APodA House Style Guidelines

The Australian Podiatry Association would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of all the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations that make up the great continent of Australia. We would like to pay our respects to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders past and present, also the young community members, as the next generation of representatives.

Please follow these guidelines when submitting content to (or publishing content on behalf of) the Australian Podiatry Association (the APodA).

Purpose

Our House Style guidelines ensure the APodA’s communications reflect its brand and appear consistent across the nation, and throughout a diverse range of publications.

All communications should clearly reflect the organisational messages of ‘Connect, Educate, Act and Support’. These style guidelines help to support this outcome.

Scope

These guidelines apply to any digital or print form of internal or external communications created or published by the APodA. They are alphabetised for ease of use.

For branding guidelines please see the separate branding guidelines document.

Abbreviations and acronyms (see also ‘titles’ and ‘naming conventions’)

• If used more than once, all acronyms are spelt out in full at the first mention only
• Do not use full stops in abbreviations. For example: ABC not A.B.C.
• Avoid using e.g, etc., or i.e. Instead use phrases like ‘for example’, ‘such as’, ‘including’ and ‘so forth’
• Do not abbreviate degree and higher education names. For example a ‘B. App Sci’ should be a ‘Bachelor of Applied Science’. Unless it is written after a person’s name such as being part of their sign-off signature or business card.
• In keeping with our conversational tone, it is appropriate to abbreviate words at the publisher’s discretion. For example:
  • It is = it’s
  • They are = they’re
  • He is = he’s
  • She is = she’s
  • We are = we’re
  • And so forth.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (see also ‘images’, ‘photography’ and ‘inclusion’)

‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders’ is the preferred term for all documentation when referring to the original habitants of all the lands now known as Australia. This cannot be abbreviated and all words in this term must start with a capital letter. In extensive documents, this term can be replaced by ‘Indigenous people’ or ‘First Peoples’ or ‘First Nations’.

Ampersand

Use ‘and’ rather than ‘&’ unless:

• It’s a department’s logo image or part of a brand name
• It appears in a header or sub-header.

Audience (see also ‘reader’)

Depending on the publication, our audience is usually:

• Members of the APodA (podiatrists), and/or;
• Podiatrists based across Australia, and/or;
• The general public and/or health consumers and/or patients of podiatrists.

We address these readers/ audience members as ‘you’ where possible and refer to yourself as the author as ‘I’, or if you are commenting on behalf of an organisation such as the APodA, use ‘we’. In addition, please keep your tone personal, succinct and warm, yet professional.

Bullet points

You can use bullet points to make text easier to read. Make sure that:

• You always use a lead-in line such as the above
• The bullets make sense running on from the lead-in line
• You use upper case at the start of the bullet
• You do not use more than one sentence per bullet point where possible - and use commas or dashes to expand on an item
• You do not make the whole bullet a link if it’s a long phrase, just link the relevant words
• You do not put ‘or’ or ‘and’ after the bullets unless it is a cumulative list or the items are not mutually exclusive (see example)
• You do not put a semicolon at the end of a bullet unless it forms part of a cumulative list or the items are not mutually exclusive (see example)
• There is a full stop after the last bullet point but not at the end of previous bullet points. The two exceptions to rule this being:
  • If any single bullet point contains an unusually long sentence or more sentences that cannot be edited further.
  • When this happens, all other bullet points in that section may also receive a full stop for consistency if the publisher prefers to do so as an exception.

When semicolons may be used in bullet points If a bullet point list is cumulative: Where each point intentionally builds on the previous point, a semicolon may be added as needed and possibly preceded by a comma in each case. For example: To make a cake you need to add: Butter Sugar Flour Two large eggs and; Milk. If the items aren’t mutually exclusive: If each of the items link to one another or may connect directly in some way, semicolons may be used. For example: Depending on the publication, our audience is usually: Members of the APodA (podiatrists), and/or; Podiatrists based across Australia, and/or; The general public and/or health consumers and/or patients of podiatrists.

