How To Spell Dos And Don’Ts | Apostrophes Done Right

If you’ve ever stared at dos and felt it looked odd, you’re not alone. The phrase is common in schoolwork, emails, signs, and lesson notes, so one tiny mark can turn into a big distraction.

This article shows the clean spellings used by major style guides, when an apostrophe in do’s can be justified, and how to stay consistent across titles, bullet lists, and body text.

Quick Spellings Table For Dos And Don’ts

Use this table to pick a form fast, then match the same form everywhere in the document.

Form	What It Signals	When It Fits
dos and don’ts	Plural nouns; apostrophe stays only in the contraction	Most essays, handouts, web pages, and headlines
do’s and don’ts	Apostrophe used to keep dos from looking like a name or acronym	When readers might read dos as DOS or the Spanish word for two
dos & don’ts	Shorter phrase with an ampersand	Slides, signage, tight layouts, UI labels
do’s and don’ts	Same as “do’s and don’ts” with curly apostrophes	Typography-first print or edited prose
Dos and Don’ts	Title-style capitalization of the phrase	Book chapters, worksheet titles, page headers
dos-and-don’ts	Hyphenated compound	Slug lines, tags, file names that ban spaces
don’t’s	Looks like a possessive; not a standard plural	Avoid in normal writing
do’s	Plural written with an apostrophe for clarity	Single-word label or short heading where “dos” feels unclear

Why This Phrase Causes So Many Red Marks

Two different grammar habits collide here. One habit says “don’t” needs an apostrophe because letters are missing from do not. Another habit says plurals should not use apostrophes. Put them together and the eye starts hunting for a rule.

Most style guides treat dos as a plain plural of the word do when it acts like a noun. They treat don’ts as the plural of don’t, which already has an apostrophe because it’s a contraction.

What The Apostrophe Is Doing In Don’t

In don’t, the apostrophe marks missing letters. That’s the classic contraction job. When you add an s for the plural, the apostrophe stays put: don’t becomes don’ts or don’ts.

Why Some Writers Add One In Do’s

In English, an apostrophe can also be used with some odd plurals, most often single lowercase letters. Purdue OWL lists that plural use as one of the apostrophe’s roles, alongside possession and contractions.

That “odd plural” idea is why you still see do’s in the wild. The apostrophe is not marking missing letters in do’s. It’s there to avoid a stumble where dos looks like something else.

What Major Style Guides Prefer

Chicago’s Q&A notes that Chicago style writes “dos and don’ts” and keeps apostrophe use narrow.

So, if you want the form that looks at home in most edited prose, start with dos and don’ts (or dos and don’ts with straight marks) and shift to do’s only when clarity is at risk.

How To Spell Dos And Don’Ts In Lists And Titles

When you write the phrase as a label, the layout can change the best choice. Short headings, buttons, and slide titles give the reader less context, so the “dos” part has less help from nearby words.

Pick One Style And Stick With It

Start by choosing the spelling that matches your setting:

• Most school and workplace writing: dos and don’ts
• Tight headings where “dos” feels weird: do’s and don’ts
• Typographic writing with curly marks: dos and don’ts or do’s and don’ts

Once you pick a form, keep it steady across headings, bullets, and body text. A mixed set draws the eye away from the point you’re making.

See Chicago on “dos and don’ts” and Purdue OWL on apostrophes.

Use Title Case Only When The Rest Of The Title Uses It

If your assignment or site uses title case for headings, match it: Dos and Don’ts. If your headings are sentence case, match that: Dos and don’ts. The apostrophe choice stays the same either way.

Hyphens, Ampersands, And Colons

In normal sentences, skip hyphens. In file names or tags, a hyphen can be useful because spaces may be blocked: dos-and-don’ts.

An ampersand is fine in short labels: dos & don’ts. In formal essays, “and” reads cleaner.

Small Rules That Save You From The Classic Mistakes

These rules handle nearly every version of the question in class, at work, and online.

Rule 1: Don’t Add An Apostrophe Before A Plural S

Write don’ts, not don’t’s. That extra mark reads like possession, as if something belongs to a “don’t.” In most writing, it’s simply wrong.

Rule 2: Use Do’s Only When Clarity Needs It

If you’re writing a sentence with context, “dos” reads fine: “Here are the dos and don’ts for lab safety.” If you’re writing a single-word header, “Dos” can look like DOS or a name. In that narrow case, Do’s can keep the reader on track.

Rule 3: Treat The Phrase Like Any Other Noun Pair

Once the phrase becomes a thing, you can modify it like a noun: “a short dos and don’ts list,” “your dos and don’ts page,” “two sets of dos and don’ts.” The apostrophe rules stay the same.

