ȺpÎÞÂë

Editorial Style Guide

FROM A - Z

A, An

Use the article a before consonant sounds, such as a historic event and a one-year term (sounds as if it begins with the letter w).

Use the article an before vowel sounds, such as an honorable mention (the h is silent) and an 1890s celebration.

Addresses

See Mailing Addresses.

Admission (Office of)

Do not include an s at the end of the word Admission when referring to ȺpÎÞÂë’s Office of Admission.

Advisor, Adviser

The preferred spelling ends in or.

Affect, Effect

Affect, as a verb, means to influence.

Example: The test will affect his grade.

Affect, as a noun, is not widely used. It is most often used in psychology to describe emotion.

Example: She exhibits little affect.

Effect, as a verb, means to cause.

Example: He will effect many changes in the department.

Effect, as a noun, means result.

Example: He regretted the effect of his actions.

Ages

Always use figures.

Example: Amy Smith, 21, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English.

When an age follows a name (as shown in the example), a comma should be used before and after the age unless the age marks the end of the sentence. Then the second comma should be replaced by a period.

Example: The winner is Naperville resident Amy Smith, 21.

Ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun use hyphens.

Example: (as an adjective):

  A 5-year-old boy ran across the street.

Example: (as a noun):

  The 5-year-old ran across the street.

Alumni, Alumnus, Alumna, Alumnae

Use alumnus when referring to a man who has graduated a school. The plural of alumnus is alumni.

Use alumna for similar references to a woman. Alumnae is the plural of alumna.

Use alumni when referring to a group of men and women graduates.

a.m., p.m.

Lowercase, with periods separating each letter. Avoid redundancy such as 7 a.m. in the morning. See Time.

Among, Between

The rule that between introduces two items and among introduces more than two satisfies most questions about how to use these words.

Examples: The funds were divided between Smith and Anderson.

  The funds were divided among Smith, Anderson and Ford.

However, between is the correct word when expressing the relationships of three or more items considered one pair at a time.

Example: Discussions took place between the administration and the Student, Faculty, and Staff committees.

Annual

An event is not an annual event until it has been held two successive years.

Do not use the term first annual. Instead, note that the event is planned to be held annually.

Arts & Ideas

The ȺpÎÞÂë Arts & Ideas program uses an ampersand as part of its official name. Do not use Arts and Ideas, when referring to this program.

Avenue

With regard to addresses, use the abbreviation of Ave. only with numbered addresses. Otherwise, avenue should always be spelled out.

Examples: 1400 Taylor Ave.

  Taylor Avenue

See States (Mailing Address vs. Running Text) under Abbreviations for more information.

Bachelor’s Degree

Use ’s with bachelor’s degree. Otherwise, use bachelor of science degree, bachelor of arts degree, bachelor of arts degree in journalism, etc. See Academic Titles/Degrees under Abbreviations, and Academic Degrees under Capitalization for more information.

Example: He received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry.

Biannual, Biennial

Biannual means twice a year and is a synonym for the word semiannual. Biennial means every two years.

Bible

Capitalize, without quotation marks, when referring to the Scriptures of the Old Testament or the New Testament. Capitalize also related terms such as the Gospels, Gospels of St. Mark, the Scriptures, the Holy Scriptures.

Lowercase biblical in all uses. Lowercase bible as a non-religious term.

Example: My dictionary is my bible.

Bimonthly

Bimonthly means every other month. Semimonthly means twice a month.

Biweekly

Biweekly means every other week. Semiweekly means twice a week.

Bold

When used sparingly, bolding is effective in highlighting or setting a word or a sentence apart from the running text. However, discretion should be used. Too much text in bold defeats the purpose.

Books

Book titles have been traditionally underlined, and for scholarly pieces this is still widely done. However, for most other running text, book titles should be italicized.

Bookstore

Use as one word, when referring to the ȺpÎÞÂë Bookstore.

Boulevard

With regard to addresses, use the abbreviation of Blvd. only with numbered addresses. Otherwise, boulevard should always be spelled out.

Examples: 1400 Richmont Blvd.

  Richmont Boulevard

See States (Mailing Address vs. Running Text) under Abbreviations for more information.

Brother

When the religious title of Brother is used in reference to a De La Salle Christian Brother, the initials FSC should always be included after the name on first reference. The name of the Brother should be followed by a comma and then FSC.

FSC, without spaces or periods, after a Christian Brother’s name indicates membership in the religious order.

FSC is the acronym for the Latin Fratres Scholarum Christianarum (Brothers of the Christian Schools), known informally as the De La Salle Christian Brothers.

On second reference, the title of Brother should be used with just the Brother’s first name, such as Brother Mark or Brother Joseph.

See Religious Titles under Abbreviations for more information.

Buildings/Locations on Campus

For a list of names for many of the buildings/locations on the main campus, please refer to the Campus Map.

Captions for Photographs

Captions should be used if there is a person, place or situation in a photograph that needs identifying as it pertains to the accompanying text.

Identify individuals in the photo from left to right if there could be confusion about who is who. After the first name, add (left) if there are only two people in the photograph. It is not necessary to add (right) after the second person’s name since that will be obvious with only two people in the photo.

Example: Jack Langston (left) presents a check for $35,000 to Robert Tind, Vice President for Academic Affairs.

When more than two people are shown in a photo, then use the indicator (from left) before the listing of names.

Example: The honorees were (from left) Jack Calloway, Tim Borgen and James Trotter.

When large groups of people are included in a photo, it often becomes difficult to identify every person in a concise manner and even harder to publish a photo in such a way that each person’s face can be clearly seen. Unless the photo is enlarged, many individual features may be lost. Some situations, however, will require these photos to be used. When this is the case, use (from left, top row), (middle row), etc. to accurately identify each subject. Identification of each row should be separated by a semicolon.

Example: The committee members included (from left, top row) Lily Cagney, Carrie Sabota, and Terry Johnson; (middle row) Brian Malone, Tom Hopkins, Ted Simons, and Jake Elliott; and (bottom row) Janine Fine, Ann Kaplan, and Denetta Williams.

Do not use a period to end a caption that is not a sentence. Whenever possible, try to write each caption as a complete sentence unless using a simple tag to identify a person or place by name, such as John Smith or Niagara Falls.

Remember not to include the obvious in a photo caption. If the photo shows something that the reader will understand without further explanation, then it should not be included in the caption.

Example: Tom Fisher (left) shakes the hand of his friend Bob Moore.

Upon seeing the photo, the reader will know the two friends shared a handshake. There is no need to include this information in the caption. It would be more effective to include information of greater pertinence to the accompanying text.

Example: Tom Fisher (left) was reunited with his friend Bob Moore after 20 years. The two lost contact after Moore’s family moved away when he was a teenager.

Catholic, Catholicism

Both words should be capitalized when used in a religious sense, indicating the belief and membership in the Christian church headed by the Pope.

