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Contents

Introduction

Brand guidelines

Logo and visual identity Brand messages

Organizational names

How to refer to IREX Practices and units Country offices Projects

General writing guidelines

Acronyms and other abbreviations Capitalization Clarity Hyphenation Inclusive language Lists Numbers Personal names Punctuation Quoting people in stories and news

Communicating about impact with statistics

Words to avoid

**List of words**

Introduction

Editorial style guides help organizations write in a clear, consistent, and appropriate way across channels. Employees should use this editorial style guide when creating content that external audiences will see. When working with a freelance editor, please send the editor a link to this page.

Project teams may also need to incorporate branding guidelines from donor organizations or partners. When there is a potential discrepancy between a project’s style guide and IREX’s style guide, please contact Strategic Communications at [email protected] to discuss options.

For editorial matters that this style guide does not cover, consult the following resources:

Secondary style guide: Chicago Manual of Style (latest edition)

Dictionary:

• Primary: Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary
• Secondary: Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (for words not in the collegiate edition)

Brand guidelines