General guidelines

Introduction

The General Guidelines section of the ACS Inclusivity Style Guide is designed as a foundation and starting point for inclusive science communication. To learn more about the creation and purpose of the ACS Inclusivity Style Guide, read the Introduction and FAQ.

We recognize that not all individuals or organizations share the same perspective on the value or definitions of inclusive language. This guide does not prescribe legal or institutional policy – it is designed to offer inclusive options to inform communication choices. Users should consult their organization’s policies when preparing materials for official contexts.

Varied perspectives for communication projects

Background:

Writing, editing, and communicating information are inherently interpersonal activities. Collaboration can help bring in missing perspectives and identify language choices that may risk alienating parts of your desired audience. Assembling a diverse team is not always easy or fast, but the alternative is to risk reinforcing knowledge gaps in a team.

Things to watch out for: 

  • Sometimes the same people are repeatedly asked to work on teams, especially if they are part of a group with underrepresented perspectives, which can overburden those people.
  • While often unintentional, only involving someone's input when deemed "relevant" to their identity can devalue their contributions. Treat each member of the team as valuable and welcome input for the project as a whole.

Inclusive options:

  • Whenever possible, strive for a team of collaborators that reflects a range of perspectives and lived experiences.
  • Keep in mind that a single person is incapable of speaking for all members of a specific characteristic or background.
  • Avoid relying on the same person each time a topic arises relating to a group they belong to.
  • Avoid asking someone's opinion only about the identity or characteristic that overlaps with a topic that might arise. Recognize that each team member can add value beyond their identity or specific perspective.
  • Recognize and fairly compensate (where appropriate) contributors.
  • Consider hiring or consulting with a sensitivity reader. Sensitivity readers are additional editors whose primary or only focus is to spot and root out potential biased or alienating language or notions. Trained sensitivity readers can also be adept at doing this work for materials that aren't related to the reader's personal identities.  

Accuracy and appropriate specificity

Background:

When describing groups of people, being accurate and specific while noting general differences can be challenging to balance. Using a single label to describe a large, diverse group can overlook the differences between individuals in that group. Sometimes, naming specific groups is more accurate and powerful. For example, Native Americans belong to distinct nations with their own cultures. Naming a specific nation when possible (and appropriate) is generally preferred to using “Native Americans” as a broad group (also see “Indigenous Peoples”). 

At times, describing groups with a broad label is necessary to discuss general differences. For example, describing access for nondisabled people versus people with disabilities. Being inappropriately specific risks excluding people. For example, referring to people in an early-career stage as “young” or “recent college graduates” ignores differences between people in the early-career group (not everyone attends college, or starts a new career path within a specific age range).

The word “community” is often used for groups of people who aren’t personally connected but share a characteristic. In some instances, referring to a group as a community can be unifying and highlight common struggles that many group members face. It can also risk implying that the members of the group are monolithic or likeminded. 

 

Inclusive options:

  • Be as specific as possible about the people you're referring to, while being accurate.
  • When categorizing many disparate groups together, consider naming those groups individually instead of using a single label.
  • Pay attention to the use of words that group people together, like "community." Use the term to highlight common issues faced by members of a group. Avoid the term if it risks homogenizing a group.
  • Generally, it is better to use a plural noun for large groups of people who do not share a personal connection with each other (e.g., Asian communities).

Examples:

Consider:

"Workers at a fluorochemical manufacturing facility in Wuhan, China..." (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2025, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c13281).  

Instead of:

Chinese workers

The language is specific and does not assume that all workers are Chinese

Consider:

"Research found higher levels of surface water toxicity released near Black and Latino communities in California's Bay delta." (Environ. Sci. Technol. Letters, 2026, DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.5c00625)

Instead of:

communities of color

Using labels for characteristics

Background:

Using a single characteristic as a label for groups or individuals ignores other important dimensions of identity. One way that labels appear is with “the” plus an adjective (e.g., “the poor”). Another form of labeling is a plural adjective (e.g., “diabetics”).

