University of Cincinnati Stylebook

This guide is designed to suggest consistent solutions to common problems faced by anyone writing about the University of Cincinnati. Professional communicators from across the university originally developed the style guide in 1994. It is updated regularly through the Division of Government Relations and University Communications.

UC Stylebook is intended as an adjunct to the Associated Press Style Guide and Libel Manual and Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Some listings evoke grammar rules, and some address strictly style issues.

In choosing AP style as a basis to follow, the writers of UC's stylebook focused on external, general audiences. For some departments with specialized audiences other stylebooks, including those required by particular academic disciplines, may be better choices. Whether or not everyone agrees with all the recommendations in this guide, its intent is to help us achieve consistency of style in our writing university-wide.

If you have questions or comments, please e-mail Deb Rieselman.

 All information is listed in alphabetical order. You can search for a specific term within this page by using your browser's "Find" or "Search" command. The search engine above searches the entire division Web site, not just the Stylebook.

Spelling Checklist

A

   a or an
Use the article a before words pronounced with a beginning consonant sound, including a pronounced h, a long u and the word one. Examples: a historian, a horse, a hysterical joke, a union, such a one as this. Use an before words pronounced with a beginning vowel sound and a silent h (which results in a vowel sound). Examples: an onion, an umbrella, an hour, an honest man.

When an article appears before an abbreviation, acronym or numeral, choose one based upon pronunciation. Examples: a UC student, a U.S. senator, an 11th hour project, an NKU collaboration.

AAUP
Use American Association of University Professors on first reference.

abbreviations
When an abbreviation falls at the end of a sentence, do not add an another period. Example: We live in the U.S. The addition of punctuation other than a period is acceptable. Example: Do you live in the U.S.?
See academic degrees, buildings, states, acronyms.

academic degrees
Two-year undergraduate degrees are associate degrees. When referring to generic bachelor's or master's degrees, make them lowercase and possessive. When referring to a specific degree, write bachelor of science, master of arts, and so forth. When referring to the PhD in general, use doctorate for the noun and doctoral for the adjective. Consider your audience when deciding whether to abbreviate or spell out on first reference. If abbreviating, don't use periods. Examples: BA, MA, MD, PhD.

The discipline in which the degree was earned also remains lowercase. Examples: bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering, master's degree in fine arts.

Do not routinely list all degrees in copy, but use as needed in the context.  MD and RN are the two degrees most often needed to clarify a person's position of medical authority.

If listing a degree is necessitated by the audience and the degree is listed after a name, it must be set off with commas. Example: John Joseph, MS in biology, will lead the discussion.

academic departments
Capitalize words in academic departments only when using the official department name or if proper nouns are being used. Examples: He is studying journalism in the English department. She wants to earn a professional writing certificate in the Department of English and Comparative Literature.

Academic Health Center
Preferred usage for the university's medical center. (See also campuses.)

academic ranks
The following are official full-time faculty ranks used at the university (from lowest to highest rank). Double-check any other ranks in the university telephone directory. This listing does not include part-time teachers who are usually called adjuncts or lecturers: instructor [in], assistant professor [of], associate professor [of], professor [of].

For librarians: beginning librarian, assistant librarian, associate librarian, associate senior librarian, senior librarian.

The following qualifiers, added to the above ranks, are used to denote faculty affiliation, but persons with qualified ranks are not eligible for tenure: field service, adjunct, research, clinical, visiting.

Very infrequently a professor is recognized for uncommon merit and achievement with one of the following ranks, reflecting affiliation not just with a particular department, but also with the entire university:

• Distinguished Research Professor
  
• Distinguished Teaching Professor
  
• University Professor
  
• Ohio Eminent Scholars -- faculty brought to the university with the help of competitive grants awarded to the university by the Ohio Board of Regents Selective Excellence Program.
  
• Endowed chairs -- faculty positions that are funded with endowments established in honor of, and named after, distinguished individuals.
  
• Emeriti -- After faculty members retire from regular duties at the university, many of them, not all, are honored for their contributions by allowing them to continue to carry their academic titles. This is not a synonym for retired. See emeritus.

academic titles
See professor, titles.

 academic year
When referring to the academic year (September through August), use the format 2004-05. Do not capitalize fall quarter or similar terms.
See years.

acronyms
An acronym is an abbreviation, written all in capital letters with no periods. To be an acronym, each letter represents a word in the official name or title, and the letters form a pronounceable word, such as CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education). FBI is not an acronym, but is an abbreviation. When using an acronym, explain what the letters stand for on first reference. Two examples:

• GEARUP is an acronym for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. In the name Lindner Honors-PLUS, PLUS stands for Promise (as a business professional), Leadership (in school and community activities), Understanding (of the global marketplace and diverse cultures) and Success (through talent, commitment, dedication and effort).
• University of Cincinnati is often written as an acronym -- UC (no periods). The United States is never written as one (U.S., not US) except in headlines, which follows an Associated Press guideline. Use U.S. only as an adjective; spell out United States for use as a noun.
  

addresses

Abbreviate St., Ave., Blvd. when using a numerical address. Examples: 2982 Main St., the Clifton Avenue building. For guidelines in abbreviating state names, see states.

When a single street address is needed for the entire University of Cincinnati, use the physical address of the Welcome Gate (gatehouse). Example: 2600 Clifton Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45221.

When referring to a post office box in editorial copy, place periods in the abbreviation P.O. Box.

addresses for post office use

UC's West Campus, East Campus and resident housing have their own ZIP codes:

• 45221 for West Campus (excluding resident housing) and the College of Nursing
• 45267 for East Campus

(For residence hall addresses, see the Housing & Food Services Web site.)

Four-digit mail locations are used to send on-campus mail. To receive UC mail through the U.S. Postal Service, a P.O. box and nine-digit ZIP code are necessary. Each UC ZIP code is created by attaching the mail location to the end of the five-digit ZIP code. The P.O. box is the last six digits of the ZIP code. Examples:

• West Campus: ML 0000 + 45221 = ZIP code 45221-0000 or PO Box 210000
• East Campus: ML 0000 + 45267 = ZIP Code 45267-0000 or PO Box 670000

The U.S. Postal Service requires a specific format for non-campus mail to accommodate its digital scanning technology. Most important on East Campus and West Campus where hundreds of mail locations exist, this format may help speed mail delivery. Postal Service scanners read only the bottom three lines. Regardless of how many lines in the address, the format for the last three is precisely as follows:

Name of Person
Name of Department
Name of Division
Building Name, Room Number
University of Cincinnati
PO Box 21xxxx
Cincinnati OH 452xx-xxxx

Note that department, division or office names should be placed above "University of Cincinnati," not below it. Note, also, that no periods or commas are used in the last two lines of the address, including the PO abbreviation. In editorial copy in brochures and publications, however, insert proper punctuation -- periods in P.O. Box and a comma between a city and state.

For the U.S. Postal Service, the only UC colleges that use a street address are the following:

Raymond Walters College
9555 Plainfield Rd
Blue Ash OH 45236-1096

Clermont College
4200 College Dr
Batavia OH 45103-0162

College Of Applied Science
2220 Victory Parkway
Cincinnati OH 45206-2822

More information is available in from the University Architect's office (Excel file).

addresses in news releases
When writing news releases about faculty and students, use the person's home address, when appropriate, following the person's name and enclosed in parentheses. Do not use house numbers on press releases. For Greater Cincinnati addresses, use street names and ZIP codes only.

When referring to an address beyond Greater Cincinnati, use the street name, city, postal state abbreviation and ZIP code. Example: Hanna Avenue, Middletown, OH 45102.

adviser/advisor
Use adviser for general purposes. Many times, however, advisor is preferred in academic references. Consider the audience.

affect, effect
Affect is almost always a verb (unless used as a psychological term). Effect is always a noun, unless you're effecting change.

affiliates
Teaching and research affiliates of the Academic Health Center include University Hospital, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Shriners Hospital for Children, Jewish Hospital, Christ Hospital and the Neuroscience Institute at the College of Medicine and University Hospital.

