Writing Guidelines
From capitalization to punctuation to footnotes, our writing style supports our company values and fosters a seamless brand experience.
Grammar Conventions
Headings
We use title case, I.e. initial capitals, on all words in only the uppermost level headings, with the exception of conjunctions (and, or, but, nor, yet, so, for), articles (a, an, the), and short prepositions (in, to, of, at, by, up, for, off, on).
Example top level heading:
- “Allied Telesis Makes Light Work of Network Management for College”
All lower-level headings use sentence case. So, only the first word and proper nouns have capitals. This is because sentence case looks more “clean”, less cluttered, modern, and is easier to read. Using sentence case for these headings also leads to greater consistency, as you do not need to worry about which words are important. Note: if the sub heading is not a complete sentence, it should not have a period at the end.
Example sub heading, complete sentence:
- “Penola Catholic College in Australia reduces the cost and complexity of its network with an Allied Telesis Management Framework™ (AMF) solution.”
Example sub heading, not a full sentence:
- “Comprehensive routing support”
We apply these rules to all documents, including success stories, white papers, and datasheets. Other collateral, for example ad copy, may use different rules.
Capitalization of job titles
The rule we follow here is that when using a person’s exact job title, immediately before or after that person’s name, use capitals for that job title. Also, always capitalize the company name. This applies to press releases and success stories, or anywhere else we use quotes. For consistency, also capitalize the person’s department name when it is used, unless specifically requested otherwise.
Product names
The first time a product is named in any document in the text, the full official name is used, with only the important words capitalized.
Example:
- ”x950 Series advanced Gigabit Layer 3+ expandable switches”.
If the first mention is a page title, heading capitalization rules apply. In story titles that contain the product name, as well as all subsequent instances of the product, the product’s simple name should be used.
Example:
- “New x530DP Series Switches Speed Up Existing Copper Networks”
Subject/third person
Keep printed collateral as professional copy, keeping Allied Telesis as the subject/third person. Web copy should also maintain a third-person style, wherever possible. When writing copy for advertising, electronic mailers, and posters, the copy may be presented with a more personal note, for example including such phrases as we, you, and us.
Serial Commas
We have recently adopted the serial (Oxford) comma to separate the final term in a series, preceding the word “and”.
Example:
- “This section covers writing style, grammar conventions, terminology, and units of measure.”
Dashes
Use an em dash with no spaces to include a related thought.
Example:
- “While SDN may deliver agility and flexibility—which is particularly relevant for data centers and large enterprises—the management and control of the network itself provides ongoing challenges.”
Use an en dash to indicate a span of time or distance.
Example:
- “6:30–8:00 p.m.”
Use a hyphen for compound adjectives.
Example:
- “user-centered design”
Copywriting
Copy should be informed and inspiring. Create a feeling of confidence. Use short, direct sentences in easily understood language. Focus on customer needs and benefits. Understand the audience for your communication. Think about what they will do and how they will react after reading/absorbing the information.
Copy should present Allied Telesis as the subject/third person wherever possible. When writing copy for advertising, the copy may be presented in a more personal manner, including pronouns like we, you, and us.
Examples:
- ”Active Fiber Monitoring is a technology pioneered by Allied Telesis that provides specialized data protection on optical links. You can enjoy non-stop, automated monitoring of all your optical fiber with no need for expensive third-party equipment.”
- “AFM works by detecting very small changes in the amount of light received on a fiber link. When an intrusion is attempted, the light level changes because some of the light is redirected by the eavesdropper onto another fiber. AFM detects this intrusion and raises the alarm. The link can then either be shut down automatically, or an operator can be alerted to manually intervene.”
Corporate Boilerplate
The consistent use of this corporate boilerplate description will reinforce our brand and message. Use this boilerplate text on the back cover of long brochures and documents as well as in the footer of promotional emails.
About Allied Telesis
(Full boilerplate)
For over 30 years, Allied Telesis has been delivering reliable, intelligent connectivity for everything from enterprise organizations to complex, critical infrastructure projects around the globe. In a world moving toward Smart Cities and the Internet of Things, networks must evolve rapidly to meet new challenges. Allied Telesis smart technologies, such as Allied Telesis Autonomous Management Framework™ (AMF) and Enterprise SDN, ensure that network evolution can keep pace, and deliver efficient and secure solutions for people, organizations, and “things”—both now and into the future. Allied Telesis is recognized for innovating the way in which services and applications are delivered and managed, resulting in increased value and lower operating costs. Visit us online at alliedtelesis.com.
(Email boilerplate)
From small businesses to enterprise organizations and complex infrastructure, Allied Telesis has delivered efficient, secure, cost-effective connectivity for over 30 years. Our award-winning technologies keep pace with network evolution, ensuring efficient services and applications well into the future.
