Writing Style Guide Foreword

This style guide was prepared by the Office of Marketing and Communications in an effort to bring consistency to publications written for and about The . Following these standards will promote uniformity and clarity and strengthen the effectiveness of communications.

This guide addresses frequently asked questions about style, as well as some common errors. Included are examples related to The University of Toledo to encourage better understanding of the rules and concepts.

It is not comprehensive; consulting other reference sources is suggested. The Office of Marketing and Communications follows “The Associated Press Stylebook,” with some exceptions that are explained in this guide. The office also uses “The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.” Checking the UToledo website to verify current college, department and office names, as well as faculty and staff titles, also is advised.

For questions not answered in this guide or by these reference books, contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at 419.530.2299. This style guide is online at utoledo.edu/offices/marketing.

* Last updated June 2021

UToledo Writing Style Guide 2 degree in biology (M.S.) A master’s degree in physics (M.S.) abbreviations and acronyms master of science degree in nursing A few common abbreviations and (M.S.N.) acronyms can be found in the master of public health (M.P.H.) abbreviations and acronyms section at the master of business administration end of the alphabetical portion of this degree (M.B.A.) (note that it is not guide. These are acceptable in some master’s) circumstances and contexts, but in (M.L.W.) general, avoid alphabet soup. education specialist (Ed.S.) doctor of education degree (Ed.D.) academic degrees doctor of medicine (M.D.) Use the University Catalog for appropriate doctor of medicine/doctor of major designations. Note that it is usually philosophy in medical sciences an associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s (M.D./Ph.D.) degree in … or an associate, bachelor or doctor of medicine/master of public master of … degree. Either use is health (M.D./M.P.H.) appropriate. Degrees are lowercase. Use doctor of philosophy degree in capital letters and periods for all academic electrical engineering (Ph.D.) degrees when abbreviated. doctor of nursing practice (D.N.P.) Examples: doctor of pharmacy degree (Pharm.D.) associate’s degree doctor of science degree (D.Sc.) associate of arts degree juris doctor (J.D.) bachelor of arts degree in music (B.A.) master of law degree (LL.M.) bachelor’s degree in art history (B.A.) bachelor’s degree in business Note: “” or “doctoral degree,” administration (B.B.A.) not “doctorate degree.” Doctorate is a bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.) noun. Juris doctor also is a noun — no bachelor of science degree in chemistry need to add the word “degree.” (B.S.) bachelor’s degree in criminal justice Academic Affiliation (B.S.) Capitalize when referring to the Academic bachelor of science degree in nursing Affiliation between the College of Medicine (B.S.N.) and Life Sciences and ProMedica. bachelor of science in pharmaceutical sciences (B.S.P.S.) academic calendar terms bachelor of social work (B.S.W.) Do not capitalize fall semester or similar degree in philosophy terms. Put the term before the year. When (M.A.) referring to the academic year, there is a master’s degree in history (M.A.) hyphen separating the years, with no

UToledo Writing Style Guide 3 space and is four digits for first year and Examples: second year is two digits. The walking tours begin at the Toledo Examples: Lucas County Public Library, 325 N. fall semester 2019 Michigan St. 2019-20 academic year The first campus of the former Medical The class began last spring semester. College of was located at the corner of Arlington and Detroit academic rank avenues. Lowercase first-year or freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, undergraduate When addresses are used in text, separate with degree, graduate student and by a comma. doctoral student. First-year student, Example: second-year student, etc. are preferred to For information, write to the Office of describe law and medical students and Marketing and Communications, resident physicians. First-year student is Mail Stop 190, The University of increasingly common to refer to freshmen. Toledo, Toledo, OH, 43606. Note it is hyphenated when used as an adjective. address for Main, Scott Park and Toledo Examples: Museum of Art campuses: Mary Wallace, a sophomore in the College, department, division or office College of Arts and Letters, won the Mail Stop ___ award. The University of Toledo Dee Miller, a fifth-year pharmacy 2801 W. Bancroft St. student, has a 4.0 grade point Toledo, OH 43606-3390 average. address for Health Science Campus ACT College, department, division or office Use only this acronym when referring to Mail Stop ___ the previously designated American The University of Toledo College Testing. It is capitalized, no 3000 Arlington Ave. periods. Toledo, OH 43614-2598 addresses administration When giving the complete address of a Lowercase. UToledo’s senior business or organization, use street administration includes: number and abbreviations St., Ave., Blvd., President and abbreviate compass points that Provost and Executive Vice President indicate directional ends of streets. Spell for Academic Affairs out street, avenue and boulevard when Executive Vice President for Clinical there is no address. Exceptions may be Affairs made for formal printed invitations.

