Style Guide by Category

UMW & Academic Terms

Computer Terms & E-mail Etiquette

Inclusive Language

Protocol & Forms of Address

Formal Invitations

Letter Styles & Forms

Proofreading Guidelines

AP Style Guide

FAQs & Updates

Resources

Graphic Standards Manual for communications about UMW

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abbreviations
Names of months should be spelled out. (For AP Style, see months in Appendix XII.)

Examples:

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Names of states must be spelled out when they stand alone in text. Do not use the two-letter U.S. Postal Service abbreviations in text; these abbreviations should be used only with ZIP codes. See also addresses and states.

Examples:

The University of Mary Washington is in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Envelope: Office of the President
University of Mary Washington
1301 College Avenue
Fredericksburg, VA 22401-5300

Use Post Office Box or P.O. with periods and no space. Do not use POB or P.O.B.

Examples:

Correct: P.O. Box 1234, Post Office Box 1234
Incorrect: POB 1234, P.O.B. 1234

Never abbreviate names of countries other than U.S. However, use U.S. as an abbreviation only when it is a modifier.

Examples:

The lawyer deals with U.S. privacy issues. In fact, he is considered one of the best in the United States.

When used at the end of an official name, company (Co.), corporation (Corp.), incorporated (Inc.), and limited (Ltd.) may be abbreviated.

academic degrees
On most references, use associate degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or doctorate in place of degree abbreviations. Do not use the terms associate, bachelor’s or master’s alone, since they are adjectives modifying the word degree. It is preferable to use a degree, not his degree or her degree.

Examples:

She earned a bachelor’s degree in English.

Use abbreviations only when necessary to distinguish the specific type of degree or when the use of full terms would prove cumbersome, such as in a list. The word degree should not follow a degree abbreviation. See honors concerning terms of academic distinction used with degrees.

Examples:

Correct: He has an M.S. as well as a Ph.D. in chemistry.
Incorrect: She has a Ph.D. degree.

The following abbreviations are used to identify earned degrees. Abbreviations for two-word phrases include periods and no spaces. Three-letter (or more) abbreviations do not include periods.

Associate in Applied Studies AAS
Associate in Liberal Arts ALA
Bachelor of Applied Studies BAS
* Bachelor of Arts B.A.
Bachelor of Liberal Arts BLA
* Bachelor of Liberal Studies BLS
* Bachelor of Professional Studies BPS
* Bachelor of Science B.S.
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration BSBA
Bachelor of Music B.Mus.
Juris Doctor (doctor of law) J.D.
Master of Arts M.A.
* Master of Arts in Liberal Studies MALS
* Master of Science M.S.
Master of Liberal Arts MLA
* Master of Business Administration MBA
* Master of Education M.Ed.
Doctor of Education Ed.D.
Doctor of Philosophy Ph.D.

* Indicates degree offered at UMW

addresses
Spell out and capitalize street, boulevard, court, road, place, avenue, etc. when used or referred to in an address. Spell out compass points in an address. Spell out names of numbered streets one through nine; use numerals for 10 and above.

Examples:

The University is located on College Avenue. The University’s address is 1301 College Avenue, Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401-5300.
There are three places available for rent: 648 Lexington Place Northwest, 1908 Fifth Avenue and Three 19th Street.

While not preferred for formal correspondence, for bulk or mass mailings it is acceptable to use abbreviations and formatting guidelines of the U.S. Postal Service (no punctuation, all capitals) to address envelopes.

Example: (not preferred for formal correspondence; acceptable for mass mailings)

OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS
UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON
1301 COLLEGE AVE
FREDERICKSBURG VA 22401-5300

Use 4-digit extension with ZIP Codes for all addresses. To look up ZIP + 4 Codes, visit http://www. usps.com/zip4/ . For U.S. Postal Service official abbreviations for states, street suffixes and secondary unit designators (apartment, suite, etc.), visit http://www.usps.com and type “abbreviations” in the search box.

African American
Preferred to black. The hyphen is necessary in the second example because the term modifies students.

Examples:

He is an African American. They are African-American students.

all right
Never alright. Hyphenate only as unit modifier.

