, the second word in a hyphenated compound is not capitalized if the first part of the compound is not a word (e.g., Pre-assessment). If the first part of the compound is a word, both should be capitalized (e.g., Data-Driven) (Chicago 8.161).
Example:
Use Whole-Life Insurance in a heading, but Whole-life insurance at the beginning of a sentence.
See the following capitalization terms and guidelines:
- Acts: Acts are capitalized but not italicized.
- agile, scrum, sprint
- Apps: Names of apps should be capitalized with no quotation marks, italics, or other special formatting.
- Binomial nomenclature: Always italicize the genus and species and capitalize the genus (e.g., Escherichia coli, Homo sapiens).
- Books 24X7
- capstone archives: When talking generally about the capstone archive or archives, keep the terms lowercased; however, when referring to the specific names of the archive sections used at WGU (i.e., Model Capstone Archive and Capstone Excellence Archive), the terms should be capped.
- Chapter/chapter: Lowercase chapter unless it is part of a title or precedes a number (e.g., Refer to Chapter 2 ("Grammar Rules") for more information.). Chapter should not be capitalized when used generally (e.g., If needed, return to the chapter for more review.). This rule also applies to similar terms (i.e., section, module, task, etc.).
- coaching report
- Company names: Maintain the spelling and capitalization preferences of the company materials, even if it means beginning a sentence with a lowercase letter (e.g., eBay). However, if a name is entirely lowercase, capitalize the first letter. If there are words that should be lowercase according to headline style, lowercase them.
- Course/course: Capitalize course titles if they are used in full, but do not capitalize the word course, as in the Health, Fitness, and Wellness course. In running text, the course number should appear in parentheses if used.
Example:
Becoming an Effective Leader (C203)
- Course Chatter
- CourseSmart
- Degree Plan: This is always capitalized, whether or not a specific or general Degree Plan is being referred to.
- Diseases: Diseases, syndromes, diagnostic procedures, anatomical parts, and the like are lowercased, except for proper names forming part of the term. Chicago 8.144 also mentions that the possessive forms (e.g., Alzheimer's, Down's) are rarely used in medical literature, so we use the more official, less colloquial nonpossessive forms.
Example:
Asperger syndrome
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
autism
Down syndrome
salmonella
sickle cell anemia
Tay-Sachs disease (hyphenated, never shortened to Tay-Sachs or Tay Sachs)
- e- (electronic) prefix: Only capitalize the e at the beginning of a sentence (e.g., "E-commerce has grown in the country.")
- Earth/earth: When used as a proper name, Earth is capitalized and a preceding the is omitted. In nontechnical contexts, earth is lowercase and preceded by the.
- enrollment portal
- Figures/tables: When found in titles, write Figure or Table and its corresponding number followed by a period. Titles of the figures or tables should summarize the image and not add new information. Table titles should be short and succinct. They should use title case and not be complete sentences.
Example:
Figure 3.4. Title of Figure in Title Case
In running text, refer to the figure or table with its number and title (without a colon) for the first reference and just the number for subsequent references. Capitalize Figure and Table.
Example:
Using the information in Figure 3.4 "Title of Figure" will help you determine the cost of seven bushels. Figure 3.4 represents the cost-benefit analysis for a single company, while Figure 3.5 "Title of Figure" illustrates other things relating to this example.
- Generic company, people, and year names: When referencing a company, person, or year generically, capitalize the corresponding general word as it is standing in for a name (e.g., Company A, Person B, Hospital C, Year 1, Year 2).
- International Date Line
- internet
- Institutional Review Board: Capitalize unless being referred to generically (rare).
- Job titles: All job titles, whether professional, civic, or academic, should be lowercased unless used as part of a name.
- Laws, theories, theorems, etc.: Theories, principles, and so forth should not be capitalized. Proper names in theories should be capitalized, but nothing else.
- Laws (legal): Specific laws and legislation are not italicized but are usually capitalized.
- learning check
- learning community: lowercase unless it is referring to a specific learning community (e.g., the Language Arts Learning Community)
- learning resources: lowercase, unless it is referring to the department (e.g., the Learning Resources Department)
- LearnKey
- Live Event Calendar
- MeasureUp
- Models and frameworks: Models and frameworks are capitalized or lowercased, depending on the context. Some are trademarked or are official titles and should be capped. When various forms exist, follow down style.
