BPO PROCESS INSTRUCTION

Project Name: Business Description

Project Code: KE-01

Process: Business Description

No. of Pages: 15

Version No. 01

Date: February 2011

Contact Person : Berges Santok Distribution: In-house Writers, Knowledge Associates & QC Editors

Prepared By: Dibyendu Roychowdhury Project Supervisor

Reviewed & Approved By: Vidyut Kumar Ta Project Manager

AMENDMENT SHEET Sr. No Date New PI Reason For amendments version No

Associated Press Stylebook

Abbreviation

A few universally recognized abbreviations are accepted in some circumstances. Some others are acceptable depending on the context. But in general, avoid alphabet soup. Do not use abbreviations that readers would not quickly recognize. Principles: Some General Principles: Abbreviate Saint before a city or institution, but see stylebook (online) for Sault Ste. Marie. Saint John (the spelling for the city in New Brunswick). DO NOT abbreviate Fort or Mount.

St. Paul Mount Bachelor, Mount Vernon, Mount Sinai Hospital. St. Louis, Fort Bragg, Fort Lauderdale.

Acronym

An acronym is a word formed from the first letter or letters of a series of words: laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation). An abbreviation is not an acronym. Like abbreviations, acronyms should be used sparingly, unless you are certain the reader knows what they stand for. DO NOT use periods with uppercase acronyms. WWU, FBI, CIA, UNESCO But use periods in most two-letter acronyms: U.S., U.N., B.A., B.C. Use periods in acronyms of the names of countries and cities and in special situations where an allcap acronym replaces a common noun (as in D.A. for district attorney). U.K., I.R.A., N.Y. Cases: Special Cases Following is the list of the acronyms which you don't need to spell out. You can use these acronyms in all reference.

Acronym 3-D ATM CD DVD DSL FBI FM GPS ISO JPEG/JPG MRI NASCAR NBA NCAA NFL NHL RAM ROM RSS VCD VIP

Stands For three dimensional automated teller machine compact disc digital video disc digital subscriber line Federal Bureau of Investigation frequency modulation global positioning system International Organization for Standardization Joint Photographic Experts Group magnetic resonance imaging National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing National Basketball Association National Collegiate Athletic Association National Football League National Hockey League random access memory read-only memory really simple syndication videocassette recorder very important person

Apostrophes
Use apostrophes when referencing academic degrees, unless a specific degree is being referenced. -

bachelor's degree, a master's, etc., Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science.

Do not use apostrophes when writing the plural of an abbreviation. Do not use apostrophes in the following constructions: 1870s, 1990s; 20s, 30s, 40s, etc.

... in the early 1930s.

Age
Always use figures, unless the age is the first word of a sentence. The rule is an exception to APs spell out one through nine" rule for numerals. Example: The girl is 7 years old; the law is 8 years old.

 Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun. Examples: A 5-year-old boy, but the boy is 5 years old. The woman is in her 30s (no apostrophe).

Appositive Phrase
An appositive phrase comes after a noun and describes the noun. Example: Apple Inc., a Fortune 500 company, designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software and personal computers. The phrase "a Fortune 500 company" is an appositive and must be set off by commas.

Army
Capitalize when referring to U.S. forces: the U.S. Army, the Army, Army regulations. Use lowercase for the forces of other nations: the French army. This approach has been adopted for consistency, because many foreign nations do not use army as the proper name. Same for: the U.S. Navy, the Navy, Navy regulations, the U.S. Marine, the Marine

Capitalization

Generally, restrict capitalization to:

Formal titles used directly in front of someone's name. For example: "According
to Mayor Joe Smith, the city needs to develop a traffic plan." But note the lack of capitalization in "According to the mayor, the city needs to develop a traffic plan" and in "According to Joe Smith, mayor, the city needs to develop a traffic plan.