UToledo Writing Style Guide 4 Executive Vice President for Finance All-America and Administration and Chief An individual team member may be called Financial Officer an All-American. Use All-America when Vice President for Student Affairs referring to the team. Vice President for Enrollment Examples: Management John Smith is an All-American lineman. Vice President for Diversity and Jamal Hines was named to the Inclusion Freshman All-America Team. Vice President for Research Vice President and General Counsel alma mater Vice President, Chief Information Lowercase. UToledo’s alma mater is “Fair Officer and Chief Technology Toledo.” Officer Vice President and Director of alumnus, alumna, alumni, alumnae Intercollegiate Athletics Graduates of the University. Alumnus Vice President for Marketing and refers to one male, alumna refers to one Communications female, alumni refers to two or more who Vice President for Government are all male or who are males and females, Relations and Chief of Staff and alumnae refers to two or more Chief Executive Officer at The females. Do not use alum. University of Toledo Medical Center and administrator Preferred over & unless the ampersand is Never abbreviate. part of the official name. advisor app Not adviser. Short for application. App is acceptable on first reference. ages Always use figures, and use hyphens when assistant, associate used as part of a modifier. Do not abbreviate. Capitalize only when Examples: part of a formal title before a name. Also The child was 7 years old. see professor. The 19-year-old student Examples: Associate Professor Matt Yockey aid, aide Ana Alba-Rubio, assistant professor Aid (verb) is assistance. Aide (noun) is a person who serves as an assistant. athletic matchups When pairing the names of two competing schools, use a hyphen.

UToledo Writing Style Guide 5 Examples: Dowling Hall Saturday’s University of Toledo-Kent EduCare Center State University game Eleanor N. Dana Cancer Center The UToledo-BGSU rivalry game Facilities Support Building Gardner-McMaster Parkinson Center George Isaac Minimally Invasive Surgery Center B Glendale Medical Center B.A. Health Education Building Bachelor of Arts. See academic degrees. Health Science Building Heart and Vascular Center baccalaureate Jacobs Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center bike trail Kobacker Center A portion of the University/Parks Trail is on Medical Pavillion Main Campus. Mulford Library Building Northwest Ohio Medical Technology blast off, blastoff Center Blast off is a verb; blastoff is a noun and Orthopaedic Center adjective. Radisson Hotel Records Retention Center Board of Trustees Ruppert Health Center Uppercase full name: The University of The University of Toledo Medical Toledo Board of Trustees. Subsequent Center (hospital) references are lowercase: board, trustees. Wolfe Center

B.S. buildings — Main Campus Bachelor of Science. See academic Academic House degrees. Bowman-Oddy Laboratories Carlson Library buildings Carter Hall East Capitalize complete building names. Do Carter Hall West not capitalize partial names on second Center for Administrative Support reference, such as Ruppert Health Center Center for Performing Arts on first reference and later attributed as Driscoll Center the center (lowercase). East Parking Ramp Fetterman Training Center buildings — Health Science Campus Gillham Hall Academic Conference Center Stadium Center for Creative Education Grounds and Fleet Services Building Collier Building Health and Human Services Building Comprehensive Care Center Health Education Center

