ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ

Academic Degrees

• When appropriate, use after a full name and set off by commas. (Ann Scott, Ph.D.)
• Do not precede a name with a courtesy title for an academic degree and follow it with the abbreviation for the degree in the same reference. ( Pam Jones, Ph.D.)
• Below are abbreviations for some of the degrees awarded by ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ or commonly found among its faculty:  

1. Use a phrase and lowercase the academic degree. (John Smith has a bachelor’s degree in art; Jane Kelly has a master’s degree in psychology; David Brown has a doctorate in psychology or a doctoral degree in psychology.)
2. Use the formal degree name without apostrophes and capitalize the academic area. (Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science, Doctor of Education)

Academic Offices and Departments

• Capitalize the name of the department and the words "department" and "office.” (Department of Natural Sciences, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Small Business Development Center)
• Avoid the word “of” when possible: the English department instead of the department of English.
• When not used as a proper name, the words "department" and "office" should not be capitalized. (The department boasts the most professors with doctorates.)

Accreditation

The ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate, masters and doctorate degrees.

Alumni 

ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ publications may use “alums” and “alumni” to refer to its male or female graduates.

Female singular: alumna; plural: alumnae

Male singular: alumnus; plural: alumni, which is plural for both genders

Identify all alumni with the class year and include an apostrophe before the year. (She belonged to the Class of ’78. Jane Doe, ’78, is working in Jacksonville. Jane Doe, BA, ’78, is working in Jacksonville.)

Acronyms

Acronyms can save space in publications, but if the reader doesn't understand the acronym, the message is lost. In general, use the full name on first reference and the acronym on second reference, unless the acronym is well known beyond the campus (for example, GPA or CEO).

Alumni Association

The formal title is "ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ Alumni Association" on first reference. It can be referred to as the "Alumni Association" on second and subsequent reference. 

Annual Fund

Capitalize all references to the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ Annual Fund. "Annual Fund" is acceptable on second reference.

Articles

Include quotation marks around titles of articles and features in periodicals, chapter titles and part titles, titles of short stories, essays and individual selections in books. (Dr. Rebecca Sloane published "Reading Readiness" in the Spring 2009 issue of Early Childhood Research and Practice.)

Board of Trustees

• Capitalize "Board of Trustees" and "Trustee" as a title on first reference when referring to the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ Board of Trustees. (The ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ Board of Trustees met in February; Last year, Trustee James Jones participated in the commencement ceremony.)
• Lowercase second and subsequent references.

Books, movies, songs and more

• Use quotation marks around the titles of most books. (He read “War and Peace.”)
• Also use quotation marks for titles of movies, plays, poems, albums, songs, operas, radio and television programs, lectures, speeches and works of art. (See the AP Style Guide for special exceptions.)
• Do not use quotation marks for the Bible, catalogs of reference material, almanacs, directories, dictionaries, encyclopedias, gazetteers, handbooks and similar publications. (He has the latest copy of Webster's New World Dictionary.)
• Do not use quotation marks around software titles such as Microsoft Word or Adobe.

Building Names

• Use the entire official name of campus facilities on first reference within a section. On second and subsequent references within the same section, shorten the name.
• Do not use building, hall, center, etc., interchangeably.
• Student residences on campus include Osprey Crossings, Osprey Fountains, Osprey Hall, Osprey Landing and Osprey Village. Student residences should not be referred to as "dorms" or "dormitories," rather refer to them as "residence halls."
• The John A. Delaney Student Union has naming conventions within its own building: Student Union Ballrooms, Student Union Auditorium, Student Union Game Room, Student Union Graduate Lounge, Student Union meeting rooms, North Star Board Room at the Student Union, Osprey Plaza at the Student Union and Coxwell Amphitheater at the Student Union.
• Identify campus facilities by name, rather than solely by building number, except on the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ marquee and on signs where space is limited. (The meeting is in J.J. Daniel Hall, Building 1.)
• For proper names and building numbers visit the 

Classes and Courses

• Use lowercase when referring to courses and classes. (As a freshman, Susan enrolled in a psychology course and a history course.)
• Use uppercase when referring to the specific name of a class or if the class name includes a proper noun or numeral. There should be no quotation marks around course names. (As a freshman, David enrolled in Psychology II and U.S. History to 1877.)

Days, months, years

• Avoid using the word "on" with dates, or the phrase “held on,” when its absence would not lead to confusion. (The workshop will be Monday, Aug. 8.)
• When referring to a sequence of dates, use a hyphen instead of the word "to." (Apply here May 7-9, 8 to 10 a.m.)
• Whenever it does not cause confusion, drop the year in dates. (The program will end in December.)

