Editorial Style

Oregon State University Publications Style Guide for Writers and Editors

All OSU units are encouraged to adhere to these guidelines in order to ensure the consistency of messages coming from the university. This guide deals with many of the troublesome issues that may face communicators at OSU.

The official editorial style manual for Oregon State University publications and Web pages is The Associated Press Stylebook. The book is easy to use and is a storehouse of good information about grammar and usage. It covers most questions campus writers will have about style issues.

Style also requires a good dictionary for spelling and usage issues not covered in the AP stylebook. The AP-recommended dictionary is Webster's New World College Dictionary, published by Wiley. In most cases, the first spelling choice listed in the dictionary should be used.

You should also have a good grammar guide to help you settle usage issues. Guides are available at any bookstore and online.

Because OSU's needs are not the same as those of the news media, some exceptions to AP style are used. Following are the exceptions, plus some of the more difficult usage issues you may encounter and OSU style on common questions you are likely to face while writing or editing materials for the university's audiences.

Exceptions to AP style

academic degrees
Generic degree terms such as bachelor of arts and master of science are not capitalized at OSU. Capitalize, however, when the formal name of the degree is used: e.g., Master of Science in Chemical Engineering.

academic units
Capitalize the formal name of a department, college or other OSU unit: Department of Political Science, Department of Biology, College of Pharmacy, Office of Admissions, but not informal uses such as anthropology department, liberal arts, health and human sciences, forest engineering, admissions office.

African American
African American (not hyphenated) is the term used at OSU. For more, see the Cultural Sensitivity section below.

chair
Use the nonsexist terms chair or chairperson, depending on the preference of the unit. AP prefers chairman or chairwoman, but don't use those unless they are part of an official title.

telephone numbers
Separate each series of numbers by a hyphen: 541-737-0123. Do not use "1-" before long-distance or toll-free numbers.

titles
Titles of books, paintings, sculptures, films, magazines, plays, record albums, operas and other long musical works, newspapers and continuing radio and television shows are italicized. AP says to enclose these in quotation marks but that is because there are problems with transmitting italics to all member newspapers. In fact, AP does italicize these terms in the stylebook. Titles of short stories, articles, and poems; individual chapters in books; songs and other short musical compositions; and radio and television shows are set off in quotation marks.

URLs
It isn't necessary to include http:// in a URL when it is clear that it's a Web address. Browsers don't require that it be entered; it's easier for the reader to remember a URL without it; and eliminating it can make it easier to fit the URL on a single line. If a URL ends a sentence, put a period after it.

Word usage

a, an
The article is determined by the beginning sound of the word that follows rather than by the actual first letter. Use an before a vowel sound (e.g., an honor) and a before a consonant sound (e.g., a university).

a.d., b.c.; c.e., b.c.e.
These should be set in lowercase letters. In usage, a.d. appears before the year, and b.c. appears after it: 285 b.c.; a.d. 487. If they seem more appropriate for your audience, c.e. (common era) and b.c.e. (before common era) may be used, with the same year numbering system as a.d. and b.c. Both b.c.e. and c.e. appear after the date: 285 b.c.e.; 487 c.e.

a.m., p.m.
These are lowercase with periods in both lists and sentences. It isn't necessary to use :00 for times on the hour. To avoid confusion, noon and midnight should be used instead of 12 p.m. and 12 a.m. Avoid saying 12 noon or 12 midnight. Those are redundant.

advance, advanced
When used as adjectives, advance means "ahead of time" and advanced means "beyond others." Thus, it would be advance tuition deposit, but advanced standing.

alumni, alumna
Alumna is the feminine singular form. Alumnae is the feminine plural. Alumnus is the male (or nonspecific gender) singular. Alumni is the masculine or mixed-gender plural.

and, but
And or but may begin a sentence. This approach can be useful in providing a transition between closely related sentences. But it shouldn't be overdone.

brand names
It isn't necessary to use a trademark symbol with brand names that are not part of OSU. The symbols are for the trademark owner to indicate its rights to its own materials. Be careful to capitalize appropriately when using brand names, however. A good general rule is to avoid using trademarked names when there is an easy alternative.

centuries
Spell out numbers less than 10: seventh century; use ordinal numerals for higher numbers: 20th century.

coed
Don't use this term to refer to a female student. It can be used to indicate both sexes, however, such as in coed residence hall.

comprise, compose
These words are often misused. Comprise means "include" or "encompass." The whole comprises the parts, but the parts are composed of the whole.
The College of Liberal Arts comprises 14 departments.
The College of Liberal Arts is composed of 14 departments.

