Writing with style? There’s a guide for that

Puzzled by punctuation? Baffled by bullet points? Confused by capitalisation? Do you struggle to tell your colons from your semi-colons? And have you ever wondered why "organise" is spelled with an "s" but "Organization" with a "z" at CERN? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, help is at hand.

Every year, on 30 September, the United Nations celebrates International Translation Day, paying tribute to language professionals and the work they do to help bring nations together and facilitate dialogue, understanding and international cooperation. So, what better time to showcase one of the CERN translation service's top tools?

Enter the English and French style guides, designed to help everyone who needs to write clearly and effectively in either of CERN's two working languages, and to ensure consistency in the official texts produced across the Organization. The guides have been refined and expanded over the years and contain a wealth of useful information relating to grammar and style, common pitfalls and CERN-specific terms and usage, as well as guidance on inclusive language and plain English. Whatever you're writing or editing, be it a formal policy document, a press release, a departmental newsletter or simply a sensitive email to your boss, the style guides are here to answer those tricky language questions that you never dared to ask.

The English and French style guides can be found on the website of the Translation, Minutes and Council Support group (DG-TMC). They are updated regularly, so it is best to bookmark them for future reference rather than downloading them. Feedback from the CERN community, including suggestions for additions or improvements, is very welcome and should be sent to [email protected].