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Contents | Chancellor's Note | Copyright Considerations | Distribution of Publications | Guide Overview | Identity Standards | Off-Campus Printing | Other Graphics Resources | Plan a Publication | Policy Statement | Proofreaders' Marks | Publications Office | Publications Planning Worksheet | Publications Standards | Style Guide

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The UW-La Crosse University Relations Office has prepared this style guide to supplement the Associated Stylebook as a reference for common style questions. By using this guide, along with the AP Stylebook and Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition as second and third references, the university can promote consistency and accuracy in writing. (Copies of the dictionary can be viewed in the University Relations Office, Cleary Alumni & Friends Center.) The UW-La Crosse Style Guide supersedes the AP Stylebook on questions of style pertinent to UW-La Crosse. If no entry is found in the UW-La Crosse Style Guide, the AP Stylebook should be considered the reference choice. Refer questions to the UW-La Crosse News Service, 785-8572.

academic degrees and titles
Readers are commonly unfamiliar with academic degrees. Avoid abbreviations and use instead a phrase such as: John Jones, who has a doctorate in psychology; not John Jones, Ph.D.
Write out names of degrees, such as: She holds a master of science degree in teaching; not She holds an MST.

Use an apostrophe in bachelor's degree, master's degree, etc.

Use B.A., B.S., M.A., M.S. and Ph. D. only when needed to identify many individuals by degree on first reference or if usage would make the preferred form cumbersome. Spell out all others. Use these only after a full name, never just a last name, and set the abbreviation off by commas.
Avoid referring to someone who holds a doctoral degree as Dr. The public associates the title Dr. with a physician.

abbreviations, acronyms
In general, avoid alphabet soup. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms which the reader would not quickly recognize. Never abbreviate the words university, department, or association. Spell out on first reference: University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Second reference: UW-L, WIAC.

academic departments
Use lowercase except for words that are proper nouns or adjectives: the department of chemistry, the chemistry department, the department of English, the English department. An abbreviation is acceptable for a department on second reference only: ESS for the department of exercise and sport science.

academic titles
Lowercase and spell out titles when not used with an individual's name: The dean provided a list of students. The professor taught a class. The chancellor will speak today at noon. Capitalize and spell out when they precede a name: Chancellor Douglas Hastad, Provost Vice-Chancellor Elizabeth Hitch, Dean Michael Nelson, history Chair Jane Doe.

addresses
Use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd., and St. only with a numbered address: 1725 State St., 105 West Ave. Spell out and capitalize when part of a formal street name without a number: State Street, La Crosse Street. Lowercase and spell out when used alone or with more than one street name: Vine and 16th streets.

Format for punctuation: Office of the Chancellor, UW-La Crosse, 1725 State St., La Crosse WI 54601.

Postal state abbreviations: (Use only with addresses) - AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY.

adviser
NOT advisor.

ages
Always use figures: a 20-year-old student, but the student is 20 years old. The student, 19, has a brother. The student is in his 20s (no apostrophe).

All-America, All-American
Use All-America when referring to a team, All-American when referring to a player or individual.

alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae
Use alumnus (alumni in the plural) when referring to a man who has attended a school. Use alumna (alumnae in the plural) for similar references to a woman. Use alumni when referring to group of men and women.

When referring to UW-La Crosse alumni, on first or second reference, follow the person's name with year graduated: John Doe, '85.

Alumnus
Capitalize, but do not put in quotes, when referring to the publication for UW-La Crosse alumni.

annual
An event cannot be described as annual until it has been held in at least two successive years. Do not use the term first annual. Instead, note that sponsors plan to hold an event annually.