Lowercase catholic when used in the generic sense, meaning general or all-inclusive.

Cents

See Money.

Century

Lowercase, spelling out numbers less than 10, such as the first century and the 20th century.

For proper names, follow the organization’s practice: 20th Century Fox, Twentieth Century Limited.

Chair, Chairperson

Capitalize as a formal title. Do not capitalize when used as an informal, temporary position. Do not use chairman or chairwoman unless it is an organization’s formal title for an office.

Commencement

Capitalize on first reference when referring to ȺpÎÞÂë’s Commencement ceremonies. Also when ȺpÎÞÂë or Lewis’ is used along with the word.

Example: ȺpÎÞÂë’s Commencement ceremonies are held twice a year.

Commencement should be lowercase on second reference in running text unless Lewis University or Lewis’ precedes the word.

Example (second reference):

  Many people attend commencement at ȺpÎÞÂë.

Composition Titles

Unless specifically noted, the guidelines here apply to book titles, movie titles, opera titles, play titles, poem titles, song titles, television program titles, and the titles of lectures, speeches, scholarly articles and journals, and works of art.

Capitalize the principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions with four or more letters. Capitalize an article (the, a, or an) or word of fewer than four letters if it is the first or last word in a title.

Put quotation marks around the names of all titles, with the exception of book titles, movie titles, scholarly journals, magazines and newspapers. Book titles have been traditionally underlined, and for scholarly pieces this is still widely done. However, for most other running text, book titles should be italicized. Titles of movies, scholarly journals, magazines and newspapers are also italicized.

It is important in all cases that the reader clearly understands whether the piece being listed is a book, a movie, an article, etc.

Examples: Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird, is a classic.

 To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic. The book, written by Harper Lee, depicts the themes of misunderstanding and prejudice.

Course Titles, Course Numbers

Capitalize course titles. Do not use quotation marks around the title. Course numbers should be represented in Arabic numerals.

Example: 10-480 Mass Media Ethics

When referring to sequences of courses, use Roman numerals.

Example: Multimedia Production I and Multimedia Production II

Coursework

Use as one word.

Example: He completed his coursework for the semester.

Courtesy Titles

After the first reference, use only a person’s last name unless courtesy or special circumstances warrant an exception as with some religious titles. Titles should be used throughout if essential to the reader’s comprehension of the story. See entries on Titles under Abbreviations .

Dates

Use a dash (not a hyphen) to indicate a range of years. If within the same century, it is unnecessary to repeat the numerals indicating the century on second reference unless the context requires it.

Examples: 1967–79

 2001–05

If the month and the day appear along with a year, use a comma before and after the year.

Example: Aug. 26, 1965, was the date.

When part of running text, the months of year may be abbreviated when used along with a specific date. For a list of the correct abbreviations, see Months Without Dates/ Years Only under Abbreviations.

Example: Aug. 26 or Aug. 26, 1965

Do not use a comma or abbreviate the month if only the month and the year are used.

Example: August 1965

It is unnecessary to include the year at all if referring to the current year.

Example: June was an extremely hot month.

See Months Without Dates/Years Only under Abbreviations for more information.

Days of the Week

See Days of the Week under Abbreviations; and Nouns, Months, Days of the Week under Capitalization.

Deans’ List

When referring to ȺpÎÞÂë’s Deans’ List, the apostrophe should follow the s in Deans (denoting the deans of Lewis’ three colleges).

Decimals

Use a period and numerals to indicate decimal amounts. Decimals should not exceed two places after the decimal point in textual material unless special circumstances exist. If possible, delete the zero when two places after the decimal point (3.3, not 3.30).

Degrees

See Academic Titles/Degrees under Abbreviations, and Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in this section.

De La Salle

See De La Salle under Capitalization.

Departments

See Academic Departments under Capitalization.

Dimensions

Use Arabic numerals and spell out inches, feet, yards, etc., to indicate depth, height, length and width. Hyphenate measurements when they are adjectives preceding a noun.

Example: The 5-foot-6-inch man left the building. The 9-by-12 rug was placed in the living room.

When a measurement does not modify a noun as above, hyphenation is not used.

Example: The car is 17 feet long. The rug is 9 feet by 12 feet.

Use a straight apostrophe (not curly) to indicate feet and straight quote marks to indicate inches (5'6") only in technical contexts or when tabular forms require brevity.

Lewis athletic rosters use a hyphen to replace the use of the straight apostrophe and quotation marks in indicating the height of team players. Instead of 6'1", 6-1 is used.

All running text in athletic publications follow the style as listed here for dimensions.

Diocese

Capitalize as part of a proper name: the Diocese of Joliet or the Joliet Diocese. On second reference, the diocese may be used.

Directions

See Regions in this section.

Disabilities

Refer to those with disabilities as people with disabilities, not the disabled or disabled people. The person should always be mentioned first.

Do not use the word normal to mean the opposite of having a disability, and avoid using words such as victim, afflicted and stricken in reference to people with disabilities.

Distances

Use Arabic numerals for 10 and above. Spell out for one through nine.

Example: I walked four miles, but my destination was another 10 miles away.

Dr.

See title entries under Abbreviations.

Dollars

See Money in this section.

Emeritus, Emerita, Emeriti

These words are often added to formal titles to denote that individuals who retire retain their rank or title. At ȺpÎÞÂë, these words are most often used in conjunction with the title of professor or trustee.

When used, these words follow the formal title. Emeritus is used when referring to a man. Emerita is used when referring to a woman. Emeriti is the plural form, whether referring to men, women or a group of men and women together.

Examples: Professor Emeritus Michael Todd

  Michael Todd, Professor Emeritus of Physics

Every day, Everyday

Use every day as an adverb and everyday as an adjective.

Examples: She goes to work every day.

 

 

Every one, Everyone

Use every one when referring to each individual item.

Example: Every one of the apples was rotten.

Use everyone when used as a pronoun meaning all persons.

Example: Everyone wants to be happy in life.

Remember, everyone takes on singular verbs and pronouns.

Faculty

The word faculty may be singular or plural, depending on the context. However, it is important to be consistent within a context.

Fellowships and Other Awards

The formal names of awards are capitalized, but informal references are not.

Examples: American Academy of Nursing Fellowship

  The American Academy of Nursing award

Fieldhouse

When referring to the Student Recreation and Fitness Center’s fieldhouse, fieldhouse should be one word and should not be capitalized.

Foreign Words

Some foreign words and abbreviations have been accepted into the English language, such as bon voyage, versus (vs.) and et cetera (etc.). They may be used without explanation if they are clear in context.

Many foreign words and their abbreviations are not understood universally, although they may be used in special applications such as medical or legal terminology. If such a word or phrase needs to be used, place it in quotation marks and provide an explanation.

Example: “ad astra per aspera,” a Latin phrase meaning “to the stars through difficulty.”