- moon, moons
- Names of tabs and buttons: Use quotation marks around the titles of buttons and tabs and headline style capitalization.
- objective assessment
- pacing structure
- performance assessment
- Poems: When a poem is referred to using the first line rather than the title, use sentence style capitalization.
- program mentor
- Refer-A-Friend Program
- scientific method
- Section/section: See chapter.
- student portal: in most cases, this term will be lowercased; however, when using the full name, it should say "MyWGU Student Portal"
- Student Self-Assessment
- sun, suns
- Task numbers: When referring to a specific task number, the word task should be capitalized since it is a shortened form of the task name, and the task number should be written as a numeral.
- university (not capitalized when used without Western Governors or another specific school name)
- Unit/unit: See chapter.
- vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B12, etc.
- web
- WGU Orientation (after the first use, the term orientation alone can be used)
Usage
Academic degrees: Associate's, bachelor's, and master's are written with apostrophes and are not capitalized unless used with a specific degree title.
Examples:
WGU offers more than 50 bachelor's and master's degrees.
WGU's Bachelor of Science in Nursing–Education degree covers a wide range of topics.
He is interested in pursuing a master of science in nursing degree at an online university.
Bachelor of Arts (for first reference), BA (for second reference)
M.Ed. not M.E.
admission requirements: not admissions
Affixes: Affixes (prefixes and suffixes) written individually and separate from a root word should be italicized and include a hyphen to indicate where it would connect to a root.
Examples:
The author used pre- in more instances than the typical writer.
Adding -aholic to the end of a word indicates "a person with an obsession for."
BCE/CE: Preferred over BC/AD. Letters are all capitalized with no periods. List ranges of years from highest to lowest number for BCE and from lowest to highest for CE. Inclusive dates used with BCE in which the higher number comes first should be given in full.
Examples:
350–323 BCE
297–1305 CE
250 BCE
11 BCE–20 CE
ninth century BCE
"Based on" constructions: In general, in an item or project using "based on . . . ", the phrase should come at the end of the sentence (e.g., "Describe the success of this instructional method based on your personal experience."). However, in some cases, this may sound awkward. In that case, based on should come at the beginning of the sentence, with a comma following the phrase.
cell phone: not cellular phone
course of study: Do not use course of study (COS). Use course instead. COS is appropriate in in-house documents.
Court cases: Italicize the name of the case, including the abbreviation v.
Date and time references: Use the "month day, year" format, and spell out the name of the month. Do not use the suffixes following numerals in dates (e.g., use October 22, not October 22nd). Time distinctions should be lowercase with periods (e.g., a.m., p.m.).
Discussion threads, message boards: Use quotation marks around names of specific discussion threads, message boards, etc.
Example:
Post on the "Strategies for Teaching Spelling" discussion thread.
e.g./i.e.: The term e.g. is the Latin equivalent of "for example." The term i.e. means "that is," "namely," or "in other words." Always put a comma after either abbreviation. While using the abbreviations is acceptable, the English equivalents are preferred to prevent confusion for readers who do not know the distinction between the two.
Expressions/equations: The terms equation and expression have distinct meanings. Equations have two mathematical expressions separated by an equals sign (=) or similar sign. Expressions are the numerals, variables, and mathematical operations—addition, division, exponentiation, etc.—that express a numerical value. Please use these terms appropriately.
Examples:
Given y = 1/3, what is the value of z in the following equation, 2 + (1/y) = x – 15
What is the value of the following expression if h = 12, (24/h) + 15.
graduate/candidate/student/learner: The term graduate was previously used in WGU competencies and objectives. However, current competencies, objectives, and evidence statements should use the term learner. WGU students are also sometimes referred to as candidates.
Students of Teachers College candidates: Student is preferred over learner, but in cases where the assessment is not limited to a classroom (e.g., the assessment or document will be used in more than the teachers college), learner may be more appropriate. The project team should have a discussion about which term to use. The usage of either student or learner should be consistent when possible.
he or she, etc.: Forms such as he or she, s/he, and (s)he should not be used. See "Gender references" for revision strategies, or use they instead when appropriate. In the latter case, use their for the possessive form. Themselves instead of themself should be used to refer to the subject (e.g., A child should learn to play by themselves as well as with friends). Pronouns such as ze are not appropriate unless you are referring to specific individuals who prefer them.
instructor/teacher: In course content, teacher is preferred over instructor, but in cases where the assessment is not limited to a classroom (e.g., the assessment or document will be used in more than the teachers college), instructor may be more appropriate. The project team should have a discussion about which term to use.
learning community: Do not use the term learning space.