Example:

He is an all-right student.

American Indian
American Indian is the preferred term. Where possible, be precise and use the name of the tribe. Use a hyphen only when term is used as an adjective.

Examples:

John Smith is an American Indian. He is a Navajo commissioner.
He is proud of his American-Indian heritage.

Native American is acceptable when used in quotations and for names of organizations.

ampersand (&)
Use the ampersand (&) only if it is part of an official name or abbreviation. Do not use it as a substitute for and.

Examples:

U.S. News & World Report
College of Graduate and Professional Studies

apostrophe
Singular common nouns ending in s: Add ’s unless the next word begins with an s.

Examples:

the hostess’s invitation, the hostess’ seat
the witness’s answer, the witness’ story

Singular proper names ending in s: Add only an apostrophe; an exception is St. James’s Palace.

Examples:

Agnes’ book, Dickens’ novels, Socrates’ life, Tennessee Williams’ plays

To show joint possession, use a possessive form on the last element. To show individual possession, the possessive form must be used with all elements.

Examples:

Susie and Bill’s home; Bob’s and Jill’s term papers

Use the apostrophe with plurals of a single letter, but not with numbers.

Examples:

His report card showed several A’s and a couple of B’s.
The combined reunion featured classes from the ’40s and ’50s.

Use the apostrophe with acronyms and abbreviations to show possession. Use an s alone to form the plural.

Example:

UMW’s open house is set for next week.
Several YMCAs are under construction.

Never use an apostrophe to show possession for it. It’s always is a contraction for it is. Use s and no apostrophe to indicate spans of decades or centuries. Use an apostrophe to indicate the century before class years.

Examples:

The University has its own traditions.
It’s the right thing to do.
the 1940s, the 1800s
She belonged to the Class of ’72.
The class of ’04 graduated in May.

apostrophe types
For consistency, make sure all apostrophes are shaped the same way. Check this when proofreading. Computer programs may insert left ( ’ ) or right curly ( ‘ ) or straight ( ' ) apostrophes. If left and right curly apostrophes are automatically inserted, use this trick to change a right curly to a left curly apostrophe: type a character (letter or number), type the apostrophe, type the next character, backspace and delete the character before the apostrophe so you are left with an apostrophe that curls to the left followed by the class year or characters needed. For class years, left curly ( ’ ) or straight apostrophes are acceptable.

If you frequently type class years, consider changing your computer software AutoFormat settings to type only straight apostrophes. Note: MS Word refers to straight apostrophes as straight quotes and calls left and right curly apostrophes smart quotes. For instructions to change your computer AutoFormat settings to type only straight quotes in MS Word, see Appendix XI. Proofreading Guidelines.

Asian American
No hyphen unless used as an adjective. Preferred term for Americans of Asian descent.

associate degree
Use instead of abbreviations for most references. Note there is no “s” at the end of associate. See academic degrees.

bachelor’s degree
Use instead of abbreviations for most references; apostrophe always required. See academic degrees.

brackets
Brackets are used when information is inserted in quotations for purposes of clarification.

Example:

He said, “[Franklin] Roosevelt was my favorite president.”

bullets
Capitalize the first letter of the first word of each bulleted item, whether it is a phrase or a complete sentence. If individual bulleted items form complete sentences, use appropriate punctuation at the end of each sentence. If the text used in bulleted items is composed of single words, phrases or dependent clauses, it is not necessary to punctuate after each item or after the last word. If punctuation is used, confine it to punctuation normally found at the end of a sentence. Do not use semicolons or commas after bulleted items. Keep bulleted items brief; anything longer than two sentences is a paragraph. Keep voice and verb tense consistent in the same set of bulleted points. Also make sure there is
parallel construction.

century
Spell out numbers of centuries from first through ninth in lower case, but use numerals from the 10th century on. Use a hyphen when century is used as an adjective.

Examples:

That wall dates from the eighth century, but the dwelling is from the 16th century. He was an 18th-century painter.

class year
The preferred way to reference class year is with an apostrophe and the last two digits of the class year. Capitalize only when part of a proper class name. In text, use class years following a name. See apostrophe types.

