A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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abbreviations
Use abbreviations sparingly. Avoid the alphabet soup of using too many abbreviations at one time. Use standard abbreviations only; do not invent them.

Depending upon the audience, some abbreviations are common enough that they do not need to be spelled out at all, e.g., NASA, YMCA, AIDS, HTML. In fact, some acronyms (SAT, for example) no longer stand for anything. Always keep the reader in mind. While most people are familiar with an MBA, not many may know what MIT means to Capitol College.

Avoid using parentheses for abbreviations and acronyms. It's not always necessary to introduce a phrase or organization and then place its acronym in parentheses when the acronym is clear on second reference. It may seem to help the reader, but in fact, it does not. A general audience isn't used to seeing the parenthetical abbreviations in consumer publications. Instead, use the abbreviation in the next sentence or soon after the phrase is introduced.

Through the Space Operations Institute, students can experience careers in the space industry. SOI interns are operating four satellites.

Articles (such as a and an) should match the sound of the abbreviation or acronym, not the word for which it stands.

an HMO report, but a health maintenance organization

Articles are often omitted in front of abbreviations.

SOI, not the SOI

The general trend is to move away from using periods in abbreviations, especially if it is more than two letters. That is why the college style omits them from degrees. Because the abbreviation of a degree may be unknown to the general public, use the generic degree and spell out the field. Capitol College students know as BSNS is for network security, but at other schools BSNS is a degree in natural sciences. It's best to say that we offer a bachelor of science, a BS or a bachelor's degree in network security.

ABET
Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology

academic degrees
Do not use periods after the letters. Instead: BS, MS, MBA, PhD.

academic departments
Department names are capitalized only if you are using the formal name.

Department of Computer and Mathematical Sciences
Department of Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications
Department of Management, Business and General Studies

The department, the math department

academic year
Terms designating academic years are lowercased: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior.

addresses
Use the abbreviations for avenue (Ave.), boulevard (Blvd.) and street (St.) only with numbered addresses. Always use figures for an address number. Abbreviate compass points.

You can find the college on Springfield Road.
The address is 11301 Springfield Road.
A new store opened at 124 E. Main St.
The movie is filming on State and Main streets.

African American
Capitalize, no hyphen

The scholarship is available to African Americans. Six African American students participated in the summer program.

ages
Always use numeral figures. Ages used as adjectives before a noun are hyphenated.

An 18-year-old student enrolled in a senior-level course.
The child is 5 years old.

Alumni Advisory Board
Use on first reference; but the alumni board, board or AAB on additional reference. (Avoid confusing with Board of Trustees).

alumni (alumnus, alumnae, alumna)
Alumnus refers to a man who has attended a school. Alumna is a woman graduate. Alumnae is used for multiple women graduates. Alumni is a group of graduates, male or female.

a.m., p.m.
In running text or paragraphs, use lowercase with periods. Place a space after the time. When constrained for space in graphic elements such as tables, charts or graphs, the second preference is to use capital letters and omit the periods. (see also time)

The admissions staff is available from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

ampersand (&)
Avoid, except when the symbol is part of a company or organization's formal name (Sears, Roebuck & Co.) or in graphic elements such charts, tables and graphs.

among, between
Between refers to two separate ideas or items; among is used when there are more than two.

You can choose between online or on-campus courses.
Students can choose among many courses.

and/or
Avoid. This expression is rarely used correctly and it often causes unnecessary reader confusion, so avoid whenever possible. Simply stating "or" is most often appropriate; you can also tack on "or both" when space permits.

Would you like ice cream, apple pie or both?

associate of applied science
associate degree (Do not use an apostrophe.); AAS

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B

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bachelor of science
bachelor's degree, BS

Baltimore
Because the city is well known, there is no need to pair it with Maryland. This rule applies to many large cities, such as New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, Los Angeles, Houston or Chicago.

Baltimore-Washington Parkway
The preferred spelling by the National Park Service, which oversees this highway.

Baltimore/Washington Corridor Chamber of Commerce
Use the slash -- the preferred spelling by the group.

biannual, biennial
Biannual means twice a year. Biennial means every two years.

