!
TCNJ Editorial Style Guide
!
!
!
!
!
!
The College of New Jersey
Office of Communications, Marketing, and
Brand Management
!
2018
44!
1!
Introduction
This Editorial Style Guide has been developed by the Office of Communications, Marketing,
and Brand Management as a quick reference tool to simplify decision making when writing on
behalf of the college, and establish a style that is consistent and appropriate. Styles in this guide
apply to both print and electronic materials written for and about the college.
The primary purpose of this guide is to address topics specific to The College of New Jersey,
focusing on some of the most common issues encountered when writing on behalf of the
college. It is meant to expand on topics that may not be adequately covered in the standard
published style guides, such as The Chicago Manual of Style or The Associated Press Stylebook. In
addition, the guide is a reference for institutional style and nomenclature.
If you cannot find what you are looking for, or if you have any additional questions or
suggestions for this guide, please contact Mary Sanders at [email protected].
!
44!
2!
CONTENTS
4 Abbreviations, Initialisms, and Acronyms
5 Academic Degrees
5 Academic Majors
6 Addresses
6 Advisor
6 Affect/Effect
6 Alumni
7 a.m./p.m.
7 Ampersand
7 Art Gallery
7 Athletics Hall of Fame
7 Athletics
8 Athletics Facilities
9 Buildings
11 Campus
11 Campuswide
11 Chairperson
11 Class Designations
11 Class Year References
12 Clubs
12 College Nomenclature
12 Comma
13 Committees, Societies, Clubs
14 Comprise
14 Courses
14 Course Work
14 Dashes (en and ems)
15 Dates
15 Degrees
15 Departments, Divisions, and Offices
16 Doctoral Titles
16 Ellipsis
16 Email
16 Emeritus, Emeriti
16 Ensure/Insure/Assure
17 Events
!
44!
3!
17 Farther/Further
17 Fractions
17 Government
18 Grade Point Average (GPA)
18 Hall of Fame
18 Historical Periods
18 Homepage
18 Honors
18 Hyphen
19 Internet
19 LGBT
19 Lions Pride
19 Lions Stadium
19 Maiden Names
19 Money
20 Numerals
21 Off Campus/On Campus
21 Offices
21 Online
21 Ordinals
22 Part Time/Full Time
22 Percent
22 Performance Halls
22 Plurals and Possessives
22 Post-, Pre-, Re-
23 Programs
23 Quotation Marks
23 Rankings
24 Residence Hall
24 Schools
24 Seasons
24 Spacing Between Sentences
24 Spacing, En- and Em-Dashes
25 States
27 TCNJ Board of Trustees
27 TCNJ Foundation
28 Telephone Numbers
28 Theater/Theatre
28 Time
!
44!
4!
29 Titles of People
29 Titles of Works
30 Toward
30 Trademarks
30 U.S. and U.K.
31 Vita, Vitae
31 Washington, D.C.
31 Web Addresses
31 Webpage, Website
32 World Wide Web
32 Years
!
44!
4!
ABBREVIATIONS, INITIALISMS, and ACRONYMS
[see also ACADEMIC DEGREES, GRADE POINT AVERAGE, TITLES OF PEOPLE, U.S. AND U.K., WASHINGTON, D.C.]
1. Avoid abbreviations in running text.
Correct: Professor Smith went to the market to study recent economic impacts
on vegetable sales.
Incorrect: Prof. Smith went to the market.
2. Abbreviations can be used in running text when they are part of official names.
The student center was designed by J. T. Brown & Partners.
3. When abbreviating The College of New Jersey, always use the initialism TCNJ. Never use
CNJ or CONJ.
4. With most initialisms and acronyms, always spell out the full name, title, or phrase the first
time you refer to it in text. Do not follow it immediately with the initialism/acronym in
parentheses.
Correct: The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded a summer
fellowship to John Jones. The NEH awards....
Incorrect: The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has always
been fond of TCNJ.
5. Do not use periods between the letters of initialisms.
Correct: TCNJ, SAT
6. No apostrophe is needed for the plural form of initialisms/acronyms (SATs, GREs, IKEAs,
1960s, 60s).
