S-Z Style Guide
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
SAT
Should never be spelled out. Formerly Scholastic Assessment Test, the test name was officially changed by the College Board in 1994. At the time, the College Board announced, "Please note that SAT is not an initialism. It does not stand for anything."
scholarships
Use the formal name on first reference. Recipients of the Avrum Gudelsky Memorial Scholarship are called Gudelsky Scholars.
seasons
Do not capitalize spring, summer, fall or winter.
self-
Always hyphenated
self-defense, self-plagiarism, self-taught
social security number
Use lowercase when referring to social security number. (Because the number is often used for purposes of general identification, it has lost its place as a proper noun.) Capitalize Social Security Administration and any reference to the government agency.
Provide your social security number on the form.
You'll need to show a Social Security card to get a driver's license.
Society of Women Engineers
Spell out on first reference; SWE or the society for subsequent references.
Space Operations Institute
Spell out on first reference, then use SOI.
spacing at the end of a sentence
Use only one space at the end of a sentence and after a colon. Extra spaces create gaps and look unprofessional.
state names
Spell out the state name when using in text, and set off state with commas. If abbreviations are used, use the standard-style abbreviations. Use the two-letter postal abbreviation with full mailing address or in charts and graphs.
Alabama | Ala. | AL | Montana | Mont. | MT |
Alaska | AK | Nebraska | Neb. | NE | |
Arizona | Ariz. | AZ | Nevada | Nev. | NV |
Arkansas | Ark. | AR | New Hampshire | N.H. | NH |
California | Calif. | CA | New Jersey | N.J. | NJ |
Colorado | Colo. | CO | New Mexico | N.M. | NM |
Connecticut | Conn. | CT | New York | N.Y. | NY |
Delaware | Del. | DE | North Carolina | N.C. | NC |
Florida | Fla. | FL | North Dakota | N.D. | ND |
Georgia | Ga. | GA | Ohio | OH | |
Hawaii | HI | Oklahoma | Okla. | OK | |
Idaho | ID | Oregon | Ore. | OR | |
Illinois | Ill. | IL | Pennsylvania | Pa. | PA |
Indiana | Ind. | IN | Rhode Island | R.I. | RI |
Iowa | IA | South Carolina | S.C. | SC | |
Kansas | Kan. | KS | South Dakota | S.D. | SD |
Kentucky | Ky. | KY | Tennessee | Tenn. | TN |
Louisiana | La. | LA | Texas | TX | |
Maine | ME | Utah | UT | ||
Maryland | Md. | MD | Vermont | Vt. | VT |
Massachusetts | Mass. | MA | Virginia | Va. | VA |
Michigan | Mich. | MI | Washington | Wash. | WA |
Minnesota | Minn. | MN | West Virginia | W.Va. | WV |
Mississippi | Miss. | MS | Wisconsin | Wis. | WI |
Missouri | Mo. | MO | Wyoming | Wyo. | WY |
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that, which
Use that and which when referring to inanimate objects; use who and whom when referring to people. Use that for essential clauses; use which to add nonessential information. Never use a comma with that. A comma is generally used with which.
The lawn mower that is broken is in the garage. (Tells which lawn mower you want -- the one in the garage.)
The lawn mower, which is broken, is in the garage. (Adds a fact about the only lawn mower.)
time
Use figures. To avoid confusion do not use 12 a.m. and 12 p.m.; use noon and midnight instead. For times on the hour, do not the colon.
10 a.m. 2 p.m. 4:27 p.m.
Meet us at noon for lunch.
Avoid redundancy, such as 9 a.m. this morning, instead say 9 a.m. today. (see also a.m./p.m.)
trustee
See Board of Trustees
United States
Spell out when used as a noun. Use abbreviation (U.S.) only as an adjective.
U.S. citizens can apply for federal financial aid
Students who live outside the United States cannot apply.
Unix
Capitalize first letter; lowercase the rest.
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voice over IPvoice over IP (n), voice-over-IP (adj), VoIP (abbreviation)