Capital letters (see also ‘titles’ and ‘quotations’)

• Use title case for organisations, locations or business names
• Use lower case for specific job titles such as ‘podiatrist’ or ‘chief executive officer’ and abbreviations can be used thereafter where appropriate such as CEO
• Use sentence case for headers and subheads
• Use lower case for ‘podiatry’ or ‘podiatrists’ or ‘podiatrist’ or non brand-specific equipment such as a ‘doppler’.

Citations (See also ‘references’)

We don’t use citations in the body text of an article or linked as references in the end note. Instead we hyperlink the relevant words in the body text to their original source publication.

For example Incorrect Of the above foot and ankle characteristics, increased navicular drop (1) and increased STJ pronation velocity (2) are the two characteristics which have been shown to be risk factors (based on prospective study designs) for the development of PFP. References 1. Boling MC, Padua DA, Marshall SW, Guskiewicz K, Pyne S, Beutler A. A prospective investigation of biomechanical risk factors for patellofemoral pain syndrome: the Joint Undertaking to Monitor and Prevent ACL Injury (JUMP-ACL) cohort. Am J Sports Med 37: 2108, 2009 2. Hetsroni I, Finestone A, Milgrom C, Sira D, Nyska M, Radeva-Petrova D, Ayalon M. A prospective biomechanical study of the association between foot pronation and the incidence of anterior knee pain among military recruits. J Bone Joint Surg Br 88-B: 905, 2006 ------ Correct Of the above foot and ankle characteristics, increased navicular drop and increased STJ pronation velocity are the two characteristics which have been shown to be risk factors (based on prospective study designs) for the development of PFP.

If the source publication is not available online, link the relevant words to an alternate reputable publication. If this is not available, add the citation as a full reference in an endnote section titled ‘References’, using superscript numbers to connect to the relevant text.

In print communications:

• We include a reference list in an endnote section at the end of the article. This is less important for editorial-style publications of a more relaxed nature (STRIDE, Foot Health Australia and website content) compared to other publications of a more academic nature.
• The author is responsible for the accuracy of the reference.

When writing a reference:

• Do not use italics
• Use single quote marks around titles
• Write out abbreviations in full: page not p, Nutrition Journal not Nutr J.
• Use plain English, for example use ‘and others’ not ‘et al’
• Do not use full stops after initials or at the end of the reference
• Use the APA style of referencing.

Conflict of Interest

All authors are responsible for recognising and disclosing any conflict of interest that could be perceived to bias their article, and to email concerns to the APodA before drafting.

Copyright

• Any content found on podiatry.org.au or published by the APodA is protected by copyright.
• We give permission to reference resources and information, acknowledging the APodA as the source and linking back to the original source.
• If the source URL appears in writing, omit ‘www’ to maximise Search Engine Optimisation, for example podiatry.org.au

Dates

• Date formatting is the day followed by the month followed by the year (14 February 2021)
• Use upper case for months: January, February
• Do not use a comma between the month and year: 4 June 2017
• When space is an issue - in tables or publication titles, for example - you can use truncated months: Jan, Feb and so forth
• In communications where the year is already published elsewhere (such as STRIDE or in an email) you can opt to leave the year out or substitute it with ‘this year’. For example: ‘Sign up before 31 July’ or ‘Sign up before 31 July this year’. Avoid doing this for content that should be ‘evergreen’ (such as web content that has a long life cycle)
• We use ‘to’ in date ranges - not hyphens, en rules or em dashes. For example: tax year 2011 to 2012
• If a date range is used within the same month, write it as: 9 to 20 July 2021
• If a date range is used across more than one month, write it as: 8 July to 20 August 2021.

Deadlines

• Deadlines that are not met will require the relevant article to be published at a later date. Or the content will be published as it is if no feedback is given to the editor before the review deadline.
• The editorial team cannot hold back publication to wait for any unscheduled changes to articles or other content outside of set deadlines. This includes deadlines for internal review.
• Documents on Google Drive will be locked after the deadline has passed, and will be unable to be edited further.

