Editorial Style Guide

The Middlebury Editorial Style Guide was developed by the Communications Office to standardize the College’s print and online publications.

What is a style guide?

A style guide is a set of standards to be applied when writing and designing documents. Many organizations develop their own style guides to reflect their specific preferences and practices, to insure that publications remain stylistically consistent as well as clear.

References

Our primary arbiters for matters of style:

• The Chicago Manual of Style 16th Edition (2010, University of Chicago Press)
• Chicago Manual of Style Online
• Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition, 2003.
• Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
• The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr., E.B. White, Roger Angell, 4th edition

Updated January 2023

A

A (when referring to a grade, no quotation marks); grades of A or As

a cappella (preferred spelling)

abbreviations/acronyms

General use guidelines:

• Use full words the first time the abbreviation or acronym is used in text, and place the abbreviation or acronym in parentheses immediately following.
• Do not begin a sentence with an abbreviation. Exceptions: Mr., Ms., Mrs., Dr., and St.
• Some common abbreviations:
  • U.S., USA, D.C., L.A.
  • PhD, BA, MA, MLitt, MD, NATO, AIDS, CEO, PS.
  • e.g., i.e., etc.
  • a.k.a. (for “also known as”).
  • AM, PM; or a.m., p.m. (use small caps when a more formal and easier-to-read look is needed; always use a.m. and p.m. in running text).
  • St. for Saint, Mt. for Mount (spell out in more formal text; otherwise, just be consistent within a document whether using abbreviations or spelling out).

Periods with abbreviations:

• Use periods with abbreviations ending in lowercase letters: Dr., Ms., etc.
• Use periods with initials standing for a person’s name: J. R. Tolkien. Do not use periods with initials that replace the full name: JFK.
• No periods are used with abbreviations comprised of full capitals, even if lowercase letters appear within the abbreviation: PhD, MD, CEO.
• In running text, spell out state names but in less formal writing periods can be used with traditional state abbreviations and the United States (U.S.); see states.

Capitals vs. lowercase:

• Initialisms used as nouns tend to be capped: HIV, UFO, FAQ.
• Over time, some longer initialisms become lowercased (radar). Refer to Webster’s when in doubt.

Abbreviations, plural:

• Abbreviations without periods take s, no apostrophe. Apostrophes may be used if misreading is a possibility.
• BA, BAs; PhD, PhDs; URL, URLs.

Abbreviations with one period usually add the s before the period:

• ed., eds.; yr., yrs.; Dr., Drs.

Abbreviations with more than one period use apostrophe s:

• p.p.’s; the d.t.’s

Abernethy Collection of American Literature—one of three discrete collections in Special Collections

academic courses (capped and roman, no quotation marks); see titles

academic periods (lowercase) fall semester, winter term, spring semester

academic titles see titles

Academy Award winner; Academy Award-winning producer

accent marks

Foreign words that have been incorporated into English often retain their original accents. Check the dictionary when in doubt—use first spelling.

• vis-à-vis; déjà vu.

acronyms see abbreviations

ACT (American College Test)

addresses

Middlebury addresses should spell out the name of the building and the name of the department, or use the box number:

• Joe Smith Box 1234 Middlebury College Middlebury, VT 05753.
• Jane Jones Student Financial Services, Service Building Middlebury College Middlebury, VT 05753.

When listing a classroom or office, the name of the building comes first, followed by the room number. If the words Room or Suite are added, add a comma. (It’s preferable to add Room or Suite before the number if the written piece is one going to an audience unfamiliar with the campus.)

• Axinn Center 248; Davis Family Library 225C; Mahaney Arts Center, Room 221.

ADA Office; Americans with Disabilities Act Office

adjectives, compound (add a hyphen when before a noun); see compound nouns and adjectives

• This is a half-time position. That’s an open-ended question.

Admissions Office

advisor, not adviser

African American (no hyphen even when it comes before a noun)

a.k.a (for “also known as”)

All-American (hyphen)

alma mater (lowercase when referring to where one graduated from; cap when referring to college song)

alpine skiing

alumni (alumnus—male; alumna—female; alumni—all male or both sexes; alumnae—all female; or graduate—gender neutral); see also class years and degree abbreviations

Alumni College

Alumni Fund

Alumni Golf Tournament (held in honor of Gordon C. Perine ’49)

Alumni Leadership Conference (ALC)

Alumni Office

alum(s) (informal for alumnus/a/i/ae)

AM (small caps, more formal usage); or, a.m. (always in running text); see abbreviations

Americans with Disabilities Act Office; ADA Office

and/& (spell out and avoid ampersand unless it is part of an official name of a firm, college, etc.) Not to be used in department names or for institutional centers at Middlebury or in course titles.

Annual Fund

Annual Giving; Office of Annual Giving

apostrophe (used to indicate possessive; to show that something is missing as in part of a year: “the ’60s”; or used for a contraction: “they’re” for “they are.”)

Be especially careful when using the apostrophe with “it.” Use of the apostrophe indicates a letter is missing:

• It’s raining out. (It is raining out—the “i” is missing.)

With no apostrophe, the word indicates the possessive:

• The house lost its roof. See also possessives.

In class years and decades, the apostrophe should point to the left:

• ’02, P’00, GP’89
• ’80s, ’20s

There is no apostrophe in a range of dates:

• 1985–89

Note: According to Chicago Manual of Style Online Q&A: “In word-processed documents, when apostrophes are preceded by a space (as opposed to those in the middle of a word, like it’s), the software thinks the writer wants an opening quotation mark and supplies one. When documents aren’t proofread carefully, these marks appear in place of apostrophes.”

Avoid using “daggers”: A dagger is a straight, pointed character that can be used as a reference mark:

• Not OK: ’80
• OK: ’80

Exception: Some fonts or Web programs cannot make a curly apostrophe or it is very difficult to achieve it so a dagger must be used in those instances.

How to make a left-facing apostrophe: This character is located in Microsoft Word’s “insert” menu > symbol > advanced symbol > special characters. Select the “single closing quote.” PC users, creating a shortcut is helpful if you use the character often.

Mac shortcut: shift + option + right bracket key

Arabic School (Language Schools)

archives, also College Archives—one of three discrete collections in Special Collections

art work titles see titles

articles in titles see titles

artificial intelligence (lowercase); but AI (cap)

artist in residence (no hyphens)

Asian American (no hyphen; avoid use of Oriental)

associations (official names are capped); see capitalization

awards

• Nobel Prize in physics; Nobel Prize winners
• Pulitzer Prize in poetry
• Watson Fellow; fellow
• Fulbright Scholar; scholar; Fulbright grant

Award names that contain periodical titles: the periodical is not italicized.

• Middlebury Magazine Short Story Prize

Axinn Center at Starr Library Donald E. Axinn ’51, Litt. D. ’89 Center for Literary and Cultural Studies at Starr Library (See Named Buildings for guidelines on how to refer to this building)

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 (also referred to as AB, artium baccalaureus); see degree abbreviations

Baccalaureate

bandmate (one word)

Betty Ashbury Jones MA ’86 School of French (Language Schools) (See Named Schools, Departments, and Programs for guidelines on how to refer to this school: this school must never be abbreviated to a shorter name; always use full name)

bias-free content

We strive to make our publications representative of the community and the target audience. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that words can inflame and divide or welcome and include. Avoid language that is biased toward race, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or disability.

Choose words that do not treat one group as the norm and another group as a subset. When possible, strive for gender-neutral terms. Use “workers” instead of “workmen”; “chairperson” or “chair” instead of “chairman” or “chairwoman”; “head of school” instead of “headmaster”; “first-year student” instead of “freshman.”

Acceptable terms for referring to physical and cultural differences seem to change fairly quickly; therefore, it is wise to stay abreast of these changes or get guidance (from professionals who work with the particular group, the ADA Office, relevant Internet sites, peer groups) when in doubt. When writing about someone with a disability, for example, it is now considered unhelpful, even inflammatory, to use language that seems to focus on struggle or that sensationalizes the person’s situation, as in words like “suffers from” or “is a victim of.” Always ask yourself whether mentioning a particular fact about a person is relevant to the mission of the project. See disability-related terms.

In choosing photos for your project, try to include a variety that demonstrates the diversity among the people at Middlebury (when pertinent to the project), with younger and older individuals, people with disabilities, and various ethnic backgrounds engaged in nonstereotypical activity.

Bible (capped for the sacred scriptures of Christians; lowercase when referring to a publication that is authoritative)

biblical

Bi Hall John M. McCardell Jr. Bicentennial Hall; McCardell Bicentennial Hall (See Named Buildings for guidelines on how to refer to this building)

Black 

Board of Overseers (three total—College, Institute, Schools)

Board of Trustees, the board, the trustees; see also Standing Committees

Box Office

bookstore This is officially called the Middlebury College Store as selling books is not it’s primary purpose now

Bread Loaf School of English (officially Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English)

Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences (officially Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences)

• Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference
• Bread Loaf Orion Environmental Writers’ Conference
• Bread Loaf Translators’ Conference
• Bread Loaf in Sicily

breaks (not capped); see capitalization

• October recess
• Thanksgiving break
• holiday break
• winter break
• spring break

C

C (when referring to a grade, no quotation marks); grades of C or Cs

café, also cafe

campuswide (no hyphen with suffix –wide unless the word is capped: College-wide for undergraduate, Institute-wide for Monterey; see suffixes and -wide

capitalization (Capitalize only formal or specific names. When in doubt, use lowercase, especially when a word’s meaning is generic.) See titles for rules about professional and academic titles.

Names, associations, conferences, and official policies:

As a rule, official names are capitalized. Unofficial or shortened names are not. This applies to offices, buildings, and programs, as well as to committees and boards, symposia, conferences, course titles, forms, applications, and so on. For example, the Board of Trustees is shortened to the board. The Residential Life Committee becomes the committee. The Middlebury College Museum of Art—the museum; the Common Application for Admission—admission application; Language Schools—the schools.