African-American
Hyphenate. The term is acceptable for an American black person of African decent, but be careful not to apply it to all blacks. For instance, Caribbean descendants generally refer to themselves as Caribbean-Americans. The term black is also acceptable. Follow an individual's preference.

ages
Always use figures. Examples: The student is 19 years old. The student, 24, has a daughter 6 months old. The policy is 4 years old.

Ages used as a noun or an adjective before a noun require hyphens. Examples: The 19-year-old student ran for office. The racetrack features 3-year-olds today. See compound modifiers.

An age range requires no apostrophe. Example: The instructor was in her 30s.

alphabetizing with numerals
For lists that contain words and a few numbers, alphabetize the list as if the numerals were spelled out. Examples:
Changing of the Guard
Houses of Parliament
Piccadilly Circus
10 Downing Street
Tower of London

And:
four hamsters
14 goats
hairless wart hogs
three blind mice
truck full of cows

An exception could be argued if a list contained so many numbers and words that the writer preferred to place the numerals in ascending order prior to the alphabetized words. Such is the standard for Microsoft Word alphabetizing. A shortened example:
6-foot board
20-ounce can of putty
5-pound bag of sand
6-by-9 tarp
box of nails
toolbox
ladder
paint

alumni
Alumnus refers to one male who attended a college or to a former student of unspecified gender. Alumna refers to one female. Alumni refers to two or more former students, all or some of whom are all male. Alumnae refers to two or more females. People who attended UC, but did not graduate, may be called alumni.

a.m., p.m.
Lowercase with periods. Avoid redundancies such as 10 a.m. Tuesday morning.
See time duration.

American Indian
Preferred term to Native American, unless used in quotes or in reference to a specific organization.

ampersand
Avoid, unless it is part of a company or institution's legal name. Examples: Procter & Gamble (P&G), McMicken College of Arts and Sciences. Note the acceptable second reference for the college is A&S.

an or a
See a before h.

annual
Never say first annual. It's redundant. Second annual is acceptable.

annual meeting
Lowercase in all uses.

and/or
Don't use together. Reword sentence.

arguably
The word means "many would argue." It does not present a very strong case for an argument.

area codes
Use this format: 513-556-5225.

Asian
Preferred over Asiatic or Oriental when referring to people.

Asian-American
Hyphenated.

attorney
A person legally empowered to act for another, usually but not always a lawyer. Lawyer is a generic term for anyone admitted to the bar to practice law. Consult AP Stylebook for a more detailed explanation.

autumn
Use fall quarter.

awards
Capitalize the word award or medal only if it is part of a proper name. Abbreviate all other uses. Examples: President’s Excellence Award, faculty awards, the gold medal, the Taft Enhancement Fellowship award.

B

bachelor's degree
See academic degrees.

bi-
Generally no hyphen. Examples: bimonthly, bilateral, bilingual.

biannual, biennial
Biannual is twice a year or semiannual. Biennial is every two years.

Big East Conference
Upper and lowercase all three words. This contradicts the way the conference writes BIG EAST Conference.

bimonthly, biweekly
Means every other month or week. Sometimes confused with semimonthly and semiweekly. But for readability, twice a month is preferred to semimonthly; likewise twice a week is preferred to semiweekly.

black
Acceptable for a person of the black race, according to AP Stylebook.

branch campus
Preferred term is "regional campus" when referring to Raymond Walters College or Clermont College.

branding (See also logo and seal.)
In 2002, the university adopted a consistent and coherent way to verbally and visually present itself to the public. For details, visit UC's Branding Initiative online. All uses of the university logo and seal are overseen by the University Brand Review Committee, headed by Angela Klocke.

buildings, facilities
Be mindful of your audience when naming campus buildings and facilities. In many cases, an abbreviated name commonly used on campus would be misunderstood by external audiences. Below are the names of buildings or facilities that can be confusing. In some instances, the complete official name includes a middle initial. Although the UC stylebook generally omits a middle initial (see initials), they are included here because they are part of an official name. Use your own discretion in determining which wording works best for your audience.

When appropriate, use full names on first reference. For use on campus, however, certain unit, building and program names can be abbreviated on first reference if they are readily understood.

See also signature architect buildings.

The following are official names for some UC buildings. In some instances, their accepted abbreviations and locations are listed, as well:

• 840 Gallery -- room 840 at the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
• Alms -- an original DAAP building
• Annie Laws Drawing Room -- room 410, Teachers College
• Aronoff Center for Design and Art -- Aronoff Center
• Baur Room -- room at CCM
• Bearcat Plaza -- a three-level outcropping on the north side of TUC
• Braunstein Hall -- also known as Old Physics
• Brodie Gallery -- room 615J, Rieveschl Hall (in the Brodie Science Complex)
• Brodie Science Complex -- includes several buildings, George Rieveschl Hall (formerly Brodie A1), Crosley Tower, Rhodes Hall and Zimmer Auditorium
• Calhoun Street Garage -- formerly Calhoun Garage
• Campus Green -- the lawn area east of the Alumni Center
• Campus Green Drive Garage -- formerly CBA Garage
• Campus Recreation Center -- Campus Rec Center on second reference
• CARE/Crawley -- Center for Academic and Research Excellence/Crawley Building, connected to the Medical Sciences Building
  
• CCM Boulevard Garage -- CCM Garage
• Charles M. Barrett Center for Cancer Prevention, Treatment and Research -- Barrett Center
• Clifton Court Garage -- formerly Brodie Garage
• Corbett Auditorium -- the College-Conservatory of Music's large performance hall
• Corry Boulevard Garage -- Corry Garage, located in the Edwards Center
• DAA Addition-- one of the buildings that make up the DAAP complex (formerly the DAAP Building)
• Dieterle Vocal Arts Center -- formerly Schmidlapp Hall
• Dyer Hall -- formerly Old Biology
• Ed Jucker Court -- basketball court of Fifth Third Arena in the Shoemaker Center
• Edwards Center -- contains four separate sections, each with its own front-door entrance on W. Corry Boulevard: Edwards One, Edwards Two, Edwards Three, Edwards Four. Corry Garage is also part of the Edwards Center.
• Engineering Research Center -- also known as the ERC, which is acceptable upon second reference
• Fifth Third Arena -- consists of Ed Jucker Court, 13,176 seats, 16 private executive suites and a restaurant and lounge that overlook the court -- all located in the Shoemaker Center. Fifth Third Arena is the preferred reference for the location of basketball games.
• Hastings L. and William A. French Building -- houses the College of Allied Health Sciences, the former Shriners Burns Institute, aka the French Building
• French Hall -- located on West Campus
• Geology-Physics Building -- hyphenated
• Gettler Stadium -- the track and soccer complex
• Jefferson Residence Hall Complex -- comprises Schneider Hall and Turner Hall
• Kingsgate Circle Garage -- Kingsgate Garage
• Kingsgate Conference Center --the Marriott facility on East Campus
• Kresge Auditorium -- College of Medicine's large lecture and performance hall, located on E-level of the Medical Sciences Building at the Albert Sabin Way entrance
• Carl H. Lindner Hall -- Lindner Hall, two n's, houses the College of Business
• Richard E. Lindner Center -- Varsity Village's athletics center
• MainStreet -- uppercase S, no space. A corridor that begins at the University Pavilion, includes TUC, the Student Life Center and the Student Recreation Center, then concludes at the Jefferson Residence Complex. It also includes the open spaces of McMicken Commons, Bearcat Plaza, the Mews and Sigma Sigma Commons.
• Marge Schott Stadium -- the baseball stadium 
• Medical Sciences Building -- s at the end of Sciences; aka MSB
• Mews -- a secluded open space between Swift Hall the Steger Student Life Center
• Mick and Mack -- k on both names
• Robert Werner Recital Hall -- located on the third level of CCM's Emery Hall
• Russell C. Myers Alumni Center -- alumni center, not the alumni house
• Procter Hall -- e, not o
• Rieveschl Auditorium -- located in the Vontz Center
• Room 525, Old Chemistry -- a large lecture hall on West Campus
• Sears building -- Colloquial name for the Campus Services Building at 2900 Reading Rd., formerly a Sears store.
• Myrl H. Shoemaker Multipurpose Center -- the Shoemaker Center, aka the Shoe, houses the Fifth Third Arena and support services for each of the Bearcat sports teams, including the women?s basketball offices, meeting rooms, locker rooms and related facilities.
• Sigma Sigma Commons -- the Tower of Light and amphitheater near French Hall
• Joseph A. Steger Student Life Center -- Steger Student Life Center
• Tangeman University Center -- TUC on second reference
• Teachers College -- the building name, not the college name; no apostrophe
• University Avenue Garage -- formerly Scioto-Jefferson Garage
• University Commons -- the green space behind the Kingsgate Center
• University Hall -- on East Campus
• University House at Edgecliff Point -- the president's residence
• University Pavilion -- on West Campus
• Asa and Julia Van Wormer Hall -- Van Wormer Hall (formerly the Administration Building)
• Richard E. Lindner Varsity Village --  Varsity Village
• Vera Clement Edwards Center -- Edwards Center
• Veterans Affairs Medical Center -- no apostrophe
• Veterans Bridge -- The bridge between TUC and CCM.
• Albert H. Vontz Center for Molecular Studies -- Vontz Center
• Walter C. Langsam Library -- Langsam Library, UC's central library
• Wolfson -- an original DAAP building
• Woodside Drive Garage -- formerly Library Garage
• Zimmer Auditorium -- Brodie Science Complex's large lecture/presentation facility