7. An apostrophe is used for the possessive form (TCNJ’s stadium, IKEA’s sales).
8. Use periods for two-letter abbreviations. Do not use periods when using postal codes in
addresses.
9. Skip periods if used in headlines.
44!
5!
ACADEMIC DEGREES
[see also DOCTORAL TITLES, TITLES OF PEOPLE]
1. Do not use periods between the letters of degrees.
Correct: BA, BFA, MA, BS, PhD, EdD, EdS, JD, MEd
2. In references to degrees, the word degree is never capitalized.
Correct: Robin earned her Master of Arts in Teaching degree last spring.
3. When referring to degrees in general, lowercase the first letter of the degree.
Correct: He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering.
4. Capitalize formal names of academic degrees.
Correct: Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts
5. Note that while bachelor’s and master’s end in ’s, other generic words for degrees do not.
Correct: associate degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctoral degree,
doctorate
6. Be careful to use the correct form of degree names.
Correct: Master of Arts or master’s degree
Incorrect: Masters of Arts
7. The word degree should not follow a degree abbreviation.
Correct: He has a BA in history.
Incorrect: He has a BA degree in history.
Correct: It was noted today, that Joe Jones, BA, MA, was promoted.
ACADEMIC MAJORS
Lowercase all academic majors except for words that are proper nouns.
44!
6!
ADDRESSES
For addresses in running copy, use commas to separate elements, including USA.
Example:
Office of Admissions, The College of New Jersey, PO Box 7718, Ewing,
NJ 08628-0718, USA
Do not use periods in PO Box.
ADVISOR
The preferred spelling in official TCNJ communications is advisor.
AFFECT/EFFECT
1. Affect, as a verb, means to influence.
Correct: His illness will affect his attendance.
2. Affect, as a noun, means the subjective aspect of an emotion. This is best avoided in everyday
language, though it can be used in psychology.
Correct: His affect worried the psychiatrists.
3. Effect, as a verb, means to cause.
Correct: We will effect a major reorganization of the division.
4. Effect, as a noun, means result.
Correct: He had no idea what effect giving his boyfriend $100 would have on
their relationship.
ALUMNI
[see also CLASS YEAR REFERENCES]
Use the correct form of the word.
44!
7!
Alumni denotes plural male and plural when both men and women are included
Alumnus denotes singular male
Alumna denotes singular female
Alumnae denotes plural female
The abbreviations alum or alums may be used in written communications that use informal
language.
a.m./p.m.
[see also TIME]
Lowercase, with periods and a space between number and a.m./p.m. It is redundant to use a.m.
with “in the morning” or p.m. with “in the afternoon” or “evening.”
Correct: The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m.
Incorrect: The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8a.m. in the morning.
Incorrect: The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8 A.M. in the morning.
AMPERSAND
Use the ampersand (&) only in corporate names or names of publications. Avoid all other uses.
ART GALLERY
Use “TCNJ Art Gallery” on first reference. Use “the gallery” on second reference.
ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME
This is the proper name of the hall of fame that honors athletes from the college. “The Hall of
Fame” or “the hall” is acceptable on second reference.
ATHLETICS
1. Do not capitalize the names of sports such as football and baseball, even if the sport is
preceded by the name of the school or the school mascot.
44!
8!
Correct: TCNJ football, Lions baseball
2. For sports in which both men and women compete, the gender of the team must always be
specified on first reference.
Correct: women’s basketball, men’s soccer
3. You do not need to identify gender when the college only has one gender represented in that
sport.
Correct: football, wrestling, field hockey
4. Never use “girls” or “ladies” to refer to women’s teams; use “women.” Never use “boys” to
refer to men’s teams; use “men.”
ATHLETICS FACILITIES
[see also BUILDINGS]
Use the official name of the facility.
George Ackerman Park
Aquatic Center
Fitness Center at Campus Town
Lions Stadium (no apostrophe after Lions)
(Marianna G.) Packer Hall
Soccer Complex
Student Recreation Center
Tennis Complex
Track and Field Complex
June Walker Field
44!
9!
BUILDINGS
[see also ATHLETICS FACILITIES]
See the end of this entry for a listing of the full names of the buildings on campus.