Distribution channels

By submitting any content to the APodA that is intended for publication (such as STRIDE magazine or other platforms) it may also appear on social media platforms and other communication channels. The submission of such content denotes automatic author approval for wider distribution, unless otherwise advised.

Double quotes (See also ‘single quotes’ and ‘quotations’)

• Use double quotes in body text for direct verbal quotations. Single quotes should be used in all other cases.
• The first letter within a quote must be a capital letter even if the quote falls mid-sentence and a comma must immediately precede the start of the quote. For example:
  Correct: She said, “They went to the shops”.
  Incorrect: She said, ‘They went to the shops’.
  Correct: The document was called, ‘A guide to editing’.
  Incorrect: The document was called, “A guide to editing”.
• If a quote runs over two paragraphs, do not add closed quotation marks until the end of the quote in the second paragraph (or whenever the quote ends). For example:
  Correct: Joe Bloe feels strongly about this issue. “This is a quote of a person talking,” he said. “The quote is a long quote which will appear as a long section of quoted text in the article.
  “Even if the quote continues over two more more paragraphs, the end quote marks should not appear until the single section of quoted text ends in whichever paragraph the quote finishes - just like this example right here,” said Joe Bloe.
  Incorrect: Joe Bloe feels strongly about this issue. “This is a quote of a person talking,” he said. “The quote is a long quote which will appear as a long section of quoted text in the article.”
  “Even if the quote continues over two more more paragraphs, the end quote marks should not appear until the single section of quoted text ends - unlike this example here,” said Joe Bloe.

Make sure you add open quote marks at the start of the second and consecutive paragraphs if the same quote is continuing (like the above example).

Full stops (see also ‘bullet points’ and ‘quotations’)

• No periods appear at the end of image captions, unless the text is a long sentence of five words or more, or longer than one sentence.
• No periods appear at the end of individual bullet points, except for the last bullet point or if individual bullet points are made up of one or more long sentences. Where possible, bullet points should be one sentence per point. See ‘bullet points’ for more background.
• No periods to appear at the end of headlines or sub-headings.
• If a quotation ends a sentence, put the full stop within the quotation. For example: She said, “Let’s explore the playground.”

Geography and regions

• Use lowercase for north, south, east and west, except when they’re part of a name or recognised region.
• Hyphenate combined regions such as south-west Queensland or north-east Sydney.
• Always write out the full name of the area the first time you use it. For example: Queensland or New South Wales. This can then be followed by well known abbreviations such as QLD or NSW.

Grammar (see also ‘sentence structure’)

• Sentences are short and in active tense. Lose the ‘ing’ wherever possible. Examples:
• Instead of: ‘We are beginning to...’ it should read, ‘We have begun to’.
• Instead of: ‘Collaborating with peers is important’, it should read, ‘It is important to collaborate with peers.’
• Ellipses should be three dots only (…)
• Use the singular verb when referring to organisations or entities. This is the standard Australian Government approach. For example:
• Correct: The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted sunshine.
• Incorrect: The Bureau of Meteorology have predicted sunshine.
• Correct: The APodA has said the statement will be drafted today.
• Incorrect: The APodA have said the statement will be drafted today.

Headlines (see also ‘sub-headings’)

Headlines and sub-headings should:

• Be short - around three to five words
• Be unique, clear and descriptive
• Be front-loaded and optimised for search
• Use a colon to break up longer titles
• Not have a full stop at the end
• Not use acronyms unless they are well-known to the specific audience.

Tip: Imagine a bus is pulling away and you need to make it stop with a very short and compelling headline. Test out this tip before submitting any headlines.

Hyphenation

• If in doubt, use a hyphen to connect two words that belong to part of the same phrase or concept
• Use ‘to’ instead of hyphens where hyphens may be used for numbers and calendar dates. For example:
• Aged 15 to 18 years
• The event runs from Saturday to Sunday.

