Table of Contents
Abbreviations..................................................3
Capitalization...................................................3-4
Campus Locations........................................5
Gender.............................................................5
Jargon, Clichés and Colloquialisms............5
Selected Examples of Preferences............5-7
Numbers and Numerical References........7
Commas and Other Punctuation................7
Please visit www.fullerton.edu/identity
to ensure you are using the most up-to-date version of these guidelines.
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Editorial Style
The guidelines here represent Cal State Fullerton’s “house style” to be used in
non-academic copywriting. When specific guidance is not offered, the campus
community should revert to the Associated Press Stylebook. If neither this guide
nor the AP Stylebook offer the needed guidance, writers should consult Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged.
The following guidelines should be followed in the preparation of all university
publications.
Abbreviations
As a general rule, avoid most abbreviations in university publications.
All-Capital Abbreviations
All-capital abbreviations do not take periods except when referring to nations,
states, cities or persons. Academic degrees, however, should be abbreviated with
periods with no spaces in between.
For example: The dean is Joan Jones, Ph.D.
Lowercase Abbreviations
Abbreviations consisting of lowercase letters usually take periods with no spaces
in between.
For example: a.m., p.m., c.o.d. and g.p.a.
Names of Organizations
Spell out the name of an organization on first reference. Do not follow an
organization’s name with an abbreviation or acronym in parentheses or set off
by dashes. If an abbreviation or acronym would not be clear on second reference
without this arrangement, do not use it.
For example: The Career Development Center received a grant from the Western
College Placement Association to study the current job market. The CDC will begin
research as soon as the WCPA funds are received.
Cal State Fullerton
Cal State Fullerton is the preferred second reference when abbreviating California
State University, Fullerton. CSU Fullerton is acceptable, but is not generally used.
Avoid using CSUF when its meaning may be either unfamiliar to the reader or when
its use might be confused with the CSU campus in Fresno. Do not use Cal State and
Fullerton independently when referring to the university. Do not use Fullerton State.
It is preferable, however, to avoid abbreviations of schools, programs, and
organizations except in tables, headlines and other situations where space is limited.
Your copy will read better if you avoid the alphabet soup syndrome.
For example: The Student Health and Counseling Center at California State
University, Fullerton received a grant from the American Medical Association to
study student attitudes on health care. The center will begin its research as soon as the
association submits the funds. The university is grateful for the recognition and support
of such a prestigious organization.
Capitalization-Academic Degrees
Academic degrees are capitalized only in specific references (Bachelor of Arts, Master
of Arts, Doctor of Philosophy, etc.). They are not capitalized in general references
(bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate). The word “degree” is not capitalized.
For example: His objective is a Bachelor of Arts in History. The university offers several
master’s degree programs. One of these is the Master of Public Administration. She
received her master’s in public administration, but she is undecided about her doctorate.
Capitalize degrees when they are referred to by initials: B.S., M.A., Ph.D. Use periods
with no space in between. When using these abbreviations with a name, follow the
name with a comma and then the abbreviation.
For example: John A. Smith, Ph.D.
Capitalization-Departments and Colleges
Departments and colleges are capitalized only if the reference is specific.
For example: Some colleges have many departments. The Department of Psychology is
part of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
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Derivatives should not be capitalized.
Capitalization-Directions
For example: The Mihaylo College of Business and Economics is often referred to as the
college of business. The Student Health and Counseling Center is commonly known
as the health center. California State University, Fullerton is sometimes more simply
known as the university.
Directions are not capitalized if they refer to a compass direction. They should be
capitalized, however, if they refer to a region, are part of a proper name or denote a
widely known section of a city or state.
References to disciplines such as art, accounting, geography and engineering are
capitalized only when referring to a specific department or course.
For example: They are studying geography. The Department of Geography offers many
courses. One of these is Geography 101.
Disciplines derived from proper nouns (French, German, Spanish, etc.) are always
capitalized.
Capitalization-Class Level
Class level references are not capitalized except when referring to the formal name
of a group.
For example: A group of seniors was disciplined for hazing freshmen.
The Senior Class donated a gift of $50,000 to the university.
Capitalization-State and Federal
State is not capitalized. Federal is capitalized as part of corporate or governmental
bodies that use the word as part of their formal names. Lowercase it when it is used as
an adjective to distinguish something from state, county, city, town or private entities.
For example: The people of the state of California. Dr. Jones received a federal grant.
The Federal Communications Commission has awarded several grants.