1. Use Eickhoff Hall, Kendall Hall, etc., on first reference.
2. Use Kendall, the facility, the building, the hall, etc., on second reference.
3. The use of the full names for buildings named after people, such as Don C. Bliss Hall, or
Marianna G. Packer Hall, is cumbersome in text and does not reflect current campus usage.
However, the full names should be used for formal invitations or citations.
4. Do not capitalize parts of buildings such as atrium, box office, information booth, fitness
center, etc.
Administrative Services Building
(Elizabeth) Allen House
(Fred O.) Armstrong Hall
Art and Interactive Multimedia Building
Biology Building
(Don C.) Bliss Hall
(Alice L.) Brewster House
(Clayton R.) Brower Student Center
Business Building
Campus Town
Centennial Hall
(Agnes W.) Cromwell Hall
(Vernetta F.) Decker Hall
Education Building
(Harold W.) Eickhoff Hall
(Sarah Y.) Ely House
(Don Evans) Black Box Theater
(James J.) Forcina Hall
Forum (forthcoming), see Science Complex
44!
10!
(R. Barbara) Gitenstein Library
Green Farm House
(James M.) Green Hall
(William) Hausdoerffer Hall
(Calvin N.) Kendall Hall
Maintenance Building
(Mildred and Ernest E.) Mayo Concert Hall
Music Building
New Residence Hall
(Naomi) Norsworthy Hall
(Marianna G.) Packer Hall
(William) Phelps Hall
Power House
Roscoe L. West Hall
Science Complex (Biology Building, Chemistry Building, Physics and Mathematics
Building, STEM Building and Forum)
Social Sciences Building
Spiritual Center
STEM Building (see Science Complex)
Student Recreation Center
Townhouses
(Michael A.) Travers Hall
Trenton Hall
TrentonWorks (off campus)
(Deborah P.) Wolfe Hall
Locations:
Green Lawn
Quimby’s Prairie
44!
11!
CAMPUS
Refer to the college’s single campus as “campus.”
Do not refer to “the Hillwood Lakes campus” or “the Ewing campus.
CAMPUSWIDE
Campuswide is one word. Do not hyphenate.
CHAIRPERSON
Use “chairperson” or “chair” for a position at TCNJ. For off-campus individuals or
organizations, use the designation they provide.
CLASS DESIGNATIONS
Do not capitalize “entering student,” “first-year student,” “freshman,” “sophomore,” “junior,”
or “senior” when referring to individuals. Use “freshmen” for plural.
CLASS YEAR REFERENCES
1. Designate year(s) of graduation as follows, without parentheses.
Correct: Jon Day ’86, MA ’89 has been named vice president of operations.
2. Designate the year(s) of graduation after the first name of the first person when both TCNJ
people share the same last name.
Correct: Siblings Billy ’16 and Katie ’17 Buchbinder really like tennis.
3. Capitalize the word “class” in referring to years of graduation.
Correct: the Class of 1945
4. The tail of the apostrophe curves down and clockwise, ’99.
44!
12!
CLUBS
[see COMMITTEES, SOCIETIES, CLUBS]
COLLEGE NOMENCLATURE
Use the institution’s full name (The College of New Jersey) on first reference in formal
publications, such as press releases, invitations, annual reports, and presidential and trustee
communications. Use TCNJ or “the college” on subsequent references.
Correct: The College of New Jersey is located in Ewing, New Jersey.
R. Barbara Gitenstein is president of the college.
1. In more casual settings, such as online news stories, the choice between using TCNJ or
The College of New Jersey on first reference is an editorial decision.
2. If TCNJ is the first reference, the full name of the college should also appear toward the top
of the story.
Correct: TCNJ Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jacqueline
Taylor, announced today the appointment of Jane Wong. “We are delighted
to welcome Dr. Wong to The College of New Jersey,” said Taylor.
3. There may be instances in which using the full name of the college soon after TCNJ may be
avoided if it interrupts the flow of the story and the publication is directed toward the college
community, such as TCNJ Magazine.
a. Do not use CNJ or CONJ.
b. Do not use periods between the letters TCNJ.
c. Do not capitalize college when used alone.
4. While The College of New Jersey has had several names throughout its history, the current
name should be used. In some circumstances (e.g., a direct reference to an athletics team or
graduating class, or when quoting someone directly), an earlier name for the college may be used.
