How Do I...
Consistency is an important concept in the publishing process. It applies not only to the visual appearance of a page, or the structure of a procedure, but also to how we talk about a service. We've developed a few common phrases and other techniques to deal with information that we have to include on a regular basis. Think of them as mini, sentence-sized templates that show you how to:
Refer to Students, Faculty, and Staff
Direct Users to the Help Desk
Say "If [insert phrase describing what user is trying to do], please contact the ITS Help Desk." The link for "ITS Help Desk" is http://www.utexas.edu/its/helpdesk/. For example:
- "If you need to change your mailbox name or need more help setting up your address, please contact the ITS Help Desk."
Try to direct users to Web resources first because they like to help themselves, but do include the help information if it is needed.
Refer to students, faculty, and staff
When writing about our constituents, always list them in this order. See People and Places for details about punctuating this phrase.
Create Cross References
Use cross references judiciously. Sometimes it is better to restate information than to make users look for it elsewhere. Sometimes the other context won't make the information clear anyway. It's helpful to tell readers why the reference is being given. Common reasons include:
- for further reference
- related topics or procedures
- anything not related to the successful completion of the immediate task at hand
For easier document maintenance, you should be consistent in your reference format. For example, you could use the word see, as in see section 9.12, so that such references could be easily found with a text editor when the document is revised and cross references need to be rechecked. On the Web, in particular, it is appropriate to link within the sentence without directly adding referential language.
In Web pages, you should make the title of the page to which you are referring a hyperlink. For example:
For more information, see the ITS Style Guide.
Style sheets for ITS Web pages will include the full URL after the reference for printed documentation.
When including an e-mail address in a Web page, use this format:
Send an e-mail message to Strategic Communications at stratcomm@its.utexas.edu.
In e-mail or plain text communication where you cannot create hyperlinks, you will need to include the complete URL.
