CSULB Web Developers Committee
Editorial Style Guide
1. Spelling
2. Abbreviations
3. Upper and Lower Case
4. Numbers
5. Spelling/Word Treatment
6. Terminology and Usage
7. References
Spelling
A
acknowledgment
and (use & only in official names)
adviser (not advisor)
afterward (not afterwards)
alumna (singular of alumnae, refers to a woman who has attended the school)
alumnae (plural of alumna)
alumni (plural of alumnus; use also when referring to a group of men and women who have attended the school)
alumnus (singular of alumni, refers to a man who has attended the school)
B
C
campuswide (no hyphen; with exception of university-wide, most -wide compounds are not hyphenated)
cardholder, cardholders
chairperson (or chair); however, keep the appropriate term for historical accuracy if referring to, say, a past chairman or chairwoman; in references to people who work outside the university, use their preferred titles
Core Curriculum requirement
coursework
credit by examination
D
database
day care (both noun and adjective)
division
E
e-mail
emerita (singular, feminine form)
emeritae (plural, feminine form)
emeriti (plural for men only or a group of men and women together); ALL REFERENCES of the variation on emeritus follow the noun
emeritus (singular, masculine form)
ensure (unless specifically related to insurance)
F
fall, fall semester (lowercase references to seasons and academic periods)
fax (do not use all capital letters; it's not an acronym)
field trip
fieldwork
first semester (noun)
first-semester (adjective)
full-time (hyphenate as a modifier before a noun)
full time (do not hyphenate after the noun)
fund-raising
fund-raiser
G
GPA (no periods)
grade point average
groundbreaking
H
health care (noun and adjective)
Hispanic
I
I.D. card
Internet
L
Latino/a
log-in
lower-division (hyphenate even when it follows a noun)
M
minor (i.e., minor in art history)
multicultural
N |
O
off-campus, on-campus (hyphenate as an adjective before the noun; otherwise, leave as two words)
online
orientation
out-of-state (when preceding a noun)
out of state (when following a noun)
P
part-time (hyphenate as a modifier before a noun)
part time (do not hyphenate after the noun)
PDF
percent (one word, spelled out in text)
photo I.D.
R
rank-in-class (adjective and noun)
reenrollment
reevaluate
resumé
S
Schedule of Classes
southern California
T
theater (not theatre unless part of a proper name)
toward (not towards )
U
underrepresented
the university
California State University, Long Beach (first reference); CSULB (second reference)
upper-division (hyphenate even when it follows a noun)
V
vice president
W
Web site
webmaster
word processing (noun and adjective)
workstation
workforce
workplace
work-study
World Wide Web
X
Y
Z
Abbreviations
Two letter abbreviations are set out with periods: three or more letters without periods. Examples: a.m., U.S., GRE, SAT, GPA.
Use periods for all degrees, certificates and licenses: B.S., M.Ed. M.B.A., C.P.A., Ph.D.
Academic titles - In general, when using titles confine capitalization to formal titles used directly before an individual's name:
Capitalize formal titles when they are used immediately before one or more names: Pope Paul, President Clinton, Vice Presidents Helen Ray and Lynnea Halberg.
Use lowercase elsewhere. The president gave a speech. The vice president chaired the meeting. Lowercase modifiers such as history in history Professor Leslie Jones or department in department Chairman Bill Ware.
Dr. may be used on first reference before the names of individuals who hold doctoral degrees. Take care that the individual's specialty is stated in the first or second reference. After the first reference use the individual's last name.
Upper and Lower Case
Majors, minors, areas of concentration, and subject areas are lowercase. Examples: Bachelor of Arts degree in history, theatre education emphasis. Specialist in Education in middle grades.
Academic semesters or terms are lowercase. Examples: fall semester, fall, 2004. |
Numbers
For numbers 10 and above use numerals. Spell out nine and below with the following exceptions: semester hours, ages, and percentages.
Use of decimals with numbers. Express gradepoint averages to two decimal places: 2.50, 4.00.
Time of day: 8 a.m. not 8:00 a.m.
Sums of money: delete .00 unless the figure is aligned in a table with other figures.
Telephone numbers: (770) 534-6167.
Spelling/Word Treatment
Use adviser, not advisor, it is the preferred spelling.
Set as one word (solid)
audiovisual
crosslisted
gradepoint
noncredit
preregister
postgraduate
inservice
Set as two words:
course work
Hyphenate:
graduate-level courses
lower-division courses
non-majors
non-business
on-campus
off-campus
post-secondary
pre-professional
Terminology and Usage
Correct terminology for degrees: One earns a bachelor's degree or a baccalaureate degree: a master's degree: a specialist in education degree, a law degree or Juris Doctor degree: a doctoral degree or a doctorate. Also, Ph.D. degree or M.Ed. degree is preferred over simply Ph.D. or M.Ed.
References
Garbl's Editorial Style Manual
A good online editorial style manual based on The Associated Press Stylebook. Includes an annotated directory of Web sites on a variety of writing topics, including grammar, style and usage,
Web Style Guide
Subtitled Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites, this site, and companion book by Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton, is an essential guide for Web site creators.
Electronic style guides
This set of links about citing electronic sources is on the Chicago Manual of Style's FAQ page. The FAQs themselves are a useful resource. Most browsers have a Find command in the Edit menu, which you can use to search this voluminous page. At the top of the page is an e-mail address for the manuscript editing department at the University of Chicago Press; they invite questions about style.
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
There are many dictionaries on the Web, but this is the one we recommend as a publishing reference. Included here is the Collegiate Thesaurus. |