COMMA
1. Use a comma before the final item in a series of three or more.
Correct: The course will cover politics, religion, and history.
2. When items in the series contain commas themselves, use semicolons between the items.
44!
13!
Correct: The letters in question are dated March 7, 1989; May 15, 1990; and
April 4, 1991.
3. For numbers larger than 999, use a comma to mark off the thousands, millions, etc.
Correct: 90,000 students
4. Qualifiers such as “PhD” and “CPA” are preceded by a comma when they follow a person’s
name. A second comma follows the qualifier in running copy.
Correct: The opening remarks by Thomas Jones, PhD, were given at 8 p.m.
Correct: It was noted today by Joe Jones, MA, PhD.
5. Do not use commas to set off “Jr.,” “Sr.,” and “III.”
Correct: John J. Henry Jr. died on February 17.
6. Set off the name of a geographical unit with commas—on both sides—when it follows the
name of a smaller geographical unit found within its borders.
Correct: Ann Ford of Yardley, Pennsylvania, was recently honored for her
volunteer work.
7. The same holds true for a year, if a day of the month precedes it, or a date, if the day of the
week precedes it.
Correct: The show will open on Wednesday, October 5, and continue for
one week.
COMMITTEES, SOCIETIES, CLUBS
Capitalize names of committees, societies, and clubs.
Correct: Blue Key Society, Chemistry Club
On second reference, “the committee,” “the society” or “the club” can be used, lowercased.
44!
14!
COMPRISE
Comprise means include. The whole comprises parts, but is not comprised of parts.
Correct: The zoo comprises many animals.
COURSES
Use lowercase when you refer to courses, unless you use the specific course name or the course
name includes a proper noun or numeral.
Correct: She is enrolled in a business administration course. Last semester she
took Spanish I.
COURSE WORK
Course work is two words, not one.
DASHES (en and em)
1. The two dashes most commonly used by typesetters are the em dash and the en dash.
2. Dashes separate, hyphens join. The distinction usually holds true for em versus en dashes, too.
a. The em dash is what is usually meant by the word dash—a long mark —.
b. The en dash is a specialized, slightly elongated hyphen that looks like this: –.
3. Inclusive dates and other number sequences should use en dashes, rather than hyphens.
a. Do not use spaces before or after an en dash.
Correct: 1994–96, pages 8–10, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Incorrect: 1994-96, pages 8-10, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Incorrect: 1994 — 96, pages 8 — 10, 8 a.m. — 5 p.m.
4. Depending on the context, the em dash can take place of commas, parentheses, or colons—in
each case to slightly different effect.
a. Use spaces before and after an em dash.
44!
15!
Correct: The waiter came out with a three-layer fudge cake — the best in all of
Ewing — for my birthday.
Incorrect: The waiter came out with a three-layer fudge cake-the best in all of
Ewing-for my birthday.
Incorrect: The waiter came out with a three-layer fudge cake – the best in all of
Ewing – for my birthday.
DATES
1. Use the following style:
March 19, 1993
2. No comma is needed when referring only to a month and year.
Correct: The program will begin in April 2002.
3. Never use ordinals (1st or 2nd or 2d or 3rd or 3d) in referring to a date.
Correct: January 1, 2003
Incorrect: January 1
st
, 2003
4. Use an “s” without an apostrophe after the year to indicate spans of decades or centuries.
Correct: The college was founded in the 1850s
DEGREES
[see ACADEMIC DEGREES]
DEPARTMENTS, DIVISIONS, AND OFFICES
1. The names of offices, departments, and programs at TCNJ are capitalized only when the full
official name is used.
Correct: Department of Art, Career Center
2. Do not capitalize when using an informal name.
Correct: art department, the department
44!
16!
3. Refer to the college homepage for full official office, department, and program names.
DOCTORAL TITLES
[see also TITLES OF PEOPLE]
Avoid use of the honorific title “Dr.” in reference to an academic who has earned a doctorate,
unless used in a direct quote or in invitations or event programs.
Faculty members should be referred to by their professorial titles.