Leavitt School of Health: Use Michael O. Leavitt School of Health only in very formal situations. For all other instances, use Leavitt School of Health.
Mac and PC: Chicago does not have specific information on these terms, and M-W does not have Mac. When referring to a Macintosh computer, the term Mac can be used when needed. Capitalize the M, and lowercase the rest of the letters. PC can be used as the abbreviation for personal computer.
Names: When referring to a real person by name, their full name should be used for the first instance. Later instances should use their last name (and possibly title or honorific, especially in the cases of doctors, royalty, or current holders of political office).
Optional plural: The (s) construction (e.g., student(s)) is best replaced with the singular and plural forms of the word (e.g., student or students) but can be allowed in some circumstances as long as it is the object, not the subject, of the sentence.
Paths: Directions given as part of a breadcrumb trail (or path) should not be in quotation marks individually and should have one angle bracket and a space on each side of the bracket.
Example:
My Plan > IT Undergraduate > OSV1 - Oracle SQL Expert > 1Z0-047 Oracle Database SQL Expert > TestPrep 1Z0-047 Oracle Database SQL Expert
Plurals: Unless otherwise noted in this guide, use the correct plural form for words, even if in common usage the distinction is no longer preserved or the plural form is often used for the singular (e.g., criteria is the correct plural form of criterion).
Exceptions:
In most cases, bacteria may be used for both singular and plural; also, in cases where using data with a plural verb is awkward, it may be used with a singular verb.
Presidents: When referring to presidents of the United States by name, refer to them by the title President followed by their last name (e.g., President Truman). When referring to presidents generally (with no first or last name given), do not capitalize the term president.
Exceptions:
Presidents Bush, Johnson, Roosevelt, and Adams should be referred to by their full names to differentiate which one is being discussed.
Reference list/bibliography: Always use the term reference list because it is an APA term, while bibliography is not.
Exception:
Some performance assessments require candidates to create an annotated bibliography; in this case, use bibliography.
Task naming: When referring to performance tasks, use the naming conventions of the delivery system. The names typically have three or four letters followed by a number, the word Task, and the number of the task (e.g., QHT1 Task 4).
Teachers College: Written without an apostrophe; not Teacher's College.
Websites and web page titles: A website is to an entire blog as a web page is to an individual blog post. Website titles should use headline style and be set in roman, regardless of whether there is a printed counterpart. Put web page titles and blog entries in quotation marks. If the website title is unclear, a short form of the URL may be used (e.g., Apple.com).
Example:
Refer to the "Title" web page on the Name website.
Wiki: The phrase collaborative website should be used to briefly define the term where appropriate. Afterward, wiki can be used alone.
Example:
"The students will be using a collaborative website (e.g., wiki) to work together."
Words and phrases used as words and letters used as letters: Italicize words, phrases, and letters that refer to the words or terms themselves (e.g., The word freestyle is one word).
Western Governors University: Written without an apostrophe; not Western Governor's University.
WGU state universities: In all cases, do not spell out Western Governors University and do not include punctuation between WGU and the state name (e.g., WGU Indiana).
Voice and Overall Style
Contractions: Avoid using contractions in courses and assessments. However, if text quoted directly from a resource includes a contraction, the contraction should be left as is. (See "Dialogue and quotations.")
Person: Second or third person is typically preferred, depending on the type of content. First-person language (i.e., I, we, our) is not used in WGU academic language (e.g., courses, assessments).
Tone: Whenever possible, use the active voice for clearer, more direct writing. Content should be concise and appropriate for the degree level and subject matter. Do not use informal language because it can cause confusion for some students or come across as condescending, offensive, or unprofessional. The tone of the material should be engaging but appropriately formal for an academic context. This includes avoiding colloquialisms and first-person language (e.g., we, us, our, let's).
Voice: WGU prefers active voice over passive voice (e.g., "The batter hits the ball," not "The ball is hit by the batter"). Occasionally, passive voice is needed to avoid gendered terms and numbers at the beginning of sentences, but avoid passive when possible.
