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University Editorial Style Guidelines

A guide for effective communication

April 4, 2025

a, an

Use "a" before a pronounced h:

• a historian
• a horse
• a hysterical joke

Use "an" before an aspirated h:

• an hour
• an honest man

Remember this rule by the following example:

• They will go on a hike up a hill in an hour.

a.m./p.m.

See time.

abbreviations

A few universally recognized abbreviations are required in some circumstances. Some others are acceptable depending on the context. But in general, avoid alphabet soup. Don’t use periods for three-letter or longer abbreviations.

• SCU
• SCCAP
• NATO
• Two-letter abbreviations use periods
• U.S.
• U.C.
• S.J.

In general, avoid using abbreviations on first reference. If an abbreviation is acceptable in all references or on second reference, it does not mean its use should be automatic. Let the context determine, for example, whether to use Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI.

When an abbreviation will be used on subsequent references, but not the first, put the abbreviation in parenthesis after the first reference.

• The Santa Clara Community Action Program (SCCAP)

Also see academic degrees.

academic degrees

Lowercase: bachelor of arts, bachelor’s degree, juris doctor, master’s degree, honorary doctorate.

Abbreviations of two letters should use periods:

• B.A., M.A., J.D., M.S.

No periods for abbreviations with three or more letters (BSEE, MBA), EXCEPT for Ph.D., M.Div., Th.M., and  LL.M. In a sentence, use:

• Joe Smith, who earned a bachelor of arts degree from Santa Clara University, has been appointed CEO of ABC company.
• NOT Joe Smith, who earned a B.A. from Santa Clara University…

Include the two-digit year of graduation after a name to indicate that a person has earned an undergraduate degree from Santa Clara. Do not include an accronym such as B.A. Note that the apostrophe faces away from the numerals.

• Joe Smith ’57

For alumni who have earned a graduate degree, precede the year of graduation with an accronym indicating the degree. This rule does not apply to law school publications, where J.D. is default.

• Joe Smith MBA ’59

If a person has earned more than one degree from SCU, list the undergraduate degree year first, others after. Each degree is separated by a comma.

• Joe Smith ’57, M.A. ’59 -- note that the apostrophe faces away from the numerals.

If more than one graduate from the same family is mentioned, write:

• Joe ’43 and Mary Smith ’45, attended the Grand Reunion with their children.
• NOT Joe ’43 and Mary ’45 Smith…

If a degree from a school other than Santa Clara University is mentioned in a title, list the degree without the year of graduation. If the year of graduation must be mentioned, offset the school's name with parenthesis:

• PREFERRED Joe Smith ’43, J.D.
• Joe Smith ’43, J.D. (Stanford University) ’46. In this case Joe Smith graduated from Santa Clara University in 1943, and received a juris doctor from Stanford in 1946.

 

academic departments

(also see capitalization)

Lowercase unless using the formal title or proper nouns.

• Students can get more information about the tour in the Department of Civil Engineering, the English department, the history department or the education department.

Capitalize:

• College of Arts and Sciences
• School of Education and Counseling Psychology
• Leavey School of Business
• School of Engineering
• School of Law
• Jesuit School of Theology

Lowercase references to disciplines unless they are part of proper names:

• He is studying music.
• He is taking a couple of courses this quarter in the Music Department.
• He is a law professor.
• She majored in business.
• Jane Smith, a philosophy major, won first place.

academic titles

Capitalize and spell out before names; lowercase after:

• I am studying chemistry with Assistant Professor John Smith.
• John Smith, assistant professor of chemistry.

DO NOT ABBREVIATE TITLES.

If the name of an office, department, or college is part of the title, capitalization rules apply:

• Jim Smith, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
• Mary Lewis, professor in the history department

Faculty titles

• assistant professor
• acting assistant professor
• associate professor
• professor

Other faculty titles

• lecturer
• senior lecturer
• visiting faculty: holds equivalent rank at another college or university. Appointments are usually for one year and in no case for more than three years.
• adjunct faculty: part-time appointments
• special appointments: Distinguished artists, scholars, scientists, engineers, executives, statesmen, and others may be granted appointments-in-residence from time to time, as approved by the provost.
• professor emeritus: A tenured associate or full professor, upon retirement from outstanding service at Santa Clara University, is eligible for this title, which is awarded by the president.

ACCESS

Student, faculty, and staff card used for identification and admittance to certain campus locations. It is also a library card, dining payment method, and flex account debit card. Note that the entire word “ACCESS” is capitalized.

acronyms

An acronym is a word formed from the first letter or letters of a series of words: laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation). An abbreviation is not an acronym. In general, do not use acronyms in first reference that the reader would not quickly recognize. Some examples of readily recognizable acronyms include:

• LAN (acronym for local area network)
• radar (a lowercase acronym for radio detection and ranging)
• CD-ROM (acronym for compact disc acting as read-only memory)

DO NOT use an apostrophe to pluralize acronyms: FAQs, RLCs.

 

addresses

Use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd., and St. only with a numbered address:

• 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Spell them out and capitalize when part of a formal street name without a number:

• Pennsylvania Avenue

Lowercase and spell out when used alone or with more than one street name:

• Massachusetts and Pennsylvania avenues

Spell out streets using First through Ninth, use figures for 10th and above:

• Fifth Avenue
• 12th Street

Aside from Ave., Blvd., and St., as noted above, do not abbreviate other street names even when used with a numbered address:

• 2700 Homestead Road
• Accolti Way

administration

Lowercase:

• the governor’s administration
• the president's administration
• the Obama administration

admission, admissions

Use the singular, not the plural, for Undergraduate Admission.

Use plural in a sentence:

• Learn more about the admissions process…

Use plural for all graduate programs’ admissions offices:

• Admissions, Leavey School of Business Graduate Programs
• Admissions, School of Engineering Graduate Programs
• Admissions, School of Education and Counseling Psychology
• Admissions, School of Law
• Admissions, Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries
• Admissions, Jesuit School of Theology

Adobe Wall

Always capitalize. One of the oldest remaining structures at SCU is the historical Adobe Wall, built in 1822.

Advent

advisor

NOT adviser. This is an exception to AP Stylebook.

advisory

affect, effect

In general, affect is used as a verb (meaning to influence) or adjective (influenced by); effect is generally used as a noun (meaning result). When you affect a situation, you have an effect on it.

• The game will affect the standings.
• The effect of the program was tremendous.
• The storm had no effect on power systems.

Although both words have other meanings, these are the most common usages. Avoid other uses when possible to prevent confusion.

African American

Only hyphenate as a modifier. Ex. African-American students. Her ethnicity is African American.

The term is acceptable for an American person of black African descent, but be careful not to apply it indiscriminately. For instance, Caribbean descendants generally refer to themselves as Caribbean Americans. The term black is also acceptable. The way ethnicity is described can be a sensitive matter. If possible, consult with the person in question to see what racial reference he/she prefers.

age

See numbers.

Age of Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University was founded in on March 19, 1851. When refering to the age of the University, update on March 19 (Founder's Day) of each calendar year. 

For example, as of January 1, 2014, SCU can be refered to as 162 years old. On March 19, 2014, SCU can be refered to as 163 years old.

alumni organizations

Alumni Association Official name of the organization for all SCU alumni, both undergraduate and graduate. Includes the National Alumni Association Board of Directors (elected officials who oversee the association programs) and the Gianera Society (for alumni whose class graduated 50 years ago or more).

Capitalize when using proper name, lowercase on second reference:

• The Alumni Association hosted the Grand Reunion from Oct. 15-18 last year. The event was a huge success for the association.

Alumni Office The University office of alumni programs and affairs, located in Donohoe Alumni House. May sometimes be referred to as alumni relations, although Alumni Office is the preferred term at SCU.

Alumni Online Directory The Alumni Association's directory for basic contact information searches.This directory is also the location where alumni can update their contact information, indicate their interests or opt out of specific email communications.

inCircle The Alumni Association's exclusive online community. This community is primarily used for professional networking and career search as well as social connection. Note mixed-case spelling of inCircle.

alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae

Any student who completed either a minimum of one undergraduate year or earned a graduate degree is categorized as an alumnus/alumna.

• Alumnus is a man who attended SCU.
• Alumni refers to a group of men, or a group of men and women.
• Alumna is a woman who attended SCU.
• Alumnae refers to a group of women who attended SCU.

DO NOT USE "ALUM" EXCEPT IF NECESSARY IN A QUOTE.

ampersand (&)

Do not use in text copy unless it is part of a company's or law firm's proper name. Don't substitute for the word and.

EXCEPTION: it may be used as a design element or as part of a brochure title.

apostle

Lowercase in general but capitalize when saying the Twelve Apostles.

apostrophes

See punctuation

app

Short for application. A program that runs inside another service. Many cell phones allow applications to be downloaded to expand their functions. App is acceptable on all references.

appendixes

Not appendices.

archdiocese

Lowercase except when used as part of a proper name:

• the Archdiocese of San Jose

area codes

No parentheses or periods. Use a hyphen to separate area code: 408-554-0000

ASG

Associated Student Government. Refers to student government on campus. May also be abbreviated as ASGSCU on second reference.

Asian American

Only hyphenate as a modifier. Ex. Asian-American students. His ethnicity is Asian American.

The term is used to describe a person of Asian birth or descent who lives in the U.S. When possible, refer to a person's country of origin.

For example: Filipino-American or Indian-American.

