SCA Style Guide: Written Content
Voice and Tone
What's the difference between voice and tone? Think of it this way: you have the same voice all the time, but your tone changes. You might use one tone when you're out to dinner with your closest friends, and a different tone when you're in a meeting with your boss.
Your tone also changes depending on the emotional state of the person you're addressing. You wouldn't want to use the same tone of voice with someone who's scared or upset as you would with someone who is laughing.
A voice doesn't change much from day to day, but our tone changes all the time.
The SCA's Voice
Our job is to foster a global coffee community and support activity to make specialty coffee a thriving, equitable, and sustainable activity for the entire value chain. We actively live our values and demonstrate our commitment while providing access to Knowledge, Community, and Influence.
At the SCA, we like to communicate in a friendly, straightforward, and globally agnostic way. We consider our voice to be:
Authoritative
Approachable
Consistent
Friendly
Instructive
Inclusive
Style Tips
Here are a few key elements of writing in the SCA's voice. For more, see the Grammar and Mechanics section.
Active voice: use active voice wherever possible. Avoid passive voice.
Active voice (preferred): The barista brought my coffee. I heard it through the grapevine.
Passive voice (avoid): My coffee was brought by the barista. It was heard through the grapevine by me.
Avoid slang and jargon: write in plain English.
With slang (avoid): The barista champion really nailed their presentation.
Without slang (preferred): The barista champion performed their presentation perfectly.
Write positively: always choose positive language over negative language, where appropriate.
Negative language (avoid): You won’t get your coffee until you’ve paid.
Positive language (preferred): Once you’ve paid, you’ll get your coffee.
Establishing Guild Voices
In addition to the global organization, the SCA is home to a number of community groups with their own mission, values, and voice. As we seek to establish individual voices within the organization, we will consider:
What are our core values? Consider the values your organization represents and how you can translate these into stylistic patterns.
Who is our audience? In writing, as elsewhere, your audience is paramount—without them, you'd have no reason to write. Put yourself in their situation and think about the stylistic traits that might appeal to them. Remember, your voice doesn't need to appeal to everyone (in fact, it shouldn't).
Once you've created a description of your voice based on your answers to these questions, look it over and identify any contradictions or holes. Voices should be nuanced, yes—but they also need to be cohesive.
Choosing a Tone
Think about your readers' needs in different situations, then use these needs to determine your tone.
If you're having trouble finding an appropriate tone, try reframing the situation: how would you talk to a friend who's in the same situation as your reader?
Further Reading
Further reading suggested in 18F's impeccable content guide:
MailChimp’s voice and tone guide: This beautifully designed tool allows you to select different content types and learn more about what the user might be feeling while reading them, along with examples of tones appropriate to those content types. Super simple to use, this is a great quick reference for creating diverse types of content.
The nonviolent communication (NVC) framework for feelings: Pinpointing the most appropriate tone for a piece of content starts with identifying what your readers might be feeling when they read that content. This list of feelings is broken into two categories — feelings you experience when your needs are being met and when they aren’t.
Jeff Goins’ voice activities: Use author Jeff Goins’ ten-step exercise to pinpoint your authorial voice. The “steps” are actually discrete activities and can be undertaken in any order.
If you’re still a little confused about voice and tone, Wheaton College provides an excellent breakdown of those — and more — writing components.
Fast Company has also weighed in on the voice and tone discussion.
Writing as a Trade Association
The SCA is a trade association. This means that, although we are an association of companies and individuals advancing our members’ common business interests, we must also keep in mind that our members are frequently business competitors. This is why trade associations receive special scrutiny under antitrust and unlawful competition laws. Since competitors are generally not allowed to agree among themselves on prices and wages, we must be very careful about how we talk about those subjects.
At this point, you may be thinking, “what about fair trade prices?” Fair trade prices are set by independent organizations, which individual companies are free to accept or not. They are not set by agreement between coffee companies, which would be prohibited.
The SCA sometimes arranges benchmarking price surveys and publishes the results. This activity is protected in the US by a “safe harbor” rule that permits benchmarking where the companies contributing information are anonymous to the reader and the price information is at least three months old.
You might also wonder why other publications can advocate for specific prices or wages. If they are not trade associations and the authors are not competitors, they do not have the same considerations.
