University of North Carolina Wilmington
University of North Carolina Wilmington
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Marketing &
Communications
Manual of Style

Because consistency and continuity in publications and other produced materials are extremely important in the overall marketing efforts for UNCW, the following manual of style has been established for use in university publications. Please refer to this manual should any questions arise.

Editorial style has to do with a set of judgments about what is grammatically correct — the consistency in punctuation, capitalization and what usage is acceptable. Is university capitalized when referring to UNCW? How are academic degrees abbreviated? Is fall quarter capitalized?

Why does the university need to adopt a style? Because of background diversity, each individual’s experiences vary. Each person writes for a different audience and purpose. The rules of capitalization recognized by one person may be unfamiliar to another. One person was taught to put a semicolon there, while another was taught to use a period.

To bring consistency to publications requires a set of rules. UNCW style is based upon conformance with the widely embraced practices of today’s academic, public relations and news authorities on style.

The UNCW editorial style does not apply to monographs, scholarly research, journal articles, faculty-written books or articles, dissertations or the like. The UNCW publication style is accepted for University of North Carolina Wilmington communications such as brochures, catalogues, flyers, newsletters and press releases. This guide is a very brief look at style as most commonly related to UNCW matters. Any element in question will fall by default to the rules and regulations of the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual and your dictionary.

Abbreviations

The first mention of any organization, firm, agency or group should be spelled out. If the organization’s name is not well known, indicate the abbreviation (with periods) or acronym (without periods) in parentheses immediately following the first reference and refer to the organization by its abbreviation thereafter. Acronyms are appropriate if well known; they do not contain periods (except for U.S., U.N.). Avoid coining acronyms for organizations; instead, merely shorten the name after the first reference.

Abbreviations with Names

Use the abbreviations Sr., Jr., II, III for Senior, Junior, Second, Third following a full name. Never use the spelled-out words or the abbreviations with the surname alone.

Abbreviate civil, military, professional or religious titles when used before a full name.

Academic Degrees

Capitalize when the complete name of the degree is given.

Lowercase if no particular degree is mentioned.

When using abbreviations for degrees, insert periods.

The word “doctorate” is a noun, and “doctoral” is an adjective. The terms “bachelor’s degree” and “master’s degree” require an apostrophe.

Academic Disciplines

Lowercase the names of academic disciplines, with the exception of proper nouns.

Always capitalize languages.

Alumni

Alumni are identified by listing the last two digits of their graduation years (with apostrophe) following their names.

“Alumnus” is the singular, masculine form; for references to women, use “alumna” (singular) or “alumnae” (plural). “Alumni” may serve as the plural for a group that is composed of men only or of men and women together.

Apostrophes

Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding “ ’s ”.

One exception to this rule is singular proper nouns ending in “s” for which only an apostrophe is used.

Plural possessives are formed by adding “ s’ ” unless the word has a special plural construction that does not end in “s”.

Plurals of words should NOT contain apostrophes.

One exception is plurals of single letters, which may require an apostrophe to avoid misinterpretation.

“It’s” ALWAYS means “it is”; the pronoun possessive is “its” – with NO apostrophe.

Capitalization

The university style is basically “downstyle.” In general, avoid unnecessary use of capitals. Sentences read more smoothly if the eye isn’t stopped by frequent capitals.

Academic departments, administrative offices and facilities of UNCW are capitalized when the complete and official designation is used. They are lowercase on second reference.

Lowercase fields of study except when a proper noun is part of the name.

Formal titles (denoting scope of authority, professional activity and the like) are capitalized when they immediately precede a name.

Occupational descriptions should be lowercase.

Lowercase academic degrees.

Capitalize official names of organizations and major historical events. (Some organizations have unusual capitalizations or typography; follow their individual usage, e.g., HarperCollins.)

Capitalize the following when the complete title is used, lowercase on second reference:

Lowercase the words “division,” “school,” “department,” “office,” “committee,” “board,” “college,” etc., on second and subsequent abbreviated reference.

Lowercase “city of Wilmington” and “state of North Carolina” except when referring to the city’s or state’s government or in legal contexts calling for a corporate name.

Commas

Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series.

Put a comma before the concluding conjunction in a series when there is more than one conjunction in that series.

Computer Terms

Here is a list of commonly used computer and Internet terms, acronyms and software programs. For additional style information consult the Associated Press Stylebook with Internet Guide and Glossary (2000).

Dates

Spell out the name of a month when it stands alone or with the year only. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Put a comma before and after the year when used with month and date, but do not use a comma when a time period is expressed with month and year.

Always use Arabic figures. Don’t use st, nd, rd or th.

Use 1992-93, not 1992-1993.

Spell out references to centuries and decades.

In decades identified with their centuries, use figures and omit apostrophes.

E-mail

When transferring e-mail copy to publications, make sure quotation marks and apostrophes are converted from straight quotes – " and ' – (which are used to designate inches and feet) to smart quotes – “ and ’ – and make sure all hard returns are removed within paragraphs.

Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior

Lowercase except at the beginning of a sentence.

Hyphenation

Use a hyphen to connect two or more words used as a modifier.

Do not use a hyphen to connect “-ly” adverbs to the words they modify.

Use a hyphen to designate dual heritage.

Suspend hyphens in a series.

Numbers

Spell out numbers one through nine (and zero); use numerals for 10 and higher. Use either all numerals or all words when several numbers appear together in a passage, even if convention would require a mixture.

Ages should be noted with Arabic numerals.

Arabic numerals are used with very large numbers (i.e., a million or larger).

Monetary figures and percentages are also indicated with Arabic numerals.

When a number is the first word of a sentence, it should be spelled out. However, the sentence can usually be reworked to avoid having to spell out a large or hyphenated number, a monetary figure or a percentage.

Spell out fractional amounts that are less than one in text copy, using hyphens between the words.

Use figures for all fractions larger than one, employing split or “case” fractions (i.e., single units) wherever possible. Most type fonts              only a few common fractions as single units; other fractions need to be constructed with a slash (using a hyphen as well to clarify; note that the form is an exception to Associated Press style which was developed for newspaper typography.) Convert to decimals whenever practical.

Percent

In general, use the word “percent.” The symbol % can be used in scientific, technical and statistical copy.

Quotation Marks with Other Punctuation

Place a comma or period inside the quotation marks. The semicolon and colon are placed outside the quotation marks. Place question marks or exclamation marks inside or outside quotation marks, depending on the quote.

Titles

Capitalize a title before a person’s name. Lowercase a title following a person’s name. Lowercase a professional title when it stands without a name. The title vice chancellor is written without a hyphen.

Do not use titles in combination with any other title or with abbreviations indicating academic or professional degrees.

Avoid courtesy titles.

“Professor” is never abbreviated. The title “doctor” is generally abbreviated; however, avoid it when its use is not critical to the subject of the text.

Titles (and, in most cases, first names) should be dropped on second reference and thereafter. Exceptions are familiar and frequently used occupational titles such as coach or chancellor.

Use quotation marks to designate titles of short stories, short poems or articles; individual chapters in books; individual songs; and radio and television shows (or single episodes of a continuing series).

Italicize titles of books, films, long poems, magazines, plays, record albums, large musical works, newspapers and continuing TV/radio series.

 

Seasons

Lowercase names of seasons except at the beginning of a sentence.

Split Infinitives

It is better to inquire diligently, than to diligently inquire. There are exceptions: The university hopes to more than double its enrollment by 2010.

States

Postal ZIP code abbreviations for states should not be used when abbreviating a state name in text copy. Use the abbreviations accepted by the Associated Press.

Eight state names are not abbreviated.

The District of Columbia is treated like a state.

Subject/Verbs That Will Agree

The pronoun “none” can take either a singular or plural verb. When none means “not one” or “no one,” it takes a singular verb.

A plural verb is commonly used when “none” refers to more than one thing or person.

The collective noun “faculty” can be used in singular and plural senses and can take a singular or plural verb.

The geology faculty meets regularly with other science faculties.

The faculty sometimes disagree among themselves.

Plurals of Latin and Greek words take plural verbs.

“A number of” takes a plural verb; “the number of” takes a singular verb. Do not try to extend this rule to other nouns; it works only for “number.” “Amount” refers to the quantity of something and is always singular.

A compound subject joined by “and” takes a plural verb. A compound subject joined by “or” takes a verb that agrees with the subject closest to the verb.

Use a singular verb after “each,” “either,” “everyone,” “everybody,” “neither,” “nobody,” “someone.”

That, Which or Let's Go on a Which Hunt

“That” is the defining, or restrictive pronoun, “which” the nondefining, or nonrestrictive. “Which” can introduce both restrictive or nonrestrictive clauses. Essential clauses require “that.” Nonessential clauses typically require “which.”

Another hint: if you could put the clause in parentheses or set it off with commas, use “which.”

The following two sentences do not mean the same thing:

The University

The University of North Carolina Wilmington can be referred to as UNCW or UNC Wilmington.

Lowercase the word “university” when it stands alone.

Time of Day

Use noon and midnight, not 12 a.m. or 12 p.m.

Use 8 a.m., not 8:00 a.m.

Do not capitalize a.m. or p.m. and use periods after each letter.

DO NOT use a.m. or p.m. at the end of a sentence.

Use a comma after the time (a.m. or p.m.) when used in a sequence with day, date and location of event.

URLs

Break a url before or after the discrete units that begin the url or drop http:// if possible. Don’t break the url with a hyphen, but before a punctuation mark.

If a sentence ends with a url, add a period at the end.

Where Is That Event?

To aid in directing the public to campus events, publicize locations with the building listed first, then the room.


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