Founders

ȺpÎÞÂë has three original founders: Michael Fitzpatrick, Bishop Bernard J. Sheil and Frank J. Lewis. Honorary founders have also been named throughout the years.

Founders Week

In the name of this week-long series of events, founders is plural and does not carry an apostrophe.

Fractions

Spell out amounts less than 1 in running text, using hyphens between the words, such as two-thirds, four-fifths, seven-sixteenths.

Use figures for precise amounts larger than 1, converting to decimals whenever practical.

Fractions are preferred, however, when referring to the stock market.

When using fractional characters, use 11/₂ (for example) with no space between the figure and the fraction.

In tabular material, use figures exclusively, converting to decimals if the amounts involve extensive use of fractions that cannot be expressed as a single character.

Freshman, Freshmen

Refer to freshman and freshmen as first-year students.

FSC

See Brother in this section.

Full Time, Full-Time

Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier. Otherwise, do not hyphenate.

Examples: He works full time.

  He has a full-time job.

Gender-Biased Language

Avoid gender-biased language. For example, instead of policeman, use police officer. Chairman should be replaced with chair or chairperson. An exception to this rule is if the language is used as part of an official title within a company or institution, or is used within a quote.

When faced with a decision of whether to use his or her when the antecedent is indefinite, the best choice is to revise the sentence to a plural, less gender-oriented form.

Example: Reporters protect their sources.

Graduation Years

See Omitted Figures under Apostrophe.

Heights

See Dimensions in this section.

Highway Designations

Use these forms as appropriate in context for highways identified by number:

U.S. Highway 1, U.S. Route 1, Route 1, Illinois 34, Illinois Route 34, state Route 34, Route 34, Interstate Highway 495. If understood within the context, I-495 may also be used.

When a letter is appended to a number, capitalize it but do not use a hyphen: Route 1A.

International Students

This term should be used instead of foreign students.

Invitations

Invitations do not require end-of-line punctuation. Numbers greater than 10 and all street numbers may be spelled out. :00 or o’clock may also be used in conjunction with the times of events.

When printing the University’s address, Illinois may also be spelled out instead of using the two-letter state codes designated by the U.S. Postal Service. This rule applies to all other addresses used in invitations as well.

Consult the Mailing Addresses for more details.

Italics

Italics are effective in highlighting or setting a word or a sentence apart from the running text. However, discretion should be used. Too many italicized words or sentences defeat the purpose of italicizing.

Some titles of specific works are italicized. See Composition Titles in this section.

It’s, Its

It’s is a contraction for it is or it has.

Example: It’s nice to finally meet you.

Its is the possessive form of the neuter pronoun.

Example: The University is proud of its Mission.

Junior, Senior

See Family Lineage under Abbreviations.

Lay, Lie

The action word is lay. It takes a direct object. Laid is the form for its past tense and past participle. Its present participle is laying.

Lie indicates a state of reclining along a horizontal plane. It does not take a direct object. Its past tense is lay. Its past participle is lain. Its present participle is lying.

When lie means to make an untrue statement, the verb forms are lie, lied and lying.

Correct Examples of Present or Future Tenses (direct objects in bold)

I will lay the book on the table. The lawyer tried to lay the blame on him. He lies on the beach all day. I will lie down.

Incorrect Examples of Present or Future Tenses

He lays on the beach all day. I will lay down.

Correct Examples of Past Tense

I laid the book on the table. The lawyer has laid the blame on him. He lay on the beach all day. He has lain on the beach all day. I lay down. I have lain down.

Correct Examples in Present Participle

I am laying the book on the table. The lawyer is laying the blame on him. He is lying on the beach. I am lying down.

Lectures

Put quotation marks around the formal title of a lecture.

Lewis, ȺpÎÞÂë

Frank J. Lewis

When referring to ȺpÎÞÂë’s namesake, Frank J. Lewis, his full name (as it appears here) should be listed on first reference. Mr. Lewis should be used on second reference to differentiate the individual from the University.

ȺpÎÞÂë

Never abbreviate ȺpÎÞÂë in any reference. Lewis or the University may be used on second reference. When at all possible, the words ȺpÎÞÂë should be kept on the same line in running text.

University should always be capitalized when referring to ȺpÎÞÂë.

Line Breaks

Do not break a proper name. Do not break an already hyphenated word except at the hyphen. Do not end a column of text in a hyphen. Three or more characters of a hyphenated word should be brought to the next line. Never break the word Lewis when referring to ȺpÎÞÂë, and whenever possible do not place the words ȺpÎÞÂë on separate lines of running text.

Mailroom

Use as one word, when referring to the ȺpÎÞÂë Mailroom.

Master’s Degree

Use in conjunction with an apostrophe, unless using the more complete name of the specific degree.

Examples: He earned a master’s degree in business.

  He earned a master of arts degree in education.

Measurements

See Dimensions in this section.

Mid-

Do not use this prefix in conjunction with a hyphen unless a capitalized word follows.

Examples: mid-America or mid-Atlantic

  midsemester or midterm

Mile

A mile equals 5,280 feet. The metric equivalent is 1.6 kilometers. Use figures for amounts in dimensions, formulas and speeds.

Example: The car slowed to 7 miles per hour.

Spell out amounts below 10 in distances.

Example: He drove five miles.

Money

Dollars

Always lowercase the word dollars unless it begins a sentence. Use figures and the $ sign in all instances except with amounts that do not specify a figure. When the $ sign is used, the word dollars is not needed. Also the .00 which often follows the dollar amount is unnecessary.

Example: The book cost $50.

  I needed a few dollars more.

For specified amounts, the word takes a singular verb.

Example: He said $500,000 is what they want for the painting.

For amounts of more than $1 million, use the $ and numerals up to two decimal places. Do not link the numerals and the word by a hyphen. If exact figures are known, they may be used if important to the context.

Examples: He is worth $4.56 million. He is worth exactly $4,551,243.

  The net worth of the company is $2.1 billion.

The form for amounts less than $1 million is: $4, $25, $300, $2,000, $630,000.

Cents

Spell out the word cents and lowercase unless used at the beginning of a sentence.

Use numerals for amounts less than a dollar such as 5 cents, 12 cents, etc. Use the $ sign and decimal system for larger amounts such as $1.10 and $2.02.

Months

Names of months without a specific date, or with a year alone should be spelled out. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Spell out all other months.

When a phrase lists only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas. When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with commas. See Months Without Dates/Years Only under Abbreviations for examples.

Months and days of the week should be capitalized, but not the seasons (winter, spring, summer, fall).

Movies

Italicize the titles of movies.

Music

Put quotation marks around the names of all opera titles, song titles and other musical compositions.

Names

Add a comma before Jr. or Sr. but not before II or 2nd, etc. Do not put a space between initials, such as J.T. Atkinson or the U.S. embargo.

Non-

Hyphenate all words used in conjunction with this prefix except the following, which have specific meanings of their own:

nonchalance, nonchalant, nondescript, nonsense, and nonsensical.