If you are in any doubt as to whether you can write something that involves pricing, especially advocating for higher (or lower) prices or wages, first ask your supervisor or editor, who may then consult with the SCA’s legal counsel.
Coffee Price
Average Price
Any time we reference an average price, the “average” cannot include price information gathered within the three months prior to publication. When sharing or including average price information, include a note of the date range used to compile the results.
Alternatives to the “C” Price
When discussing alternatives to the C market, use language that encourages readers to seek legal advice before engaging with any alternatives:
However, any initiatives like these that make use of shared cost or pricing information should not be undertaken without the advice of expert antitrust/monopoly council, as US and EU competition laws and directives can create significant risks in this area. Although it’s tempting to argue that supporting a buying price is fundamentally different to supporting a selling price, current case law does not support this distinction, even within the context of specialty coffee: many existing initiatives currently function within “grey” areas of antitrust/monopoly law.
Chapters
Chapters with SCA staff support should be described as “staff-supported and volunteer-led.”
Writing About People
Whether you’re writing for an internal or external audience, it's important to write for and about other people in a way that’s compassionate, inclusive, and respectful. Being aware of the impact of your language will help make the SCA a better place to work and a better steward of our values in the world. In this section we'll lay out some guidelines for writing about people with compassion, and share some resources for further learning.
For additional reading on writing about people, Sum of Us has released “A Progressive’s Style Guide,” which you can find here.
Age
Don’t reference a person’s age unless it’s relevant to what you’re writing. If it is relevant, include the person’s specific age, offset by commas.
The CEO, 16, just got her driver’s license.
Don’t refer to people using age-related descriptors like “young,” “old,” or “elderly.”
Coffee Value Chain Roles
The coffee value chain and systems have roots in colonial and neo-colonial systems largely dependent on very inexpensive land and “nearly free” labor. The net impact has been a value chain that consistently undervalues the labor of farmers and farm workers in most geographies where coffee is produced.
Coffee farmers and farm workers are smart, competent, and capable; they are business partners and economic actors. When writing about coffee production or coffee origins, writers should ensure that coffee farmer and farm worker voices are included: source translated quotes and/or elaborate on their specific experience.
Avoid using language that diminishes coffee farmer and farm workers’ agency, contributions, or experience. Conversely, avoid fetishizing “origin” or coffee production.
Here are some helpful questions to guide your story while writing, as suggested by Nikkita Oliver’s training on Storytelling and Nonprofit Communication:
Is this a story that you, as the facilitator of the story, should be telling or can someone else tell it? Are you connected, part of, or a member of this individual’s community? This is a critical question for coffee buyers telling stories about coffee farmers and farm workers.
Are you sharing someone’s story with dignity, nuance, and informed consent? Is their humanity intact, or are you oversimplifying or over-sensationalizing their story? Are you prioritizing the voice of the person whose story and experience is being shared over that of the audience?
Have you considered who this story helps by telling it? Are you fighting stereotypes and myths or contributing to them? Have you provided sufficient socio-historical and political context?
Disability
Don’t refer to a person’s disability unless it’s relevant to what you’re writing. If you need to mention it, use language that emphasizes the person first: ”she has a disability” rather than “she is disabled.”
When writing about a person with disabilities, don’t use the words “suffer,” “victim,” or “handicapped.”
Avoid colloquial phrases that may associate impairments with negative sentiments, like “deaf to our pleas” or “blind drunk.”
Gender and Sexuality
Don’t call groups of people “guys.” Don’t call women “girls.”
Avoid gendered terms in favor of neutral alternatives, like “server” instead of “waitress” and “businessperson” instead of “businessman.”
It’s OK to use “they” as a singular pronoun.
Use the following words as modifiers, but never as nouns:
lesbian
gay
bisexual
transgender (never "transgendered")
trans
queer
LGBT
Don’t use these words in reference to LGBT people or communities:
homosexual
lifestyle
preference
Don’t use “same-sex” marriage, unless the distinction is relevant to what you’re writing. (Avoid “gay marriage.”) Otherwise, it’s just “marriage.”
When writing about a person, use their communicated pronouns. When in doubt, just ask or use their name.
Hearing
Use “deaf” as an adjective to describe a person with significant hearing loss. You can also use “partially
deaf” or “hard of hearing.”
Heritage and Nationality
Don't use hyphens when referring to someone with dual heritage or nationality. For example, use "Asian American" instead of "Asian-American."