Exceptions: Exceptions may sometimes be made to avoid confusion or because the shortened, generic term has become a proper name in its own right: References to Middlebury’s undergraduate school, when shortened, are capped—College; Middlebury Institute of International Studies when shortened is the Institute.

Names of departments are always capped: The Department of French; the French Department.

Names of majors are not capped unless it is a proper noun: biology, environmental studies, English and American literatures.

Names of official policies, such as Institutional Diversity and Undergraduate Honor System, should be capitalized. However, when the concept is being discussed, use the lowercase. 

• Middlebury College is strongly committed to promoting diversity on campus. 
• A strict honor system is enforced at the College.

In running text, lowercase a the that precedes a name, even if it is part of the official name:

• The Underhill Foundation.
• When you visit the Underhill Foundation, please check their address.

Headlines:

capitalize

1. The first and last word, no matter what part of speech they are.
2. The first word after a colon, no matter what part of speech it is.

lowercase

1. Articles (a, an, the).
2. Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor).
3. All prepositions (through, on, in, to) except when they are used adverbially (Look Up) or adjectivally (the On Button) or when part of a Latin expression used adjectivally (In Vitro).
4. The to in infinitives.
5. Part of proper names that would normally be lowercased, ex., van or de.
6. The second part of a species name (Homo sapiens).

Headline examples:

• What I’ve Been Thinking Of
• Peter van Dyke’s Drive through the Countryside
• Helping Homo sapiens to Survive
• The Science of In Vitro Fertilization Form

Headlines with hyphenated words: Cap both elements. The only exception is if the subsequent element is an article (a, an, the), coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, for, nor), preposition (through, on, in, to, etc.)—or the modifiers flat, sharp, and natural.

• Self-Sustaining Economics
• F-sharp Concerto
• Concerto in F-Sharp
• Full-Time Jobs
• Twenty-Fifth Street Headquarters

Headlines with a prefix and hyphen: This is basically one word, not two, so the second element is not capped unless it is a proper noun or proper adjective.

• Anti-intellectual Attitudes on the Increase
• The Insensitive Chaos of Objects: Pier Paolo Pasolini, Paleo-aesthetics, and Arte Povera
• Non-Christian Organization Donates Books

Holidays and Recurring Events:

Capitalize holidays, ceremonies, and recurring observances and weekends: Winter Carnival; Thanksgiving; Commencement; Baccalaureate; Convocation; Midyear Celebration; Fall Family Weekend; Homecoming; Reunion Weekend

Do not capitalize seasons, academic periods, or breaks: winter term; fall admission; summer break

Original Quotes:

When quoting original material, use the capitalization system of the original, even if it does not conform to Middlebury style.

• As the soldier explained 100 years ago, “We have forgiven Men and Little Children who did not know what to expect from our Party.”

Exception: When a quote is used as an integral part of a sentence, the initial cap in the original may be dropped.

• He still believes that “we have forgiven Men and Little Children.”

Plurals with generic terms:

When a generic term is part of a proper noun, it is capped: Proctor Dining Hall. When two names are used in conjunction, followed by the generic term, it is still capped: Proctor and Ross Dining Halls; Hudson and East Rivers; Bread Loaf and Worth Mountains. By capping the generic term, it is unambiguous that it is part of each proper noun.

catalog

centers

• Anderson Freeman Resource Center (AFC)
• Center for Careers and Internships (CCI)
• Center for Community Engagement (CCE)
• Center for Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE)
• Center for Creativity, Innovation, and Social Entrepreneurship (CCISE)
• Center for Teaching, Learning, and Research (CTLR)
• Chellis Women’s Resource Center
• Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest
• Mahaney Arts Center (MAC)
• Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs
• Scott Center for Spiritual and Religious Life

CD, CDs

C (centigrade); 78 degrees C (no period used within a sentence); 78°C (no spaces)

CEO, CEOs

chair, chairperson

changemaker (one word, the way it is used by Ashoka U)

Château, the Château, le Château

Chinese Department see Greenberg-Starr Department of Chinese; this department should not be called the Chinese Department

Chinese School (Language Schools)

Chip Kenyon ’85 Arena; Kenyon Arena

Christian A. Johnson Memorial Building; Johnson Building

class, Class of 2013 (cap for specific classes)

class years see also degree abbreviations

In Middlebury publications, always mention the alum’s class year in the first reference.

Present century:

• Class of 2009
• Suzanne Lunde, Class of 2009
• Suzanne Lunde ’09

Note: The apostrophe points to the left.

1900s:

Classes from previous centuries that duplicate numerals of classes in the present century should be written in full.

• John Smith, Class of 1906
• John Smith Jr. ’60 (referring to 1960)
• John Smith III ’06 (referring to 2006)

1800s:

• John Smith, Class of 1855

Febs:

Febs choose whether to be affiliated with the class that graduated before or after them for purposes of Reunion, but they are proud of their .5 designation, so it is okay to use it when it can be verified in Raiser’s Edge or the alum has requested it be used with their name and have provided the .5 designation themselves. Try to avoid using the .5 designation in written pieces for non-Middlebury readers as it does not necessarily mean anything to them.

For combinations of names, class years, and degrees, see degree abbreviations.

co- words (close most co- words) coauthor, cocurricular, coexistence, cohead; see prefixes

co-chair (exception to the rule)

collective nouns see also mass nouns

Collective nouns related to quantity (percentage and fractions—thirty percent, one-fourth, half) take a singular verb when preceded by the. Otherwise, the verb agrees with the number of the noun in the prepositional phrase that follows it:

• After receiving their pink slips this week, the third of employees with stock options has decided to cash in company stocks.

But:

• Fortunately, four fifths of the employees have stocks to cash in. (plural noun in prepositional phrase)
• Unfortunately, four fifths of last year’s harvest was lost. (singular noun in prepositional phrase)

“Number of” as a collective noun:

Whether it takes a singular or plural verb depends on which article precedes it: definite the or indefinite a.

• The number of trees planted this year has doubled. (singular verb)

But:

• A number of experts have demonstrated that planting trees in the fall improves their viability. (plural verb)

One of:

“One of” takes a singular verb because it refers to one.

• One of those men fixes cars every day.

One of those who:

“One of those who” takes a plural verb because the verb refers to “those.”

• One of those men who fix cars will work on your new project.

College (capped when referring to Middlebury’s undergraduate school only)

College Advancement (See Office of Advancement)

College Archives, or archives—one of three discrete collections in Special Collections

College Store; Middlebury College Store (sometimes still referred to as the bookstore)

College breaks (see breaks)

College-wide (when –wide is added to capped words, use the hyphen); see suffixes

colon

Colons introduce material that amplifies the preceding statement or elements. The element following the colon begins with a capital letter if it is more than one sentence long, a formal statement, or a quotation.

• We found this to be extraordinary: young people are very enthusiastic about our study.
• The study revealed an unexpected result: Sleep-deprived people are more effective at driving with their eyes closed. Well-rested people are more cheerful.

Do not place a colon in the middle of a sentence, between the verb and object, or between a preposition and object.

• Wrong: You will need: your best attitude and a good night’s sleep.
• Correct: You will need your best attitude and a good night’s sleep.
• Wrong: We will be traveling to: New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
• Correct: We will be traveling to New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

Place a colon after the salutation in a business letter or address:

• Alumni and Friends:

Use to introduce a list or series but not if it comes in the middle of a sentence:

• Correct: Please include the following items in your suitcase:
  • Socks
  • Ties
  • Underwear
• Wrong: The topics being discussed include:
  • Winter term classes
  • First-year seminars
  • Reading assignments
• Correct: Please include the following items in your suitcase: socks, ties, and underwear
• Wrong: The topics being discussed include: winter term classes, first-year seminars, reading assignments

comma

Commas should be used to make text more clear and understandable, but they tend to be overused. Rule of thumb: when in doubt, leave it out!

Adjective string:

In general, if two or more adjectives preceding a noun can be joined with “and,” separate them with commas, unless the noun and adjective are considered to be a unit, e.g., “bad boy.” Use judgment. Too many commas can make writing choppy.

• She made a donation to a new political organization.
• It will be a frigid, expensive winter.

City, state:

After city and after state in running text:

• The College is located in Middlebury, Vermont, near Lake Champlain.

Compound sentence:

To separate two sentences connected with a coordinating conjunction, and, but, or—two subjects, two verbs that could be made into two sentences.

• Correct: The professor is highly talented, and he will surprise you with his ideas.
• Correct: Johnson is highly talented, but Truman isn’t.
• Wrong: Jones went home, and unlocked the doors. (Just one subject, no comma needed)

Note: In general no comma is used in the “not only but also” sequence unless the sentence is long and relatively complicated and needs a comma to break it up.

• She loves not only peanut butter but also jelly.

Dates:

Before and after the year, in full dates within sentences:

• The president was born on August 9, 1950, in a New York checker cab.

Between day and year in full dates but not between a month and year: 

• May 1, 2002
• May 2015

Introductory elements:

Use a comma after introductory elements that can be eliminated without changing the meaning of the main clause:

• By the time you get this message, you will probably have forgotten our conversation.
• If you agree with our decision, please sign and return the contract.

It is not necessary to use the comma after short introductory elements, unless needed for clarity:

• Before lunch we usually work out.

Series:

Use comma to separate each item in a series, including the last item:

• He brought bread, potatoes, green beans, and butterscotch. 
• I want no ifs, ands, or buts.

However, do not use a comma if “and” is replaced by an ampersand:

• He teaches biology, chemistry & law. (Avoid this use of ampersand in running text if possible.)