Decades

Use an "s" without an apostrophe to indicate spans of decades or centuries. (ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ was founded in the 1960s.)

Disabilities

• Care should be taken not to define a person by his/her disability or to treat the person as a victim. Don't use phrases such as "afflicted with," "confined to a wheelchair," "disabled student," and "victim of." "Disabled" is preferred to "handicapped."
• When referring to a person with a disability, put the person first and the disability second. (The student, who is disabled, will participate in the project, so a wheelchair-accessible room is requested.)
• When referring to parking, use the phrase "accessible parking."

Email

Florida Board of Governors

Use "Florida Board of Governors" on first reference. BOG can be used on second and subsequent references. 

Grade Point Average

Do not hyphenate or use periods in abbreviation. Use all caps. (GPA)

Homecoming

ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ's official celebration is capitalized as “ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ Homecoming Dinner.”

Honors

Lowercase and italicize cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude.

Magazines

• Do not use quotation marks for magazine names and do not italicize. (Linda enjoys reading Entertainment Weekly.)
• Uppercase the name of the magazine, but lowercase "magazine" unless it is a part of the publication's formal title. (David likes to read Time magazine.)

Money

• Use the dollar sign and numbers. ($15.25)
• Do not use a decimal and two zeros. ($15)
• For amounts less than $1, use a numeral with "cents." (Savings amount to 3 cents an hour.)

Months

• Abbreviate most months if a date is included. (Jan. 2, Feb. 5, Aug. 20, Sept. 12, Oct. 31, Nov. 24 and Dec. 23)
• Never abbreviate March, April, May, June and July, even with dates. (April 6 Debbie’s birthday.)
• Do not abbreviate months when used alone or with only the year. Do not use a comma between the month and year. (I traveled to England in January 1992.)
• When using a complete date, put a comma after the year, unless it ends the sentence. (She was born Aug. 1, 2001, in Jacksonville.)

Newspapers

• Do not use quotation marks for newspaper names and do not italicize. (John enjoys reading The Florida Times-Union.)
• Capitalize "the" in a newspaper or magazine's name if that is the way the publication prefers to be known. (Richard reads The Wall Street Journal every morning.)
• Lowercase "the" before newspaper names when several papers are mentioned, some of which use "the" as part of the name and some of which do not. (The story appeared in the New York Times, Tampa Tribune and Florida Times- Union.)
• Use parentheses when the location is needed, but is not part of the official name. (The Huntsville (Alabama) Times.)

Numerals

Spell out whole numbers one through nine and use figures for 10 and above. (There are five secretaries; Our company has 16 buildings.)

This rule applies to:

• Grade levels (He teaches ninth grade, but will teach 10^th grade next year.)
• Numerical designations (the first semester, the 50^th anniversary)
• Centuries (the third century, the 21^st century)
• Numbers and years: (7s, in the low 30s, the 1920s)

• Ages (We live in a 7-year-old house; The boy is 5 years old; The race is for 3-year-olds.)
• Percentages (4 percentage points, 56%; precede with zero if less than one – 0.15%)
• Rank (He was my No. 1 choice; Florida was ranked No. 3.)
• Computer storage capacities (8 megabytes)
• Dimensions, to indicate depth, height, length and width (He is 5 feet, 6 inches tall; The box is 4 feet long, 3 feet wide and 2 feet high; the 9-by-12 rug)
• Try to avoid percentages at the start of a sentence. If it’s necessary, spell out the number and the word percent. (Seventy percent responded favorably.)

• Spell out all numbers when used at the beginning of sentences. (Twenty students registered for the class.)
• Fractions less than one (use hyphens between words two-thirds, four-fifths)
• Fractions larger than one (She swam 3½ laps.)
• Do not use "st" or "th" with dates. (Submit applications by Oct. 14.) 

On-campus, on campus

Use "on-campus" as an adjective, when modifying another word. Use "on campus" to show location. (John lives in on-campus housing; John lives on campus.)

Part-time, part time, full-time, full time

"Part-time" and "full-time" are hyphenated when used as an adjective, when modifying another word. It's "full time" and "part time" when used as nouns. (She has a full-time job; She works part time.)

President’s Office

Capitalize when referring to ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ's President's Office.