The way ethnicity is described can be a sensitive matter. If possible, consult with the person in question to see what racial reference he/she prefers.

assistant, associate

Never abbreviate. Capitalize only when part of a formal title before a name. See academic titles.

awhile, a while

Awhile means for a short period of time, whereas a while refers to an infinite period of time.

• After the heavy lunch, John slept awhile.
• He plans to stay for a while.

bachelor of arts, bachelor of science

Do not capitalize.

In a sentence, the preferred usage is:

• John Smith earned a bachelor of arts degree in communication.
• NOT John Smith earned a B.A. from SCU.

It is also acceptable to say

• John Smith earned a bachelor's degree in communication.

Bay Area

Capitalize San Francisco Bay Area or the Bay Area as the popular name for the nine-county region that has San Francisco as its focal point.

 

 

benediction

biblical citations

Matthew 3:16, Luke 21:1-13 (note en dash), 1 Peter 2:1

biblical events

Capitalize events in the life of Christ or Mary, such as:

• the Exodus
• the Passion
• the Assumption

When used without Christ's or Mary's name:

• the Last Supper

When used with, Christ's or Mary's name:

• Christ's last supper

bishop

When prefacing a proper name use Bishop John Smith; on second reference use the bishop.
 

black

Lowercase in reference to race and color. (Also see African-American.)

Blessed Sacrament, Blessed Virgin

Blu-ray

A successor to the DVD, Blu-ray is a standard used to deliver high-definition video and other digital content.

board

Capitalize only when it is part of a proper name.
 

Board of Trustees, Board of Regents, Board of Fellows

Capitalize. Lowercase trustees, board, and regents on second reference. Always use Board of Fellows, not "fellows" on second reference.

book titles

See titles.

Bronco Bench Foundation

brother

Never abbreviate as Bro. or Br.

• Brother John Smith

Building names and campus locations

Full name as applicable in parentheses:

• Adobe Lodge
• Alumni Science Hall includes building addition completed in 1999.
• Alumni Terrace
• Bannan Engineering (Thomas J. Bannan Building) -- engineering classrooms and the dean's office
• Bannan Engineering Laboratories a.k.a. “Philip L. Bannan Hall,” was originally part of “Sullivan Engineering Center.”
• Bannan Hall (Berchman A. Bannan Hall) -- law school classrooms and offices
• Bellarmine Hall
• Benson Center (Robert F. Benson Memorial Center)
• Bergin Hall (Thomas I. Bergin Hall)
• The Bronco, located in the Benson Center
• Buck Shaw Field
• Campus Bookstore (the bookstore)
• California Mission Room, located in the basement of the Benson Center; formerly called the Brass Rail.
• Casa Italiana
• Campisi Hall (Salvador V. Campisi Residence Hall)
• Campus Ministry (Patrick and Kathleen Heffernan Campus Ministry Center)
• Campus Safety Services
• Cellar Market in Benson Center
• The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SCU-CIE) in Lucas Hall
• Cole Plaza (The Curtis and Margaret Cole Performing Arts Plaza)
• The Commons at Kennedy Mall (Kennedy Commons)
• Cowell Center includes Cowell Student Health Center and Counseling Center
• Daly Science Center (Edward J. Daly Science Center) 
• de Saisset Museum
• Degheri Tennis Center formerly the Santa Clara University Tennis Center
• Development Office in Loyola Hall
• Donohoe Alumni House -- formerly “James and Rose Donohoe Infirmary”—home of the Alumni Office
• Dunne Hall (James F. Dunne Residence Hall)
• Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building
• Executive Development Center
• Facilities Building
• Fess Parker Studio Theatre
• Fine Arts Building
• Gonyea Family Arbor outside of Kenna Hall
• Graham Residence Center (Charles H. Graham Residential Learning Community) -- The four buildings that make up the complex also have names attached to them—O’Neill, Hancock, Swig and Strub—but the housing office only refers to them as Graham 100, 200, 300 and 400.
• Heafey Law Library (Edwin J. Heafey Law Library)
• Human Resources in Loyola Hall
• Information Services Office comprises Information Technology, Orradre Library, and Media Services.
• Jesuit Community Residence (Jesuit Residence) at Franklin and Alviso streets.
• Kenna Hall named for Roberto E. Kenna, S.J.
• Kenna Lawn
• Kennedy Mall (John F. Kennedy Mall)
• Kerr Alumni Park Formerly Alumni Park
• Kids on Campus
• Law Alumni Center in Bannan Hall
• Learning Commons, Technology Center, and Library (Joanne E. Harrington Learning Commons, Sobrato Family Technology Center, and Orradre Library)
• Leavey Center
• Loyola Hall  at 425 El Camino Real
• Lucas Hall
• Malley Center (Pat Malley Fitness and Recreation Center)
• McLaughlin Hall (Edward McLaughlin Residence Hall)
• Market Square, located in the Benson Center
• Mayer Theatre (Louis B. Mayer Theatre)
• McLaughlin Residence Hall
• Mission Bakery and Terrace Cafe
• Mission Santa Clara de Asís (Mission Church, Mission Santa Clara)
• Multicultural Center (MCC)
• Music and Dance Facility, Recital Hall
• Nobili Hall
• O’Connor Hall
• Orradre Library now part of the Learning Commons
• Patricia A. and Stephen C. Schott Admission and Enrollment Services Building
• Paul L. Locatelli, S.J. Student Activity Center
  Locatelli Student Center or Locatelli Center on second reference
• parking structure. Do not capitalize in text.
• Ramos Center -- office of the dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, in Vari Hall.
• Ricard Observatory (Ricard Memorial Observatory)
• Sanfilippo Hall (Sanfilippo Residence Hall)
• Schott Stadium (Stephen Schott Stadium)
• Shapell Lounge part of the “Bob Shapell Student Activities Hall”
• Sobrato Hall (John A. and Susan Sobrato Residential Learning Complex) residence hall; also houses the Ignatian Center.
• St. Clare Hall
• St. Joseph’s Hall
• St. Francis Chapel
• Stanton Field soccer practice field by Kerr Alumni Park
• Stevens Stadium (formerly Buck Shaw Stadium)
• Soukup Garden (The Jeanette R. Soukup Memorial Garden) outside of Vari Hall
• Sullivan Engineering Center (George L. Sullivan Engineering Center) the three buildings that make up the engineering school—James D. Murphy Hall, Philip L. Bannan Hall, and Thomas J. Bannan Building.
• Sullivan Aquatic Center
• Swig Hall (Benjamin H. Swig Residence Hall)
• University Finance Office
• Vari Hall (Victor B. and Julia Botto Vari Hall) home of the College of Arts and Sciences
• Varsi Hall (The Aloysius Varsi Hall)
• Villa Apartments  at 2675 Park Ave.
• Walsh Administration Building (Delia L. Walsh Administration Building)
• Walsh Residence Hall (James E. Walsh Residence Hall)
• The Wiegand Center (The E.L. Wiegand Teleconference Center)
• Williman Room

Reference to specific rooms

When referring to a specific location on campus, give the one- or two-word building name and room number. Do not separate with a comma. Exceptions for Graham residence halls and for clarity as needed.

• Graham 207
• Daly Science 302
• O’Connor 110
• Benson 203
• Kenna 307
• Donohoe 210
• Bannan Engineering 210
• Bannan 210
• Swig 1012

 

bulletins

Treat the complete names as titles:

• 1998-99 Undergraduate Bulletin

Otherwise, lowercase:

• We have completed updating the bulletin.

bullets

Capitalize the first word of each bulleted item. Use punctuation at the end of each bulleted item only if each is a complete sentence. Keep all bulleted text flush left.

He made the following points:

• Up is down. (note use of periods because of complete sentences)
• Down is up.
• All bulleted text is to be kept flush left.

The agenda items include:

• Removing the boulder
• Eating too much
• Singing a song

business school

Capitalize Leavey School of Business on first reference. See academic departments.

the Bible, biblical

Do not abbreviate individual books of the Bible. Lowercase bible in nonreligious references:

• The University Style Guide is the bible for wordsmiths at Santa Clara.

CalTrain

Campus Ministry

cancel, canceled, canceling, cancellation

canon law

When referring to the codified body of general laws governing the Latin rite of the Catholic Church, capitalize:

• Code of Canon Law

or

• Canon 110

Lowercase:

• canon law

or

• the code

capitalization

In general, avoid overuse. Also see academic departments.

Capitalize University on second reference only when referring to Santa Clara University (the exception is in news releases from Media Relations, which do not uppercase University per AP style).

• Santa Clara University has more than 8,500 students.
• Students from almost 50 countries call this University home.

Capitalize full names of programs or schools, but lowercase otherwise.

 

• School of Law; law school

Lowercase college, school and division on second reference.

 

Lowercase majors or areas of study unless they are part of specific course titles.

• He teaches chemistry
• She teaches Chemistry 101.

Capitalize when using the full proper name, but lowercase when using only a part of that name on second reference. Examples:

• The de Saisset Museum is on the SCU campus. The museum has an extensive collection of California artwork.
• New Student Orientation is held in the fall. Almost all new first-year students participate in orientation.

Always capitalize English or other languages.

 

Lowercase the common noun elements of names in plural uses:

• lakes Ontario and Erie
• Main and State streets

Capitalize committee names on first reference:

• the Staff Affairs Committee

In headlines, capitalize words longer than three letters, as per AP style. In subheads, use sentence case.

For more on capitalization, see entries for academic titles and titles, book, magazine, newspaper, etc.

Career Center

catalog

An informal name for the academic bulletins. Do not capitalize.