Medical Conditions
Don’t refer to a person’s medical condition unless it’s relevant to what you’re writing.
If a reference to a person’s medical condition is warranted, use the same rules as writing about people with physical disabilities and emphasize the person first. Don’t call a person with a medical condition a “victim.”
Mental and Cognitive Conditions
Don’t refer to a person’s mental or cognitive condition unless it’s relevant to what you’re writing. Never assume that someone has a medical, mental, or cognitive condition.
Don’t describe a person as “mentally ill.” If a reference to a person’s mental or cognitive condition is warranted, use the same rules as writing about people with physical disabilities or medical conditions and emphasize the person first.
Vision
Use the adjective “blind” to describe a person who is unable to see. Use “low vision” to describe a person with limited vision.
Grammar and Mechanics
Adhering to certain rules of grammar and mechanics helps us keep our writing clear and consistent. This section lays out our "house style," which applies to all of our content unless otherwise noted in this guide.
(We cover a lot in this section - use the search feature if you're looking for something in particular.)
Key References
The SCA’s house style is built on US spelling found in the Oxford English Dictionary and mechanics found in the Chicago Manual of Style.
Basics
Write for all readers. Some people will read every word you write. Others will just skim. Help everyone read better by grouping related ideas together and using descriptive headers and subheaders.
Focus your message. Create a hierarchy of information: lead with the main point or the most important content, in sentences, paragraphs, sections, and pages.
Be concise. Use short words and sentences. Avoid unnecessary modifiers.
Be specific. Avoid vague language. Cut the fluff!
Be consistent. Stick to the copy patterns and style points outlined in this guide.
Guidelines
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Always spell out abbreviations and acronyms the first time you mention it, followed by the short version in parentheses. For example:
The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is committed to its purpose. The SCA is also committed to making coffee better.
When using country abbreviations, do not use full stops. For example:
The US specialty coffee market…
Active Voice
Use active voice. Avoid passive voice.
In active voice, the subject of the sentence does the action. In passive voice, the subject of the sentence has the action done to it. For example:
Active: Cris ran a sensory course last week.
Passive: The sensory course last week was run by Cris.
Words like "was" and "by" may indicate that you're writing in passive voice. Scan for these words and rework sentences where they appear.
One exception is when you want to specifically emphasize the action over the subject. In some cases, this is fine.
Capitalization
We use a few different forms of capitalization. Title case capitalizes the first letter of every word except articles, prepositions, and conjunctions. Sentence case capitalizes the first letter of the first word. If you're in doubt about your capitalization, use this handy tool (choose the "Chicago" tab).
When writing out an email address or website URL, use all lowercase.
Don't capitalize random words in the middle of sentences. There are a few words that we always capitalize and some that we never capitalize. When in doubt, check the Word List.
Contractions
They're great! They give your writing an informal, friendly tone. In most cases, use them as you see fit.
Avoid them if you're writing content that will be translated for an international audience.
Numbers
Spell out a number when it begins a sentence, when it is one to nine (cardinal numbers), or first to ninth (ordinal numbers). Numbers from 10/10th onwards will always be represented by numerals.
Do not use superscripts for ordinal numbers.
Numbers over three digits get commas. (CMOS 9.54)
Write out big numbers in full. Abbreviate them if there are space restraints, as in a tweet or a chart: 1k, 150k. When abbreviating with “K” (thousand), “M” (million), or “B” (billion), the letter should directly follow the number without a space.
Consistency
From CMOS 9.7: Where many numbers occur within a paragraph or a series of paragraphs, maintain consistency in the immediate context. If according to rule you must use numerals for one of the numbers in a given category, use them for all in that category. In the same sentence or paragraph, however, items in one category may be given as numbers and items in another spelled out.
In the first example, the numerals 50, 3, and 4 would normally be spelled out (see 9.2); in the second and third examples, 30,000 and 2,00, respectively, would normally be spelled out (see 9.4; see also 9.8). For numerals in direct discourse, see 13.42.
A mixture of buildings, one of 103 stories, five of more than 50, and a dozen of only 3 or 4 - has been suggested for the area.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, Chicago’s population exploded, from must under 30,000 in 1850 to nearly 1.7 million by 1900.
Between 1,950 and 2,000 people attended the concert.