Inclusion

Language should always be inclusive and positive. For example:

• Correct: People experiencing homelessness
• Incorrect: Homeless people
• Correct: People who have a disability
• Incorrect: Disabled people
• Correct: People who experience mental health challenges
• Incorrect: People who are victims of their own mental health

Images (see also ‘photographs’, ‘tables and figures’ and ‘numbers’ and ‘inclusion’)

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imagery needs to be checked individually by a relevant external contact of the APodA. Image publication is determined by factors such as source, copyright and any existing disclaimers regarding the images. If in doubt, images should be accompanied by the following statement: ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are advised that the following publication may contain images and voices of people who have died.’
• Ensure all supplied images are over 1MB in size. When emailing your photo ensure that you send it as the original size (without compression as this reduces the quality).
• If you are the author of an article you must supply a high-res headshot of yourself for publication (over 1MB in file size).
• If you do not have a professional headshot, any high resolution headshot of you facing the camera directly is fine, even if this is taken on your mobile phone.
• Photo captions do not end in a full stop unless the caption forms a complete sentence (or multiple sentences). For example, both captions are correct:
• The Gold Coast
• The Gold Coast, situated off Australia’s eastern coastline.
• Submission of photographs is strongly encouraged to demonstrate any key points. Written permission is needed from the copyright holder of any image taken from another source.
• Try to avoid supplying photos taken at obviously formal events such as at a wedding (unless the event is relevant to the article).
• Do not crop or edit your photos, this will be done in layout.
• If you are taking a photo on your smartphone, soft external daylight is best to avoid squinting and be aware of the background. An uncluttered background or a plain wall is best.
• Podiatry / patient photos must clearly show use of infection control and use of PPE where appropriate.
• Ensure there is no branding visible in the background (including branding on clinic uniforms).
• Stock photos will be used to add visual interest to an article (particularly if no other photos are supplied or if photos supplied are of poor quality).
• In the case of an individual supplying their image the APodA will always assume permission to publish has also been given.

Maths content

• Use a minus sign for negative numbers: –6
• Ratios have no space either side of the colon: 5:12
• One space each side of symbols: +, –, ×, ÷ and = (so: 2 + 2 = 4)
• Use the minus sign for subtraction. Use the correct symbol for the multiplication sign (×), not the letter x
• Write out and hyphenate fractions: two-thirds, three-quarters
• Use the same number format for a sequence: 0.75 and 0.45
• Percentages are written as % on both digital and print platforms
• Numbers written as percentages are always in numerical not word form, even if below 10 (e.g. 10%)
• Never use roman numerals.

Measurements

• Use numerals and spell out measurements at first mention
• Do not use a space between the numeral and abbreviated measurement: 3,500kg not 3,500 kg
• Abbreviating kilograms to kg is fine - you do not need to spell it out
• If the measurement is more than one word, like kilometres per hour, then spell it out the first time it’s used with the abbreviation. From then on, abbreviate. If it’s only mentioned once, do not abbreviate
• Use Celsius for temperature: 37°C.

Naming conventions (See also ‘abbreviations’ and ‘titles’)

