University Editorial Style Guide

If a standard is not defined here, then we defer to the standards outlined in the  Associated Press Style Guide.

University of the Pacific On first usage, refer to the institution as University of the Pacific. On second and additional uses, refer to Pacific.

Pacific The university is referred to as Pacific, not UOP.

University Only capitalize university when it is part of a proper noun, as in University of the Pacific.

Time Use figures except for noon and midnight. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes. 5 o-clock is acceptable, but tie with a.m. or p.m. is preferred, as in 11:00 a.m.

Dates

• Always use Arabic figures, without st, nd,, rd or th.
• Captilize months.
• Abbreviate only specific months when used with a date: Jan. Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec.

UOP The university is referred to as Pacific. Avoid using UOP.

Pacific.edu or UOP.edu. Do not create links to the domain names www.uop.edu or www1.uop.edu. To support the University's branding and identity program, always use "pacific.edu." (Note that www1.pacific.edu is a Unix server.)

Phone Numbers The University of the Pacific style is to use periods as delimiters in phone numbers. For example, 209.946.2344.

Academic abbreviations

• Avoid abbreviations (B.A., M.A., and Ph.D., etc). Instead, refer to John Doe, who has a degree in pharmacy.
• Use an apostrophe in bachelor's degree, master's degree, and so forth.
• Bacherlor of Arts and Master of Science do not contain an apostrophe.
• Use abbreviations, for example, B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. only when using the preferred method would make introducing a number of people with degrees in sequence awkward. Use the abbrevaiton after a full name and set of the abbreviations with commans. For example, "John Doe, Ph.d., lectured yesterday..."

Department, school and college names The first time you refer to a department, school, or college, use the full name. Afterwards you may use the commonly accepted shorthand reference. Capitalize department, school, or college names only when used in full: the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Don't capitalize the school of pharmacy.

Surnames and commas Don't add commas after a surname that is followed by Jr., Sr. or a number: Mr. B. Lancelot Sr., Dr. S. Estavez II.

Use gender-neutral language Use "department chair" and "first-year student" instead of "department chairwoman" or "freshmen." When referring to alumni, however, you may break this rule: one woman, use alumna; two or more women, use alumnae; one man,use alumnus, two or more men or a mixed group, use alumni.

Ethnic references When referring to a person's ethnic heritage, use the suffix -American, as in Anglo-American, African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic-American, Native-American and International.

Semester references Capitalize the season and year when you refer to a specific semester and year: Fall 1994. Don't use a comma to separate the semester and year. Don't capitalize "semester" when you are referring to a general semester: Applications accepted only during the fall semester.

Jargon check Avoid jargon, euphemisms, acronyms, or vague language, words, or phrases that all members of your audience may not understand. Remember what you are writing will be read by an external audience.

Abbreviations Use abbreviations with care. Use only widely recognized and understood abbreviations, such as: U.S., Ph.D., M.S., NASA. Omit spaces and periods between letters when possible. Don't use apostrophes for plural abbreviations: Only Ph.D.s are invited to the gathering. With the exception of degrees, do not use abbreviations in headings.

Acronyms Spell out an acronym the first time you use it, and follow it with the acronym in parenthesis. For example, ... the School of International Studies (SIS) ... Remember that even internal publications may be read by external audiences. The same acronym in a different context or readership can mean very different things. Don't leave any potential reader in the dark about what you mean. Do not use acronyms in headings.

United States Spell out our nation's name when you use it as a noun: The United States needs more music therapy graduates. Abbreviate the name when you use it as an adjective: Enrollment of U.S. students was up last year.

State names State names are spelled out when they stand alone in text: The students are from California. When a state name follows the name of a city, town, village or military base within its borders, the state name is abbreviated: Ft. McDill, OK. However, the following state names are never abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah.

Numbers To minimize confusion, use a consistent style when writing numbers. Associated Press Style Guide. contains the following guidelines.

• Spell numbers one through ten.
• Use Arabic numerals for numbers 11 and higher.
• Don't mix numerals and words for numbered items in the same list: 15 wells, 3 aquifers.
• Do mix numerals and words when quantities are adjacent: eleven 90-ohm resistors.
• Use numerals for units of measure (4 inches), time (3 p.m.), page numbers, percentages (7 percent), money ($63 million), and proportions (3 to 1 odds).
• Spell a number at the beginning of a sentence and when using approximations: Eleven people—one-fourth of the class—got an A on the final exam.
• Use hyphens to connect words ending in y to other words, as in: twenty-five birds.
• Always write years using numbers: 1992 was a year of sweeping changes.

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