3. Typography and Symbols

Dash and Hyphen Spacing

Hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes never take surrounding spaces.

Hyphen “-”

ALT + 0045 / Unicode: U+002D
Used for compound terms such as self-efficacy.
The standard keyboard hyphen is acceptable.

En Dash “–”

ALT + 0150 / Unicode: U+2013
Used for ranges such as 5–10 km or 19th–20th century.

Em Dash “—”

ALT + 0151 / Unicode: U+2014
Used for emphatic parenthetical insertions and clause-level clarifications. Never spaced.

Ellipsis “…”

ALT + 0133 / Unicode: U+2026

Multiplication Sign “×”

ALT + 0215 / Unicode: U+00D7
Use the multiplication sign rather than the letter x for mathematical notation.

Minus Sign “−”

No alt code exists. Unicode: U+2212
Preferred mathematical minus sign.

Slash Compounds

The forward slash denotes alternation (or).
Correct usage: and/or; input/output.
Incorrect for relational meaning: student/teacher → use student-teacher instead.
See also: Grammar and Writing Style → Slash Compounds in Prose.

Bold and Italics

Bold is the only accepted form of emphasis.
Italics are reserved for non-English words, Latin phrases, and quoted or referenced terms.
Italics are never used for emphasis.

Unicode Symbols

Use typographically correct symbols wherever possible.

Text Justification

Prefer left-justified text. Avoid systems that introduce extreme word-stretching.

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