• The Australian Podiatry Association is always referred to by its full name in the first instance, and can be referred to as ‘the APodA’ thereafter.
• In STRIDE magazine, the full name of any person should always be referred to in the first instance, including titles such as Dr or Prof.
• Subsequent mentions of this person thereafter should refer to their first name only (‘Dr Andrew Brown is a podiatric surgeon. Andrew says that it’s important to...’ and so forth).
• Doctor does not appear as ‘doctor’ but instead as ‘Dr’ (note the absence of the full stop) and as ‘Drs’ when more than one are listed subsequently together in a sentence.
• Professor does not appear as ‘Professor’ except for the first mention; thereafter it appears as ‘Prof.’ (note the use of the full stop).
• Associate Professor follows the same approach, with all subsequent mentions appearing as Assoc. Prof. (note the use of both full stops).
• Do not abbreviate degree and higher education names. For example a ‘B. App Sci’ should be a ‘Bachelor of Applied Science’. Unless it is written after a person’s name such as being part of their sign-off signature or business card.
• The use of ‘Dr’ is limited to those with a PhD or M.D. The exception being, if a podiatrist specifically requests in writing for this title to be used in content where they are named – given the Ahpra Guidelines for Advertising Regulated Health Services state that a podiatrist can use the title Dr if they choose to. In the main however, the Association will only use ‘Dr’ to those with a PhD or M.D., to avoid confusing health consumers and the wider public.
• Verify the spelling of all trade names, organisations, business practices and other institutions. If it appears in digital form, link to the entity.
• When possible, use generic names instead of trade names.

Numbers (see also ‘dates’ and ‘maths content’)

• Numbers below 10 are written as the word, and 10 and above are written as the number.
• The only exception is when the number appears next to a percentage, which always requires the numerical version (e.g. 7% or 29%)
• If a number starts a sentence, write it out in full (Thirty-four, for example) except where it starts a title or subheading.
• For numerals over 999 - insert a comma for clarity: 9,000.
• Spell out common fractions like one-half.
• Use a % sign for percentages: 50%
• Use a 0 where there’s no digit before the decimal point.
• Use ‘500 to 900’ and not ‘500-900’ (except in tables).
• Use MB for anything over 1MB: 4MB not 4096KB.
• Use KB for anything under 1MB: 569KB not 0.55MB.

Photography (see also ‘images’)

Ensure the size of any images supplied is over 1MB per image, and that:

• Permission has been granted to supply the image to the APodA
• Any people who appear in the image have given their permission to be published.

Quotations (See also ‘single quotes’ and ‘double quotes’)

Use single quotes:

• In headlines
• For unusual terms
• When referring training courses, webinars or podcasts
• When referring to publications
• When referring to notifications such as emails or alerts.

For example: Download the publication ‘Understanding Capital Gains Tax’ (PDF, 360KB).

Use double quotes:

• For direct verbal quotation only
• Always precede the quote with a comma
• Always start the quote with a capital letter, regardless of where the word falls in the sentence.

For example: The Minister said, “Taxes will increase by the end of the year”.

If a quotation ends a sentence:

• Put the full stop within the quotation

For example: She said, “Let’s explore the playground.”

Source text

When placing verbatim text from another source into an article, the style of the text overrides this Style Guide (e.g. bullet points, capitalisation etc.) In the below example, we would keep the use of lower case letters at the start of each bullet point, as it is a direct quote from another source.

“An organisation that provides a health service and holds health information is covered by the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act), even if they’re a small business or providing a health service is not their primary activity.

Some examples of a health service provider covered by the Privacy Act include:

• a general practitioner or a medical practitioner
• a blood or tissue bank
• a private hospital or a day procedure centre
• a private aged care or palliative care facility
• pathology or radiology services

Sub-headings (see also ‘headlines’)

Headlines and sub-headings should:

• Be short - around three to five words
• Be unique, clear and descriptive
• Be front-loaded and optimised for search
• Use a colon to break up longer titles
• Not have a full stop at the end
• Not use acronyms unless they are well-known to the specific audience.

Reader (see also ‘audience’ and ‘tone of voice’)

• Address the user or reader as ‘you’ where possible. Content should make a direct appeal to members or patients to get involved or take action after reading the information. For example: ‘You can become a member’ or ‘You can find a podiatrist’.
• Try to end every article with this ‘call for action’ so that the reader has specific steps to follow.
• Ensure every paragraph relates back to the reader - what is in it for them? How does this information relate specifically to their situation. Keep the language highly practical.

