Grammar and mechanics
Structuring content
Headings
When writing headings:
- Start with the most relevant keywords where possible
- Be descriptive
- Avoid jargon or clever wordplay
- Use sentence case (sentence case is when the only capital letter is at the start of the heading)
- Don't put a full stop at the end
Numbers
In general, use numerals instead of words for most numbers. Numerals are easier to scan, especially when users are skimming content.
Write out a number only when:
- It appears at the start of a sentence
- It could be confused for a letter (for example, the numeral '1' might look like an uppercase 'I')
Number ranges
Always use the word 'to' to express a range of numbers, not a hyphen or dash, so that the sentence is read correctly by a screen reader.
5 to 11
5 - 11
Dates
We use the Australian sequence for dates, which is: day, month, year.
However, if you're writing for a specific audience, choose the date format that is most familiar to them.
Dates in sentences
When writing a date in a sentence, use DD Month YYYY. If a number has only one digit, don't include a leading zero.
3 November 2026
03 Nov 2026
Numeric dates
When writing a date using only numbers, use DD/MM/YYYY. If a number has only one digit, don't include a leading zero.
3/5/2026
03/05/2026
Ordinal numbers
Don't use ordinal numbers in dates.
3 November 2026
3rd November 2026
Days of the week
If you include the day of the week in a date, add a comma after the day.
Friday, August 7
Friday August 7
Time and time zones
In general, we use the Australian convention for time:
- Use 'am' for hours from midnight to noon
- Use 'pm' for hours from noon to midnight
However, choose the 12-hour or 24-hour format depending on what's most familiar to your audience.
Am and pm
Write 'am' and 'pm' always in lowercase, with a non-breaking space ( ) before them and with no full stops between the letters.
Minutes
For times on the hour, include minutes.
6:00 pm
6 pm
Time zones
If you're writing about a specific time that affects people worldwide (for example, down time for a site or a deadline for a contest), always include the name of the time zone. You can also choose to include more than one time zone.
The contest will close at 4:00 pm AWST / 10:00 am CEST
The contest will close at 4:00 pm
Decimal points
To indicate decimal points, use full stops.
3.5
3,5
Include a leading zero before the decimal point. This helps with readability and reduces ambiguity, especially for screen readers.
0.75
.75
Percentages
With numbers, use '%' instead of the word 'per cent'.
You have completed 89% of the course.
You have completed 89 per cent of the course.
Large numbers
Large numbers, such as millions, billions and trillions, are usually easier to read when they are written out as words. When writing out large numbers as words, don't use abbreviations.
3 million users
3M users
If you use the numeric form, include a comma every three digits for readability.
3,000,000
3000000
Currencies and money
Put the currency symbol before the amount, not after it.
€300
300€
Don't use full stops in currency abbreviations.
AUD
A.U.D
Measurement
Use metric as the default measurement system. Use a non-breaking space ( ) between the number and the unit.
15 km
15km
Moodle-specific punctuation and language
Acronyms
Spell out acronyms when you first use them.
For example: The advantages of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are...
The exception is extremely common abbreviations where the abbreviated version is used more widely than the longer version, such as URL.
Ampersands
Don't use an ampersand (&) to mean 'and', unless it's used in a brand name.
Contractions
Use contractions for common phrases, such as 'don't' or 'can't'.
Commas
Use the Oxford comma for the penultimate item in a sentence.
This includes user ID, role, and course ID.
This includes user ID, role and course ID.
Dashes and hyphens
Use an em dash (—) with spaces before and after to offset an aside.
The newest version of Moodle LMS — released last month — has had 200,000 downloads.
The newest version of Moodle LMS - released last month - has had 200,000 downloads.
Emails and URLs
Use lowercase for email addresses and website URLs. Don't include the 'https' part of the URL.
Emojis
Use emojis sparingly. Don't use multiple emojis. Make sure you're confident in the emoji's meaning, and that it's consistent across cultures. You can check the meaning of emojis on emojipedia.org.
Exclamation marks
Save exclamation marks for key moments in the user journey, and don't use more than one exclamation mark.
Sentence case
Use capital letters only at the beginning of sentences and for proper nouns. For headings, subheadings and calls to action, we use sentence case and not Title Case.
Read the full article.
Read the Full Article.