co-op
Use a hyphen so it's not confused with coop.

countries
Spell out the names of countries in text. The abbreviation U.S. is acceptable as an adjective: U.S. foreign policy, but use United States in other contexts.

course work
Two words. Not coursework.

credits
This is the accepted term at OSU. Don't use credit hours or hours.

database
One word.

do's and don'ts
Spell these words this way so it is clear at first glance what they are.

e.g., i.e.
Be sure you know what these mean if you intend to use them. The abbreviation e.g. stands for exempli gratia, which means "for example." The abbreviation i.e. stands for id est, meaning "that is" or "in other words." Thus e.g. is used to cite examples from a longer series, while i.e. clarifies exactly what is included in the series.
The OSU ID card has many uses, e.g., Dixon Rec Center admission, library book checkouts, free city bus access.
The team now focuses its attention on one game, i.e., the Civil War, before looking ahead to a bowl game.

e-mail
Use a hyphen. Don't capitalize unless it starts a sentence or is before the e-mail address in a vertical list.

ensure, insure
Although these can be considered synonyms, it is best to limit the use of insure to insurance matters and use ensure when you mean "assure" or "guarantee."

etc., et al.
Try to avoid using these abbreviations after such terms as i.e., e.g., or including. Etc. means "and so forth" and should be used when referring to things. Et al. means "and others" and should be used in reference to people. Note that et al. is an abbreviation for et alia, so put a period after the al.

faculty
Faculty can be singular or plural, depending on whether you are referring to an individual or group. Many people are uncomfortable using faculty as a plural noun, however, so you can use faculty members in the collective situation if you prefer.

fax
Fax is short for facsimile and is not an acronym. It should not be all caps. Use fax, not facsimile, when referring to a copy sent electronically.

freshman, freshmen
First-year student and first-year students are the preferred terms.

grades
Use the capital letters, A, B, C, etc., with no quotation marks. Plurals are made by adding s, except in the case of A, which has an apostrophe to avoid confusion with the word as: A's, Bs, Cs, etc.

GPA, grade-point average
Either is acceptable. GPAs normally have two numbers after the decimal, e.g., 3.00, 4.25.

international students
Not foreign students.

its, it's
These tend to cause confusion because its is a possessive but has no apostrophe. On the other hand it's has an apostrophe because it is a contraction for it is.
One of a university's selling points is its campus.
It's a beautiful campus.

land grant
These words are closely linked, as are sea grant and space grant, so there is no need to hyphenate. Don't capitalize unless referring to its formal name, the Morrill Land Grant Act.
OSU is a land grant, sea grant and space grant university.

Marys River, Marys Peak
These are spelled without apostrophes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which is responsible for place names.

military units
These are capitalized when referring to the forces of the United States, such as U.S. Navy, Air Force, or Department of Military Science. Don't capitalize informal references such as military science. ROTC stands for Reserve Officers' Training Corps, but the abbreviation ROTC is acceptable in all references to the programs.

names
As a general rule, spell and punctuate people's names the way they prefer. Don't use spaces between initials in a person's name unless the person has indicated a preference for a space. Never use spaces between three initials. Terms such as Jr., Sr., II, III are not set off by commas when used in a name.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated on the third Monday in January.

non
Words with the prefix non are generally not hyphenated unless the prefix is directly before a proper noun: nondegree, nonresident, noncredit, non-English speaking. The dictionary contains a long list of non words and appropriate spellings.

Off campus, on campus
Hyphenate when using as an adjective, not as an adverb.
Off-campus housing is plentiful during the summer.
It's difficult to find housing off campus during fall term.

online
No hyphen.

Pac-10
OSU intercollegiate athletic teams participate in the Pacific-10 Conference. It can be shortened to Pac-10 in all uses. Pac is not an acronym, however, so it should not be in all caps.

please There is a tendency to overuse this word. It isn't necessary to say please return the attached card, please visit our Web site, please call for more information.

pre and post These prefixes generally don't take hyphens unless they come directly before proper nouns. The dictionary contains a list of words with appropriate spelling. Use preregister, premedicine, preveterinary, postbaccalaureate, postdoctoral, pre-Columbian.

residence hall
This is preferred to dorm or dormitory when referring to housing units at OSU.

résumé
The preferred spelling includes the diacritical marks and helps avoid confusion with resume.

state names
Spell out the names of states when used alone in text. They are abbreviated when used after the name of a city or county: Salem, Ore.; Benton County, Ore. Check the AP stylebook for the appropriate abbreviations of states. Always use the Postal Service abbreviation and zip code in a complete address.

that, which
Use that for restrictive clauses that are essential to the meaning of the sentence: The book that she needed was not in the library. Use which for nonrestrictive clauses that would not change the meaning of the sentence if removed: The library book, which is due Thursday, is on my desk.

theater, theatre
Use the er spelling except in a proper name that uses the British spelling, e.g., University Theatre.

till
This is an alternative for until. It is not a contraction of until, though, so don't use 'til.

toward
Not towards.

under way
Spell as two words.

