Writing Style Guide

Clear communication builds trust. Every message from the City of San Antonio should be easy to understand, actionable, and written with residents in mind.

This style guide sets the standard for how we write, format, and present information across all platforms, from news releases and web pages to social media, reports, and printed materials.

Our goal is simple: make it easy for people to find what they need, understand what it means, and know what to do next.

All City communications must:

Aim for a Grade 6 reading level
Be clear and concise
Break up content into organized, digestible sections
Focus on the audience’s needs
Remove unnecessary words
Be direct and include a clear call to action

When in doubt, choose clarity over complexity. Write for the resident, not for the process or with assumptions.

View General Terminology

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Academic Degrees

Lowercase general references. Spell out the degree with an apostrophe.

She has a bachelor's degree in history.

Capitalize formal degree names. Do not include an apostrophe.

She has a Bachelor of Arts in English.

Use abbreviations after full name and when listing multiple individuals.

John Smith, Ph.D., Kelly Tower, Ph.D. and Billy Plaza, M.A.

Accent Marks & Special Characters

Use when appropriate

Example: Corazón red

Addresses

Postal format:

San Antonio, TX

With zip code:

One-line: 1901 South Alamo St., San Antonio, TX 78204
Two-lines:
1901 South Alamo St.
San Antonio, TX 78204

Printed materials, news releases, requests for coverage: Omit city, state; include zip code: 1901 South Alamo St., 78204

Only Ave., Blvd. and St. are abbreviated with a period when used with a numbered address. All others are spelled out (Circle, Road, Parkway, etc.)

1901 South Alamo St.
100 Auditorium Circle

P.O. boxes: Use punctuation P.O. Box 1524

Abbreviations & Acronyms

Avoid using acronyms.

If they must be used, spell out the word in their first instance and reference the acronym in parenthesis. After the first instance, only the acronym can be used.

Example: San Antonio Water System (SAWS) is updating their system.

Age

Use numbers for ages:

A 5-year-old boy.
The caller is 81.
The girl, 8, has a brother, 11.

Use hyphens when the age is an adjective or noun substitute: A 35-year-old student.

Do not use apostrophes for age ranges:
Example: He is in his 40s.

Ages 13–17: Use adolescent, teenager, teen, or young person.; Use young woman or young man only when gender is relevant.
Ages 12 and younger: Use child or infant (for very young children).; Use girl or boy only when gender is relevant.
Ages 18 and older: Use adult, person, or individual.
Older adults: Use older adult or older person.; When age matters, be specific: adults 65 and older.

Areas of the City

Capitalize recognized regions: North Side, East Side, South Side, West Side

Asterisks

Avoid using asterisks (*). Use clarifying text instead.

B

Bullets

Use bullets for two or more items only.
Do not mix fragments and full sentences.
Be consistent with punctuation.

News releases and formal documents: Use periods if bullets complete the sentence.

Slides, email highlights, marketing: No periods.

C

City of San Antonio

Capitalize when referring to the City as a municipal government: City of San Antonio

Second reference: the City. Capitalize City when referencing the government as an adjective: City services or City ordinance.

Lowercase city when referring to a place or general concept: city life, city block.

When used as an acronym, use COSA not CoSA. However, avoid using acronyms when possible.

Colon

Use a colon when introducing a list.

Councilmember

Avoid using gendered terms such as “councilman” or “councilwoman” unless directly specified by the individual councilmember.

The councilmember was sworn in today.

The residents were very pleased with Councilmember Smith's statement.

Currency

Use the dollar sign ($) and commas for $1,000 and above.

Do not add “.00” unless cents are included.

Spell out million and billion. Do not use “M” or “B”.

$1,000
$540.84
$1.5 billion

“K” is acceptable for thousands in informal or internal use:

$80K annually

D

Date

Do not use slashes or dashes. Use full four-digit year.

June 14
June 14, 2027

Days of the Week

Avoid using abbreviations when possible. If necessary, use the abbreviations below with a period:

Monday: Mon.
Tuesday: Tue.
Wednesday: Wed.
Thursday: Thu.
Friday: Fri.
Saturday: Sat.
Sunday: Sun.

Day range abbreviated (use a short dash with no spaces): Mon.-Fri.

Day range spelled out (use an em dash with space on either side): Monday – Friday

News releases and requests for coverage: always spell out the day.

Department Names

Capitalize official department names:

Communications & Engagement Department
Department of Human Services
Office of Innovation
Workforce Development Office

May use acronym in second reference after first reference.

Example: Animal Care Services (ACS) is hosting the event. Join ACS this Saturday!

The following are official names and second references for City departments:

Center City Development & Operations Department (CCDO)
Communications & Engagement (C&E)
Convention & Sports Facilities (CSF)
Human Resources (HR)
Animal Care Services (ACS)
San Antonio Public Library (Library, SAPL)
San Antonio Metropolitan Health District (Metro Health)

When combining a City reference with a department name:

City of San Antonio Department of Human Services
City’s Department of Human Services
City of San Antonio’s Department of Human Services

E

e.g. & i.e.

