Style Guide
Table of Contents
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
Addresses/Phone Number
Addresses
State abbreviations
Phone numbers
ZIP codes
2.0 Capitalization
2.1 Academic terms and class
standing
2.2 Course titles
2.3 Degrees
2.4 Forms
2.5 Grades
2.6 Holiday/Seasons
2.7 Job classifications
2.8 Majors
2.9 Midwest
2.10 Official names
2.11 Policies
2.12 Parking lots
2.13 Titles of people
2.14 Titles of works
2.15 University
14
3.0
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
Numbers
Dates
Fractions
Money
Numbers
Percent
Redundancy in numbers
Scientific or technical text
Times
Units
4.0
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
Spelling
Abbreviations
Plurals
Prefixes
Preferred spellings and style
5.0
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
Punctuation
Colons
Commas
Dashes
Ellipses points
Parentheses and brackets
6.0 Style and Usage
6.1 Alternative nonsexist words
6.2 Alumna/Alumnae/Alumnus/
Alumni
6.3 Ampersand
6.4 Course listings/titles
6.5 Credit hours
6.6 Disabilities
6.7 Dormitory
6.8 Emeritus
6.9 Equity statement
6.10 Etc.
6.11 Faculty rank
6.12 Fellow-fellowship
6.13 First-annual
6.14 Foreign words and phrases
6.15 Grade Point Average
6.16 Grades
6.17 International students
6.18 i.e. - e.g.
6.19 Lists
6.20 Married student housing
6.21 Nonsexist writing
6.22 President Doe
6.22 Profiles style
6.24 States
6.25 University of Northern Iowa
7.0 Photographs and Captions
7.1 Captions/Spot directions
8.0
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.4
Technology/E-mail/Internet
E-mail
Fax
Terminology
Web addresses
2.0 Capitalization
1.1 Addresses
A general rule is that official names are capitalized;
unofficial, informal, shortened or generic names are not.
This rule applies to names of offices, buildings, schools,
departments, programs, institutes, centers and so on.
Therefore, phrases such as the center, the institute, or
the new museum are not capitalized. (See also Building
Names)
The Office of the Registrar, the registrar’s office, this
office, the registrar
The College of Business Administration, the business
college, the college
The Department of Physics, the physics department,
the department
The University Museum, the museum
Use official names of offices and departments in university
addresses.
Office of the Registrar, not Registrar’s Office
Most UNI addresses follow this format:
Person or office
Jane Doe
Department name
Department of Marketing
Room and building 336 Curris Business Building
Campus name University of Northern Iowa
City, state, zip code
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0126
Abbreviate compass designations (N.E., S., W.) as well as
St., Ave., Rd., Blvd. and so forth when accompanying a
numbered address: 222 E. Second St. Do not abbreviate if
the building number is omitted: East Second Street. Spell
out and capitalize First through Ninth when used as street
names; use figures with two letters for 10th and above.
When listing mailing addresses, use the two-letter postal
abbreviation for states. Use the full nine-digit ZIP code
whenever possible.
2.1 Academic terms and class standing
Use lowercase for semesters (fall, spring, summer),
academic terms and class standing.
The 2005 fall semester, spring term
Freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors (first-year
students is an acceptable alternative for freshmen)
2.2 Course titles
1.2 State abbreviations
Use Associated Press abbreviations for states in running
text; these are not always the same as postal abbreviations.
For example, Oklahoma is abbreviated Okla. in running
text and OK for postal addresses.
1.3 Phone Numbers
Use figures and separate by hyphens. Never use periods in
place of hyphens.
319-555-3333
Capitalize official courses titles (except for articles,
prepositions and conjunctions), whether or not the course
number is used.
870:142 Igneous Petrology
450:121g Mental Deviance and Mental Health
Institutions
Professor Henry is teaching Physics I this spring.
I can’t wait to take Stratigraphy and Sedimentation this
fall.
2.3 Degrees
For on-campus numbers in internal publications, use the
last five digits of the number, with a hyphen between the
first number and the last four digits.
3-2088
1.4 ZIP code
Use the correct nine-digit ZIP code whenever possible; the
U.S. Postal Service can answer ZIP code questions over the
phone. The preferred address format is to list the city, twoletter state code and ZIP code all on one line. Note that just
one space separates the state from the ZIP code.
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0392
The word ZIP is all caps when referring to ZIP code. It
stands for Zoning Improvement Plan.
Capitalization in names of degrees conferred at UNI
should match the UNI registrar’s official degree list. Note
that in degree names containing the words “of science,”
the discipline is part of the official degree name and is
therefore capitalized.
Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science in Physics
Style Guide Table of Contents | Addresses | Phone Numbers | Capitalization
Addresses/Phone Numbers
In many cases where science is not part of the degree
name, the discipline is not part of the official degree name
and is therefore not capitalized.
Bachelor of Arts in psychology, Doctor of Philosophy
in mass communications
Note also the following types of degree names:
Bachelor of Arts in English (English is a proper noun
and is therefore capitalized.)
15
Master of Arts in Germanic studies (Germanic is a
proper adjective and is therefore capitalized; studies is
not capitalized.)
Many degree names do not follow the patterns previously
discussed. See the registrar’s official degree list for
verification.