Bookstore
The complete name is University Bookstore.

building names
Use the following names when referring to buildings on campus:

Academic and administrative buildings:
Cartwright Center
Cartwright Center-Gunning Addition
(when referring to Port O' Call and Valhalla)
Center for the Arts
Child Care Center
Cleary Alumni & Friends Center
Cowley Hall
Graff Main Hall
Heating Plant
Health Science Center
Information Center
Mitchell Hall
Morris Hall
Murphy Library Resource Center
North Campus Field Equipment Building
North Hall
Recreational Eagle Center (REC okay on second reference, but never REC Center which would be redundant.)
Whitney Center
Wilder Hall
Wing Communication Center
Wittich Hall

Residence halls:
Angell Hall Baird Hall
Coate Hall Drake Hall
Hutchison Hall Laux Hall
Reuter Hall Sanford Hall
Trowbridge Hall Wentz Hall
White Hall

Other:
Hoeschler Tower
Mitchell Hall Gymnasium
(basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, wrestling)
Mitchell Hall Fieldhouse (track and field)
Mitchell Hall Pool (swimming, diving)
North Campus Field (baseball, softball)
Veterans Memorial Field
(soccer, tennis, football practice fields)
Veterans Memorial Stadium
(football, track and field)
Veterans Memorial Stadium Hall of Honor

cancel, canceled, canceling, cancellation

capitalization
Academic writing has a tendency to over-capitalize. Use capitalization sparingly. Check these stylebook entries and others: academic titles, college, university names, committees, majors, organizations.

catalog
UW-La Crosse publishes the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Undergraduate Catalog and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Graduate Catalog biennially.

chair
Not chairman, chairwoman, chairperson. Capitalize before a name.

class rankings
In common text, use: Jane Doe, a freshman from Onalaska. In sports, use: Jane Doe (Fr., La Crescent, Minn.) Other abbreviations for the sports format: So., Jr., Sr. for classes and Ill., Wis., etc., for states - see state names entry. Note: freshman/ freshmen is used for males and females.

coach
Capitalize only when used before the name: John Doe is the men's basketball coach; UW-L men's
basketball Coach John Doe.

collective pronouns
The Eagles are a group of players. Use collective pronouns, such as they and their: The Eagles won their fourth consecutive game last night. A team is a singular unit: The team ended its season last night. Also, a class referring to a group of people is singular. Faculty is singular.

college, university names
Capitalize colleges and schools within the university: The program is sponsored by the College of Science and Allied Health. The student is in the School of Arts and Communication.

On first reference use: University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, thereafter UW-La Crosse (regionally) or UW-L (locally). For other campuses in the UW System use: for example, UW-River Falls.

Always lowercase when referring to UW-La Crosse as an entity and generically: The university (meaning UW-La Crosse) has many accredited programs. She has a university education. Lowercase college, school, etc., when not used in the formal context: The college held an information fair to promote its programs.

For colleges and universities outside the UW System, spell out complete name of college and follow with state if not Wisconsin: Wartburg College, Iowa; Gustavus Adolphus, Minn. Second references: Wartburg, Gustavus Adolphus. References for spellings are in the back of the recommended Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition.

colon, semicolon
Use AP Style outlined in punctuation chapter. Use a colon at the end of a sentence to introduce lists. Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence.

Use a colon to introduce a longer quotation within a paragraph and to end all paragraphs that introduce a paragraph of quoted material.

A semicolon is used to indicate a greater separation of thought and information than a comma can convey, but less than the separation than a period implies.

Use a semicolon to separate lists: The following students were in the play: John Doe, Mondovi, Wis.; Jane Doe, Winona, Minn.; and Mary Smith, Waverly, Iowa.

committees
Capitalize full name of committee: Budget Committee, University Services Committee, but lowercase second references: The committee met yesterday. Also: Faculty Senate, Academic Staff Council, Student Association.

company, companies
Use Co. or Cos. when a business uses either word at the end of its proper name: Trane Co., American Broadcasting Cos. But: Aluminum Company of America. If company or companies appears alone in second reference, spell the word out in lowercase.

