American Legion style guide available for download

In all its media channels – print, Web and social media – clarity and consistency are key to successfully communicating The American Legion’s message.

The American Legion Style Guide, available for download here, offers valuable tips on writing copy that’s clean and clear.

Here are a few examples from the style guide:
  • Avoid alphabet soup by using capitalization only where it’s necessary and appropriate. When too many words are emphasized, none stand out. Don’t write, American Legion Posts are full of Veterans who respect our Nation’s Flag. Do write, American Legion posts are full of veterans who respect our nation’s flag. Limit capitalization to the first word of a sentence, proper nouns (people, groups, places, etc.), and titles preceding names.
  • Not sure when to capitalize the “t” in The American Legion? Only when referring to the main organization or Sons of The American Legion. When the name is followed by another word or words, go with a lowercase “t”: the American Legion Family, the American Legion Riders, the American Legion Baseball program.
  • Do not capitalize post except when referring to a specific, numbered American Legion post. For example, write the Chattanooga post, American Legion Post 95 in Chattanooga or Post 95. When referring to posts in a general sense, write American Legion posts or Legion posts.
The style guide also has a list of frequently used terms, including:
  • servicemember (It’s one word, not two.)
  • half-mast (ships and naval stations ashore) and half-staff (elsewhere ashore)
  • Korean War. (Do not use Korean conflict.)
  • Medal of Honor (Do not use Congressional Medal of Honor. Use Medal of Honor recipient, not winner.)
  • taps (Lowercase without quotation marks for the bugle call sounded at “lights out” and military funerals.)
  • U.S. flag or flag (Do not use the Flag.)