Writing National Constitution Amendments

The National Constitution, as a document, employs specific style conventions to promote clarity and cohesiveness. In authoring proposed amendments to the National Constitution, it is helpful to be aware of these style conventions, so that the language in the amendment proposals matches the language prevalent throughout the Constitution. When amendment proposals which deviate from these conventions are brought before the Grand Chapter for consideration, it is common for the Grand Chapter to focus on the stylistic abnormalities, and often debate on the underlying issue is lost.

This guide is intended to be a style resource for anyone authoring a proposed amendment to the National Constitution. Following the simple guidelines below will help ensure that the Grand Chapter debates the merit of your amendment proposal, and not the style.

Textual Conventions

Because particular terms may have different (albeit related) meanings, Phi Sigma Pi has adopted several textual conventions in our governing documents intended to clarify which specific meaning of the term is being expressed.

Capitalization

The term “Member” (note the capital letter ‘M’ at the beginning of the term) is used throughout the National Constitution to denote membership in Phi Sigma Pi. Occasionally, the term “member” (without the capital beginning) appears in the document, in cases where it does not refer to membership in Phi Sigma Pi.

It is important to differentiate “Membership” in Phi Sigma Pi from “membership” in other senses to avoid confusion. Other terms that follow this convention which have been used erroneously include: “Active” vs. “active” (also “Inactive” vs. “inactive”) and derivations thereof; “Alumni” vs. “alumni,” “Chapter” vs. “chapter,” and “Collegiate” vs. “collegiate.”

Using Parallel Structure

The National Constitution makes use of parallelism in structure. When writing proposed amendments, it is helpful to mirror this parallel structure for clarity.

Examples

• Parallelism in Articles: Article VIII: Duties of the National Officers is divided into sections for each office, with duties listed as items within each section. Article XI: Chapter Officers is similarly divided.

• Parallelism in Terminology: Article VIII: Duties of the National Officers lists each duty in a parallel form, starting with the primary verb relating to the relevant duty.

More to come

• Ordering Lists of Items

Formatting

• coming soon!

Completeness

• coming soon!

Further Resources

The Constitution & Chapter Standards Committee is always available to assist you in drafting your amendment proposals. Contact Senior Vice President Lisa A. Ambrosia Howard (SeniorVP@PhiSigmaPi.org) with questions.