Examples:

The Class of ’64 held its 40th reunion this year. Many attended the class party.
Joan Williams ’79 is Director of Alumni Relations.

cocurricular
No hyphen is used in cocurricular.

colon
The most frequent use of a colon is at the end of a sentence to introduce lists, tabulations, texts, etc. Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. Colons go outside quotation marks unless they are part of the quotation itself.

Examples:

He promised this: The University will offer the classes.
There were three requirements: time, money and space.
The professor had three objections to the student's paper, titled “All Around Town”: it was too long; it was filled with grammatical errors; the characters were contrived.

comma
In a short series of three or more simple items, the comma before and or or may be omitted. For clarity, it is preferred to use a comma before the concluding conjunction in a complex series of phrases. (For AP Style, see comma in Appendix XII.)

Examples:

He won first, second and third place awards at the regional debate.
Before classes begin, new students should get an EagleOne ID, practice using their EagleLink login and password, and purchase textbooks and school supplies for the semester.

A comma should be used before the words and, but, and or if the text that follows can stand alone as a complete sentence.

Examples:

He can speak Spanish, and he is learning to speak French.
He can speak Spanish and is learning to speak French.

A comma must follow a date or the city and state when used in a sentence.

Examples:

The committee set July 5, 2005, as the due date for the report.
The University of Mary Washington is located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and is the second largest employer in the region.

Place a comma after digits signifying thousands, except when referring to temperature, year, street addresses, broadcast frequencies, room numbers, serial numbers and telephone numbers.

Examples:

4,430
1000 degrees
The changes will take place in 2006.

A comma is used to separate an introductory clause or phrase from the main clause. The comma may be omitted after short introductory phrases if no ambiguity would result. But use the comma if its omission would slow comprehension.

Examples:

When she finished her long and difficult exams, she left for Florida.
During the exam she used an entire notebook.
On the pavement below, a crowd gathered.

composition titles
Apply the guidelines listed here to book titles, legal cases, computer game titles (but not software titles), movie titles, opera titles, play titles, poem titles, song titles, television program titles and the titles of lectures, speeches and works of art. Capitalize all principal words in a title, and capitalize prepositions and conjunctions that have four or more letters. Capitalize an article (the, a, an), preposition or conjunction that has fewer than four letters only if it is the first or last word in a title.

Examples:

Crime and Punishment, The Man Without a Country, Of Mice and Men

Italicize rather than underline the names of all books, magazines, newspapers and journals. Use quotes around all other titles.

Examples:

In his textbook, Environmental Issues: Measuring, Analyzing, and Evaluating, Robert McConnell includes a chapter on trash titled “The Impact of Interjurisdictional Waste Disposal: Truckin’ Trash.”

The Bible is capitalized but not italicized unless referring to a specific edition.

Examples:

The religion professor required his students to read the King James Bible. The religion professor asked his students to bring the Bible to class.

Translate a foreign title into English unless a work is known to the American public by its foreign name.

Example:

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is a famous work of art.

The names of legal cases (plaintiff and defendant) are usually italicized; v. (versus) may be roman or italic, provided that the format is consistent:

Example:

Miranda v. Arizona
Brown v. Board of Education
West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish

cross country
No hyphen unless used as an adjective. Cross country, the sport, has no hyphen.

Examples:

The cross country team often wins first place in competition.
She drove cross country last summer.
She took a cross-country trip last summer.

dash
See en dash, em dash.

days of the week
Do not abbreviate except when needed in a tabular format. In tables, use three letters, without periods, to facilitate tabular composition: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat. (For AP Style, see days of the week in Appendix XII.)

Examples:

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

doctorate
A noun meaning doctoral degree; not doctorate degree. Use instead Ph.D. for most references. See academic degrees.

Examples:

Correct: He has a doctoral degree. He has a doctorate.
Incorrect: He has a doctorate degree.

ellipsis ( … )
Use an ellipsis to indicate the deletion of one or more words in condensing quotes, texts and documents. Treat an ellipsis as a three-letter word, using a space before and after the periods. To prevent splitting an ellipsis when typesetting, do not use spaces between the periods, or use a thinspace option, if available. If an ellipsis is used at the end of a sentence, add the final (fourth) period to indicate the end of the sentence.