Numerals

A numeral is a figure, letter, word or group of words expressing a number.

Arabic Numerals

Arabic numerals use the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0. Use Arabic forms unless Roman numerals are specifically required.

In most cases, numbers 10 and above should be represented numerically. When it is necessary to spell out large numbers, use a hyphen to connect a word ending in y to another word; do not use commas or the conjunction and to separate words that are part of the same number: twenty-one; one hundred forty-three; one thousand one hundred fifty-five; one million two hundred seventy-six thousand five hundred eighty-seven.

Spell out a numeral at the beginning of a sentence. If it is too awkward to spell it out, rewrite the sentence. One exception to this rule is a numeral that identifies a calendar year.

Examples: Five hundred students graduated in the fall.

  1967 was a year that began with   a lot of snow.

Spell out casual references.

Examples: Thanks a million! But a thousand times no!

  He walked a quarter of a mile.

When referencing proper names, use words or numerals according to an organization’s practice, such as 20th Century Fox.

For ordinal numbers (first, second, tenth, 1st, 2nd, 10th, etc.), spell out first through ninth when they indicate sequence in time or location such as first base, the First Amendment, or he was first in line. Starting with 10th, use figures.

Use 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. when the sequence has been assigned in forming names, including geographic, military and political designations such as 1st Ward, 7th Fleet or 1st Sgt.

For cardinal numbers (one, two, ten, 1, 2, 10, etc.), consult the separate entries within this guide including Addresses for Mailing Purposes; and Ages, Century, Course Numbers, Dates, Decimals, Dimensions, Distances, Fractions, Graduation Years, Highway Designations, Mile, Money, Page Numbers, Percentages, Room Numbers, Sizes, Speeds, Telephone Numbers, Temperatures, Weights and Years, all listed in this section.

For uses not covered by these listings, spell out whole numbers below 10 and use figures for 10 and above.

Roman Numerals

Roman numerals use the letters I, V, X, L, C, D and M. Use Roman numerals for wars and to show personal sequence for animals and people: World War II, King George VI, etc. See Family Lineage under Abbreviations for more information.

In Roman numerals, the capital letter I equals 1, V equals 5, X equals 10, L equals 50, C equals 100, D equals 500 and M equals 1,000. Do not use M to mean million as some publications sometimes do.

Other numbers are formed from these by adding or subtracting as follows:

The value of a letter following another of the same or greater value is added: III equals 3.

The value of a letter preceding one of greater value is subtracted: IV equals 4.

Office

Capitalize office when it is part of an agency’s formal name: Office of Campus Security.

Lowercase on second reference, such as the office. When used in plural form, offices should not be capitalized.

Example: The offices of Financial Aid Services and Campus Security will be open.

Most formal office names at Lewis begin with the Office of. When not used in this manner, office should not be capitalized.

Example: the Marketing and Communications office

An exception to this rule is the Business Office.

On

Do not use on before a date or day of the week as long as its absence does not lead to confusion.

Example: The meeting will be held Monday.

The word on is not necessary in this example.

Over

The word over is not interchangeable with more than. Over refers to spatial relationships.

Example: The plane flew over the city.

More than is used with figures.

Example: More than 170 people attended the event.

Page Numbers

Use figures and capitalize the word page when used with a figure. When a letter is appended to the figure, capitalize it but do not use a hyphen.

Examples:  Page 1, Page 10, Page 20A

Parkway

Always spell out the word parkway, whether used alone or with a numbered street address.

Example: One University Parkway

Percentages

Use figures: 1 percent, 2.5 percent (use decimals, not fractions), 10 percent.

For amounts less than 1 percent, precede the decimal with a zero.

Example: The cost of living rose 0.6 percent.

Do not abbreviate the word percent. In scientific, technical and statistical copy, use the symbol %. In all other copy, spell out. Never use pct.

Ph.D.

The preferred form is to say a person holds a doctorate and to name the individual’s area of specialty.

Example: Dr. Sam Jones visited the University this week. He holds a doctorate in physics and has written several books.

Never use the title of Dr. in conjunction with Ph.D., Ed.D., etc. For more information, see title entries under Abbreviations.

Play Titles

Put quotation marks around the names of all play titles.

Plurals

Follow these guidelines in forming and using plural words:

Most Words

Add s: boys, girls, ships, villages.

Words Ending in CH, S, SH, SS, X and Z

Add es: churches, lenses, parishes, glasses, boxes, buzzes.

Words Ending in F

Change f to v and add es, such as leaves and shelves.

Words Ending in IS

Change is to es, such as oases, parentheses and theses.

Words Ending in 0

If o is preceded by a consonant, most plurals require es, such as buffaloes, dominoes, echoes and heroes. In some cases, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, the plural of piano is pianos.

Words Ending in Y

If y is preceded by a consonant or qu, change y to i and add es, such as armies, cities, navies and soliloquies.

Latin Endings

For Latin-root words ending in us, change us to i, such as alumnus to alumni.

For most Latin-root words ending in a, change a to ae, such as alumna to alumnae. The word formula (formula to formulas) is an exception.

Words ending in on change to a, such as phenomenon to phenomena.

For most words ending in um, add s, such as referendums, memorandums and stadiums. Exceptions include addenda, curricula and media.

Compound Words

For compound words that involve separate words or words linked by a hyphen, the most significant word should be made plural, such as attorneys general, daughters-in-law, presidents-elect and deputy chiefs of staff.

Proper Names

For most proper names that end in es or z, add es, such as the Joneses or the Gonzalezes.

For most proper names ending in y, add s even if preceded by a consonant such as the Duffys and the Kennedys. Exceptions include the Alleghenies and the Rockies.

For other proper names, add s, such as the Hatfields and the McCoys.

Numerals, Single and Multiple Letters

See Apostrophe under Punctuation.

P.M., A.M.

Lowercase, with periods separating each letter. Avoid redundancy such as 10 p.m. at night. See Time in this section.

Possessives

Plural Nouns Not Ending in S

Add ’s, such as the alumni’s contributions and women’s rights.

Plural Nouns Ending in S

Add only an apostrophe, such as the churches’ needs and the girls’ toys.

Nouns Plural in Form, Singular in Meaning

Add only an apostrophe, such as measles’ effects and mathematics’ rules.

Apply the same principle when a plural word occurs in the formal name of a singular entity, such as the United States’ wealth and General Motors’ profits.

Nouns The Same in Singular and Plural

Treat these words the same as plurals, even if the meaning is singular, such as the two deer’s tracks and the lone moose’s antlers.

Singular Nouns Not Ending in S

Add ’s, such as the ship’s route and the horse’s food.

Singular Common Nouns Ending in S

Add ’s unless the next word begins with s. In those cases, just add an apostrophe.

Examples: The witness’s answer was unexpected.

  The witness’ story was unexpected.

Singular Proper Names Ending in S

Use only an apostrophe, such as Socrates’ life and Tennessee Williams’ plays.