Dos, Do’s, And Plurals Of Words As Words

Apostrophes get messy when the “thing” you’re pluralizing is a tiny unit like a letter, a digit, or a short word. That’s the same reason people hesitate with dos.

Most modern style guides keep apostrophes out of plurals: CDs, URLs, 1990s. The apostrophe shows up in a different job: it can stand in for missing characters, like the dropped 19 in ’90s.

Single lowercase letters are one case where an apostrophe may be used to keep the plural readable: mind your p’s and q’s. Some teachers accept that same clarity trick in do’s, mainly when the word sits alone as a label.

If your reader already knows the phrase, dos and don’ts usually reads clean. If your reader may read Dos as DOS in a tech class, or as the number two in Spanish, Do’s can keep the meaning steady.

One Simple Consistency Test

Scan the page for other apostrophes. If every apostrophe marks either possession or a contraction, stick with dos and don’ts. If the page already uses apostrophes for letter plurals, do’s will not look out of place.

Typing Apostrophes And Curly Quotes Without Fuss

Many spelling “mistakes” come from keyboard quirks. Phones and word processors may swap straight marks (‘) for curly marks (’). Either mark works if you stay consistent.

When Straight Marks Are Fine

Plain text fields, code blocks, URLs, and many forms prefer straight marks. In those places, write dos and don’ts. The meaning stays clear.

When Curly Marks Look Better

In print-style writing, curly marks are the default. Most editors will turn straight marks into curly marks during formatting, so you may type don’ts and see don’ts after publishing.

Quick Keyboard Tips

• Windows: many apps insert curly marks automatically; if not, type a straight apostrophe and let the editor format it.
• Mac: system settings often smarten quotes in most writing apps.
• Phones: long-press the apostrophe button in some keyboards, or just type it once and let autocorrect style it.

Common Errors Teachers And Editors Mark Right Away

These slip-ups show up in essays, posters, and blog posts. Fixing them takes seconds.

• Plural apostrophe: “do’s” used in a full sentence where “dos” would be clear.
• Possessive look: “don’t’s” used as a plural.
• Mixed marks: “do’s and don’ts” in the same line.
• Inconsistent capitalization: “Dos and don’ts” on one slide, “dos and Don’ts” on the next.
• Wrong meaning: “DOS” used by accident, which can read as the operating system.

Context Checklist For School, Work, And Web Writing

Use this second table to match the spelling to the place your reader will see it. This keeps your choice steady across a full project.

Where It Appears	Preferred Spelling	Notes
Essay body text	dos and don’ts	Reads clean with context around it
Worksheet title	Dos and Don’ts	Match the capitalization style of your other titles
Slide heading	Do’s and Don’ts	Works well when space is tight and the header stands alone
Checklist bullets	dos and don’ts	Keeps the bullets plain and easy to scan
Website navigation label	Dos & Don’ts	Short label; ampersand is common in menus
URL slug	dos-and-donts	Most slugs drop punctuation; keep it readable
File name	dos-and-donts.docx	Avoid curly marks in file systems that strip them
Handwritten notes	dos and don’ts	Fast and clear; no need for fancy marks

A Quick Way To Check Your Sentence Before You Hit Submit

Use this mini test when you’re unsure. It keeps you from adding apostrophes out of habit.

Step 1: Ask What The Word Is Doing

If do means an action, it’s a verb: “I do my homework.” If do stands for “a recommended action,” it’s a noun: “Write down your dos.”

Step 2: Check Whether Any Letters Are Missing

In don’t, letters are missing from do not, so the apostrophe belongs. In dos, nothing is missing, so you don’t add one unless you’re fixing a clarity snag.

Step 3: Read It Out Loud Once

If you stumble on “dos” because it looks like something else in that spot, switch to do’s. If it reads smoothly, keep dos.

Step 4: Run A Fast Find Check

Use your editor’s Find box to search for do’s, dos, don’t’s, and donts. If more than one style shows up, pick one, then replace the rest. In WordPress, paste once, then preview on a phone and on a laptop. Curly marks can break URLs and file names, so keep straight marks in slugs and typed links.

Ready-To-Use Lines You Can Copy Into Homework Or A Blog Post

These model lines keep the spelling clean. Swap the topic words and keep the form.

• “Here are the dos and don’ts for citing sources in a short essay.”
• “The poster lists five dos and don’ts for lab safety.”
• “Dos and Don’ts for Group Work”
• “Do’s and Don’ts” (use this as a slide header when it stands alone)

When you quote the phrase inside a sentence, italicize it or put it in quotation marks if your style guide uses that treatment for words as words in longer papers with many terms.

If you searched how to spell dos and don’ts, the safe default is simple: write dos and don’ts, then keep the apostrophe only where the contraction needs it.

If you searched how to spell dos and don’ts for a short title or label, do’s and don’ts can be the cleanest choice, as long as you use it the same way across the page.