What English term is preferred: "semester" or "term"? How are English dates written at Umeå University? What English words take capital letters? The answers to these questions and much more can be found in a new English style guide for Umeå University, which you can find here on the Aurora staff website.
If you write in English, translate into English or in other ways deal with other people's English texts, it may feel comforting to know that a new English style guide is available to support you in how to use English in texts written on behalf of Umeå University. Even if English is your native language, the style guide provides some good advice when it comes to, for instance, inclusive language and word choice. The style guide helps create a consistent English language, both with the aim to raise the quality of the University's communications, but also to reduce confusion for our target audiences by using the same term for the same concept.
The style guide covers the translation of titles, common English terms in Swedish higher education, the choice between capital and lowercase letters, punctuation, how to make direct quotes in news items or how to write bulleted lists, and exemplifies some common language mistakes. In addition, the style guide also has an extended section aimed at staff that communicate with students in English.
English and Swedish style guides available
This new style guide deals with writing in English and is available in Swedish and English. Another style guide about writing in Swedish can also be found on the staff website. The style guides have been produced by the Communications Office together with the Language Council at Umeå University.
Read the style guides
You need to log in to access the style guides on the Aurora staff website:
English style guide for Umeå University
Swedish style guide for Umeå University (in Swedish)
Questions?
Contact Anna Lawrence, translator at the Communications Office and secretary of the Language Council at Umeå University.