UToledo Writing Style Guide 6 Honors Academic Village Wolfe Hall Horton International House Intramural Storage buildings — miscellaneous Koester Alumni Pavilion Center for Alumni and Donor Larimer Athletic Complex Engagement Law Center Lake Erie Center Libbey Hall Stranahan Arboretum MacKinnon Hall Regency Medical Campus McComas Village UT Family Medicine at the Shops at McMaster Hall Fallen Timbers Memorial Field House Nitschke Auditorium buildings — Scott Park Campus Nitschke Hall Academic Services Center Nitschke Technology Basic Science Laboratory Center Commercialization Complex Classroom Center North Engineering Building Engineering Technology Laboratory Ottawa House East Center Ottawa House West Faculty Annex Palmer Hall Findlay Athletic Center Parks Tower Learning Resource Center Peterson House Non-Academic Services Center Plant Operations Scott Park Student Center Presidents Hall Public Safety Center buildings — Research and Technology Complex 1 Campus Ritter Planetarium and Observatory Center for Sculptural Studies Rocket Hall Center for the Visual Arts Glass Crafts Building Savage & Associates Business Complex Scott Hall bus, buses Snyder Memorial Building The verb forms: bus, bused, busing. Stranahan Hall Student Recreation Center Sullivan Hall Thompson Student Union C Tucker Hall cadet University Computer Center Students within the ROTC program are University Hall referred to as cadets. University Health Center University Recycling Building campus names Varsity T Pavilion Main Campus West Parking Ramp Health Science Campus

UToledo Writing Style Guide 7 Scott Park Campus cellphone, smartphone Toledo Museum of Art Campus One word.

Capitalize full name. Do not capitalize the centers word campus when it stands alone. It is Capitalize names of centers. Do not not necessary to include “the” in front of capitalize the word center when it stands the campus name. alone on second reference. Also see capitalization. cancel, canceled, canceling, cancellation Examples: Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women capitalization Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Complete formal names of UToledo Collections centers, colleges, departments, divisions, The center is celebrating 10 years of institute, offices and programs are service to the community. capitalized. Examples: chair University Teaching Center Job position. Not chairman, chairwoman College of Arts and Letters or chairperson. Department of Environmental Sciences Division of Student Affairs cities and towns American Language Institute Capitalize in all uses. For most cases, city Office of Student Advocacy and names should be used with state names. Support Toledo and most other cities in Ohio stand Criminal Justice Program alone. Additional exceptions are: Atlanta Milwaukee Informal references are lowercase. Baltimore Minneapolis Examples: Boston New Orleans The medical school commencement is Chicago New York next month. Cincinnati Oklahoma City He studied geography. Cleveland Philadelphia The program is celebrating its 10-year Dallas Phoenix anniversary. Denver Pittsburgh Detroit St. Louis Title case capitalization is preferred. Honolulu Salt Lake City UToledo News headlines use title case. In Houston San Antonio title case, major words are capitalized and Indianapolis San Diego most minor words (short conjunctions, Las Vegas San Francisco articles and prepositions) are lowercase. Los Angeles Seattle Example: Miami Washington UToledo President Inspires Hope in Inaugural State of the University Address

UToledo Writing Style Guide 8 Consult the AP Style Guide for College of Graduate Studies international cities that also can stand College of Health and Human Services alone. Jesup Scott Honors College College of Law clinics College of Medicine and Life Sciences Capitalize names of clinics. Do not College of Natural Sciences and capitalize the word clinic when it stands Mathematics alone on second reference. Also see College of Nursing capitalization. College of Pharmacy and Examples: Pharmaceutical Sciences Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center University College Speech-Language Hearing Clinic The clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Examples: daily The College of Law will host five speakers next month. co- More than 300 students will graduate Retain the hyphen when forming nouns, from the college. adjectives and verbs that indicate occupation or status. named colleges Examples: John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Co-worker Business and Innovation Co-chair Use full name of college on first Co-sponsor reference. On subsequent references, use Neff College of coed Business and Innovation or the Acceptable as an adjective to describe college. Use COBI only for internal coeducational institutions. No hyphen. audiences. colors Judith Herb College of Education The University of Toledo colors are Use full name of college on first midnight blue and gold. reference. On subsequent references, use Herb College of colleges Education or the college. Use Capitalize the full names of colleges on all JHCOE only for internal audiences. references. Do not capitalize the word college when it stands alone on second comma reference. UToledo colleges are: Use commas to separate elements in a College of Arts and Letters series, but do not put a comma before the John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of conjunction in a simple series. Business and Innovation Examples: Judith Herb College of Education The flag is red, white and blue. College of Engineering