Pronouns

Pronouns have separate forms for the possessive. None of the following involve an apostrophe: mine, ours, your, yours, his, hers, its, theirs and whose.

If using an apostrophe with a pronoun, always be certain that the meaning calls for a contraction, as in you’re, it’s, there’s and who’s.

Compound Words

Following the preceding rules, add an apostrophe or ’s to the word closest to the object possessed, such as the attorney general’s request, the attorneys general’s request, the major general’s decision, and the major generals’ decisions. See Plurals in this section for guidelines on forming the plurals of these words.

Joint Possession, Individual Possession

Use a possessive form after only the last word if ownership is joint, such as John and Julie’s house.

Use a possessive form after both words if the objects are individually owned, such as John’s and Julie’s books.

Descriptive Phrases

Do not add an apostrophe to a word ending in s when it is used primarily in a descriptive sense, such as the citizens band radio and a teachers college.

One way to remember this is that an apostrophe usually is not used if for or by rather than of would be appropriate in the longer form: a college for teachers.

An ’s is required, however, when a term involves a plural word that does not end in s, such as a children’s hospital and a people’s republic.

Descriptive Names

Some governmental, corporate and institutional organizations with a descriptive word in their names use an apostrophe; some do not. Follow the user’s practice:

Diners Club, the Ladies’ Home Journal, and the Veterans Administration.

Double Possessive

A double possessive is a phrase such as a friend of John’s. Two conditions must apply for a double possessive to occur:

1. The word after of must refer to an animate object, and
2. The word before of must involve only a portion of the animate object’s possessions. Otherwise, do not use the possessive form on the word after of.

Examples: He is a friend of the college. (not college’s, because college is inanimate)

  The friends of John Adams mourned his death. (not Adams’, because all of his friends were involved)

Inanimate Objects

In general, avoid excessive personalization of inanimate objects. When possible use an of construction when it fits the sentence.

For example, the earlier references in this section to measles’ effects and mathematics’ rules would be better phrased as the effects of measles and the rules of mathematics.

Prefixes

Three rules are constant in the case of prefixes, although some exceptions exist:

1. Except for cooperate and coordinate, use a hyphen if the prefix ends in a vowel and the word that follows begins with the same vowel.
2. Use a hyphen if the word that follows is capitalized, such as mid-America.
3. Use a hyphen to join doubled prefixes, such as sub-subparagraph.

For more information, see Hyphen under Punctuation.

President

Always capitalize the word president when referring to Lewis University’s President and in all other instances as a formal title, such as President Bush.

Professors

See Academic Titles/Degrees under Abbreviations.

Publications

Italicize and capitalize only official, published titles, such as the Lewis University Summer/Fall Course Schedule 2002. Otherwise, lowercase with no italics (the course schedule).

On first reference, it is important to use the full title of the publication, such as Vision 2006: Learning, Mission and Leadership.

Ratios

When using ratios, ȺpÎÞÂë’s style uses a colon to separate the figures.

Example: ȺpÎÞÂë’s student-faculty ratio is 15:1.

Regions, Directions

In general, lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc. when they indicate compass direction. Capitalize these words when they designate geographical regions.

Example: (Compass Direction)

  He drove west. The cold front moved east.

Example: (Regions)

  A storm system developed in the Midwest and spread eastward. It will bring showers to the East Coast by morning. Warm temperatures will prevail in the Western states.

Reprints

Reprinted material with another publication’s credit is not edited to University style.

Road

Always spell out, whether used alone or with a numbered street address.

Example: 159 Broadview Road

Roman Numerals

See Numerals in this section.

Room Numbers

Use figures and capitalize room when used with a figure, such as Room 320.

When a room number is combined with a letter (whether placed before or after the number), a hyphen should not be used to separate the letter from the room number.

Example: Your class is located in Room A133.

R.S.V.P.

R.S.V.P. is the abbreviation for the French respondez s’il vous plait. It means please reply.

Saint

See Saint and Geographic Names under Abbreviations for more information.

Saint John Baptist de La Salle

See De La Salle under Capitalization.

School

Whenever possible, avoid referring to ȺpÎÞÂë itself as a school. ȺpÎÞÂë has one school: the School of Graduate, Professional & Continuing Education (SGPCE).

Seasons

See Seasons under Capitalization.

Second References

Capitalize the word university in reference to Lewis. Capitalize the word president in reference to Lewis. Capitalize the word president in reference to ȺpÎÞÂë’s President.

Second and subsequent references to a person generally use only the last name, except in obituaries. Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., Rev.

Semester

(Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer)

Do not capitalize semesters in running text, unless a part of a formal name.

Example: The course will be taught during the fall semester.

Semiannual

Semiannual means twice a year; it is a synonym for biannual. Do not confuse it with biennial, which means every two years.

Should, Would

Use should to express an obligation.

Example: We should help the needy.

Use would to express a customary action, or in constructing a conditional past tense.

Example:  (Customary Action)

  During the summer we would spend a lot of time at the beach.

Example: (Conditional Past Tense)

  If I had not injured my foot, she would not have been late for the meeting.

Sizes

Use figures, such as a size 9 dress, size 40 long, 71/₂ shoes and a 341/₂ sleeve.

Song Titles

Place quotation marks around the titles of songs.

Spacing of Text

See the section titled Working With Text.

Speeds

Use figures.

Example: The car slowed to 7 miles per hour. The winds were 5 to 10 miles per hour. A 10-knot wind was recorded.

Avoid extensively hyphenated constructions, such as 5-mile-per-hour winds.

Suffixes

If a word combination is not listed in the dictionary, use two words for the verb form; and hyphenate all noun or adjective forms.

Symbols

In running text, spell out the words percent, degrees (temperature), feet, inches and cents. In tables, it is acceptable to use symbols for these (%,°,',", ¢).

Amounts greater than 99 cents should be in numerals with a dollar sign ($6).

See Money in this section for more information.

Telephone Numbers

In all references, use parentheses around the area code. This is based on a format that telephone companies have agreed upon for domestic and international communications.

For numbers within the United States, the parentheses around the area code should be followed by a space, the three-digit prefix, a hyphen and then the remaining four digits of the phone number.

Example: (815) 838-0500

Since direct telephone numbers are available to reach departments, offices and individual faculty, staff and students at the University, these should be used whenever possible instead of the University’s main telephone number (815) 838-0500 along with the appropriate telephone extension.

For internal publications, extensions alone may be used. When extension numbers are given, the word extension may be capitalized and abbreviated when accompanied by the specific number.

Example: The Director of Public Relations may be reached at Ext. 5297.

ȺpÎÞÂë’s toll-free number should be used only in conjunction with recruiting/enrollment efforts.

Television Program Titles

Place quotation marks around the name of a television show. Put the word show in the quotes if it is part of the formal name. The word show may be dropped when it would be cumbersome, such as in a set of listings. Use quotation marks also for the title of an episode.

