Grammar and Style

Each initial in a person’s name should be followed by a period and one space:

• C. S. Lewis

When a person’s initials stand alone, do not use periods or spaces:

• LBJ

United States: used as an adjective or a noun; US or U.S. in headlines and U.S. in body copy.

Spell out on first reference unless acronym is universally known (e.g., MBA but Master of Liberal Arts). Put acronyms in parentheses immediately after and use the acronym consistently on subsequent references.

• The university offers a Master of Accounting degree. Professor Louise E. Single directs the MACT program.

Exception: FAFSA and other acronyms that are pronounced as words can be introduced as so:

• Free Application for Federal Student Loans, or FAFSA.

Avoid the use of ampersands except in titles where they are designated:

• U.S. News & World Report; Health & Counseling Center.

In print or web copy, ampersands are permitted in headlines and subheads where space is limited or they enhance readability.

However, do not use an ampersand in a proper name.

• Incorrect: School of Behavioral & Social Sciences

POSSESSIVE:
Proper Nouns Ending in S
Proper nouns ending in “s” are made singular possessive by adding an apostrophe after the “s” and plural possessive by adding “es’” to the noun. 

• They are members of Dr. Fuentes’ administration.|
• The Fuenteses’ home is in Austin.

Singular Common Nouns Ending in S
Add apostrophe-s unless the next word begins with s.

• the bus’s route
• the bus’ street

Plural Common Nouns Ending in S
Add an apostrophe.

• the students’ questions
• ​​​​​​​the professors’ offices

NUMBERS & ACRONYMS:
Only use an “apostrophe s” with numbers when indicating possessive.

• The hilltop experienced new growth during the 1950s.
• Year as possessive: 1982’s music scene was dominated by Michael Jackson.
• ​​​​​​​Decade as possessive: The 1980s’ style of clothing included parachute pants and leg warmers.

Apostrophes should not be used when making acronyms or other abbreviations plural:

• A wide range of DVDs and VCRs

When the items in a bulleted list do not complete the sentence, use initial caps to begin each item listed and do not use a period at the end of each item.

• The new residence hall amenities include the following:

  • Laundry rooms

  • Study lounges

  • Wireless Internet access

When using complete sentences, always use punctuation and a period at the end.

Each entry begins with a capital letter, even if it is a sentence fragment.

Do not mix sentence styles; use all complete sentences, or use all sentence fragments.

Exception: For formal, non-marketing writing, this style can be used:

If the items in the list complete the sentence begun in the introductory element, use lower case letters, separate each item with a comma or semicolon, and use a period after the final item.

• Each floor features a:

  • laundry room

  • spacious kitchen and

  • recreation area.

Used to introduce a list or for emphasis. When a complete sentence follows the colon, capitalize the first word.

• The Marketing Office offers expertise in five areas: design, writing, editing, marketing and public relations.
• The university’s goal: achieving recognition among the best small universities in the nation.
• The result: Students develop critical skills that distinguish them among candidates for admission to graduate schools or for professional employment.

Colons are always placed outside of items in quotation marks.

• He always says “please” to: his parents, teachers and friends.

Used to separate items in a series. A comma is not necessary before a conjunction in a simple series.

• The U.S. flag is red, white and blue.

Do use a comma to set off the concluding element of a series where one or more of the items in the series contains a conjunction.

• St. Edward’s offers master’s degrees in business administration, accounting, counseling, leadership and change, and digital marketing and analytics.

Used when multiple adjectives precede a noun.

• A small, private university ...

Note: Commas should only go between equal adjectives. To determine equal adjectives:

• Flip the order of the adjectives. If they can be reversed without a problem, they are equal.

  • A small, private university...

  • A private, small university...

• Add the word “and” between the adjectives. If “and” belongs between them, they are equal.

  • A small, private university ...

  • A small and private university ...

Used to attribute a quote.

• “We will achieve this goal,” he said.

Used to distinguish nonessential information.

• Mary Rogers, at 42 years old, was nervous when she visited the professor’s office.

Used with a conjunction to join two separate sentences that are closely linked.

• He announced the plan in mid-December, and it was fully implemented by Feb. 3.

Do not put a comma between two parallel verbs that share the same subject, even if the first verb is part of a long phrase.

• WRONG: The alumni joined local chapters, and participated in events on campus.
• RIGHT: The alumni joined local chapters and participated in events on campus.

As an alternative, restate the subject before the second verb. This creates two independent clauses linked by a comma and a conjunction — a grammatically correct construction.

• RIGHT: The alumni joined local chapters, and they participated in events on campus.

