Many words have alternate spellings and capitalization rules. Deciding which to use can cause headaches (even arguments) and not deciding can create inconsistencies within publications. Therefore, we have chosen specific spellings and capitalization requirements for frequently used words or expressions.
A A (when referring to a grade, no quotation marks); grades of A or As
AB (Artium Baccalaureus) or BA (Bachelor of Arts)
Academy Award winner; Academy Award–winning producer
ACT (American College Test)
Americans with Disabilities Act Office, ADA Office
adviser
African American (no hyphen)
a.k.a. (also known as)
All-American
alpine skiing
Alumni College
Alumni of Color Weekend
Alumni Fund
Alumni Leadership Conference (ALC)
alum(s) (informal for alumnus/a/i)
alumnus (masculine singular), alumna (feminine singular), alumnae (plural feminine), alumni (plural all, or a group of unknown gender)
a.m. (small caps, more formal usage) or, a.m.
Annual Giving, Annual Fund, Office of Annual Giving
Arabic School (Language Schools)
Asian American (no hyphen; avoid use of Oriental)
B B (when referring to a grade, no quotation marks); grades of B or Bs
BA, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Arts degree, bachelor’s degree
Baccalaureate
BCE (before common era)
Bible
biblical
black (lowercase in reference to race)
Board of Trustees, the board, the trustees
Bread Loaf School of English
Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference
C C (when referring to a grade, no quotation marks); grades of C or Cs
café, also cafe
campuswide
Career Services Office, CSO
catalog
Center for International Affairs
CD, CDs
C (centigrade); 78 degrees C (no period used within a sentence); 78°C (no spaces)
CEO, CEOs
chair, chairperson
Château , the Château, le Château
Chinese School (Language Schools)
class, Class of 2002 (cap for specific classes),
co words (close up most co words, such as coexistence, cocurricular)
coauthor, cocurricular, cohead
co-chair
College (when referring to Middlebury)
College Advancement (new name for External Affairs)
College-wide
Commencement
Commons, Ross Commons, the Commons
Commons dean
Commons system
Convocation
cooperative
course work
cum laude (roman type, no italics)
curriculum vitae, CV; curricula vitae, CVs (plural); informal usage: vita, vitae (pl.)
C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad
D–E D (when referring to a grade, no quotation marks); grades of D or Ds
data (used as a plural noun, i.e. “earnings,” or a singular “mass noun,” i.e. “information”)
database
Dean’s List
dean of the faculty, dean of the College, the dean’s office
Degrees granted by Middlebury College:
BA—Bachelor of Arts (also, AB—Artium Baccalaureus)
MA—Master of Arts
M.Litt.—Master of Letters
MML—Master of Modern Languages
MS—Master of Science
DML—Doctor of Modern Languages
Department of Physics, physics department, Department of French, French department
dot-com
East, east (cap when referring to geographic location; lowercase for compass direction)
Eastern Europe
electronic mail
etc. (usually followed by a comma)
e.g. (use when you mean “for example”; roman type, usually followed by a comma)
e-mail, e-book, e-commerce, e-shopping. (Note: Many wish we would omit the “arcane” hyphen with the E-words. Unfortunately, it is not as arcane as most people think and is still hyphenated in Merriam-Webster. Most words that combine an initial with a second word begin with a capital letter and use a hyphen (T-shirt, U-turn, S-curve, X-ray).
emerita (feminine singular), emeritus (masc. singular), emeritae (fem. pl.), emeriti (masc. plural or masc/fem plural)
environmental studies, environmental studies program, Program in Environmental Studies
euro
extracurricular
F F (when referring to a grade, no quotation marks); grades of F or Fs
F (Fahrenheit) 45 degrees F (no period used within a sentence); 45ºF (no spaces)
faculty head, faculty cohead
faculty is, faculty are (both okay, depends on context), faculty members
Middlebury’s faculty is recognized nationally for excellence in teaching.
Chemistry faculty are meeting with their students over the weekend.
Twenty faculty members are working to solve the problem.
Fall Family Weekend
fall, fall semester, fall semester courses
fax
fellow; Watson Fellow
filmmaker
first-class mail
first-year seminar
first-years, first-year students
freshman (use first-year instead)
French School (Language Schools)
Fulbright Scholar; scholar
full time (noun), full-time (adjective, adverb)
That new position is full time.
I have a full-time job at the new restaurant.
fund-raiser (noun)
fund-raising (adj.); fund-raising (noun)
G–L Gordon C. Perine ’49 Golf Tournament
Grades: A B C D F; Pass/Fail; Credit/No Credit; Honors; Incomplete (cap, no quotation marks)
German School (Language Schools)
GP’99 (grandparent of student from Class of 1999; no space between P and apostrophe)
high school (no hyphen as adj. or noun)
historic (a historic, not an historic)
home page
homecoming; Homecoming 2009 (cap when referring to specific homecoming)
Homecoming Weekend
i.e. (use when you mean “that is”; roman type, usually followed by a comma)
Incomplete (the grade)
international students
international studies
Inc. (It is no longer necessary to separate with a comma: World Recycling Inc.)