UToledo Writing Style Guide 9 She was going to adopt a dog, cat or Hybrid/blended: Integrate traditional face- rabbit. to-face instruction with online learning. Students meet face-to-face with the Put a comma before the concluding instructor once or twice per week and conjunction in a series, however, if an complete the rest of their classwork online integral element of the series requires a at their own preferred time. conjunction. Examples: course names He went to the store to buy milk, eggs, Capitalize full name of the course. No and macaroni and cheese. quotation marks or italics. Her favorite bands are The Beatles, Depeche Mode, and The Head and course numbers The Heart Using full course names is preferred, but course numbers can be used if needed. Use a comma also before the concluding Course subject must be included with the conjunction in a complex series of phrases. course number. Example: Example: The symposium is an opportunity for Law and the Legal System (LAWM students to network, practice 5000), a three-credit course taught professional development skills, by a full-time College of Law faculty and receive constructive feedback member, is being offered this fall on presentations. semester. co-op coursework Short for cooperative, to distinguish it One word. from coop, a cage for animals. courtesy titles counsel, counseled, counseling, Do not use courtesy titles Mr., Miss, Ms. or counselor Mrs. except in direct quotations. Use the Dr. designation if someone has a doctorate course modalities on first reference only. Do not use both Remote: Meet online at set days and times. title and Dr. before the name. Instead, Students participate in real-time with their rewrite to put title after name if academic classmates and professor. credential prefix is desired. Examples: Online: Follow the traditional distance Dr. Gregory Postel, president of learning model in which there is not a set UToledo class meeting schedule. Students receive UToledo President Gregory Postel frequent communication from their Dr. Gregory Postel is the president of professors and collaborate one-on-one The University of Toledo. Postel with classmates. joined UToledo in 2020.

UToledo Writing Style Guide 10 credentials dean Limit list of credentials after a name and Dean should be capitalized if it appears offset with commas. Only include terminal before a person’s name. Be sure to degree and highest professional distinguish between associate, assistant credential(s). Avoid alphabet soup. and other types of dean positions. Examples: credit hours Dean Charlene Gilbert Use numerals. Senior Associate Dean Geoffrey Rapp Example: Assistant Dean Yvette Perry The course is 3 credit hours. dean’s list cum laude Lowercase in all uses. When referring to someone who graduated or who will graduate with honors, use the Departments Latin designations cum laude (3.3 and Capitalize the names of academic above), magna cum laude (3.6 and above) departments. Do not capitalize the word and summa cum laude (3.9 and above). department when it stands alone on May be used in italics in some marketing second reference. Also see capitalization. materials, such as the commencement Examples: program. Department of Surgery The department hosts the event each year.

D Divisions day care Capitalize the names of divisions. Do not capitalize the word division when it stands day, date alone on second reference. Also see Use numeral for date without st, nd, rd or capitalization. th. When a month is used with a date, Examples: abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Division of Student Affairs Nov. and Dec. University style includes day He has worked for the division for 20 of the week with date when previewing years. events. Spell out all months when used without a date or with a year. The date is Distinguished University Lecturer offset with commas. Highest honor bestowed upon a lecturer. Examples: Capitalized in all references. The grand opening celebration will be 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 1, in Thompson Distinguished University Professor Student Union. Highest permanent honor bestowed upon Construction will be complete by a faculty member. Capitalized in all December 2020. references. Fall semester will begin Aug. 30, 2021.