C

campuses
UC has several campuses that are grouped together as follows:

• East Campus -- UC's Academic Health Center, which consists of the College of Medicine, the College of Pharmacy, the College of Nursing, the College of Allied Health Sciences, Hoxworth Blood Center, Barrett Cancer Center at University Hospital, Genome Research Institute, Institute for the Study of Health and UC Physicians.
  
• West Campus -- All academic colleges in the area bounded by Martin Luther King Drive, Jefferson Avenue, Calhoun Street and Clifton Avenue. For off-campus audiences, use the term main campus. It is often referred to as the Clifton Campus, which derives from its location along Clifton Avenue, but the area is not in Clifton and that name is to be avoided.
  
• College of Applied Science -- CAS (not OCAS) is technically considered part of West Campus, but, especially for off-campus communication, using the street address is preferred: 2220 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati, 45206-0103.
  
• Clermont College -- UC's regional campus in Clermont County, referred to by address: 4200 College Dr., Batavia, OH 45103-0162.
  
• Raymond Walters College -- UC's regional campus in Blue Ash, referred to by address: 9555 Plainfield Rd., Blue Ash, OH 45236-1096.
  
• Uptown Campus -- East Campus, West Campus and the College of Applied Science campus combined. Replaces the outdated term Central Campus.
  
• Uptown Campus East -- Use this wording for an external audience who need more explanation than a simple East Campus reference.
  
• Uptown Campus West -- Use this wording for an external audience who need more explanation than a simple West Campus reference. 

capitalization
Capitalize only proper names. Avoid capitalizing generic terms. Always be sure to include UC or the University of Cincinnati in the name if the context does not make it obvious. Specific examples follow:

• awards -- Always lowercase the word award when not used as part of an official name:  the awards committee, the writing award, the A.B. Dolly Cohen Award
  
• academic calendar -- Do not capitalize academic quarters: fall term.
  
• academic departments/subjects -- Do not capitalize academic subjects unless a word is a proper noun: His favorite courses are archaeology and English. Capitalize words in academic departments only if they are proper nouns or they compose the official department name: He is studying journalism in the English department. She wants to earn a professional writing certificate in the Department of English and Comparative Literature.
  
• administrative offices -- Do not capitalize units unless using the full proper name of the department: She is a photographer for University Relations. The Office of the President will be closed on Labor Day. The library staff held a party. She works in radiology.
  
• athletic teams -- University of Cincinnati Bearcats, the Bearcats, the Cats, are all acceptable in context. Also do not capitalize the sport: Bearcat football, Bearcat football team. Both men's and women's teams are known simply as the Bearcats (not the Lady Bearcats).
  
• Big East Conference -- Upper and lowercase all three words. This contradicts the way the conference writes BIG EAST conference.
  
• centers -- Always lowercase the word center when not used as part of a proper name:  the conference center, the UC Career Development Center.
  
• class titles -- Use lowercase: sophomore, senior.
  
• colleges -- Capitalize only full names of colleges: UC College of Law, UC’s law college.
  
• committee names -- Capitalize full names of officially established committees. Lowercase otherwise: the Academic Coordinating Committee, the editorial committee.
  
• company, product names -- Follow the spelling and capitalization used by the company: inCircle, iPod, MacBook, eBay, Procter & Gamble. But always capitalize the first letter of all sentences. Do not use all capital letters in a corporate name unless all the letters are pronounced or the name is an acronym. Improper: BIG EAST, IKEA. Proper: BMW, IBM, Big East, Ikea, GEARUP (which is an acronym for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs). See individual entry for company, corporate, product names. Also, see acronyms.
  
• degrees -- Lowercase: bachelor of arts, master's degree, doctorate.
  
• departments -- Do not capitalize generic department names: He is studying archaeology in the classics department. Or … Good resources are found in UC archives. Capitalize departments only when the official name is used: A new professor joined the UC Department of History. Visitors to the University Libraries should take time to check out the Archives and Rare Books Department. Also, always remember to capitalize proper names: English department.
  
• divisions -- Capitalize full names; lowercase unofficial division names: the Division of Student Affairs and Human Resources, the human resources division.
• events -- The name of some events can serve as either generic or proper names, particularly the words homecoming and commencement. To determine if they are being used as proper names, which would require capitalization, notice if you can structure the sentence without using an article: We are attending Homecoming. We are attending the homecoming. For comparison, this is similar to the following two sentences: That's my dad. That's Dad.
  
• headlines -- See headlines.
  
• offices -- Do not capitalize units unless using the full proper name of the department: She works in the Disabilities Services Office. The Office of the President will be closed on Labor Day. The library staff held a party. She works in radiology. 
  
• programs -- Lowercase all common names: computer science, interior design, musical theater.
  
• proper names -- Capitalize the full proper name such as the Charles McMicken Society. On second reference, lowercase the shorter form: the society; University of Cincinnati, the university; Institute for Policy Research, the institute; 14th Annual Cincinnati Conference on Romance Languages and Literatures, the conference; American Medical Association, the association; Ohio Board of Regents, the regents; University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees, the board.
  
• schools -- Capitalize full names of schools: School of Architecture and Interior Design.
  
• titles -- Lowercase and spell out most titles relating to people: professor Jim Lange, coach Paul Brown, department head Joan Russell, astronaut Neil Armstrong. (See more examples under titles, publication titles and composition titles.)

Catapult
The commitment by UC Athletics to win a Big East championship in every sport in five years -- a goal that takes the Bearcats through 2011.

Caucasian
Preferred word is white because common ancestry related to the Caucasus Mountains region should not be assumed.

centers and institutes
Capitalize center names when names are used in their entirety. Lowercase the word center when used alone. Use full name for first reference. Examples of preferred second references follow in parentheses:

• Arlitt Child and Family Research and Education Center (Arlitt Center)
• Center for Academic Research Excellence (CARE)
• Center for Reproduction of Endangered Wildlife (CREW)
• Center for the Study of the Practice of Architecture (CSPA)
• Goering Center for Family/Private Business (Goering Center)
• Helen Weinberger Center for the Study of Drama and Playwriting (Weinberger Center)
• Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR)
• Institute for Policy Research (IPR)
• Manney Language and Research Center (Manney Center)
• University of Cincinnati Information Technology (UCIT)

cents
Always use numerals. Write out the word when there is no dollar figure. Do not use zeros after the dollars to indicate no cents. Examples: 5 cents, $10.59, $25.

century
Use the 20th century, not the 1900s.

chair
Preferred over chairperson. Chairman and chairwoman are also acceptable, especially if it is the preference of the person.

city of Cincinnati
Lowercase the word city.

cities
Follow the name of a city by its appropriate state abbreviation unless its location would be readily known to the reader. Example: Eugene, Ore. Usage will vary depending upon context and the geographic boundaries of one's readers.