Associate of General Studies, Bachelor of Fine Arts,
Master of Public Affairs
When referring to degrees in a general way, do not
capitalize them. Note that while bachelor’s and master’s
end in “’s,” the other generic words for degrees do not.
An associate degree, a bachelor’s degree, a master’s
degree, a doctoral degree or a doctorate
In references to the degrees, the word degree is never
capitalized.
Caryn earned her Master of Music degree last spring.
Use periods when abbreviating degrees.
A.S., B.A., B.F.A., B.S.N., M.A., M.B.A., Ph.D., Ed.D.
(Due to space considerations, an exception to this rule
is in Class Notes sections of alumni publications.)
2.6 Holidays/Seasons
Names of holidays and other recurring celebrations are
usually capitalized. Names of seasons and academic
periods are not.
Thanksgiving, Commencement, Diversity Week,
winter 2010-11, summer session II, spring semester,
orientation, registration, spring break
For historical or documentary accuracy, follow the
capitalization style of original texts.
“As I am a schoolteacher during the other three
seasons, I am happy that I may continue my own
education during the Summer Seasons,” wrote a
student in 1919.
2.7 Job Classifications
Capitalize the full versions of Merit, Professional and
Scientific (P&S) and Supervisory Confidential Merit
Personnel (SCMP). The acronym is acceptable on the first
or second reference when used for internal publications.
2.8 Majors
Majors should be lowercase as they are not proper names,
unless at the beginning of a sentence or list.
2.9 Midwest, Midwestern
Pluralized abbreviations
Ph.D.s, J.D.s; There were four candidates with Ph.D.s
applying for the position.
When including an abbreviation of a degree and year
after a name in running text, put the degree initials and
year in parenthesis.
Bonnie Smith (B.A. ’81) is a frequent donor to UNI arts
programs.
Degrees conferred at institutions other than UNI may
not conform to UNI style. Verify these degree names in
order to preserve the correct capitalization, abbreviation
and punctuation style.
2.4 Forms
Full names of official forms and documents are capitalized
but are not italicized or put between quotation marks.
Declaration of Independence, Federal Income Tax
Return, or Federal Application For Student Aid
2.5 Grades
16
Capitalize the letters used for grades, as well as official
grade names where applicable. Do not put quotation marks
around grades.
A, B, C, D, F, W, I, P, FX, S/F, P/F, R, Incomplete, Pass,
Deferred, a grade of B
Uppercase reference to the Midwest of the United States.
Note also that these terms are not hyphenated. Lowercase
north, south, northeast, etc. when they indicate compass
direction, capitalize them when they designate regions.
However, use lowercase when describing parts of the state
or nation.
He drove west. The cold front was moving east. The
East Coast will see showers by noon. The Northeast
depends on the Midwest for its food supply. She is
from southern Iowa.
western Canada, eastern United States.
2.10 Official names
Capitalize official names of bulletins, forms, conventions,
conferences, symposia and the like.
Summer Schedule of Courses, a Financial Aid
Transcript, the Republican National Convention
2.14 Titles of works
Names of official policies such as the Anti-Discrimination
and Harassment Policy or Equal Opportunity Policy should
be capitalized. If the concept, rather than the official name,
is being discussed, lowercase is appropriate.
Departments are working to ensure equal opportunity.
Apply the guidelines listed here to books, movies, operas,
plays, computer games, poems, album and song titles,
radio and television program titles, and the titles of
lectures, speeches and works of art.
• Capitalize the principal words, including prepositions
and conjunctions of four or more letters.
• Capitalize an article – the, a, an – or words of fewer than
four letters if it’s the first or last word in a title.
• Put quotations marks around all such works except the
Bible and books that are primarily catalogs of reference
material, such as almanacs, directories, dictionaries,
encyclopedias, gazetteers, handbooks and similar
publications. Do not use quotation marks around
software titles.
The following equity statement should be included on
recruitment materials for students and employees.
The University of Northern Iowa is an equal
opportunity employer and educator. If you have
question or concerns, please contact the Office of
Compliance and Equity Management, 117 Gilchrist,
319-273-2846 or www.uni.edu/equity.
2.12 Parking lot designations
Capitalize the lot letter, but not the word “lot” when
referring to a specific parking lot in running text.
I always park in the B lot.
Parking is available in Gilchrist A lot.
2.13 Titles of people
Titles preceding a name are capitalized; those following
a name or set off by commas are not. Do not use the
honorific title Dr. in reference to an academic who
has earned a doctorate, unless used in a direct quote.
Professor is appropriate but is not capitalized. Capitalize
Professor Emeritus as a conferred title before a name, but
do not continue on second reference. Dr. may be used in
reference to a medical doctor.
The latest discovery by professor John Doe…
John Doe, professor of physics, has discovered …
Professor Emeritus Susan Johnson
This rule applies not only to academic titles, but also to
administrative titles.
President John Doe, president since 1995, …
Doe, who has been president of UNI since 1995, …
An exception to this rule is a “named” title.
John Doe is the Martin Chair Professor of Piano at UNI.
Do not capitalize a qualifying word that precedes a
capitalized title.
Today, staff members honored former Faculty Senate
Chair David Smith.
Treat references to the Board of Regents, State of Iowa
in the same way as other personal titles discussed above.
Our office recently received a visit from Regent Bob
Smith.