UToledo Writing Style Guide 11 Doermann Theatre Located in University Hall, this venue is named in honor of Henry J. Doermann, F UToledo’s sixth president. faculty members For titles, use appropriate rank — dollar figures professor, associate professor, assistant Use figures and the $ sign in all except professor, instructor, etc. casual references and amounts without a Example: figure. The word cents is spelled out on all Dr. Seamus Metress, professor of figures less than $1. anthropology Examples: $100,000 Faculty Senate $2.7 million Capitalize when referring to UToledo’s The book cost $11. elected body of the faculty. Give me a dollar. 25 cents dorm, dormitories Family Educational Rights and Privacy Residence hall is the preferred term; do not Act of 1974 (FERPA) use dorm or dormitories. A federal law that protects the privacy of educational records. dual major Use for a student who has two majors. fight song The University’s fight song is “U of Toledo.”

foreign student

E International student is preferred. earth Generally lowercase; capitalize when used fountains as the proper name of the planet. Toledo Edison Memorial Fountain is located in front of the Thompson Student email Union on Main Campus. The Fountain of Always lowercase with no hyphen. Excellence is located between University, Gillham and Stranahan halls. emeriti, emeritus, emerita For one man, it is professor emeritus. For fraternities and sororities one woman, it is professor emerita. For Use full names on first reference; two or more, regardless of gender, use nicknames and abbreviations can be used professors emeriti. on second reference. Examples: Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity will hold a fundraiser Monday, March 2.

UToledo Writing Style Guide 12 Delta Delta Delta sorority will GPA, grade point average participate in Songfest. GPA is acceptable in all references. Use figures to at least one decimal point. free events Example: “The free, public event …” is preferred She had a GPA of 3.6 as a freshman, but instead of “The event is free and open to raised that to a 3.75 GPA in her the public.” sophomore year.

Fueling Tomorrows grades The University of Toledo’s tagline with Don’t italicize grades or place them within 2019 brand launch for the University. quotation marks. Example: full time, full-time John received four A’s and one B. Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier. Examples: He works full time. H She has a full-time job. healthcare One word. fundraising One word when referring to the activity, Health Insurance Portability and when referring to a person, or used as an Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) adjective. Federal law that mandates regulations Examples: that govern privacy, security and Fundraising can sometimes be difficult. administrative simplification standards for A fundraiser was hired. healthcare information management, A fundraising campaign was launched. including patient records.

Homecoming Capitalize when referring to The University G of Toledo’s Homecoming. The official GED name of the parade is Edward C. and Helen A trademark abbreviation for General G. Schmakel Homecoming Parade. Education Development tests, a battery of Example: five exams designed by the American The Homecoming game will be Council on Education to measure high Saturday, Oct. 9. school equivalency. GED should be used as an adjective, not as a noun. Those passing homepage the tests earn a GED diploma or certificate, One word. not a GED. It is capitalized, no periods.

UToledo Writing Style Guide 13 K-9

I K-12 institute Capitalize names of institutes. Do not kick off, kickoff capitalize the word institute when it stands Kick off is a verb; kickoff is a noun. alone on second reference. Also see capitalization. Examples: Human Trafficking and Social Justice L Institute libraries The institute hosts the conference William S. Carlson Library (Carlson Library) every September. on Main Campus, the Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections (Canaday interim titles Center) in Carlson Library and the Raymon Add interim to the beginning of the title. H. Mulford Library (Mulford Library) on Example: Health Science Campus are collectively Interim Dean John Plenefisch called University Libraries. LaValley Law John Plenefisch, interim dean of the Library on Main Campus operates under College of Natural Sciences and the College of Law. Mathematics LGBTQA+ international student This stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, Not foreign student. transgender, questioning, asexual and allied students, initiatives. internet Lowercase. local of a union Always use a figure and capitalize local intranet when giving the name of a union Lowercase. subdivision. Lowercase local standing alone in plural uses. Examples: Local 222 of the Newspaper Guild. J He spoke to locals 2, 4 and 10. J.D. The local will vote Tuesday. Juris doctor. See academic degrees. log in, login log in a verb; login is a noun.