When indicating a month, day and year in the middle of a sentence, a comma follows the year. If only the month and year are given, do not use a comma, and do not abbreviate the month.

• The event took place Feb. 15, 2009, in Main Building.
• The project was completed between February 2010 and January 2011.

Commas and periods are always placed inside of ending quotation marks, except when just a letter or a number.

• He always says “please,” but he rarely says “thank you.”
• On her last exam, the math student expected an “A”.

When the dictionary is unclear about the correct spelling of a noun that may just as easily be two words, keep the words combined. For example:

• "website” instead of “web site”
• “username” instead of “user name”
• “login” instead of “log in”
• “healthcare” instead of “health care”
• “fundraising” instead of “fund raising” or “fund-raising”

Keep words separate when they are verbs.

• Adjective: “I typed the login password.”
• Verb: “I will log in tomorrow.”
• Noun: Checkout begins at 3 p.m.
• Verb: Check out by 5 p.m.

Indicates omission of words, a pause or continuation.

In copy, place a space on either side of the ellipsis. Apply these guidelines ... to all campus communications.

Used for emphasis or to signal an abrupt change.

• Our program — one of the top five in the nation — was chosen for the award.

Used to avoid confusing comma punctuation. The AP Stylebook explains, “When a phrase that otherwise would be set off by commas contains a series of words that must be separated by commas, use dashes to set off the full phrase.” AP lists the following example:

• He listed the qualities — intelligence, humor, conservatism, independence — that he liked in an executive.

Used to identify the source of a quote:

• “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?” — Martin Luther King Jr.

Include space before and after the em dash. (This differs from other styles — including AP — that don’t use space.)

On a MAC

hold down three keys simultaneously:

option and shift and hyphen

On a PC

hold down the Alt key and — on the number pad — type 0151

Used to signal inclusive numbers, dates and times.

• Jan. 1–10, 2003
• May–July 1987
• April 1, 1965–June 15, 1967
• pages 11–24
• 7–9 p.m.
• John 4:7–6:1
• $5,000–$15,000

According to the Chicago Manual, the en dash also is “used in place of a hyphen in a compound adjective when one of the elements of the adjective is an open compound (such as ‘New York’) or when two or more of the elements are hyphenated compounds.” Chicago lists the following examples:

• New York–London flight
• post–Civil War period
• quasi-public–quasi-judicial body
• pre–physical therapy

On a MAC

hold down three keys simultaneously: option and hyphen

On a PC

hold down the Alt key and — on the number pad — type 0150

Indicates extreme emphasis or excitement. Use sparingly and singly (double and triple exclamation points are redundant).

Hyphenation of proper nouns is hotly debated. To maintain consistency, we follow the common practice of eliminating hyphens in proper nouns and modifiers:

• He is an African American.
• Asian Americans are a growing segment of the student body.
• She studies African American poets.
• Native American traditions are celebrated on campus.

Used to aid clear communication when compound modifiers precede a noun, except — according to the AP Stylebook — for “the adverb ‘very’ and all adverbs that end in ‘–ly.’” See the AP Stylebook for additional guidelines and examples.

• student-centered curriculum
• short-lived season
• very short lived season
• nationally ranked university

Used to eliminate duplicated vowels or tripled consonants:

• pre-empt, shell-like

Suspending Hyphen: When a series of hyphenated adjectives has

a common basic element and this element is shown only with the last term, insert a “suspending hyphen” after each of the incomplete adjectives.

• Long- and short-term plans
• A three- or four-color cover

Titles of books, magazines, plays, journals, films, TV and radio programs, podcast series, music albums and art exhibits are italicized.

Titles of book chapters, articles, songs and individual TV and radio episodes are placed in quotation marks.

Spell out numbers one through nine. Use numbers for 10 and above.

Use numbers when used with financial figures, items, dimensions:

• $9 million; 6.27 billion people; 1,000 books; 12th place; 427 square feet; 6,000 miles

Spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence, except for decades.

• 2015 is our anniversary ...
• Fifteen years ago, the university ...

Use decimals or words to convey fractions.

• 2.5 inches
• One-third of users

When numbers are adjacent, spell out one number and use numbers for the other.

• We need 100 ten-page booklets.
• There were 8 six-foot-tall statues in the museum hall.

Ordinals

• Spell out first through ninth.
• Starting with 10th, use numbers. Do not use superscript.
• Exception: In headlines, use numbers for emphasis.
  • Hilltoppers Take 3rd Place in Nationals
• If the ordinal is part of a name, use the name’s standard formatting.
  • 125th Anniversary Celebration
  • Twentieth Century Fund
  • He lives in the 7th Ward.

