Punctuation

We follow standard American English and AP Style on VA.gov. Areas where we differ are listed below.

Ampersands

Don’t use ampersands (&) in headers or body copy. Spell out “and.” Exceptions are when it’s part of a proper noun such as a program name. Example: VR&E program.

Apostrophes

Use curly apostrophes (ex. don’t) instead of straight up and down ones (ex. don't).

Commas

We use the serial comma, sometimes called the Oxford comma. This is the comma used before a conjunction in a sentence with a series of 3 or more items. Sometimes the sentence can be misread if the serial comma is omitted.

Contractions

We use contractions on VA.gov. It supports our conversational, person-to-person voice and tone. Some situations might call for spelling out all the words, like in legal or warning messages, but in general, we prefer using contractions.

• Be careful not to mix up “its” and “it’s.”
• Use “it’s” as a contraction of “it is,” never “it has.”
• Don’t use non-standard contractions like “would’ve,” “could’ve,” or “should’ve.”

Em and en dashes, hyphens

Em dash

Use the em dash similar to a parenthetical or commas to set off an important clause, when commas might be awkward. Try not to overuse them. We don’t use a space on either side of the em dash.

• Like this: You may be eligible if you have an illness or injury caused—or made worse—by your time in service.

En dash

Avoid using en dashes, since screen readers don’t consistently announce them.

Hyphens

This is the short, single dash. We use it to connect words that modify a noun or in names. Hyphens are also OK to indicate ranges when space is limited. However, in normal body copy, use “to” to indicate ranges (like 2021 to 2022). We don’t use a space on either side of the hyphen.

• Like this: active-duty service member; VA-related claim; Merriam-Webster
• Like this: 2021-2022

Exclamation points

Don’t use the exclamation point on VA.gov for any text elements (body copy, headers, subheaders, field labels, CTAs, etc.). It doesn’t align with our voice and tone, which is conversational, helpful, and straightforward. We don’t yell, and we’re not hyperbolic or casual.

Note: Some design components may use the exclamation point as an icon for visual accent—in alert components, for example—but don’t use it in the message copy itself.

Quotation marks

Use curly quotation marks (ex. “quotation marks”) instead of straight up and down ones (ex. "quotation marks").

Periods and commas go inside the quotation marks, even if they’re not part of the quoted text. All other punctuation (em dashes, question marks, colons, parentheses) go outside the quotation marks unless they’re part of the quoted text.

Use quotation marks when referencing free text that people submit in a form field (like search input).

Don’t use quotation marks when referencing buttons, screens, or section headers in instructions. For these situations, use bold only.