Ampersands
Use ‘ and ’ rather than an ampersand in general body copy or tables , unless space is at a premium .
There are some exceptions , for :
• proper nouns ( such as UNSW Arts & Social Sciences , or the School of Humanities & Languages )
• a company that chooses to have an ampersand ( P & O , for example )
• job titles ( for example , Tony Smith , Manager , Communications & Public Affairs ).
When citing authors , use ‘ and ’ in body text but an ampersand in parentheses :
Smith and Jones ( 2004 ) argue that financial reporting is becoming increasingly consistent globally .
Financial reporting is becoming increasingly consistent globally ( Smith & Jones 2004 ).
Apostrophes
Always replace ‘ straight ’ ( unformatted ) apostrophes with ‘ curly ’ ( formatted , or directional ) apostrophes .
“ This was a ‘ major reason ’ for the University ’ s success ,” she said .
" This was a ' major reason ' for the University ' s success ," she said .
Apostrophes have several uses :
Contractions Apostrophes are commonly used for contractions ( like ‘ that ’ s ’).
Note that ‘ it ’ s ’ with an apostrophe is a contraction for ‘ it is ’ or ‘ it has ’. It is a mistake to use ' it ' s ' as a possessive :
Its tail is long .
It ’ s tail is long .
It ’ s a fine day .
Its a fine day .
Possessives
An apostrophe can show possession . Use an apostrophe and an ‘ s ’ for singular nouns and indefinite pronouns :
Peter ’ s car , Japan ’ s cities , anyone ’ s guess
If a person ’ s or organisation ’ s name ends in ‘ s ’, add an apostrophe and another ‘ s ’ to make it plural : James ’ s course has fewer contact hours than mine .
James ’ course has fewer contact hours than mine .
The exception is where the audible pronunciation of the word does not clearly show an additional ‘ s ’.
Treat plural nouns that don ’ t end in ‘ s ’ the same way as you would treat a singular noun when marking possession :
women ’ s liberation
children ’ s education
For plural nouns that end in ‘ s ’, you only need to add an apostrophe . Just make sure you add the apostrophe after the plural form :
We meet all businesses ’ needs .
We meet all business ’ needs .
I ’ m going to the Joneses ’ house .
I ’ m going to the Jones ’ house .
The choice of one or two apostrophes for pairs of names is decided by whether they form a single unit in relation to the following noun :
Maggie and John ’ s house
Maggie ’ s and John ’ s choice of clothes
Do not add possessive apostrophes for periods of time or in other kinds of expression where possession is tenuous :
six months time , the girls school
six months ’ time , the girls ’ school
Writing Style Guide | Punctuation 37 | Back to contents