Clicklaw Wikibooks Style Guide

This style guide is for pages on the Clicklaw wiki, including the guide Legal Help for British Columbians.

Page titles and in page headings

Page titles

The title of a page should be recognizable (as a description of the topic or, for Legal Help for British Columbians, a question), in plain language, concise, and consistent with the titles of related pages.

The following points are critical:

• Use "sentence case", not "title case"; that is, the initial letter of a title is capitalized. Otherwise, capital letters are used only where they would be used in a normal sentence.

In page headings

Headings within a page are produced by typing multiple equal signs. A primary section heading is written ==Words in heading==, a subsection below it is written ===Words in heading===, and so on (a maximum of five levels is possible). Spaces between the equal signs and the heading text are optional, and will not affect the way the heading is displayed. The heading must be typed on a separate line. Include one blank line above the heading, and optionally one blank line below it, for readability in the edit window. (Only two or more consecutive blank lines will add more white space in the public appearance of the page.)

The provisions in Page titles (above) generally apply to in page headings as well (for example, headings are in sentence case, not title case). The following points apply specifically to in page headings:

• Headings should not normally contain links, especially where only part of a heading is linked.
• Section and subsection headings should preferably be unique within a page; otherwise section links may lead to the wrong place.

Links

Internal links

Make links only where they are relevant and helpful in the context: Excessive use of hyperlinks can be distracting, and may slow the reader down.

To make an internal link, use two square brackets to open the link, followed by the name of the linked page, followed by two closing square brackets:

[[Name of page here]].

External links

Avoid using external links in the main body of a page. Pages can include an external links section at the end, pointing to further information outside the Clicklaw wiki. The standard format for making an external link is:

[http://www.courthouselibrary.ca Courthouse Libraries BC]

[http://www.clicklaw.bc.ca/helpmap Clicklaw HelpMap]

These will appear as:

• Courthouse Libraries BC
• Clicklaw HelpMap

Where there is an external link that has a Clicklaw page, then link to the Clicklaw page. For example:

"[http://www.clicklaw.bc.ca/resource/1082 Your Welfare Rights: A Guide to BC Employment and Assistance]"

This will appear as:

• "Your Welfare Rights: A Guide to BC Employment and Assistance"

Numbers

• In general, write whole numbers one through nine as words, and write all other numbers as numerals: one to five; 21 to 30.
• In general, use a comma to delimit numbers with four or more digits to the left of the decimal point: 1,050.
• Write 3% or three percent but not three % or 3 % with a space.

Word Usage

This alphabetical list features the preferred usage for words:

• Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC)
• Indian band
• Indian reserve
• Ministry of Social Development (MSD)
• tribal council

In law, a document demonstrating ownership of a thing. See "ownership."

(1) In law, a court proceeding; a lawsuit; an action; a cause of action; a claim. (2) A historic decision of the court; case law. See "action," "case law, " "court proceeding," and "precedent."