UA EDITORIAL STYLE MANUAL

a, an

Let standard American English pronunciation be your guide in all written and spoken contexts:

a historic (not an historic)
an honor (h is silent)
a humble person
a united front
an 1840s plantation

See also abbreviations and acronyms.

abbreviations and acronyms

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase used in place of the whole (e.g., UA for The University of Alabama). An acronym is a word formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term (e.g., radar for radio detecting and ranging).

Unless a term is used repeatedly or space is at a premium in a chart or table, there is no reason to abbreviate most words. Choose a short form (such as University in place of The University of Alabama) rather than an abbreviation, unless the abbreviation is widely used and understood (such as UA, but never U of A).

Consider whether the acronym or abbreviation is a replacement for a previous full name. For example, JVC (an abbreviation) was once Japan Victor Corporation, but JVC is now its official name. Similarly, RISE (an acronym and thus pronounced like the word rise) once stood for Rural Infant Stimulation Environment, but the program is now simply RISE.

Acronyms and some common abbreviations do not require periods. Examples include RISE, Project ROSE, CBHP, IHP, UHP, C&BA, A&S, C&IS, FBI, CIA, IRS, and ZIP code.

ACT, SAT, LSAT, GMAT, GRE, MAT, MCAT, and other entrance examination titles usually don't need to be spelled out, even on first reference. Use Arabic numerals in constructions such as SAT-1.

Let pronunciation determine your choice of a or an with abbreviations and acronyms:

an MBA program
a C&BA course
an FBI agent
an IRS audit
a UA alumnus

Form the plurals and possessives of acronyms and abbreviations by adding s or 's. If the abbreviation uses periods or other internal punctuation to separate its letters, or if the abbreviation contains both capital and lowercase letters, or if the use of s alone is likely to create confusion, use 's to form both the plural and possessive.

Plural, Possessive
IRS's, IRS's
PhD's, PhD's
SATs, SAT's

Acronyms and abbreviations are almost always capitalized, but their capitalization doesn't necessarily mean the words for which they stand must be capitalized when spelled out.

See Appendix A: Common Abbreviations. See also academic degrees; addresses, campus; course numbers and titles; days of the week; months; state names; titles, personal.

academic degrees

Spell out academic degrees when space allows, but do not capitalize them when doing so.

Incorrect: He earned his Master of Business Administration in 1994.
Correct: He earned his master of business administration in 1994.

Use 's with master or bachelor to form the possessive.

Correct: He earned his master's degree in business administration.
Correct: She graduated with a bachelor's in studio art. [degree is understood after bachelor's]

Never use 's with of constructions.

Incorrect: She graduated with a bachelor's of studio art.
Correct: She graduated with a bachelor of studio art. [degree is understood after art]

Bachelor's and master's never need to take the plural possessive. When writing of more than one degree, consider adding degree for greater clarity.

Tricky: At the end of her studies, she'll have master's in a total of five fields.
Better: At the end of her studies, she'll have master's degrees in a total of five fields.

Avoid the use of periods when abbreviating academic degrees.

BA
BS
BSW
EdS
JD
MA
MAcc
MBA
MD
MFA
MS
PhD

Form the plurals of abbreviated degrees by adding s; for degrees containing both capital and lowercase letters, add 's. Form the possessive of abbreviated degrees by adding 's.

BAs, BA's
MBAs, MBA's
PhD's, PhD's

Degrees should always be abbreviated when they follow a name, but never combine courtesy titles and academic degrees.

Incorrect: Mr. John Smith, PhD
Incorrect: Dr. Mary Jones, PhD
Correct: John Smith, PhD
Correct: Mary Jones, PhD

People who hold the JD, or juris doctor, are not called "Dr." Those who hold the terminal degree in that field—the doctor of juridical science or JSD—are.

When listing UA faculty members, cite only the highest degree attained, plus any relevant professional designation.

Jane Smith, PhD., RN
Mary Jones, MAcc, CPA

academic divisions, UA

See divisions.

academic honors

Cum laude, magna cum laude, summa cum laude, and with distinction receive no special treatment in running copy:

She graduated magna cum laude.

acronyms

See abbreviations and acronyms.

Action Card

AD

Abbreviation for "anno Domini" (meaning the time period falls within Christian era). Uppercase (preferably small caps).

addresses, campus

For all campus publications, give addresses for University of Alabama departments and offices as follows:

The University of Alabama
Office or department name
Office or department location
Box 870___ (campus box number, which is not a P.O. box number)
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0___ (campus box number)
(205) 348-____ or toll-free 1-___-___-____
Fax (205) 348-____
E-mail address
Web site address

The room number and building name, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail address may be omitted as appropriate.