Commencement Commencement day, Commencement ceremony, but Commencement Weekend; see holidays and recurring events in capitalization.

commonly confused words, a few (more problematic words may be found in Chicago Manual of Style, pages 262–300)

Affect (v. to influence, to change)	Effect (n. a result, a consequence)
All ready (everyone is prepared)	Already (adv. by this time, previously)
Allusion (n. indirect suggestion)	Illusion (n. false or misleading idea)
Altogether (adv. completely)	All together (at the same time or place)
Anyway (adv. in any case)	Any way (in any manner)
Decent (adj. proper, respectable)	Descent (n. action of going down)
Desert (n. hot, dry region)	Dessert (n. last course of the meal)
Emigrate (v. to leave one’s country)	Immigrate (v. to move to a new country)
Farther (adv. greater physical distance)	Further (adj. additional; to an advanced point)
Its (pronoun, possessive)	It’s (contraction for “it is”)
Precede (v. to go in front of someone)	Proceed (v. to move forward)
Principle (n. natural, moral, or legal rule)	Principal (n. person of high authority)

compound nouns and adjectives

Two words used as one expression may be written as one word, as a hyphenated word, or as two separate words. Which form to use often depends upon the use or position in the sentence.

• We arrived at the football field at halftime. (noun)
• This ad says it is a half-time position. (adjective before noun)
• He lives in the first-floor apartment. (adjective before noun)
• His apartment is on the first floor. (follows noun)

To hyphenate or not to hyphenate is often a question for writers and editors. Use hyphens to increase readability. For example, the hyphen in much-needed clothing shows that the clothing is greatly needed rather than abundant and needed. Where no ambiguity could result, hyphenation is not needed.

• High school student; experiential learning opportunities; winter term courses; study abroad opportunity

When in doubt about whether to hyphenate, check the dictionary. Also, see the Chicago Manual of Style hyphenation guide, pages 375–384. See also hyphens.

conferences (official names are capped); see capitalization

conjunctions

Conjunctions such as and, or, but, and nor may be used to begin a sentence. However, doing so should not be a substitute for clear writing.

Convocation

cooperative

course titles see titles

coursework

creative work titles see titles

cross-country skiing; cross-country running

cum laude (roman type, no italics)

cultural periods

Some are lowercased; some are capitalized. Refer to Chicago Manual of Style or the dictionary.

• romantic period; nuclear age; classical period; Victorian era; colonial period; Roaring Twenties; Ice Age; Middle Ages; Renaissance

curriculum vitae, CV curricula vitae, CVs (plural); informal usage: vita, vitae (pl.)

cybersecurity (one word)

 

D

D (when referring to a grade, no quotation marks); grades of D or Ds

Dance Company of Middlebury (DCM)

dashes en and em dashes, see hyphens

data (used as a plural noun, i.e., “earnings,” or a singular mass noun, i.e., “information”)

database

dates see also comma

At Middlebury, we express dates this way: month/day/year

• March 16, 1998.
• The meeting is on March 7 (not: March 7th, 7 March).
• We will see you on the 13th of July.
• October 7–17, 2017; October 7–November 5, 2017. (Use an en dash in a range of dates, not a hyphen.)
• Tickets are on sale, Wednesday, June 5, at the concert hall.

When expressing a range in dates in running text, use the word “to” instead of the en dash if the word “from” precedes the date. 

She served in the Peace Corps from 1987 to 1990 (not from 1987–1990). 

Likewise, use the word “and” instead of an en dash if the word “between” precedes the range.

She was president between 2006 and 2008 (not between 2006–2008).

Note: See hyphens for more on en-dash use: An en dash is longer than a hyphen and is used between inclusive numbers, to show a range.

In a sentence, separate the day and year with commas:

• The president was born on August 9, 1950, in a New York checker cab.

No comma is used when the month and year appear without a day:

• The weather pattern changed in October 1998 for the better.

David W. Ginevan Recycling Center; Recycling Center

Davis Family Library (See Named Buildings for guidelines on how to refer to this building)

Davis Fellow; Kathryn Davis Fellows for Peace; fellow

D.C. (in informal writing, such as class notes, an acceptable abbreviation for Washington, D.C.)

dean (lowercase except when using it in a title before a name); see titles

Dean’s List

dean of the College

dean of curriculum

dean of the faculty; the dean’s office

dean of planning and assessment

decades

Spell out centuries, using the same numeral rules (spell anything lower than 10).

• fourth-century art
• life in the 19th century
• 21st-century liberal arts education

Several options for identifying decades may be used:

• 1980s, 1960s; ’60s, ’80s; eighties, sixties

Note: no apostrophe between the year and s because it indicates a plural.

degree abbreviations see also class years

Graduate schools and advanced degrees:

• Betty Smith, MA French ’90
• Thomas Horn, MA English ’02
• Harry Jenkins, MLitt English ’77
• Clint Underwood, MA Spanish ’55

Exception: If a degree is being listed in a publication solely aimed at the audience of one particular school, like Bread Loaf, only put the MA with no comma.

• Thomas Horn MA’02

Institute alumni:

• Betty Smith MACI ’10
• Peter Lang MAIPS ’12
• Lucinda Lander MATESOL ’12
• John Jones MPA ’08

Honorary degrees:

• Mark Thane, Hon DArt ’10
• James Caldwell, Hon DHL ’01
• Suzanne Proctor, Hon DLitt ’96

Combinations of names and degrees—Rule of thumb: Place spaces and commas between each of the elements. Use maiden names for married alumnae.

Parents and grandparents:

• Jennifer Jenkins P’05
• Beulah Rockford P’77, ’80, GP’09

Combinations of degrees:

Sequence: undergraduate, graduate, honorary

• Lucille Hentz Taft ’82, MA French ’85
• Sylvester Sinclair ’10, MAIPS ’13
• Clark Simpson ’47, MLitt English ’61, Hon DArt ’92

Combinations of degrees and relationships:

Sequence: undergraduate, graduate, honorary, parent, grandparent

• Jennifer Lee ’85, MA Russian ’94, P’14
• Frederick Favre ’51, MA Italian ’60, P’80, ’81, GP’10
• Lucy Pope Lyons ’63, MA French ’65, Hon DHL ’72, P’89, GP’17

Combinations of people:

Rule of thumb: The alum is always listed first; if both people are alums, the man is listed first so woman’s maiden name can be included; otherwise the woman is listed first if neither person is an alum and the maiden name is not needed.

• Susan James Johnston ’98 and Paul Johnston
• Eric ’69 and Louise Ames Hollander ’71
• Henry Lappman ’90 and Nicole Sweet ’91
• Mary and Joseph Clark
• Norma Sampson and William Larch

Note: If both people are the parents of the student, the parent designation goes after the second name, preceded by a comma. If only one person is the parent, that person is listed first regardless of whether it is the man or the woman.

• Cindy and James Clough, P’10
• Helen Peterson P’09 and John Henderson
• Lars Olsen P’17 and Cynthia Olsen

Note: Depending on the formality of the publication, names can be shortened or spelled out and middle initials can be added for more formal pieces.

On name tags:

For the small area on name tags, it’s fine to amend these rules to fit the space. For example, Jeremiah Long P’80, ’90, GP’07 could be changed to Jeremiah Long P’80’90G’07.

On invitations/talks/programs:

Any of the designations above may be used on invitations. The class year and degree may be spelled out for more formal treatments.

degrees granted by Middlebury:

Bread Loaf School of English:

MA—Master of Arts

MLitt—Master of Letters

Language Schools:

DML—Doctor of Modern Languages

MA—Master of Arts

Middlebury College:

BA—Bachelor of Arts (also, AB—artium baccalaureus)

MS—Master of Science (no longer a degree given at Middlebury; last MS was awarded on May 26, 1996)

Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey:

MACI—Master of Arts in Conference Interpretation

MAIEM—Master of Arts in International Education Management

MAIEP—Master of Arts in International Environmental Policy

MAIPD—Master of Arts in International Policy and Development

MAIPS—Master of Arts in International Policy Studies

MAITED—Master of Arts in International Trade and Economic Diplomacy (MAIT in MIIS marketing materials only 6/22)

MANPTS—Master of Arts in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies

MAT—Master of Arts in Translation

MATESOL—Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

MATFL—Master of Arts in Teaching Foreign Language

MATI—Master of Arts in Translation and Interpretation

MATLM—Master of Arts in Translation and Localization Management

MPA—Master of Public Administration (MPA in Social Change in MIIS marketing materials only 6/22)

Joint Degrees:

BA/MA

MPA/MAIEM—MPA/MA International Education Management

Honorary Degrees:

DHL—Doctor of Humane Letters (Hon DHL)

DArt—Doctor of Arts (Hon DArt)

DEd—Doctor of Education (Hon DEd)

DLaw—Doctor of Laws (Hon DLaw)

DLitt—Doctor of Letters (Hon DLitt)

DSc—Doctor of Sciences (Hon DSc)

Department of Public Safety Public Safety

departments (department names should be capitalized); see also titles

• Department of Physics; Physics Department; Department of French; French Department

Digital Liberal Arts Initiative (DLA)

directions (lowercase north, south, east, west, northern, etc., when they indicate a compass direction:

• They traveled west.
• She moved back east.

Cap these words when they designate a region:

• They love the West Coast.
• She lives in Northern Virginia.

disability-related terms

General note: Only refer to a disability when it’s truly relevant to the story. When unsure, ask the person or people directly involved.

General terminology:

Avoid describing a group only by their disabilities. Humanizing phrases acknowledge that disability is a relevant adjective.

Less appropriate the disabled, the blind, the paraplegic, the deaf, the handicapped
More appropriate disabled persons, people with disabilities, deaf people, blind citizens, persons with developmental disabilities

Avoid using “special” and “special needs” language. Disabled people’s needs are not special nor are they inherently needy.