URLs
When listing Web addresses, try to get the URL to fit on a single line. If it is necessary to break the URL, try to break it before a slash or period. Don't allow the URL to break itself by adding a hyphen because that could change the address. Use appropriate punctuation after a URL. If it finishes a sentence, place a period after it.

wide
University-wide is hyphenated. Most words with wide as a suffix are closed, though, unless they are long and cumbersome. If in doubt, check the dictionary.

work-study
Hyphenate; capitalize only when using the formal designation: Federal Work-Study Program.

yearlong
One word.

Punctuation

Ampersands
It's best not to use an ampersand in place of the word and in text unless it is an official part of a name: College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Food Management, but AT&T.

Apostrophes
Avoid the common mistake of using apostrophes with nouns that are plural, not possessive. Wrong: I am confused about when to use apostrophe's.
Use an apostrophe to represent the missing letters in a contraction: isn't, haven't, rock 'n' roll, you'll, etc.

Bulleted lists
When making a bulleted or numbered list, be sure that capitalization, punctuation, and structure are consistent. If items in a list are complete sentences, end each one with appropriate punctuation.

Colons
The colon is used to anticipate that something is following that will complete or amplify the previous material.
It isn't necessary to capitalize the word immediately following a colon unless it begins a complete sentence of its own or is a proper noun.
Don't use unnecessary colons in sentences.
Correct: Visit the Web site at oregonstate.edu.
Incorrect: Visit the Web site at: oregonstate.edu.
Use a colon when the sentence isn't complete without it.
Be sure to visit the OSU Web site: oregonstate.edu.

Commas
Do not use a comma before and or or in a series of more than two items unless it is necessary to clarify the meaning. If more than one series is used in a sentence, separate the series by semicolons if necessary to clarify the sentence.

Set off the name of a state with commas when it follows the city name in a sentence: Corvallis, Oregon, is the home of Oregon State University.

Dates are punctuated with commas setting off the year in a complete date: June 17, 2001, marked OSU's first outdoor graduation ceremony. There is no comma if only the month and year are used: OSU's first outdoor commencement was in June 2001. Don't use ordinals such as 1st, 4th, or 23rd in dates.

Jr., Sr., II, III, etc., in names are not set off by commas unless the person specifically indicates a preference for that.

Insert a comma if it is necessary to indicate a pause or clarify the meaning of a sentence: What is, is.

Ellipsis points
The ellipsis is best used to indicate the omission of material from within quoted matter, not as a way to trail off or pause in a sentence. When ellipsis points are used within a sentence, use three; when they are used between sentences, punctuate the first sentence and then use three additional ellipsis points: OSU has a beautiful campus. ... The people are friendly and professors ... want to see you succeed. Some word processing programs provide an ellipsis. Use a space before and after the elipsis.

There is no need for ellipsis points at the beginning or end of the material you are quoting, unless it is necessary to make it clear that the quote is only part of the full text. Under normal circumstances, the reader assumes that the text quoted may not be the entire quotation.

When you use ellipsis points, be careful to avoid skewing the meaning of the quote by leaving out clarifying words.

Hyphens and dashes
Use the dictionary to determine the appropriate place for breaking and hyphenating words. Break words at the end of syllables, but consider the sound of the word. Some words are best not broken at certain syllables. Compound words that are hyphenated should not be broken in a second place at the end of a line: president-elect, not presi-dent-elect.

The trend is away from using hyphens in permanent compound words. The dictionary can help you determine the appropriateness of a hyphen in many cases. Don't use a hyphen after an adverb ending in ly: She is an overly zealous recruiter.

Some words that normally would be solid should be hyphenated for clarity: co-op (as opposed to coop), re-signed (as opposed to resigned) or for easier reading when the root word begins with a vowel: re-enrolled, re-admitted.