Regardless, the following cities are so well known that they do not need to be followed by a state name: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington.

See states.

co-
Use hyphen only when forming words that indicate occupation or status. Example: co-worker.

CEO, CFP,  COO-
Chief executive officer can be referred to as a CEO on first reference, but all other C-level positions should be spelled out the first time. Abbreviations can always be used on second reference.

collective nouns
Some words can be singular or plural, depending upon their usage. Collective nouns can take a singular verb when they denote a single unit, but they can take a plural noun when they denote individual items. Examples:

• The faculty is meeting today. (as a unit)
• Many faculty are working on their projects this weekend. (individual members)
• A million dollars is a large request. (a unit)
• A million dollars were collected. (individual items)

colleges, divisions, schools
The university has 16 degree-granting units. This is the list of official names of colleges and other major divisions, with preferred second reference where applicable:

• College of Allied Health Sciences
• Clermont College -- Clermont
• College of Applied Science -- CAS
• College of Business
• College-Conservatory of Music -- CCM (note hyphen)
• College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning -- DAAP (comma after Art is an exception to the punctuation rule, see commas, in a series)
• College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services -- CECH, not Teachers College, which is the name of a building (comma after Justice is an exception to the punctuation rule, see commas, in a series)
• College of Engineering
• College of Law (not the Law School)
• College of Medicine (The college and the Medical Center are not synonymous. The University of Cincinnati Medical Center comprises the colleges of medicine, pharmacy, nursing and allied health sciences.)
• College of Nursing
• James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy -- College of Pharmacy
• Graduate School
• McMicken College of Arts and Sciences -- A&S
• Raymond Walters College -- RWC (never Walters College)
• School of Social Work

Also, see references in capitalization.

colons
Capitalize the first word following the colon if it begins a complete sentence or is a proper noun. Examples: The goal was simple: Keep customers first. Three words best describe the day: wet, dreary, disappointing.

commas

• In numbers -- Use commas in numbers of four digits or more. Examples: 1,248 or 47,193.
  
• In a series -- Do not use a comma before the word and in a series, unless the sentence structure is so complex that a comma keeps its meaning clear. Examples: Red, white and blue Popsicles are my favorites. The list of evidence includes a knife with fingerprints on it, cigarette butts and ashes, and a matchbook. Exceptions: College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning; College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services
  
• With Jr. or Sr.-- Do not use in names. Example: Ron Culhane Jr.
  
• With dates and times -- Offset the date with commas, but not the time. Example: The president will address the faculty at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, in Great Hall.
  
• With which -- Phrases beginning with the word which are non-essential clauses. Place commas before and after the phrase. Example: My car, which is a Ford, needs new tires.

company, corporate, product names (See also trademarks.)
In general, follow the spelling and capitalization used by the company. Examples: inCircle, eBay, iPod, MasterCard, Macintosh, Kmart. Regardless of corporate policy, always capitalize the first letter of all sentences.

Use ampersands as the official company or product name dictates. Abbreviate Co. and Corp., and delete references to Ltd. or Inc., unless doing so makes the name confusing. When one needs to use Inc. or Ltd., do not use a comma before the abbreviation even if it is used in the formal name.

Lower case the before a company name regardless of the company’s preference, unless doing so makes the name confusing. This style recommendation is adopted outside of Associated Press guidelines and in alignment with “The Chicago Manual of Style” because using an uppercase the creates three problems. 1) It looks like a typographical error in many instances. 2) It is too difficult to know which companies officially used the capital T. 3.) It opens the door for worrying about making other articles part of a proper name (i.e., a or an). Examples: Procter & Gamble, Gannett Co., Microsoft Corp., the Kroger Co., the Cincinnati Enquirer, General Electric Aircraft Engine Group.

Regardless of corporate policy, do not use all capital letters in a corporate name unless all the letters are pronounced or the name is an acronym. Incorrect: BIG EAST, IMAX, IKEA. Correct: BMW, IBM, ESPN, Big East, Imax, Ikea, GEARUP (which is an acronym for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs). When using a genuine acronym, be sure to explain what the letters stand for on first reference.

Although clever graphic elements may be part of a company’s logo, editorial content never uses typographic symbols or unusual fonts in a name, including exclamation points, quotation marks, plus signs, asterisks, bold type or italic type. Incorrect: Yahoo!, Toys”R”Us, E*Trade. Correct: Yahoo, Toys R Us, E-Trade.

To check on the formal names of many companies, consult the national stock exchanges: New York Stock Exchange (www.nyse.com), Nasdaq (www.nasdaq.com) or the American Stock Exchange (www.amex.com).

Note: Many of these guidelines have been implemented because editorial text, when treated as a graphic element, often looks like a typographical error to readers and is virtually impossible for a proofreader to know what is correct. UC is adopting AP Style on this.

See also law firms, publication titles.

compose, comprise, constitute
The whole comprises the parts. The parts compose or constitute the whole. The whole is composed of the parts. Never use the phrase comprised of. Consult AP stylebook for more information.

composition titles (See also publication titles.)
Use these guidelines for the titles of books, movies, operas, plays, poems, songs, television programs, lectures, speeches and works of art:

• Capitalize all principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters.
  
• Capitalize articles (the, a, an) and all shorter words if they are the first or last words in a title.
  
• Put quotation marks around the names of all such works except the Bible and books that are primarily catalogs of reference material. In addition to catalogs, this category includes almanacs, directories, dictionaries, encyclopedias, gazetteers, handbooks and similar publications. Do not use quotation marks around such software titles as WordPerfect or Windows. Note: When listing series of two or more related publications -- for example, a chapter in a volume of a series of books -- using these guidelines can result in a too many quotation marks. In these cases, use quotations around the smallest subset of the series and no quotation marks around subsequent larger parts of the set.
  
• In general, translate a foreign title into English unless the work is generally known by its foreign name. Examples: Wagner's operas "Die Walküre" and "Gotterdammerung." Consider carefully the extent to which foreign titles will be generally known for your particular audience.
  
• For course names, capitalize only, use no quotation marks or italics.

compound modifiers
When two or more modifiers express a single concept before a noun, link the modifiers with hyphens. Examples: long-term assignment, full-scale investigations, small-business owner, part-time or full-time worker. But: She works part time. The point is to clarify which word modifies which word. Examples: Squad helps dog bite victim. Squad helps dog-bite victim.

An exception is very or words ending in ly, which are never hyphenated. Examples: very good food, organically grown food.

Another exception occurs when two words are so commonly associated together that no confusion would occur. Example: real estate agent.

There is one instance in which the East Campus and West Campus could arguably handle this differently involves using "health care" as a compound modifier.  Health-care system is appropriate, but if an audience is quite accustomed to such phrases, it works as an open compound without the hyphen.  Systems biology program is another example.  The audience's familiarity should be the guide.

For compound modifiers involving numbers -- In general, hyphenate a compound modifier consisting of a cardinal number and a unit of measure. Do not hyphenate a compound modifier that contains "percent," which is not a unit of measurement. Example: 100-calorie snacks, 80-MB hard drive, 2-inch margins, 2-quart pitcher, 80-degree weather, 8-pound baby -- but, 35 percent increase, 10 percent raise, 3 percent tax hike, 2 percent tuition increase.

computer terms (See also Internet.)
Spelling of Internet-related words are aligned with the AP stylebook, including:
World Wide Web (a proper name)
the Web, Web site
webcast, webmaster
Also: cyberspace
CD-ROM
download
dot-com (informal adjective)
DNS (domain name system)
DSL (digital subscriber line)
firewall
freeware
FTP (file transfer protocol)
home page
hyperlink
Internet, Internet2
intranet
IP address (Internet protocol address)
Java (a trademark)
listserv
login, logon, logoff, log (nouns)
log in, log on, log off (verbs) / Usage example: You can log in to this account.
MP3
screen saver
shareware
slide show (two words)
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
Twitter (tweet)
Wi-Fi
Zip drive, Zip disks (registered trademarks)

Connection Center
MainStreet Connection Center, on first reference.

co-op
Hyphenate the abbreviated reference to cooperative education. Use the longer word on first-reference if the audience is unfamiliar with the abbreviation. Avoid using the word as a verb, but when necessary to do so, the correct spelling follows: co-oped, co-oping.

cooperative education
No hyphen in cooperative, but hyphenate the abbreviated reference co-op.