Use e.g. to express “for example”. Always follow with a comma:

Several departments (e.g., Human Services, Metro Health, and Animal Care Services) participated in the event.

Use i.e. to express “that is” or “in other words”. Always follow with a comma:

The team was unsure when the meeting would officially end (i.e., the meeting usually ended later than scheduled).

En Dash & Em Dash

Use the shorter en dash (–) for ranges:

9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Monday – Friday

Use the longer em dash (—) to separate extra information or mark a break in a sentence:

The City is moving to a new easy-to-use website — an OpenCities platform — to focus on information and services to meet community needs.

Email

Capitalize each word to the left of the @ sign. Leave the domain lowercase.

First.Last@sanantonio.gov
First.Last@company.com

F

Fiscal Year

Do not capitalize when spelled out. When abbreviated, capitalize FY and include a space before the year.

Example: The fiscal year 2024 starts on October 1, 2023; FY 2024 starts on October 1, 2023.

G

Gender

Only reference gender when it is directly relevant to the content or necessary for clarity, data reporting, or when referencing a group that spans a wide age range.

Women in policing
Men’s health study

When gender is not relevant, use neutral terms such as person, individual, child, or teenager.

H

Headings

Use Title Case.
No punctuation at end.
Use & instead of “and” when appropriate.
Avoid including years unless necessary.

I

J

K

L

Languages

Capitalize the proper names of languages and dialects: English, Mandarin, Spanish, etc.

M

Measurements & Numbers

Spell out numbers below 10.

Use numerals for 10 and above.

Always use numerals for recipes.

Use decimals instead of fractions when precision matters.

Use forward slash for fractions: 1/2
Use space for mixed numbers: 1 1/2

Spell out units when describing dimensions or placement: First not 1st.

The exception is building floors: 115 Plaza de Armas, 1st Floor (no superscript).

Use numerals with symbol for temperature: 32°F

Write one-on-one in words, not 1:1.

Spell out numbers and percentages in headings or at the beginning of a sentence: Ninety Percent Live-Release Rate. Thirty percent of pets will be returned to shelters this year.

Always use numerals for distances: The nearest gas station was 10 miles away.

Hyphenate when used as an adjective before a noun: He walked a 2-mile stretch of the beach.
Use mile as a singular noun when expressing distance: The finish line is a mile away.

Months

Spell out all months when used alone or with a year alone: January 2026.

Avoid using abbreviations when possible. If necessary for print or copy that will not be translated to another language, use abbreviations below with a period:

January: Jan.
February: Feb.
August: Aug.
September: Sept.
October: Oct.
November: Nov.
December: Dec.

Never abbreviate:

March
April
May
June
July

Always spell out month for news releases, requests for coverage, or when no date is present: The month of October will be busy.

Use the following format for news release datelines:

SAN ANTONIO (Month XX, XXXX)

N

Numbers

Refer to Measurements & Numbers

O

Oxford Commas

Do not use the Oxford comma.

Correct: I like bacon, eggs and cheese in my breakfast tacos.
Incorrect: I like bacon, eggs, and cheese in my breakfast tacos.

P

Phone Numbers

Use hyphens: ###-###-#### or #-###-###-####

Extensions: ###-###-####, ext. ###
Phone Words: ###-###-Word (###-###-####)
3-digit number: #-#-#

For accessibility: 3-digit phone numbers should be accompanied by the full 10-digit phone number with the word “or” to separate the two. Hyperlink both numbers online.

3-1-1 or 210-207-6000
311 when referring to the Department

Punctuation & Spacing

Use a single space after punctuation (e.g., periods, question marks).

Q

Quotations

Keep punctuation within the quotation marks

Example: “I won't make it in time,” she said.

R

S

Seasons

Lowercase the names of seasons in general references:

spring
summer
fall
winter

Capitalize a season only when it is part of a formal name, title, or branded program: Summer Youth Employment Program.

Slashes

Use slashes sparingly. Do not add spaces on either side.

24/7
9/11

In quoted poetry or song lyrics, use a space on either side to show line breaks.

Twinkle, twinkle little star / How I wonder what you are

AP allows slashes in limited cases such as:

and/or
either/or
over/under

States

Avoid using abbreviations, when possible. When standing alone (no city), spell out the state name.

Never abbreviate the following states:

Alaska
Hawaii
Idaho
Iowa
Maine
Ohio
Texas
Utah

T

Time

Use lowercase with periods: a.m., p.m. Use noon or midnight, always lowercase. Do not use 12 a.m. or 12 p.m. as replacements.

Do not use :00 for hour marks: 5 p.m. or 5:15 p.m.

Use the en dash (–) to indicate span of time: 5 – 7 p.m.

Time Zone

When necessary, because the audience is outside our time zone, use Central Time (CT).

Titles

Capitalize official titles that come directly before a name. Lowercase titles that appear on their own or follow the person's name.

Example: Director Alanna Reed joined the City in February 2022.

Example: Jon Gary is the director of Animal Care Services.

U

United States

Spell out United States when used as a noun and use U.S. (with periods) as an adjective: The United States has a large economy or a U.S. senator spoke on the bill.