College Style Guide: C

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campaigns

Capitalize campaign name, lowercase “campaign,” and do not italicize: The Macalester Moment campaign launched in 2018.

campus locations

When a college or university has more than one campus, separate the campus name/location from the institution’s name with an en dash: University of California–Berkeley, Cal State–Fullerton, State University of New York–Buffalo.

capitalization

See also academic degrees, academic departments, academic subjects/disciplines, academic titles.

For items not addressed below, see individual entries (Annual Fund, Board of Trustees, etc.).

Don’t cap the words college, department, committee, etc., when used alone: This is history professor John Doe. He is a member of the committee.

Honorific titles and respectful forms of address are capitalized in any context. The Queen Mother; the Right Honorable Justin Trudeau; the First Gentleman; the First Lady. (8.33)

For corporate names with unusual capitalization, follow preferred usage (see company’s About page on their website if in doubt): Example: UnitedHealth (8.69)

Names of diseases and procedures are lowercased except when they contain proper nouns: acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); Alzheimer’s disease; computer tomography (8.144).

Don’t cap titles when they appear after a name in running text: Annette Mortinson-Whaley ’75, trustee and campaign co-chair, attended the meeting.

When such titles are used in a promotional or ceremonial context (such as a listing of donors), titles may be capped. (8.20).

captions/cutlines

If the caption/cutline forms a complete sentence, end with a period. Do not use a period if it is not a complete sentence. Length is not the determining factor.

Caucasian

See white.

cities, U.S.

The following cities do not require the state to be listed following them: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, St. Paul, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington.

With all other cities, the full state or state abbreviation should also be given.

Follow this rule when hometowns are included with student references: Mike Smith ’24 (San Fransciso); Kristen Bell ’23 (Madison, Wis.).

Use commas between city and state and after state. She is from Duluth, Minnesota, and is a first-year student.

See state names.

cities, international

The following cities do not require the province or country to be listed after them: Amsterdam, Bagdad, Bangkok, Beijing, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Cairo, Djibouti, Dublin, Geneva, Gibraltar, Guatemala City, Havana, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Kuwait City, London, Luxembourg, Macao, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, Monaco, Montreal, Moscow, Munich, New Delhi, Panama City, Rome, San Marino, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Vatican City, Vienna, Zurich.

Follow this rule when hometowns are included with student references: Li Guan ’15 (Beijing) was one of the hosts of the event. Brent Smith ’20 (Ottawa, Ontario) was another host.

class titles

See course titles.

class year

No comma before it, no parentheses around it, and make sure that the apostrophe that takes the place of the “19” or “20” is a real apostrophe, not a single open quote: Gabrielle Lawrence ’73.

Capitalize the word class when it refers to a specific year: “The Class of ’56 presented a gift to support science technology.”

college

Unless part of a proper name (Macalester College), lowercase in every use: the college’s policy; the college archivist; one of the crucial questions facing every college.

comma

Use the serial comma: Abe, Bob, and Camille were all at Commencement. (6.19)

Do not use after Jr. or Sr.: John Smith Sr.

Use a comma after the full date: Her party was June 13, 2009, at the faculty club.

Use commas before and after state names when used with cities. She is from Tempe, Arizona, and is a first-year student.

Commas are not necessary before Inc., Ltd., etc. when part of a company name, even if the company uses it in their literature. (6.44)

Commencement

Capitalize when referring to the Macalester event in May.

company names

Refer to the company’s About page for guidance on preferred spelling and abbreviation: PricewaterhouseCoopers is now referred to as PwC, for example.

compound nationalities

Do not hyphenate. African American, Indian American, Japanese American, etc. (8.39)

compound words

In general, follow Merriam-Webster’s to determine whether or not to hyphenate or to spell solid or open: clear–cut, workweek, chain saw.

To avoid ambiguity, hyphenate compound modifiers preceding a noun: the compound-modifier issue. If the compound is in the dictionary as an entry, ambiguity is unlikely: “a high school student.” But: first-year student, 10-year reunion.

Do not hyphenate when the first word of a compound modifier is an adverb ending in “ly”: a badly remembered past.

For a comprehensive guide to spelling compound words, see Chicago’s Hyphenation Guide (7.89), also available in PDF format.

coronavirus

See COVID-19.

course titles

Capitalize official course names: I am signing up for Economics 101.

Lowercase for general references: She thought about taking more economics courses. (8.86)

For longer topic course names, use quote marks: His course “Bandits, Outlaws, and Other Rebels” was offered last fall. Exception: In a long list of courses, such as in the course catalog or in academic updates, the quotation marks can be dropped.

coursework

Use as one word, without a space.

COVID-19

Per AP Style: “Coronavirus” is acceptable when referring to the pandemic, but it is a general virus. COVID-19 is the specific disease stemming from coronavirus. If using “COVID-19” on first reference, “COVID” on second reference is acceptable.

Example: The coronavirus pandemic has tested the limits of the healthcare system, with doctors and nurses treating a majority of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units.