Grammar and Spelling
Hyphenation
Additional examples can be found in the hyphenation table at Chicago 7.89 or APA 6.12. Use an en dash in place of a hyphen in a compound adjective when two or more of the elements are open or hyphenated compounds (pre–World War II). If you cannot find a word in Chicago or APA, look it up in the Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary (M-W.com).
- African American (and other compound identities)
- cost-benefit analysis
- D cell battery: no hyphen is needed in this or other references to batteries; capitalize the letter
- data entry (adjective)
- e-: generally, words using this prefix will use the hyphen (exception: email)
- for-profit (adjective)
- frequently asked questions
- healthcare
- homeschool, homeschooling, homeschooled (verb)
- in text (noun) / in-text (adjective): "information in text A," "in-text citation"
- log in (verb) / log-in (adjective or noun): never login or log into
- microcredential
- multiple-choice item
- nonnumber
- Numbers
Examples:
three-year-old child
four years old
8- to 10-year-old child
8 to 10 years old
first grade (n. phrase) but first-grade (adj.) (e.g., first-grade classroom, first-grade student)
- post-assessment
- posttest
- pre- prefix: Most often, words formed with the prefix pre are not hyphenated. However, in some specialized contexts, a hyphen is added (e.g., pre-assessment).
- prelicensure
- social-emotional learning: This term can often take the place of social and emotional learning, but this may depend on the context.
- step by step (noun, phrasal adverb) / step-by-step (phrasal adjective): "leading the children step by step," "step-by-step recovery"
- subdomain: WGU term
- test taker
- up to date (noun, phrasal adverb) / up-to-date (phrasal adjective): "procedures that were up to date," "keeping procedures up to date," "up-to-date procedures"
Punctuation
Colons: Colons should be used after complete sentences, not after verbs. Information following a colon is capitalized if it is a full sentence.
Ellipses: Use three periods with a nonbreaking space before and after each period in the middle of a sentence ( . . . ). Use four periods between sentences, and the first period should directly follow the end of the sentence (no extra space). Do not start or end a quote with an ellipsis except to avoid misinterpretation when the quote starts midsentence.
Phrases offset by dashes: For phrases offset by dashes, an em dash with no spaces should be used rather than a hyphen. These kinds of phrases should be used sparingly.
Poems: For short poetry quotations, use a forward slash "/" to show a line break. For longer quotes, set the poem apart from other text and maintain line breaks. Maintain the capitalization and punctuation of the original poem.
Sentence spacing: Use only one space between periods, not two.
Serial commas: Use the serial (Oxford) comma (the comma before the final and or or in a series).
Slashes: Slashes usually signify alternatives and are often shorthand for or, but they can also mean and in some contexts. Because of this potential ambiguity, slashes should be avoided when possible. Recast the sentence, use either conjunction (rather than and/or), or try or . . . or both.
Spelling
Always follow spellings specified in this style guide first. If these guides do not offer spelling for a specific word, use the preferred spelling (the spelling always listed first) in the Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary (M-W.com), then refer to The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago).
- 24/7: when abbreviated, use this notation to indicate 24 hours a day for 7 days a week.
- automaticity backward design: without an s, not backwards [see Wiggins & McTighe (2005), Understanding by Design, p. 14]
- bacteria (plural) / bacterium (singular): use bacteria for both the general singular and plural uses unless the meaning is obscured (e.g., if the movements or behavior of one bacterium are discussed or the implications of such changes the answer).
- distractor: end in -or, not -er
- Gibbs's reflective cycle: use an apostrophe; capitalize Gibbs's but not reflective cycle
- Hernando Cortez: no accents
- metacognitive
- Washington DC / Washington, DC: use Washington DC (no periods or commas) in running text. Use Washington, DC, (no periods, paired commas) in a reference list.
- website, web link, web page: lowercase web; web link and web page are two separate words
Nonword Usage
Lists
Bulleted lists (unordered) versus numbered lists (ordered): Bullets are used as an outline of information in no particular order. Numbers are used when the material is to be used as a guideline for a consecutive order of information. In numbered lists, a period follows the number.
Capitalization of list items:
Lowercase the first letter of the list item if the list item is not a complete sentence.
Example:
Your application must include the following documents:
1. your full resume
2. three letters of recommendation
3. all your diplomas, from high school to graduate school
4. a brief essay indicating why you want the position and why you consider yourself qualified for it
After completing this section's activities, you will be able to do the following:
• describe the relationship between limits and rates of change
• state the formal definition of a limit
• apply the formal definition of a limit to investigate function behavior
Punctuation between list items:
If a list completes the introductory sentence, use commas or colons between list items and a period after the final list item.