Include Hall or Building, as appropriate, for office or department locations (e.g., Rose Administration Building) and place room numbers first, omitting the word "room" (e.g., 801 Rose Administration Building).

Do not use the 1- before telephone or fax numbers, with the exception of toll-free numbers.

addresses, local

For the campus directory and other publications in which local addresses are given, use numerical figures for numbered street names and spell out street designations and directional modifiers (e.g., 3rd Avenue North, 5th Street South, 23 Oak Lane).

Use abbreviations with no periods for directional modifiers that are compound words (e.g., 3rd Avenue NE, 5th Street SW).

Be sure to include the four-digit endings for ZIP codes (e.g., 35403-0000).

Phone numbers for locations outside the local calling area (area code 205) should include the area code.

addresses, Web and e-mail

See e-mail and Web addresses

advisor

This a change in UA style (from the spelling adviser) mandated by common usage on campus.

See also titles, personal.

African-American (n.), African-American (adj.)

See black.

ages

See numbers.

Alabama

Acceptable as a second reference or short form of The University of Alabama, but be careful: in many contexts, it could be confused with the state of Alabama.

See University of Alabama, The.

Alabamian

alphabetizing

Use the letter-by-letter method, alphabetizing up to the first comma that is not part of a series. Spaces, hyphens, apostrophes, and slashes and the letters that follow them are considered part of one word.

left
left, far (comma is not part of a series)
left, radical
left-bank
left field
left-hand
leftism
leftism, in Europe
leftism and the 1980s
leftover
left/right
left, right, and ambidextrous (commas designate parts of a series)
left wing
lefty
lefty's arm

In personal names, an initial comes before any name beginning with the same letter:

Smith, A. Tiffany
Smith, Andrew
Smith, B. D.
Smith, Barbara

Suffixes come at the end of entries in a last-name alphabetizing system:

Smith, Andrew, Jr.
Smith, B. D., III

Alphabetize acronyms letter by letter.

Alphabetize numbers as if they were spelled out.

Accented or other specially treated letters—such as those with umlauts—should be alphabetized as though unaccented.

Personal names containing particles such as de la, di, la, von, van, and saint should be treated on a case-by-case basis, because spacing after such elements varies according to personal preference. Consult a biographical dictionary. Alphabetize M', Mc, or Mac letter-by-letter—not as though the M' or Mc were an abbreviation for Mac.

alumna, alumnus, alumnae, alumni

Use alumna when referring to a woman who has attended a school; use alumnae to describe a group of such women. Alumnus refers to a man who has attended a school; alumni describes a group of such men, or a group of men and women. The abbreviation alum is too informal for some University publications, so use it with caution.

a.m.

Abbreviation for "ante meridiem" or "before noon." Lowercase and use the periods.

America, American

United States or U.S. is more precise.

See United States, U.S.

ampersand (&)

Spell out and in most instances. Reserve the ampersand for use as a design element; in charts and other places where space is at a premium; and in a few UA-specific abbreviations such as A&S or C&BA; and when part of a company's formal name.

Ampersands should not be used on University of Alabama business cards and stationery. See the Visual Identity Guide.

apostrophe

To form the possessive of singular nouns, add 's. To form the possessive of plural nouns, add only the apostrophe.

Bob's bicycle is green. (singular possessive)
The girls' haircuts were alike. (plural possessive)
Mark Jones's minivan broke down. (singular possessive)
The Joneses' garage door wouldn't open. (plural possessive)

A few irregular plural nouns take 's to form the possessive.

We cleaned the children's rooms.
The media's coverage of the event was sensational.

Use roman type for the possessive ending when a proper name is italicized.

The Crimson White's editor stood by the story.

The genitive case (indicating a possessor or source) also requires the 's or s' or an of construction.

You need 36 hours' credit to graduate.
For the independent study, he earned 1 hour's credit.
She earned 15 hours of credit for her work at RISE.
Dr. Roberts has 20 years' experience in the field of robotics.
The company gave her three weeks' pay in advance.
I'm grateful for Rebecca's having come to the meeting.

Attributive nouns (those acting as adjectives modifying a following noun) don't require the 's or s'.

Founders Day
Parents Association
Parents Weekend
Department of Veterans Affairs
city government

It's is the contraction for "it is" and not the possessive form.

It's a beautiful day. (contraction)
The cat licked its paw. (possessive)

See also abbreviations and acronyms.

as well as

Avoid overusing as well as in place of and; the phrase as well as has the sense of "too" or "also," rather than simply "and."

at sign (@)

The "at sign" (@) must be included in all e-mail addresses.

awards

Capitalize award in running text when it is part of the name of an award.

See also capitalization for general rules.

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