Internet
introductory words or phrases:
First (not firstly)
Second (not secondly)
Most evident (not most evidently)
More important (not more importantly)
its (possessive); it’s (contraction for it is)
The tree is big; its leaves are golden this fall.
It’s imperative that you listen.
Italian School (Language Schools)
Japanese School (Language Schools)
Jr. (It is no longer necessary to separate with a comma: Michael Johnston Jr.)
Knowledge Without Boundaries
Language Schools (capped and plural in reference to the set of schools)
Language School (capped and singular in reference to one person’s experience or one school)
library; Middlebury’s new library; the main library; the Middlebury College Library
lifelong
literary studies, Program in Literary Studies
M–N magna cum laude (roman type, no italics)
majors are lowercased unless they include a word normally capped:
sociology, physics, American literature, French, classics
master’s degree, Master of Arts degree
middle age (noun), middle-aged (adj.), the Middle Ages
Middlebury (it is permissible to hyphenate at line break)
Middlebury College Alumni Association, MCAA (no periods)
Middlebury Magazine (When used as a title, italicize in running text)
MiddNet Online
MiddPoints
Midwest
midcareer, midwinter, midterm, mid-August, mid-1990s
mini-reunion
multicultural, multifaceted, multimedia (most multi words are not hyphenated)
Museum of Art, the museum
nationwide
Native American (no hyphen, as adjective or noun)
need-blind admission
Nobel laureate, Nobel Prize winner
nonacademic, noncertified, nondegree, nonfiction, nonmajor, nonprofit, nonscience, non-Christian, non-Anglo (Most non words are not hyphenated unless they include a proper noun.)
nordic skiing
North, north (cap when referring to geographic location; lowercase for compass direction)
O–P off-campus (adj. before a noun); off campus (not a modifier)
Off-campus study; study off campus
off-line
OK, okay
on-campus (adj. before noun); on campus (not a modifier)
online (noun & adj.)
one-fourth, one-half
P’00 (parent of student in Class 2000; no space between P and apostrophe)
Parents’ Association
Parents’ Committee
Parents’ Fund
percent (spell out in text; use % symbol in tables and scientific copy)
Ph.D., Ph.D.’s (plural), doctoral degree, doctorate (not doctorate degree)
phonathon
playwright
policy maker
postdoctoral, postwar
p.m. (small caps, more formal usage); or p.m.
preadmission, premed, prelaw, preschool (no hyphen with most pre words)
President Ronald D. Liebowitz; Ron Liebowitz, the president of Middlebury College
professor; Professor Susan Smith; Susan Smith, professor of chemistry; chemistry professor Susan Smith; Professor of Chemistry Susan Smith; John Felder, professor emeritus; James P. Kindlemeier, Briggs Professor of Greek Studies
Program in Environmental Studies
Pulitzer Prize winner; Pulitzer Prize–winning author
R–S real-life situation (adj.); Nothing like that is found in real life (noun)
real-world experience; experience in the real world
residence hall (preferred instead of dorm)
residence hall adviser
reunion, 25th reunion; Reunion Weekend, Reunion 2008
Russian School (Language Schools)
SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test)
scholar-athlete
semiretired
staff is, staff are (both okay, depends on context), staff members
Our staff is among the most experienced in the nation.
Middlebury staff are busy cleaning up after the largest reunion ever.
Several of our staff members are planning to submit their ideas individually.
Snow Bowl
socioeconomic
South, south (cap when referring to a geographic location; lowercase for compass direction)
Spanish School (Language Schools)
spring, spring break, spring semester, spring semester course
statewide
summa cum laude (roman type, lowercase)
summer school , summer Language Schools
T–V T-shirt, tee
theater (for all uses except for proper names using alternate spelling)
theatre (This is the second spelling in Webster’s and a Middlebury department/ major.); Department of Theatre; Hepburn Zoo Theatre; Wright Memorial Theatre.
toll-free number
trustee; trustees; John Doe, trustee
two-thirds
up-to-date (hyphenate in all positions)
United States; USA, U.S. (periods)
user-friendly
vice president (no hyphen)
videotape, video recorder
voice mail
W–Z Washington, DC (in mailing addresses); Washington, D.C. (in running text)
Web, Web page; Web site (Web is a proper noun, short for World Wide Web. Merriam-Webster still capitalizes it.)
Weblog, blog
webcam
webcast
webmaster
West, west (cap when referring to geographic location; lowercase for compass
direction)
white (lowercase when referring to race)
Winter Carnival
winter term
winter term courses
work-study, work-study program
World Wide Web; the Web
worldview
writing program
Xerox (noun); xerox (verb, or use copy or photocopy instead)
year-round
yearlong