31 rules
17 rules
8 rules
Whenever we use AM or PM, it should be preceded by a space, e.g. 4 PM.
Use 'AM' or 'PM' (preceded by a space).
Adjectival hyphens are only required when the adjective ends with the same letter as the definition, e.g. trans-sphenoidal c.f. transependymal.
Only use medical adjectival hyphens where the letters at the end and start of the compound word are the same, e.g. post-transplant. In this case, don't use the hyphen: '%s'.
Never use the range description `between 3 to 5`, we should always use `between x and y`. This style matches any words or numbers in this form.
'%s' should use between ... and ...
In a biographical citation, the date should be correctly formatted. We allow (yyyy-yyyy), (yyyy-), (fl. yyyy)
In a biographical citation, the date be correctly formatted: '%s'
In a biographical citation, the date should never be bold.
In a biographical citation, the date should never be bold: '%s'
In a biographical citation, the date should be correctly spaced with the spacing being outside the bold tags.
In a biographical citation, the date should be correctly spaced: '%s'
In a biographical citation, the name should be formatted correctly, e.g. not have spaces between initials.
In a biographical citation, the name should be formatted correctly: '%s'
Ensure that citations are ordered correctly.
Citations must appear in numeric order.
Ensure that there is a space before a citation definition.
Citations must have a preceding space, e.g. needs evidence <sup>2</sup>. '%s'
Ensure that there is never a space between a citation and following punctuation.
Citations should not have spaces between themselves and punctuation. '%s'
Ensure that punctuation is never superscripted
Punctuation after citations should never be superscripted. '%s'
Ensure that syntax is correct. Citations should have ranges over 2 specified as a dash - everything else should be separated by a comma.
Citations are separated by commas, except when the range is over 2.
We should always use full words over contractions, e.g. "do not" rather than "don't".
Never use contractions: use '%s' in place of '%s'.
Use the correct date format when dates are used.
Use '31 July, 2022' format, not '%s'.
Do not use em-dashes. We use a hyphen with a space on either side instead.
Don't use em-dashes, replace them with spaces either side of a hyphen-minus
Do not use en-dashes. We use a hyphen (minus-hyphen) instead.
Use an minus-hypen ('-') instead of an en-dash '—'.
Never use exclamation points in text.
Don't use exclamation points in text.
Never put punctuation at the end of headings.
Do not put punctuation at the end of a heading.
Headings should never have spaces on either end.
Never put spaces at either end of headings.
List items should not have full-stops at the end.
Do not put full stops at the end of a list item.
Use correct spacing around < and > signs.
There should never be a space after less and greater than signs.
Ensure the correct spacing around hyphens used to denote number ranges. There should be no spaces.
In a number range, there should not be spaces around the hyphen ('%s').
Ensure that optional pleurals are not denoted using (s).
Do not use plurals in parentheses such as in '%s'.
Periods should be use to end sentences, not after acronyms or initials, e.g. Dr.
Don't use periods with acronyms or initialisms such as '%s'.
Commas and periods go outside quotation marks (in nearly all circumstances).
Commas and periods go outside quotation marks (in nearly all circumstances).
Don't start a sentence with So.
Don't start a sentence with '%s'.
Ensures that there are no double spaces and there is correct spacing around punctuation.
'%s' should have one space.
When we are describing spinal levels, we should not have spaces around the hyphen, e.g. T4-5 not T4 - 5.
'%s' should not have spaces around the hyphen for spinal levels.
When enboldening an intro, the colon should not be bold.
When enboldening an intro, the colon should not be bold. '%s'
There are a lot of words that should not be used to compared thing... this checks for them.
'%s' is not comparable
There should always be a space between a number and its unit, e.g. 1 cm not 1cm.
Put a space between the number and the unit in '%s'.
When using acronyms, we need to ensure that either they are very common (e.g. CT or MRI), or have been spelled out for the audience earlier in the article. This may be with the acronym as the main word, or in brackets, e.g. PRES (posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome) or Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM). The rule is pretty clever at working out compound words (e.g. encephalomyeltitis is the E and M in ADEM), but it isn't flawless (yet).
'%s' has no definition. Spell it out if it's unfamiliar to the audience.
Check all colons and ensure that the next word does not start with a capital letter. There are exceptions including NB, roman numerals, valid acronyms and Proper nouns (e.g. a disease like Down syndrome) etc.
The first word after a colon should almost always be lowercase. In this case, it's not: '%s'.
Never use ellipsis...
Don't use an ellipsis... in written text.
Italics are only used in very specific places and should avoid outside those situations. They are used to describe Organisms, but not species and also to describe genes, but not the proteins they create. Organisms are added to a list of exceptions. Genes are assumed when the emphasied content is followed by the word gene
Italics should be used only in exceptional circumstances: '%s'
Use the combined greater than and less than equal to signs.
Use the combined greater than and less than equal to signs: use '%s' instead of '%s'.
Heading capitalisation should be in sentence-style. The exception is allowed acronyms and acronyms in brackets.
'%s' should use sentence-style capitalization.
Headings needs to be from the list of valid headings, be correctly nested and in the right order. Work in progress.
Headings needs to be from the list of valid headings, be correctly nested and in the right order.
Looks for repetition.
'%s' is repeated!
The correct usage of latin terms should be adhered to.
Use appropriate Latin forms: '%s' rather than '%s'.
List items should not start with a capital letter. There are some exceptions including acronyms, white-listed capitalisation and spinal level notation.
In general, we don't start a list item with a capital letter. Exceptions are proper nouns.
Looks for common negated words that mean other things, e.g. no minor instead of major.
Consider using '%s' instead of '%s'
Using a comma to separate thousands in large numbers over 10,000 is helpful for readability.
Use a thousands separators for large numbers.
Ensure that where sensible, the Oxford comma is used.
Use the Oxford comma in '%s'.
Complete the content for content pending sections
Don't add words such as 'from' or 'between' to describe a range of numbers.
Don't add words such as 'from' or 'between' to describe a range of numbers.
This rule looks for duplication of spinal level in the second reference of a spinal level, e.g. T2-T3.
Consider removing the duplication of spinal level in the second reference '%s'.
We have very specific rules about when we use bold.
Generally, don't use bold in text: '%s'
If there is a strong element in the History and etymology section, then it should be a person and when we mention people, we should include their lifespan details.
A bold element in the History and etymology section should be a person; it would be useful to have their lifespan details: '%s'
Check whether there are more than 5 commas in a sentence and warn that it might make reading more difficult.
More than 5 commas in a single sentence might make it more difficult to read.
Look for a hidden non-breaking space in the HTML ( )
There is a hidden non-breaking space in the HTML ( ). These should be avoided
Sometimes, replacing a terminal e.g. in brackets with an inline e.g. after a comma works well.
Consider replacing a bracketed e.g. with an inline e.g. after a comma.
It would be best to steer clear of manufacturer-specific MRI sequence names, e.g. FISP, DRIVE.
'%s' is an MRI-manufacturer-specific sequence, try to avoid using these.
Using lots of parentheses in text can reduce readability. Warn when more than 3 are used in a text block.
Use parentheses judiciously. There are at least 3 sets in this paragraph.
Use semicolons judiciously.
Use semicolons judiciously.
Don't start a sentence with "There is" or equivalent!
Don't start a sentence with '%s'.