Capitalization-Titles
Titles are capitalized only when they precede a person’s name.
For example: President John J. Johnson; John J. Johnson, president of the
university. Dean Erminda Jones; Erminda Jones, dean of the College of
Business and Economics. The proposal presented by the college deans and
department chairs is subject to approval by the president.
When using an academic degree in a title, do not use both Dr. and Ph.D.
For example: Dr. James Smith or James Smith, Ph.D., but not Dr. James Smith, Ph.D.
For example: Professor Smith’s move east took him as far as the Midwest where his
Southern California customs were the source of much amusement. He continued east
and settled in the Lower East Side of New York City but missed his home in southern
San Dimas. He moved west to the familiarity of his beloved West Coast. He now takes
vacations only in the West and frequently tours the western United States.
When in doubt, use the lowercase.
Capitalization-Nationalities
Nationalities, peoples, races and tribes are capitalized.
For example: American, Chicano, Arab, Caucasian, Apache.
Do not capitalize white, black, yellow or red when referring to races.
Capitalization-Seasons and Semesters
Seasons and semesters are not capitalized.
For example: We are looking forward to summer vacation after the spring semester.
Capitalization-Building names
Building names are capitalized.
For example: Miles D. McCarthy Hall or McCarthy Hall; William B. Langsdorf Hall
or Langsdorf Hall.
Abbreviate building names only in tables, on maps and in other formats where there
is a shortage of space. The proper form for building abbreviation is the building’s
initials, capitalized without periods or spaces in between. Visual Arts is VA,
McCarthy Hall is MH, Humanities-Social Sciences is H, etc. Room designations
with an abbreviation take the following form: H-213, MH-238, etc.
Informal building names are not capitalized.
For example: The Office of Admissions and Records is located in the administration
building.
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Campus Locations and Addresses
The form to describe campus locations is the building name followed by the
appropriate room number.
For example: Disabled Student Services is located in University Hall 101.
The program will take place in McCarthy Hall 33. The dean’s office is located
in Education Classroom 324.
Do not use these forms:
The program will take place in Room 33 of McCarthy Hall; or McCarthy Hall,
Room 33.
The U.S. Postal Service prefers no periods in “PO Box.”
Selected Examples of Preferences in Spelling, Capitalization,
Hyphenation, and Usage of Words and Compounds
Please use Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language,
Unabridged to resolve spelling questions. The spellings that are listed first are
preferred. The correct spellings and preferred usages of words commonly used in
university publications are listed below.
accessible
accommodate
acknowledgeable
acknowledgment
admissible
Gender
adviser
Copy intended to apply to both sexes should be free of gender references. Use of the
second person or the plural form will help avoid awkwardness. Consider, for example,
the following unacceptable sentences:
Each student should pay his fees on Monday.
Each student should pay his/her fees on Monday.
affect (verb): to influence
Either of the following solutions would suffice:
All students should pay their fees on Monday.
You should pay your fees on Monday.
If there is no alternative to singular pronouns in copy intended for both sexes, use he
or she, him and her, etc. The use of pronouns in the form of he/she, him/her, s/he,
his/her, etc. is not acceptable in university publications.
Jargon, Clichés and Colloquialisms
Jargon, cliches and colloquialisms are distractions that usually have no place in the
university’s publications. Overused words and phrases lose both meaning and impact.
Say what you mean without resorting to a vague, shopworn or hackneyed vocabulary.
For writers of university publications, being on the cutting edge means expressing
that fact in another way.
English is a rich and expressive language and writers should have no need to take
shortcuts wordwise. Avoid the temptation to add -size and -wise to words; try not
to prioritize, agendize and utilize. Instead, arrange priorities, place on the agenda,
and use.
Avoid wordy expressions, redundant words and extended phrases; obtain opinions
rather than feedback; offer reactions rather than input; enough is always better than
adequate enough; pre-planning is redundant; and it is easier to center on an issue than
it is to center around one. (It is geometrically impossible to center around something.)