The en dash (named because it is the width of the letter "n") is wider than a hyphen and is used between ranges of numbers or dates and between adjectival phrases containing two-word concepts: 2001-2004, pages 206-220, Portland-San Francisco flight. There are no spaces before or after the en dash. In text, however, use the missing words instead of a dash: He was at OSU from 1993 to 1998. (Not: He was at OSU from 1993-1998.) If the en dash is unavailable, it is acceptable to use a hyphen in its place.

The em dash (named because it is the width of the letter "m") is used to indicate a break in thought or a strong parenthetical phrase: Two professors - what a contrast in styles - share the teaching duties. There are spaces before or after the em dash. An em dash is indicated by two hyphens in typed material.

Parentheses
If a dependent clause or other sentence fragment is in parentheses, the final punctuation goes outside the parentheses. If the parenthetical matter is an entire sentence, the final punctuation goes inside the parentheses. In the latter case, be sure to properly punctuate the preceding sentence leading up to the parentheses.

If parenthetical matter is included within another set of parentheses, brackets [ ] should replace the inner parentheses.

Periods
If a sentence ends with a URL or an e-mail address, the closing punctuation, usually a period, should be included. There no longer is any real danger of Web users trying to make the sentence-ending period part of the URL, but if you are concerned, use a different font for the actual URL or make it bold.

The use of periods in degree abbreviations is preferred: B.A., M.S., Ed.D., Pharm.D., Ph.D. Note also that there are no spaces in the degree abbreviations. For a cleaner appearance, it is acceptable to use degree abbreviations without periods in long listings or in text where degrees are repeated often.

Acronyms should be in capital letters with no periods: GPA, ID cards, ROTC.

With the exception of well-understood acronyms and abbreviations, such as B.A., M.S., and other degrees, GPA and ROTC, spell out the full name or title on first use, followed by the letters in parentheses, if they are to be used repeatedly in the text.

Many students take advantage of the University Exploratory Studies Program (UESP) during their first year at OSU. UESP offers new students etc.

There are no periods in OSU.

Primes
Primes, the hash marks that indicate inches and feet (Height: 6',3"; 3" x 5" card), may be used as space-saving devices in lists and tables. Be aware, though, that these are straight marks, not curly typographer's quotation marks. Some word-processing programs offer these as special symbols. If yours doesn't, it's best to avoid them by spelling out the measurements because using quotation marks could allow them to be converted to typographer's quotation marks in the final copy.

Quotation marks
Quotation marks are placed outside of commas and periods, but inside of semicolons and colons. Question marks and exclamation marks are placed inside or outside the quotations marks, depending on whether they are part of the quote.

Use typographer's quotes (the curly kind) if your word processing program offers them.

Titles of short stories, articles, and poems; individual chapters in books; songs and other short musical compositions; and radio and television shows are set off in quotation marks. Titles of books, paintings, sculptures, films, magazines, plays, record albums, operas and other long musical works, newspapers, and continuing radio and television shows, are italicized.

Capitalization

Capitalize the names of university units when the complete title is used: Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, Oregon State University, College of Liberal Arts. Lowercase other uses: financial aid office, the university, the college, liberal arts.

Names of majors, minors, options, and programs are lowercase: chemical engineering, international business, gerontology, etc.

It is best to refrain from capitalizing first letters or entire words just to give them importance or emphasis. This device is outdated. It's Send the attached card or go to the Web, not Send the attached card OR go to the Web. Trust your audience to know you're telling them that they shouldn't do both. Italics can be used to indicate emphasis when needed.

Don't capitalize a generic term that follows or precedes more than one name: colleges of Liberal Arts and Agricultural Sciences; Monroe and Jefferson avenues; Buxton and Hawley halls.

If you are in doubt about any term not listed here, check the dictionary to see if capitalization is preferred.

academic and administrative titles
Do not capitalize: professor Richard Jones, Richard Jones, professor of mechanical engineering. This rule applies to titles such as president, provost, director, and dean, as well as academic titles. The exception to this rule is for a named chair or professorship that contains the academic title or for a faculty member who has earned a title such as Distinguished Professor.

academic areas
Don't capitalize areas of instruction unless the area is a proper noun: physics, English, forest engineering, nutrition and food science. The exception is when a formal department name is used: Department of Chemistry, chemistry department.

academic terms
Lowercase, even when used with a year: fall term, winter term 2004. Summer session is capitalized when referring to the Summer Session Office, but lowercase otherwise, summer session 2005.

baccalaureate core, bacc core
Lowercase these except when preceded by OSU or Oregon State University: bacc core requirements, OSU Baccalaureate Core courses.

bachelor's degree/master's degree
These are lowercase and possessive ('s), not plural.

catalog
Not catalogue.

century
Lowercase: eighth century, 15th century, 21st century.

course titles
Capitalize course titles when used in text: She is taking Cultures in Conflict this term.

degrees
Don't capitalize the subject area unless it is the formal name of the degree: B.S. in physics, honors baccalaureate in political science, Bachelor of Science in Biology.

e-mail
Lowercase except when it begins a sentence or precedes the address in a list.

fax
Lowercase when used in text or when it follows the number; capitalize when it precedes the number in a list.

homecoming
Capitalize only when referring to the OSU Homecoming.