Example:
After completing this section's activities, you will be able to
• describe the relationship between limits and rates of change,
• state the formal definition of a limit, and
• apply the formal definition of a limit to investigate function behavior.
Lists of questions or complete sentences should include sentence punctuation in each list item.
Example:
After completing this section's activities, you will be able to answer the following questions:
• What skills will I need to have to perform this job?
• How much education will I need?
• What will I learn in my classes that will help me acquire the needed skills?
Numbers and Symbols
Spell out numbers zero through nine. Use numerals for numbers 10 and higher except in the case of millions, billions, and the like. In these cases, use a combination of numerals and the corresponding spelled-out term million, billion, etc. (e.g., 2 million, 1.2 billion). If a sentence begins with a number, rewrite the sentence or spell out the number. A mix of numerals and spelled-out numbers may be used when the numbers refer to different types of things (e.g., the business owner hired 14 people over the next three days).
Numerals may be used for numbers zero through nine when the numbers are used in calculations.
Example of numbers in mathematical context:
A new investor purchased 6 properties in 4 months. The investor plans to maintain this rate of purchasing properties in the future.
What is the total number of properties this investor will own in 9 months?
Round your answer down to the nearest whole number, if applicable.
Note: Performance assessments include some exceptions to these rules. In these cases follow the number rules on the "Performance Assessment Development" page.
Amendments: Capitalize the number when the number is spelled out. Capitalize amendment when referring to a specific amendment. When the number follows amendment, use a roman numeral (e.g., Fifth Amendment, 12th Amendment, Amendment XII).
Centuries: When more than one century is referenced and at least one of those centuries could be spelled out according to the WGU number rule, use numerals for both. Century and centuries should be lowercase, even when referring to a specific century or centuries.
Chapter numbers: Chapter numbers should be written as arabic numerals, regardless of how they appear in the original. This rule also applies to the word section, lesson, task, and any other similar divisions.
Commas: Generally use commas in numbers equal to or greater than 1,000, except in page numbers, addresses, and years (see additional exception below).
Commas, long string of numbers separated by: Do not use a comma to separate the thousands place in a situation like this:
A. 395, 1185, 3555
B. 395, 1195, 3585
C. 405, 1205, 3615
D. 405, 1215, 3645
Degree symbol: If a numeral is used in talking about degrees, use the degree symbol rather than spelling out the word degree. No space should appear between the number and the degree symbol. When the degree symbol is indicating temperature, place the type of temperature designation immediately after the symbol, with no space (e.g., 22°F).
Inclusive numbers: Write out entire numerals (e.g., 1,113–1,120; not 1,113–20). When using an en dash, always use numerals (e.g., 6–10). With to, if one of the numbers is 10 or higher, use numerals for both numbers (e.g., a small group of 8 to 12 students).
Ordinals: Use lowercase letters, not superscripts, for ordinal numbers (e.g., fourth, 12th).
Page numbers: For a span of pages or chapters, use an en dash between numbers (e.g., pp. 29–70). When referring to page numbers in APA citations and references, use pp. to indicate multiple pages and use p. to indicate just one page (e.g., pp. 45–47; or p. 46). In all other cases, spell out the words page and pages. Use numerals.
Percentages: Use a numeral and the percent symbol (%) for percentages. If the number begins the sentence and must be spelled out, then also spell out percent. Always spell out the word percentage.
Temperatures: Do not place a space between the numeral and the degree symbol (e.g., 100°C, 100°F).
Inclusive Language and Fairness
WGU content should not include stereotypes, anything that would give a group of people an advantage or disadvantage, or material that is controversial, inflammatory, or emotionally charged unless the subject absolutely requires it (e.g., slavery in an American history item). Material should aim not to offend or distract any candidate while also maintaining clarity and accuracy.
It is important to research terminology as it is used in each project because acceptable usage can change quickly. For the sake of consistency, the preferred order of information is as follows:
- WGU Style Guide
- APA's bias-free recommendations and inclusive language guidelines
- official sites of relevant organizations
- other guides such as the WGU Labs Inclusive Language Guide, Conscious Style Guide, etc
The following are common examples that you may find in curriculum and assessment content.