Catholic Church

On first reference use:

• Roman Catholic Church
• Roman Catholic
• Roman Catholicism

Most subsequent references may be condensed to:

• Catholic Church
• Catholic
• Catholicism

Capitalize the Church on second reference, but only when referring to the Catholic Church.

celebrant, concelebrant, chief celebrant

celebrant, concelebrant (NOT co-celebrants)

chief celebrant (leader of a group of concelebrants).

cellphone

Centers of Distinction

Santa Clara University's three Centers of Distinction serve as major points of interaction between the University and society. They are:

• the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education or Ignatian Center in second reference;
• the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship or Miller Center in second reference; and
• the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics or Ethics Center in second reference

century

Not capitalized:

• 20th century

But hyphenated when used as an adjective:

• 20th-century art

Spell out numbers from one to nine; use numerals for 10 and above

• First century
• 11th century

chair

The term used for Santa Clara University department heads. Lowercase and use after a professor?s name.

• Joe Smith, chair of the department, said...

It can be used as a verb.

• Jane Smith chaired the meeting.

It can be used as a noun.

• Jane Smith is the department chair.

See endowed chair/endowed professorship.

Also note chairman, chairwoman. NOT chairperson. The gender neutral chair is preferable when used in references to University departments and governance.

church services

Capitalize the formal names of church services or liturgical celebrations:

• Mass, Benediction, Liturgy of the Hours

citations, bibliographic

• Joe Smith. “Article or Speech.” Periodical 5 (1995), 6-7.
• Joe Smith. Book Title (New York: Penguin, 1990), 855.
• Joe Smith. “Article.” Book Title, Jane Johnson ed. and trans. (New York: Penguin, 1990), 9.

Class of '00

Note apostrophe faces away from the year. It is preferable to use “class of 2000” in a sentence. Only capitalize when used as part of a formal title.

• Mary Jo and her friends from the class of 2000 were thrilled to see the new library on their recent campus visit. The trip was organized by the Class of 2000 Grand Reunion Committee.

class years

When a person is a Santa Clara University alumnus/alumna, list relevant degrees first (bachelor's is default, J.D. is default in law school publications) and others after comma:

• Joe Smith ’57, M.A. ’59
• Jane Smith BSEE '57, M.S. ’59

Note that apostrophe faces away from the year (’).

When writing about a current student, it is preferred that you not mention expected graduation date (Joe Smith ’12). Instead, say:

• sophomore Joe Smith

When a person graduated from another college or university, write:

• Joe Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in music from ABC College in 1999.

Lowercase first-year student, sophomore, junior, senior.

 

co-

Retain the hyphen when forming nouns, adjectives and verbs that indicate occupation or status:

• co-author
• co-pilot
• co-chairman
• co-host

Use no hyphen in other combinations:

• coed, coeducational, coexist, coexistence, cocurricular

Cooperate, cooperative, coordinate and coordinating are EXCEPTIONS to the rule that a hyphen is used if a prefix ends in a vowel and the word that follows begins with the same vowel.

coed, coeducational

 Used most commonly to describe mixed-gender residence halls.

College of Arts and Sciences

Always capitalize on first reference. Lowercase “college” on second reference.

• The College of Arts and Sciences is home to the communications department. The college has a number of media labs and a studio control room.

college of bishops

commas

See punctuation.

Common Application

Commonspot

Note lowercase "s" in one-word spelling.

Communion

Lowercase adjectives that precede it and nouns that follow it:

• holy Communion

or

• Communion cup

composition titles

See italics and titles.

comprise, constitute, compose

Use comprise and constitute in the active voice without a preposition:

• The U.S. comprises 50 states
• NOT The U.S. “is comprised of…”
• Seven alumni constitute the committee.

Compose may be used in the passive to mean “put together”:

• The U.S. is composed of 50 states.

conference titles

Capitalize, with quotes:

• "Seminar on Public Policy" 

confirmation

council, counsel

Council is a noun that refers to a deliberative body or organization:

• Among the items on the agenda at next week’s council meeting will be earthquake preparedness.

Use counsel as a verb (to advise) or a noun (advice):

• We are seeking staff who can counsel first-year students on how to seek financial aid.

Counsel as a noun is frequently used in legal terms:

• The litigation team offers excellent counsel on a wide range of disputes.

course titles

Capitalize, no italics or quotes:

• He is taking Psychology 201.
• The communications department is offering Introduction to Journalism in the winter quarter.

Lowercase when describing a course in a generic sense or area of study:

• He is studying advanced psychology.

Cowell Health Center

 Use the health center in lowercase on second reference.

cross

crucifix

the Cardinal, Cardinal John Brown

The preferred form for first reference is to use Cardinal, Archbishop or Bishop before the individual's name: Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston. On second reference: DiNardo or the cardinal.

the Core Curriculum

Daly Science Center

dashes

em dashes Use in place of hyphens or double hyphens in text. No spaces between text and em dash.

• The landscape—a true reflection of the effect of mankind—has changed the most.

en dashes Use to express a range in charts or listings:

• 5–7:30 p.m.

But do not use dashes in body text:

• The class runs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

See hyphens.

 

dates/months/years

Use Arabic figures (without -st, -th, etc.):

• May 3

Always spell out days of the week, unless necessary in a grid or tabular format.

Capitalize the names of months. Abbreviate months when used with specific dates:

• Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec.
• Parent Weekend is on Feb. 19 and 20.

Do not abbreviate:

• March, April, May, June or July

When used alone or just with year, spell it out:

• September is a beautiful time to visit the campus.
• August 1999

When a phrase lists only a month and year, do not separate the year with commas:

• The Grand Reunion in October 2009 was a huge success.

When a phrase refers to day, month and year, set off year with commas:

• January 1999 was a cold month.
• Feb. 14, 2000, was the target date.

Always include the year when the date is in another calendar year; do not use the year if the date or dates are in the same year as the publication.

Set off day of the week with comma:

• The event was scheduled for Saturday, April 23, 2011.

First century, 11th century. See numbers. Always use numbers for years:

• the 1980s (no apostrophe) or the ’80s (note apostrophe faces away from the year)
• NOT “the eighties”

de Saisset Museum

Use the museum on second reference unless more than one museum is mentioned. In the latter case, the de Saisset is acceptable.

Dean

Uppercase when used before a name.

• School of Engineering Dean Dan Pitt.

Lowercase when used after a name.

• Dan Pitt, dean of the School of Engineering.

Use full department name on first reference.

dean's list

Lowercase in all uses. 

degrees

See academic degrees.

departments

Lowercase unless using full formal title of a department. Also see academic departments.

• Joe stopped by the Public Safety Office to meet with a campus police officer. He wanted to address public safety issues.
• The Office of Marketing and Communications offers various workshops. Contact the marketing and communications staff for more details.

devil

Lowercase, but capitalize proper names applied to the devil, such as Satan and Lucifer. 

different

Uses the preposition from, not than

• Her opinion is different from mine.
• NOT Her opinion is different than mine.
• The programs we offer are different from other colleges in the area.

dimensions

See numbers.

diocese

Capitalize only as part of a proper name:

• Diocese of San Jose 

directions

In general, lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc., when they indicate compass direction. Capitalize these words when they designate formal regions as defined by U.S. Census Bureau (Northeast, South, Midwest, West).

• He drove west.
• The cold front is moving east.
• A storm system that developed in the Midwest is spreading eastward.
• It will bring showers to the East Coast by morning and to the entire Northeast by midafternoon.
• High temperatures will prevail throughout the Western states.
• The drive through the South was long but scenic.
• The Northeast depends on the Midwest for its food supply.
• She has a Southern accent.
• He is a Northerner.
• The storm developed in the South Pacific.

With names of nations: Lowercase unless they are part of a proper name or are used to designate a politically divided nation

• northern France
• eastern Canada
• the western United States

But

• Northern Ireland
• South Korea.

With states and cities: The preferred form is to lowercase directional or area descriptions when referring to a section of a state or city

• western Montana
• southern Atlanta

But capitalize compass points when part of a proper name

• North Dakota
• West Virginia

Also capitalize compass points when used in denoting widely known sections

• Southern California
• West Texas
• the Lower East Side of New York

If in doubt, use lowercase.

When combining with another common noun to form the name for a region or location

• the North Woods
• the South Pole
• the Far East
• the Middle East
• the West Coast (the entire region, not the coastline itself)
• the Western Hemisphere

disabled

Avoid using disabled or handicapped, instead be specific with the type of disability (“Vincent, who is blind, has lived on Elm Street for decades”) or if speaking generally, say “people with disabilities.”

dormitories

Avoid. Use University residence halls instead. Also, avoid "dorms." 

dorms, dormitories

Do not use. The preferred term for on-campus housing is residence halls. 

Dr.

DO NOT USE the courtesy title Dr. before a name UNLESS the person has a medical or veterinary degree. On second reference, use Dr. before the first lname. 

• Richard Behrman, M.D. is a prominent pediatrician.
• In 2018, Dr. Behrman will retire.

 

 

e.g.

Means for example and is always followed by a comma. Not to be confused with i.e., the abbreviation for the Latin id est or that is, which is also always followed by a comma.

Earth, the earth

Generally lowercase:

• She is down to earth.

Capitalize when used as the proper name of the planet.

• The astronauts returned to Earth.

Eastside Project

Now the Pedro Arrupe, S.J., Partnerships for Community-Based Learning 

 

Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building

The full name of the Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building should be used for all first references.

On subsequent reference, use either "building" or the full name, do not shorten to "Art and Art History Building" or "Dowd Building."

effect, affect

See affect, effect.

either, neither

When either and neither are subjects, they always take singular verbs:

• Neither of them is available to speak right now.
• Either of us is capable of doing the job.