Less appropriate There are alternate formats, such as audio files, for those with special needs.
More appropriate Alternate formats, such as audio files, are available.

Avoid stigmatizing language.

Less appropriate handicapped parking.
More appropriate accessible parking.

Less appropriate normal people (suggesting disabled people are not normal).
More appropriate nondisabled, typical, not living with a disability (when used in text that includes both disabled and nondisabled persons).

Less appropriate afflicted with, stricken with, suffers from, victim of.
More appropriate a person who is blind, a person who has PTSD (language that is more neutral and states the nature of the disability).

Less appropriate wheelchair bound, confined to a wheelchair.
More appropriate wheelchair user, person who uses a wheelchair.

Donald E. Axinn ’51, Litt. D. ’89 Center for Literary and Cultural Studies at Starr Library Axinn Center at Starr Library (Note: the use of “Litt. D.” here is an exception to our style because that is how the building was named.)

drama titles see titles

 

E

Earth and Climate Sciences Department Formerly Geology Department

East, east (cap when referring to geographic location; lowercase for compass direction); see directions

Eastern Europe

e.g. (use when you mean “for example”; roman type, followed by a comma)

ellipsis points

Three points, or dots, show that something has been omitted (a word, line, etc.) from the text. The points are placed on the line and are separated equally from each other and the text before and after.

For an omission in midsentence:

• He has developed many theories … most of them complex.
• For an omission at the end or beginning of a sentence, a period precedes the ellipsis points:
• We have tried to make peace… . The forces for change will negotiate sooner or later.
• Other punctuation used in the original should be retained with three ellipsis points.
• Why can’t we find this thing, … that he described?

Do not use ellipses at the beginning or ending of a quotation.

Note: When possible, do not use Word’s ellipsis symbol, which does not use equal spaces. Instead, make the symbol yourself.

• #.#.#.# (space dot space dot space dot space)

email

Keep in mind that people have the tendency to “glaze over” when they open a long email. Be reader friendly: be brief, start sentences with capital letters, double space between paragraphs, and make paragraphs short. Reread what you have written to correct mistakes before sending!

Note: ewords

email; ebook; ecommerce; eshopping (Although ewords are still hyphenated in Merriam-Webster, our style is to close them up and lowercase them. Most other words that combine an initial letter with a 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) These always follow the noun.

• She is professor emerita of biology.

Cap before the name and as part of an endowed title:

• Professor Emeritus Garrett Smith
• Russell Leng, James Jermain Professor Emeritus of Political Economics

Environmental Studies Program (preferred); Program in Environmental Studies

eras

Abbreviations for eras are set in full caps, with no periods:

• AD “Anno Domini” (“in the year of the Lord”)
• CE “of the common era” equivalent to AD
• BC “before Christ” BCE “before common era” equivalent to BC
• BP “before the present”

AD precedes the year, the others follow it.

• 150 BC
• AD 150

Commas are not used in dates with fewer than five digits.

• 3200 BC
• 10,500 BC

etc. (usually followed by a comma)

euro

event titles see titles

ewords see email

extracurricular

F

F (when referring to a grade, no quotation marks); grades of F or Fs

faculty singular and plural: faculty is, faculty are, faculty members (all okay; depends on context); see mass nouns

• 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.

F (Fahrenheit) 45 degrees F (no period used within a sentence); 45ºF (no spaces)

Fall Family Weekend see Holidays and Recurring Events in capitalization

fall fall semester; fall semester courses; fall 2016; see seasons/semesters

Feb (name of a student who matriculates and graduates in February)

Feb Celebration (graduation celebration for Febs); also called Midyear Celebration

fellow (lowercase when it stands alone, cap with proper name); Davis Fellow; Fulbright Fellow; Watson Fellow; see capitalization

filmmaker

first-class mail

first come, first served

firsthand

first-year seminar

first-years first-year students (avoid freshman)

fiscal year 2015 (FY 2015, FY15)

foreign expressions

Italicize unfamiliar expressions that have not become part of the English language or that are unfamiliar to most people. Such words often retain their original accent marks after incorporation into English. Check the dictionary and use the first spelling.

Some words no longer need to be italicized: à la carte, à la mode, ad hoc, bona fide, carte blanche, per se, a cappella, vis-à-vis, magna cum laude.

fossil fuel investments (no hyphen when used as an adjectival phrase)

Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest; Janet Halstead Franklin ’72 and Churchill G. Franklin ’71 Environmental Center at Hillcrest (See Named Buildings for guidelines on how to refer to this building)

French School; see Betty Ashbury Jones MA ’86 School of French and Language Schools; this school should never be called the French School

freshman (use first-year instead)

Fulbright Fellow fellow (lowercase when standing alone)

Fulbright Fellowship

Fulbright Scholar scholar (lowercase when standing alone)

full time (noun); full-time (adjective, adverb); see compound nouns and adjectives

• That new position is full time. 
• I have a full-time job at the new restaurant.

fundraiser (noun) (Note: Although this word is still hyphenated in Merriam-Webster, our style is to close it up)

fundraising (adj.); fundraising (noun)

G

game changer (two words)

gender neutral pronouns: When using gender neutral language, use they and their in place of she, he and his, hers. In special instances, other methods may be used.

Geology Department Now called Earth and Climate Sciences Department

German School (Language Schools)

go links When possible, use go links to direct people to websites:

• Off campus: go.middlebury.edu/admissions  
• On campus: go/admissions

golf course Ralph Myhre Golf Course

grades: A B C D F; Pass/Fail; Credit/No Credit; Honors; Incomplete

Capitalize the letters used for grades and grade names. Do not place quotation marks around grades.

• A, B, C, D, F, Pass, Incomplete
• Grade of B
• Grades of B or Bs

GP’99 (grandparent of student from Class of 1999; no space between P and apostrophe); see class years

Great Hall Tormondsen Great Hall in McCardell Bicentennial Hall

Greenberg-Starr Department of Chinese (See Named Schools, Departments, and Programs for guidelines on how to refer to this department)

H

hallmate (one word); see suffixes

headlines see capitalization

health care (as a noun, two words); healthcare (as an adjective, one word)

Hebrew School School of Hebrew; see Language Schools; this school should not be called the Hebrew School

Helpdesk

high school (no hyphen as adj. or noun)

historian (a historian, not an historian)

historic (a historic, not an historic)

holidays see Holidays and Recurring Events in capitalization

home page

Homecoming Homecoming 2009 (lowercase when not talking about the annual event)

Homecoming Weekend see Holidays and Recurring Events in capitalization

Honor Code (capped)

human resources officer (HRO); lowercased

hyphens (use to avoid ambiguity); see also compound nouns and adjectives

Double hyphens: Don’t use them. Instead, use the em dash (—). These are long dashes, the equivalent length of an M (—), used to set off parenthetical text or digressive elements. There should be no space on either side: This has been a long haul—to Hades and back—for everyone involved.

En dash (–). Half the length of the em dash. Used between inclusive numbers, to show a range.

• The cost is $50–$55.
• My weight has ranged from 125–165 lbs in the last decade.
• Their soccer season ended at 12–4–2.

To make an em dash or an en dash in Word on a PC or Mac:

• place your cursor where the mark will go
• go to “Insert” in the program menu and open up “Symbol”
• highlight the appropriate symbol
• click “insert”

Mac key codes:

em dash: option/shift/hyphen; en dash: option/hyphen

PC key codes:

em dash: shift + alt + hyphen

en dash: “windows symbol key” + alt + hyphen

Or, create your own shortcuts by following the directions in the Symbol section.

Hyphens with prefixes and suffixes:

In general, prefixes are not followed by hyphens unless the resulting word can be confused with another word, is difficult to decipher, or precedes a number or a capitalized word. Suffixes are also, in general, closed up, unless the word created is not in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. Then a hyphen is used. For example, worldwide is in the dictionary but university-wide is not.

• co: coauthor; cowriter; codirector; coedit; but co-chair
• long: daylong, monthlong, yearlong
• mid: midwinter; midyear; midlife; mid-Atlantic; mid-August; mid-1990s
• non: nonprofit; nonstudent; nonmajor; nonproliferation
• pre: preprofessional; premed; prelaw

Hyphens with words with letters: T-shirt; S-curve

Suspending hyphens:

Use when a series of hyphenated adjectives modifies the last noun in the series:

• first- and second-level courses
• two- and three-year-old children

Measurements:

Hyphenate measurements that serve as adjectives preceding a noun:

• The bandage is a two-inch-long strip of gauze.
• Place this four-foot block of wood in the fire.

Connect measurements with hyphens when the numbers represent a range, and they function as an adjective preceding a noun:

• We knew that the tsunami might create 80-to-90-foot tidal waves.

Fractions:

Hyphenate spelled-out fractions when used as modifiers, unless the numerator or denominator is already hyphenated. Whole numbers are not linked to the fraction with hyphens.

• one-half empty
• two-thirds majority
• fifty-six hundredths
• four twenty-fifths
• five and three-tenths inches

Whole numbers:

Hyphenate from 21 to 99 when spelled out:

• twenty-one
• ninety-nine
• one hundred forty-eight

Middlebury (it is permissible to hyphenate at line break)

I

i.e. (use when you mean “that is”; roman type, followed by a comma)

Incomplete see grades

in-language events; events are in language

international students

international studies

Inc. (It is no longer necessary to separate with a comma: World Recycling Inc.)

Institute (When referring to Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey)

Internet (capped)

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); see apostrophe

• The tree is big; its leaves are golden this fall.
• It’s imperative that you listen.