Examples:
“The Star-Spangled Banner”
“Gone With the Wind”
“A Million Little Pieces”
“Brokeback Mountain”
NBC-TV’s “Today” program
Style Guide Capitalization | Numbers
2.11 Policies
Reference works:
Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American
Language, Second Edition
Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft
Sometimes it’s necessary to alter the publication of titles
for the sake of clarity. For example, a colon may be added
between a title and a subtitle.
Herman Erickson’s “Being Lucky: Reminiscences and
Reflections”
Do not place newspaper or magazine titles in quotations
marks. Capitalize magazine only if it’s in the official title.
Newsweek magazine
Harper’s Magazine
The New York Times
2.15 University
Lowercase the word, even when referring to UNI, unless
used as part of the full name of the institution. The
abbreviation UNI is always written in all capital letters, with
no periods. UNI is an acceptable abbreviation on second
reference.
University of Northern Iowa: A centerpiece of the
university campus is the Campanile.
17
3.0 Numbers
3.1 Dates
Spell out all days of the weeks and the months of MarchJuly; abbreviate the other months when referring to a
specific date. Use numerals for days of the month and
years. Use no punctuation if listing just the month and the
year or just the date, but set off with commas if using the
day of the month or week. Do not use st, nd, rd, or th with
dates, such as 3rd.
May 2005; a Feb. 5, 2006, deadline
Nov. 25; Dec. 27 to 31 (don’t use a hyphen)
Join us on Thursday, April 28 for a celebration.
She testified that it was Friday, Dec. 3, when the
accident occurred.
Decades or centuries should be referred to in any of the
following ways:
The 1960s, the ’60s, the 1800s
Years are the lone exception to the general rule that a
figure is not used to start a sentence.
1976 was a very good year.
3.2 Fractions
When a fraction appears in running text, spell it out as in
the following examples:
one-half inch one-hundredth
half an inch two-hundredths
two-tenths two one-hundredths
one-twentieth 20 one-hundredths
one twenty-first nine-thousandths
When a fraction appears as part of a full number, it should
be expressed in figures.
5 1/3, 3 ½ -by-2 ½, 3.5-by-2.5
3.3 Money
Use figures and the $ sign in all but casual references
or amounts without a figure. Do not use .00 for even
amounts. Spell out the word cents and lowercase, using
numeral for amounts less than a dollar. For amounts of
more that $1 million, use $ and the numeral.
The late registration fee is $9.50. They raised $650,000
for the project. The grant was $14.3 million.
5 cents, 68 cents
18
3.4 Numbers
Use numerals for 10 or more; spell out fractions and
numbers less than 10. For round figures greater than
999,999, use million or billion after the initial numeral(s).
For more precise numbers, use all numerals. Use commas
in numbers greater than or equal to 1,000.
Two; 20; 200; 2,000; 23,456; 200,000; 2 million; $2.8
billion; 234,500,000
Exception: SAT scores; for example, a combined score
of 1200
In general, spell out ordinals, space permitting. Always
spell out ordinals for first to ninth. Spell out numbered
streets from First Street through Ninth Street; use figures for
streets with higher numbers.
Third Street, 17th Street, 21st century, 164th
Commencement
Use numerals when referring to credit hours; page
volume, or chapter numbers; percentages; dates; or
telephone numbers.
a course worth 2 credit hours, four 3-credit-hour
courses
Page 4; 5 percent; 0.66 percent
a May 7, 1996 deadline; 219-555-3333
For inclusive numbers, abbreviate the second number by
changing just those digits that are different from the first
number…
200-1, 35-7, 106-7
…except when discussing years, in which case the last two
digits of the year are always repeated.
2003-07, 1901-94
Spell out all numbers that occur at the start of a
sentence, or reword the sentence.
Six credit hours were all he needed to complete the
major.
He needed just 6 credit hours to complete the major.
When explaining rank, always use “No.” as the
abbreviation. Be sure to capitalize and use a period, no
matter where it is in the sentence. No hyphen is needed
when used with “ranked.”
UNI played No. 3 ranked Missouri…
She visited UNI, ranked No. 46.
Miscellaneous examples:
table 1, act 2, scene 3, step 4, chapter 5, item 6,
the 1980s, class of ’05, a 5-4 score, 2-year-old child,
54-million-year-old discovery, a $3 million gift, from 9
a.m. to 6:30 p.m., 100-level courses.
Spell out percent, although % may be used if space is
at a premium. Unless beginning a sentence, always use
numerals in front of the word percent; use decimals, not
fractions.
A 7-percent solution, 6.5 percent
3.6 Redundancy in numbers
Eliminate unnecessary repetition, as in this quotation from
the minutes of a committee: “The committee met ten (10)
times for twenty-five (25) hours.” In this example, keep the
numerals 10 and 25, eliminate the numbers that are spelled
out and the parenthesis.
The committee met 10 times for 25 hours.
3.7 Scientific or Technical Text
Physical quantities, such as distances, lengths, areas,
volumes and pressures, are expressed in numerals. Be
consistent within the same document. No hyphen is used
when using x. Hyphens are used when the word by is
used. Note that no spaces are used with the x. Be careful
when using e-mail to write out the fraction.
