The first mention of any organization, firm, agency or group should be spelled out.
When using acronyms, spell out the phrase on the first reference followed by the acronym. For example, renewable energy certificates (RECs). In general, avoid alphabet soup. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms that the reader would not quickly recognize.
Examples of abbreviations:
Use the abbreviations Sr., Jr., II, III for Senior, Junior, Second, Third following a full name. Never use the spelled-out words or the abbreviations with the surname alone. Please note there is not a comma before the abbreviations.
Abbreviate civil, military, professional or religious titles when used before a full name.
Capitalize when the complete name of the degree is given. There is no possessive.
Lowercase if no particular degree is mentioned.
Lowercase academic degrees.
The terms “bachelor’s degree” and “master’s degree” require apostrophes.
When using abbreviations for degrees, please note: two-letter degrees have periods, and three-letter degrees do not.
Ed.D. and Ph.D. retain the two periodsThe word “doctorate” is a noun, and “doctoral” is an adjective.
Lowercase the names of academic disciplines, with the exception of proper nouns.
Always capitalize languages.
Alumni are identified by listing the last two digits of their graduation years (with an apostrophe) following their names.
“Alumnus” is the singular, masculine form; for references to women, use “alumna” (singular) or “alumnae” (plural). “Alumni” may serve as the plural for a group that is composed of men only or of men and women together.
For those who may prefer not to identify by gender, using “alum” is recommended. The graduation year following the person’s name indicates alumni status, so to say “Alum Randall Stuckey ’83” is redundant. (In this case, just use the person’s name and grad year.)
Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding “ ’s.”
Singular proper nouns ending in “s”
Plural possessives are formed by adding “ s’ ” unless the word has a special plural construction that does not end in “s.”
Plurals of words should NOT contain apostrophes.
One exception is plurals of single letters, which may require an apostrophe to avoid misinterpretation.
REMINDER: “It’s” ALWAYS means “it is”; the pronoun possessive is “its” – with NO apostrophe.
The university celebrated its golden anniversary.
The university style is basically “downstyle.” This means, in general, avoid unnecessary use of capitals. Sentences read more smoothly if the eye isn’t stopped by frequent capitals.
Academic departments, administrative offices and facilities of UNCW are capitalized when the complete and official designation is used. They are lowercase on second reference.
Lowercase fields of study except when a proper noun is part of the name.
Capitalize official names of organizations and major historical events. (Some organizations have unusual capitalizations or typography; follow their individual usage, e.g., HarperCollins, U.S. News & World Report
Capitalize the following when the complete title is used, lowercase on second reference:
Lowercase the words “division,” “school,” “department,” “office,” “committee,” “board,” “college,” “southeastern” etc., on second and subsequent abbreviated reference.
Lowercase “city of Wilmington” and “state of North Carolina” except when referring to the city’s or state’s government or in legal contexts calling for a corporate name.
Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series.
Put a comma before the concluding conjunction in a series when there is more than one conjunction in that series.
Spell out the name of a month when it stands alone or with the year only. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec.
Put a comma before and after the year when used with month and date, but do not use a comma when a time period is expressed with month and year.
Always use Arabic figures. Do not use st, nd, rd or th.
Centuries and decades
In decades identified with their centuries, use figures and omit apostrophes.
The word email is not hyphenated.
When transferring email copy to publications, make sure quotation marks and apostrophes are converted from straight quotes – " and ' – (which are used to designate inches and feet) to smart quotes – “ and ’ – and make sure all hard returns are removed within paragraphs.
Lowercase except at the beginning of a sentence.
Use a hyphen to connect two or more words used as a modifier.
Do not use a hyphen to connect “-ly” adverbs to the words they modify.
Suspend hyphens in a series.
Spell numbers one through nine (and zero); use numerals for 10 and higher. Use either all numerals or all words when several numbers appear together in a passage, even if convention would require a mixture.
Ages should be noted with Arabic numerals.
Arabic numerals are used with very large numbers (i.e., a million or larger).
Monetary figures and percentages are also indicated with Arabic numerals.
When a number is the first word of a sentence, it should be spelled out. However, the sentence usually can be reworked to avoid having to spell out a large or hyphenated number, a monetary figure or a percentage.