Italian School (Language Schools)

J-L

Janet Halstead Franklin ’72 and Churchill G. Franklin ’71 Environmental Center at Hillcrest Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest (See Named Buildings for guidelines on how to refer to this building)

January term J-term (one month semester in January); also called winter term

Japanese School School of Japanese; see Language Schools; this school should not be called the Japanese School

John M. McCardell Jr. Bicentennial Hall McCardell Bicentennial Hall; Bi Hall

Johnson Building; formally the Christian A. Johnson Memorial Building

Jr., Sr., III

It is no longer required to use commas before and after these elements, as they are considered part of the name.

• Marshall Flint Jr. addressed the crowd.
• Jason Milquevay III boarded the flight to New Zealand.

judicial affairs officer (lowercased)

Kaleidoscope (roman)

Kathryn Davis Fellows for Peace Davis Fellow; fellow

Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation Conflict Transformation Collaborative (in subsequent references)

Kathryn Wasserman Davis School of Russian (Language Schools) (See Named Schools, Departments, and Programs for guidelines on how to refer to this school)

Kenyon Arena Chip Kenyon ’85 Arena

Kevin P. Mahaney ’84 Center for the Arts Mahaney Arts Center; MAC

Kirk Center (formerly known as Kirk Alumni Center)

the Knoll (lowercase “the” in running text)

Korean School School of Korean; see Language Schools; this school should not be called the Korean School

Language Pledge (capped and trademarked); the pledge (lowercase when standing alone after a first reference to the Language Pledge)

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); when used as a descriptor, always use Language Schools

• We welcome the Language Schools students.

Specific Language School Names (See Named Schools, Departments, and Programs for guidelines on how to refer to specific named schools)

• Arabic School
• Chinese School
• Betty Ashbury Jones MA ’86 School of French
• German School
• School of Hebrew
• Italian School
• School of Japanese
• School of Korean
• Portuguese School
• Kathryn Wasserman Davis School of Russian
• School of Spanish

Letters used as words or letters

Individual letters that are used as letters should be italicized. When the letter is lowercased, an apostrophe s is used to make it plural. When the uppercase letter is used, an apostrophe is not usually needed. 

• Mind your p’s and q’s.
• Put your X on this spot.
• There are too many Xs on this page.

Scholastic grades are capped and set in roman type.

• I got an A in English and a B in French.
• Jan had straight As.

library Davis Family Library

-like words combined with -like are closed (ladylike, lifelike) if they appear in Merriam Webster’s dictionary—unless they end in “l” (bell-like); if the word created is not in the dictionary, a hyphen is used (a Halloween-like mask); see suffixes and hyphens

lists see vertical lists

literary studies Program in Literary Studies

livestream; livestreaming

-long words combined with -long are closed (daylong, monthlong, weeklong, yearlong, lifelong); see suffixes

long-standing

long-term

longtime

 

M

magna cum laude (roman type, no italics)

Mahaney Arts Center Kevin P. Mahaney ’84 Center for the Arts; MAC

majors lowercased unless they include a word normally capped:

• sociology
• physics
• English and American literatures
• French
• classics

mass nouns A mass noun is one that denotes something uncountable, either because it is abstract (evidence) or because it refers to an indeterminate aggregation of people or things (faculty, staff). The latter is also called a collective noun. As the subject of a sentence, a mass noun usually takes a singular verb. (The evidence is irrefutable.) But in a collective sense, it may take either a singular or plural verb form, depending on whether the group is being described or the individual members.

• The staff is on break.
• The staff are voting for a Staff Council representative.

master’s degree Master of Arts degree; master’s degrees; for Middlebury references on how to write degrees, see degree abbreviations and class years

-mate words combined with -mate are closed (bandmate, classmate, hallmate, roommate); see suffixes

McCardell Bicentennial Hall John M. McCardell Jr. Bicentennial Hall; Bi Hall (See Named Buildings for guidelines on how to refer to this building)

McCullough Student Center McCullough

measurements see numbers

midcareer midwinter; midterm; mid-August; mid-1990s; see prefixes

middle age (noun); middle-aged (adj.); the Middle Ages

Midd (short for Middlebury); use in informal text

Midd Kid (student or alum); use in informal text

Middlebury Alumni Association MAA (no periods)

Middlebury Chapel (formerly Mead Chapel); the chapel

Middlebury College Store (sometimes still referred to as the bookstore)

Middlebury College Snowbowl; Snowbowl (updated 10/22)

Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS) the Middlebury Institute; the Institute; MIIS. Use the full name on first reference, particularly in pieces that will be seen by an external audience. For variety, use any of the shortened forms or “MIIS” on further reference. For SEO purposes, references to “Middlebury” are more useful.

Middlebury schools (also called entities):

• Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English
• Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences
• Middlebury College
• Middlebury C.V. Starr Schools Abroad (See Named Schools, Departments, and Programs for guidelines on how to refer to this program)
• Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
• Middlebury Language Schools
• Middlebury School of the Environment

Middlebury Magazine (When used as a title, italicize in running text)

Midd2Midd: an online community that connects students to alumni for mentorship, coaching, and networking opportunities

MiddLab: an open-access publishing site for faculty and student research projects

MiddNet: the career advisory network for all Middlebury alumni and students

MiddPoints: an internal news email from Human Resources

MiddXpress: convenience store in McCullough Student Center

Midwest

Midyear Celebration (graduation for Febs); also called Feb Celebration

mini-reunion

modern Hebrew

multi- words (most multi words are not hyphenated); multicultural, multifaceted, multimedia; see prefixes

Museum of Art; Middlebury College Museum of Art; the museum

music titles see titles

N

name tag see class years

Named Buildings

In order to honor our donors’ wishes about named buildings, please follow these guidelines. The guidelines pertain to references within one written piece.

• Axinn Center at Starr Library, first reference; Axinn Center, subsequent references
• Davis Family Library, first reference; Davis Library, subsequent references
• Franklin Family Environmental Center at Hillcrest, first reference; Franklin Center at Hillcrest, subsequent references
• McCardell Bicentennial Hall, first reference; Bicentennial Hall or Bi Hall, subsequent references
• Wilson Café, Wilson Hall

Named Schools, Departments, and Programs

In order to honor our donors’ wishes about named schools, departments, and programs, please follow these guidelines. The guidelines pertain to references within one written piece.

• Betty Ashbury Jones MA ’86 School of French, first reference; all subsequent references must be the full title
• Greenberg-Starr Department of Chinese, first reference; Department of Chinese, subsequent references
• Kathryn Wasserman Davis School of Russian, first reference; Davis School of Russian, subsequent references
• Middlebury C.V. Starr Schools Abroad, first reference; Schools Abroad, subsequent references
• Paul Nelson Bach to Barber Performing Arts Series, first reference; Nelson Performing Arts Series, subsequent references

names see capitalization, class years, degree abbreviations

nationwide see suffixes

Native American (no hyphen, as adjective or noun)

need-blind admission; need blind

New Faces (roman)

Nobel laureate; Nobel Prize winner; Nobel Prize-winning author

non words (Most non words are not hyphenated unless they include a proper noun); see prefixes

• nonacademic
• noncertified
• nondegree
• nonfiction
• nonmajor
• nonnative
• nonprofit
• nonscience
• non-Christian
• non-Anglo

nondiscrimination statement

Middlebury College complies with applicable provisions of state and federal law which prohibit discrimination in employment, or in admission or access to its educational or extracurricular programs, activities, or facilities, on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, marital status, place of birth, service in the armed forces of the United States, or against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability.

Middlebury College hereby designates the dean of the College to coordinate its efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 as amended. In general, Title IX prohibits discrimination in educational programs on the basis of sex. The College hereby designates the vice president for administration and treasurer to coordinate its efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504, where applicable, generally prohibits discrimination against qualified handicapped individuals, in educational programs and employment, on the basis of handicap.

Nordic skiing (Nordic is capped in running text when referring to cross-country skiing)

North north (cap when referring to geographic location; lowercase for compass direction); see directions

nouns see collective nouns, mass nouns, compound nouns and adjectives

numbers

In general:

• Spell out numbers one to nine in text. (Exception: Use 5th Reunion for consistency with every other Reunion year.)
• Use numerals for 10 and higher.
• Thousands take a comma: 2,450 not 2450.

Large, round, even numbers used as approximations can be spelled out.

• The history spans some four thousand years of Western civilization.

Very large numbers (million and higher) may be expressed with a combination of numerals and spelled-out numbers.

• 2 million people
• 10 trillion is a large number

These same rules apply to ordinals:

• seventh place
• 30th position
• 135th award
• third in line

Never start a sentence with a numeral. Spell out the number:

• One hundred and thirty-five people attended the conference.

Avoid starting a phrase or sentence after an em dash or colon with a numeral. Spell out the number or rewrite:

• They made a lot of money—thirty-six people gave millions.
• They made a lot of money because 36 people gave millions.

Clusters of numbers:

Numbers within a sentence or paragraph that cluster together and are used in the same context should maintain consistency. If one of the numbers would normally be written as a numeral, use numerals for all in that same category. It is fine to have one category written with numerals and another with numbers spelled out:

• There are 14 graduates, 25 alumni, 3 first-year students, and 1 senior in the program.
• Middlebury faculty published 20 books in 2010; 5 were on the bestseller list, and they will be publishing 7 books next month.
• When mother came, we found seven dead pigeons outside. That didn’t deter us from enjoying our snack. She served 5 kinds of cookies, 11 new beers, and 7 types of goat cheese.

Decimals:

Use numerals, even in text:

• We are expecting to harvest 5.4 tons of corn.

Fractions:

Simple fractions: Spell out in text. Hyphenate the fraction if it represents a single quantity or when used as a modifier.

• five-sixths of the population
• He received two-thirds majority
• But: I’m dividing my estate into five fifths to distribute to my heirs.
• Five-sevenths full

Whole numbers plus fractions: Spell out in running text unless the numerals are needed for a particular reason, such as a list of ingredients for a recipe. (Do not link whole numbers to the fraction with a hyphen)

• Three and three-fourths cups of flour should be enough to make pizza.