Two singular subjects connected by either/or or neither/nor take a singular verb:

• Neither Juan nor Ronnie is available.
• Either Linda or Patti is helping today with the photo shoot.

When I is one of the two subjects connected by either/neither, put it second and follow it with the singular verb am.

• Neither she nor I am going to the festival.

When a singular and plural subject are connected by either/or or neither/nor, put the plural subject last and use a plural verb.

• Neither Diane nor the others are available.

El Camino Real

Use full street name in all instances, DO NOT SHORTEN to "El Camino."

ellipsis

 (...) See punctuation.

email

Acceptable in all references and does not take a hyphen. Lowercase email addresses. 

emerita, emeritae, emeriti, emeritus

An honorific bestowed on meritorious professors upon retirement, and does not automatically apply to all retired faculty.

The term can also be used to indicate former trustees or retired members of other important groups.

“Emeritus” is used for singular masculine and gender-neutral references. “Emeriti” is the masculine or gender-neutral plural. “Emerita” is the feminine singular, and “emeritae” is the feminine plural.

The word is always associated with the title, not the name, of a person. Example: Professor Emerita Jennifer Smith.

In the case that a group consists of both men and women, gender-neutral plural is preferred. Example: Trustees Emeriti.

encyclicals

Capitalize the titles of encyclicals and place within quotation marks. Use either English or Latin title, whichever the encyclical is more generally known as.

English title:

• “The Progress of Peoples.”

Latin title:

• “Human Vitae”

endowed chair/endowed professorship

Don't capitalize these terms, but capitalize the name of the endowed chair.

• Phil and Bobbie Sanfilippo Chair

Always use full chair title after a person's name. If used before identify as Professor.

• Joe Smith, holder of the XYZ Professorship
• NOT XYZ Professorship holder Joe Smith
• Acceptable XYZ Professor Joe Smith

Always use chair title on first reference

• On first reference: Professor Joe Smith, holder of the Phil and Bobbie Sanfilippo Chair, canceled class today.
• OR Phil and Bobbie Sanfilippo Professor Joe Smith canceled class today.
• On subsequent reference: Smith rescheduled class for tomorrow.

See chair.

Engh, Michael, S.J.

President of Santa Clara University. Engh acceptable on second reference. Use of his middle initial “E.” is preferred in official communication. Preferred first usage for press releases:

• SCU President Michael E. Engh, S.J.

Eucharist, eucharistic

Capitalize Eucharist.

Lowercase eucharistic except as part of a formal title:

• the International Eucharistic Congress

eucharistic minister

faculty

Takes a singular verb.

• Santa Clara’s faculty is nationally recognized.

In cases where a singular verb is awkward or unclear, change to “faculty members.”

• The Jesuit emphasis on education for leadership attracts faculty members who are committed to their students’ development.

FAQ

Stands for “frequently asked questions,” acceptable in all references. Do not use periods (F.A.Q.) or apostrophe (FAQs). Primarily used in Web writing and navigation. 

farther/further

Farther refers to physical distance; further refers to an extension of time or degree.

• He walked farther into the woods.
• The dean promised to look into the matter further.

father

Use Father before a name only in direct quotations.

When referring to a priest in writing, do NOT use:

• “Father” or “the father”

Abbreviation is “Fr.”

For Jesuit priests, use S.J. after their names.

DO NOT use both Fr. and S.J.

• Michael E. Engh, S.J.
• Fr. Michael Engh

See Rev.

fax

federal government

figures

See numbers.

Financial Aid Office

first-year student, first-year students

Lowercase. Note that first-year students is the plural; first-year student is the singular noun as well as the adjective form.

• The first-year class was the largest ever. 
• A majority of first-year students are from California.

Capitalize as "First-Year" in headlines and labels.

Use instead of "freshman" and "freshmen."

flier, flyer

Flier is the preferred term for an aviator or a handbill. Flyer is the proper name of some trains and buses. 

foreign terms

See italics.

former

 Always lowercase when used with a title.

Founder

Capitalize. Refers to people who have donated more than $1 million to the University. Note this on first reference. 

freelance, freelancer

No hyphen. 

freshman, freshmen

Use first-year student or first-year students instead

full time, full-time

Hyphenate only when used as a compound modifier.

• He works full time.

or

• He is a full-time worker.

See part time, part-time.

fundraising, fundraiser

 Not hyphenated.

gender

Use man for any male person 18 years of age and older. Use woman for any female person 18 years of age and older. For those under the age of 18, use boy, girl, young man, or young woman as appropriate for the audience and ages (an exception to the AP Stylebook). Try to avoid excessive use of gendered nouns; in University contexts it is preferable to use the gender-neutral student whenever possible.

God, god(s)

God, god(s) Capitalize God or words that mean God in reference to the divine being of all monotheistic religions.

• the Son
• Allah
• God the Father
• Holy Ghost
• Holy Spirit

gods and goddesses

Capitalize proper names of pagan and mythological gods and goddesses:

• Neptune
• Theo
• Venus

godsend, godliness, godlike

Lowercase such words as godsend, godliness, godlike.

goodbye

One word.

Gospel, gospel(s)

Capitalize as a noun or an adjective when it refers to any or all of the first four books of the New Testament, the message they contain, or an excerpt from them proclaimed in a religious service.

 

This Sunday’s Gospel…

• …preaching the Gospel…
• …the Gospel message…
• …the Gospel story of the loaves and fishes…

• Lowercase in derived uses.
• He is a gospel singer.
• That’s the gospel truth

grade, grader

Hyphenate in combining forms: a fourth-grade student, a 10th-grader

graduated

Used as a verb in the active voice.

• She graduated from SCU.

Not the passive voice

• He was graduated from SCU.

gray

The American spelling is gray. The British spelling is grey.

handicapped

Use disabled instead.

headlines

Capitalize any words longer than three letters.

• Business Dean Announces his Retirement
• Do not use terminal punctuation except for a question mark or an exclamantion point.
• In Santa Clara Magazine, only an initial cap is used for subheads within stories or sections.

See capitalization.

health care

heaven

Lowercase.

hell

Lowercase. But capitalize Hades.

high-tech

His

When used as part of a formal title of respect, his should be capitalized.

• his holiness
• His Majesty
• His Excellency

Lowercase he, him, his, thee, thou, etc. when used as personal pronouns referring to God.

Do not presume maleness in constructing a sentence that has a generic reference:

• Reporters try to protect their sources

not

• A reporter tries to protect his sources.

Hispanic/Latino(a)

Latino(a) is preferred style for reference to a native or inhabitant of Latin America or a person of Latin American heritage living in the United States, but be careful not to apply it indiscriminately. The way ethnicity is described can be a sensitive matter. If possible, consult with the person in question to see what racial reference they prefer.

Holy Father

The preferred form is to use “the pope” or “the pontiff” or to give the individual’s name.

home page

Two words. Lowercase.

honorary degrees

For most occasions, SCU style does not require citing an honorary degree. However in cases where decorum may require a citation, the following format is recommended.

Ex. Joe Smith graduated from SCU in 1985 and received an honorary degree from the University in 2005, thus on first reference:

Joe Smith '85, Hon. '05

Human Resources

Capitalize when referring to SCU's Human Resources department. HR or HR department acceptable on second reference.

hyphens

End-of-line hyphens: Must have two letters before break, three letters after.

No more than two end-of-line hyphens in a row.

Hyphenate re- words when there are back-to-back e’s:

• re-elect
• re-examine

See dashes.

i.e.

Abbreviation for the Latin id est or that is and is always followed by a comma. Not to be confused with e.g., which means for example and is also always followed by a comma.

ID

IGC

Second reference to Inter-Greek Council, a group of recognized men’s and women’s fraternities.

Ignatian, Ignatius

Immaculate Conception

impact

Do not use as a verb.

• The program has an impact on a lot of lives.
• The program affects a lot of lives.
• not The program impacts a lot of lives.

in spite of

Despite means the same thing and is shorter.

in, into

In indicates location whereas into indicates motion.

• He was in a room.
• She walked into a room.

Inc.

No comma preceding

• Google Inc.

 

initials

Use periods and spacing for multiple initials.

• H. L. Mencken

For single initials, use a period and a space following.

• Edward R. Murrow
• F. Lee Bailey

 

inquire, inquiry

Not enquire, enquiry.

inter-

In general, do not hyphenate. But use a hyphen if the word that follows is capitalized.

Some examples:

• inter-American   
• interstate
• interracial
• interreligious

Internet

Lowercase in all instances. Lowercase Internet addresses unless entries are case-sensitive. Lowercase intranet. Avoid use of ’Net. Do not italicize Web and email addresses within blocks of text.

• Santa Clara University’s website is www.scu.edu.
• Joe Smith can be reached via e-mail at jsmith@scu.edu.

Do not break a Web address if possible in a line; if unavoidable, break following a forward slash (/).

There is no need to precede a URL with “http://”. See webpage, website.

interviews

Introduce the speaker by the full name or organization for the first quote, by an abbreviation thereafter.

• Santa Clara Magazine: When did you first decide to pursue…?
• Joe Smith: I got interested in physics when I was nine…
• SCM: Tell us more about…
• J.S.: My parents were farmers in the….

irregardless

Do not use. It is a double negative. Regardless is correct.

