Resume Writers Write Right

The Internet and World Wide Web have presented new challenges for writers when it comes to deciding what format to use for certain terms.

Is it Website or web site? Email or e-mail? Internet or internet?

The 10th Edition of the Gregg Reference Manual (GRM) recommends the following:

*For terms related to the Web, always use a capital W and separate the words. Web site, Web log; Web zine. But what about “webinar?” The GRM does not mention it! We can assume, only because it makes sense, that it’s “webinar” because nothing else looks right.

*For terms that relate to electronic communication, “e-mail” if written within a sentence; “E-Mail” at the beginning of a sentence as well as in a title. It’s the same for “e-zine,” but that’s only a guess, since the GRM does not stipulate its preference.

And . . .

The 11th Edition of the Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary makes the same recommendations as the GRM.

 But . . .

 The Associated Press (AP), which originally adhered to the above recommendations, has changed their instructions and now opts to adhere to the following:

*When referring to the “Web” (short for the World Wide Web) and the “Internet” one is speaking of an enterprise (such as Starbucks or Nike); thus, these two words are always capitalized.

*Everything else is lowercase and one word: email, website, webinar, ezine, etc.

Therefore, the message here is as follows: Whatever format a writer uses, a profressional writer will always be consistent!

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