Proper nouns, such as:

o

The name or names of an organization: "The City Council awarded the contract to Jones Brothers Contracting Services. Jason Smith, a spokesman for Jones Brothers, said the company is pleased to have won the contract and will begin the work next week. (Note that generic references like "the company" are not capitalized.)

o o o o

Names of people. Names of buildings: "The meeting will be held in Peck Hall." Names of months. Names of languages: "He is learning French," or "The inscription was in Latin." Note that while "French" and "Latin" can be academic subjects, most academic subjects, like biology, chemistry, journalism, philosophy, and so forth are not capitalized.

First word of a sentence. Directions. Directions Note that compass points like north, south, east and west are not capitalized unless you're using the word to refer to a geographic region Like this: I think the West is beautiful. I grew up in the South. The North won the Civil War. He attended a prestigious Northeastern college. But: The robbers fled west on Main Street. The blaze destroyed the east side of the warehouse.

Capitalize the names of the planets, stars and groups of stars. Capitalize earth only when using it in association with the names of other astronomical bodies that are capitalized. The planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus The sun warms the earth.

DO NOT capitalize prepositions, conjunctions, or articles in titles of books, etc., except when they begin the title. Bands are capitalized, but not contained in quotes. The Man Who Came to Dinner, For Whom the Bell Tolls Red Hot Chili Peppers, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd

Century
Spell out numbers less than 10, always in lowercase Example: the first century, the 20th century

Hyphenate when used with another word to form an adjective. Do not hyphenate when used as a noun.

The Internet is a 20th-century phenomenon. People started using the Internet in the 20th century.

Comma
Figuring out how to use commas properly is tricky. Here are some of the more common comma issues:

introductory Comma after an introductory phrase or clause: Place a comma between any introductory phrase or clause and the rest of the sentence. For example: "Established in 1930, ABC Company is a wholesale seafood retailer." The comma separates the introductory phrase, "Established in 1930" from the rest of the sentence, ABC Company is a wholesale seafood retailer."

Comma in a series: DO NOT use the comma before the conjunction (and/or) in a series of things. WRONG: It serves eggs, toast, and bacon. RIGHT: It serves eggs, toast and bacon. (no comma before and)

Company Name
Generally, follow the spelling and capitalization preferred by the company: eBay Ltd., Do not use a comma before Inc. or Ltd., even if it is included in the formal name. Do not use all-capital-letter names unless the letters are individually pronounced: BMW. Others should be uppercase and lowercase. Ikea, not IKEA; Subway, not SUBWAY; . USA Today, not USA TODAY. Do not use symbols such as exclamation points, plus signs or asterisks that form contrived spellings that might distract or confuse a reader. Use Yahoo, not Yahoo!; EToys R Us, not Toys "R" Us; E-Trade, not E*Trade. AMPERSAND (&): Do not use in place of and unless the ampersand is part of an organizations formal name.

Use the lowercase unless it is part of the company's formal name.

addidas, eBay ddidas, eB

constructions: Avoid awkward constructions Do not follow an organization's full name with an acronym in parentheses or set off by dashes. WRONG: International Audio Visual (IAV) is a wholesale supplier of sound equipment. RIGHT: International Audio Visual is a wholesale supplier of sound equipment.

Composition Titles
Apply the guidelines listed here to book titles, computer game titles, movie titles, opera titles, play titles, poem titles, album and song titles, radio and television program titles, and the titles of lectures, speeches and works of art. The guidelines, followed by a block of examples: Capitalize the principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters. Capitalize an article the, a, an or words of fewer than four letters if it is the first or last word in a title. Put quotation marks around the names of all such works except the Bible and books that are primarily catalogs of reference material. In addition to catalogs, this category includes almanacs, directories, dictionaries, encyclopedias, gazetteers, handbooks and similar publications. Do not use quotation marks around such software titles as WordPerfect or Windows. Translate a foreign title into English unless a work is generally known by its foreign name. An exception to this is reviews of musical performances. In those instances, generally refer to the work in the language it was sung in, so as to differentiate for the reader. However, musical compositions in Slavic languages are always referred to in their English translations. Examples: Examples "The Star-Spangled Banner," "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," "Gone With the Wind," "Of Mice and Men," "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "Time After Time," the NBC-TV "Today" program, the "CBS Evening News," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

Works orks: Reference Works Jane's All the World's Aircraft; Encyclopaedia Britannica; Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, Second Edition. Names of most websites and apps are capitalized without quotes: Facebook, Foursquare. Exception: "FarmVille" and similar computer game apps are in quotes.