Measurements (see also hyphens):

Hyphenate measurements that serve as adjectives preceding a noun:

• The bandage is a two-inch-long strip of gauze.
• Place this four-foot block of wood in the fireplace.

Connect measurements with hyphens when the numbers represent a range, and they function as an adjective preceding a noun:

• We knew that a tsunami might create 80-to-90-foot tidal waves.

Currency:

References to money may be written as numerals or spelled out. If spelled, also spell the unit of currency, except when using very large numbers.

• fifty cents
• six dollars
• seventy-five euro
• $.50; $125
• $1 million
• $10.3 billion

Percentages:

Always express percentages as a numeral-word combination, except in charts and scientific copy: 25 percent, 4 percent

Reunion Years (see Reunion):

Use numerals for specific reunions: 20th Reunion, 10th Reunion, 5th Reunion (do not spell out as Fifth Reunion).

Temperature:

• 45 degrees F (no period after the F within a sentence)
• 45°F (no spaces)

O

of see collective nouns for use with nouns and verb agreement

off-campus (adj. before a noun); off campus (not a modifier)

off-campus study; study off campus

Office of Advancement (formerly College Advancement)

• Alumni and Parent Programs
• Annual Giving: Alumni Fund, Annual Fund, Parents’ Fund
• Communications and Information Services
• Gift Planning
• Graduate Giving
• Leadership Gifts
• Parent Giving
• Principal Gifts

Office of Communications and Marketing

Office of the President (not President’s Office)

office titles see titles

official policies (official names are capped) see capitalization

off-line

OK; okay (not okay to use o.k.)

Olin C. Robison Concert Hall; Robison Hall (formerly Concert Hall)

on-campus (adj. before noun); on campus (not a modifier)

on-campus housing; living on campus

online (noun and adjective)

on-site

orientation (lowercase unless part of a title); see capitalization

P

P’00 (parent of student in Class of 2000; no space between P and apostrophe); Sandy Smith P’00, ’03, ’06 (more than one student); see degree abbreviations

parents In text with an audience of students or prospective students, try to use “families” instead of “parents,” as some students live with other family members or guardians.

Parents’ Association

Parents’ Fund

Parents’ Fund Committee This can be shortened to Parents’ Committee with new parents or when approaching a parent for the first time to emphasize the committee does more than just raise money.

Paul Nelson Bach to Barber Performing Arts Series Nelson Performing Arts Series (See Named Schools, Departments, and Programs for guidelines on how to refer to this series)

Peace Corps volunteer but Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV)

people titles see titles

percent (spell out in text; use % symbol in tables and scientific copy)

percentages see numbers

Peterson Family Athletics Complex; the athletics complex

PhD PhDs (plural); doctoral degree; doctorate (not doctorate degree)

phonathon

playwright

plurals with generic terms cap generic term; see capitalization

• Brooklyn and George Washington Bridges
• Hudson and East Rivers

PM (small caps, more formal usage); or p.m. (always in running text)

policy maker (two words)

Portuguese School (Language Schools)

Posse Scholar refers to a student who is part of the Posse program

possessives see apostrophe

Add ’s to create the possessive, even for singular names ending in an s, x, z

• Jones’s art
• Xerox’s bill
• Bill Buzz’s restaurant

If the name is plural, add the apostrophe after the s

• the Joneses’ art

With a compound subject, put the apostrophe after the second name

• Doug and Linda’s house

If the subject is not compound but two separate entities, both take an apostrophe

• students’ and faculty’s health plans

Exceptions: Nouns that are the same in both singular and plural form like politics’; species’. 

Some “for sake” expressions: for goodness’ sake; but for appearance’s sake.

post words (no hyphen with most post words) postwar, postdoctoral; see prefixes

pre words (no hyphen with most pre words) preadmission; premed; prelaw; preschool; preorientation; see prefixes

prefixes: most words with prefixes are closed up, no hyphen; always check the dictionary if in doubt; see co-, mid-, multi-, non-, post-, pre-, semi-; exception self-

premier/premiere (premier is top quality; premiere is a first performance)

prepositions at the end of a sentence

Chicago Manual of Style, 5.176: “The traditional caveat of yesteryear against ending sentences with prepositions is, for most writers, an unnecessary and pedantic restriction. As Winston Churchill famously said, ‘That is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I shall not put.’ A sentence that ends in a preposition may sound more natural than a sentence carefully constructed to avoid a final preposition. Compare, for example, This is the case I told you about, with This is the case about which I told you. The ‘rule’ prohibiting terminal prepositions was an ill-founded superstition.”

President Laurie Patton Laurie Patton, the president of Middlebury College

Privilege & Poverty this program uses the ampersand

problem solver (two words)

professional titles see titles

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; Environmental Studies Program (preferred)

PS (proper way to write the acronym for postscript)

Public Safety Department of Public Safety

Pulitzer Prize winner Pulitzer Prize–winning author

Q

Q-and-A format written this way in running text

quotation marks with other punctuation

Commas and periods go inside quotation marks:

• The name of the article is “Never Try This at Home,” and we all read it.
• She said, “The article says you should ‘always have a fire extinguisher available.’”

Semicolons and colons go outside if they are not part of the quoted material:

• He told her he was “testing the waters”; indeed, he jumped off the bridge.

Question marks and exclamation points go either inside or outside, depending upon whether the quoted statement is part of the question or exclamation:

• “I shall overcome!” he shouted.
• Did he say, “I will balance the budget”?

quotes see capitalization

R

rain forest (two words)

Ralph Myhre Golf Course golf course

Rare Books and Manuscripts (RBMS)—one of three discrete collections in Special Collections

real-life situation (adj.) nothing like that is found in real life (noun); see compound nouns and adjectives

real-world experience (adj.) experience in the real world (noun); see compound nouns and adjectives

recurring events see capitalization

Recycling Center David W. Ginevan Recycling Center

Rehearsals Café

residence hall (preferred instead of dorm)

résumé

Reunion cap in all instances: 25th Reunion; Reunion Weekend; Reunion 2011; Reunion parade; 5th Reunion (not Fifth Reunion) (Note: Do not hyphenate when used as an adjective: 50th Reunion yearbook); see capitalization and numbers

Reunion events 1800 Society and Reunion Volunteer Appreciation Reception (official name of the Friday afternoon reception)

Rikert Outdoor Center located at Bread Loaf and originally named the Carroll and Jane Rikert Ski Touring Center

risk taker (two words)

Robison Hall Olin C. Robison Concert Hall (formerly Concert Hall)

Russian School see Kathryn Wasserman Davis School of Russian and Language Schools; this school should not be called the Russian School

S

scholar-athlete (hyphen)

School of Japanese (Language Schools)

School of Spanish (Language Schools)

schoolwide see suffixes

seasons/semesters see capitalization

Do not capitalize fall, winter, spring, or summer unless part of a title.

self- words; words using self- as a prefix are hyphenated (self-aware, self-evaluation, self-propelled); see prefixes

semi- words; most words using semi- as a prefix are closed unless the stem word begins with an “i” (semiformal, semiprofessional, semiretired, but semi-independent; see prefixes

semicolons

Use semicolons to separate independent clauses not joined by a conjunction:

• The weather is gloomy; we are all very depressed. (This can also be expressed as two sentences.)

May be used between clauses in a long compound sentence, even when they are joined by a conjunction, especially if the clauses contain several commas.

• The university has won so many awards in these fields that students are on waiting lists for applications, begging for interviews, and trying to bribe the admissions officers for special consideration; but the admissions procedures are not changing as a result of this newfound fame.

To separate clauses linked with the following adverbs: then, however, thus, hence, indeed, accordingly, besides, and therefore:

• The Nobel Prize winners are most pleased; indeed, they are planning a huge celebration.
• The geologist discovered a new mineral; therefore, she is naming it after herself.

To separate items in a series that is long and cumbersome or that contains internal commas:

• The students should take one course in math; three in languages; two chosen from political science, history, or art; and one senior capstone course.

semiretired

sentence fragments

When incomplete sentences are used as captions, pull quotes, and subheads, a period is not needed. When sentence fragments are interspersed with full sentences, periods may be necessary for visual clarity and consistency. This might be the case in a vertical list. Be sure to be consistent within a document, whatever you decide to do.

signs (how to treat text); see titles

ski-down (noun) the traditional ceremony at the Snowbowl held during Feb Celebration (verb is written without a hyphen: ski down)

Snowbowl Middlebury College Snowbowl (updated 10/22)

social houses

socioeconomic

South south (cap when referring to a geographic location; lowercase for compass direction); see directions

spacing

Place one space between initials in a name. (T. H. Smith)

Exception: no spaces between the initials of C.V. Starr.

There are no spaces or periods with initials that serve as proper names, such as LBJ, JFK, AAA.

Always single space between sentences. (Using double spaces is a holdover from the days of typewriters.)

Spanish School School of Spanish; see Language Schools; this school should not be called the Spanish School

Special Collections

• Abernethy Collection of American Literature
• College Archives
• Rare Books and Manuscripts (RBMS)

special interest houses (also called academic interest houses)

split infinitives

Definition: The insertion of a word or phrase between “to” and the verb.

• to madly love
• to deliberately lie

Not a split infinitive:

• to be always prepared
• to be constantly searching

Split infinitives are no longer considered to be an egregious error; in fact, sometimes the split infinitive is the only way something can be expressed. If a split infinitive can be avoided by placing the modifier elsewhere without detracting from the impact or readability of the sentence, that is preferable.

spring spring break; spring semester; spring semester course; see seasons/semesters

staff see mass nouns

• staff is, staff are, staff members (all okay, depends on context).
• 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.