When referencing a page in text, spell out “page” and use the numeral.

• See page 84

For parentheses within a sentence, a final punctuation mark goes outside the parenthesis (like this).

• John Hiatt ’99 never dreamed of starting his own cupcake stand, but there he stood in the kitchen that Friday morning, baking away (and in a “kiss the chef” apron, no less).

If material inside the parentheses within a sentence requires a concluding punctuation mark such as an exclamation point or question mark (but not a period!), the parentheses can be followed with a period (like this!).

• The class was incredibly thorough, teaching the students everything they needed to know about the history of Victorian banking (more than they probably wanted to know!).

Don’t substitute parentheses for a comma. Place a comma outside parentheses if it’s part of a clause or list that needs a comma anyway.

• He brought orange juice, bagels (including that tasty cream cheese), coffee and napkins for breakfast.
• It’s not that I mind the class (Victorian banking being a favorite subject), it’s just that I find it rather dry.

For marketing, editorial and academic copy, always use the % sign in headlines, subheads and body copy when paired with a numeral (example: Unemployment dropped to 3.5%). 

Spell out “percent” in casual use or when not paired with a number (example: He has a zero percent chance of winning).

Gender Specific & Gender Neutral

• Use he/him/his or she/her/hers when referring to a person by name who identifies with gender-specific pronouns.
• Use they/them/their when referring to a person by name who identifies with gender-neutral pronouns.
• When referring to an individual in general other than by their name — student, professor, staff member, coach, etc. — replace she/her/hers and he/him/his with they/them/their in order to be gender neutral

Use single quotation marks only for quotes within quotes.

• “The dirigible pilot observed that ‘His Majesty’ had arrived.”

Use the smart (“curly”) quotes,” not the straight quotation marks that denote measurement. Word processors and other programs have preference setting for making smart quotes.

Used when the comma does not provide the required separation of information.

• The siblings Margo (Reese) Griffin ’71, of Plano; Thomas Griffin ’76, of Austin; and Alex Griffin ’77, of San Francisco, Calif., established the trust.

Used to link independent clauses when a conjunction is not used.

• The president announced the plan in mid-December; it was fully implemented by Feb. 3.

Used between items in a series when the items themselves contain commas or other marks of punctuation.

• Our athletic facilities include a 25-meter indoor pool; fitness center; gymnasium; basketball, racquetball, volleyball and tennis courts; and an intramural recreation field.

Semicolons are always placed outside of items in quotation marks.

• She always says “please”; why would she not, given her etiquette training?

States and Cities

Spelling/ Capitalization

One Word 

Two Words 

• Help desk
• Chat room
• Log in (as a verb: Log in to view the video.)

No hyphenation:

• Email

The proper term World Wide Web may be spelled out on first reference; however, it is acceptable to use “web” in all instances.

• website, webpage, webcast, webinar, webmaster

When listing a specific website — sometimes referred to more precisely as a URL (uniform resource locator) — omit the “http://www.” that generally precedes all website addresses. This is universally understood and simplifies the address for easy reading.

• Information is available at stedwards.edu.
• Visit libr.stedwards.edu for access to our online catalog.

When listing a secure server, such as those used for online payments, list “https://” as part of the URL because the “s” after “http” indicates the site’s secure nature.

Use numerals (without zeros for even hours) when listing a time.

• The program begins at 3 p.m.
• The play runs from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Spell out noon and midnight (but do not capitalize).

It is not necessary to say or write “12 noon” or “12 midnight.”

• The office is closed from noon to 1 p.m.
• 10:30 a.m.–noon
• noon–3 p.m.
• 4 p.m.–midnight

Months are spelled out when they stand alone or are listed with only a year.

When used with a specific date, abbreviate January, February and August through December. Follow the year with a comma when used with a specific date within a sentence.

• The event takes place in February.
• The event took place in February 2017.
• The event took place Feb. 15, 2017, on campus.

Do not abbreviate days of the week unless pressed for space online.

Avoid using “th” after a date on formal invitations. Preferred:

• You are cordially invited to a party on Feb. 15
• You are cordially invited to a party on the fifteenth of February

Use “to” in a sentence when the time or date is preceded by “from” or “between.”

Use an en dash without “to” or “from.”

• Showtime: Thursday 5–6:30 p.m.
• The play runs from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
• During the years 2004–2008
• From 2004 to 2008
• From 9 a.m., Feb. 12, to 5 p.m., Feb. 13