Examples:

Contact … by e-mail.
Send an e-mail to … .
Reply by e-mail to … .

e-mail
Acceptable on all references for electronic mail. Note use of hyphen and lower-case e. When typing e-mail addresses, do not use capital letters or parentheses, slashes or any other punctuation to set email addresses apart from other text. Avoid dividing e-mail addresses between lines. Preferred use as a noun rather than as a verb. Use contact … by e-mail at, send an e-mail to … , reply by e-mail to…. See Appendix VI. Computer Terms and E-mail Etiquette.

Examples:

Contact Jones by e-mail at jjones@umw.edu.
Send your reservation request by e-mail to jjones@umw.edu.
Please reply by e-mail to Ms. Smith at jsmith@umw.edu.

en dash, em dash
Use an en dash to connect numbers and words in a range. The en dash, which is slightly longer than a hyphen, can be created on Mac computers by pushing the option and hyphen keys. On PCs, it can be created by pushing the control and minus keys. There is no space on either side of the en dash.

Example:

We are open 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Monday–Friday

Use an em dash (longer than an en dash) to give special emphasis. An em dash can be created on Mac computers by holding down the option key and pushing the hyphen key twice. On PCs, it can be created by pushing the alt, control, and minus keys. It is not necessary to insert a space on either side of the em dash.

Example:

The information I sent you is true—and you know it!

fax
Fax is an abbreviation for facsimile. Lowercase unless first word of a sentence, phrase or line. Be consistent in format when listing fax and  telephone. Fax may be used as a noun or a verb. Preferred format with parentheses: (540) 654-1164. Acceptable format: 540-654-1164.

Examples:

The Office of Human Resources received the fax yesterday.
The Executive Vice President will fax a response.
Please contact me by telephone (540) 654-1000 or by fax (540) 654-1164.
Telephone: (540) 654-1000 • Fax: (540) 654-1164

foreign expressions
Some foreign expressions contain short words, some of which are abbreviated and some of which are not. Note use of periods only for abbreviated words. For formal correspondence, the preference is to spell out the English word or phrase. If the foreign expression must be used for brevity, abbreviate where appropriate but do not italicize.

Examples:

She is qualified for the job; e.g., she has had 10 years’ experience as a research chemist. John says he will help; i.e., he will help if you ask him.

foreign words
Some foreign words retain their accent marks in English:

résumé
entrée
á la carte
café
á la mode

Accent marks should be used now that PCs provide that capability. To change your computer settings in MS Word so that these phrases will always appear with the accents, select Format, select AutoFormat, select Options, select the AutoCorrect tab, check the box beside Replace Text As You
Type, in the Replace box type in the phrase or word without accents, copy the phrase or word with accents from a Word document and paste it into the With box, select OK, select OK.

Insert an international character by using a shortcut key in MS Word

Mac users, for international character keystroke shortcuts, see: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/accents/codemac.html.

Fort
Do not abbreviate for cities or for military installations. See also Mount and Saint.

Examples:

Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Fort Bragg

fund-raising, fund raising, fund raiser
Fund raising and fund raiser are nouns; only when fund raising is used as an adjective is a hyphen needed. (For AP Style, see fund raising in Appendix XII.)

Examples:

It was a fund-raising event. The event was planned for fund raising.
The students held a fund raiser to help pay for fees to attend a national conference.

grade-point average (GPA)
Spell out grade-point average on first reference; note use of hyphen. GPA is acceptable on second reference.

Examples:

University of Mary Washington grade-point averages are based on a 4.0 scale. A 3.0 GPA is required to maintain the scholarship award.

historical periods
Capitalize names of historical periods. Spell out first through ninth centuries, use numbers for 10th and above with century in lower case. Use hyphen when it modifies a noun. See hyphen.

Examples:

the Renaissance, Baroque music, the 20th century
He is a 20th-century specialist.

hyphen
Numerous specific examples of the use of the hyphen can be found in this guide. A general rule about hyphens that is sometimes misunderstood relates to unit modifiers. If two adjectives modify a noun and both are necessary for the correct meaning, the adjectives act as a unit and a hyphen is required. However, if an adverb is used, no hyphen is necessary.