8 ½-by-11 inch paper, or 8 ½”x11” paper
3 cubic feet
48 miles
3.8 Times
Use numerals in all cases. Omit the zeros from on-thehour times. Use periods for a.m. and p.m. An exception
may be made in more decorative layouts. Use of o’clock is
generally discouraged. Do not use numerals with noon and
midnight. Noon and midnight are not capitalized unless at
the beginning of a sentence.
9 a.m., 11:15 p.m., noon, midnight, 3-4:30 p.m. or 3 to
4:30 p.m., 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Note that “from” is only used in time expressions when the
word “to” is included.
From 9 a.m. to noon
Not: from 9 a.m.-noon
3.9 Units
Use numerals for references to course units.
A maximum of 9 semester units of transfer credit may
be applied.
4.0 Spelling
4.1 Abbreviations
Abbreviations are generally avoided in running
text, though you can use abbreviations (including the
ampersand [&]) in running text when they are part of
official names.
Professor Jones, not Prof. Jones
The university’s lawyers, Smith, Smith & Smith, handled
the lawsuit.
If the name represented by an abbreviation may be
unknown to some of your readers, spell it out the first time
you refer to it.
The Iowa Waste Reduction Center (IWRC) helps many
Iowa businesses. The IWRC is located at UNI.
Style Guide Numbers | Spelling
3.5 Percent
Multiple initials of personal names are separated by
a space or spaces. So are abbreviations of multiword
personal titles. Both categories end in periods. Initials that
do not stand for longer names lack the period.
Kenneth R. R. Gros Louis, Rev. M. L. King Jr.
Harry S Truman, J T. Forbes
Acronyms for job titles and names of organizations,
centers, buildings, forms, tests and assorted other objects
are generally spelled without periods.
CEO, UNI, UNESCO, FAFSA, TESOL, UNIX, SAT, PA,
UNI-CUE
Acronyms are pluralized without apostrophes, unless
the last letter of the acronym is an s, in which case an
apostrophe is needed. (This is one of the rare cases where
a plural requires an apostrophe.)
GREs, IDs, LANs, W-2s, SOS’s, RAs
4.2 Plurals
Avoid misusing the apostrophe to form plurals. The
only nouns that commonly take an s in the plural are
abbreviations with more than one period or single letters.
M.B.A.’s, R.N.’s
x’s and y’s
A’s and B’s
Otherwise, acronyms, hyphenated coinages and
numbers used as nouns (either spelled out or as
numerals) generally add s (or es) alone to form the plural.
An exception is acronyms ending in the letters s.
AIs, W-2s, 747s, FAFSAs, 1980s, follow-ups, at sixes and
sevens; but: SOS’s
19
Apostrophes are never used to form the plural of any
proper noun.
The Johnsons will attend.
Freshman: The preferred usage is first-year student, if you
must use freshman, freshmen is the plural.
Freshman courses, freshman year
As with any plural noun, though, plural proper nouns do
add a single apostrophe
(no s) to indicate possession.
The reception will be at the Johnsons’ home.
Full time: Hyphenate as an adjective before the noun;
otherwise leave as two words.
Jamal has a full-time job. but: Jamal works full time.
4.3 Prefixes
Most words formed with prefixes do not need to be
hyphenated. This is called the closed style.
Nonresident (but non-Western requirement)
Postbaccalaureate
Preregistration
Certain exceptions to the closed-style ruling are the
following:
-Compounds in which the second element is a
capitalized word or a numeral (pre-1979 admission,
post-World War II)
-Compounds that must be distinguished from
homonyms (re-cover; un-ionized; sometimes re-create)
-Compounds in which the second element consists of
more than one word (non-English-speaking people)
-Compounds in which the last letter of the prefix is the
same as the first letter of the word following (nonnative)
Fundraising: All forms of the word are spelled as one
word.
Hispanic: Capitalize this term. Some people may prefer
Latina (fem.) or Latino (masc.).
Homecoming: Capitalize as it is a recurring celebration
.
K through 12 or pre-K through 12
K-through-12 education or pre-K-through-12
education
Malcolm Price Laboratory School: Spell out on first
reference. Use MPLS on second reference (Note: changes
are anticipated with the development of the R&D
designation.)
Multicultural
Multimedia
4.4 UNI preferred spellings and style
Adviser: The -er ending is preferred by the AP Stylebook
and Webster’s over the -or ending (advisor), so we use the
–er spelling in university publications. If used in a formal
title, use the version preferred by the organization.
African-American: Both African-American and black are
acceptable. (AP prefers black.)
Online
Black: Both black and African-American are acceptable;
usually lowercase the “b” of black.
Panther: Capitalize when referring to UNI’s athletic teams
or to students, alums or other UNI groups..
Campuswide: It’s not hyphenated. With the exception
of university-wide, most wide compounds are not
hyphenated.
Part time: Hyphenate as an adjective before the noun;
otherwise, leave as two words.
Lisa is a part-time student.
but: Lisa attends classes part time.
Coursework
E-bill: Lowercase e-bill when used in running copy. Refers
to the u-bill sent electronically.
20
Off campus: Hyphenate as an adjective before the noun;
otherwise, leave as two words. The same applies to on
campus.
Barb has an off-campus job.
but: Barb works on campus.