References (See also ‘citations’)

We don’t use citations in the body text of an article. Instead we do the following:

• In digital communications:
  • We hyperlink the relevant words in the body text to their original source publication, such as if we want a reader to refer to our Scope of Practice.
• Here are two more examples:
  • ‘Are you a podiatrist looking to become a member of the APodA’?
  • There is a significant impact on podiatry in Australia when it comes to the release of the ‘National Scheme’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Cultural Safety Strategy 2020 to 2025’.
  • If the source publication is not available online, link the relevant words to an alternate reputable publication. If this is not available, add the citation as a full reference in an endnote section titled ‘References’, using superscript numbers to connect to the relevant text.
• In print communications:
  • We include a reference list in an endnote section at the end of the article. This is less important for editorial-style publications of a more relaxed nature (STRIDE, Foot Health Australia and website content) compared to other publications of a more academic nature.
  • The author is responsible for the accuracy of the reference.

When writing a reference:

• Do not use italics
• Use single quote marks around titles
• Write out abbreviations in full: page not p, Nutrition Journal not Nutr J.
• Use plain English, for example use ‘and others’ not ‘et al’
• Do not use full stops after initials or at the end of the reference
• Use the APA style of referencing.

Sentence structure (See also ‘grammar’)

If a sentence can be broken into two or more shorter sentences then do it. For example:

Before

Drawn face scales may result in incorrect recordings if a child experiences difficulty in distinguishing between the feeling of pain and the emotional state, and smiling faces could also result in overestimation of pain intensity.

After

Drawn face scales may result in incorrect recordings if a child experiences difficulty in distinguishing between the feeling of pain and the emotional state. Smiling faces can also result in overestimation of pain intensity.

• Sentences should always be short and in active tense. Lose the ‘ing’ wherever possible. Instead of ‘we are beginning to...’ it should read ‘we have begun to’. Or instead of ‘collaborating with peers is important’, it should read ‘it is important to collaborate with peers.’
• Keep tenses consistent - for example, all present tense or all past tense. Don’t flick between present and past tense in an article.
• Ellipses should be three dots only (…)

Single quotes (See also ‘quotations’ and ‘double quotes’)

Use single quotes:

• In headlines
• For unusual terms
• When referring to words
• When referring to publications
• When referring to notifications such as emails or alerts
• For example: Download the publication ‘Understanding Capital Gains Tax’ (PDF, 360KB).
• Spoken quotes are given double quotation marks whereas unspoken words requiring quotation marks are given single marks. For example, both are correct:
• She said, “They should never have gone there.”
• The often-termed ‘two fold approach’ is as follows…

Single vs two words

Example:

• Health care vs healthcare: This should appear as two words when used as a verb to describe an individual approach. For example: ‘The health care provided was excellent’. But when used to name an entire sector or entity-wide / systemic approach it should be one word: ‘The healthcare sector is buoyant’ or ‘healthcare best practice tips for podiatrists.’

Spelling

Always follow British / Australian spelling (e.g. use program not programme).

Sub headings (See also ‘Headings’)

• Use subheads to organise information clearly into sections
• Keep subheads short, between two to four words.

Tables and figures (See also ‘images’ and ‘numbers’)

• Tables and figures – including graphs, line drawings, illustrations, and radiographs – should add to the readers’ understanding of the text, not repeat what is in the text.
• Tables and figures must be numbered sequentially and cited in the text. Each table or figure must have a complete title.
• Written permission is needed from the copyright holder of any table or figure taken from another source. This will be assumed to have been obtained by the author unless specifically advised otherwise.
• Figures and images are to be submitted in TIF, EPS, PDF, or JPG format.
• Tables are to be submitted in .XLS or .DOC format .

Times

• Use ‘to’ in time ranges, not hyphens, en rules or em dashes: 10am to 11am (not 10-11am)
• Use 12 hour time. For example 5:30pm (not 1730hrs)
• Use midnight (not 00:00)
• Use midday (not 12 noon, noon or 12pm)
• Present time in full and not in fractions. For example 6 hours 30 minutes rather than 6.5 hours or 6 ½ hours.