Examples:

the Asian-American students, the blue-eyed girl, the fund-raising event
the newly appointed president, the highly regarded professor

its, it’s
Never use an apostrophe to show possession for it. It’s always is a contraction for it is or it has.

Examples:

It’s up to you. It’s been a long time. The company lost its assets.

Latin references
See foreign expressions for such examples as i.e., e.g., and others.

master’s degree
Use instead of abbreviations for most references; always requires an apostrophe. See academic degrees.

Mount
Spell out in all uses, including the names of communities and of mountains. See also Fort and Saint.

Examples:

Mount Airy, Mount St. Mary’s College, Mount Everest, Mount St. Helens

non
Prefix meaning not. Many compounds may be formed with non. In forming compounds, non is usually joined with the leading word without a space or a hyphen. However, if the leading word begins with a capital letter, it is separated with a hyphen. Follow Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition, 2004, or the most current edition of this dictionary in print.

Examples:

non + degree = nondegree
nonpayment, noncredit, nonprofit, nontenured, nonresident, nonacademic,
noncash, nonadmitted, nondeductible, nonexclusive, nonexempt, nonexpense,
nonfederal, nonpublic, nonstate, nontraditional
non + French = non-French

on campus, on-campus
On campus shows adverbial location; on-campus is a unit modifier.

Examples:

She has a job on campus. Students live in on-campus housing.

part time, part-time
Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier.

Examples:

She works part time. She has a part-time job.

percent
Spell out this word. Always use figures with percents. For figures less than 1 percent, precede the decimal with a zero. Repeat percent with each figure in a range. In text, be consistent.

Examples:

There was a 0.5 percent variable rate.
The students predict that 40 percent to 50 percent of the class will pass.

Ph.D.
Use doctorate for most references. See academic degrees.

postscript
A postscript is an optional feature in the closing part of a letter that presents a final idea or an afterthought. It can be effectively used to express an idea that has been deliberately withheld from the body of a letter; stating this idea at the very end gives it strong emphasis. It appears on the second line below the copy notation (or whatever line was typed last). If the paragraphs are indented, indent the first line of the postscript. Otherwise, begin it at the left margin. Type PS: or PS. and leave one or two spaces before the first word of the postscript. (The abbreviation
can be omitted if preferred.)

Note: The abbreviation P.S. or p.s. (with an internal period after the P) is no longer used because the word postscript is now spelled as one word. For an additional postscript, use PPS: or PPS. (or no abbreviation at all), and treat this postscript as a separate paragraph.

Examples:

PS: Instead of dashing for the airport as soon as the meeting is over, why don’t you have dinner and spend the night with us and go back Saturday morning?
PPS: Better yet, why don’t you bring Joyce with you and plan to stay the whole weekend?

pre
Prefix meaning before. Many compounds may be formed with pre. In forming compounds, pre is usually joined with the leading word without a space or a hyphen. Follow Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition, 2004, or the most current edition of this dictionary in print.

Examples:

pre + pay = prepay
preenroll, preexist, preprofessional, prerequisite, preoccupy, prepackage,
preeminent, premed, prescience, preregister, preplan, preelection

quotation marks
The period and comma always go within the quotation marks. The dash, the semicolon, the question mark and the exclamation point go within the quotation marks when they apply to the quoted matter only. They go outside the quotation marks when they apply to the whole sentence.

Examples:

“Some of our students are outstanding athletes as well as scholars,” the coach said.
The band played “America the Beautiful”; the orchestra played the theme from “West Side Story”; the chorus sang “Oh Susanna!”

ribbon cutting, ribbon-cutting
Two words when used as a noun. Requires a hyphen when used as an adjective. Capitalize only when referring to a specific event. (For AP Style, see ribbon cutting in Appendix XII.)

Examples:

The Director of Events provided the scissors for the ribbon cutting.
Many donors attended the Jepson Alumni Executive Center Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony. The opening of a new University building is traditionally celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Saint
Abbreviate as St. in the names of saints, cities and other places. See also Fort and Mount.