Currency
Always precede the currency symbol with the first two letters of the associated currency code, unless otherwise noted at the very beginning of a document where all currency notation will remain consistent throughout:
US$5,700
GB£430
Dates
Always references dates in the following order: month, day, year. Never use “st” or “th.” E.g,. March 8, 2017.
Times should be referenced using the twelve hour clock: 10:30 am, 11:00 pm.
Seasons
When referencing seasons of the year, use: spring, summer, autumn, winter. Never use “fall.” Use
uppercase in titles only; in running text, use lowercase.
Time Periods
A numerical designation for a time period is lowercased unless it is a proper name, e.g., twenty-first century, nineteen hundreds, the nineties. (CMOS 9.32)
BCE and BC: always present these in full capitals with no full stops. (CMOS 9.34 and 10.38)
Spell out centuries, e.g., twentieth century, not 20th century.
Date ranges: Use an en dash and not a hyphen in number ranges. (CMOS 9.60)
Decimals and Fractions
Spell out fractions.
Use decimal points when a number can’t be easily written out as a fraction, like 1.375 or 47.2.
Percentages
From CMOS 9.18: “Except at the beginning of a sentence, percentages are usually expressed in numerals.
In nontechnical contexts, the word percent is generally used; in scientific and statistical copy, the symbol % is more common.
Fewer than three percent of the employees used public transportation.
With 90-95 percent of the work complete, we can relax.
A 75 percent likelihood of winning is worth the effort.
Her five-year certificate of deposit carries an interest rate of 5.9 percent.
Only 20% of the ants were observed to react to the stimulus.
The treatment resulted in a 20%-25% increase in reports of night blindness.
When using the symbol %, no space appears between the numeral and the symbol.
Ranges
From CMOS 9.60: “The en dash should not be used if from or between is used before the first of a pair of numbers; instead, from should be followed by to or through (or until), and between should be followed by and. E.g., from 75 to 110 (not from 75-110).”
Spell out general ages, e.g., “people in their thirties.”
Punctuation
The SCA Style Guide is based on the Chicago Manual of Style (online 17th edition).
Apostrophes
The apostrophe’s most common use is making a word possessive. If the word already ends in an s and it’s singular, you also add an ‘s. If the word ends in an s and is plural, just add an apostrophe.
The coffee thief drank Vicente’s coffee.
The coffee thief drank Chris’s coffee.
The coffee thief drank the coordinators’ batch brew.
Apostrophes can also be used to denote that you’ve dropped some letters from a word, usually for humor or emphasis. This is fine, but do it sparingly.
Colons
Use a colon (rather than an ellipsis, em dash, or comma) to offset a list.
Erin ordered three different coffees: an espresso, a milk beverage, and a batch brew.
You can also use a colon to join two related phrases.
I was faced with a dilemma: I wanted coffee, but I’d already had too much.
Commas
When writing a list, use the serial comma (also known as the Oxford comma).
Yes: David admires his parents, Oprah, and Justin Timberlake.
No: David admires his parents, Oprah and Justin Timberlake.
Use a comma after the word before etc. (e.g., books, toys, clothes, etc.).
When independent clauses are joined by and, but, or so, yet, or any other conjunction, a comma usually precedes the conjunction. If the clauses are very short and closely connected, the comma may be omitted unless the clauses are part of a series. (CMOS 6.28)
Dashes and Hyphens
Use a hyphen (-) without spaces on either side to link words into a single phrase (e.g., “first-time user”).
Use an en dash (–) to indicate a span or range.
Use an em dash (—) without spaces on either side to offset an aside.
Use true en and em dashes, not hyphens (- or --).
Ellipses
Ellipses (...) can be used to indicate that you’re trailing off before the end of a thought. Use them sparingly. Don’t use them for emphasis or drama, and don’t use them in titles or headers.
Ellipses, in brackets, can also be used to show that you’re omitting words in a quote.
Always use one space before and after an ellipsis.
Full Stop/Period
Periods go inside quotation marks. They go outside parentheses when the parenthetical is part of a larger sentence, and inside parentheses when the parenthetical stands alone.
Christy said, “I already had coffee.”
I’m on my way to get coffee (I didn’t have any yet).
I already had coffee this morning. (It was great.)
Leave a single space between sentences.
Do not use full points with initialisms:
It’s time to talk about the ABCs of donut-eating.
