FAQ

Drafting standards
Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ)
 Drafting FAQ

Drafting standards FAQ

Referencing

1) How do I decide whether a referenced document belongs in Clause 2 or the

Bibliography?
Normative references are listed in Clause 2.
A normative reference is one that is referred to in the document in such a way that some or all
of its content constitutes requirements of the document. It is listed in Clause 2 but information
on how it is applied is found in the place where it is cited in the document.
For instance, in the following example, ISO 712 is normative because the user has to determine
the mass fraction of moisture using that document.

References that are cited informatively or for background information are listed in the
Bibliography.
In this example, ISO 6322-1, ISO 6322-2 and ISO 6322-3 are given as supplementary
information in a note, so they belong in the Bibliography:

2) Can documents that are not published by ISO or IEC be referenced?

In principle, normatively referenced documents are documents published by ISO and/or IEC. If
no such documents are available, you can reference other documents, provided they meet the
criteria given in ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, 2016, 10.2.
Informative reference may be made to other types of document but these should be from
authoritative and reliable sources. For example, do not include references to Wikipedia.

3) Can documents that are not yet published be referenced?

In the Bibliography, yes, it is possible to reference a document of any source that is not yet
published. Such references should be accompanied by a footnote saying that the document is
“under preparation”.
In the Normative references clause, all referenced documents must be publicly available, i.e.
available free of charge or available commercially under reasonable and non-discriminatory
terms to any user (see ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, 2016, 10.2). This means that, for ISO and/or
IEC documents, they need to have reached at least DIS/CDV stage.
Page 2 Drafting FAQ

4) If alternative test methods are given, are they both normative?

EXAMPLE:

Both documents are treated as normative and should be listed in Clause 2. It is for the user to
read the text and find out which one is more appropriate for them to use.
Do not use ambiguous expressions such as "X and Y shall be tested in accordance with ISO
xxxx or ISO yyyy"; write instead "X shall be tested in accordance with ISO xxxx and Y shall be
tested in accordance with ISO yyyy".

5) Should bibliographical callout references be added in the text for all documents listed in
the Bibliography?
Avoid giving cross-references in the text to ISO and IEC documents that are listed in the
Bibliography. This can clog up the text unnecessarily as these documents are generally listed in
numerical order and therefore easy to find.
For non-ISO/IEC documents that are listed in the Bibliography, you should use callouts in the
text rather than giving the document titles, e.g.

Notice that when the callout is given as part of a sentence it is on the line (e.g. "is given in
Reference [1]"); when it does not constitute part of the sentence, it is given as a superscript.

Terms and definitions

1) Is a document that is cited in the generic text of the Terms and definitions clause
considered normative?
Yes.
Any document referred to in the generic text of Clause 3 is normative and should be listed in
Clause 2. Even though the vast majority of ISO terms and definitions are available on the OBP,
there are some exceptions, and some users may not have access.
Page 3 Drafting FAQ

2) If a document is cited in the generic text of the Terms and definitions clause, can some of
its terms be reproduced in Clause 3 for convenience?
Yes, but it is discouraged. If the original term is revised, your copied definition will be outdated.

3) Are the sources of terminological entries normative?

No. References given as the source information, e.g. “[SOURCE: ISO 7301:2011, 3.3]” are
informative and are listed in the Bibliography.

4) Can the Terms and definitions clause be combined with Symbols and Abbreviated terms?
This is discouraged because it can lead to excessive subdivision, which is troublesome for
numbering. So the preference is to have separate clauses for Terms and definitions and for
Symbols and abbreviated terms.
See ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, 2016, 17.4 for further explanation.

5) Can Terms and definitions be in alphabetical order?

This is discouraged but permitted (alphabetical ordering is not language independent). It is
recommended to group related terms together (which could then be listed in alphabetical order
under a common generic term).

6) What’s the difference between a Note to entry and a NOTE?

Notes to entry are only found in the Terms and definitions clause. They give supplementary
information relating to a specific terminological entry. Unlike NOTES in the text, Notes to entry
can contain requirements, recommendations and permissions (pertaining to the use of that
term).

ISO language

1) Which is correct: conformity or compliance?

“Conformity” is generally used when referring to standards. “Compliance” is more commonly
used in connection with legislation and regulations, which are generally not mentioned in ISO
standards.
When referring to the specific requirements within standards, it is best to use “in accordance
with”.
Page 4 Drafting FAQ

2) Can the word “must” be used in ISO standards?

When you want to indicate a constraint or obligation that is not part of the document, you can
use the word “must”. Examples of such uses are given in ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, 2016,
Table 7.
Never use “must” to indicate requirements of the standard itself. Requirements in ISO standards
are recognizable by the use of the word “shall”.

Style and formatting

1) Does the fixed structure, i.e. 1 Scope, 2 Normative references, 3 Terms and definitions,
apply to all documents?
Yes. All ISO deliverables have this fixed structure, with the exception of Amendments and
Technical Corrigenda.

2) Are footnotes permitted?

If necessary, footnotes can be used to give additional information to a specific item in the text.
Footnotes are most often used to give disclaimers for trade names, e.g.:

or to give information about a document’s publication status, e.g.:

Remember that when viewed in formats other than PDF, footnotes appear at the end of the
document.

3) Should UK or US spelling be used?

UK spelling should be used.
Words such as “organization” and “standardization” are written with a “z” as per Oxford English
Dictionary spelling. Words that do not originate from the Greek –izo suffix are different; for
instance, analyse, paralyse and televise are always written with an “s”.

4) When should capital letters be used?

Capital letters can be used when referring to elements of the standard, e.g. “see Clause 6”, or
“an example can be found in Annex B”. Proper nouns, e.g. “Reynolds number”, are always
capitalized.
In headings, only the first word should be capitalized.
Page 5 Drafting FAQ

5) Is it necessary to use symbols in mathematical formulae?

You should only use appropriate symbols in formulae, not initials (e.g. “vmax” would be used for
maximum speed rather than “MS”). Not only are initials language dependent, they can be
wrongly interpreted (MS could be mistaken for MxS, for example).
See ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, 2016, Clause 27, for further information.

Annexes

1) How do I determine whether an annex is normative or informative?

An annex is normative or informative depending on how it is referenced in the text. If there is a
requirement to use the annex, then it is normative. If the annex gives additional information, it is
informative. See the following examples.
Normative:

Informative:

Remember that an informative annex can sometimes contain requirements, e.g. a test method
that is provided for information in an annex. If the annex contains requirements, it does not
mean that the method is normative, it means that if the user decides to use the method that was
added as a recommendation, he/she will have to strictly follow the method.
 
2) Can terms and definitions specific to a certain topic be put in an annex?
All terms and definitions are listed in Clause 3. This ensures consistency between all standards
and ensures that they are accessible on the OBP.

3) Can bibliographical references specific to a certain topic be put in an annex?

All informative references are listed in the Bibliography (and normative references in Clause 2).
If you wish to subdivide the Bibliography into different types of document or different topics, this
is possible by adding subheadings.
Page 6 Drafting FAQ

Titles

Does the title of the standard have to contain the name of the Technical Committee or
Subcommittee that developed it?
The introductory element is used to describe the general field of the document. It does not have
to be the name of the responsible TC or SC, although sometimes they are the same.

Tables

What is the difference between notes and footnotes in tables?

Table notes refer to the entire table and are used for giving additional information.
Table footnotes refer to specific elements in the table and can contain requirements,
recommendations and permissions. Footnotes are always shown with superscript letters (a, b,
c, etc.). If there is more than one footnote applicable to the same word or value in a table, there
should be a comma in between, e.g. “1,0 b, c”.
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