Compound Modifiers
When two or more words that express a single concept precedes a noun, use hyphens to link all the words in the compound. Examples: a first-quarter touchdown, a bluish-green dress, a full-time job, a well-known man. Many combinations that are hyphenated before a noun are not hyphenated when they occur after a noun. Examples: The team scored in the first quarter. The dress, a bluish green, was attractive on her. Hyphenation is also common with adjective-noun compound modifiers: realworld example and left-handed catch. Where the adjective-noun phrase would be plural standing alone, it usually becomes singular and hyphenated when modifying another noun: four days becomes four-day week. Compound modifiers can extend to three or more words: ice-cream-flavored candy.

TwoTwo-Thought Compounds Examples: serio-comic, socio-economic.

Compound Proper Nouns & Adjectives Use a hyphen to designate dual heritage: Italian-American, Mexican-American.

First, Second, Third

Use first, second, third, etc., instead of firstly, secondly, thirdly, etc.

Fractions
Spell out and hyphenate amounts less than 1 (four- fifths). Express as numerals when the amount is more than 1 (6 inches). Use numerals for amounts larger than one (and convert to decimals when possible, but try to avoid mixing fractions and decimals in the same document).

Height, Width
Use numerals and spell out words such as yards, feet, and inches. Hyphenate only when used as adjectives before nouns.

He is a 6-foot-7-inch basketball player. He is 6 feet 7 inches tall.

Hyphen
Use hyphen to separate a prefix from a proper noun.

un-American, anti-French, pro-Negro Exception: transatlantic

Use the hyphen for clarity in compound modifiers.

6-foot shark, Web-based application

No hyphen is required with very and ly words. Readers can modify the word that follows.

a privately held company, a fully equipped facility.

Use a hyphen to separate figures in odds, ratios, scores and some fractions. Example: 28-year-old woman, 320-foot wingspan

Hyphens: Suspended Hyphens: When a series of modifiers all end with the same word, the word needs only to appear at the end of the series.

The company manufactures large- and mid-size cars. He received a 10- to 20-year prison sentence.

Grades
Grades one through nine are spelled out and 10+ are written in numeric form. Kindergarten and prekindergarten are not considered grades, so they should not be included in the list as grades. Examples: The school enrolls students in grades seven through nine. The school offers classes for students in kindergarten through grade five. If one grade is below 10 and one is above, both grades are written in numeric form to maintain consistency. Examples: The school enrolls students in grades 9 through 12. The school teaches children in grades 6 through 12.

Millions & Billions

Use figures with million or billion. Example: The cooperative serves more than 1 million members. I need $7 billion. Do not go beyond two decimal places. Example: 7.51 million people $256 billion Decimals are preferred where practical (1.5 million. not: 1 million.)

Numeral
Use figures for all numbers above nine; spell out all numbers under 10. Exception: Exception: Use figures for ages, sums of money, time of day, percentages, house numerals, years, days of month, degrees of temperature, proportions, votes, scores, speeds, time of races, dimensions and serial numbers. But spell out the numbers, no matter how large, when they begin sentences; rephrase the sentence if long numbers are awkward.

 Exception: When starting a sentence with a year, do not write it out. 1999 was a very good year. Fractions standing alone are spelled out:

One-fourth of the students

Avoid successive numerals in a single expression:

15 six-inch boards
Use as an abbreviation with a numeral to indicate rank: No. 1, No. 2 1

Percent
Generally, AP Style says to use a figure followed by the word "percent."