A third way that labels appear is in the use of abbreviations for people. In the book The Power of Talk: How Words Change Our Lives, professors Felecia Briscoe, Gilberto Arriaza, and Rosemary C. Henze argue that abbreviations for people add abstraction and distance between communicator and subject and turn people into objects. Abbreviations can also homogenize a diverse group of people. For example, the acronym “AAPI” attempts to “represent an outsized group of people hailing from or having roots in the largest continent on Earth, a region that includes nearly 50 countries,” reporter Yi-Jin Yu says in a 2021 Today article. See also “Accuracy and appropriate specificity.”

In addition, Oxfam’s Inclusive Language Guide points out that the abbreviation “VAWG” for “violence against women and girls” is problematic “because reducing the problem to an acronym can be considered to be trivializing a serious and traumatic issue.”

Inclusive options:

  • Avoid the following formatting descriptions when referring to characteristics:
    • "the [adjective]"
    • "a(n) [adjective]"
    • "[plural adjective]"
  • Instead, use adjectives with nouns.
  • Spell out terms for groups of people instead of using abbreviations.

Examples:

Consider:

older people (also see "Neutral language for age")

Instead of:

the elderly

Consider:

autistic children (also see “People-first language and identity-first language”)

Instead of:

the autistics

Self-descriptions

Background:

The ability to choose the way you describe yourself is empowering. These descriptions include name, honorifics, specific demographic characteristics such as race or sexual orientation, personal pronouns, and more. In some instances, some people have reclaimed former slurs as self-affirming terms. 

When writing about individuals, foster inclusion by asking people how they refer to themselves and use that language.

When writing about groups, it may not be possible to ask people how they want to be described. If writing about disabilities, medical conditions, or diseases, or disorders, refer to relevant organizations for the best language to use. But ensure the organization truly advocates for the people you’re writing about. The Center for Disability Rights’ Disability Writing & Journalism Guidelines explains, “Just because an organization claims to represent disabled people, that does not mean disabled people are actually included.” In addition, “Just because an organization is run by disabled people does not mean that accurately represents the Disability Community, either.”  

Inclusive options:

  • When writing about someone's personal characteristics, ask how they would like to be described. Then use that language.
  • When it's not possible to ask an individual or group, refer to organizations that advocate for the identity you're trying to describe. For example, look at the language that organizations use to represent people with that disability: 
    • Although preferences within groups vary, it is acceptable to use terms that advocacy organizations promote when individual preferences can't be found.
    • Use caution when choosing the organization to use as a source; opt for those led by the people they aim to serve.
  • Use the defined or retained terms in official names of organizations and programs. 
  • If a quote contains a term that could be considered alienating, ensure it is necessary. Consider whether keeping that term in your content outweighs the risk of possible harm, and if necessary, then paraphrase.

Example:

Consider:

His goal with the research was to help people with the disease be pain-free, he says.

Paraphrasing and specifying the person’s goal are more inclusive methods.

Instead of:

“My goal with the research was to help people with the disease live normal, healthy lives,” he says.

“Normal” is subjective and demeaning when used as a contrast to people with a disease, disorder, or other health condition.

When to include personal information

Background:

Mentioning personal information signals to the audience that there is a reason for doing so—that the information gives necessary background, for example. But when this information is shared for some people and not others or only in some contexts, it can introduce bias or signal that something is not “normal.” For example, if you mention the ages of older adults, but not for everyone, you risk drawing unneeded attention to the ages of older people. In a piece about older adults, such as the Senior Chemists Committee, including ages may be appropriate.

Inclusive options:

Words that assume cultural and geographic norms

Background:

When writing for global and multicultural audiences, be mindful of assumptions based on your personal experience or that of an assumed majority of readers. This type of bias is human by nature but can be prevented with effort. 

