College Style Guide: A

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abbreviations

With most abbreviations, no periods are necessary: IQ, IOU, VCR, HMO, US (10.4)

Form the plural by adding an s (no apostrophe): VCRs, HMOs, DVDs.

Us abbreviations such as Rev. and Hon. when “the” does not precede the title: Rev. John Smith; the Reverend John Smith. Hon. Robert L. Brown; the Honorable Robert L. Brown. (10.18)

The indefinite article (a, an) used before an abbreviation is based on pronunciation: an HMO, a UFO, a NATO member.

For acronyms, use all caps and no periods: AIDS, BIPOC, CARE, VISTA.

For an in-depth discussion of abbreviations, including when to use them, see Chicago 10.3.

academic degrees

Omit periods in abbreviations: BA, PhD, MD, RN, MBA, MFA. (Chicago 10.21). An exception may be made for more formal documents and certificates: Ph.D.

Form the plural by adding s: BAs, PhDs, MBAs.

Use lowercase and, where appropriate, possessive in text: She is pursuing a master’s degree in business administration. He earned a doctorate in political science.

The indefinite article (a, an) proceeding a degree depends on pronunciation: He earned a PhD; she earned an MBA.

academic departments and programs

For a current list of department and program names, see macalester.edu/academics.

Capitalize “department” when referring to academic former departments: English Department; Department of English.

Lowercase in other uses: The department added two faculty members; departments of English and History.

academic subjects/disciplines

Lowercase when making a general reference to a discipline or describing an academic program: She is majoring in philosophy. The broader our view of cognitive science, the better we can understand how the mind works.

Capitalize when presenting the discipline or department formally. the Cognitive Science concentration at Macalester; the Philosophy Department.

For disciplines with “studies” in the name, capitalize when referring to the department: Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary program. Lowercase for more general references: He is majoring in Asian studies at Macalester.

academic titles

Capitalize titles when they precede a name; lowercase when they follow a name: Professor Jane Smith; Jane Smith, associate professor of English. (Note that the title “professor” before the name doesn’t distinguish between professional ranks.)

Descriptive titles are lowercase: English professor Jane Smith.

Capitalize named professorships and place them after the name: John Smith, John E. Doe Professor of Philosophy.

Emeritus (retired) professors use their last active title followed by emeritus or emerita: Charles Green, professor emeritus of political science; John Q. Smith, Margaret W. Harmon Professor of Christian Theology and Culture, emeritus.

accent marks

Use when requested by or widely used by the writer, or when quoting from text that uses them.

acronyms

See abbreviations and acronyms.

advisor

Use rather than adviser.

African American, Japanese American, Indian American

Do not hyphenate these or other compound nationalities. (8.39)

ages

See also numbers.

Spell out up to one hundred: She was only twenty-three when she died. He celebrated his one hundredth birthday today. At 103, she is the oldest resident in the nursing home.

all caps

Avoid using except when necessary in acronyms, etc.

alumni names with class year

Example: Ruth Stricker Dayton ’57 P’88

Use a single quote mark (in the proper direction) before each number, no comma between, and no space between P and ’88. Add a space between name & class year and between class year & “P.”

Alumni Engagement

Alumni Engagement is part of the college’s broader Engagement program, which includes the Macalester Fund and Special Events.

Use lowercase for informal usage (alumni office); capitalize formal name only: Alumni Engagement. For postal address, always use Alumni Engagement.

Alumni Relations

See Alumni Engagement.

Annual Fund

See Macalester Fund.

Alumni Board

Capitalize. Lowercase “board” in subsequence references.

alumnus/alumna/alumni

Alumna is a female graduate; the plural is alumnae. Alumnus is a male graduate; the plural is alumni. However, alumni is considered to be gender-inclusive, so we use it for a group including both males and females. Alum and alums are appropriate in casual use. An alumnus is anyone who attended Macalester for at least two semesters.

apostrophe

Do not use for plurals: DVDs, MBAs, 1700s.

Use in abbreviated decades: He graduated sometime in the late ’60s.

articles (magazines, newspaper, etc.)

See titles of works.

awards

See also fellow, fellowship.