Correct: assistant professor, associate professor, professor
ELLIPSIS
Ellipsis means omission. Ellipsis points are three-period sequences used to indicate that
something has been left out of a sentence or passage. Leave a space in front of the ellipsis
and after.
Correct: “World travel ... meant everything to my ex-wife,” says Joe Black.
EMAIL
Email is one word. Do not hyphenate.
EMERITUS, EMERITI
Use the word following the formal title.
emeritus: singular for male or female
emeriti: plural for all men, all women, or a combination of genders
Correct: Helen Drake, professor emeritus
ENSURE/INSURE/ASSURE
Use “ensure” when you mean to guarantee. Use “insure” when referring to insurance.
Use “assure” when you mean to make sure or give confidence.
44!
17!
EVENTS
1. Capitalize the official name of campus events when preceded by TCNJ or The College of
New Jersey.
Correct: TCNJ’s Commencement, The College of New Jersey Convocation
2. When alone, the words used should be lowercased: commencement, convocation.
3. In references to outside events, use the capitalization and numerals/ordinals established and
used by the event sponsors.
Correct: The 12th Annual Special Olympics
FARTHER/FURTHER
Farther refers to physical distance. Further refers to an extension of time or degree.
FRACTIONS
Spell out fractions less than one, using hyphens between the words. Use figures for amounts
greater than one, converting to decimals when practical. (To find fractions in Word, click on
Insert, then Symbol, then Symbol browser.)
Correct: one-half, two-thirds, 2⅞, 3½
GOVERNMENT
1. General references to government are not capitalized.
Correct: state funding, a federal grant
2. References to specific government agencies are capitalized.
Correct: U.S. Department of Education, New Jersey State Council on the
Arts, Federal Bureau of Investigation (or FBI)
44!
18!
GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA)
Do not hyphenate grade point average or put periods in its abbreviation. GPAs refer to
numbers, not grades.
Correct: a GPA of 3.0
Incorrect: a GPA of B
HALL OF FAME
[see ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME]
HISTORICAL PERIODS
1. Capitalize names of historical periods.
Correct: Baroque music, the Enlightenment, pre-Civil War
2. Use ordinals in reference to centuries, and lowercase century.
Correct: the 18th century, the 20th century
HOMEPAGE
[see WEBPAGE, WEBSITE]
HONORS
Do not capitalize or italicize “cum laude,” “magna cum laude,” and “summa cum laude.”
HYPHEN
1. Hyphenate adjectival phrases formed of the adjective and noun preceding the noun modified.
Correct: first-class mail, four-story building, three-year program
2. Hyphenate African-American, Asian-American, etc., when used as adjectives.
Correct: African-American students, African-American Studies
3. Do not use a hyphen when the phrase is used as a noun.
44!
19!
Correct: A survey of Asian Americans indicates that...
4. Do not use a hyphen on words ending in “ly.”
Correct: Highly motivated student
Incorrect: Highly-motivated student
5. seven-year medical program
INTERNET
Internet should be lowercase.
LGBT
Acceptable on first reference for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. Should be spelled out in
body of the story.
LIONS PRIDE
Capitalize Lions Pride.
LIONS STADIUM
Use Lions Stadium on all references without apostrophe.
MAIDEN NAMES
Place the maiden name before the married name, without parentheses. For hyphenated names,
follow the style the individual uses.
Correct: Jane Doe Smith ’92
MONEY
1. Do not include zeros for whole dollar amounts.
Correct: $4
44!
20!
Incorrect: $4.00
2. Delete the zeros after a dollar amount even when they appear in the same context with
fractional amounts. Keep the zeros only when prices are used in a column.
Correct: The fee for the banquet is $25 for adults and $12.50 for children.
3. Spell out the word “cents” and lowercase, using numerals for amounts less than a dollar: 5
cents, 12 cents.
NUMERALS
[see also PLURALS AND POSSESSIVES, MONEY]
1. Spell out numerals one through nine. Use numerals for 10 and above.
a. The exception is when referring to a person’s age: always use numerals.
Correct: A group of six students collected 72 books for charity.
Correct: Joshua is 2 years old.
b. Rounded numerals, such as four million or six billion, should be spelled out.
c. Numerals that are not rounded, such as 2.5 million, use numerals.