For example, many terms in English were made from a Europe- or US-centric viewpoint, such as “Near East,” “Middle East,” and “Far East.”  In addition to the actual words used, the format of the words can indicate the communicator's viewpoint.

Italicizing words that aren’t in English is frequently debated. Style guides recommend several approaches, including italicizing throughout, italicizing upon first use or for words that are less familiar to most readers, or using quotation marks.  

Words used to describe seasons or time of day can also assume a specific geographic region for all readers (e.g., “cold winter months” wouldn’t apply to much of the southern hemisphere). Read through projects to evaluate any assumptions that might be made about the reader.

Inclusive options:

  • Examine your language and the way you describe things to identify potential biases. For example, the words "foreign," "ethnic," and "exotic" mean different things depending on who you are; it is generally better to be specific. 
  • Notice when your language assumes a country-specific framework, and question whether that is appropriate for your content. For example, June through September is not summer for the entire world, so it may be clearer to use months instead of seasons when referring to a time period.
  • Recognize metaphors or objects that might not be universally identifiable. For example, comparing the shape of something to a football means something different for people in Europe than for people in the US. Using baseball as a metaphor for completing a project might not be understood by everyone.
  • Avoid English-based idioms in favor of plain language.
  • When deciding whether to italicize a non-English word, ask: 
    • Are you italicizing any other words in your text, and why?
    • Who is your audience?
    • Would that audience be confused if a term is not italicized?
    • If you are certain the audience will not be confused, omit the italics.
    • If the term seems uncommon in English and you think your audience won't recognize it, consider briefly defining it in the text rather than italicizing it.   

Examples:

Consider:

students from outside the US

Instead of:

foreign students

Consider:

Join us for lunch, where we will be sampling a range of international foods.

Instead of:

ethnic foods

Consider:

Researchers created a sensor about the size of a bottle cap.

Instead of:

size of a nickel

Consider:

“Hardly a week goes by without word of a petrochemical and even specialty chemical plant closures in Europe and Japan." (C&EN, Jan. 2, 2026).

Instead of:

Europe and the Far East

Consider:

“Shari—the seasoned rice for sushi—is slightly chewy, or even al dente.” (Los Angeles Times, May 5, 2023).

Instead of:

Shari is slightly chewy

Using "diverse" accurately

Background:

“Diverse” is defined as differing from one another or having different elements. A group can be diverse with respect to many characteristics. An individual person is not, by themselves, “diverse.” While frequently associated with race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, diversity also applies to educational attainment, employment sector, occupation, age, ability, and more. Some people mistakenly use “diverse” to refer to a group primarily comprised of people from a nondominant group. For example, while it may be notable in a certain context to see a group composed entirely of women, that group would not be diverse in terms of gender.

In most cases, a singular noun isn't diverse unless it contains multiple parts that can differ from one another. For example, a population can be diverse because it contains people who differ from one another. A single person isn't diverse, because they do not contain distinct elements that vary.

Inclusive options:

  • Use "diverse" when referring to something that contains elements that are not alike or to things and people that differ from one another.
  • Do not use the word "diverse" to describe an individual, or as a euphemism for a group composed of members of a usually underrepresented group or nondominant group. 
  • If it is not clear from the context, define the kind of diversity you're referring to. For a walk-through of when to use "diverse," see this flowchart from Radical Copyeditor.
  • Similar logic applies when using the term "neurodiversity." Read more on the differences between neurodivergent, neurodiversity, and neurotypical.

Examples:

Consider:

We strive for a diverse pool of candidates.

Instead of:

a diverse candidate

Consider:

The article had a photo at the top showing racially diverse laboratory staff.

Instead of:

a diverse image

Consider:

The coalition of women professors was racially diverse.

Instead of:

was diverse

Resources on inclusive language

For more guidance on inclusive language, see the resources below. Also see resources listed at the end of each section for resources specific to certain topics.