C-paw
Hyphenated and capital C only. Not C-claw.

course names
Capitalize only, use no quotation marks or italics. (See composition titles.)

course work
Two words.

cum laude
Italic type, lowercase. Latin for "with honors."

D

dangling modifiers
Make sure your modifiers actually refer to the proper word.

• Incorrect: Looking for safer ways to treat drinking water, the college's $750,000 grant will investigate ... . The college is looking, not the grant.
  
• Correct: Looking for safer ways to treat drinking water, the college has applied for and received a $750,000 grant from the Safer Water Association.

dashes
Dashes are longer than hyphens. Hyphens should not be used in the place of dashes. Dashes are always preceded and followed by a space, except at the start of a paragraph and sports agate summaries.

Publishing systems enable you to create an em-dash (the length of a capital M). Word-processing programs feature dashes as a "symbol," found under the "Insert" menu. Most software programs also allow the character to be key stroked. The help menu will provide instructions for your software. When dashes cannot be produced, two hyphens typed together are substituted. For Internet use, two hyphens may be used for a dash because some browsers have trouble reading the symbol that some software uses to create the dash. If using two hyphens, insert the space before and after the pair.

Dashes can be used in the following instances:

• to denote a change in thought or add emphasis to a pause (Example: The actor spent nine hours improvising -- and wrinkling -- in a hot tub.)
• to set off a list items in place of commas because the extra punctuation would be confusing (Example: Most movies shot on location have poor sound quality because of the environment -- planes, traffic and people making noise.)
• to set off attribution of a quote (Example: “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” -- Confucius) Note: The period goes at the end of the sentence, not at the end of the attribution.

See hyphens.

dates (See also months and years.)
For readability and clarity, express dates of events in this sequence: time, day, date, place. Example: The colloquium will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1, at the Faculty Club.

Abbreviate all months except March, April, May, June and July.

Use only Arabic numbers after the month, not first or 1st.

dean's list
Use lowercase and possessive.

degrees
See academic degrees.

departments
See capitalization.

dilemma
Refers to facing two unpleasant courses of action. Not a synonym for predicament.

directions and regions
Lowercase compass directions. Capitalize words that denote specific regions. Examples: He drove west. The Midwest is known for great basketball. (Consult AP stylebook for additional information.)

disabilities
Don't refer to people in terms of their disabilities, refer to them as people with disabilities.

divisions
See capitalization.

doctor
Do not use Dr. and MD together. Incorrect:  Dr. David Davis, M.D.

In most instances, Dr. is unnecessary -- assuming the copy adequately explains the person's position.

Dr. only appears before a name on first reference and when the person is physician.  Do not use the title Dr. for PhDs because the average reader associates it with an MD.  When usage is required for someone with a PhD, copy should clearly explain the individual's type of degree.

See MD.

dollar (See also cents.)
Use numerals like $5, rather than 5 dollars except in casual references or amounts without a figure. Example: My aunt gave me a dollar. For amounts of more than $1 million, use the $ and up to two decimal places. Example: He proposed a $4.5 billion budget.

dormitories or dorms
The preferred term is residence halls.

E

East Campus (See also campuses.)
Officially called the Academic Health Center, formerly known as the Medical Center.  It consists of the College of Medicine, the College of Pharmacy, the College of Nursing, the College of Allied Health Sciences and Hoxworth Blood Center.  The colleges adjoin University Hospital, which is no longer part of UC.

effect
See affect.

electronic media
Spelled out on first reference. On second reference, e-media is acceptable.

ellipses
The three dots represent omitted words or a pause in speaking. They are preceded and followed by spaces: She talked about the morning traffic, her previous vacation, her son's wedding plans … and enough topics to bore everyone.

• With quotations -- When extracting quotes for an article, do not use ellipses at the beginning and end of direct quotes, as long as the quotes constitute complete thoughts, even if they were condensed.
• With other punctuation -- When using an ellipsis right before other punctuation, one should still insert a space after the three dots to make both punctuation marks distinct: "We gather here to dedicate this new exciting program … ," the chairman announced.
• Formatting -- Most word processing programs will allow you to insert an ellipsis as a special character, which keeps the three dots united as a single unit rather than three separate ones. The advantage of this is that the dots will never become separated from each other in a line break.

e-mail
Hyphenated, lowercase.
For e-mail references that appear as titles, generally, write the names uppercase with quotation marks, separated by commas when needed, treating them as titles to distinguish them from generic words. Example: To send the same message again, click on "Message," "Send Again."

e-mail addresses
Although UC e-mail addresses are not case sensitive, writing letters lowercase is preferred for consistency of style.

emeritus
Not the same as retired. The titles emeritus (male) or emerita (female) are bestowed on many, but not all, retiring faculty. Place the word emeritus after the formal title. Examples: professor emeritus of biology, president emeritus, dean emerita of arts and sciences.

Emeriti (all men or both men and women) and emeritae (all women) are plural nouns. Emeritus and emerita can be singular nouns or adjectives for singular and plural nouns: among the ranks of emeriti (plural noun), among the ranks of emeritus professors (singular adjective). You can, however, change emeritus to emeriti when it follows a plural word: among the ranks of professors emeriti.  (See also academic ranks.)

entitled
Means a right to do or have something. Does not mean titled. Examples: She was entitled to the promotion. The book was titled "Gone With the Wind."

ethnic references
In most general uses, the preferred terms are the following:
American Indian
Asian
Asian-American
black
Hispanic
Mexican-American
Pacific Islander
white

See individual entries for more information.

events
See capitalization -- events.

   exclamation mark
As a rule, avoid using exclamation marks. They tend to look trite. If you absolutely must, never use more than one, and follow these guidelines in regard to placement with quotation marks:
Place the exclamation mark inside quotation marks when it is part of the quoted material. Examples: ”How wonderful!“ he exclaimed. ”Never!“ she shouted.
Place the mark outside quotation marks when it is not part of the quoted material. Example: I hated reading Spenser’s ”Faerie Queene“!

F

facilities
See buildings and facilities.

farther, further
Farther refers to physical distance. Further refers to an extension of time or degree.

fax
Acceptable as a shortened version of facsimile or facsimile machine. Use as a verb is also acceptable. Example: He faxed the results of the survey to his clients.

federal
Use lowercase unless it is part of a formal name. Examples: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal District Court.

fewer, less
Fewer applies to numbers and modifies a plural noun. Less applies to quantities and modifies a singular noun. Example: She now eats fewer meals and less candy.

firm
Only refers to a business partnership (law firm, engineering firm, architectural firm), not just any business entity. The Kroger Co. is not a firm.

fiscal year
In copy for general external audiences, write out the word, lowercase, referencing both years in the period. Example: fiscal year 2005-06. For internal documents in which abbreviations are standard, use FY06.

See years.

fort
Do not abbreviate for cities and military forts. Examples: Fort Lauderdale, Fort Bragg, Fort Mitchell.

fractions
Spell out amounts less than one, using hyphens: two-thirds, seven-sixteenths. Use figures for precise amounts larger than one, converting to decimals whenever practical. In tabular material, use figures exclusively.

