Use of Terms A-Z

Military Community and Family Policy writing guidance aligns with The Associated Press Stylebook with a few exceptions. Definitions of military-specific terms appear below, along with editorial guidance for certain commonly used words for MC&FP and our programs. See additional writing guidance in the Writing Best Practices section. Find program-specific guidance in the Program Content Guides section.

E

e –  No hyphen for eNewsletter, ePublication and eBlast, according to Military OneSource style. When using hyphenated terms at the beginning of a sentence, capitalize the “e.” E-readers are now in use in schools.

For nonhyphenated terms, do not capitalize the “e” at the beginning of a sentence: eBlasts are scheduled to go out every Monday at 8 a.m. EST. 

eBlast – A term used in marketing to describe the distribution of electronic messages to a group of recipients. The preferred style is without the hyphen and with a capitalized “b” as written: eBlast. When used at the beginning of a sentence, do not capitalize the “e”: eBlasts are scheduled to go out every Monday at 8 a.m. EST.

eLearning – The use of electronic media, information and communication technologies in education and instructional systems design. The preferred style is without the hyphen, eLearning.

emergency room – In the U.S.: emergency room; overseas: emergency care facility.

eNews or eNewsletter – Write as one word and do not hyphenate. (In most circumstances, eNews means “eNewsletter,” not “electronic news.” Avoid alternating between the two meanings within a document.)

Exceptional Family Member Program – This program supports military family members of all ages with special medical and educational needs. When referencing the three main components of the program, capitalize them to read EFMP Family Support, EFMP Identification and Enrollment and EFMP Assignment Coordination. Always capitalize Exceptional Family Member Program when writing it out fully in headers or running text. The abbreviation EFMP is acceptable in all references.

exclamation point – Avoid excessive exclamation points when developing content for MC&FP. This guidance applies to social media, blogs and other communication avenues. Do not use exclamation points when writing for Military OneSource unless they are part of a title (example: Purple Up!).