IT

An abbreviation for “information technology.” Spell out on first reference; IT is acceptable on second reference.

italics

Italicize names of books, magazines, newsletters, and other publications. Also italicize titles of movies, TV shows, and albums. Although individual episodes and songs are placed in quotation marks. See titles.

• Santa Clara Magazine
• The Redwood
• Who can forget "City on the Edge of Forever" from the original Star Trek series?

Italicize foreign terms as a rule.

• au contraire
• laissez faire

Punctuation following an italicized word is also italicized. But open and close quotes and parentheses always match, even if the last word is in italics.

• “Where are the putti?” she asked.

its, it's

its (possessive, belonging to “it”), it’s (contraction of “it is” or “it has”)

• Santa Clara University is proud of its graduates.
• It’s up to the deans to make that change.
• It’s been a long time since the class of ’59 visited campus.

J.D.

See academic degrees.

Jesuit

Properly referred to as the Society of Jesus or the Jesuit order. For members of the order, use S.J. after the individual’s name, set off with commas.

• Michael E. Engh, S.J., is president of SCU.

Do not use Fr. or Dr. before the name when using S.J. as a suffix.

Jesuit School of Theology

JST is acceptable in second reference.

Full title is the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. If context requires the Berkeley location to be mentioned add: (Berkeley campus).

Jesuit universities, international

Due to deferences in classification between countries, when refering to a total number of international Jesuit universities, "more than 100" is perferable.

 

Jesus or Jesus Christ

Uppercase.

Jr./Sr.

Abbreviate only with full names of persons. The notation II or 2nd may be used if it is the individual's preference. Do not precede with a comma.

• Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.

Judeo-Christian

junior

Lowercase when referring to the class year designation

Kids on Campus

Capitalize when referring to the child-care center on campus, not when referring to children on campus generally.

kingdom of God

Last Supper

Lowercase only when modified by a possessive referring to Jesus.

• Jesus washed the apostles’ feet before his last supper with them.

Latin Terms

Italicize.

• ad infinitum
• modus operandi.

Latino(a)/Hispanic

See Hispanic/Latino(a).

Law Career Services

Law School

See School of Law. Also see academic departments.

lay, lie

Action word is lay. Laid is its past tense form. Laying is its present tense form.

• I will lay the book on the table.
• The prosecutor laid the blame on him.

Lie indicates a state of reclining along a horizontal plane. Past tense is lay. It also means to make an untrue statement. In that case, past tense is lied.

• He lies on the beach.
• He lay on the beach.
• He lied when he said he was at work.

Leavey Center

The arena in which men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams play.

Leavey School of Business

Use full name on first reference. Use business school on second reference. See academic departments.

lecture titles

Put in quotes. Same rule for speech and article titles.

Lent

Locatelli, Paul S.J.

Chancellor and former president of the University. Official graduation year is 1960. Paul Locatelli, S.J. ’60. Locatelli acceptable on second reference. Preferred first usage for press releases: SCU Chancellor Paul Locatelli, S.J.

Lord's Supper

Mac/PC

Use Macintosh on first reference; Mac on second reference. Personal computer on first reference; PC on second reference.

magazine names

Capitalize and place in italics.

• Santa Clara Magazine

magisterium

Lowercase in all uses.

maiden/birth names

Susan (Brown) Hanson, Susan Brown Hanson if she uses it as her full name.

mass

Always capitalize, but lowercase any preceding adjectives.

• high Mass
• funeral Mass
• requiem Mass

An exception: “Red Mass,” the traditional name for a special Mass celebrated for members of the legal profession.

Capitalize the formal names of the two major parts of the Mass: “Liturgy of the Word, Liturgy of the Eucharist.” Also capitalize the names of specific prayers within the Mass that are unchanging.

Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Business Administration

The correct abbreviations are M.A., M.S., and MBA. A master's degree or a master's is acceptable in any reference.

may, might

If there’s some potential for confusion, use might to mean “maybe” and may if you mean “allowed to.”

• I might go to the Bronco tonight.
• May I borrow your pen?

Mayer Theatre

The Louis B. Mayer Theatre on first reference. Mayer Theatre or the theatre are acceptable second references.

MBA

See academic degrees.

Messiah, messiah

Capitalize in religious uses. Lowercase when used generically to mean a liberator.

mid-

No hyphen unless a capitalized word follows:

• midair, mid-America, mid-Atlantic, midsemester and midterm

But use a hyphen when mid- precedes a figure:

• mid-30s

middle names/initials

Include on first reference if it is the person’s preference, if they are publicly known that way, or to avoid confusion with people of the same name.

midnight

Lowercase. Use instead of 12 a.m.

millennium, millennial

“Millennial generation” is often used to describe students born during or after the 1980s.

Mission campus

Capitalize Mission |  lowercase campus

• Welcome to the Mission campus, home to California's oldest operating institution of higher education.

Mission Church

Capitalize when referring to the church at Santa Clara University. In a first reference to the church, use Mission Santa Clara de Asís. Also capitalize Mission in subsequent references to the SCU church.

Capitalize the names of other missions on first reference Mission San Juan Bautista but lowercase mission on second reference.

Mission Gardens

Capitalize when referring to the garden area at the center of campus.

Mission Santa Clara de Asís

Use as first reference to Mission Church on campus.

Note special character and direction of accent in Asís.

money

For amounts of $1 up to $999,999.99, use the dollar sign with a decimal point to separate dollars from cents.

• $50.75

Leave the decimal point and zeroes off of even dollar amounts.

• $50

For even amounts of $1 million or more, omit zeroes and use “million,” “billion,” etc.

• $2 million
• $1.5 billion

For amounts under $1, simply use the word “cents.”

• 67 cents
• Two cents’ worth

monsignor

Always abbreviate as Msgr. when used before the name. Spell out and lowercase in all other uses.

months

See dates/months/years.

More than vs. over

More than is preferred with numerals:

• Their salaries went up more than $20 a week.

Over generally refers to spatial relationships:

• The plane flew over the city.

multi-

In general, no hyphen.

• multicultural, multimillion-dollar, multilateral, multilevel

National Conference of Catholic Bishops

Native American

newspaper names

Capitalize and place in italics. DO NOT capitalize the unless it is part of the paper's formal name; check the masthead or website of the publication for clarification.

nicknames

Put in parentheses:

• Gerdenio (Sonny) Manuel, S.J.

This style is not necessary for those going by common shortened forms of given names, such as Rob, Bob, or Bobby for Robert.

 

Nobel Prize, Nobel laureate

non-

Do not hyphenate when used as a prefix.

• nonjudgmental

• nondenominational

Hyphenate when the word begins with a capital letter:

• non-Catholic

 

nondiscrimination policy

All communications (flyers, programs, invitations) inviting students, employees, and/or the general public to events sponsored by the University (whether on campus or not) must contain the following language:

Santa Clara University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and/or ethnic origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, religion, veteran's status, or age in the administration of any of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletics, or employment-related policies, programs, and activities; or other University administered policies, programs, and activities.

If you have a disability and require a reasonable accommodation, please call [name] at [phone #] (voice) or [1-800-735-2929] (TTY--California Relay) at least [number of hours] prior to the event.

 

noon

Lowercase. Use instead of 12 p.m.

novena

numbers

Spell out numbers one through nine and first through ninth. Use numerals for 10 or more, 10th or more. Always use numerals for ages, percentages, headlines, and units of credit.

•  It's a 4-credit course.
• She scored 90 percent in the midterms.

age

When expressing age, always use numerals for people and animals. Hyphenation rules apply for adjectives:

• She was 5 years old.
• The 5-year-old girl

For inanimate objects, such as buildings, regular numeral rules apply.

• The stadium is two years old.
• The library is 50 years old.

References to an age range or a decade require no apostrophes.

• The instructor was in her 30s.
• She grew up in the 1950s.

 

capitalization Page 3, Room 24, Group 2

No. 1 Use instead of number one in text, unless quoted.

percent Write out the word percent except in display or tabular copy: 45 percent. Always use numerals, even for numbers less than 10.

Use decimals rather than fractions. For amounts less than 1 percent, precede the decimal with a zero:

• 0.5 percent
• Percent takes a singular verb when standing alone or when it is expressed as a percentage of a singular entity:

• Approximately 50 percent of the class signed up for the immersion program.

When expressed as a percentage of a plural entity it takes a plural verb:

• Approximately 50 percent of the students are going on the immersion trip.

spelling Write out numbers expressed in quotes:

• I expect a thousand new freshmen this fall, she said.

Spell out a numeral at the beginning of a sentence:
• Nine students attended the dinner.

 

            dimensions

             Use figures and spell out inches, feet, yards, etc., to indicate depth, height,     length and width. Hyphenate adjectival forms before nouns.

• He is 5 feet 6 inches tall, the 5-foot-6-inch man, the 5-foot man, the basketball team signed a 7-footer.
• The car is 17 feet long, 6 feet wide and 5 feet high.
• The rug is 9 feet by 12 feet, the 9-by-12 rug.
• The storm left 5 inches of snow.
• The building has 6,000 square feet of floor space.

Use an apostrophe to indicate feet and quote marks to indicate inches (5'6") only in very technical contexts.

Also see money.

nun, nuns

Lowercase in all cases. Also see sister.

obituaries

Don't use current year with dates.

• She died March 3 in San Jose.

• NOT She died March 3, 2010.

Use courtesy titles Mr., Mrs., Ms. when referring to the deceased in an obituary.

office

All nonacademic areas are offices, not departments:

• the Purchasing Office
• the Office of Housing
• Residential Life

Office of Student Life

Use on first reference, especially in news releases. On second reference, student life office is acceptable.