K keynote address/keynote speech

UToledo Writing Style Guide 14 subsequent references, use only the last name. M M.A. millions, billions Master of Arts. See academic degrees. Use figures with million or billion in all except casual uses. Do not go beyond two mascots decimal places. UToledo’s mascots are Rocky the Rocket Examples: and Rocksy the Rockette. Rocky and 7.51 million people Rocksy are acceptable in all references. $256 billion I’d like to make a million dollars. M.B.A. Master of Business Administration. (note more than/over that it is not master’s). See academic Use “more than” when referring to degrees. numerals and “over” when referring to spatial relationships. M.D. Examples: Doctor of Medicine. A word such as More than 50 students received physician or surgeon is preferred. scholarships at the banquet. See academic degrees. A banner will be hung over the Starbucks in the Thompson Medical College of Ohio, Medical Student Union. University of Ohio Use the word “former” when making M.S. reference to the institution. Master of Science. See academic degrees. Example: He retired in 1990 from the former myUT Medical College of Ohio. This is the correct capitalization.

Mid-American Conference The University of Toledo belongs to the Mid-American Conference. MAC is N acceptable on subsequent references. The nonprofit University of Toledo is a member of the One word. Preferred over not-for-profit. NCAA Division 1-A.

Midwest region The shortened form Midwest is acceptable O in all references. OB-GYN military titles Acceptable in all references for obstetrics Capitalize a military rank when used as a and gynecology, a medical specialty. formal title before an individual’s name. In

UToledo Writing Style Guide 15 offices Average hourly pay rose 3.1% from a Capitalize the names of offices. Do not year ago. capitalize the word office when it stands The cost of living rose 0.6%. alone on second reference. Also see She said he has a zero percent chance capitalization. of winning. Examples: Office of Financial Aid Ph.D. Office of University Marketing and See academic degrees. Communications physician assistant online Not physician’s assistant. One word, lowercase. photo credit Open for You When using one of the UToledo The University of Toledo Medical Center’s photographer’s shots, please credit: Daniel tagline with 2020 brand launch for the Miller/The University of Toledo hospital. postdoctoral orthopaedic One word, no hyphen. Orthopaedic is the preferred spelling over orthopedic. pre-K

Oxford comma president See comma. Do not use “President Dr.” On second reference, just use last name. Examples: The University of Toledo President P Gregory Postel part time, part-time Dr. Gregory Postel, president of The Hyphenate when used as a compound University of Toledo, … modifier. Examples: principal, principle He works part time. Principal is a noun and adjective meaning She has a part-time job. someone or something first in rank, authority, importance or degree. Principle percent, percentage is a noun that means a fundamental truth, Use the % sign when paired with a law, doctrine or motivating force. numeral, with no space (2019 AP Style Examples: update). In casual uses, use words rather She was the principal investigator. than figures and numbers. They fought for the principle of self- Examples: determination.

UToledo Writing Style Guide 16 professor Unlike in AP Style, professor should be capitalized if it appears before a person’s R name. Be sure to distinguish between Reserve Officers' Training Corps associate, assistant and other types of ROTC is acceptable in all references. professors. Also see assistant, associate. UToledo has an Army ROTC. Examples: Professor Tom Bridgeman residence halls Associate Professor Sam Nelson Not dorms or dormitories. UToledo residence halls are: programs Academic House Capitalize University program names. Do Carter Hall not capitalize the word program when it Horton International House stands alone on second reference. Consult MacKinnon Hall the University Catalog for a full list of McComas Village degree programs. Also see capitalization. Ottawa House Examples: Parks Tower Master of Liberal Studies Program Presidents Hall QUEST Program Scott and Tucker Halls There are 90 students in the program. Honors Academic Village

ProMedica rooms, auditoriums and galleries When referring to specific rooms, auditoriums and galleries, put the room after the building name and capitalize that room. No comma needed. Examples: Q Thompson Student Union Room 3016 Thompson Student Union Q&A Multipurpose Room Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall questionnaire Center for the Visual Arts Gallery quotes RSVP It is acceptable to correct minor Acceptable in all references. No periods. grammatical errors or word usage within Example: quotes. Punctuation goes inside quote RSVPs are requested by Friday, Oct. 26. marks. Single quotes are used when something is quoted inside a quotation.