Titles (see also ‘’abbreviations’, ‘capitals’ and ‘naming conventions’)

• Ensure there are no missing titles (e.g. Dr, Prof. and so forth)
• Do not use Mr, Miss, Mrs or Ms (or variations of)
• In STRIDE magazine, the full name of any person should always be referred to in the first instance, including titles such as Dr or Prof.
• Subsequent mentions of this person thereafter should refer to their first name only (‘Dr Andrew Brown is a podiatric surgeon. Andrew says that it’s important to...’ and so forth).
• Doctor does not appear as ‘doctor’ but instead as ‘Dr’ (note the absence of the full stop).
• Professor does not appear as ‘Professor’ except for the first mention; thereafter it appears as ‘Prof.’ (note the use of the full stop).
• Associate Professor follows the same approach, with all subsequent mentions appearing as Assoc. Prof. (note the use of both full stops).
• Do not abbreviate degree and higher education names. For example a ‘B. App Sci’ should be a ‘Bachelor of Applied Science’. Unless it is written after a person’s name such as being part of their sign-off signature or business card.
• The use of ‘Dr’ is limited to those with a PhD or M.D. The exception being, if a podiatrist specifically requests in writing for this title to be used in content where they are named – given the Ahpra Guidelines for Advertising Regulated Health Services state that a podiatrist can use the title Dr if they choose to. In the main however, the Association will only use ‘Dr’ to those with a PhD or M.D., to avoid confusing health consumers and the wider public.

Tone of voice

No matter what the communications channel, our tone of voice is always warm, professional, and engaging. In addition to this baseline, certain communications have other features to bear in mind. Each platform requires a slightly different tone of voice, depending on who the readers are. For example, here are some of our communication platforms and their required tone of voice.

1. Foot Health Australia: This is our consumer facing channel. It is conversational, warm and engaging with simple explanations for complex concepts (without appearing patrionising). Being online, all digital principles should be still followed (short sentences, active voice, hyperlink rules and so forth).
2. Social media: We have several social media platforms, each with their own tone to suit the audience. As a general rule, our social media channels are relaxed and conversational and they seek to actively engage the followers by:
   1. Asking questions
   2. Interacting promptly
   3. Liking comments and sharing posts and links when appropriate
   4. Using no abbreviations like ‘ur’ or ‘gr8’ and so forth
   5. Keeping text short with no long blocks, and in active voice
   6. Embedding hyperlinks
   7. Using hashtags only on searchable keywords that connect to podiatry (like #podiatry rather than locations for example which don’t link SEO back to podiatry). Capitalise the first letter of each word to make it easier to read. Conferences or events with official hashtags are great to use. For example #FootHealthWeek. Hashtags can be used on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram platforms.
   8. Being a platform to tag members or organisations who are contributing in some way (e.g. conference speakers, Diabetes Australia)
   9. Only posting about approved topics and avoid anything controversial
   10. Always using an appropriate image – ideally of people where possible
   11. Taking the lead from the official national APodA accounts.
3. STRIDE magazine: Our monthly member magazine STRIDE is published in a digital format for most of the year, across 10 issues. Every quarter a print issue replaces the digital format, which is mailed to members. The tone of voice is warm, clear, conversational and succinct. Above all, it is practical in its relevance for podiatrists and straight to the point in its language. STRIDE is not an academic journal and articles must be written in an editorial style that seeks to conversationally ‘translate’ any research findings into plain english for readers. While Section Editors and contributors provide draft content to STRIDE, the editor will edit these pieces to reflect the above tone of voice, and where word counts exceed the prescribed limit.

URLs (see also ‘referencing’ and ‘citations’)

In print: URL addresses always appear in bold and without https:// or www (e.g. podiatry.org.au)

Online: URL addresses in the online version of STRIDE always appear embedded in the text. In print versions, they appear in bold and without https:// or www (e.g. podiatry.org.au)