Postsecondary
Reevaluate
Registrar: Lowercase in informal usage, but uppercase as
part of the official name.
registrar’s office, the registrar, Office of the Registrar
Theatre: Use the -re spelling of theatre in reference to
Strayer-Wood Theatre, Bertha Martin Theatre or the Theatre
Department.
Strayer-Wood Theatre, Theatre Department
Do not use theatre in running text, unless referring directly
to the Strayer-Wood Theatre or Bertha Martin Theatre.
She’s taking theater classes.
I’m going over to the Strayer-Wood Theatre for
rehearsals.
uCard: The university identification card for students,
faculty and staff.
University-wide: Hyphenate university-wide, but
lowercase the “u” of university even when it refers to UNI.
Upperclassmen: Use carefully. The term means juniors
and seniors only; it does not include sophomores. Do not
use the elitist-sounding phrases upper-class students, or
upper-class men. If the desired meaning is non-freshmen,
use sophomores, juniors and seniors instead.
Work-Study: Lowercase general references to the workstudy program, but capitalize official references to Federal
Work-Study (the program for undergraduates) and Federal
Graduate Work-Study (the program for graduate students).
5.0 Punctuation
5.1 Colons
A colon is commonly used to introduce a list or a series.
Place only one space after the colon.
Bring the following with you: birth certificate, Social
Security number, official transcript and test scores.
See also Style & Usage: Lists
5.2 Commas
Do not use the serial comma (i.e., the final comma before
and, or, nor) in a list of three or more items …
red, white and blue ribbons
… except when items in the series contains commas
themselves. In that case, use semicolons between all the
items.
The letters in question are dated Aug. 7, 1989; May 15,
1999; and Jan. 4, 1991.
Style Guide Spelling | Punctuation
President: Capitalize only if immediately preceding a
person’s name.
President John Doe; John Doe is president of the
University of Northern Iowa.
For numbers larger than 999, use a comma to mark off
the thousands, millions, etc.
1,001 nights; 93,000 students
When they follow a person’s name, qualifiers such as
Ph.D. and G.P.A. are preceded by a comma. A second
comma follows the qualifier in running copy.
The opening remarks by Valerie P. Jackson, M.D., set
the tone for the conference.
However, qualifiers such as Jr., Sr. and III are not set off
by commas.
P.A. Mack Jr., Stephen P. Doe IV
Set off the name of a geographical unit with commas
on both sides when it follows the name of a smaller
geographical unit found within its borders.
What Cheer, Iowa, is a small community.
not: What Cheer, Iowa is a small community.
The same holds true for a year, if a day of the month
precedes it.
March 1, 1994, is the priority date.
but: He knew that March 1994 was the deadline.
The abbreviations e.g. (for example) and i.e. (that
is) are always followed by a comma and usually used
in a parenthetical remark. If used in a nonparenthetical
situation, they are often spelled out.
List your favorite software programs (e.g., WordPerfect,
PageMaker)
21
Commas appear after, not before, an expression in
parentheses (like this), and they always go inside
quotation marks, except when a quotation mark means
inches.
The painting, titled “Silent Life,” measures 16”x19” and
is on display at the Kamerick Art Building lobby.
5.3 Dashes
Dashes separate; hyphens join. The distinction usually
holds true for em verses en dashes, too.
The two dashes most commonly used by typesetters are
the em dash and the en dash. The em dash is what is
usually meant by the word dash — a long mark that can be
created by using the dash character. (Option Shift Hyphen).
In manuscripts, dashes are often represented with a double
hyphen (--); these must be replaced. The en dash is
simply a specialized, slightly elongated hyphen that looks
like this – (Option Hyphen). En dashes serve primarily to
connect numbers (1–10). A hyphen is the shortest version
of a dash, made by pressing the hyphen key (next to =).
Hyphens connect linked words and phrases, and they
break words at the ends of lines.
Em dashes are frequently used to set off parenthetical
phrases, especially long or complex ones where
something stronger than a comma is called for. If the
parenthetical phrase comes at the end of a sentence, only
one dash is needed to set it off — like this. If it is inserted
into the middle of the sentence — like this — you need
dashes on both sides. A space is used on either side of any
dash, except at the start of a paragraph or in sports agate
summaries.
The building — one of our oldest — will be reroofed.
not: The building — one of our oldest, will be
reroofed.
Ellipsis means omission. Ellipsis points are three-dot
sequences used to indicate that something has been left
out of a sentence or passage. Leave a space before and
after each dot. If a sentence ends (or is cut off) right before
the ellipsis, you should also leave in the period that would
have ended the sentence; this period will have a space
after it but no space before it. You can leave in other
punctuation that comes just before or after an ellipsis if it
will make things clearer, but this is not required (and is
probably less common).
Ellipsis points are used to indicate that something has
been left out of a sentence or passage. If a sentence
ends (or is cut off) right before the ellipsis, you should
also leave in the period that would have ended the
sentence ….
You can leave in other punctuation…, but this is not
required.
Always reread text after trimming it to ensure that cuts
haven’t distorted the author’s meaning. Note that ellipsis
points are not used at the beginning of a block quote,
nor, usually, at the beginning of a quotation used in
running text — even when you’ve dropped some words
from the original beginning. If a block quote closes with
a grammatically complete sentence (even if it’s been
shortened), you need not add ellipsis points at the end,
either.