Examples:

St. Jude, St. Lawrence, St. Paul, Minnesota,
Mount St. Helens, Mount St. Mary’s College

Scholastic Aptitude Test
SAT acceptable on all references.

semicolon
The semicolon should always be used between the two parts of a compound sentence (independent clauses) when they are not connected by a conjunction.

Example:

The students were eager to return to campus; classes were beginning soon.

If the clauses of a compound sentence are very long or are themselves subdivided by commas, a semicolon may be used between them even if they are joined by a conjunction.

Example:

Jane, a sophomore from Bristol, and Tim, a senior from Arlington, had questions about their transcripts; but they decided that, considering the long lines at the Office of the Registrar, they would come back another day.

When items in a series are long and complex or involve internal punctuation, they should be separated by semicolons for the sake of clarity.

Examples:

The membership of the Hall Council was as follows: Alvey, 3; Ball, 6; Jefferson, 4; Madison, 3.
The Fredericksburg Forum has featured groups of speakers such as David Gergen, Helen Thomas and John Kenneth Galbraith; Mark Shields and Gwen Ifill; and Guion Bluford, Scott Carpenter and Donna Shirley.

state names
Spell out city and state in the body of a letter followed by appropriate punctuation. Below is a list of state names (and the District of Columbia) and the two-letter U.S. Postal Service abbreviations. Do not use the two-letter U.S. Postal Service abbreviations in text; these abbreviations should be used only with ZIP codes when addressing envelopes for mailing. (For AP Style, see states in Appendix XII.)

Examples:

The University of Mary Washington is in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Visitors come to Fredericksburg, Virginia, to tour the historic attractions.

superscript
Superscript is for notes only. Manually change “th” if your computer puts it in superscript.

Examples:

Correct: 10th
Incorrect: 10th

telephone numbers
Preferred format with parentheses: (540) 654-1000. Acceptable format: 540-654-1000. Lowercase the word telephone (and fax) unless it is the first word of a sentence, phrase or line. Be consistent in format when listing fax and telephone.

Examples:

Please contact me by telephone (540) 654-1000 or by fax (540) 654-1164.
Telephone: (540) 654-1000 • Fax: (540) 654-1164

tenure track
Use hyphens when used as an adjective.

Examples:

He signed a contract for the tenure-track position.
Several instructors are nontenure-track faculty.
She has been on a tenure track for 10 years.

time
Use figures and a colon to separate hours from minutes. Preferred format is to not include a colon or minutes if the time is exactly on the hour. For consistency, it is permissible to add the colon for whole hour times. Use periods in a.m. and p.m.; do not capitalize.

Use noon for 12 p.m. and midnight for 12 a.m. Avoid redundancies such as 10 a.m. this morning or 7 p.m. Monday night; instead use 10 a.m. today or 7 p.m. Monday.

To indicate a range of times, an en dash is acceptable. Using the words to and from is more formal than using a dash. Be consistent in format; do not use from with an en dash. See em dash, en dash.

Examples:

Correct: Student registration is 2:30–6 p.m. today.
Also Correct: We will meet 2:30–6:00 p.m.
Correct: The reception will be held from 4:30 to 7 p.m.
Also Correct: We will meet 4:30–7:00 p.m.
Correct: The luncheon is scheduled to begin at noon.
Incorrect: The luncheon is scheduled to begin at 12 noon.
Correct: The party ended at midnight.
Incorrect: The party ended at 12 midnight.

Time, date, place is the preferred order for listing events.

Example:

The meeting will be 1 p.m. Friday, January 21, 2005, in the Red Room.

Time zones may be abbreviated such as EST (Eastern Standard Time) or CDT (Central Daylight Time), if linked to a clock time. Otherwise, they must be spelled out.

U.S., USA
U.S. can be used as an adjective, but not as a noun, for United States. Use periods but no space between two-letter abbreviations. However, three-letter abbreviations use no periods. USA is a noun and is not used as an adjective.

Examples:

He is a U.S. citizen. He lives in the United States.
She left the USA to study abroad.

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