Board of Trustees
Capitalized and used in full on first reference to the board that oversees Capitol College. Thereafter, use the board or the trustees. Capitalize a trustee's title only when used before the name.

The Board of Trustees met in November.
The scholarship is named in honor of Trustee John Puente.
He is a trustee of Capitol College.

book titles
Put in italics

building names
Capitalize and use the full, official names of buildings and other formally named places on campus. After first reference, the building name can be shortened or referred to in generalities. Do not capitalize any general references to a building or center, such as the library or labs. Do not abbreviate any words in building names.

The following list is the official names of campus buildings and locations. (see also capitalization)

Academic buildings
M/A-COM Hall
MCI Hall
Telecommunications Hall
William G. McGowan Academic Center (McGowan Academic Center)

Other campus locations
Avrum Gudelsky Memorial Auditorium (the auditorium)
John G. and Beverly A. Puente Library (Puente Library, the library)
Tutoring Resource Center
William G. McGowan Center for Innovative Teaching
MCI Telecommunications Lab

Residential buildings
Bell Hall
DeForest Hall
Edison Hall
Franklin Hall
Morse Hall
Steinmetz Hall

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C

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can
Often confused with may. Can refers to capability. (See also may.)

You can earn a graduate certificate in a number of fields.
(Why? Because we offer them.)

capitalization
In general, official names and proper nouns are capitalized. Common nouns and various shortened forms of official names are not. This style of using capital letters sparingly is called down-style, and it's the style that is becoming more common in written communication. Too many capital letters is actually more distracting to readers. Plus, when too many words are capitalized, the capitals lose their importance and no longer attract attention. If you have to question whether something should be capitalized, it's safer to assume it shouldn't.

Some words that aren't capitalized
job descriptions and titles (unless used as an honorary preceding a name)

executive council
spring break
dean's list
city of Laurel
state of Maryland
computer lab, electronics lab, engineering lab, physics or chemistry labs
classes: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, graduate student
degrees: associate, bachelor's, master's, bachelor of science, master of science
seasons: spring, summer, fall, winter
form names, unofficial: admissions form, drop/add form, graduation application
generic events: commencement, open house

Academic bodies and units
Capitalize only the full, official name of Capitol College, any departments or offices. Lowercase when using an incomplete name or in casual reference.

Capitol College is located in Laurel.
The college offers 12 bachelor's degrees.
Contact the Office of Admissions.
The admissions office can give you more information.
Talk to the chair of the Department of Management, Business and General Studies.
Be sure to take a class from the general studies department.
The Board of Trustees met last month.
The trustees approved new programs.

Academic degrees
Lowercase academic degrees, except when abbreviating BS, MS, AAS (Do not use periods in the abbreviations).

Academic subjects
Lowercase subject names (An exception to this rule is English, which is always capitalized because it's a proper noun).

mathematics, physics, social science

Subjects are capitalized when used in the name of a specific course.

MA-124 Discrete Mathematics, HP-251 Critical Issues in U.S. History
The senior needs to take only Critical Issues in U.S. History to graduate.

Academic majors
Use lowercase for majors.

He is an electrical engineering major.
She is earning her bachelor's degree in computer science.

Academic years
A specific class is considered a formal group and is capitalized.

More than 120 students donated to the Class of 2003 gift.

Composition and Publication Titles
The first and last words are always capitalized in a title. Capitalize the main words in between, unless they are

• articles (a, an, the)
• conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor)
• prepositions of three or fewer letters (on, to, so yet, by, etc.).

For hyphenated words in a title, capitalize all the words except articles, short prepositions and short conjunctions.

PDR Guide to Over-the-Counter Drugs
A Matter-of-Fact Approach to Guitar Tuning

Exception: Lowercase the word after a prefix unless it is a proper noun or adjective. Lowercase the second word in a spelled out number.