5.5 Parentheses and brackets
Use brackets to add explanations or corrections to quoted
material: “Before I knew what happened,” said the coach,
“he [Devin] had scored.” Cramer writes, “Jones scored his
first touchdown in the Notre Dame game of ’73 [the year
was 1972].”
Em dashes are occasionally used to join elements in
certain institutional titles.
School of Law — Bloomington, School of Law —
Indianapolis
Use brackets as parentheses within parentheses: The
game has been immortalized in articles and a book (Harry
Walters, “The Game That Went Down in History” [New
York: Good Sports Press, 1987]).
En dashes are often used in place of hyphens to join two
elements when at least one element itself contains two or
more unjoined words.
A non–English speaker, post–high school
Use the Latin word sic (which means intentionally so
written) in brackets to indicate that an error in the quoted
material is being reproduced exactly: “On that day, Devin
was our own Baby [sic] Ruth!” Note that sic is italicized and
not followed by a period.
Inclusive dates and other number sequences may be
printed with en dashes, rather than with hyphens.
1994 – 96, chaps. 12 – 17, pages 3 – 10
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5.4 Ellipsis points
In regular text, commas and periods always go inside an
end quotation mark.
“If it doesn’t matter,” said the sage, “it does not matter.”
Most other punctuation marks, however, go outside the
end quotation mark unless they are part of the material
being quoted.
The program will begin with “Feelings”; then we will
sing “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?”; after
that — don’t we finish with “Send in the Clowns”?
Quoted material that runs four lines or longer is usually
set as an indented extract (block quotation). Quotation
marks are not used with indented extracts unless they
occur within the quoted material.
In a publication created by the Faculty Colloquium on
Excellence in Teaching, which she founded, Eileen
Bender tells her colleagues, “The secret of good
teaching is not to ‘tell,’ but to engage the audience
in the process.” Bender has devoted her career to
engaging the UNI community in the processes of
enlightenment, commitment and action.
If quoting an excerpt that continues for several
paragraphs, you can either indent them all or put a
quotation mark at the beginning of each quoted paragraph
as well as a quotation mark at the end of the last quoted
paragraph.
You can use either quotation marks or italics to set off a
word you are discussing or explaining.
A “hyperbaton” is a transposition or inversion of
idiomatic word order.
or: A hyperbaton is a transposition or inversion of
idiomatic word order.
But avoid setting off an informal expression that the
reader will already know; either use it without quotes or
find a synonym.
The dean’s get-together should be a lot of fun.
not: The dean’s “get-together” should be “fun.”
6.0 Style and Usage
6.1 Alternative nonsexist words
Use words that refer to both sexes in lieu of “single sex”
words and terms.
chairman or chairwoman is preferred by Associated
Press, chair or chairperson is also acceptable
Improper — proper
Common man — average person, ordinary people
Mailman — letter carrier or postal worker
Man-made — synthetic, manufactured, crafted, machinemade
Mankind — humanity, human beings, people
Policeman — police officer
6.2 Alumna, Alumnae, Alumnus, Alumni
Use the correct word for gender and number. Do not
shorten to alum.
Alumna is the feminine singular form – Joan is an
alumna of UNI.
Alumnae is feminine plural – Joan and Linda are
alumnae of UNI.
Alumnus is the masculine (or nongender) singular –
Henry is an alumnus of UNI.
Alumni is masculine of mixed-gender plural – Henry
and George are alumni of UNI. Joan, Linda, Henry and
George are alumni of UNI.
Style Guide Punctuation | Style and Usage
5.6 Quotation marks
6.3 Ampersand (&)
Use the ampersand (&) only when it is an official part
of the name or title — its formal name: Professional
& Scientific, AT&T Corp., Simon & Schuster, Proctor &
Gamble Co. Ampersands are never used in running text
unless they are part of an official name.
6.4 Course listings/titles
Each course has a course number and course title, which is
always capitalized (even if the course is referred to without
the number). There is no punctuation between the course
number and course title. Numerals are generally only used
in the course catalog.
870:142 Igneous Petrology
450:121g Mental Deviance and Mental Health
Institutions
6.5 Credit hours
Use numerals to refer to credit hours.
3 credit hours
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6.6 Disabilities
6.9 Equity statement
Language should be chosen that reflects the dignity of
people with disabilities — words that put the person first,
rather than the disability.
On recruitment documents for students or employees, use
the following equity statement.
The University of Northern Iowa is an equal
opportunity employer and educator. If you have
questions or concerns, please contact the Office of
Compliance and Equity Management, 117 Gilchrist
Hall, 319-273-2846 or www.uni.edu/equity.
6.10 Etc.
Etc. is frequently tacked on to a series to mask an
imprecise or incomplete thought. It usually may be
omitted, but if used, don’t say “and etc.” since et cetera
means and the rest.
nT
hink “people first.” Say “a woman who has mental
retardation,” rather than “a mentally retarded woman.”
Mention the disability only if it is relevant.
nA
void words like unfortunate, afflicted and victim.
Also try to avoid casting a person with a disability as a
superhuman model of courage. People with disabilities
are just people, not tragic figures or demigods.
nG
enerally, a disability is not a disease. Do not mention
symptoms, patients or treatment unless the person
you’re writing about has an illness as well as a disability.
