4J Web Site Style Guide

The 4J Web site uses the Associated Press style guide with some elaboration and modification.

Some of the main style questions are highlighted below. If you don't see an answer to your question, visit the Eugene School District AP Stylebook. This requires a username and password which you should receive during your training sessions or which is available from allison@4j.lane.edu.

Frequently Asked Style Questions

Eugene School District 4J: When referring to the district in a headline you may use 4J. For the first reference in text, you should use Eugene School District 4J or Eugene School District. Subsequent references can be shortened to 4J. The J is always capitalized, and there is never a hyphen (e.g. never 4-J). Unacceptable references include Eugene Public Schools (as a proper noun) and 4J School District. Never shorten to ESD to avoid confusion with Education Service Districts such as Lane ESD.

E-mail: E-mail should be spelled with the hyphen and capitalized only in titles and at the beginning of a sentence.

Web site or Web page: Any time the word web refers to the World Wide Web, it should be capitalized.

Commas: Informal commas for commas in a series, e.g, red, white and blue. See the Associate Press guidelines for detailed usage.

Story Headlines and Page Titles: Headlines and titles on the 4J Web site should be entered in title case as described below:

Capitalize all words in titles except prepositions, conjunctions,
and articles. Exceptions: Do not capitalize the second word in a
hyphenated compound word. Always capitalize the first word of the title.

ex. "The Symbols and Myths between the Pages"
ex. "Pig-headed"

Paragraphing: Paragraphs on Web pages should follow a business style, with no indentation and an extra return between lines.