biannual: twice a year
biennial: every two years
bilingual
bimonthly: every other month
biweekly: every two weeks
campuswide
cancel
canceled
cancellation
class names: should appear in quotes, i.e., “History of Television”
co-ed
coeducational
commencement: lowercase, except when used in a formal event title,
as in Commencement 2012
compatible
complement: implies something which completes
compliment: flattery or praise
comprised of: don’t use this construction
cooperation
coursework
cross-cultural
daylong
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daytime
minuscule
decision-making
more than: use rather than “over”
degrees: B.A., M.A., Ph.D.; bachelor’s degrees, master’s degree or doctorate, but MBA
multicultural
effect (verb): to accomplish; (noun) a result produced
multidisciplinary
e-mail
multilingual
enforce/reinforce
nonmajor
ensure: to guarantee or make safe
nonminority
entitled: use when referring to a right to do or have something
nonprofit or not-for-profit
excel
nonresident
extracurricular
ongoing
faculty: per Webster’s New World Dictionary, “all the teachers of a school, college or
university.” Hence, use with singular verbs. Example: The Cal State Fullerton faculty
supports the measure. If plural verb is desired, add the word members. Example:
Some Cal State Fullerton faculty members are opposed to the measure.
online
farther: refers to physical distance
fundraiser, fundraising: one word, no hyphen
further: refers to extension of time or degree
grant-in-aid
gray
homepage
hometown
insure: to establish a contract for insurance
interdisciplinary
internet (adj.) (e.g. internet marketing)
Internet (formal noun)
interrelationship
its: possessive form of the pronoun
it’s: the contraction of “it is”
judgment
lifelong
manageable
memento
midsemester
midterm
percent
PK–12 (meaning pre-kindergarten through grade 12)
preprofessional
preschool
raffle: do not use
re-entry
residence halls: the correct description of student housing on this campus
roommate
rooms: Room 123 of Humanities-Social Sciences Building, Portola Pavilion of the
Titan Student Union
semimonthly: twice a month
semiweekly: twice a week
sizable
sociocultural
socioeconomic
springtime
state: lowercase as state of California in news copy
statewide
summertime
theater-goer
Theatre and Dance: Theatre is preferred spelling for department name; theater in
other uses
titled: use when referring to the name of an article, book, etc.
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toward
tuition fees: mandatory systemwide fees; accurately describes student costs
In a telephone number, use a dash to separate its components (e.g. to separate the area
code from the prefix.)
university: lowercase in virtually all uses
For example: 657-278-8489
universitywide
vice president
web page
website
When referring to a specific time, drop the minutes if that time is on the hour. Use
noon and midnight, not 12 p.m. or 12 a.m.
For example: 8:15 p.m.; 10-11 a.m.; The event begins at noon.
weeklong
Commas and Other Punctuation
workday
Use commas to separate items in a simple series but not before the conjunction.
workforce
workload
workweek
World Wide Web
worldwide
year-end
yearlong
Terms such as lower division, upper division, on campus and off campus are
hyphenated in the adjective forms but are not hyphenated in the noun forms.
For example: The items on the dean’s agenda included sabbaticals, collective bargaining
and parking.
A comma should be used before the conjunction, however, if there would be a
possibility of confusion without it.
For example: Among those attending the conference were the deans of art,
humanities and social sciences, and health and human development.
Use a comma to separate a name and academic degree.
For example: Charles J. Jones, Ph.D.
For example: Students live off campus because there is limited on-campus housing.
Do not use a comma to separate a name from Jr. or Sr.
It is generally unneccesary to preceed URLs, phone numbers, and email addresses in
lists with “website:”, “telephone:”, or “email:”. Readers can generally recognize these
and don’t need a written prompt.
When used with quotation marks, commas and periods are always enclosed within
the quotation marks.
Numbers and Numerical References
As a general rule, numbers from one to nine should be written out; numbers 10 and
over should be left in numerical form. Use figures, however, when referring to sections
of a book, grade point averages, age, percentages and scores.
For example: See page 6. A g.p.a. of 3. A total of 5 percent. An ACT score of 9.
He is 4 years old.
When referring to percentages, do not use “%” except in tables and technical text.
For example: “This parking lot is crowded,” he said. “I should have stayed at home.”
Colons and semicolons are never enclosed within quotation marks unless they are
part of the quotation.
For example: He had not read Professor Jones’ monograph, “Ozone Contamination”;
in fact, he had never heard of it. He retitled his monograph, “Ozone Contamination:
Earth’s Open Window.”
Colons and semicolons are followed by a single space in a typed manuscript.
For example: More than 20 percent passed the test with a score of 85 or better.
The dash, question mark and exclamation mark are enclosed within quotation marks
only when they apply to the quoted material.
Spell out ordinal numbers first through ninth. Numbers above the 10th ordinal may
use figures.
For example: “Shall we all go together?” he asked. Did he say, “We should all go
together”?
For example: First, second, 10th, 23rd, 31st.
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