Internet
Internet is capitalized.

quad
Capitalize when referring to the MU Quad, but not other quads, such as the library quad.

state
Don't capitalize. It's state of Oregon, not State of Oregon. Use the same rule with city of Corvallis. Capitalize the name of a specific county, however: Benton County, Marion County.

Numbers

Spell out numbers of nine or less within text. Use numerals for higher numbers. Exceptions are made for ages, monetary units, percents, credits and grade-point averages, which are always numerals unless they start a sentence: 8 percent, 3 credits, 3.50 GPA, 3-year-old daughter, 7 cents. It's okay to mix uses in a sentence: OSU has 17 intercollegiate athletics programs, 10 women's and seven men's. It is permissible to spell out numbers from one to 99 in formal or scientific writing.

Plurals of numerals are made by adding the letter s: 100s, 1990s. There is no apostrophe in the plurals. Contractions of years take an apostrophe: Class of '92. Be aware of this because word processing systems will often try to insert an opening single quotation mark, which is incorrect.

Numbers containing four digits or more (except years) take commas between each series of three numbers: 4,000; 12,197; 12,297,865. For rounded numbers of more than six digits, it is appropriate to use a figure and a word: 14 million, 237 billion.

Use dollar signs and numerals for monetary references. It's not necessary to add .00 after whole dollar amounts, but it is permissible in a sentence that also contains fractional dollar amounts. If you are just discussing cents, use the word: 5 cents; 47 cents.

Telephone numbers are written with a hyphen between groupings: 541-737-1000; 800-291-4192. A "1" should not precede the area codes. The telephone company no longer uses parentheses to set off area codes.

Spell out numbers at the start of a sentence unless they represent a year. 1776 is the year the Declaration of Independence was signed is permissible, but it would be better to rewrite the sentence to avoid starting with the year.

Dates are indicated by cardinal, not ordinal numbers: April 1, not April 1st; July 4, not July 4th.

A series of years can be indicated by using the entire year in both cases or only the last two numbers in the second year: 2003-2004 or 2003-04. When the years cross a century mark, the entire year must be used: 1999-2002, not 1999-02.

Cultural sensitivity

Avoid all sexual or racial stereotyping and language. Use he or she or make the usage plural: they. Many words now have neutral alternatives: firefighter, police officer, chair, or chairperson. Use these rather than assuming a particular gender. Don't create words such as s/he, and use skillful writing to avoid putting two words together with slashes: he/she.

Disabilities are handled according to the preference of the individual or group, when appropriate. In writing about disabilities, stress the person, not the disability: persons with disabilities rather than the disabled. If you have questions, check with the Services for Students with Disabilities office, 737-4098.

Ethnic designations generally follow the preference of the group being referred to. The Office of Community and Diversity, 737-4381, or the Minority Education Office, 737-9030, can help with questions, but, as a general rule, identify ethnic groups by recognized ethnic designations. African American, Asian, Pacific Islander, Latina, Latino, Hispanic, are acceptable identifiers. It also is appropriate to use national-origin designators such as Polish American, Cuban American, Irish American, Japanese American, etc. Don't hyphenate these designations, even when using them as adjectives.

The generic terms black and white aren't capitalized, but if you capitalize one to conform to a particular group's preference, capitalize both.

Miscellany

Avoid listing degrees or programs that haven't gone through the complete approval process. If in doubt about the status of a program, check with the catalog editor in the registrar's office.

Don't underline words or capitalize every letter in textual matter for emphasis. These are typewriter techniques, but they aren't appropriate in professional printed materials. It's best to indicate your emphasis through skillful use of language, often by putting the material to be emphasized at the beginning or end of the sentence. If it is necessary to show emphasis, use italics.

It is normal practice for printed materials to have one space between sentences and after colons. The use of two spaces is for typewriters, which use different fonts and font spacing.