Persons with disabilities are not sick, they are not
afflicted, they are not patients, they just have a disability.
nU
se common sense. Avoid terms with obvious negative
or judgmental connotations, such as crippled, lame or
defective. If you aren’t sure how to refer to a person’s
disability, ask. And if the disability is not relevant to your
story don’t mention it at all.
6.11 Faculty rank
In formal lists of faculty members and in course catalogs,
always denote rank and be sure that the rank is correct.
Persons who are instructors are instructors in their subject
area. Person who are professors are professors of their
subject area. When in doubt, check the UNI directory for
proper department.
David T. Sullivan, professor of biology; Barbara Grosh,
assistant professor of public administration; Sally Daniels,
instructor in English
6.12 Fellow, fellowship
nN
ever refer to a person in a wheelchair as “confined
to a wheelchair.” Wheelchairs enable people to escape
confinement. A person with a mobility impairment
“uses” a wheelchair.
nT
ry to describe people without disabilities as “typical”
rather than “normal.”
Lowercase except when used with proper names
He received a UNI fellowship.
Betty applied for a GE fellowship.
Jeff earned a GE Fund Faculty for the Future
Fellowship.
Clifford was a Fulbright Scholar.
6.13 First annual
6.7 Dormitory
Never use the word dormitory. Always refer to the
appropriate on-campus housing as residence halls.
6.8 Emeritus
Note that emeritus is the singular, masculine form; for
references to women, use emerita (singular) or emeritae
(plural). Emeriti may serve as the plural for a group that is
composed of men only or of men and women together. All
references follow the noun.
professor emerita of music, professor emeriti, faculty
emeriti
There is no such thing as a first-annual event. It cannot be
an annual event until the second year in a row that it has
occurred. First-time events should be referred to as the
“First President’s Reception,” or the “Inaugural President’s
Reception.”
6.14 Foreign words and phrases
Commonly used foreign expressions and their
abbreviations are not italicized. Less common foreign terms
are italicized.
e.g., i.e., ex officio, et al., cum laude
dies urea
If a term you’re unsure of is listed in Webster’s “Foreign
Words and Phrases” section, it should be italicized. If it’s in
the regular listing, don’t italicize it.
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Do not hyphenate grade point average or put periods
in its abbreviation, GPA. GPAs refer to numbers, not
grades. Always extend to one decimal point. On external
references, qualify by saying on a 4.0 scale. On internal
publications, it is not necessary to make reference to the
scale.
A GPA of 3.0, not a GPA of B
6.16 Grades
When referring to a grade, use a capital letter; quotation
marks should not be used around letter grades.
a B average for the course, a P/F course, a grade of I
(Incomplete)
Pluralize single letter grades with apostrophes.
She got mostly B’s and C’s all year.
6.17 International students
The phrase international student is preferable to foreign
students.
6.18 i.e/e.g.
These often are erroneously used interchangeably. I.e., id
est, means that is. E.g., exempli gratis, means for example.
Only the department’s tenured faculty, i.e., full
associate and assistant professors, were entitled to
vote.
The university had exchange programs with
universities in several European cities, e.g., Paris,
London, Florence and Rome.
6.19 Lists
See also 5.1 Punctuation: Colons.
Think about how the reader will view the order of items
listed. It often makes sense to alphabetize the entries, but
other ordering principles are possible, such as according to
importance, size, cost, rarity or position in space and time.
If the items are ordered by some logic not immediately
apparent to the reader, explain the order. If you are not
using periods or commas, capitalize the first letter of each
line.
Students may earn certificates in the following areas:
African studies
Criminal justice
Environmental studies
Avoid unnecessary use of numbers or letters with lists.
If the elements of a vertical list need to be set off, bullets
suffice.
Advantages of the program:
• Gain experience
• Meet people
• Develop leadership skills
Typically, bullets take the place of punctuation
(including colons). If the items of a list are numbered or
lettered, however, each number or letter should be
followed by a period, not a parenthesis.
1. Enclose your check and the account statement in the
envelope.
2. Make sure the address shows through the window of
the envelope.
3. Seal and stamp the envelope.
If you need to number the elements of a list in running
text, the numbers should be placed in parenthesis with no
periods appearing after them. To be eligible for the job, you must (1) be at least
18 years of age, (2) be a citizen of the United States,
(3) possess a valid driver’s license and (4) have no
criminal record.
Style Guide Style and Usage
6.15 Grade point Average (GPA)
Maintain parallel construction in listed items,
so that each item is introduced by a verb (as in the
following example), a noun phrase or some other similar
construction.
1.Make an appointment with an academic adviser.
2.Pick up a checksheet for your chosen major.
3.Obtain a Schedule of Classes and a registration ticket.
4.Have your registration ticket signed by an adviser.
5.Watch for a Registration Appointment Notice in the
mail from the Office of the Registrar.
In running text, colons are often used to introduce a list
or series, but should not be used to separate a verb from
its object (or, in general, to separate the complement or
object of an element from the introductory statement).
Required courses include the following: 870:142
Igneous Petrology and 450:121g Mental Deviance.
Required courses include 870:124 and 450:121g.
In attendance: Eichhorn, Mack, Stone, Walda.
In attendance were Eichhorn, Mack, Stone and Walda.
