Capitalization & Numbers
Which capitalization is correct?
A) western provinces, southern Alberta, heading east
B) Western provinces, Southern Alberta, heading East
A) western provinces, southern Alberta, heading east
Directions and positions should be lowercased.
Which is correct?
A) The MLA's had a meeting in the 1990's.
B) The MLAs had a meeting in the 1990's.
C) The MLAs had a meeting in the 1990s.
C) The MLAs had a meeting in the 1990s.
Apostrophes are not be used with plurals of capital letters or numbers, unless it signifies ownership. For example: The MLA's dog was tired.
Which is correct?
A) We work on a co-operative federal / provincial program.
B) We work on a co-operative federal/provincial program.
B) We work on a co-operative federal/provincial program.
Do not place spaces on either side of a slash.
Which is correct?
A) I like all fruits (ex: oranges, bananas and lemons).
B) I like all fruits (i.e., oranges, bananas and lemons).
C) I like all fruits (e.g., oranges, bananas and lemons).
C) I like all fruits (e.g., oranges, bananas and lemons).
i.e. can be used when explaining or rephrasing a sentence. Usually it has the same meaning as “in other words.”
e.g. can be used when presenting examples or more possibilities for the term in question. Usually it has the same meaning as “for example.”
Which is correct?
A) The 2020-2021 provincial budget.
B) The 2020-21 provincial budget.
C) The 2020/21 provincial budget.
B) The 2020-21 provincial budget.
The fiscal year should be written with a hyphen, not a slash, and the second year shortened.
Which is correct?
A) The province of Saskatchewan is a beautiful province.
B) The Province of Saskatchewan is a beautiful Province.
C) The Province of Saskatchewan is a beautiful province.
C) The Province of Saskatchewan is a beautiful province.
Province is lowercase unless it is the full name.
Which is correct?
A) I love flowers; trees; and grass.
B) I love flowers, trees, and grass.
C) I love flowers, trees and grass.
C) I love flowers, trees and grass.
Semicolons are not used to list single items. Commas should be placed between the elements of a series but not before the final 'and', 'or' or 'nor'.
Which is correct?
A) I wrote an email to the business about their state of the art facility.
B) I wrote an e-mail to the business about their state-of-the-art facility.
C) I wrote an email to the business about their state-of-the-art facility.
C) I wrote an email to the business about their state-of-the-art facility.
'Closed compounds' (e.g. email) are written as single words with no hyphenation.
'Hyphenated compounds' (e.g. state-of-the-art) have two or more words joined together by a hyphen.
Which is correct?
A) Several branches comprise the ministry
B) The ministry is comprised of several branches
C) The ministry comprises several branches
The correct answer is:
C) The ministry comprises several branches.
Do not use 'comprised of'. Comprise means to include or maintain. The whole always always comprises the parts.
Which is correct?
A) Sept 5, 2021
B) September 5th, 2021
C) September 5, 2021
C) September 5, 2021
Month names are spelled in their entirety. Do not use 'th' or 'nd' after a date.
Which is NOT correct?
A) We all work for the Government of Saskatchewan.
B) We all work for the Saskatchewan Government.
C) We all work for the Saskatchewan government.
B) We all work for the Saskatchewan Government.
Government is lowercase unless it is the full proper name.
Which is correct?
A) She said "I am so sick of COVID."
B) She said "I am so sick of COVID".
C) She said "I am so sick of COVID.".
A) She said "I am so sick of COVID."
Periods and commas always go inside closing quotation marks.
Which is correct?
A) The strategy aims to reduce waste by 30%.
B) The strategy aims to reduce waste by 30 percent.
C) The strategy aims to reduce waste by 30 per cent.
C) The strategy aims to reduce waste by 30 per cent.
'Open compounds' (e.g. per cent) are written as separate words.
Which is correct?
A) The two best things about the party was the food and the music.
B) The two best things about the party were the food and the music.
B) The two best things about the party were the food and the music.
The subject and verb of a sentence must agree with one another in number, whether they are singular or plural.
In a formal letter/response, which of the following is the correct way to close the letter?
A) Thanks, sincerely...
B) Thank you. Sincerely...
C) Thank you. Sincerely, ...
The correct response is:
C) Thank you. Sincerely, ...
Always fully spell out 'thank you', do not use 'thanks'. Sincerely should be followed by a comma and salutation.
Which is correct?
A) I drank 5 cups of coffee and walked up 10 flights of stairs.
B) I drank five cups of coffee and walked up ten flights of stairs.
C) I drank five cups of coffee and walked up 10 flights of stairs.
C) I drank five cups of coffee and walked up 10 flights of stairs.
Numbers from one to nine are written out, numerals are used starting at 10.
Which is correct in a formal letter or document.
A) The ministry won't...
B) The Ministry will not...
C) The ministry will not...
The correct answer is:
C)The ministry will not...
Formal communications should avoid the use of contractions. Ministry is lowercase unless it is the full name of the ministry.
Which is correct?
A) The temperature was over 30 degrees.
B) The temperature was more than 30 degrees.
B) The temperature was more than 30 degrees.
'Over' refers to a position. 'More than' refers to a numerical value.
In terms of sentence structure, which is more preferable?
A) We made a mistake.
B) A mistake had been made.
C) A mistake was made.
The correct answer is:
A) We made a mistake.
Generally, active voice is preferred over passive. Using the active voice makes the text concise and understandable. A passive voice may be used when being conciliatory or delivering sensitive information.
Which is correct?
A) We launched the Solid Waste Management Strategy in 2020. The strategy will reduce waste.
B) We launched the Solid Waste Management Strategy in 2020. The Strategy will reduce waste.
A) We launched the Solid Waste Management Strategy in 2020. The strategy will reduce waste.
Use a lowercase noun that follows its use in a proper noun.
Which is correct?
A) The measure now goes to the Bundestag. (the lower house of parliament).
B) The measure now goes to the Bundestag (the lower house of parliament.)
The correct answer is:
B) The measure now goes to the Bundestag (the lower house of parliament).
If material inside the bracket ends a sentence, the period goes after the bracket. The period only goes inside the bracket when the phrase inside the bracket is complex.How many spaces follow behind a period and a new sentence?
A) One space - "I love dogs. I also love cats."
B) Two spaces - "I love dogs. I also love cats."
C) It depends on whether it is considered formal correspondence or a publication.
C) It depends on whether it is considered formal correspondence or a publication.
Formal correspondence requires a double space after end punctuation as per Executive Council guidelines.
Other publications and documents require only one space after end punctuation, including periods, question marks, colons and exclamation marks.
Which is correct?
A) I have a hour before I can talk to a MLA.
B) I have an hour before I can talk to a MLA.
C) I have an hour before I can talk to an MLA.
C) I have an hour before I can talk to an MLA.
Use 'a' before a consonant sound and 'an' before a vowel sound.
When revising a briefing note for Communications/MO, which way is correct?
A) Use 'tracked changes' feature
B) Highlight new additions and strikethrough deletions
C) Highlight new additions, and strikethrough and highlight deletions
C) Highlight new additions, and highlight and strikethrough deletions
We do not want to miss removing a strikethrough in a final briefing note. When removing text, make sure to use strikethrough AND highlight.