To determine verb usage, follow this guideline: When the subject is a fraction or a word such as "half," "part," "plenty" or "rest," its intended number is suggested by the object of the preposition that follows it. Examples: Three-fourths of the enemy's army is wounded. Three-fourths of the enemy's soldiers are wounded.

freshman, freshmen
To avoid gender bias, the term first-year student is acceptable.

As an adjective, use freshman, not freshmen, which is always a noun. Examples: Student Government is hosting a welcome party for the freshman class. All freshmen are invited.

fundraising, fundraiser
One word in all uses.

G

GED
Abbreviation for General Education Development. Use as an adjective: GED tests, GED certificate. GED is not a noun.

gender (See also sexist language.)
When possible, avoid words that assume maleness. Use humanity, instead of mankind. Male pronouns (he, his) are acceptable when the antecedent could be male or female -- and are preferred over combination pronoun forms: he or she, his/her. Yet a better option is to revise nouns to plural forms: they, theirs. Avoid forcing neutrality with a construction that calls attention to itself. Avoid manufactured words such as spokesperson.

general education
The General Education Program requires students in all academic programs to have an exposure to a variety of traditional academic disciplines, in addition to a concentration within a program or major.

genus and species
See scientific names.

geographical regions
See directions and regions.

grade point average
May use GPA in all references.

graduate
A person who earns a degree, including an honorary degree, is called a graduate. (See listing for alumni.)

greater
Capitalize when referring to a specific community: Greater Cincinnati.

H

headlines
Capitalize only the first word and proper nouns. If a single headline continues on more than one line, do not capitalize the first word of the other lines. Use numerals for all numbers and single quotation marks where quotation marks are needed. Follow standard spelling for all words, except for US, UN and UK, which have no periods in headlines.  For U.S. states in headlines, use no periods for those abbreviated with two capital letters. Examples: NY, NJ, NH, NM, NC, SC, ND, SD and RI. Other states retain periods. Examples: Ind., Ky.

health care
Two words. Never one word. It may need to be hyphenated as a compound modifier if usage would confuse a particular audience. (See compound modifiers.)

Hispanic
Preferred over Latino when referring to people with a cultural heritage related to Spain. Latino/Latina refers to people specifically from Latin America.

holidays, holy days
Capitalize formal names. Examples:Christmas Eve, Kwanzaa, Rosh Hashana. Although Hanukkah has several spellings, this version is preferred by Associated Press. The 10 federal holidays follow: New Year’s, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

hopefully
Means with hope, not I hope or it is hoped. Correct: We hope the budget will pass. Incorrect: Hopefully, the budget will pass.

hyphens
In type, hyphens are different than dashes. See dashes.

Hyphens are sometimes used to avoid ambiguity. Examples: He recovered from financial collapse. He re-covered his sofa in gray leather.

Hyphens are used for connecting words, as in compound words, prefixes, suffixes, fractions, ratios, scores and compound modifiers. See compound modifiers. To determine if a prefix or suffix requires a hyphen, refer to Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

Hyphens are also used to denote timeframes, such as 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. No spaces are required before or after the hyphen.

I

importantly
Do not use. Correct use is: More important, enrollment is on the rise.

incorporated
Delete Inc. from a name unless doing so makes the name confusing. Do not use a comma before Inc., even if it is included in the formal name.

initials
Generally avoid using middle initials. When two initials are used together, omit the space in the middle. Example: M.J. Nicholson.

interdisciplinary
See multidisciplinary.

Internet (See also computer terms, links, and Web addresses.)
Uppercase as a proper name to distinguish it from other kinds of nets. May also be referred to as the Net, also uppercase. Spelling of Internet-related words are aligned with the AP stylebook, including:
World Wide Web (a proper name)
the Web, Web site, webcast, webmaster.
Also: cyberspace
download
dot-com (informal adjective)
DNS (domain name system)
DSL (digital subscriber line)
firewall
freeware
FTP (file transfer protocol)
home page
hyperlink
Internet
Internet2
intranet
IP address (Internet protocol address)
Java (a trademark)
listserv
login, logon, logoff, log (nouns)
log in, log on, log off (verbs) / Usage example: You can log in to this account.
MP3
screen saver
shareware
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
Zip drive, Zip disks (registered trademarks)

Internet2

its, it's
The first is possessive; the second is a contraction of it is.

J

junior, senior
Abbreviate as Jr. and Sr. with full names. Do not precede by, or follow with, a comma. Example: Howard Smith Jr.

back to top of page

K

Koran
Preferred spelling for the sacred book of Muslims.

back to top of page

L

landmarks
Certain landmarks on campus are referred to with familiar shorthand. Be sure to use official names or designate locations before resorting to shorthand, as required by context for clarity:

• Campus Green -- the grassy lawn between Martin Luther King Dr. and the Alumni Center
• Corbett Theater -- Patricia Corbett Theater in the College-Conservatory of Music
• Great Hall -- The largest meeting hall in Tangeman University Center
• Hiatt Plaza -- the brick back porch on the east side of McMicken Hall
• Lindner Auditorium -- Room 112 Lindner Hall
• McMicken Commons -- the green space between McMicken Hall and TUC
• Mick and Mack -- the twin lions guarding the entrance at McMicken Hall
• Ronald Walker Light Tower -- located at Sigma Sigma Commons, near French Hall
• (the) Shoe -- Shoemaker Center (but preferred reference is now Fifth Third Arena)
• Quad -- Herman Schneider Quadrangle, bounded by Swift and Baldwin Halls and the Old Chemistry Building. On the west side, the Herman Schneider monument honors the founder of cooperative education.
• TUC -- Tangeman University Center, the student union building

last
Not a synonym for past.

Latino/Latina
Latino is the masculine word; Latina, the feminine. Latino can refer to a mixed group of both genders. The word refers to people of Latin American descent. When referring to Latinos plus all people with a cultural heritage related to Spain, use Hispanic. Use specific nationalities when available. Examples: Peruvian, Bolivian, Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Colombian.

   
law firms
Generally drop the initials LLP or LLA at the end of a name.

lay, laid, laid, laying
Use as the transitive verb that requires an object. Example: He laid the book on the table.

Level I Trauma Center
University Hospital is a Level I Trauma Center, as verified by the American College of Surgeons. Usage style of the term is the one adopted by the ACS.

lie, lay, lain, lying
Use as the intransitive verb that does not require an object. Example: He was lying on the floor with a magnifying glass.

Limited, Ltd.
Delete Ltd. from a name unless doing so makes the name confusing. Do not use a comma before Ltd., even if it is included in the formal name.

links
Generally, write the names of Internet links uppercase with quotation marks, separated by commas when needed, treating them as titles to distinguish them from generic words. Example: When you visit www.magazine.uc.edu, click on "Web Exclusives," "Audio Clips" to hear a champion whistler.

logo (See also seal and branding.)
The UC logo consists of two elements: the words "University of Cincinnati" and the UC symbol. All UC publications must carry the UC logo in a prominent location, preferably on the front cover. Web publications must include the symbol on every page.

Use of the university's logo is protected under trademark laws. The logo elements cannot be separated, altered, retyped or recreated in any way. Please refer to the UC Branding guidelines online for complete information.

For use of the logo on specialty items such as T-shirts, mugs and banners, contact Carla Crabtree, UC director of licensing and contracts in the Office of General Counsel (513-556-3483). Any use of the logo by non-university entities must also be approved by that office.

Other uses not covered by those guidelines should be referred to the University Brand Review Committee. Contact Angela Klocke, 513-556-5223.

M

MA, MS
No periods. See academic degrees.

magazine, journal titles (See also publication titles.)
Capitalize the initial letters of the name but do not place quotation marks around it.

MainStreet
Uppercase S, no space. A corridor that begins at the University Pavilion, includes TUC, the Student Life Center and the Student Recreation Center, then concludes at the Jefferson Residence Complex. It also includes the open spaces of McMicken Commons, Bearcat Plaza, the Mews and Sigma Sigma Commons.

MainStreet Connection Center
Located in the lobby of Tangeman University Center to provide directions, schedules and a lost and found.

master class
Lowercase. No apostrophe s.

master's degree
See academic degrees.

