In order to ensure our writing style is consistent across articles, we have this Style Guide.
Style Guide
Keep paragraphs shortly, roughly 1-4 sentences long
Do:
After becoming a well respected community member for his stunning documentaries, after posting three controversial videos in a row, he has almost destroyed his once-stunning reputation.
Geometry Dash players are claiming that in his controversial videos, he is harassing new creators and penalizing them for their past mistakes.
Don't:
After becoming a well respected community member for his stunning documentaries, after posting three controversial videos in a row, he has almost destroyed his once-stunning reputation. Geometry Dash players are claiming that in his controversial videos, he is harassing new creators and penalizing them for their past mistakes.
Use the first person pronoun "we" in your article unless something is strictly your opinion
Do:
Fortunately, we've made a live countdown for the event.
Don't:
Fortunately, I've made a live countdown for the event.
Use straight quotes, not curly quotes
Do:
Don't use "curly" quotes.
Don't:
Don’t use “curly” quotes.
Learn more about the difference between straight and curly quotes with this link. Despite curly quotes looking fancier, we use straight quotes on Dashword.
Express numbers as words when they are not statistics and are between 0-9
Do:
In only three months, he beat Bloodlust.
Don't:
In only 3 months, he beat Bloodlust.
Include a space between a number and its unit
Do:
This level is over 32 MB in size.
Don't:
This level is over 32MB in size.
Excluding in article titles, do not use ampersands
Do:
Make a level and upload it.
Don't:
Make a level & upload it.
Use the serial comma before the last item in a list
Do:
Make a level, verify it, and upload it.
Don't:
Make a level, verify it and upload it.
Use lists when listing items and each item is not too short
Do:
Installing Geode for Geometry Dash 2.207 is the same as its always been, just for the new Geometry Dash version:
- Download Geode for your device
- Run the installer you just downloaded
- Open Geometry Dash and press the new Geode button to install mods
Don't:
To get popular, you want to:
- Make a level
- Verify it
- Upload it
When list items are too short, they work better as a paragraph instead of a list. For example:
To get popular, you want to make a level, verify it, and upload it.
Don't use periods at the end of list items unless it is multiple sentences long
Do:
Installing Geode for Geometry Dash 2.207 is the same as its always been, just for the new Geometry Dash version:
- Download Geode for your device
- Run the installer you just downloaded
- Open Geometry Dash and press the new Geode button to install mods
Don't:
Installing Geode for Geometry Dash 2.207 is the same as its always been, just for the new Geometry Dash version:
- Download Geode for your device.
- Run the installer you just downloaded.
- Open Geometry Dash and press the new Geode button to install mods.
Don't use periods at the end of headings unless it is multiple sentences long
Do:
The hardest level in Geometry Dash
The hardest level in Geometry Dash is Acheron.
Don't:
The hardest level in Geometry Dash.
The hardest level in Geometry Dash is Acheron.
Avoid putting questions in headings
Do:
The hardest level in Geometry Dash
The hardest level in Geometry Dash is Acheron.
Don't:
What is the hardest level in Geometry Dash?
The hardest level in Geometry Dash is Acheron.
Don't use the "en dash"
Do:
There are between 2-8 levels in this list at any given time.
Don't:
There are between 2-8 levels in this list at any given time.
Learn more about the difference between hyphens and en dashes with this link.
Also, while we don't use en dashes, em dashes are fair game.
Don't include spaces between ellipses and em dashes
Do:
Despite that...he saw everything—even what he was not supposed to.
Don't:
Despite that... he saw everything — even what he was not supposed to.
Write ellipses as three dots, don't use the ellipses character
Do:
Despite that...he saw everything.
Don't:
Despite that…he saw everything.
Ellipses can be typed as three dots (...) or as a single character (…). We use the former.
Don't use quotation marks to denote level names unless in the article title
Do:
Bloodbath is a level verified by Knobbelboy.
Don't:
"Bloodbath" is a level verified by Knobbelboy.
Exceptions can be made for weird and unconventional level names where their inclusion without quotation marks could confuse the reader.
Exceptions can also be made for article titles, like this article.
Finally, don't put quotation marks around usernames and always capitalize the first letter of someone's name so the reader knows you are referring to a name.
Capitalize the first letter of each word in article titles
Do:
"Andromeda" Verified, New Top 5 Hardest Level In Geometry Dash
Don't:
"Andromeda" Verified, new Top 5 Hardest Level in Geometry Dash
Note that this only applies to article titles, not headings.
Don't be creative with unicode symbols
Do:
Bloodlust is rated 10 stars.
Don't:
Bloodlust is rated 10★.
Unicode symbols are not always the most accessible choice. While they may look good to us, they may trip up readers who use assistive technologies.
Article Template
Copy and paste the following article template into your text editor of choice (preferably a markdown editor).
---
title: "(Choose a title idea with lots of keywords)"
desc: "(Write a 1-2 sentence article description using lots of keywords)"
image: (Link to an image)
imageSource: (Link to the image source)
date: 2022-10-02
tags:
- "2.2"
- "featured"
author: (your author key, if you have one)
---
(Give a quick introduction to the topic and use lots of keywords. This should be 2-3 paragraphs)
(If there are lots of article sections, include a table of contents)
# (Article sections, separated using headings)
(Explain what you need to explain, using lots of lists and keywords)
---
(Quick 1-2 paragraph summary)
(Link to related content on Dashword)
Most fields such as the title and description will be written by a Dashword editor. If you want to include a table of contents, indicate where in your article (after the introduction is most recommended). Other details such as links will be sprinkled in by Dashword editors but you can include any you feel are necessary.