Official names

Informal title or acronym in brackets:

• Automated Retrieval System (ARS)
• Bannan Institute for Jesuit Educational Mission (Bannan Center)
• Career Center
• Center for Multicultural Learning (CML)
• Center for Student Leadership (CSL)
• Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SCU-CIE)
• Center for Social Justice and Public Service
• Center of Performing Arts (CPA)
• Center for Professional Developmen
• Howard S. and Alida S. Charney Hall of Law (Charney Hall)
• Civil Society Institute
• Competitive Manufacturing Institute (CMI)
• Cowell Student Health Center
• DISCOVER project (acronym; stands for Developing and Inspiring Scholarly Communities Oriented toward Vocational Engagement and Reflection)
• The John B. Drahmann Academic Advising and Learning Resources Center (Drahmann Center)
• East Side Future Teachers Project
• E-commerce Initiative
• Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building
• Engineering Design Center (EDC)
• Environmental Studies Institute (ESI)
• Executive Development Center (EDC)
• Food and Agribusiness Institute (FAI)
• High Tech Law Institute
• Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education
• Institute for Information Storage Technology (IIST)
• Institute for Spirituality and Organizational Leadership
• Institute of International and Comparative Law
• Integrated Strategic Plan
• Joanne E. Harrington Learning Commons, Sobrato Family Technology Center, and Orradre Library (acceptable second reference is learning commons, technology center, and library)
• Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center (formerly the East San Jose Community Law Center)
• Kern Engineering Entrepreneurship Network (KEEN)
• Lucas Hall
• Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Ethics Center)
• Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship (Miller Center)
• Multicultural Center (MCC; this is a student organization, should not be confused with Center for Multicultural Learning)
• Northern California Innocence Project
• Pedro Arrupe, S.J., Partnerships for Community-Based Learning (formerly, Arrupe Center)
• Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., Solidarity Program (Kolvenbach program)
• Retail Management Institute (RMI)
• The Spirituality and Health Institute
• Sullivan Aquatic Center
• Wellness Center
  

 

OK

Do not use okay.

on campus

No hyphen:

• Visitors are welcome on campus.

But include hyphen if the words are used as an adjective:

• On-campus parking is available.

online, offline

No hyphen.

OSCAR

Online Santa Clara Automated Retrieval (online library catalog)

Over vs. More than

Over generally refers to spatial relationships:

• The plane flew over the city.

 

More than is used with numerals:

• Their salaries went up more than $20 a week.

overall

One word.

p.m./a.m.

See time.

page numbers

Use figures and capitalize Page

• Please refer to Page 10 for more information on platypuses.

When letters are added, do not hyphenate:

• Please turn to Page 10A for a detailed evacuation plan.

parish

Capitalize as part of a formal name for a church congregation:

• St. John's Parish

Lowercase when standing alone or used in plurals:

• St. John's and St. Mary's parishes

• the parish

part time, part-time

Hyphenate only when used as a compound modifier.

• He works part time.

• He is a part-time worker.

See full time, full-time.

pastoral letters

Lowercase EXCEPT when using as part of a formal title.

PC/Mac

See Mac/PC.

penance

Not to be confused with sports or decorative pennants (plural of pennant).

percent

See numbers.

permanent collection

Ph.D., Ph.D.s

See academic degrees.

phone, fax numbers

Use hyphens, not parentheses or periods:

• 415-555-5555

pick up, pick-up

If it's an action (verb-plus-adverb phrase) then spell it as two words:

• Please pick up your trash.

But it it's an adjective, use the hyphenated form:

• The passenger pick-up area is behind the building.

plurals

In general, add s or es to pluralize a noun:

• dog, dogs

• box, boxes

DO NOT add s or es if the plural has a form change:

• child, children

• goose, geese

Consult Webster's dictionary for specifics and proper usage. DO NOT use an apostrophe in plurals of nouns or acronyms:

• CDs

• DVDs

• FAQs

EXCEPTION: single letters take an apostrophe for clarity.

• A's and B's

pontiff

Not a formal title; always lowercase.

pope

Capitalize before a name:

• Pope Benedict XVI

Otherwise use lowercase:

• The pope visited Cuba.

populace, populous

prayers

Capitalize names of prayers:

• Our Father

• Lord's Prayer

But when used generically, lowercase:

• He said a prayer.

president

Capitalize when used before the name:

• President Michael E. Engh, S.J. will be hosting coffee sessions with the campus community this quarter.

Lowercase when used in second reference or when not preceding a name:

• According to the president, this is an effective way to have one-on-one conversations with faculty, administrators, and students.

Always use President when referring to Fr. Engh.

• The President's office is in Walsh.
   

priests

Lowercase in all instances.

professor

Never abbreviate. Capitalize when used as a formal title before a name:

• Professor Jones taught the class.

But when not preceding a name, lowercase:

• The professor lectured to students.

When applicable, always use a professor's chair title on first reference

• On first reference: Professor Joe Smith, holder of the Phil and Bobbie Sanfilippo Chair, canceled class today.
• On subsequent reference: Smith rescheduled class for tomorrow.

Be careful to apply the title "professor" only to faculty who are in fact professors. Thus, when applying a general term to a large group of faculty that may include professors, associate professors, and lecturers, use the terms "faculty" or "teachers."

professorship

Capitalize only when part of a formal name. See endowed chair/endowed professorship.

province

Lowercase when used alone or attached to a geographic reference:

• the Jesuits' California province

Capitalize when part of a nongeographic religious province's formal name:

• the Province of St. Joseph

provost

Capitalize when used before a name:

• Provost Lucia Gilbert

Lowercase otherwise.

punctuation

apostrophe Generally indicates possessive, contraction, or missing letters/numbers.

• the president's memo
• don't walk
• class of '80

       Indicates plural of single letters only:

• A's

• D's

      Do not use to pluralize acronyms or numbers:

• CDs

• temperatures in the 80s

      See class years.

colon Use a colon:

• in Biblical citations;

• when appropriate to introduce a bulleted list;

• when transcribing an interview; and

• when introducing examples.

If using a colon in text, capitalize the first word after the colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a new complete sentence.

    See bullets. See interviews.

commas Use commas to separate elements in a series:

• I like apples, bananas, and oranges.

      Use a comma before the concluding conjunction in a complex series of phrases:

• The University is steeped in tradition, has an aesthetically pleasing campus, and attracts top-notch students every year.

      In the case of a complex list in which individual items contain commas or
      conjunctions, a semicolon should be used instead.

      Place a comma after digits signifying thousands,
      except when reference is made to temperature or to
      SAT scores.

• 1,150 students

• 1100 degrees

• SAT score of 1145

      Do not use a comma before or after a Jr. or Sr.

• Robert J. Finnocchio Jr. is the chairman of the Board of Trustees for 2009.

      When writing a date, place a comma between the day and the year as well as after
           the year.

• July 4, 2001, is a day that will go down in memory books for the class of '69.

      Also, see dates.

dashes

em dashes Use in place of hyphens or double hyphens in text. No spaces between text and em dash.

• The landscape—a true reflection of the effect of mankind—has changed the most.

en dashes Use to express a range in charts or listings:

• 5-7:30 p.m.

But do not use dashes in body text:

• The class runs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

      See hyphens.

ellipsis In general, treat an ellipsis as a three-letter word, constructed with three consecutive periods. Microsoft Word will autoformat three periods into a single character. Use an ellipsis to indicate the deletion of one or more words in condensing quotes, texts, and documents.  Pay special attention to ellipses in Web publications: There is no HTML character equivalent, and all ellipses characters should be replaced with three periods to avoid errors.

• To do otherwise would be ... a dangerously destabilizing precedent for the future.

exclamation point Avoid overuse. Do not use a comma or period after the exclamation mark, even for quoted material:

• "Stop!" the officer cried.

hyphens End-of-line hyphens: Must have at least two letters before break, at least three letters after.

       No more than two end-of-line hyphens in a row.
       Hyphenate re- words when there are back-to-back
       e's:

• re-elect

• re-examine

      See dashes.

parentheses Punctuation generally goes outside the closing parenthesis (as shown in this sentence). Do not capitalize or include a period inside a parenthetical statement unless it is an entire sentence, standing alone. (This is an example.)

question marks Use at the end of a sentence that's a question. For the most part, question marks go inside quotation marks when used in quoted material:

• She loves the play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

• "What does that mean?" he asked.

In cases where the question mark is not part of the book or movie title, it is placed outside the quotation marks.

• Have you ever read "The Kite Runner"?

quotation marks Use quotation marks for directly quoted speech or text; for titles of movies, plays, poems, songs, and works of art; and (sparingly) to indicate a colloquial or unusual term. The period and the comma always go within the quotation marks. The dash, semicolon, question mark, and exclamation point go within the quotation marks when they apply to the quoted matter only. They go outside when they apply to the whole sentence.

If a title or quote is contained within quoted material, use single quotes inside the double quotations:

• "I cannot wait to see 'Casablanca' tomorrow," he said.

series/serial comma The comma before "and" in a list of three or more items. Use of this comma is an exception to AP style.

      See commas.

space Only one space after a period in all Web content and printed materials. For additional punctuation usage guidelines, please consult the AP Stylebook.

quarter

fall quarter (note lowercase of fall). Also, see seasons.

Quick reference guide

Alumni

• alumnus = singular, male
• alumna = singular, female
• alumni = plural, group of men or men and women
• alumnae = plural, group of women only

Avoid use of colloquial “alum” in text, unless in quoted material.

