For the sake of consistency, everyone must adhere to our style guide. It makes editors’ lives easier and means your articles get posted sooner.
Punctuation
When to use hyphens: –
A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark that’s used to join words or parts of words. It’s not interchangeable with other types of dashes. Some compound words, such as self-restraint, are hyphenated. Numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine should also be hyphenated when they’re spelt out. You should also use a hyphen with a compound modifier before a noun. A compound modifier (also called a phrasal adjective) is made up of two or more words that must be understood as a unit. For example, “a big, bright hotel” does not contain a compound modifier because big and bright don’t form a unit of meaning. But “a dog-friendly hotel” does contain a compound modifier; unless you understand “dog-friendly” as a unit of meaning, the phrase doesn’t make sense.
A dash is longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. The most common types of dashes are the en dash (–) and the em dash (—).
When to use en dashes: –
En dashes, which are about the width of an upper-case N, are often mistaken for hyphens. But, traditionally, en dashes function as a kind of super hyphen. They’re meant to give you a little extra glue when you have a compound modifier that includes a multi-word element that can’t easily be hyphenated. For example, the phrase Elvis Presley–style dance moves uses an en dash because Elvis-Presley-style dance moves is awkward; “Elvis Presley” isn’t a compound modifier, so hyphenating it looks odd.
When to use em dashes: —
An em dash is most often used to indicate a pause in a sentence. It’s stronger than a comma, but weaker than a period or semicolon. You can use a single em dash like a colon to add explanatory or amplifying information, especially when the information is surprising, e.g. I opened the door and there she stood—my long lost sister. You don’t need to add a space on either side of the em dash.
Important: Be careful that you don’t overuse the em dash (see the sections below to know when you can opt for a semi-colon or a comma), as this can be one way to spot AI-generated copy. This isn’t to say you will automatically be accused of using AI; the real issue is readers thinking we use AI, which we have less control over.
How to insert these characters:
Hyphen: Look next to the spacebar for the dash (-) (if you press shift, this gives you an underscore)
En dash: Alt + 0150 for an en dash on Windows PCs; Option + Dash (-) on a Mac
Em dash: Alt + 0151 for an em dash on Windows PCs; Option + Shift + Dash (-) on a Mac
Semi-colons
Use a semicolon to join two related independent clauses in place of a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet). Make sure when you use the semicolon that the connection between the two independent clauses is clear without the coordinating conjunction.
Commas
Some writers think of a comma as a soft pause—a punctuation mark that separates words, clauses, or ideas within a sentence. When you want to join two independent clauses, you need a conjunction or a semicolon. A comma alone isn’t strong enough to join them. This kind of mistake is called a comma splice, e.g. “We were out of milk, I went to the store.” should be “We were out of milk, so I went to the store.” or “We were out of milk; I went to the store.” Use a comma before the word ‘but’ if it is joining two independent clauses, e.g. “Cleo is a good singer, but she’s an even better dancer.” If but is not joining two independent clauses, leave the comma out, e.g. “My teacher is tough but fair.”
The Oxford Comma – this is a comma before the word ‘and’ in a sequence where the meaning is ambiguous, e.g. “A panda eats, shoots and leaves” vs “A panda eats, shoots, and leaves”. A lot of people have strong opinions on it, so we’ll let you decide what you prefer.
Dates, Times and Numbers
When referring to a specific date in the month-day-date format, use cardinal numbers (one, two, three) rather than ordinal numbers (first, second, third), e.g. The exhibition opens on 1 January 2021.
We don’t use the 24-hour clock, so if you’re referencing times, say 6 am or 7.30 pm.
Numbers one to ten should be written out in full; anything over ten can be written numerically, e.g. 11, 25, etc.
Titles and Capitalisation
Titles should contain 15 words or 60 characters (this is good SEO practice).
Make sure you capitalise each new word of your headline. However, pay attention to how something is spelt, e.g. if a film/exhibition title is deliberately all lowercase, it should be when you refer to it too.
If you’re writing a film review, please format the title like this: ‘Saltburn’ Review
If you’re writing an exhibition review, please format the title like this: Yoshitomo Nara @ Hayward Gallery
Good headlines sum up the key info in the piece in as few words as possible, without repeating words. You should use the active voice, and remove articles like ‘an,’ ‘a,’ ‘the’ and connecting terms like ‘because’ or ‘due to’. Pithy is the keyword here!
Exhibition, Artwork, Book and Film Titles
If you refer to a specific artwork in your piece, use single quotation marks to indicate this, e.g. Van Gogh’s ‘Mona Lisa’. You don’t need to italicise these. However, for exhibition and film titles, these should only be in single quotation marks in your headline; they should be italicised if referred to in the body of text, e.g. I really enjoyed the Abstract Erotic exhibition or I think Saltburn is a dreadful film.
If you refer to any other artefact in-text, such as books or albums, then they should also be italicised.
Speech
Speech-within-speech should be in single quotations, e.g. “I was speaking to my friend and he said, ‘mov.r mag does a great job, I really love their work!’”
Opinion Writing
There must be a clear, strong opinion attached to the piece. This includes pieces about recent or breaking news. We’re not interested in hearing about the news itself (just reporting the facts), we’re interested in what your opinion is on it.
Think outside the box. It’s fine to write about a popular, generic opinion on a trending topic, but the best pieces are always the most nuanced.
Relevancy. Think about how your piece is relevant to current news/culture as well as why people need to consider your argument.
When writing up your piece, please write it in more of an essay format (i.e. one “idea” per para) rather than a news format (one sentence per para). For your argument to come across well, your sentences must flow into each other rather than being disjointed, separate entities.
Don’t ramble. Make your point, make your argument, then put your pen down. You don’t need 8 different examples of your argument in action to prove why you’re right; 2-4 max should be fine.
Have fun! We love reading and publishing articles with elements of humour and character. Entertaining your audience is the best way to persuade them to agree with your point of view.
What can’t you say?
Generally, BE NICE—we want our pieces to be interesting to read—but this doesn’t mean you can’t BE HONEST. If you think a film was overrated, or it signals a specific political view that you have strong opinions on, you can say this, provided you back it up with reasons. We don’t like sweeping assertions—you need to make sure what you’re saying is justified.
EVIDENCE: We’re a small publication; we don’t have the budget to fight libel or defamation cases, so make sure there is substantial evidence to support any bold claims you are making.
Because we’re a collective voice, make sure that you’re never offensive or use language which could be considered demeaning or persecuting. We’re okay with mild swear words—sometimes they’re an effective means of exaggerating—but try to ask yourself if there is a better word you could use, first.
On this final point, please keep in mind that the editor’s word is final. A good rule to remember is that we will never publish anything under your name that you’re not happy with, but we also reserve the right not to publish something at all that we feel goes against our ethos. With that said, we’re always willing to discuss compromises!
Word Counts
If you’re significantly under the word count, we may ask you to add to your piece before we publish, and if you’re significantly over, then an editor may ask you to self-edit before they take a look. All of these can also be negotiated with editors on a circumstantial basis.
News: 500-800 words
Reviews: 500-1000 words
Opinion: 1500-2000 words
Features: Ask editor
Interviews: 1500-2500 words
GOT QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STYLE GUIDE? Email us at contact@movrmag.co.uk
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