Professional Titles

• CPA, CEO and CIO should be written in full caps without periods.
• Position titles such as "dean," "director" or "professor" should be capitalized only when immediately preceding a name. (Dean Mary Smith of the College of Arts and Sciences)
• Lowercase position titles after a name. (Dr. Mary Smith, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences)
• The title "Dr." may be used when the person holds an earned doctoral degree, either a Ph.D., Ed.D., M.D., etc., but only on first reference. (Dr. Kevin Jones)
• In photo cutlines, the preferred style is to include first and last names only, omitting courtesy and professional titles.
• A juris doctor (JD) is not considered a doctoral degree.
• No hyphen in "vice president.”
• Emeritus: Place emeritus after the formal title. (Professor Emeritus John Doe, Dean Emeritus John Doe or John Doe, professor emeritus of history.)
• Interim: Capitalize when preceding a name. (Interim Dean John Doe)

Punctuation

Apostrophe (‘)

• Use an apostrophe to replace an omitted letter in a contraction. (I've, it's, don't, rock 'n' roll, 'tis the season to be jolly. He is a ne'er-do-well.)
• Apostrophes also replace omitted figures. (The class of '62. The Spirit of '76. The '20s.)
• Use an apostrophe to indicate a possessive. (See the Plurals and Possessives section of the Style Guide for rules about forming possessives.)

• Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence: (They promised this: The owner will pay for the repairs.)
• Use a colon at the end of a sentence or phrase to introduce lists. (Three items are needed: cleaning supplies, buckets and water.)
• Colons should be placed outside quotation marks unless they are part of the quotation itself.

• Do not use a comma before the last item in a series unless it is needed for clarity. (He wore a shirt that was red, white and blue.)
• Use a comma after the city and after the state or country (Alexandria, Virginia, is my hometown; The conference is in Brussels, Belgium, next year.)
• Use commas to separate the year from the day and after the year. Do not use a comma with a month and year without a specific date. (July 1, 1960, is our anniversary; We were married in June 1960 in Florida.)
• Short introductory phrases such as "Last year" and "In 1989" do not always require commas. When in doubt, leave it out. (Last year 400 freshmen were admitted to ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ.)
• The designations “Jr.,” “Sr.” and “III” should not be preceded or followed by commas after a name. (John Jones Jr. went to the party.)

• AP Style uses the em dash, or the long dash. Put a space on both sides of the dash. (They found cookies — mostly chocolate — on the shelf.)
• 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. (Four of us—Mike, Amanda, Katy and I — went to the conference last week.)
• A dash can also be used when there is an abrupt change in the sentence or for emphasis. (We tried Steve’s idea — an idea I thought was terrible — and it somehow worked.)
• Use a dash before an author's or composer's name at the end of a quotation. ("Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." ― Benjamin Franklin.) 

• Treat an ellipsis as a three-letter word, constructed with three periods and one space on each side.
• Use an ellipsis to indicate the deletion of one or more words in condensing quotes, texts and documents.
• Add ending punctuation before the ellipsis as needed. (Have you seen this before? ...)

• Use an exclamation point to show surprise, amazement or other strong feelings, but avoid overuse. (“I was so proud of how the students helped in the community!”)
• Place the mark inside quotation marks only when part of the quotation. ("That’s terrific!" she said.)

• Some two-word phrases require hyphens when used as compound modifiers for nouns. (He has a full-time job; They are part-time workers; On-campus parking is limited.) These same word combination DO NOT use a hyphen when not modifiers. (Her job is full time; The work is only part time; She works on campus.)
• Also, hyphens can be used with compound modifiers in order to make the meaning clear and avoid an unintended meaning. (small-business owner, well-known song, high-income workers, two-way street)
• No hyphen is needed to link the adverb very and all adverbs ending in -ly. (a very good day, a slowly moving car)
• Use a hyphen in modifiers of three or more words. (over-the-counter medicine, long-distance phone call, state-of-the-art technology)
• Do not use a hyphen to designate dual heritage. (African American, Italian American, Mexican American)
• Some prefixes generally require hyphens. (self-, all-, ex-, half-)
• Some suffixes generally require hyphens. (-free, -based, -elect)
• Hyphens can be used to shorten a compound modifier or noun phrase that shares a common word. (10-, 15- or 20-minute intervals; 5- and 6-year-olds)
• Use hyphens when the elements are joined by to or by, and express a single element. (a 10-to-15-year prison term; an 8-by-12-inch pan)

• Avoid parentheses in content as they can stop the reader. Alternatives include commas or two dashes to set off important material.
• If used, place a period outside a closing parenthesis if the material inside is not a sentence. The office is in Founders Hall, Building 2 (on the first floor). Full sentences should include a period within the parentheses.

• Use a single space after a period at the end of a sentence.
• Periods always go inside quotation marks. (“You did a terrific job!” he said.)
• Abbreviations using only the initials of a name do not take periods. (JFK, MLK)

• Use a question mark at the end of a direct question or multiple questions in one sentence. (Who started the riot?; Did you hear him say, "What right have you to ask about the riot?")
• Do not use question marks to indicate the end of indirect questions: (He asked who started the riot.)
• Place a question mark inside the quotation if part of the quote. (He asked, "How long will it take?")

