Punctuation and formatting

Do not use colons for page titles, use a hyphen instead.

Good example

• Epilepsy - symptoms

Bad example

• Epilepsy: symptoms

Semicolons

Do not use a semicolon before a bullet list or at the end of bullet points.

Good example

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are:

• fever (high temperature - 38 degrees Celsius or above) - including having chills
• dry cough
• fatigue (tiredness)

Bad example

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are;

• fever (high temperature - 38 degrees Celsius or above) - including having chills;
• dry cough;
• fatigue (tiredness);

Use hyphens, not em or en dashes.

Em and en dashes look similar to hyphens but they are different lengths.

• Em dash (—)
• En dash (–)
• Hyphen (-)

Make sure to place a space before and after use of a hyphen except when using a hyphen to join words, like ‘out-of-hours’.

Do not use hyphens to indicate a pause. Instead use a comma, or write shorter sentences. People can find hyphens and dashes confusing. Screen-readers also read them out in different ways so they can cause accessibility issues.

Avoid using hyphens in words

Only use a hyphen if the word or sentence is confusing without it.

Ask yourself if there's a chance someone could misread what you've written and then add a hyphen if needed.

In general, consider if you can rewrite something to remove the need for a hyphen. For example, ‘has no sugar’ instead of ‘sugar-free’.

Use hyphens for compound adjectives

Whether or not we use a hyphen can depend on the context. We use hyphens when two words are being used as an adjective - this is called a compound adjective. For example, ‘follow-up appointment’.

But we would not use a hyphen when the words are being used as a verb, ‘we will follow up’.

Avoid using hyphens in dates and times

When writing dates and times, use ‘to’ instead of a hyphen.

Examples:

• The clinic is open from 9am to 4pm.
• This vaccine is suitable for children aged 4 to 8.

Use commas to indicate a pause but do not include too many commas in one sentence as this will be difficult to read.

Comma after 'but'

We use the word ‘but’ instead of ‘however’ because it is easier to understand. Do not add a comma after ‘but’ if ‘but’ is the start of a sentence.

Example

• There is no cure for motor neurone disease. But there are treatments to help reduce the impact it has on your daily life.

Comma before 'and'

Use a comma before 'and' (Oxford comma) only in cases where sentences are complex or confusing. For example 'find out information about your holiday entitlement or sickness absence, calculating leave, and disputes'.

Use apostrophes to show contractions

A contraction is a word made by shortening and combining 2 words. Apostrophes are used to show contractions such as it’s (it is), we’ll (we will), they’d (they would).

We only use positive contractions in website content.

Examples

• We’ll email you when your application is approved.
• It’s a common childhood illness.

Use apostrophes to show possession with nouns

To use an apostrophe to show possession, start by asking, 'Who or what owns this?'

The apostrophe will go straight after the noun that answers the question.

For example: Whose report is it? It’s the consultant’s report.

Apostrophes in names

Sometimes a hospital, clinic or organisation will have an apostrophe in their name. We will always follow the style an organisation uses in their name.

For example: St James’s Hospital (not St James’ Hospital).

When to use it’s or its

Use an apostrophe (it’s) to show the shortened version of ‘it is’ or ‘it has’ - as a contraction. Do not use an apostrophe with ‘its’ when showing that ‘it’ owns something (possession). Never use an apostrophe after ‘its’ (its’).

Another way to think about this is - if you can divide ‘it’s’ into ‘it is’ or ‘it has’, then you need to use an apostrophe (it’s). Otherwise, ‘its’ does not have an apostrophe.

Good examples

• It’s a free service.
• It’s time to give the board its terms of reference.

Bad examples

• Its a free service.
• Its time to give the board it’s terms of reference.

Do not use apostrophes to make words plural

Do not use apostrophes to make words plural. This rule also applies to plurals of acronyms, abbreviations and figures.

Good examples

• The disease was eradicated in the 1980s.
• There are many GPs in the area.

Bad examples

• The disease was eradicated in the 1980’s.
• There are many GP’s in the area.

We do not use full stops in:

• headings
• buttons
• action links
• the overview text at top of a landing page (if only one sentence)
• link description text on a landing page
• meta descriptions
• teaser text
• titles (Dr, Mr, Ms, Prof)
• am or pm
• bullet lists without titles

Use double quotes for direct quotations only.

A direct quote is when you are using someone else's exact words and including a quote in your content. We mainly do this in press releases or emails.

Example

The general manager of COVID-19 Vaccination Programme said, “The HSE is urging parents and guardians of children aged six months to 11 years to avail of the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of the winter season.”

Single quotes

Use single quotes for any unusual terms or to highlight a word or phrase that is being discussed or defined. Use single quotes for the first mention on the page only.

Good examples

• Diuretics can make you pee more. They are sometimes called ‘water pills’ for this reason.
• MRSA is a type of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. These are often called 'superbugs'.

Single quotes should also be used for:

• putting a quote within a direct quote, for example: "'Helicopter parenting' linked to behavioural problems in children," reports The Independent.
• captions
• block quotes
• headlines

We do not use forward slashes '/ ' in place of ‘or’. Screen readers often do not read them correctly.

Good example:

• Talk to your GP if you are worried about pain management or medication

Bad example:

• Talk to your GP if you are worried about pain management / medication

Avoid using bold. It can make it difficult for users to know which parts of your content they need to pay most attention to.

Do not use bold to emphasise text.

To emphasise words or phrases, you can:

• front-load sentences
• use headings
• use bullets

It’s OK to use bold in technical instructions and UI to tell users which option to select. For example: Select Account, then select Profile.

Explain an abbreviation or acronym in full on its first use on a page. Then refer to it by initials.

Good example

Each injury unit is linked to an emergency department (ED) in a hospital. EDs are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Bad example

Each injury unit is linked to an ED in a hospital. EDs are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Well-known abbreviations and acronyms

You don’t need to explain an abbreviation or acronym if it's well known, like EU, GP or PPS number.

Don’t use full stops in abbreviations or acronyms. The style is HSE, not H.S.E.

Latin abbreviations (eg, etc, ie)

Do not use abbreviations like eg, ie and etc because they are not understood by some readers and can be misread by some screen-reading technology.

Use ‘for example’, ‘like’, ‘that is’, ‘including’ or another appropriate phrase.

DON’T USE BLOCK CAPITALS FOR LARGE AMOUNTS OF TEXT AS IT’S QUITE HARD TO READ.

We always use lower case, including for page titles. We do not capitalise general nouns, such as the seasons, for example. Capitalise as little as you can.