Temperatures

Use figures for all temperatures except zero. Use a word, not a minus sign, to indicate temperatures below zero.

Examples: The day’s low was minus 10, or the day’s low was 10 below zero.

  Temperatures fell 5 degrees.

  It is 86 degrees here.

Note that generally it is not necessary to specify Fahrenheit or Celsius. In cases where this is needed, the specific temperature scale should follow the word degrees and should always be capitalized. If understood, the first letter of the scale may be used alone (with the number of degrees) as long as it is capitalized (with no period following unless it is the end of the sentence).

Examples: It is 86 degrees Fahrenheit here.

  It is 86 F here.

Remember, temperatures get higher or lower, but they don’t get warmer or cooler.

That

Use the conjunction that to introduce a dependent clause if the sentence sounds or looks awkward without it. While there are exceptions, that usually may be omitted when a dependent clause immediately follows a form of a verb.

Example: He said he signed the form.

That should be used when a time element intervenes between the verb and the dependent clause.

Example: He said Monday that he signed the form.

That usually is necessary after some verbs, including advocate, assert, contend, declare, estimate, make clear, point out, propose and state.

That is required before subordinate clauses beginning with conjunctions such as after, although, because, before, in addition to, until and while.

Example: John said that after he realized the deadline had passed, he decided to wait until next semester

When in doubt, include that. Omission can confuse the meaning. Inclusion does not hurt as long as it is not excessively used throughout the text.

That is the preferred pronoun to introduce essential clauses that refer to an inanimate object or an animal without a name. An essential clause is a clause that cannot be eliminated without changing the meaning of the sentence. An essential clause should not be set off from the rest of a sentence by commas.

Example: The part of the army that suffered severe injuries needed reinforcement.

See Which as well as Who, Whom entries in this section for more information about essential and non-essential clauses.

Theater, Theatre

Always use theatre when referring to ȺpÎÞÂë’s Philip Lynch Theatre. The generic use of the word is theater. When referring to the proper names of other theaters, use the form included as part of the formal name.

Time (a.m., p.m.)

Lowercase a.m. and p.m. The periods may be removed in tables and lists if space is limited, but periods should always be used in text.

Use noon instead of 12 p.m. or 12 noon, and use midnight instead of 12 a.m. or 12 midnight.

Do not use :00 or o’clock with a time unless it is included in quoted material or within contexts such as very formal publications (invitations, etc.).

Time (Standard)

See Standard Time under Capitalization.

Time Zones

Capitalize the full name of the time in force within a particular zone: Eastern Standard Time, Eastern Daylight Time, Central Standard Time, etc.

Lowercase all but the region in short forms: the Eastern time zone, Eastern time, Mountain time, etc.

The abbreviations EST, CDT, etc. are acceptable for zones used within the continental United States, Canada and Mexico only if the abbreviation is linked with a clock reading, such as noon EST and 9 a.m. PST. Do not set the abbreviations off with commas.

Spell out all references to time zones not used within the continental United States. For example, when it is noon EDT, it is 1 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time and 7 a.m. Alaska Standard Time.

One exception to this rule is that Greenwich Mean Time may be abbreviated GMT on second reference if used with a clock reading.

As with all abbreviations, it is important to be certain the acronyms used are clearly understood.

Titles

See Titles/Degrees under Abbreviations; and Composition Titles under this section.

Under Way

The term under way consists of two words in almost all uses.

Example: The project is under way.

It consists of one word only when used as an adjective before a noun in a nautical context, such as an underway flotilla.

United States, U.S.

See United States, U.S. under Abbreviations.

University

Never abbreviate ȺpÎÞÂë, in any reference. Lewis or the University may be used on second reference. When at all possible, the words ȺpÎÞÂë should be kept on the same line in running text. University should always be capitalized when referring to ȺpÎÞÂë.

Vice

Use as a separate word without a hyphen in instances such as vice president, vice consul, vice chancellor, vice principal, vice regent, vice secretary, vice chairman and vice admiral.

Vice President

See Titles/Degrees under Abbreviations; and Academic, Business and Religious Titles under Capitalization.

The Web and e-mail

Database

Use database as one word and lowercase in most instances.

E-mail

Hyphenate e-mail and lowercase it except at the start of a sentence.

Home Page

Use home page as two words and lowercase unless part of a formal name.

http://

In running text, http:// is not needed at the start of a Web address listing unless the address doesn’t start with www or there might be some confusion about whether it is a Web address.

Internet

Capitalize Internet.

Line Breaks

Do not break a line of text after a period or a slash within a Web or an e-mail address. Whenever possible, try to keep the entire Web or e-mail address on the same line of text. In cases where this cannot be done, bring the period or slash down to start the next line. If an address does not fit on one line, do not hyphenate when breaking it.

Online

Do not hyphenate online; this should be treated as one word.

Online Publications

Italicize the titles of online publications, such as University News.

Web

Web should be capitalized when referring to the World Wide Web. Web site is two words and Web should be capitalized while site should be lowercase.

Web Address

Avoid ending a sentence with a Web address since readers may think the period ending the sentence is part of the address. When possible, put the Web address in midsentence. The Web address should always be lowercase.

< >

The symbol < > is not needed around the listing of a Web address.

Weights

Use figures.

Example: The baby weighed more than 9 pounds. She had a 9-pound, 7-ounce boy.

Which

Which is the only acceptable pronoun to introduce a non-essential clause that refers to an inanimate object or an animal without a name. A non-essential clause is a clause that can be eliminated without changing the meaning of a sentence. It must be set off by commas.

Example: The book, which he never read, contained a series of short stories.

The pronoun which occasionally may be substituted for that in the introduction of an essential clause that refers to an inanimate object or an animal without a name. In general, this use of which should appear only when that is used as a conjunction to introduce another clause in the same sentence.

Example: He said Monday that the section of the building which suffered the most damage needs immediate repair.

See That in this section for more information about essential and non-essential clauses. Also see Who, Whom in this section.

Who, Whom

Use who and whom for references to human beings and to animals with a name. Use that and which for inanimate objects and animals without a name. See That and Which in this section for more information.

Who is the word to use when someone is the subject of a sentence, clause or phrase.

Example: The woman who rented the room left the window open. Who is there?

Whom is the word to use when someone is the object of a verb or preposition.

Example: The woman to whom the room was rented left the window open. Whom do you wish to see?

When using who and whom in conjunction with essential and non-essential clauses, do not use commas to set the clause off from a sentence if the clause is essential to the meaning; use commas if the clause is not essential. See That and Which entries in this section for further information on essential and non-essential clauses.

Example: Employees who are consistently ahead of deadline will be rewarded.

(This sentence includes an essential clause. In this example, the writer is saying that only one group of employees, those who are consistently ahead of deadline, will be rewarded.)

Example: Employees, who are consistently ahead of deadline, will be rewarded.

