EDITORIAL STYLE

English Style Guide

Updated 1/10/24

Our goals are clarity, consistency and brevity. In general, our office follows Associated Press style, “Garner’s Modern American Usage” and “Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.” Exceptions, additions and reminders are listed below.

Abbreviations and acronyms
Avoid using abbreviations, acronyms or long unwieldy names on second reference.  Using a generic term is usually more appropriate.  Ninety students from UW-Whitewater will study abroad over the next two years thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Institute for Study Abroad Foundation. UW-Whitewater is the only university in Wisconsin to receive a grant from the foundation.

Academic degrees
Use bachelor’s degree in finance or master’s degree in human resource management, or Bachelor of Arts. Use abbreviations when it is necessary to distinguish a specific type of degree or when using the full terms would prove cumbersome. For degrees with three or more capital letters (MBA, BBA, BFA), the periods are omitted. The word degree should not follow a degree abbreviation. Form the plural with an s: M.D.s and Ph.D.s were awarded. UW-Whitewater does not offer a Ph.D.; however the usage can arise when referring to faculty or alumni degrees. B.E. (Bachelor of Education) is a legacy degree no longer offered at UW-Whitewater. When listing degrees after a name, use a comma: Jeff Angileri, B.A.

The following degrees are offered at UW-Whitewater:
A.A. - Associate of Arts
AAS - Associate of Arts and Sciences
B.A. - Bachelor of Arts
BAAS - Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences
BBA - Bachelor of Business Administration
BFA - Bachelor of Fine Arts
B.M. - Bachelor of Music
B.S. - Bachelor of Science
BSE - Bachelor of Science in Education
BSN - Bachelor of Science in Nursing (granted by Edgewood College; Rock County partnership)
M.S. - Master of Science
MBA - Master of Business Administration
MSE - Master of Science in Education
MSW - Master of Social Work
MPA - Master of Professional Accountancy
Ed.S. - Education Specialist
DBA - Doctor of Business Administration

academic titles – Capitalize before a name; lowercase when used alone or in constructions that set them off from a name by commas. Assistant Professor Michael Bennett wrote a book on the Theatre of the Absurd. John Chenoweth, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, introduced the student commencement speaker.

acronyms – Although we refer to campus units by acronyms in speech and some internal publications (such as CoBE for the College of Business and Economics), avoid acronyms. If an acronym must be used, spell out the full name on the first mention, with the acronym subsequent mentions. Russ Kashian leads the Fiscal and Economic Research Center. FERC completed 26 reports this year.

adviser – While AP Style uses adviser, it is OK to use advisor, as this alternate spelling is common and a best practice in higher education settings, especially with regard to academic advising.

alumni – Identify University of Wisconsin-Whitewater alumni by degree and year of graduation. Jeff Angileri, B.A. 2006 or Jeff Angileri, B.A. ’06. (Use the reverse apostrophe.) For alumni with multiple degrees: Joy Yang, B.A. 1998, M.S. 2006. Terms used to identify graduates of an institution are Latin words: alumnus (male singular), alumna (female singular), alumnae (female plural), alumni (male plural or mixed group plural). When possible, use the gender-neutral alum (singular) or alums (plural).

ampersand (&) – Do not use an ampersand in place of “and.” It should be used, however, when it is part of a company’s formal name or a composition title.

a.m., p.m. – Lowercase, with periods. Use noon and midnight.

campus locations – Include the name of the building, not its initials, and the room number. Auditions will be held in James R. Connor University Center, room 261. University Center 261 is acceptable for internal audiences. Rooms with proper names are capitalized, Hamilton Room. See list of building names.

capitalization – Capitalize only the first word in headings unless the headings refer to proper names. Formal titles (people) are capitalized when used immediately before a name and set lowercase when used alone or in constructions that set them off from a name by commas. Dean Eileen Hayes attended the open forum. The chancellor attended the open forum. Paul Waelchli, director of Andersen Library, cut the ribbon.

comma (,) – Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series. The flag is red, white and blue.  He would nominate Tom, Dick or Harry. If omitting a comma would create ambiguity or confusion, use a comma.

course names – Capitalize proper names ( English) and course names followed by a number ( Speech 204).  Use lower case for general course names ( history class, chemistry class).

dates – Standard order is time of day, day of the week, month and date ( 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6). Use the year only if needed for clarity.  When a phrase lists only a month and a year, spell out the month and do not separate the year with a comma. January 2011. When a phrase includes a date, set off the years with commas. Commencement dates are set for 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010, and Saturday, May 14, 2011.

department and office names – Capitalize when used as a formal name: Department of History. Lowercase when used as an informal name: the history department, the department. Capitalize the words department, college, office and school only when they appear as part of the official name. Words such as department can be omitted on second reference, but if the department is still referred to by its official name, it should be capitalized. Casual references to a department, where department is used as a descriptor, are not capitalized ( a political science committee; the political science department). Do not capitalize department names when they are used to indicate the subject a professor teaches ( Susan Johnson of political science). Do not capitalize the words college, school, university or department on second reference ( the College of Letters and Sciences, the college). See list of departments and offices.

doctor – Per AP Style, do not use Dr. before the names of individuals who hold non-medical doctoral degrees. Instead, when necessary or appropriate: Cassandra Karoub, who has a doctorate in mathematics, was lead researcher. U.S. first lady Jill Biden, who has a doctorate in education, plans to continue teaching. U.S. second gentleman Doug Emhoff, a lawyer, is joining the faculty of Georgetown Law.