1 percent, 16 percent Don't use the "%" symbol. Spell out the percentage if it begins a sentence: "Twentyeight percent of the department's budget had been spent on travel to conventions across the nation." It takes a singular verb when standing alone or when a singular word follows: The teacher said 60 percent was a failing grade. He said 50 percent of the membership was there. It takes a plural verb when a plural word follows: He said 50 percent of the members were there. range: For a range: 12 to 15 percent, or between 12 and 15 percent. For amounts less than 1 percent, precede the decimal with a zero: The cost of living

rose 0.6 percent.

Prefixes
Use a hyphen only if:

The prefix ends with the same vowel that begins the word (For example: preexist, re-examine, multi-industry. Cooperate and coordinate are exceptions to this rule)

The word that follows the prefix is capitalized. (For example, anti-American.)

The word has two prefixes. (For example, sub-subparagraph).

Prefixes rarely follow fixed rules, however, so its best to consult Merriam Webster dictionary. Punctuation guidelines for some of the quirkier prefixes follow:

allAfterCo-

Use a hyphen afterward (all-star). No hyphen afterward when used to create a noun (afterthought); do use hyphen when used to create and adjective (after-lunch nap). Use a hyphen when forming a word that indicates occupation or status (co-

chairman, co-worker); otherwise, no hyphen (coordinate, cooperate, coefficient). ExExtraPanProUse hyphen when indicating former; no hyphen when indicating out of (ex-

president, excommunicate).
Use hyphen when indicating unusual size or extent; no hyphen when indicating outside of (extra-large, extraordinary). No hyphen when used with common nouns; usually takes a hyphen when used with proper nouns (pantheism, pan-Asian). Use hyphen to make words expressing support (pro- choice, pro-labor). Otherwise, no hyphen.

Quotation
Use quotation marks with titles of books, poems, plays, films, speeches, songs, works of art, subjects or lectures, magazine articles.

The Hanging Tree, Gone with the Wind, Thriller, Mona Lisa
DO NOT use them with newspapers or magazines.

Newsweek, New York Times

Ratio
Use numerals and hyphens when expressing ratios (a ratio of 3-to-2). Omit the word

to when numerals precede the word ratio (a 3-2 ratio).

Semicolon

Use semicolon to separate items in a series of things if the things involve commas. For example, "His favorite breakfast foods include ham, eggs and toast; pancakes, syrup and sausage; and bagels, cream cheese and juice."

Whenever listing multiple cities in different states, semicolons should be used to separate them. Also, if cities with state designations are mixed with stand-alone cities, semicolons should be used.
o

Example: ABC Company maintains locations in St. Louis; New York City; Memphis, Tenn.; and Evansville, Ind.

State Names
Abbreviate state names that:

Appear with a city name AND have more than five letters. Don't, however, abbreviate Alaska and Hawaii. They're spelled out no matter what because they're not part of the contiguous United States. Also, put a comma between a city name and a state name. If the sentence continues after the state name, put another comma after the state name.

Based in Detroit, Mich., the company specializes in...

Suffixes Suffixes
Like prefixes, suffixes are quirky, and its best to check the dictionary. Here are punctuation guidelines for some of the most commonly used suffixes:

-fold -less -like

-size

No hyphen (threefold, sixfold). No hyphen (fearless, jobless). No hyphen unless the l would be tripled (businesslike, bell-like). Hyphenate (medium-size).

Time Zones
Capitalize when using the full name of a time zone: Eastern Standard Time, Central

Daylight Time. Do not capitalize anything but the region when using shortened forms of time zones (Mountain time). Acronyms are acceptable when used with a specific clock reading (3 p.m. EST).

Web
Web is a short form of World Wide Web, it is a service, or set of standards, that enables the publishing of multimedia documents on the Internet. The Web is not the same as the Internet, but is a subset; other applications, such as e-mail, exist on the Internet. But website would be in lowercase as it is a location on the World Wide Web that maintains one or more pages at a specific address. Same: webcam, webcast and

webmaster.
Example: The website offers several Web Web-based applications and tools. But as a short form and in terms with separate words, the Web, Web page and Web

feed.