UToledo Writing Style Guide 17

state names S Spell out the names of the states when SAT they stand alone. If not alone, abbreviate Use only the initials in referring to the all but Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, previously designated Scholastic Aptitude Ohio, Texas and Utah. Only use postal code Test or the Scholastic Assessment Test. It is abbreviations in addresses. capitalized, no periods. Abbreviations: Ala. Md. N.D. scholarships Ariz. Mass. Okla. Capitalize the names of scholarships. Ark. Mich. Ore. Examples: Calif. Minn. Pa. Trustees Scholarship Colo. Miss. R.I. Tower Scholarship Conn. Mo. S.C. Del. Mont. S.D. seasons Fla. Neb. Tenn. Lowercase spring, summer, fall, winter and Ga. Nev. Vt. derivatives such as springtime unless part Ill. N.H. Va. of a formal name. Ind. N.J. Wash. Kan. N.M. W.Va. semesters Ky. N.Y. Wis. See academic calendar terms. La. N.C. Wyo.

Serial comma student-athlete See comma. Hyphenated. single and multiple letters student organizations For single letters, add ’s. For multiple Capitalize all student organization names. letters, add s. Examples: Examples: Student Government She received one A and two C’s. Black Student Union Four VIPs attended the event. Blue Crew

Songfest syllabus, syllabuses, syllabi One word. Songfest is UToledo’s second AP Style for plural is syllabuses. Syllabi oldest tradition, beginning in 1937. also is acceptable. Homecoming is the longest-standing tradition. startup One word to describe a new business venture.

UToledo Writing Style Guide 18 The symposium will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. T The talk will be 2-3 p.m. telephone numbers Lunch will be served at noon. Unlike AP Style, use figures and periods rather than hyphens. Main Campus uses titles for books and CDs 419.530.#### and Health Science Campus Use quotation marks and capitalize titles. uses 419.383.####. Do not underline. Examples: Examples: 419.530.2675 “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. 419.383.4359 Salinger Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” television and radio stations “Let It Be” by The Beatles includes the AP Style is to use the call letters and call song “The Long and Winding Road.” sign (WTOL-TV Ch. 11, WXUT FM 88.3). We prefer to refer to local media as they refer titles for dissertations, lectures, art to themselves. exhibits, movies, papers, plays, poetry, Examples: research projects, songs and TV 13 ABC programs WTOL 11 Capitalize titles in quotation marks. NBC 24 Examples: WXUT Deborah Orloff’s photography exhibit, “Reclaiming the Night,” will be on theater display in the Center for the Visual Use this spelling unless the proper name is Arts Clement Gallery. Theatre. On campus, the theatre spelling is Dr. Rane Arroyo’s dissertation is titled used for Doermann Theatre and “Babel USA: A Writer of Color Rethinks Department of Theatre and Film. the Chicago Renaissance.” they, them, their titles for individuals Plural pronoun. Acceptable as a singular Do not capitalize if the titles are given after and/or gender-neutral pronoun. name (unless it is a named professorship). Capitalize titles when they immediately time precede names. Use numerals except for noon and Examples: midnight, which are always lowercase. Use Dr. Heidi Appel, dean of the Jesup Scott a.m. or p.m. lowercase with periods and a Honors College space after the numeral. Use hyphen with Vice President for Student Affairs no spaces or the words to and from to Phillip “Flapp” Cockrell denote range of time. Examples:

UToledo Writing Style Guide 19 titles for journals, newspapers and trustees magazines Examples: Do not use quotation marks or italics. Alfred Baker, a University of Toledo Examples: trustee The Blade University Trustee Alfred Baker Nature T-shirt Toledo Capitalize name of city, but lowercase the word city if using phrase, city of Toledo. U The University of Toledo underrepresented minority students The University of Toledo should be used on Preferred over underserved minority first reference, with “the” capitalized at the students. beginning; the University or UToledo can be used on subsequent references so long University unions as the same shortened version is used Staff bargaining units: throughout the rest of the project. Do not American Federation of State, County and abbreviate to UT. Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Ohio Council 8 and AFSCME Local 2415 The University of Toledo Medical Center Communication Workers of America (CWA) The University of Toledo Medical Center Local 4319 refers to elements of Health Science Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), Ohio Labor Campus that constitute the clinical Council, Inc. enterprise, including the hospitals and University of Toledo Patrolman’s clinics. It does not refer to the academic Association (UTPPA) elements of that campus. Again, “the” is capitalized at the beginning. UTMC is Faculty bargaining Units: acceptable in subsequent references. UToledo chapter of the American Association of University Professors Toledo Early College High School The high school located in Driscoll Center. University motto Its students take courses at UToledo while The University of Toledo’s motto appears going to high school so they get a head on its seal in Old Spanish: “Coadyuvando start in college. It is part of the Toledo El Presente, Formando El Porvenir.” This Public Schools district. translates to “Guide to the Present, Molder of the Future.” traffic, trafficked, trafficking UT Physicians transfer, transferred, transferring travel, traveled, traveling, traveler

UToledo Writing Style Guide 20 UTAD Login ID for UToledo faculty, staff and students. Stands for University of Toledo W Authentication Directory. Capitalized with web, webinar, webmaster, webpage, no periods. website

UToledo Wi-Fi Preferred shorthand for The University of Toledo. Discontinue use of UT. UToledo better identifies the University outside regional market with University of Texas, X University of Tennessee and University of Tampa also abbreviated to UT. X-ray Hyphenated as noun, verb and adjective. UToledo News The University’s internal communications vehicle that includes news.utoledo.edu website and email newsletter. UToledo Y ceased printed paper in 2020. years Use figures, without commas. Use commas only with a month and day. Use an s without an apostrophe to indicate spans of V decades or centuries. Veterans Day Examples: No apostrophe. The federal legal holiday is 1976 was a very good year. observed Nov. 11. She was born in 1985. Construction on the building began vice presidents Dec. 18, 1994. Always lowercase, unless used before a July 1, 2006, was the official merger name. date of The University of Toledo Examples: and the Medical University of Ohio. The vice president for student affairs ’80s, 1990s Vice President for Research Frank Calzonetti youth Applicable to boys and girls from age 13 to voicemail 18. Use man and woman for individuals 18 One word. and older.

Z

UToledo Writing Style Guide 21 Abbreviations and acronyms For all acronyms, spell out on first reference unless otherwise noted below. Avoid using multiple acronyms when possible. Some commonly used acronyms include:

AAMC — Association of American Medical Colleges AAUP — American Association of University Professors ACA — Affordable Care Act ADA — Americans with Disabilities Act AFSCME — American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2415 AHEC — Area Health Education Center AMA — American Medical Association BSU — Black Student Union CAP — Campus Activities and Programming CASE — Council for the Advancement and Support of Education CDC — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CEU — Continuing Education Unit CISP — Center for International Studies and Programs CLE — Continuing Legal Education CME — Continuing Medical Education CWA — Communications Workers of America Local 4319 FDA — Food and Drug Administration FERPA — Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 GED — General Education Development Test GMAT — Graduate Management Admission Test GRE — Graduate Record Examination HIPAA — Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 IRB — Institutional Review Board LCME — Liaison Committee on Medical Education LSAT — Law School Admission Test MAC — Mid-American Conference MCAT — Medical College Admissions Test NASA — National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA is acceptable in all references. NCI — National Cancer Institute NIH — National Institutes of Health NSF — National Science Foundation OBOR — Ohio Board of Regents PCAT — Pharmacy College Admission Test PSA — Professional Staff Association STEM — science, technology, engineering and math STEMM — science, technology, engineering, math and medicine TECHS — Toledo Early College High School TOEFL — Test of English as a Foreign Language UTPPA — University of Toledo Police Patrolman’s Association WHO — World Health Organization

UToledo Writing Style Guide 22