email – One word; no dash.

events – Always list events in the following order: time, day of the week, month, date and place. The Warhawks will take on UW-Oshkosh at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, in Gym 1 of the Williams Center.

faculty – Refers to a group, not individuals.  For individuals, use faculty members or members of the faculty.  Do not write “three faculty.”

fight song  – Warhawks, we're the Warhawks
Shouting out our battle cry
So beat the drums and let the trumpets blow
On to victory Go! Go!
Warhawks, mighty Warhawks
We are proud to bear the name
So take that ball and then go
Whitewater
Win this game!

gameday

gender-neutral language – Use gender-neutral language in all references, except when referencing individuals who self-identify with preferred personal pronouns. Students are invited to attend the rally. Candidates should submit their applications. Susan Johnson is chair of the committee and she says the group will meet monthly. Jeff Angileri earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism.  

hyphen (-) – When a compound modifier — two or more words that express a single concept — precedes a noun, use hyphens to link all the words in the compound except all adverbs that end in –ly. A first-quarter touchdown, a full-time student, an easily remembered rule. Many combinations that are hyphenated before a noun are not hyphenated when they occur after a noun. Marcia works full time.

majors, minors – Names of majors and minors are always lowercase except for words that are proper nouns or for visual purposes when they appear in list form. Marcia is an elementary education major.  Steve is an English major.

numerals – Spell out whole numbers below 10; use figures for 10 and above. The women’s wheelchair basketball team won three national championships.  There are 15 players on the team. For ordinals, spell out first through ninth.  Starting with 10 ^th use figures.

Rock County branch campus  – The official name is University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at Rock County. UW-Whitewater at Rock County is also acceptable. Casually known as URock. 

special students with full credentials – Students who entered UW-Whitewater having already earned a bachelor’s degree — either at UW-Whitewater or another institution — and are accumulating enough credits to qualify for a new undergraduate degree. Students in this classification are eligible to enroll in up to 18 credits and must meet grade-point average requirements. Academic Advising Reports (AARs) are not available for these students, and formal advising is not required.

special students without credentials – Students who enroll for six units or fewer in any term may apply for admission as “special students without credentials.” These students are not considered candidates for a degree, are not eligible for financial aid, and are not required to receive formal academic advising. Academic Advising Reports (AARs) are not available for special students.

student-athlete  

students – Include a student’s year in school, major and hometown when possible. For example, Carmen Zimmerman of Rosendale was named the December 2010 student commencement speaker. She will receive a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in marketing and a Bachelor of Arts with a journalism major and an emphasis in advertising.

study abroad

telephone numbers – Use figures without parentheses.  The form:  123-456-7890.

time, date, place – Write the information in that order.  The game begins at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, in Gym 1 of the Williams Center.

times – When listing times, “to” should accompany “from.” The dance will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. In listings, however, en dashes (–) are acceptable. The store is open Monday–Friday, 2–4 p.m.

School of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education – If the primary audience is internal, use the full name of the school. In materials intended for external audiences, separate the name to reflect the part of the school in which programming originates. The School of Graduate Studies offers a master’s degree in counseling. UW-Whitewater’s popular camps, run by Continuing Education Services, bring thousands of middle and high school students to campus each year.

staff – UW-Whitewater employees are divided into three categories: faculty, governed by the Faculty Senate; academic staff, governed by the Academic Staff Assembly; and university staff, governed by the University Staff Council.

Universities of Wisconsin – The collective name of the 13 public universities in Wisconsin, which includes UW-Whitewater. Previously known as the University of Wisconsin System or UW System, the name was updated in 2023. Do not shorten to “the UW,” as this may cause confusion with the University of Wisconsin, a common name for UW-Madison, or the University of Washington. Note: The Board of Regents will continue to use University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents. The president of the Board of Regents is referred to as: Karen Walsh, president of the University of Wisconsin System (or UW System) Board of Regents or President of the University of Wisconsin System (or UW System) Board of Regents Karen Walsh. Upon second reference, use Regent President Walsh.

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater – Spell out completely on first reference; shorten to “UW-Whitewater” on subsequent references. Never use UWW in our official communications. In informal communications, UWW is acceptable. Do not use UW-W.

Web – Short form of World Wide Web. Note: website, webcam, webcast, and webmaster are one word. But: web address, web browser. Omit http://www. at the beginning of URLs.

Warhawk Strut  – You do the Warhawk Strut
Shake your butt
Do the Warhawk Strut
Shake your butt
Shake it to the left
Shake it to the right
Shake it with the one
that you love all night
Shake that booty
all night long

Whitewater University Technology Park – The Innovation Center is the first building constructed in the park.

Willie Warhawk – Not “Willy.”

Wisconsin – Spell out all states. Use AP Style state abbreviations Wis. in tabular material or when space is limited. Use the postal abbreviation “WI” only in complete addresses that include a zip code.

Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, WIAC – UW-Whitewater is one of eight full members in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which includes: UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Platteville, UW-River Falls, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Stout. UW-Superior departed as a full member on July 1, 2015. Three Minnesota Schools and one Michigan school (and UW-Superior) are associate members.

work-study

Programs
Future Teacher Program
Launch Pad
LIFE (Learning is for Everyone)
Multicultural Business Program (formerly Minority Business Program)
Pathway for Success
PreCollege Programs
Undergraduate Research Program
University Honors Program