Standing Committees (Board of Trustees)

• New Programs Committee
• Prudential Committee
• Resources Committee
• Risk Management Committee
• Strategy Committee
• Trusteeship and Governance Committee

states

• Vermont State
• the state of Vermont

Spell out the full state name in running text.

• She lives in Wisconsin.

Two-letter postal codes may be used in some informal lists and must always be used when a zip code follows. Use for addresses on invitations.

Use the abbreviations listed below (first abbreviation listed) in running text when a state name is preceded by the name of a city, town, village, or military base. Set off the state name in commas: He moved to Goshen, N.Y., after graduating from college. Do not abbreviate Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, or Utah. Use the postal code abbreviation for mailing addresses, NOT in running text.

State	Abbreviation	Postal Code
Alabama	Ala.	AL
Alaska	Alaska	AK
Arizona	Ariz.	AZ
Arkansas	Ark.	AR
California	Calif.	CA
Colorado	Colo.	CO
Connecticut	Conn.	CT
Delaware	Del.	DE
Florida	Fla.	FL
Georgia	Ga.	GA
Hawaii	Hawaii	HI
Idaho	Idaho	ID
Illinois	Ill.	IL
Indiana	Ind.	IN
Iowa	Iowa	IA
Kansas	Kan.	KS
Kentucky	Ky.	KY
Louisiana	La.	LA
Maine	Maine	ME
Maryland	Md.	MD
Massachusetts	Mass.	MA
Michigan	Mich.	MI
Minnesota	Minn.	MN
Mississippi	Miss.	MS
Missouri	Mo.	MO
Montana	Mont.	MT
Nebraska	Neb.	NE
Nevada	Nev.	NV
New Hampshire	N.H.	NH
New Jersey	N.J.	NJ
New Mexico	N.M.	NM
New York	N.Y.	NY
North Carolina	N.C.	NC
North Dakota	N.D.	ND
Ohio	Ohio	OH
Oklahoma	Okla.	OK
Oregon	Ore.	OR
Pennsylvania	Pa.	PA
Rhode Island	R.I.	RI
South Carolina	S.C.	SC
South Dakota	S.D.	SD
Tennessee	Tenn.	TN
Texas	Texas	TX
Utah	Utah	UT
Vermont	Vt.	VT
Virginia	Va.	VA
Washington	Wash.	WA
West Virginia	W. Va.	WV
Wisconsin	Wis.	WI
Wyoming	Wyo.	WY

statewide see suffixes

STEM Scholar: a student pursuing a career in science, technology, engineering, or math as part of the Posse program

Stephen C. Trombulak Nature Sanctuary Trombulak Sanctuary; the sanctuary (October 2022)

Student Health Portal

suffixes stem words with suffixes are closed up, when they appear in Merriam Webster’s dictionary in that format such as worldwide; if the word is not in the dictionary, like university-wide, a hyphen is used; always check the dictionary if in doubt; see -like, -long, -mate, -wide

superscripts

Do not use superscripts. They tend to make the spacing between lines uneven and cause problems with editing.

• 1st; 2nd; 3rd not 3^rd

summa cum laude (roman type, lowercase)

summer summer school, summer Language Schools; see seasons/semesters

T

T-shirt also tee

tax-free

Teach For America (TFA); cap the F

technology terms

Common technology terms (this list demonstrates our style); see also web words

• CD (for music or file storage)
• database
• dot-com
• DVD
• download
• email (unless it begins a sentence, then Email is acceptable)
• home page
• Internet (acceptable for Web and World Wide Web)
• list server
• motherboard
• online

telephone numbers

Use hyphens instead of dots or parentheses. In most cases, omit the 1 that precedes the area code.

802-443-2100

Any phone number involving extra digits or unusual number sequences (such as overseas numbers) should provide every digit the caller needs in order to place the call. Example, a call to Darwin, Australia:

011	International prefix used to dial outside of USA
61	International country code used to dial to Australia
8	Local area or city code used to dial to Darwin
LN	The local number
011-61-8-	Local number

the in running text the word the is lowercased even if it is part of an official name; see titles

The Orchard the Orchard (in running text)

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 as well as used on some buildings)

• Department of Theatre
• Hepburn Zoo Theatre
• Wright Memorial Theatre

but

• Burgess Meredith Little Theater (Bread Loaf)
• Town Hall Theater (downtown Middlebury)

they/their/them

There may be times when they, their, or them is a necessary choice as a pronoun for a singular noun of nonspecific gender. This is most likely to occur after nobody, everybody, one, anyone, or nouns that may be either singular or plural, depending upon their usage—faculty or student body, for example. When possible, rewrite the sentence.

The use of he/she or him/her, although more grammatically accurate in these cases, is a distraction.

• Anyone can take their medicine when it tastes like strawberry shortcake. (okay, but not great)
• Anyone can take his or her medicine when it tastes like strawberry shortcake. (distracting)
• Most people can take their medicine when it tastes like strawberry shortcake. (rewritten)
• The faculty decided to take its resolution to the administration. (singular sense)
• The faculty are very pleased with their new students this year. (plural sense, all members of the faculty)
• The members of the faculty are very pleased with their new students. (rewritten)
• We try to let each student take his or her exam home. (distracting)
• We try to let students in this situation take their exams home. (rewritten)
• See use of they/their in gender neutral pronouns.

time

All of the following are acceptable—consistency is key; don’t vary the format within the same document or story:

Use numerals with AM and PM, and words with o’clock:

• 5 AM; five o’clock

Use small caps, or lowercased letters with periods:

• AM; PM
• a.m.; p.m.

Use numerals when the exact moment is important: The train departs at 2:08 PM.

Other uses:

• 9:00 PM; 9 PM
• noon; midnight

Note: There is no such thing as 12:00 a.m. or 12:00 p.m. because a.m. begins immediately after midnight and p.m. begins immediately after noon.

Showing ranges:

• 9:30 AM–10:30 PM, or 9:30 AM to 10:30 PM
• from 9 AM to noon (do not use a dash to show range when also using “from”)

Within a document, use the hour, colon, minute form for on-the-hour times if there are other times being used that have minutes:

Incorrect: At 9 p.m. there will be a movie followed by snacks at 11:35. Correct: At 9:00 p.m. there will be a movie followed by snacks at 11:35.

What are small caps? They are capital letters about three-quarters smaller than regular caps. Choose them from the font menu in Microsoft Word or from Word’s formatting palette.

titles

Articles:

A, An, The: What to do with an initial, A, An, or The in a title when used in running text. Drop the initial article if it makes the text awkward.

• The Town’s College is one of our most useful reference books.
• His Town’s College proved to be one of our most useful reference books.

In running text, lowercase the when it precedes the name of a society, association, building, or other proper name, even when it is part of the name. This also applies to the in magazine and newspaper titles. Any initial the in the titles of periodicals (journals, magazines, and newspapers) should be subsumed by the surrounding text or dropped.

• The project is funded through the Prudential Foundation.
• Reading the New York Times is great way to start the day.

When the name of an entity includes a definite article, such as “The Grille” or “The Who,” it should be lowercased in running text.

• We are eating lunch at the Grille and listening to the Who.

Courses:

Course titles are printed in roman type, capped, with no quotation marks in general text.

• Professor Smith’s course the Beginning of the Universe has had a waiting list for several years.(Note: lowercase the even though it is part of the title of the course.)

Or course titles can combine the department code with a numerical designation and the title: JAPN 0101 First-Year Japanese. Place a space between the department code and the course number. It is not necessary to include the course number in general interest texts.

Creative works:

Art

Paintings, Photographs, Sculpture, etc.

Titles of works of art of most types are capped and italicized, including cartoons and photographs:

• The FBI lists Munch’s The Scream as one of the most stolen works of art. Yosemite Valley, Winter is one of Ansel Adams’s most striking photos. People always enjoy reading The Far Side.

If the name is from antiquity and the creator is unknown, usually the title is capped in roman type:

• The museum has the rare Palace Bowl on display.

Art Exhibitions

Names of large-scale exhibitions are capped, roman type. Small-scale exhibitions (at a local museum) and their exhibition catalog titles are italicized.

• The Toronto World’s Fair
• The new exhibit at the art museum, Mixed Signals, is extraordinary.

Drama

Movies, Television, Radio, Plays

Movies, ongoing television and radio programs, and plays are capped and italicized:

• We enjoyed reruns of Leave It to Beaver.
• The blockbuster Live Free or Die Hard was not my favorite.

Television and radio series are capped with no quotation marks:

• The American Idol series broke records for viewership three years running.

Individual episodes of television and radio series are capped, with quotation marks:

• “Ultimatum” was one of best episodes of The Office.

Music

Instrumental:

Cap generic name, no quotes: Piano Sonata no. 2

Italicize descriptive title: Dances of the Band of David

Lowercase n for no.

Lowercase opus, op.

Cap Major and Minor: Bach’s Mass in B Minor

Operas and songs

Long compositions are italicized, shorter ones set in quotes, roman type:

“The Star Spangled Banner” The Marriage of Figaro

Recordings

An album is italicized. Individual tracks take caps and quotation marks. The name of the performer is set in roman type:

• The CD Home for the Holidays includes music by the Middlebury Chamber Singers and a solo performance by Jason Judge, singing “Midnight in Vermont.”

Departments and Offices:

Running text—Departments and offices are capped only when the full, correct name is used.

• Go to the Office of the Dean of the College if you have questions.

Someone in the dean’s office will be able to help.

• The Middlebury Museum of Art has a new installation.
• There is a new installation at the art museum.

Academic departments are always capped:

• The Department of Biology will move to the new science center.
• All of the science departments, including the Biology Department, will move.

In vertical lists: It is permissible to cap all offices and departments for the sake of consistency and readability.

