Writing guidelines

Find helpful advice on points of language and style that you can use when drafting various types of texts.

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On this page

• Writing and revision guidelines
• Language articles and tips
• Language blogs
• Other resources

Writing and revision guidelines

• Bilingual legislative drafting conventions
  Source: Uniform Law Conference of Canada
• Citation and style guides (APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.)
  Source: Memorial University
• Drafting legislation: Where law and culture meet (in French only)
  Source: Conseil supérieur de la langue française
• Guidelines for writing place names (in French only)
  Source: Government of Quebec
• Guidelines for writing street names (PDF) (in French only)
  Source: Government of Quebec
• Guide to drafting French legislative texts (in French only)
  Source: Government of Canada
• Legistics paragraphing
  Source: Government of Canada
• Ontario.ca style guide
  Source: Government of Ontario
• Ottawa Law Review style guide (PDF)
  Source: Revue de droit d’Ottawa
• Professional Editorial Standards
  Source: Editors Canada
• Style guides for writing bibliographies in French (in French only)
  Source: University of Montréal
• University of Ottawa writing guide
  Source: University of Ottawa
• University of Victoria editorial style guide (PDF)
  Source: University of Victoria

Language articles and tips

• Language help bank (in French only)
  Source: Office québécois de la langue française
• Language reports: language articles
  Source: Druide informatique
• Le français au micro: Weekly language bulletin (in French only)
  Source: Guy Bertrand – Radio-Canada linguistique
• Legal terminology articles (in French only)
  Source: Société québécoise d'information juridique
• L’œil du rédacteur: Articles for writers (in French only)
  Source: Le Grenier

Language blogs

• Au cœur du français (in French only)
  Source: André Racicot
• Linguistiquement correct (in French only)
  Source: Jacques Maurais
• L'oreille tendue (in French only)
  Source: Benoît Melançon
• The Linguist
  Source: Steve Kaufmann

Other resources

• Addressing guidelines
  Source: Government of Canada
• BonPatron (French spelling and grammar checker)
  Source: Nadaclair Language Technologies Inc
• How to write place names correctly (in French only)
  Source: Government of Quebec
• List of expressions to avoid and ways to correct them (PDF) (in French only)
  Source: University of Saint-Boniface
• Model business emails (in French only)
  Source: Office québécois de la langue française
• Model business letters (in French only)
  Source: Office québécois de la langue française
• References and citation styles: How to avoid nightmares (in French only)
  Source: Thèsez-vous? – Chronique Bibliothécaire à la rescousse
• Writing and communicating an effective strategic plan
  Source: Business Development Bank of Canada
• Writing and revising texts: Which tools hold the answers to your questions (in French only)
  Source: Scriptum

Explore other Canadian writing resources.