Semicolon (;) 

• Use semicolons to separate elements of a long series or when individual items contain material that is set off by commas. (She is survived by a daughter, Sarah Jones, of Jacksonville; two sons, John Smith, of Miami, and David Smith, of Tampa; and a brother, William Grant, of Gainesville, Florida.)
• Use semicolon to link independent clauses with no coordinating conjunction such as I expected his letter last week; it arrived today.
• Place semicolons outside quotation marks.

Seasons

• Lowercase spring, summer, fall and winter, as well as all derived words. (fall semester, fall term, fall 1972, springtime, summertime.)
• Capitalize seasons only when part of a formal name. (Spring Musicfest, Winter Olympics, Fall Commencement Ceremony)

Spelling

Here are some examples of preferred ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ style: 

advisor, not adviser
aesthetics, not esthetics
archaeology, not archeology
audiovisual, not audio-visual
Bachelor of Science in Health is the degree; Department of Health Science is the organization
bilingual, not bi-lingual
campuswide, not campus-wide
catalog, not catalogue
chairman, chairwoman (the position is "chair"; use "chairperson" when it is the formal title)
coeducational, not co-educational (co-ed is acceptable except when used to refer to a person, but not preferred)
cooperative, not co-operative (co-op is acceptable, but not preferred)
coordinate, not co-ordinate
coursework, not course work
day care, not daycare or day-care
email, not e-mail
extracurricular, not extra-curricular
fundraiser, one word in all cases 
fundraising, one word in all cases
healthcare (noun and adjective; this is an exception to AP style which is two words)
ID, not id or I.D.
intercollegiate, not inter-collegiate
multipurpose, not multi-purpose
newly renovated (never hyphenate a word when preceded by an adverb that ends in "ly")
nonprofit or not-for-profit, not non-profit
off-season
ongoing, not on-going
online, not on-line
paraprofessional, not para-professional
percent, not per cent
playoffs
preregistration, not pre-registration
preschool, not pre-school
RSVP, not R.S.V.P.
student-athlete
T-shirt, not t-shirt
TV, not tv or T.V.
universitywide, not university-wide
weeklong, not week-long
year-end
yearlong, not year-long
year-round, not year round or yearround 

States

• Spell out the names of all 50 states whether they stand alone or are listed with a city. (Boulder, Colorado)
• No state name is needed for Florida cities unless confusion would result (Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Tallahassee)
• No state name is needed for 30 of the country’s cities. (Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington)
• When listing the state in a mailing address, use the U.S. Post Office's abbreviation. (Daytona Beach, FL; Boulder, CO.)

Student Classifications

• Do not capitalize freshman, sophomore, junior or senior. (He is a senior marketing major.)
• Freshman is the singular noun. (Susan is a freshman at ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ.)
• Freshmen is the plural form. (John and Susan are freshmen at ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ.)
• Only the singular “freshman” can be used as an adjective. (ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ is having a freshman seminar next week; Three freshman students enrolled in the class; The freshman class attended the lecture.)

Telephone numbers

• If a publication is strictly for use on campus, use only the extension: (ext. 2140)
• If the publication will be sent off campus, include the area code in parentheses with a space between the parentheses and exchange. (904) 620-2140

ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ Board of Trustees

Spell out "ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ Board of Trustees" on first reference. "Board of Trustees" or "BOT" is acceptable on second and subsequent references. 

ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ Colleges

On first reference, spell out the name of the college in its entirety. On second reference, use only the following abbreviations for the colleges at ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ:

Brooks College of Health — BCH

Coggin College of Business — CCB

College of Arts and Sciences — COAS

College of Computing, Engineering and Construction — CCEC

College of Education and Human Services — COEHS

Hicks Honors College — HHC 

ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ Foundation

• Use the precise title, the “ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ Foundation Inc.," on first reference. It can be referred to as the "ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ Foundation" on second and subsequent reference.
• Members of the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ Foundation are referred to as board members, not trustees.
• When referring to its board, capitalize "Board" when used with the proper name, but lowercase it when it stands alone.
• In paragraph content, place no comma between "Foundation" and "Inc." and abbreviate Incorporated to "Inc." This rule applies to all corporations using "Inc." (He is a member of the ÀÏ°ÄÃÅ×ÊÁÏ Foundation Inc.)

University Police Department

UPD or police department on the second reference

World Wide Web

• Use as three separate words and uppercase the first letters, second reference, use “web.”
• Lowercase and one word: internet, website, webcam, webfeed, webmaster, webpage
• Lowercase and two words: web address, web browser.
• If listing a website address on a printed document or in a digital space: www.unf.edu.