(This sentence includes a non-essential clause. In this example, the writer is saying that all employees will be rewarded. If the who are consistently ahead of deadline phrase were deleted, the meaning of this sentence would not change.)

Who’s, Whose

Who’s is a contraction for who is, not a possessive.

Example: Who’s there?

Whose is the possessive.

Example: I do not know whose coat it is.

Wide-

Usually hyphenated, such as wide-awake, wide-eyed, and wide-open.

-Wide

No hyphen, including examples such as nationwide, statewide and worldwide.

Widows

See Working with Text.

X ray, X-ray

Although X-ray, X ray and x ray are all cited in Webster’s New World Dictionary as possible options, use X-ray for most instances.

Years

Use figures, such as 1975. To indicate spans of decades or centuries, use an s without an apostrophe, such as the 1800s.

Years are the lone exception to the general rule in numerals that a figure is not used to start a sentence.

Example: 1976 was a very good year.

See Months Without Dates/Years Only under Abbreviations for more information.

ZIP Codes

Use all-caps ZIP for Zone Improvement Program. Run the five-digit code without placing a comma between the state name and the ZIP code.

Example: Romeoville, IL 60446 

When possible, use the four-digit extension that follows the five-digit code to further clarify the address. A hyphen should be used to separate the five-digit code from the numeric extension.

Example: Romeoville, IL 60446

Professors

See Academic Titles/Degrees under Abbreviations.

Publications

Italicize and capitalize only official, published titles, such as the Lewis University Summer/Fall Course Schedule 2002. Otherwise, lowercase with no italics (the course schedule).

On first reference, it is important to use the full title of the publication, such as Vision 2006: Learning, Mission and Leadership.

Ratios

When using ratios, ȺpÎÞÂë’s style uses a colon to separate the figures.

Example: ȺpÎÞÂë’s student-faculty ratio is 15:1.

Regions, Directions

In general, lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc. when they indicate compass direction. Capitalize these words when they designate geographical regions.

Example: (Compass Direction)

  He drove west. The cold front moved east.

Example: (Regions)

  A storm system developed in the Midwest and spread eastward. It will bring showers to the East Coast by morning. Warm temperatures will prevail in the Western states.

Reprints

Reprinted material with another publication’s credit is not edited to University style.

Road

Always spell out, whether used alone or with a numbered street address.

Example: 159 Broadview Road

Roman Numerals

See Numerals in this section.

Room Numbers

Use figures and capitalize room when used with a figure, such as Room 320.

When a room number is combined with a letter (whether placed before or after the number), a hyphen should not be used to separate the letter from the room number.

Example: Your class is located in Room A133.

R.S.V.P.

R.S.V.P. is the abbreviation for the French respondez s’il vous plait. It means please reply.

Saint

See Saint and Geographic Names under Abbreviations for more information.

Saint John Baptist de La Salle

See De La Salle under Capitalization.

School

Whenever possible, avoid referring to ȺpÎÞÂë itself as a school. ȺpÎÞÂë has one school: the School of Education.

Seasons

See Seasons under Capitalization.

Second References

Capitalize the word university in reference to Lewis. Capitalize the word president in reference to ȺpÎÞÂë’s President.

Second and subsequent references to a person generally use only the last name, except in obituaries. Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., Rev.

Semester

(Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer)

Do not capitalize semesters in running text, unless a part of a formal name.

Example: The course will be taught during the fall semester.

Semiannual

Semiannual means twice a year; it is a synonym for biannual. Do not confuse it with biennial, which means every two years.

Should, Would

Use should to express an obligation.

Example: We should help the needy.

Use would to express a customary action, or in constructing a conditional past tense.

Example:  (Customary Action)

  During the summer we would spend a lot of time at the beach.

Example: (Conditional Past Tense)

  If I had not injured my foot, she would not have been late for the meeting.

Sizes

Use figures, such as a size 9 dress, size 40 long, 71/₂ shoes and a 341/₂ sleeve.

Song Titles

Place quotation marks around the titles of songs.

Spacing of Text

See the section titled Working With Text.

Speeds

Use figures.

Example: The car slowed to 7 miles per hour. The winds were 5 to 10 miles per hour. A 10-knot wind was recorded.

Avoid extensively hyphenated constructions, such as 5-mile-per-hour winds.

Suffixes

If a word combination is not listed in the dictionary, use two words for the verb form; and hyphenate all noun or adjective forms.

Symbols

In running text, spell out the words percent, degrees (temperature), feet, inches and cents. In tables, it is acceptable to use symbols for these (%,°,',", ¢).

Amounts greater than 99 cents should be in numerals with a dollar sign ($6).

See Money in this section for more information.

Telephone Numbers

In all references, use parentheses around the area code. This is based on a format that telephone companies have agreed upon for domestic and international communications.

For numbers within the United States, the parentheses around the area code should be followed by a space, the three-digit prefix, a hyphen and then the remaining four digits of the phone number.

Example: (815) 838-0500

Since direct telephone numbers are available to reach departments, offices and individual faculty, staff and students at the University, these should be used whenever possible instead of the University’s main telephone number (815) 838-0500 along with the appropriate telephone extension.

For internal publications, extensions alone may be used. When extension numbers are given, the word extension may be capitalized and abbreviated when accompanied by the specific number.

Example: The Director of Public Relations may be reached at Ext. 5297.

ȺpÎÞÂë’s toll-free number should be used only in conjunction with recruiting/enrollment efforts.

Television Program Titles

Place quotation marks around the name of a television show. Put the word show in the quotes if it is part of the formal name. The word show may be dropped when it would be cumbersome, such as in a set of listings. Use quotation marks also for the title of an episode.

Temperatures

Use figures for all temperatures except zero. Use a word, not a minus sign, to indicate temperatures below zero.

Examples: The day’s low was minus 10, or the day’s low was 10 below zero.

  Temperatures fell 5 degrees.

  It is 86 degrees here.

Note that generally it is not necessary to specify Fahrenheit or Celsius. In cases where this is needed, the specific temperature scale should follow the word degrees and should always be capitalized. If understood, the first letter of the scale may be used alone (with the number of degrees) as long as it is capitalized (with no period following unless it is the end of the sentence).

Examples: It is 86 degrees Fahrenheit here.

  It is 86 F here.

Remember, temperatures get higher or lower, but they don’t get warmer or cooler.

That

Use the conjunction that to introduce a dependent clause if the sentence sounds or looks awkward without it. While there are exceptions, that usually may be omitted when a dependent clause immediately follows a form of a verb.

Example: He said he signed the form.

That should be used when a time element intervenes between the verb and the dependent clause.

Example: He said Monday that he signed the form.

That usually is necessary after some verbs, including advocate, assert, contend, declare, estimate, make clear, point out, propose and state.

That is required before subordinate clauses beginning with conjunctions such as after, although, because, before, in addition to, until and while.