MD
See doctor.  As with all academic degrees, do not use periods. (This is an exception to AP.)

medal
See awards.

Medical Center ( See also campuses.)
Now called the Academic Health Center and often referred to as the East Campus.

Mexican-American
Hyphenated.

Mick and Mack

mid- (See also directions and regions.)
Use a hyphen only when a capitalized word follows. Examples: mid-American, midterm. But the geographic region Midwest is capitalized.

Also use a hyphen when connecting a word with a numeral. Example: mid-'70s.

middle initials
See initials.

midwife
Use a hyphen when referring to nurse-midwife. Example: University Nurse-Midwifery Associates.

 military titles
When listing military rank as a title before a person's name, capitalize and abbreviate it in most instances. In secondary references, use only an individual's last name; omit the military rank. When naming the rank without a name attached, it is lowercase. Do not confuse rank with job descriptions such as machinist or radarman. Examples: Gen. George Patton is a general who served in North Africa. Patton received 12 medals during his career.

The following list shows how to write the more commonly used ranks as a title before a name. Any title not listed here is likely to be spelled out and not abbreviated. A complete list of military titles is available in the AP Stylebook, but is too long to list here.

admiral -- Adm.
brigadier general -- Brig. Gen.
captain -- Capt.
colonel -- Col.
commander -- Cmdr.
corporal -- Cpl.
general -- Gen.
first lieutenant -- 1st Lt.
first sergeant -- 1st Sgt.
lieutenant -- Lt.
lieutenant colonel -- Lt. Col.
lieutenant commander -- Lt. Cmdr.
lieutenant general -- Lt. Gen.
major -- Maj.
major general -- Maj. Gen.
master sergeant -- Master Sgt.
private -- Pvt.
private first class -- Pfc.
rear admiral -- Rear Adm.
second lieutenant -- 2nd Lt.
sergeant -- Sgt.
sergeant first class -- Sgt. 1st Class
sergeant major -- Sgt. Maj.
specialist -- Spc.
staff sergeant -- Staff Sgt.
vice admiral -- Vice Adm.

months (See also dates.)
Abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. when used with a specific date. My birthday is Jan. 15. Spell out when used alone or only with a year. Example: January 1989 was the coldest on record. When using a month, date and year, set off the year with commas. Example: June 6, 1944, was D-Day.

mount
Spell out in all uses. Examples: Mount Healthy, the College of Mount St. Joseph.

mouse, mice
Mice is the word to use when referring to the more than one computer mouse.

multidisciplinary
Multidisciplinary means many disciplines are present. Interdisciplinary means many disciplines are not only present, but are working together to accomplish something.

Example: A multidisciplinary meeting might attract faculty from several colleges, each making individual presentations. An interdisciplinary meeting would attract the same experts, but instead of just listening to one another's presentation, they work together toward a common goal.

N

names
See listings for any of the following: company, corporate, product names; trademarks; publication titles; composition titles; course names; capitalization. 

Native American
Preferred term is American Indian, unless used in quotes or in reference to a specific organization.

nationalities and races
See entries for African-American, American Indian, Asian, Asian-American, black, Native American, Oriental.

New Year's Day
The word "year" is possessive in this usage and requires an apostrophe. Examples: New Year's Eve, but happy new year.

9/11
This format is acceptable when referring to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

non-
Generally, hyphens are not used for words with this prefix. Hyphens are necessary before proper nouns or when a word is not listed in the dictionary.

noon
Use word noon instead of 12 p.m. in all instances.

numbers
Use Arabic numerals for numbers 10 and higher. Spell out numbers under 10. This holds true for all casual uses and distances. Examples: hundreds of items, two miles. The exceptions, which use numerals exclusively, are ages (the 4-year-old child), acres, cents, dimensions (the rug is 6 feet wide), dollar amounts ($1 million), formulas, heights, military and political designations (2nd District Court, 7th Fleet), percentages (7 percent), ratios (a 2-1 ratio), sizes (a size 9 shoe), speeds (50 mph), temperatures (except zero), volume (2 ounces) and weights.

Numerals in proper names are written as the organization writes them. When the word number is used with a figure to express a concept, use "No." Examples: No. 1 team, No. 3 choice. Consult the AP stylebook entry for numerals.

For plural numerals, add an s with no apostrophe. Example: 1990s

O

One Stop Student Service Center
May abbreviate to One Stop on second reference.

organizations and institutions
See company, corporate, product names.

Oriental
Asian is the acceptable term for an inhabitant of East Asian nations.

orthopedic
Preferred spelling. Orthopaedic is appropriate only when used in publication titles

P

percent
Use as one word, preceded by numerals. Example: 5 percent.

periods
Only one space should follow the period at the end of a sentence. (See spaces for a greater explanation.)

PhD
No periods.  See academic degrees.

phone numbers
See telephone.

plurals

• compound words -- For those terms that include two or more separate words or a hyphenated word, add the s to the most significant word. Examples: attorneys general, daughters-in-law, deputy chiefs of staff, lieutenant colonels.
  
• multiple letters -- Add an s with no apostrophe. Examples: ABCs, VIPs.
  
• numerals -- Add an s with no apostrophe. Example: 1990s.
  
• single letters -- Add 's to avoid confusion. Example: His report card was full of A's and B's.

P.O. Box
Periods in the abbreviation when used in editorial copy in brochures or publications. Omit the periods for U.S. postal use on labels.

police
When referring to police, use University of Cincinnati Police or UC Police Division. The UC Police are a division of the Office of Public Safety. As a state-designated police district, the UC Police are never correctly referred to as "campus security."

The UC Police department has two types of officers: police officers (sworn officers who carry guns) and security officers (unarmed, non-sworn). All are employed by the UC Police. Occasionally (usually at large events), UC will hire contract guards who are not, technically, part of the department -- but even they are hired by the UC Police.

pompous words
Be wary of words such as conceptualize, signage, health-care delivery systems, explicate, linkages, interface, replicate, input, output, utilize. Never use a big word when a small one will do.

possessives

• descriptive phrases -- An apostrophe is usually omitted on a plural word ending in s, when the word is part of a descriptive phrase and does not show possession. To determine if that is the case, usually the word for or by could be appropriately inserted rather than of. Examples: citizens band radio (a radio band for citizens), writers guide (guide for writers), children's hospital (because children does not end in s) and the boy's dog (the dog belonging to the boy).
  
• double possessive --A double possessive is a phrase such as the friend of Joe's. (The possessive apostrophe seems duplicative because the word of already denotes possession.) An apostrophe is not used in all cases. To determine if a possessive form of the word following of (thus an apostrophe) is needed, two things must exist: The word after of must be animate, and the word before of must include only a portion of the animate object's belongings. Examples: a few friends of Joe's, the theories of Marx, the friends of the program.
  
• possessive adjectives -- The words minute, hour, day, week, month and year require an apostrophe when used as an possessive adjective. Examples: an hour's work, two weeks' vacation. You can more clearly hear the latter by using a singular amount and noticing the need for an "s" in this phrase: one week's vacation. The same is true for amounts using the the words dollars or cents: 2 cents' worth.
  
• joint possession -- Use 's only with the last name in a series. Example: Ted, Tom and Mary's car.
  
• individual possession -- Use 's with both names. Example: Tom's and Mary's clothes.
  
• singular proper names ending in s -- Use only an apostrophe. Example: Dickens' novel.

post
When referring to the Internet, avoid confusion with publish. You publish on a site and post responses to a site or in a chat room.

pre-
When a word begins with the prefix pre, hyphenate the word if the first letter after the prefix is an e. Examples: pre-eminent, pre-election. Otherwise, follow Merriam-Webster Dictionary usage. If a coined word uses the pre suffix and is not listed in Merriam-Webster, use a hyphen. Examples: pre-convention, pre-dawn.

presently
One of its meanings is in the near future. To avoid confusion, use currently.

principal, principle
Principal (n., adj.) refers to someone or something first in authority or importance. Examples: school principal, principal player, principal problem. Principle (n.) refers to a fundamental truth. Example: principle of self-determination.

principal investigator
Lowercase. Do not abbreviate as PI on first reference.

product names
See company, corporate, product names.

professor
Spell out and lowercase in all uses. (See titles.)

programs
Titles of an academic program are lowercase, unless proper names are used: the fashion design program.