2. For inclusive numerals, abbreviate the second numeral by changing just those digits that are
different from the first number.
Correct: pages 200–1, 200–11, 35–7; lines 106–7
3. When discussing years, the second year only requires the last two digits of the year.
Correct: 2001–03, 1901–12
a. An exception to this case is when the years span two centuries. In these instances,
write out the complete years.
Correct: 1998–2001, 1887–1910
4. When referring to ranges of numerals, always use the full numerals to retain the
correct meaning.
44!
21!
Correct: 15,000–30,000
Incorrect: 15–30,000
5. Spell out all numerals that occur at the start of a sentence, or reword the sentence.
Correct: Sixteen credit hours of composition were required for a
degree in history.
a. There is one exception—a numeral that identifies a calendar year.
Correct: 1980 was a very good year.
Correct: The 60s were great. (or 1960s).
6. Spell out the ordinals first through ninth. Use the numeral form for 10th and above.
7. If you are citing the proper name of an event that is not affiliated with TCNJ, cite the title
exactly as it appears in the material presented to you from the organization.
Correct: The college hosted the Second Annual Golf Classic on October 23,
2000. The women’s swimming team took first place at the division meet and
12th place at the NCAAs. Last year, Mary Smith presented her research at
the 12th Annual Conference on Aging in Chicago.
OFF CAMPUS/ON CAMPUS
Hyphenate as an adjective before the noun; otherwise, leave as two words.
Correct: She has an off-campus job. She works off campus.
OFFICES
[see DEPARTMENTS, DIVISIONS, AND OFFICES]
ONLINE
Online should be one word with no hyphen and lowercase.
ORDINALS
[see NUMERALS]
44!
22!
PART TIME/FULL TIME
Hyphenate when using as a compound modifier; otherwise, leave as two words.
Correct: She has a part-time job. He works full time.
PERCENT
Percent is one word. Always spell out percent in copy; use the % sign only in charts or in
scholarly scientific research.
Correct: There was a six percent increase in enrollment.
PERFORMANCE HALLS
[see BUILDINGS]
PLURALS AND POSSESSIVES
Form plurals and possessives of proper names that end with “s,” “x” and “z.”
Correct: Burns’ poems, Marx’s theories, Berlioz’s opera
Acronyms, hyphenated coinages, and numbers used as nouns (either spelled out or as numerals)
generally add “s” alone to form the plural.
Correct: 1920s, FAFSAs, 60s
Make singular nouns possessive by adding “’s”; make regular plural nouns ending in “s”
possessive by adding only an apostrophe. Plurals lacking an “s” are treated like singular nouns.
Correct: a student’s perspective, students’ rights, women’s center
POST-, PRE-, RE-
1. Most words formed with the prefix post are written without a hyphen, unless the word begins
with a capital or unless confusion would result.
Correct: postdoctoral, postgraduate, post-World War II
2. Most words formed with the prefix pre are written without a hyphen.
44!
23!
Correct: preprofessional, preadmission, premedicine
3. In general, use a hyphen in compounds beginning with the prefix re only if the word
following the prefix begins with an e or if confusion would result.
Correct: re-elect, redo, rewrite
PROGRAMS
1. Capitalize when using the formal name.
Correct: Honors Program, Educational Opportunity Fund Program
2. When using a commonly used acronym, on second reference, use “the program.”
Correct: The Educational Opportunity Fund Program office is located in
Roscoe L. West Hall. About 310 students take part in the program.
QUOTATION MARKS
1. In regular text, commas and periods always go inside an end quotation mark (”).
Correct: “If the meeting is tomorrow,” said Professor Jones, “I won't be able
to attend.”
2. Quoted material that runs four lines or longer is usually set as an indented extract
(block quotation). Quotation marks are not used with indented extracts unless they
occur within the quoted material.
3. Use “curly” quotation marks (also known as smart quotes) in your publications.
a. To do this, from the “Tools” pull-down menu, select “Auto Correct.” In the “Auto
Correct” box, click the “Auto Format as You Type” tab, and then check the box
marked “Replace as You Type—‘Straight Quotes’ with ‘Smart Quotes.’” The
“straight” quotation mark ("), also called the double prime, is used for denoting inches.