Example: John said that after he realized the deadline had passed, he decided to wait until next semester

When in doubt, include that. Omission can confuse the meaning. Inclusion does not hurt as long as it is not excessively used throughout the text.

That is the preferred pronoun to introduce essential clauses that refer to an inanimate object or an animal without a name. An essential clause is a clause that cannot be eliminated without changing the meaning of the sentence. An essential clause should not be set off from the rest of a sentence by commas.

Example: The part of the army that suffered severe injuries needed reinforcement.

See Which as well as Who, Whom entries in this section for more information about essential and non-essential clauses.

Theater, Theatre

Always use theatre when referring to ȺpÎÞÂë’s Philip Lynch Theatre. The generic use of the word is theater. When referring to the proper names of other theaters, use the form included as part of the formal name.

Time (a.m., p.m.)

Lowercase a.m. and p.m. The periods may be removed in tables and lists if space is limited, but periods should always be used in text.

Use noon instead of 12 p.m. or 12 noon, and use midnight instead of 12 a.m. or 12 midnight.

Do not use :00 or o’clock with a time unless it is included in quoted material or within contexts such as very formal publications (invitations, etc.).

Time (Standard)

See Standard Time under Capitalization.

Time Zones

Capitalize the full name of the time in force within a particular zone: Eastern Standard Time, Eastern Daylight Time, Central Standard Time, etc.

Lowercase all but the region in short forms: the Eastern time zone, Eastern time, Mountain time, etc.

The abbreviations EST, CDT, etc. are acceptable for zones used within the continental United States, Canada and Mexico only if the abbreviation is linked with a clock reading, such as noon EST and 9 a.m. PST. Do not set the abbreviations off with commas.

Spell out all references to time zones not used within the continental United States. For example, when it is noon EDT, it is 1 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time and 7 a.m. Alaska Standard Time.

One exception to this rule is that Greenwich Mean Time may be abbreviated GMT on second reference if used with a clock reading.

As with all abbreviations, it is important to be certain the acronyms used are clearly understood.

Titles

See Titles/Degrees under Abbreviations; and Composition Titles under this section.

Under Way

The term under way consists of two words in almost all uses.

Example: The project is under way.

It consists of one word only when used as an adjective before a noun in a nautical context, such as an underway flotilla.

United States, U.S.

See United States, U.S. under Abbreviations.

University

Never abbreviate ȺpÎÞÂë, in any reference. Lewis or the University may be used on second reference. When at all possible, the words ȺpÎÞÂë should be kept on the same line in running text. University should always be capitalized when referring to ȺpÎÞÂë.

Vice

Use as a separate word without a hyphen in instances such as vice president, vice consul, vice chancellor, vice principal, vice regent, vice secretary, vice chairman and vice admiral.

Vice President

See Titles/Degrees under Abbreviations; and Academic, Business and Religious Titles under Capitalization.

The Web and e-mail

Database

Use database as one word and lowercase in most instances.

E-mail

Hyphenate e-mail and lowercase it except at the start of a sentence.

Home Page

Use home page as two words and lowercase unless part of a formal name.

http://

In running text, http:// is not needed at the start of a Web address listing unless the address doesn’t start with www or there might be some confusion about whether it is a Web address.

Internet

Capitalize Internet.

Line Breaks

Do not break a line of text after a period or a slash within a Web or an e-mail address. Whenever possible, try to keep the entire Web or e-mail address on the same line of text. In cases where this cannot be done, bring the period or slash down to start the next line. If an address does not fit on one line, do not hyphenate when breaking it.

Online

Do not hyphenate online; this should be treated as one word.

Online Publications

Italicize the titles of online publications, such as University News.

Web

Web should be capitalized when referring to the World Wide Web.

Web Address

Avoid ending a sentence with a Web address since readers may think the period ending the sentence is part of the address. When possible, put the Web address in midsentence. The Web address should always be lowercase.

< >

The symbol < > is not needed around the listing of a Web address.

See the section titled Web Standards.

Weights

Use figures.

Example: The baby weighed more than 9 pounds. She had a 9-pound, 7-ounce boy.

Which

Which is the only acceptable pronoun to introduce a non-essential clause that refers to an inanimate object or an animal without a name. A non-essential clause is a clause that can be eliminated without changing the meaning of a sentence. It must be set off by commas.

Example: The book, which he never read, contained a series of short stories.

The pronoun which occasionally may be substituted for that in the introduction of an essential clause that refers to an inanimate object or an animal without a name. In general, this use of which should appear only when that is used as a conjunction to introduce another clause in the same sentence.

Example: He said Monday that the section of the building which suffered the most damage needs immediate repair.

See That in this section for more information about essential and non-essential clauses. Also see Who, Whom in this section.

Who, Whom

Use who and whom for references to human beings and to animals with a name. Use that and which for inanimate objects and animals without a name. See That and Which in this section for more information.

Who is the word to use when someone is the subject of a sentence, clause or phrase.

Example: The woman who rented the room left the window open. Who is there?

Whom is the word to use when someone is the object of a verb or preposition.

Example: The woman to whom the room was rented left the window open. Whom do you wish to see?

When using who and whom in conjunction with essential and non-essential clauses, do not use commas to set the clause off from a sentence if the clause is essential to the meaning; use commas if the clause is not essential. See That and Which entries in this section for further information on essential and non-essential clauses.

Example: Employees who are consistently ahead of deadline will be rewarded.

(This sentence includes an essential clause. In this example, the writer is saying that only one group of employees, those who are consistently ahead of deadline, will be rewarded.)

Example: Employees, who are consistently ahead of deadline, will be rewarded.

(This sentence includes a non-essential clause. In this example, the writer is saying that all employees will be rewarded. If the who are consistently ahead of deadline phrase were deleted, the meaning of this sentence would not change.)

Who’s, Whose

Who’s is a contraction for who is, not a possessive.

Example: Who’s there?

Whose is the possessive.

Example: I do not know whose coat it is.

Wide-

Usually hyphenated, such as wide-awake, wide-eyed, and wide-open.

-Wide

No hyphen, including examples such as nationwide, statewide and worldwide.

Widows

See Working with Text.

X ray, X-ray

Although X-ray, X ray and x ray are all cited in Webster’s New World Dictionary as possible options, use X-ray for most instances.

Years

Use figures, such as 1975. To indicate spans of decades or centuries, use an s without an apostrophe, such as the 1800s.

Years are the lone exception to the general rule in numerals that a figure is not used to start a sentence.

Example: 1976 was a very good year.

See Months Without Dates/Years Only under Abbreviations for more information.

ZIP Codes

Use all-caps ZIP for Zone Improvement Program. Run the five-digit code without placing a comma between the state name and the ZIP code.

Example: Romeoville, IL 60446 

When possible, use the four-digit extension that follows the five-digit code to further clarify the address. A hyphen should be used to separate the five-digit code from the numeric extension.

Example: Romeoville, IL 60446

Share ➤