Make Your Writing Inclusive by Following Arboretum Style
Make Your Writing Inclusive by Following Arboretum Style
Tags: Inclusion
In keeping with the Be Inclusive core value, a number of additions have been made to The Morton Arboretum Style Guide covering issues of race, ethnicity, sexuality and gender, disability, and related topics.
The Morton Arboretum Style Guide provides guidance for any writing you do for the Arboretum. Having a standard style helps ensure that our communication is clear, consistent, and representative of the Arboretum’s brand.
The style guide provides the Arboretum’s chosen usages in many areas, such as grammar, punctuation, the names of locations, capitalization, and wording to use on potentially sensitive or complicated topics. If you regularly refer to the style guide and follow it, you will develop a working knowledge of Arboretum practices that will make your job easier and reduce the workload for those who review and edit your writing.
The new entries cover a range of topics. The core guidance is this: In Arboretum writing, consider carefully whether or not to refer to anyone’s race, ethnicity, gender, or disability. It is usually unnecessary and irrelevant. Drawing attention to someone’s race, ethnicity, gender identity, or disability status when it is not needed can be interpreted as bigotry. If it is clearly necessary to identify these qualities, follow the individuals’ preferred terms if possible. If their preference cannot be determined, follow general rules that are given in various entries in this style guide.
If you have any questions, or if you have questions or concerns that are not addressed in the style guide, email styleguide@mortonarb.org or the Arboretum’s editor, Claudia Wood, at cwood@mortonarb.org.
Here is a list of new or revised entries.
African American
American Sign Language
autism
Black, white
BIPOC
blind, limited vision, low vision/partially sighted
Council of Three Fires
deaf, Deaf, hard of hearing, hearing loss
disabilities
dual heritage
gender identity
handicap, handicapped
hearing loss
Indigenous (adj.)
Indigenous peoples
land acknowledgment
Latino, Latina, Latinx
LGBTQ+ (adj.)
Native American, native
Native Americans, American Indians
people of color
Potawatomi
pronouns
race and ethnicity
service animal, assistance animal, guide dog
sexual orientation
tribal names