Formatting and Structure

Block Quotes

See Page Design Style Guide (Coming Soon).

Dates

Using a consistent format for dates helps readers understand the information quickly and avoids confusion.

Use the full date—Month Day, Year—when referring to a date in text. Place a comma after the day.

Use month and year only if the day is unknown or not relevant. Do not put a comma after the month.

Write seasons in lower case, followed by the year if applicable. Do not put a comma after the season.

Use an en dash (–), without spaces, when referring to a date range.

Links

Clear, professional, and accessible links in course content help students navigate materials more efficiently. Use the following guidelines to maintain consistency.

Link Text

Link to the name of the website or organization, not the full URL.

Do not include extensions like “.com” or “.org” in the link text unless they are part of the organization’s official name.

Formatting Links

The platform’s default styling displays links as blue hyperlinks. Do not use icons or media indicators for standard website links.

Use title case for all link text.

When providing links for videos or audio files, hyperlink the title and the timestamp.

Place each link on its own line, preceded by a colon. Do not embed links mid-sentence.

Consider using design options within the LMS (e.g., a Blue Callout) to connect students to supplementary resources without disrupting the flow of text.

Example:

Lists

Lists can be in-paragraph, bulleted, or numbered.

Use in-paragraph lists when the list is short and maintains the narrative flow, or when too many bulleted lists can fragment the text.

Use bulleted or numbered lists when:

• Presenting three or more items in a sequence or category.
• Highlighting key points that don’t need full sentences.
• Breaking up long paragraphs for easier readability.

Use bulleted lists when the order of items doesn’t matter (e.g., a list of supplies, items in a category).

Use numbered lists when the sequence matters (e.g., instructions, steps in a process, ranking).

Formatting Guidelines

When an in-line list contains three or more items, use a serial comma (i.e., Oxford comma) before the final item.

Whether creating a bulleted or numbered list:

• Do not exceed three levels of nesting.
• Use a consistent indent to distinguish sub-bullets from main bullets.
• Use sub-bullets sparingly; consider whether a table or paragraph might be more effective.
• Introduce the list with a complete sentence or phrase, followed by a colon.
• Begin each item with a capital letter.
• End list items with a period only if they are full sentences or form complete sentences when combined with the introductory clause. Otherwise, omit end punctuation.
• Use parallel grammatical structure for each list item.

Examples

Avoid These Common Issues

• Don’t use dashes, asterisks, or other symbols to create lists.
• Don’t embed long paragraphs in list items—keep items concise.
• Don’t overuse lists. Use them only when they enhance clarity.
• Don’t use lists when the items flow better as part of a sentence.
• Don’t create single-item lists.
• Don’t exceed three levels of nesting.