For names of non-academic programs, see company, corporate, product names.

pronouns
Be sure pronouns match the noun they represent in tense. Example: The Board of Trustees at its meeting (not theirs) ... .

publication titles (See also composition titles.)
For newspapers, magazines, journals and other regularly occurring publications, capitalize the name but do not use quotes or italics unless needed for clarity. Examples: People magazine interviewed our visiting scholar. "People" interviewed our visiting scholar.

Capitalize only words that are part of the publication's formal name -- not the word magazine, for example, if it is not part of the official name. Examples: Time magazine, the journal Science. Check the mastheads to confirm formal names.

Although clever typographic elements may be part of a publication's nameplate, editorial content never uses graphic symbols or stylized fonts, including exclamation points, quotation marks, plus signs, asterisks, bold type or italic type. Futhermore, regardless of another publication's own styleguide, UC style says to always capitalize the first letter of all sentences, lowercase the word the when part of a publication's title and refrain from using all capital letters in a title unless all the letters are pronounced. Incorrect: The Cincinnati Enquirer, TIME magazine, ESPN The Magazine, LIFETIMES. Correct: the Cincinnati Enquirer, Time magazine, ESPN the Magazine, Lifetimes.

Place quotation marks around names of poems, books, movies, plays, operas, songs, television programs, lectures and works of art.

punctuation
See abbreviations, colons, commas, dashes, exclamation marks, ellipses, hyphens, quotation marks, semicolons, spaces, that/which.

Q

quotation marks (See also publication titles.)
Periods and commas, when used with quotation marks, always go within the quotation marks. Example: The project is "long overdue," said Angela. Dashes, semicolons, question marks and exclamation points go within quotation marks only when they relate to the quoted matter. Examples:

• You never saw "The Wizard of Oz"?
• Ask him, "How do you plan to implement the proposal?"

R

re-
When a word begins with the prefix re, hyphenate the word if the first letter after the prefix is an e. Examples: re-elect, re-enter. Otherwise, follow Merriam-Webster Dictionary and common sense. Examples: resign (quit), re-sign (sign again).

refer, revert
Don't refer back or revert back to something. It's redundant. Back is the only way to go.

regard
Be careful of the phrase in regard to (never in regards to).

regions
See directions and regions.

RN
Use RN for internal Academic Health Center stories only.  For most external uses, content should spell out that the person is a nurse.

room numbers
For consistency (before building names), use the following format: The class will meet in Room 392, Swift Hall.

ROTC
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (plural possessive)

S

Saint, Sainte
Abbreviate as St. and Ste. in city name or person's name.

Schneider, Herman
Former UC president who founded cooperative education while dean of the UC College of Engineering.

 scientific names
The scientific names for animals and plants are composed of two words, known as generic name and trivial name. The common house cat, for example is Felis domesticus. The first, or generic, name is always capitalized. The second, or trivial, is always lowercase. Both words are italicized.

seal (See logo and branding.)
The University Seal is reserved for formal presidential, academic or board-related university publications as approved by the University Brand Review Committee. Use of the university's seal is protected under trademark laws, and seal elements cannot be separated, altered, retyped or recreated in any way.

seasons, quarters
All four seasons should use lowercase. Examples: spring, summer, fall and winter. Lowercase references to academic quarters. Example: spring quarter. Uppercase all words in a formal name. Example: SAE Spring Fling.

secondly, thirdly
There's no firstly, so you can't have a secondly, either. It's first, second, third.

semicolon
When semicolons are needed in a series to clarify individual elements requiring extra commas, then use the semicolon before the word and. Example: They will honor Mary Smith, communication professor; Bob Brown, engineer; and Barb Jones, Nursing and Health.

senior
See junior.

sexist language (See also freshman, freshmen.)
Unless referring to a known gender in context, avoid the use of masculine and feminine forms and masculine- or feminine-marked words as much as possible. This avoidance includes using alternatives to generic terms that contain masculine or feminine markers. Use parallel terms for both sexes: men and women, husband and wife, mothers and fathers. Don't refer to men as husbands and fathers unless women are also being identified as wives and mothers.

Be alert to phrases that suggest all readers are men. Use graduate students and their spouses were invited, rather than graduate students and their wives were invited. Avoid unnecessary references to a person's marital status.
Examples:

• businessperson, business executive, business manager for businessman
• camera operator or videographer for cameraman
• chair for chairman
• member of Congress, or representative for congressman
• firefighter for fireman
• police officer for policeman
• mail carrier for mailman
• humanity for mankind
• workforce, workers, employees for manpower
• leader, public servant for statesman

Also be cautious about pronoun usage. Plural pronouns can eliminate the need for gender-specific pronouns. Avoid: A student nurse gains a clinical experience after she completes a certain amount of class work. Preferred: Student nurses have clinical experiences after they complete a certain amount of class work.

signature architect buildings
A major component of UC's Campus Master Plan, developed by Hargreaves Associates, are the following buildings, listed with the date they opened and the signature architects who designed them:

• Edwards Center, 1992 (designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Ownings and Merrill, in collaboration with local firm Glaserworks)
• Engineering Research Center, 1995 (designed by Michael Graves, DAAP ’58, HonDoc ’82, in collaboration with local firm KZF Design)
• Aronoff Center for Design and Art, 1996 (designed by Peter Eisenman in collaboration with Lorenz & Williams of Dayton, Ohio)
• College-Conservatory of Music, 1999 (designed by Henry Cobb of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, in collaboration with local architects NBBJ Architects)
• Vontz Center for Molecular Studies, 1999 (designed by Frank Gehry in collaboration with local firm BHDP Architects)
• University Pavilion, 2003 (designed by Andrea Leers and Jane Wienzapfel of Leers Weinzapfel Associates in collaboration with local firm GBBN Architects -- the only women signature architects on campus)
• Steger Student Life Center, 2004 (designed by Buzz Yudell of Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners, in collaboration with local firm Glaserworks)
• Tangeman University Center, 2004 (designed by Charles Gwathmey of Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, in collaboration with local firm GBBN Architects)
• Lindner Center, May 2006 (designed by Bernard Tschumi of Bernard Tschumi Architects and by local firm: Glaserworks)
• Campus Recreation Center, 2006 (designed by Thom Mayne, of Morphosis, in collaboration with local firm KZF Design)
  
• Van Wormer Library renovation, 2006 (designed by Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, in collaboration with Lorenz & Williams of Dayton, Ohio)
• Medical Sciences Building renovation/CARE-Crawley addition, 2008 (designed by Eric Sueberkrop, DAAP ’72, of Studios Architecture, in collaboration with local firm HarleyEllis)

For formal building names, see buildings, facilities. In addition, the following green spaces and plazas were designed by signature architects:

• Library Plaza, 1995 (designed by George Hargreaves and Mary Margaret Jones of Hargreaves Associates)
• Campus Green, 2000 (designed by George Hargreaves of Hargreaves Associates)
• Sigma Sigma Commons, 1998 (designed by George Hargreaves and Mary Margaret Jones of Hargreaves Associates)
• Light tower, 1998 (designed by Rodolfo Machado of Machado & Silvetti)
• MainStreet open space, 2004 (designed by George Hargreaves of Hargreaves Associates, in collaboration with local firm Glaserworks)
• McMicken Commons, 1990 (designed by George Hargreaves of Hargreaves Associates)
• Mews Gardens, 2004 (designed by Buzz Yudell of Moore Rubles Yudell Architects & Planners)
  
• University Commons, 2000 (designed by George Hargreaves of Hargreaves Associates)
• Eden Quad greenspace, 2008 (designed by George Hargreaves of Hargreaves Associates, in collaboration with local firm HarleyEllis)