Our proofreading course learners are sometimes puzzled by the Guardian Style Guide’s lack of deference to office bearers. Surely such Important People should be addressed with their Full Titles, including Capital Letters?

Not any longer! You don’t have to be on our online proofreading course for very long to discover that the GSG is no respecter of reputations.

It says that you should only use the term ‘Councillor’ when you first mention them – not something that goes down well in the corridors of power at your local town hall, where I’ve witnessed elected representatives foaming at the mouth with rage when they are not properly referred to as Vice Chair of the Planning Committee!

The GSG’s section under ‘Honorifics’ explains how to address someone by their title. It says that you use the full title when you first mention the person, but after that, you use only their name and no title. So even David Cameron becomes Cameron … and Lady Brady, of Apprentice fame, has to settle for being called Brady.

The guide admits that this reflects a society that is less formal and less deferential, and notes that some websites have abandoned capital letters altogether.

This certainly makes like easier for our proofreading course students, once they get used to it.

See our proofreading course