RANKINGS
Designate rankings as “No. 1.” in running text.
44!
24!
Correct: The football team was ranked No. 1 in the nation.
The number (#) symbol can be used on exception, in headlines and advertisements.
RESIDENCE HALL
Residence hall is the preferred terminology (rather than “dorm”) in formal copy.
SCHOOLS
School of the Arts and Communication
School of Business
School of Education
School of Engineering
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
School of Nursing, Health, and Exercise Science
School of Science
The full names of the college’s schools are always capitalized. On second reference, “the school”
may be used, lowercased. Do not use “The School” or “the School” alone.
SEASONS
Lowercase references to seasons and academic periods. Capitalize only when part of a formal
name.
Correct: spring, fall semester, Winter Olympics
SPACING BETWEEN SENTENCES
Use a single space after the punctuation mark that ends the sentence.
SPACING, EN- and EM-Dashes
[see DASHES]
44!
25!
STATES
1. Spell out the names of the 50 U.S. states when used in the body of a story, whether standing
alone or in conjunction with a city, town, village, or military base.
Correct: The college is located in Ewing, New Jersey, and was founded
in 1855.
2. Use the two letter abbreviation codes listed below.
a. For further information visit Two-Letter State and Possession
Abbreviations at pe.usps.gov/text/pub28/28apb.htm.
Alabama AL
Alaska AK
Arizona AZ
Arkansas AR
California CA
Colorado CO
Connecticut CT
Delaware DE
Florida FL
Georgia GA
Hawaii HI
Idaho ID
Illinois IL
Indiana IN
Iowa IA
Kansas KS
44!
26!
Kentucky KY
Louisiana LA
Maine ME
Maryland MD
Massachusetts MA
Michigan MI
Minnesota MN
Mississippi MS
Missouri MO
Montana MT
Nebraska NE
Nevada NV
New Hampshire NH
New Jersey NJ
New Mexico NM
New York NY
North Carolina NC
North Dakota ND
Ohio OH
Oklahoma OK
Oregon OR
Pennsylvania PA
Rhode Island RI
44!
27!
South Carolina SC
South Dakota SD
Tennessee TN
Texas TX
Utah UT
Vermont VT
Virginia VA
Washington WA
West Virginia WV
Wisconsin WI
Wyoming WY
Only use two-letter postal abbreviations in addresses.
Correct: The College of New Jersey
PO Box 7718
Ewing, NJ 08628
TCNJ BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Use “The College of New Jersey Board of Trustees” on first reference. Use “the board,” or “the
trustees” on subsequent references. Always lowercase the word “trustees” and “the board” if
used alone.
TCNJ FOUNDATION
Use “TCNJ Foundation” on first reference. Use “the foundation” on second reference.
44!
28!
TELEPHONE NUMBERS
Write telephone numbers with dots following the third and sixth digits. Do not use parentheses
to separate the area code and the telephone number.
Correct: 609.771.1855 (for publications and stationery)
Correct: 609-771-1855 (for running text)
Incorrect: (609) 771-1855
Always call phone numbers listed in your publications or on your webpages as part of the
proofreading process.
THEATER/THEATRE
Use the spelling established and used by departments, clubs, or organizations in their titles.
In all other usage, use the spelling “theater.”
Correct: TCNJ Opera Theatre; The performance will be in the main theater
of Kendall Hall.
TIME
1. Use lowercase letters with periods for “a.m.,” “p.m.,” “noon,” and “midnight.”
Correct: The ceremony starts at 2 p.m. It will end at midnight.
2. When using “noon” and “midnight,” it is redundant to precede them with the numeral 12.
Correct: The concert will begin at noon.
Incorrect: The concert will begin at 12 noon.
3. It is redundant to use a.m. with “in the morning” or p.m. with “in the afternoon” or “evening.”
Correct: The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m.
Incorrect: The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. in the morning.
4. Use of o’clock is discouraged. If used, it must be for on-the-hour times only.
Correct: 4 o’clock
44!
29!
5. Never use o’clock with a.m. or p.m.
TITLES OF PEOPLE
1. In text, capitalize a title only when it comes before a person's name.
Correct: Assistant Vice President Jane Jones
2. A title following the name of an individual or a title by itself is not capitalized.
Correct: Jane Jones, assistant vice president, made the presentation.