The Art of Close-up Photography
Anti-American Myths: Their Causes and Consequences
Non-lethal Weapons in Twenty-first Century Warfare

Books, magazines, newspaper, plays, movies, television shows, music album titles are capitalized and set in italic type. Poems, feature articles, news stories, chapters and songs and other components of larger works are capitalized and enclosed in quotation marks.

The next issue of the Capitol College News will be mailed soon.
" The Road Not Taken" is a poem by Robert Frost.

Grades
Capitalize letter grades as well as GPA.

The A and two B's she received last semester will increase her GPA.

Job and Position Titles
Capitalize a formal title only when it immediately precedes a person's name. When someone has a very long title, put the title after the name to avoid the awkwardness of too many caps. Titles, no matter how seemingly important, are always lowercase when they are without any names.

President Wood attended the organization's breakfast.
The college president spoke about the history of technology.

The family watched as President George W. Bush gave his address.
The president, George W. Bush, plans to run for re-election.
The young girl shook hands with the president of the United States.

John Smith, professor of mathematics
Professor John Smith
Director of Admissions Fred Jones
Fred Jones, director of admissions

Those attending the event included George Bush, president of the United States; Dick Cheney, vice president; Colin Powell, secretary of state; and Michael T. Wood, president of Capitol College.

Descriptive job titles, as opposed to formal, academic or administrative titles, are not capitalized.

Structures, buildings and other places on campus
Capitalize the full, official names of buildings and other formally named places on campus. If using a shortened title of a campus building that contains a proper name, capitalize the entire title. (see also building names)

Capitol College
Do not capitalize the word "college" if its stands alone. Always use Capitol College on first mention; on subsequent references, it is OK to say just Capitol if you're clearly referring to Capitol College. (see also college)

The follow statement should be used in publications, press releases or whenever a general description of the college is needed:

"Capitol College is the only independent college in Maryland dedicated to engineering, computer sciences, information technologies and business. Founded in 1927, Capitol College is a regionally accredited institution offering associate, bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as professional development training and certificates. The college's 52-acre campus is located in Laurel, a suburban setting midway between Washington, DC and Baltimore. Full-time undergraduate students are eligible for a five-year tuition lock and a job guarantee. All graduate-level degrees are available online, supported by software that delivers live, real-time lectures."

catalog
Do not use catalogue.

CD-ROM
Does not need to be spelled out.

Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education
The three-year designation granted to Capitol College by the NSA in 2003. Do not place in quotes; can be shortened to Center of Academic Excellence after first reference.

chairman, chairwoman
Use chairman or chairwoman when referring to the head leadership of a committee or board within the college. Do not use chair or chairperson.

The chairman of the Board of Trustees presented the award during commencement.

CIA
Does not need to be spelled out. Acceptable on all references to the Central Intelligence Agency.

Class of
Capitalize the word class when it is used with a year.

He is a member of the Class of 2002.
Students are needed for the Class of 2004 Gift Committee.

class standing
Always lowercase first-year student, freshman, sophomore, junior, senior or graduate.

class years
Always acknowledge a graduate of the college by placing the degree level and graduation year in parentheses. Use only AAS, BS or MS abbreviations; use only last two digits of graduation year.

John Smith (BS89)
Peter Jones (AAS72)

classroom
One word

college
College is always lowercase when it stands alone; capitalize only when it is used as a part of the official name. (see also Capitol College)

The college will construct a new building.
Capitol College has several engineering programs.

commas
Do not place a comma before a conjunction in a series of words. (see also punctuation)

commencement
Lowercase when used generally.

The college holds one commencement each year.
David Ward gave the keynote address at Capitol College Commencement 2003.

committee
Do not abbreviate. Capitalize when used in a formal name. Committee is singular; committee members are individuals in the group.

He is a member of the Presidential Search Committee.
The search committee is reviewing applications.

company names
Follow the name and spelling established by the company. Note that not all companies spell out Corp., Inc. or Ltd.

co-op
Use a hyphen when referring to a cooperative education program.

county
Do not abbreviate. Lowercase when referring to the plural.

Prince George's County; Montgomery and Howard counties.

course titles
Capitalize; no quotations

course catalog
Not capitalized

coursework
One word

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