In general

Middlebury office names that are also used as general terms, such as public affairs, admissions, alumni relations, financial services, and government offices, such as agriculture, commerce, defense, education, transportation, should be lowercased when used in titles that don’t precede the name.

• He is the vice president of facilities services.
• Sarah James, director of alumni relations.

Events on campus:

College symposium: Capped with quotation marks

Lecture series: Cap only

Lecture: Capped with quotation marks

People:

Academic and Professional:

Capitalize the title when it precedes the name and is part of the name:

• I would like to introduce Doctor John Smith.
• President Laurie Patton will be addressing the audience.
• We traveled with Professor Bill Johnson.

Do not capitalize when the title follows the name (almost always a descriptor):

• John Smith, professor of biology
• Barack Obama, president of the United States

Trustee Emerita Suzanne Simpson; Suzanne Simpson, trustee emerita; the trustee
Professor John Jones; the professor; John Jones, professor emeritus; Professor Emeritus John Jones

Do not capitalize when the title precedes the name, but is acting as a descriptive title:

• Renowned geology professor Andrea Lane will deliver the keynote address.
• Happily, designer Randy Russet made the costumes.
• Meet our bass player Lucinda J. Horvick ’05.

Do capitalize a title before a name if it is the official descriptor:

• I’d like you to meet Vice President for Academic Affairs John Wiley.
• She is taking a course with Assistant Professor of Geology Matthew Rock.
• They sent the student to Dean of the College Polly Johnson.

Avoid using a long title before a name. Rewrite the sentence so the title falls after the name.

Awkward: The talk was given by Dean of Institutional Diversity and Associate Professor of English and American Literatures Stephanie Wilkerson.

Preferred: The talk was given by Stephanie Wilkerson, dean of institutional diversity and associate professor of English and American literatures.

NOTE: A named professorship is always capitalized, no matter where it falls

• William Wilson, John M. Martin Professor of Physics, will be there.
• John M. Martin Professor of Physics William Wilson will be there.

In vertical lists:

For the sake of appearance and consistency, it is permissible to cap all titles and departments in vertical lists, appearing in program notes, president reports, etc.

Mary Smith, Professor of Geology

Fred Dartmouth, Milton Johnson Distinguished Professor of Classical Studies

David Jones, Assistant Professor of English

Dorothy Bartlett, William Loadstone Professor of Environmental Studies

Signs:

Text on signs: Capitalized, headline style

• Web Works

Blogs

Named blogs are italicized. An initial the is treated as part of the title. Specific blog entries are capped with quotation marks.

• “My Time Has Come,” a post in the blog Today’s Ruminations, outlines his plans. Peter Dominick is my favorite blogger. Have you read The Upbeat Town yet?

Podcasts

Treat podcasts and video blogs similarly to blogs. Regularly published features are italicized. Individual segments are capped with quotation marks.

Websites

Website titles may consist of the name of the site, may use part of the domain name, or may refer to the entity responsible for the site.

In running text, use roman type, headline-style, without quotation marks. An initial the is lowercased midsentence.

• Google
• Google Maps
• White House.gov
• Amazon

Some websites, however, are closely linked or completely similar to their print publications, and are therefore styled accordingly.

• Chicago Manual of Style Online has the answers to your questions.
• I found the spelling in Merriam-Webster.com.

Titles of periodicals found both in print and online should be treated similarly, except for the domain name.

• The website of the New York Times
• the New York Times online
• NYTimes.com

Pages or sections of websites are capped, headline style, and placed in quotation marks.

To find the answers, visit “Frequently Asked Questions,” at Middlebury.edu.

Written Works

Books

Italicize book titles.

• Please read The College on the Hill.
• Can I borrow your College on the Hill?

An initial A, An, or The may be dropped if it does not fit the syntax of a sentence.

Book series

Use roman type, headline style, without quotation marks, for the names of book series or editions. The words “series” and “edition” are lowercased when they are not part of the title:

• Norton Books Field Guide series

Ebooks

Italicize ebook titles. Use roman type and quotation marks for sections.

• Please consult the ebook Putting Your Passion to Work, especially the section “What Do You Want to Do With Your Life?”

Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, and newsletters)

Capitalize and italicize, except for a “the” in the title. This is because some periodicals use “the” as part of their title and some do not; the most consistent approach is to leave it out of the italicized title:

• The story appeared in the Boston Globe.

Periodical titles included in the names of awards, buildings, organizations are not italicized:

• Middlebury Magazine Short Story Prize
• Tribune Towers

Magazine Articles and Short Stories

Roman type, capitalize, and quotation marks:

• The story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” was first published in the New Yorker, in 1939.

Poems and Plays

Plays and long poems are italicized and capitalized:

• Paradise Lost will take you a while to read.
• We have tickets to A Christmas Carol.

Short poems are capped with quotation marks. Poems identified by their first lines are capped, sentence style, with quotation marks.

• Frost’s “A Prayer in Spring” seems apt right now.
• “Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s day?” is my favorite sonnet.

Unpublished Works

Dissertations, speeches, manuscripts, student work including posters use roman type, headline style, and enclose in quotation marks:

• “An Investigation into Nomenclature Anomalies in Biological Systems”

toll-free number

Tormondsen Great Hall Great Hall

Trombulak Sanctuary The Stephen C. Trombulak Nature Sanctuary; the sanctuary (Oct 2022)

toward (not towards)

TrueBlue, TrueBlue Society

trustee trustees; John Doe, trustee

U–V

Back to top

up-to-date (hyphenate in all positions)

United States USA; U.S. (periods)

unpublished work titles see titles

URL see web addresses

user-friendly

vertical lists

When possible, introduce the list with a complete grammatical sentence followed by a colon. Avoid putting a colon in the middle of a sentence, as after the word “include.”

In general: Try to use parallel syntax (sentences, fragments, questions) with each item, which will make the list orderly and more understandable. Chicago Manual of Style Online cautions that “parallel doesn’t mean identical. If your items are complex, it may not be practical to match them word for word with parallel parts of speech.”

styling vertical lists

Vertical lists can by styled in many ways, as unmarked lists, as numbered or bulleted lists, in paragraph style with internal punctuation, as a sentence, and with subdivided items. Be consistent throughout a document with uppercase and lowercase elements and in the use of punctuation.

unmarked list:

• We hope you will bring these items to our open house:

lawnmower
snow blower
leaf rake
new plantings for along driveway

numbered list: (items may be capitalized or lowercased)

We hope you will bring these items to our open house:

1. Lawnmower
2. Snow blower
3. Leaf rake
4. New plantings for along driveway

paragraph style:

When you come to our open house, we hope you will consider these facts: (1) Since the house is big, we will need some way to manage the large amount of trash that will be generated; (2) Our building has been in disrepair for several years; (3) The previous owner absconded with our deposit; and (4) we are not happy with its overall appearance.

sentence style: (first element may be capped or lowercased)

We hope you will bring these items to our open house:

• several leaf rakes to allow for easy removal of old compost,
• one light wheelbarrow that is easy to push,
• some good music to work to, and
• a sense of play, so that you can stay all day.

We hope you will bring these items to our open house:

• Several leaf rakes to allow for easy removal of old compost,
• One light wheelbarrow that is easy to push,
• Some good music to work to, and
• A sense of play, so that you can stay all day.

subdivided list:

We hope you will bring these items to our open house:

1. Leaf items - Rakes - Wheelbarrows - Leaf bags
2. Food items - Beer - Hot dogs - Ice
3. Musical items - Instruments - iPods - Loud speakers

Use of periods in vertical lists:

In general, follow the examples above. When a list contains a combination of sentence fragments and full sentences, try to revise so they are all similar. If that is not possible, use periods after all items for visual consistency.

vice-chairman; vice-chancellor (with hyphens)

vice president (no hyphen)

videoconference

videotape; video recorder

voice

Write in the active voice, as simply as possible.

Active, not convoluted: The College educates students to become advocates for change.

Passive, convoluted: Students are educated by the College to develop an awareness of their obligation to become advocates for change.

voice mail

W

Washington, DC (in mailing addresses); Washington, D.C. (in running text)

Watson Fellow fellow

web (World Wide Web)

web addresses

Try to avoid obscure technology references and long URLs. (You can use bitly.com to shrink long web addresses. Or you can direct readers to the right page: Visit www.williams.edu, click on “Alumni,” and then “Golf Tournament.”) When available, use a “go” link. If you are printing a document with a URL or email address in it, be sure to remove the hyperlink.

In running text, web addresses should be kept on one line whenever possible. If it is necessary to break a web address, do so before a form of punctuation (i.e., hyphen or period) or after a slash (/). Do not add a hyphen at the end of the line.

Example:

www.middlebury.edu/offices/news/communications

after line break:

www.middlebury.edu/offices/ news/communications

In running text, drop the “http://” or “www” before a web address unless the site will not load without it.

It can be helpful to style the address in a different typeface from the accompanying text (italic type within roman copy, for example) or to bold it so the reader comprehends it at a glance.

Sentence capitalization rules apply. The first letter of a sentence is always capitalized, whether it’s the e in eBay, or the i in iPod.

web page

web work titles see titles

weblog blog

webcam

webcast

webmaster

website

West west (cap when referring to geographic location; lowercase for compass direction); see directions

white (lowercase when referring to race)

-wide words with the suffix -wide are closed up if they appear in Merriam Webster’s dictionary that way (worldwide); if the word created is not in the dictionary, a hyphen is used (college-wide, university-wide); see suffixes

Wi-Fi

Winter Carnival

winter term (one-month semester in January); also called January term; J-term

winter term courses

work-study work-study program

World Wide Web the web

worldview

writer in residence (no hyphens)

writing program

written work titles see titles

X–Z

Xerox (noun); xerox (verb, or use copy or photocopy instead)

year-round

yearlong

zipcar