The Cognate Style Guide provides an editorial framework for our journalists, writers, and contributors who create content for The Cognate. It exists to maintain editorial consistency.
This style guide is a dynamic resource that will evolve over time. Periodically, updates will be examined, and modifications will be made as necessary.
Headlines – Capitalize the first letter of every word. For example: What Does Sir Syed Day Mean To Students Of AMU?
Titles and Designations – We follow the NDO style – Name, Designation and Organisation, eg Rahat Abrar, public relations officer, JMI
Designations – such as Professor, Advocate and Doctor should be shortened to Prof, Adv and Dr when followed by the name. Eg: Prof Reyaz Ahmed, Adv Tahir Nawaz, Dr Sumera Khan.
Courtesy Titles – Avoid using courtesy titles like Mr, Mrs, Ms etc, unless they are part of a direct quotation.
Abbreviations and Acronyms – Do not use a full stop in abbreviations, or spaces between initials, including those in proper names: AIMIM, MN Fathima. Use all capitals if an abbreviation is pronounced as the individual letters (an initialism): NDTV, CEO, USA, GST, etc.
Short Forms – Cong or Govt in the headline is acceptable but not inside the story.
Dates, Months, Years, Days of the Week – For dates and years, use numerals. Do not use st, nd, rd, or th with dates.
Put the day before the month (eg: 12 June 2021).
Today/Tomorrow/Yesterday – Do not use in copy. Instead, use the day of the week. If the event took place more than a week ago, use the month and day. If it took place a year ago or more, add the year. When a specific date is irrelevant, consider dropping it altogether or just giving the year or writing something like “last month” or “in April.”
Numerals – Spell out numbers below 10 and use numerals for 10 and above, except when referring to people’s ages, which are always numerals.
Ages – For ages, always use numerals. If the age is used as an adjective or as a substitute for a noun, then it should be hyphenated. Eg: The contest is for 18-year-olds.
Time – Express as a figure followed by am or pm.
Dimensions – Use figures and the full spelling of nouns like feet, miles, and other terms when describing height, weight, or other measurements. Examples: Her height is 5′ 3″. He used a 2-inch pencil to write.
Percent – Use the symbol % when writing about percentages.
Burqa – Use this spelling for the garment worn by Muslim women that covers the whole body.
Adhan – Use this spelling for the Islamic call to prayer.
Islamist – A politically loaded term used to describe a person or organisation advocating a politicised interpretation of Islam, also referred to as Islamism. Avoid the use of the term entirely and use the name of the specific group or organisation, if necessary.
Islamophobia – The fear, hatred of or prejudice against Islam and Muslims generally.
Muhammad – Use this spelling when referring to the Prophet Muhammad. Capitalize Prophet in front of the name. Never shorten the spelling. For people with the name Muhammad, use the same spelling, unless the person uses a specific spelling, eg Mohamed Al Fayed, Mohamed ElBaradei.
Maulana – Use this spelling when referring to a Maulana.
Madrasa – Use this spelling when writing about madrasas (plural of madrasa) unless a madrasa has a preferred spelling, eg Madrassa E Mahmoodia.
Masjid – Masjid, not mosque.
Eids – Use these spellings for the two eids; Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
Milad-un-Nabi – Use this spelling. Avoid using Eid for Milad-un-Nabi.
Photos – Give credits to both the source and the photographer when available. Eg: Photo: Ghazala Ahmad, The Cognate
Hyperlinks – Choose the words that are most pertinent to the linked content instead of including a whole statement. No more than one line should include a hyperlink. Don’t include the ending punctuation of a sentence as part of a hyperlink.
Undocumented Migrants – Labelling a particular group of people as “illegal,” denies them their humanity. It implies criminality. There is no such thing as an ‘illegal’ person. We, therefore, use the term undocumented migrant, unless they are part of a direct quotation.