Question Marks
Question marks go inside quotations if they’re part of the quote. Like periods, they go outside parentheses when the parenthetical is a part of a larger sentence, and inside parentheses when parenthetical stands alone.
Exclamation Points
Use exclamation points sparingly, and never more than one at a time. They’re like high-fives: a well-timed one is great, but too many can be annoying.
Exclamation points go inside quotation marks. Like periods and question marks, they go outside parentheses when the parenthetical is part of a larger sentence, and inside parentheses when the parenthetical stands alone.
Quotation Marks
Periods/full stops and commas precede closing quotation marks, whether double or single.
Always use double quote marks (“) with single quotes (‘) within, when necessary.
“When Phyllis said ‘Kenyan coffee is the most wonderful coffee in the world,’ I knew she was the right person for the job.”
Quotation marks can also be placed around a word or phrase to draw attention to an unusual or arguably inaccurate use. These are known as scare quotes. When using scare quotes, use double quotation marks (“). Note that a word or phrase preceded by so-called need not be enclosed in quotation marks. The expression itself indicates doubt or irony. If, however, it is necessary to call attention to only one part of a phrase, quotation marks may be helpful. (CMOS 7.58)
Solidus/Slash
A slash most commonly signifies alternatives. In certain contexts, it is a convenient (if somewhat informal) shorthand for or. It is also used for alternative spellings or names. Where one or more of the terms separated by slashes is an open compound, a space before and after the slash can make the text more legible.
People, Places, and Things
Pronouns
If your subject’s gender is unknown or irrelevant, use “they,” “them,” and “their” as a singular pronoun.
Use “he/him/his” and “she/her/her” pronouns as appropriate. Don’t use “one” as a pronoun.
Measurements
Insert a space between the numeral and the measurement. Do not hyphenate measurements.
60 kg
3 m
Acceptable abbreviations for measurements include:
Horsepower: hp
Liters: L
Meters: m
Meters above sea level: masl
Milliliter: mL
Pounds: lb. (always include full point)
Square Feet: sq. ft. (CMOS 10.66)
Kilogram: kg (no full point, as per CMOS 10.52)
Gram: g
Abbreviations for measurements do not change in the plural.
Names
People
The first time you mention a person in writing, refer to them by their first and last names. On all other mentions, refer to them by their first name.
Vicente Partida is the Director of Communication with the SCA. Vicente believes…
Coffee
When referencing coffee names, use lower case and roman font for their common names and italics for their scientific names.
They roast both arabica and robusta coffees.
Coffea arabica and C. canephora share many genetic traits.
When writing a piece on biological meaning, use the full taxonomic name first, followed by the accepted abbreviation. Use common names as sparingly as possible, and avoid the “arabica vs. robusta” duality. Instead, shift awareness to cultivars. When referring to specific cultivars, always capitalize and italicize the cultivar name.
Bourbon
Pacamara
We generally defer to the World Coffee Research varieties catalog for naming conventions, but when referencing a specific coffee, always use the spelling provided by the coffee producer, even if it is in conflict with the SCA’s chosen spelling of a particular cultivar.
Titles
Contractions
Use a full point in contractions, as per CMOS 10.16, unless it is part of a company name or trademark.
Mr. Mrs. Ms. Prof. Dr. Fr. Sr. St.
Ltd. Co.
Dr Pepper
Job
Capitalize individual job titles when referring to a specific role. Don’t capitalize when referring to the role in general terms.
Our new Communications Editor starts today.
All the coordinators ate donuts.
Capitalize the names of departments and teams, but not the word “team” or “department.”
Communications team
Farmer Profitability and Prosperity working group
Publication
Italicize titles of reports (CMOS 8.186), books, magazines, and newsletters.
When referencing back issues of 25 Magazine, always reference both the magazine title and the issue number: 25, Issue X.
SCA
When referencing the organization, use “the SCA.”
Websites
Do not include www. when referencing websites, unless it is necessary to access the site in question.
Writing About Others
Honor companies’ and producers’ own names for themselves and their products. Go by what’s used on their official website.
Refer to a company or product as “it” (not “they”).
Text Formatting
Use italics to indicate the title of a long work (like a book, movie, or album) or to emphasize a word.
Don’t use underline formatting, and don’t use any combination of italic, bold, caps, and underline.
Leave one space between sentences, never two.