Apostrophes

Indicates possessive, contraction, or missing letters/numbers. Use for plural of single letters only; do not use to pluralize numbers or acronyms.

• He got all A’s. She bought CDs, DVDs, and books.

In class year listings, note direction of apostrophe:

• Class of ’80

Buildings

Use full name on first reference. Use abbreviated name if referring to a specific room number.

Class Years

For current students, use first-year student, sophomore, junior, or senior rather than ’07, ’08, etc. Use first-year students as the plural noun and first-year student as the singular noun and adjective:

• a first-year student
• two first-year students
• the first-year class

Commas

Use the serial comma in lists of three or more:

• We used red, blue, and green paint to spruce up the place.

In complex lists with elements containing conjunctions or commas, use semicolons:

• We’re serving ham, eggs, and toast; macaroni and cheese; and burgers and fries.

Dates, Days, Months, Years

Full date: use abbreviated month and offset year with comma:

• On Monday, Nov. 12, 2008, the president said…

Except in media releases, it is often not necessary to use the year unless the date is in a different calendar year. Month/Year: spell out full month, no comma.

• September 2005

Range of dates, specific:

• Jan. 1 through March 2

Range of dates, with months: Use “through” rather than a dash in body copy; use en-dash in calendar listings.

• January through September 2006.

Range of years, use en-dash, even in body copy:

• 1989–1993
• 1994–98

Month abbreviations:

• Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.
• Do not abbreviate March, April, May, June, July
• Do not abbreviate days of the week
• Do not use ordinals for dates
• May 1, NOT May 1st

Departments

Academic or administrative, capitalize if using full formal title:

• Office of Student Life
• Department of Civil Engineering

Preferable to use informal, lowercase names in body of text:

• engineering department
• music department

Use “department” for academic departments only. Use “office” to refer to an administrative department. Please note certain preferred usages:

• Alumni Office (not Office of Alumni Relations)
• Undergraduate Admission (singular, not an office)

Consult the campus directory or OMC for other specific office/department usages.

Internet and Web entries

email, email address

• Without hyphen. Do not italicize or underline email addresses in text. Microsoft Word will autoformat as a link, which is acceptable for informal communications only.

Internet

• Capitalize the word in text.

online, offline

• No hyphen.

website, webpage, webmaster, Web address, World Wide Web

• Note use of lowercase one word in website, webpage, and webmaster.

URL

• No need to use http:// in text. Do not italicize or underline Web addresses in text. Try to avoid breaking URLs across multiple lines in text.

Keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Word

— em-dash, to be used in text:

• Ctrl + Alt + - (must use “-” key on keypad at right of keyboard)

– en-dash, used in tables to indicate range:

• Ctrl + - (must use “-” key on keypad at right of keyboard)

í Accented í for “Santa Clara de Asís” — Ctrl + ’, i
é Accented é — Ctrl + ’, e
è Accented è — Ctrl + `, e (` is also the ~ key)

Numbers

In text, spell out “one” through “nine” and use figures for “10” and higher.

Use figures for charts or tabular data, room numbers, dates, sports scores, and all percentages.

Always use figures to express a person’s age, but not an inanimate object’s age. Spell out “first” through “ninth” in text; use figures for 10th and up, but do not superscript the ordinal. 

Spell out numbers that start out a sentence or rewrite the sentence. Spell out any numbers in quoted material, except percentages.

Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, SCU, the University

Always use Santa Clara University on first reference. In subsequent references, use the University with capital letter. SCU or Santa Clara are also acceptable on second reference. In news releases, do not capitalize the U in second references to the University as per AP style.

quotation marks

See punctuation.

résumé

rector

Treat as a job description, not a title. Lowercase.

regent

Capitalize it before the name of an individual who is a member of SCU's Board of Regents.

residence halls

Preferred term for on-campus housing locations. Do not use dormitories or dorms.

Residential Learning Communities

Use on first reference to SCU's student living groups. RLC or RLCs on second reference.

Rev.

For a member of the Jesuits, use the Rev. before the name or S.J. after it, not both. S.J. is preferable.

However, for very formal occasions, using both Reverend and S.J. is acceptable.

Also, see S.J.

room numbers

Use figures and capitalize room when used with a figure

• Room 222

rosary

It is recited, prayed, or said; never read. Lowercase.

Ruff Riders

The official student booster club of SCU Athletics.

S.J.

The Society of Jesus, the religious order to which Jesuits belong.

Set off by commas in a sentence, unless a verb follows the name.

On second reference, use Fr. and last name only.

• During the summer, Jack Treacy, S.J., who conducts the Examen for all staff members, will be on campus.

• Jack Treacy, S.J. conducts the Examen.

• Fr. Treacy encourages everyone to attend.

 

DO NOT use both Fr. and S.J.

• INCORRECT:  Fr. Jack Treacy, S.J. 

 

For very formal occasions use both Reverend and S.J. 

• This proclamation hereby honors Reverend Michael E, Engh, S.J.

 

 

Sabbath

Capitalize in religious references, lowercase to mean a period of rest.

• All Jewish holy days and the Jewish Sabbath start at sunset before the day marked on most calendars.

• The weekly holy day, the equivalent of the Christian sabbath, is Friday.

sacraments

Catholics and Orthodox recognize seven: the Eucharist (often called Communion), baptism, confirmation, penance (now often called the sacrament of reconciliation), matrimony, holy orders, and the sacrament of anointing the sick (formerly extreme unction).

Lowercase adjectives used with a sacrament:

• holy Eucharist

saints

Do not capitalize in general usage.

If used with a name, abbreviate to St., including for locations:

• St. Ignatius of Loyola

• the city of St. Louis

Do not use the feminine Ste. (except for names of certain locations).

San José State University

Accent preferred by university officials; SJSU acceptable on second reference. Athletic teams are the Spartans. See U.C. system, CSU system.

San Jose, San José

Accent is preferred by San Jose officials but not necessary in most usages.

Santa Clara University

Use on first reference. SCU, Santa Clara, or the University acceptable on second reference. Don't use Santa Clara on first reference. See University.

Satan

Also capitalize Lucifer, but lowercase devil.

savior

But the Savior.

SCCAP

Santa Clara Community Action Program (SCCAP) on first reference (acronym introduced in parenthesis on first reference). SCCAP on second reference.

School of Education and Counseling Psychology

School of Engineering

Use engineering school on second reference.

School of Law

Use Santa Clara University School of Law on first reference; lowercase law school or school when used alone or on second reference.

Law school is acceptable on first reference in SCU's law publications.

Schott Stadium

Houses the baseball program. Use Stephen Schott Stadium on first reference.

Science Resource Center

Scriptures, the

SCU

Use Santa Clara University on first reference. SCU or the University is acceptable on second reference. See University.

seasons

Lowercase spring, fall, summer, winter:

• fall 1985

Also lowercase derivatives like springtime, unless part of a formal name:

• The spring 2010 issue of Santa Clara Magazine.

Lowercase when referring to academic terms.

Second Vatican Council

Vatican II or the council is acceptable on second reference.

senior

Lowercase when referring to the class year designation.

Senior/Sr.

Abbreviate only with full names. Capitalize, no comma between the name and the suffix.

• Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.

series commas, serial commas

See punctuation.

set up, setup

Set up is a verb that denotes the act of putting something together. Setup is the noun that represents the result or arrangement of what you have put together.

• We set up tables and chairs for the event.

But

• The setup looked great in Bronco colors.

Silicon Valley

The word valley is capitalized when part of the proper name but lowercased in all second references. See valley.

sister

Capitalize when used before the names of nuns and when referring to a specific order or congregation.

• Jane Doe, RSCJ (which stands for Religious Sacre Coeur de Jesu)

• Sister Jane Doe

DO NOT use both Sister and RSCJ.

DO NOT abbreviate Sister.

DO NOT use Sister on its own on second reference--instead, use the person's last name.

sophomore

Lowercase when referring to the class year designation. Note spelling.

sports

SCU mascot is the Bronco. All references to sports teams use the plural possessive:

• women's soccer

• men's basketball

Teams can be referred to as the Broncos on second reference, but avoid overuse. For specific sports writing guidelines, please see the AP Stylebook.

staff

startup

One word (n. and adj.) to describe a new business venture.

state abbreviations

The names of the 50 U.S. states should be spelled out when used in the body of a story, whether standing alone or in conjunction with a city, town, village or military base. No state name is necessary if it is the same as the dateline. This also applies to newspapers cited in a story. For example, a story datelined Providence, R.I., would reference the Providence Journal, not the Providence (R.I.) Journal.

Except for cities that stand alone in datelines, use the state name in textual material when the city or town is not in the same state as the dateline, or where necessary to avoid confusion: Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, Illinois. Provide a state identification for the city if the story has no dateline, or if the city is not in the same state as the dateline. However, cities that stand alone in datelines may be used alone in stories that have no dateline if no confusion would result.

ZIP code abbreviations--in parentheses--are to be used only with full mailing addresses that include a ZIP code.

Abbreviations should only be used in datelines, in tables or lists, and to designate political party affiliation (D-Calif.).

