User:Amgine/SG Details-S

sack
Generally avoid the sense "dismiss" except in headlines (and never, there, use vulgarisms such as axed or fired.)

sacrilegious
Not sacreligious.

Saddam Hussein
Saddam after first mention, full name Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti.

Sahara
Adding 'desert' after is a pleonasm.

said
Prefer the construction 'the subject said quote' to 'quote said the subject'. It's not a rule, but it provides the reader with context for the quote before being distracted by the content of the quote.

Saint-Saëns, Camille
Metal umlauts and all, the classical composer.

saké vs sake
The Japanese term sake (酒) or o-sake (お酒) actually refers to any alcohol, while the beverage referred to in English is the Japanese rice wine called Nihonshu (日本酒), meaning "Japanese sake". (It isn't really a wine, either, but instead fermented more similarly to beer.)

It is common to use an acute accent to differentiate the Japanese term from the English word sake, but this introduces an inaccuracy compared with the Romaji spelling. Therefore prefer to italicize sake as with any foreign language word used in an English context.

salutary
Not salutory.

Salvadoran
A citizen of El Salvador, not Salvadorian or Salvadorean.

Sanaa
The capital of Yemen, صنعاء‎, also romanized to Sana'a, Ṣan‘ā’, but the simpler form is preferred.

sanatorium
Not sanitorium, sanitarium.

sandpit, sandbox
The first is UK English, the second is US English, for the child's play space. The first, in US English, is a pit mine for extracting fine aggregate.

sarin
Lowercase.

Sars
Initialism for the viral respiratory illness severe acute respiratory syndrome (lowercase), Sars on second mention and in headlines.

sat
Simple past tense and past participle of to sit. Do not use the construction "was sat"; instead use "was seated" or "was sitting".

Scandinavia
Denmark, Norway, and Sweden collectively. Also, the countries of the Scandinavian Peninsula: Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Cf. nordic countries

scientific names
For the Latin terms, initial cap the first word, lower case for the second (and subsequent if included). Italicise all except the most commonly known, eg Homo sapien, but Rattus rattus.

Scilly, Isles of
Never Scilly Isles.

secondly
Do not use except in direct quotes. (Also do not use firstly, thirdly, etc.)

seize
This is an exception to the i before e mnemonic.

semicolon
Not semi-colon.

The semicolon is a compromise between a full stop/period (too much) and a comma (not enough). It is used to join two or more clauses which might be complete sentences yet which can usefully be merged into a complex sentence. It is less-commonly used to separate elements of a list of three or more elements which follow a colon, and are clarified by the use of semicolons as opposed to commas.

"Example from Economist.com: They agreed on only three points: the ceasefire should be immediate; it should be internationally supervised, preferably by the AU; and a peace conference should be held, either in Geneva or in Ouagadougou."

senior
Abbreviate to Sr, not Sen or Snr.

separate
Not seperate.

Serb
Noun. Serbian, adjective. Serbs overthrew the Serbian President.

short words
Use them. Prefer brief, common words over exotic, multi-syllabic jargon and overly-precise terms. and so on...
 * about vs. approximately
 * after vs. following
 * but vs. however
 * enough vs. sufficient
 * let vs. permit
 * make vs. manufacture
 * plant vs. facility or factory
 * set up vs. establish
 * show vs. demonstrate
 * take part vs. participate
 * use vs. utilize

Simplify where possible.

shotgun wound
Rarely necessary; may be used to compress the lede. Depending upon the range and the exact variety of shot used in the cartridge, this type of weapon can be quite horrific, and over-precise detail may be considered gratuitous gore.

sic
The term sic has been normalized as an adverb in English, but it is a Latin adverb implying a longer adverbial phrase. It might be translated as "thus", "so", or "just like that." A complete formulation is sic erat scriptum which is simply translated as "thus was it written". The single word sic may be used without italics, as per foreign words suggestion.

The appearance of "[sic]" following an error in a quoted text may be seen as ridicule, especially if used more than once. Prefer a single use at the end of the quote immediately prior the ascription.

slang
Use no slang except in direct quotes. Some slang has become standardized; if you are aware it may be slang, it is slang. eg mob is actually slang, from mobile vulgus, but has become standardized and its original source nearly forgotten. A converse example is bike, which we all know is slang for bicycle, but at some point in the future may very well be completely standardized, its source relegated to antiquated status.

so
Do not use as an intensifier, eg so good.

Social titles
Honorifics or Titles of address, are those titles which prefix an individual's name in social address or correspondence. The most common of these in English-speaking regions are Mr, Mrs, Ms, Miss. An individual's preference is always preferred, just as with gendered pronouns (SG).

A comment on the use of Ms: contrary to The Economist's opinion otherwise, Ms is nearly as ugly as Mr but certainly no more so. Ms should probably be preferred to Mrs which is the abbreviation for mistress. It may be used without confusion as to whether the person in question is married using her married surname, married using her unmarried surname, unmarried, or using a pseudonym, making it far simpler to fact-check.

Religious titles, titles of  nobless  or politics, judicial titles, and similar are each contextual to the article. An article regarding a news event in Scotland would use the customary usage in that venue for, as an example, John McDonald of Someplace when referring to Laird Someplace.

Formal journalism prefers to maintain a formal tone in writing, and always refer to individuals on first introduction using the full name, second and further mentions use the honorific and surname. e.g. "Joseph Estrada, ousted President of the Philippines, lost a second bid for the office. Mr Estrada..."

sort of
Do not use as a substitute for rather before an adjective, or for something like before a noun. Restrict use to its literal sense: pea gravel is a specific sort of gravel consisting of small, rounded pebbles with very little or no sand or fine material.

spelling rules
The Wikinews:Style guide is the definitive rule. Where a given dialect of English does not have a strict rule, prefer spellings provided in this guide.

There are also several related guidances:
 * For geographic places it is always acceptable to use the local term where this is not locally controversial. An example of the exception is China, which is preferable to Republic of China or any of several variants, and likewise Taiwan for exactly the same reason. Similarly, the current local spelling of a place may be used instead of traditional transliterations, e.g. Normandie vs. Normandy.
 * In exact, direct quotes of a text with non-standard orthography the passage should be marked with sic, which see for further detail.

state
Do not use merely as a substitute for say or remark. Restrict use to the sense of express fully or clearly, as, "He refused to state his objections."

student body
Awkward construction which nearly always means "students." Use "students."

subtitles
A subtitle is separated from the title of a work by a colon. The subtitle text is down-style capitalised, as opposed to the initial caps of titles of works.

surprising
Not suprising.

suspenseful
Do not use.

swap
Not swop. Use only for approximately equal exchanges, or the jargon use of exchanging cashflow streams. Never use for organ transplants.

swath, swaths
A track cut by a mowing scythe, and by extension any broad sweep or expanse. Differs from swathe.

swathe, swathes
A bandage, or band. Differs from swath.

swat, swatting
To strike, rather different from swotting.

sweet pea
Two words, no hyphen, except when referring to Popeye's adopted daughter Swee'Pea.

swot, swotting
To study determinedly, rather different from swatting

synthesizer
The musical instrument is always spelt this way; synthesize and synthesise are otherwise regional variants.