Cast (in order of appearance):
LaShawna Sanders
George Arthur
Sandra Herrera
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Any student, regardless of sex, race or ethnic background,
is eligible for the ROTC if all of the following requirements
are met:
1.The student is a citizen of the United States.
2.The student is of sound physical condition.
3.The student is of sound moral character.
Note that, as in the previous example, if one or more of
the items in a vertical list is a complete sentence, each item
ends with a period.
6.20 Married-student housing
The term “married-student housing” is no longer used.
Those facilities should be referred to collectively as
University Apartments. Individual units are Jennings Drive,
Hillside Courts or College Courts.
6.21 Nonsexist writing
official listing in these publications, refer to him or her as
Kelly Doe.
6.23 Profiles style
When using profiles in print or online, use first names only
to protect student or staff identity, include hometowns and
states and lowercase majors, unless a foreign language.
Spell out or abbreviate the state as appropriate; don’t use
postal code abbreviations.
John
senior, physics major
Cresco, Iowa
Faculty profiles:
Name, Ph.D. or Ed.D. rather than Dr.
title, department
6.24 States
Avoid English words and usages that reinforce sexist
stereotypes. Do not use he as an all-inclusive pronoun. He
or she may be used, but not he/she.
Use AP style, abbreviating states with seven or more letters.
Iowa will not be used with Iowa towns unless the town
could be confused with another town (Denver). For large
metropolitan areas like Chicago or Boston, there is no need
to use a state name.
The following solutions are preferable: change the
subject to the plural so that they becomes the appropriate
pronoun, revise the sentence to eliminate the pronoun
altogether, or repeat the noun or use a synonym for it.
For more information, see the state and dateline listings in
the AP Stylebook.
In referring to humanity as a whole, avoid the use of
man or mankind. Instead, use human beings, humanity,
women and men, people or individuals. Similarly, replace
manmade with artificial, handmade, machine-made,
manufactured, constructed, or produced, as appropriate.
Avoid any terms that assume that the male is the standard
and the female is an adjunct of the standard.
For example, use author for both female and male writers
and eliminate the use of coed. Review photos and artwork
to ensure that both women and men are portrayed and
to ensure that women are not consistently depicted in
subordinate or stereotypical relationships.
6.25 University of Northern Iowa
Generally, “the” precedes University of Northern Iowa. For
internal publications, UNI is acceptable on first reference.
No periods are used in UNI. Lowercase the word university
on second reference even when referring to UNI.
I’m going to the University of Northern Iowa.
University of Northern Iowa President John Doe
announced today…
6.26 UNI, ISU and UI
They can collectively be referred to as “Iowa’s public
universities.” If referring to all Board of Regents, State of
Iowa schools, use “Iowa’s public universities and special
schools.”
6.22 President Kelly Doe
In all formal publications, articles for University of Northern
Iowa Today and news releases, refer to him or her as
President Kelly Doe on first reference and Doe on second
reference (including Foundation pieces and anything
asking for money).
For recruiting publications (that include a letter from the
president) and internal publications, refer to him or her as
Kelly Doe, President, University of Northern Iowa. On any
26
6.27 Use, usage and utilize
Do not use “utilize” as a long variant of “use,” which is
the general word for “employ for some purpose.” Usage
means “the customary way of doing something” or refers to
habitual or customary use.
8.0 Technology/E-mail/Internet
7.1 Captions, spot directions
8.1 E-mail
So-called spot directions (locating people in the photo) in
captions are placed in parentheses:
Company founders (from left) Martin Miller, Dillard
Davis and Clifford Cantor meet once each year.
1st row, from left:
2nd row:
3rd row:
Short for electronic mail, e-mail is lowercase in running
text. When listing e-mail addresses in external publications,
use the full e-mail address, written in lowercase letters. Do
not italicize or underline e-mail addresses in running text.
Do not underline, indicating a hyperlink unless writing
only for the Web.
[email protected]
If there are only two persons in a photo, it’s not necessary
to use both left and right
Steve Smith (left) and Professor Jane Johnson review
plans for this year’s class.
8.2 Fax
Don’t capitalize fax or write it in all caps. It is not an
acronym; it’s simply derived from the word facsimile.
8.3 Terminology
A caption should never begin with spot directions.
ASCII
bandwidth
baud
BBS
Binhex
Bit
BITNET
Blu-ray
bps
browser
byte
CD-ROM
cyberspace
domain name
dot-com
.com
download
e-mail
ethernet
FAQ
flame
FTP
gigabyte
home page
host
HTML
http
hyperlink
hypertext
Internet
intranet
IP number
IRC
Java
kilobyte
listserve
login
maillist
megabyte
modem
Mosaic
netiquette
Netscape
network
online
password
POP
PPP
RSS
search engine
server
SLIP
spam (or
spamming)
T-1
T-3
TCP/IP
telnet
terminal
Twitter
tweet
UNIX
upload
URL
usenet
WAIS
Web page
website
WWW
World Wide Web
the Web
8.4 Web addresses
The UNI Web address should be listed as www.uni.edu.
The prefix http:// should be used for Web publications
requiring a hyperlink but not for print.
Style Guide Style and Usage | Photographs and Captions | Technology/E-mail/Internet
7.0 Photographs and Captions
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