SAS Business
Communications Cheat Sheet
SAS generally follows Associated Press style for business communications. Our dictionary reference is the same as AP’s: Webster’s New World College, Fifth Edition. For additional SAS style guidelines, see the SAS Business Communications Style Guide.
Addresses
- With a numbered address, abbreviate “Ave.,” “Blvd.,” and “St.”
- Always use figures for address numbers.
- Abbreviate compass points.
- Examples: 123 Main St., Main Street, 123 W. Main St., 123 Main St. NW., 123 Fifth St., 123 17th St.
Capitalization & punctuation
- Our default for headers and titles is sentence case with no end punctuation (unless there are multiple sentences).
- Don’t use serial (Oxford) commas in simple series (“red, white and blue”).
- For title case, use initial caps for first, last and all major words. Lowercase articles (a/an/the), conjunctions and prepositions with fewer than four letters.
- For dashes, use an en-dash (ALT+0150) with a space on each side – like so.
Dates
- Use the format “July 4” for current year. For other years, use “July 4, 1776,” with year set off with commas.
- Abbreviate these months with dates: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. Other months are spelled out.
- For a month without a date, always spell out: October 2019.
Numerals
- In general, spell out numerals less than 10 and use figures for 10 or more.
- Always use figures for units of measure, ages, tables and ads.
Punctuation
- Don’t use serial (Oxford) commas in simple series (“red, white and blue”).
- For dashes, use an en-dash (ALT+0150) with a space on each side – like so.
- For sentences split across screens or frames, don’t use an initial cap for the second half.
- An ellipsis … has a space on each side.
Times
- When indicating time zone, omit references to “daylight” or “standard”: 1 p.m. ET.
- Don’t include zeros for times on the hour.
- Don’t repeat a.m. or p.m. when both times in a range are the same: from 1 to 2 p.m.
- Use “noon” or “midnight” for 12 p.m. or a.m.
Titles
- For books, films, white papers/reports and webinars, use title case and italics.
- For individual articles, blog posts, etc., use quotes and match the capitalization in the original.
- For job titles, use title case with a person’s name, but lowercase without a name.
Trademarks and solution names
- Apply a trademark on first references to SAS software, but never for SAS the company. If you're not sure, mentally insert “software” or “Institute” after SAS in the sentence to see which fits better. Logos with trademark symbols count as first references, as long as they appear first visually.
- Some of our most commonly used trademarks are SAS®, SAS® Enterprise Guide®, SAS® Enterprise Miner™ and SAS® Viya®.
- SAS®9 gets a trademark on every reference, with no space before the 9.
- Nearly all product names must include "SAS" on every reference – e.g., always SAS Enterprise Guide, never just "Enterprise Guide."
- An exception to this rule is SAS Viya. We can refer to Viya as a standalone after writing the full name on first reference. This doesn't mean you must or should always use the shortened version; use your judgment to decide when to shorten and when to write the full name.
- THE POWER TO KNOW® is our tagline. For most video text, use title case: The Power to Know®.
Words to Avoid
- Avoid jargon, buzzwords, and confusing initialisms or abbreviations whenever possible.
- Especially look out for these worst offenders: actionable, best in class, game-changer, granular, impact (as a verb), leverage, operationalize, paradigm, value add.
- Be careful with metaphors, especially sports metaphors. Craft your message for a global audience.