Spell out fractional amounts that are less than one in text copy, using hyphens between the words.
Use figures for all fractions larger than one, employing split or “case” fractions (i.e., single units) wherever possible. If type fonts create fractions as single units (for example, ¼ or ½, use these); other fractions need to be constructed with a slash (using a hyphen as well to clarify; note that the form is an exception to Associated Press style, which was developed for newspaper typography).
Convert to decimals whenever practical.
In general, use the word “percent.” However, the symbol % can be used in scientific, technical and statistical copy.
Should be listed with periods.
Place a comma or period inside the quotation marks. The semicolon and colon are placed outside the quotation marks.
Place question marks or exclamation marks inside or outside quotation marks, depending on the quote.
Do not use semicolons in place of commas. Instead, semicolons are primarily used to connect two closely related sentences without an “and.”
It is better to inquire diligently than to diligently inquire. There are exceptions: “The university hopes to more than double its enrollment.”
Postal ZIP code abbreviations for states should be used when abbreviating a state name in text copy.
The District of Columbia is treated like a state.
The pronoun “none” can take either a singular or plural verb. When none means “not one” or “no one,” it takes a singular verb.
A plural verb is commonly used when “none” refers to more than one thing or person.
The collective nouns “faculty” and “staff” can be used in singular and plural senses and can take a singular or plural verb.
Plurals of Latin and Greek words take plural verbs.
“A number of” takes a plural verb; “the number of” takes a singular verb. Do not try to extend this rule to other nouns; it works only for “number.” “Amount” refers to the quantity of something and is always singular.
A compound subject joined by “and” takes a plural verb. A compound subject joined by “or” takes a verb that agrees with the subject closest to the verb.
Use a singular verb after “each,” “either,” “everyone,” “everybody,” “neither,” “nobody,” “someone.”
“That” is the defining, or restrictive pronoun, “which” the nondefining, or nonrestrictive.
“Which” can introduce restrictive or nonrestrictive clauses. Essential clauses require “that.” Nonessential clauses typically require “which.”
Another hint: if you could put the clause in parentheses or set it off with commas, use “which.”
The following two sentences do not have the same meaning:
The University of North Carolina Wilmington is to be referred to as UNC Wilmington with external audiences and UNCW with internal audiences on second and subsequent mentions.
Lowercase “university” when it stands alone.
Use lowercase noon and midnight, not 12 a.m. or 12 p.m. Use 8 a.m., not 8:00 a.m.
Capitalize a title before a person’s name. Lowercase a title following a person’s name. Lowercase a professional title when it stands without a name. The title “vice chancellor” is written without a hyphen.
Do not use titles in combination with any other title or with abbreviations indicating academic or professional degrees.
Formal titles (denoting scope of authority, professional activity and the like) are capitalized when they immediately precede a name.
Occupational descriptions should be lowercase.
Avoid courtesy titles, such as
Following AP style, Dr. is used as a courtesy title with regards to a medical doctor. UNCW follows this style and Dr. is not used as a courtesy title for the holders of doctorates.
When referring to a medical doctor, M.D. should follow the last name.
“Professor” is never abbreviated. The title “doctor” is generally abbreviated; however, avoid it when its use is not critical to the subject of the text.
Titles (and, in most cases, first names) should be dropped on second reference and thereafter. Exceptions are familiar and frequently used occupational titles such as coach or chancellor.
Use quotation marks to designate titles of short stories, short poems or articles; individual chapters in books; individual songs; conference presentations or papers; and radio and television shows (or single episodes of a continuing series).
Italicize titles of books, films, long poems, magazines, plays, record albums, large musical works, newspapers and continuing TV/radio series.
Internal programs for events with UNCW personnel only:
Charles Hardy
Dean, College of Health and Human Services
Internal programs for events with UNCW and external speakers
Charles Hardy
Dean, UNCW College of Health and Human Services
To aid in directing the public to campus events, publicize locations with the building listed first, then the room. Include the abbreviation as additional information, not as the sole location information as not everyone is familiar with UNCW building abbreviations.
Office of University Relations (OUR)
737 St. James Drive
Wilmington, NC 28403