 

• Ala. (AL)

• Ariz. (AZ)

• Ark. (AR)

• Calif. (CA)

• Colo. (CO)

• Conn. (CT)

• Del. (DE)

• Fla. (FL)

• Ga. (GA)

• Ill. (IL)

• Ind. (IN)

• Kan. (KS)

• Ky. (KY)

• La. (LA)

• Md. (MD)

• Mass. (MA)

• Mich. (MI)

• Minn. (MN)

• Miss. (MS)

• Mo. (MO)

• Mont. (MT)

• N.D. (ND)

• Neb. (NE)

• Nev. (NV)

• N.H. (NH)

• N.J. (NJ)

• N.M. (NM)

• N.Y. (NY)

• N.C. (NC)

• Okla. (OK)

• Ore. (OR)

• Pa. (PA)

• R.I. (RI )

• S.C. (SC)

• S.D. (SD)

• Tenn. (TN)

• Vt. (VT)

• Va. (VA)

• Wash. (WA)

• W.Va. (WV)

• Wis. (WI)

• Wyo. (WY)

Eight states are not abbreviated in text. (Postal code in parentheses.)

• Alaska (AK)

• Hawaii (HI)

• Idaho (ID)

• Iowa (IA)

• Maine (ME)

• Ohio (OH)

• Texas (TX)

• Utah (UT)

Washington, D.C., is never abbreviated. District of Columbia or D.C is acceptable in text on second reference. Note comma after D.C. in full usage.

state names

See AP stylebook for questions of usage. Use full state names, in all cases other than datelines. The names of the 50 U.S. states should be spelled out when used in the body of a story, whether standing alone or in conjunction with a city, town, village or military base. No state name is necessary if it is the same as the dateline. This also applies to newspapers cited in a story. For example, a story datelined Providence, R.I., would reference the Providence Journal, not the Providence (R.I.) Journal.

Only use two-letter ZIP code abbreviations (CA) on envelopes or for return addresses. In the Class Notes section of Santa Clara Magazine, California is the default.

Stations of the Cross

Stevens Stadium

Stevens Stadium refers to the name of SCU's soccer stadium and complex, formerly Buck Shaw Stadium.

The field of play is referred to as Buck Shaw Field.

street names

See entries for addresses, El Camino Real, The Alameda.

Student Life

Acceptable on second reference for Office of Student Life.

subheads

Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in article subheads. Do not use a period at the end of a subhead.

television

TV is acceptable as an adjective or in such constructions as cable TV.

Ten Commandments

Do not abbreviate or use figures.

The Alameda

Street name; use "The" and capitalize in all instances.

theatre

Use this spelling in all instances, unless talking about a movie theater.

thee, thy, thou

Use only in direct quotations.  Lowercase personal pronouns referring to God.

there, their, they're

Use there when referring to a place, whether concrete or abstract:

• There is an antique store on Camden Avenue.
• The science textbooks are over there on the floor.

Use their to indicate possession:

• My friends have lost their tickets.
• Their things were strewn about the office haphazardly.

They're is a contraction of the words they and are:

• Hurry up! They're closing the mall at 6 tonight!
• I'm glad that they're so nice to new students here.

time

Use periods with a.m and p.m

• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

No colon and double zeroes for even times:

• 4 p.m. NOT 4:00 pm

Always say noon and midnight.

• DO NOT USE: 12 noon, 12 p.m. or 12 a.m.

When using two times from the same time period do not repeat a.m. or p.m.

• 3-3:45 p.m. NOT 3 p.m.-3:45 p.m.
• BUT 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

titles, academic

Capitalize and spell out before names; lowercase after.

• I am studying chemistry with Assistant Professor John Smith.
• John Smith, assistant professor of chemistry.

DON'T ABBREVIATE TITLES.

If the name of an office, department, or college is part of the title, capitalization rules apply.

• Jim Smith, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
• Mary Lewis, professor in the history department

Faculty Titles

• assistant professor
• acting assistant professor
• associate professor
• professor

Other faculty titles

• lecturer
• senior lecturer
• visiting faculty: holds equivalent rank at another college of university. Appointments are usually for one year and in no case for more than three years.
• adjunct faculty: part-time appointments
• special appointments: Distinguished artists, scholars, scientists, engineers, executives, statesmen, and others may be granted appointments-in-residence from time to time, as approved by the provost.
• professor emeritus: A tenured associate or full professor, upon retirement from outstanding service at Santa Clara University, is eligible for this title, which is awarded by the president.

titles, book, magazine, newspaper, etc.

For more information on the use of italics in titles see italics.

• Capitalize the principle words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters.
• Use quotations for titles of lectures and speeches but capitalize only the first word.
• Italicize magazine, book, newsletter, and other publication titles (but not online publications).
• Italicize titles of movies, TV shows, and albums. Although individual episodes and songs are placed in quotation marks.

titles, courtesy, personal, or other

Do not use courtesy titles such as Mr. or Mrs. except in an obituary to refer to the deceased.  For proper usage of other titles (e.g., foreign, nobility) consult the AP Stylebook or contact UMC.

titles, military

Capitalize a military rank when used as a formal title before an individual's name.  Consult the AP Stylebook to determine whether the title should be spelled out or abbreviated in regular text.

titles, professional

Initial-cap only when preceding a person's name

• History Professor Jane Smith
• Jane Smith, history professor

For endowed professorships, initial-cap title, and use only after name:

• Jane Smith, the Fletcher Jones Professor of Chemistry

Lowercase dean or vice president when referring to the position or when used after a name:

• He is the dean of the law school.

toward, towards

Both mean "in the direction of."  Toward is more common in American English; towards is the predominant form in British English.

trustee

Capitalize only if used before the name of a member of SCU's Board of Trustees.

Twelve Apostles

Do not use a numeral.

Twitter

A community-based message-distribution system that allows users to post continual status updates of up to 140 characters detailing their activities for followers. The verb is to tweet. A Twitter message is known as a tweet.

UC system, CSU system

Spell out on first reference.

• University of California, Berkeley
• UC Berkeley on second reference

and

• California State University, Fresno
• Fresno State on second reference

Under Secretary

Note, this title is two words.

ex. The President just named Jane the under secretary of defense.

United States

U.S. (with periods) is acceptable on second reference.

 

University

Treat as a proper noun and capitalize only when referring to Santa Clara University specifically:

• The Residential Learning Communities are a unique selling point of the University.
• All University departments have to adhere by the style guide.

But when used to denote a common noun, it is:

• SCU is a Jesuit university.

Santa Clara or SCU is acceptable on second reference. Don't use University alone on first reference. In press releases,"university" will be lowercased in all cases when it is a stand-alone element, uppercased when used after "Santa Clara."

University Marketing and Communications

On second reference lowercase and use as marketing and communications office.

upper-division

the Vatican

valley

Capitalize only when used as part of a formal title:

• Santa Clara Valley
• Silicon Valley

Lowercase the word valley when it stands on its own or on second reference.

Vari Hall

Victor B. and Julia Botto Vari Hall is home to the College of Arts and Sciences

vice president

DO NOT HYPHENATE.  Upercase when used before a person's name, lowercase after:

• Santa Clara University's Vice President for University Relations Jim Purell plans to step down from his post later this year.
• Jim Purcell, vice president for University Relations, announced plans to retire in December.

vice provost, vice chair

No hyphen.  Title capitalization guidelines apply.  See capitilization.

viewbook

One word. Use uppercase when saying Santa Clara University Viewbook 2010. Lowercase on second reference.

Walsh Administration Building

On second reference, use Walsh.

Walsh Residence Hall

On second reference use Walsh Hall.

Way of the Cross

Web

Short form of World Wide Web.  Always capitalize.  Do not italicize Web addresses within blocks of text.  Do not capitalize a Web address unless the address is case-sensitive.  The address should appear exactly as is in the URL.  Do not break a Web address in a line; if it is unavoidable, break after a slash or period without using an end-of-line hyphen.

Names of Web publications or common sites (such as Salon or Google) should not be italicized.  These should include ".com" on first reference, but can stand alone on subsequent references.

URLs should not be italicized or underlined in printed materials (unless body of text is already italicized); Microsoft Word will autoformat as an underlined hyperlink, which is acceptable only in informal pieces.

website, webpage, webmaster

Note new lowercase, one-word usage.

BUT

• The Web has shaped social interaction in the 21st century.
• Web-based applications continue to multiply.

West Coast Conference

WCC on second reference.  The athletic conference to which Bronco sports teams belong.

West Coast, the West

Capitalize if used to indicate the larger geographic region of the United States, lowercase if used as a directional indicator.  See directions.

Western world

Also see directions.

white

Lowercase in reference to race and color.

who's

(contraction of who is)

• Who's coming to the convocation?

 

whose

Possessive:

• Whose book is that?

work force

work-study

works of art, descriptions

Works of art are italicized. When writing a formal description of an artwork, use this format:

Artist Name
Title of work, year of completion
Material used
Credit line
Other points of interest

Example:

A. Wasil
In Celebration of Family, 2008
Bronze
Gift to Santa Clara University from Dr. Rudi and Diana Brutoco, and the Brutoco Family Foundation, with special support from Malcolm Cisneros Law Corporation

This sculpture was the final work by A. Wasil before his death in 2008. A similar piece can be found on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.

World Wide Web

Simply saying the Web or the internet is also acceptable.  See Web,website, webpage./p>

years

Always use numbers for years, even if starting a sentence.  Express a range of years with an en dash, even in body copy.

If the first two digits are the same for the start and end years, format the range like this:

• 1990-95

But if they aren't, use:

• 1999-2000

For decades, use numerals and do not use apostrophes to pluralize:

• the 1980s

Also, see dates/months/years.

your, you're, yore

your (possessive, both singular and plural), you're (you are), yore(time long past)

• Is this your jacket?
• Are you sure you're ok?
• This dates back to the days of yore.

 

ZIP code

Use only with a full address (number, street, city, and state) and do not use a comma between the state code and the ZIP code:

• 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053