Bias
Avoid content or terminology that may be unfamiliar to some students including idioms, jargon, colloquialisms, and regionalisms. Content should not assume the student knows information that is not related to the subject of the evidence statement (e.g., game rules, sports information).
Example:
A couple gives their daughter $500 as a quinceañera gift. The daughter puts the money into a savings account with a 4.5% interest rate.
How much money will be in this account on the daughter's 30th birthday?
Reasoning:
A student is required to know what the word quinceañera means to correctly calculate the answer to the question. Use present for her fifteenth birthday instead.
Gender (see also "he or she, etc.")
When referring to specific individuals, use the pronouns the individual identifies with (e.g., Use she and her when referring to individual who identify as women.) Check to ensure the correct gender is being used (e.g., George Sand was a woman).
When referring to individuals whose gender is unknown or not relevant to the content, rephrase the sentence to avoid using pronouns when possible. Common strategies include using plural nouns and pronouns, replacing the pronoun with an article, or dropping the pronoun. If the sentence cannot be rewritten according to these or other strategies, use they pronouns, even when the referent is singular (e.g., "If your program mentor does not have that information, they will help you find it."). Avoid proper names if possible. Replace names and places with generic titles except in cases of specific, real individuals or content requiring specific place names (for example: "An investor is interested in purchasing a property" is usually better than "John is interested in purchasing a property"). Do not use these strategies, however, if doing so introduces other problems, such as ambiguity.
Generally, when referring to transgender people, use the pronouns that correspond to the individual’s gender identity, rather than those that correspond to the biological sex they were assigned at birth. When referring to individuals who do not identify as men or women, such as gender nonconforming or gender nonbinary individuals, singular they is typically appropriate. In some rare cases, an individual may prefer pronouns such as ze, xe, hen, etc. Although such pronouns are discouraged when referring to generic or hypothetical persons, it is appropriate to use them when referring to specific individuals who prefer them.
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
Some students may have difficulty understanding idioms and phrasal verbs. Idioms are phrases that are not literal; their meaning must be memorized (e.g., all ears, gray area). Phrasal verbs are usually a combination of a verb and another word, either an adverb or a preposition (e.g., break up, get away with). Those whose first language is not English or those who are unfamiliar with a given idiom or phrasal verb may be at a disadvantage.
Examples:
The ability to step into the shoes of your students will make you an effective teacher. (Use empathize with instead.)
This module will dive into personal financial health. (Use discuss or address instead.)
Regionalisms
Avoid terms that may more commonly be used in one area of the country than another. Use terms that are widely used and known (e.g., drink or carbonated beverage is better than soda or pop; sandwich is better than sub, grinder, or hoagie).
Sensitive Content
The content should not cause an emotional reaction. This includes avoiding the use of humor; culturally or ethnically loaded terminology or content; and any other language that is offensive, suggestive, or inflammatory.
Example:
When investigating an automobile accident, police officers often estimate the speed of a vehicle by measuring the length of the skid marks left by the vehicle. Using the data from the following table, write the linear function that uses the length of a vehicle's skid marks to determine the speed of the vehicle.
Reasoning:
This item unnecessarily discusses an automobile accident, which may be a sensitive subject for students. Some students might think more about the car accident than the problem. To rectify this example, the first sentence should be rewritten: It is possible to estimate the speed of a vehicle by measuring the length of the skid marks left by the vehicle when the driver brakes suddenly.
Example:
Which muscle is the longest in the body and is important for sitting Indian style?
Reasoning:
Indian style is considered offensive and not politically correct. It would be more appropriate, and inclusive, to say cross-legged.
Stereotypes
Overview: Stereotypes in any form are not appropriate for WGU material. These include language that may be offensive or distracting; gives one group an advantage over another; or is controversial, inflammatory, or emotionally charged toward a specific group, unless the content requires it. Avoid language that implies a gender stereotype (e.g., using only female pronouns to refer to teachers or using terms such as male nurse).
Specificity: Carefully consider whether it is more appropriate to be specific or general when describing individuals and groups. Avoid generalizations and stereotypes, which should not be used, whether positive, neutral, or negative. To avoid generalizations, it may be better to use statements about specific individuals as opposed to groups of people. Differences should only be described when necessary, however, and irrelevant details should not be included when describing individuals or groups.
Other Fairness Issues
Reading level: The reading level should be appropriate to the level of course and the audience. When in doubt, opt for the reading level of a United States newspaper or lower.