3. Generic titles are not capitalized.
Correct: John Smith is a peer adviser. Jane Doe is a community adviser.
4. When used in a list or in an address, titles may be capitalized.
5. Do not precede faculty member or alumni names with the title, Dr., unless the individuals are
medical doctors, including dentists and veterinarians.
Correct: Larry Summers, associate professor of art therapy, is on sabbatical.
Incorrect: Dr. Larry Summers
Correct: Dr. Rosalie Rose, a wildlife veterinarian, will speak at the event.
TITLES OF WORKS
1. Titles and subtitles of published books, scholarly journals, pamphlets, collections, magazines,
newspapers, and other periodicals, should be italicized.
Correct: Cornel West’s book, Race Matters, climbed The New York Times
bestseller list.
2. When a publication or title appears in a block of copy that is in italics, change the title to
non-italic so as to set it off from the other text.
3. Titles of articles and features in magazines and newspapers, titles of chapters and parts, titles
44!
30!
of short stories, essays, and individual selections in books should be in quotation marks.
Correct: Did you read “Talk of the Town” in last week’s New Yorker?
4. In text, titles of films and television series are italicized. The titles of television and radio
programs and podcasts are set in non-italic type in quotation marks.
Correct: Star Wars, Star Trek’s “The Trouble with Tribbles”
5. Titles of operas, oratorios, motets, tone poems and other long musical compositions are
italicized. Titles of songs and short compositions are set in non-italic type in quotation marks.
6. Titles of paintings, drawings, statues, sculptures and other works of art are italicized.
7. Titles of collections of poetry and long poems published separately are italicized. Titles of
short poems are set in non-italic type in quotation marks.
8. Titles of plays are always italicized. Parts of plays are usually lowercased and set in regular type.
Correct: King Lear, act 2
9. Titles of book series and editions are set in non-italic type without quotation marks. The
words series and edition are lowercased when they are not part of the title.
10. Titles of unpublished dissertations and theses, manuscripts in collections, lectures, papers,
and presentations given at meetings are set in non-italic type in quotation marks.
TOWARD
Always use “toward,” not “towards,” which is the British Commonwealth form.
TRADEMARKS
Do not use brand names to refer to a generic product. However, if referring to a specific
trademarked product, capitalize it.
Correct: photocopy, Xerox; cola drink, Coca-Cola; tissue, Kleenex
U.S. and U.K. [see also ABBREVIATIONS, INITIALISMS, AND ACRONYMS]
The abbreviated form of the country name is acceptable on first use.
44!
31!
VITA, VITAE
The full name for a listing of one’s academic and professional accomplishments is a curriculum
vitae (plural: curricula vitae), or CV (plural: CVs). The term vita (plural: vitae) is a synonym.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
[see also ABBREVIATIONS, INITIALISMS, AND ACRONYMS]
WEB ADDRESSES
1. It is not necessary to include http:// in running text.
Correct: The story was posted on www.tcnjmagazine.com.
The story was posted on tcnjmagazine.com.
2. When writing URLs, preferred college usage is for all lowercase. An exception is when a non-
college URL uses capital letters. In these instances, include the URL as it is given.
3. Try to keep URLs on one line in running copy. If you divide a URL at the end of a line,
divide after a slash mark. Always try to access the URLs in your publications to make sure they
are correct.
WEBPAGE, WEBSITE
1. Webpage is one word, lowercase.
Correct: Be sure to update the webpage.
2. Website should be one word, lowercase.
Correct: The story was posted on the college website.
3. Homepage is one word, lowercase.
Correct: The homepage is managed by Senior Web Architect
Mateo Smith.
44!
32!
WORLD WIDE WEB
World Wide Web is a proper noun and should be capitalized.
When used alone, “web” is lowercase.
YEARS
In text describing upcoming events, do not use the year when referring to the current year
unless there would be some confusion about which year is meant.
Correct: The Class of 1984 will gather in Green Hall on Saturday, June 25.
Correct: The new program will begin in September 2017.
Correct: 2017–19 not 2017–2019
Correct: 1968–2017. Type out year if it is not they are not the same.
