Communications Standards Updates: EERE Style Guide

Welcome to Comms Standards Updates! Notifications of changes made to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE's) communications standards will be posted every two weeks, highlighting the latest updates to the EERE Communications Standards and Guidelines website and important pages to know.

Today’s update focuses on the EERE Style Guidebook, an essential tool for preparing publications, exhibits, and websites.

To effectively reach EERE's audience(s), it is important that we use consistent language that is informative, clear, accessible, and inclusive. We work continually to keep our EERE style guide, part of the Communications Standards and Guidelines, up to date and incorporate feedback from users and audiences.

Recently, we made a few updates to add or clarify entries that we want to share with you, along with a few reminders of common mistakes. When producing content for EERE, you should:

• Keep possessives in the first appearance of an acronym, like pluralizations. For example: "The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy…" or "The two funding opportunity announcements' (FOAs') topics include…"
• Remember to always use "U.S." (with periods) in front of "Department of Energy."
• Refer to the Energy Earthshots™ (not just "Earthshots") and use its trademark on first appearance in body content.
• Use roadmap as one word when meaning a strategic plan as opposed to a map of roadways.
• Never hyphenate "cold climate" (as in "next-generation cold climate heat pump technologies") and "clean energy future" per our hyphens guidance.
• Capitalize Tribe and Tribal out of respect when referring to Native American communities.
• Capitalize conjugations of the verb "to be" in titles, as well as all verb infinitives (including "to") and prepositions four or more letters long, like "about" or "across" (e.g., "DOE Is Supporting Funding for Researchers who Are Trying To Advance Awareness About Clean Energy").
• Ensure that bulleted lists are in parallel construction and complete the thought started with the introductory phrase. Also ensure that each bullet ends in closing punctuation (e.g., a period, question mark, or exclamation point) unless each bullet includes only a simple noun, in which case, add punctuation only to the end of the last entry in the list.
• Avoid using acronyms if they only appear once on the page (or are not essential—see plain language note below).
• Always write out state names (e.g., Seattle, Washington), unless providing a postal address, and enclose it within a comma, like years in month-day-year dates (e.g., "The wind farm started development in March 2024 off Providence, Rhode Island, to provide power to residents as of Sept. 12, 2024, once completed.").
• Defer to plain language guidelines, following DOE's commitment to the Plain Language Act of 2010, avoiding acronyms where possible, using active voice and clear subjects (e.g., "The authors of the report found"—do not personify the report), replacing clichés and idioms, and turning "zombie nouns" into verbs (e.g., "they ran an analysis" should be "they analyzed").
• Always check the EERE style guide for guidance first; if you cannot find your topic, defer to the Associated Press Stylebook, followed by (if still unclear) Merriam-Webster's dictionary, and, lastly, the Chicago Manual of Style (reach out to us if you do not have access).

Questions?

If you have questions about these changes or concerns about existing entries, or you would like to recommend a change, please reach out to the EERE Comms Standards Team.

Up Next

Our next Communications Standards and Guidelines highlight will dig into web content maintenance requirements. 

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