Theatrical: Spell out company in the name of theatrical organizations: The La Crosse Dance Company.

course titles
Lowercase all course titles that do not include proper nouns: She took a course in history; freshman English is required. Capitalize when the course title is used with a numeral: History 101 begins at 7:45 a.m.

courtesy titles
Do not use Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms. except to avoid confusion, such as when both a husband and wife are quoted in a story. Often it is better to repeat first and last names when quoting people with the same last name whether male or female.

dash
Use a dash to show an abrupt change, a series within a series, attribution before an author's name at the end of the quotation, in datelines, and to introduce sections of lists. Put a space on both sides of a dash in all uses except the start of a paragraph and sports agate summaries. I will fly home for the holidays - - if I get a raise.

dates
Always use Arabic figures, without st, nd, rd or th. See months for examples.

daylight-saving time
Not savings. Note the hyphen. Lowercase in all uses.

days of the week
Capitalize them; do not abbreviate, except when needed in a tabular format: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat (three letters, without period, to facilitate tabular composition).

disabled, handicapped, impaired
In general, do not describe an individual as disabled or handicapped unless it is clearly pertinent to a story. See the AP Stylebook disabled, handicapped, impaired entry.

division
Abbreviate in NCAA Div. III and similar uses.

Eagles
The nickname for UW-La Crosse men's and women's athletic teams. Do not refer to the team without attaching an "s" to the word. Eagle (no "s") may be used to refer to an individual. Be careful in use of possessives and plurals. Examples: The Eagles' home field. Eagles Coach Roger Harring. Eagles defense.
Do not use the term "lady Eagles." They are the women's team, the women, or better yet, the Eagles.

ellipsis ( ... )
Use the ellipsis to show missing words. In general, treat the ellipsis like a three-letter word with a space on both sides. For more details, see the AP Stylebook.

e-mail

emeritus, emeriti
The word emeritus is added to formal titles to denote individuals who have retired and retain their rank or title. When used, place the word emeritus after the formal title: Vice Chancellor Emeritus Maurice O. Graff, Professor Emeritus John Cleveland. Emeriti is the plural.

employee
Not employe.

essential and non-essential clauses
An essential clause cannot be eliminated without changing the meaning of a sentence. It must not be set off from the rest of the sentence by commas. A non-essential clause can be eliminated without altering the basic meaning of the sentence. It must be set off by commas. When an essential or non-essential clause refers to a human being or animal with a name, it should be introduced by the words "who" or "whom." "That" is the preferred pronoun to introduce clauses that refer to an inanimate object or an animal without a name. "Which" is the only acceptable pronoun to introduce a non-essential clause that refers to an inanimate object or an animal without a name.

festivities
Capitalize Homecoming, Family Weekend, Oktoberfest, Parents Day.

Foundation
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Foundation Inc. grants scholarship aid to students, awards grants to faculty, and provides monetary awards to staff and projects. It raises money through gifts, which may be referred to as donations.

game time
Always two words.

gray
Not grey; but, greyhound. Gray is one of UW-L's school colors. Maroon is the other. But, usually phrased "maroon and gray."

handicapped
See disabled entry.

his, her
Do not presume maleness in constructing a sentence, but use the pronoun his when an indefinite antecedent may be male or female: A reporter attempts to protect his sources. (Not his or her sources, but note the use of the word reporter rather than newsman.) Frequently, however, the best choice is a slight revision: Reporters attempt to protect their sources.

Hoeschler Tower

Homecoming
Capitalize in all references to the annual celebration. Use Homecoming Leadership Court when referring to the group of students selected as finalists for king and queen.

hometown
In general news releases note hometown as part of the sentence: Jane Doe of Onalaska was awarded a $1,000 scholarship. Wisconsin is not used unless the city name is correlative to one in Minnesota or Iowa: Osseo, Wis.; Osseo, Minn.; Altoona, Wis.; Altoona, Iowa. Exception: Madison; Madison, Minn. Do not use Minnesota following Minneapolis.
In sports: Use state abbreviation after each city, including La Crosse, Wis.

hyphens
Use a hyphen whenever ambiguity would result if it were omitted. When a compound modifier - two or more words that express a single concept - proceeds a noun, use hyphens to link all the words in the compound except the adverb very and all adverbs that end in ly. Examples: A full-time job; a well-known professor; a very good game; an easily remembered rule. See the AP Stylebook hyphen entry.

incorporated
Abbreviate and capitalize as Inc. when used as part of a corporate name. It usually is not needed, but when it is used, do not set off with commas: UW-L Foundation Inc., J.C. Penny Co. Inc. announced ...

Internet

La Crosse
Note the space between La and Crosse and keep on one typed line. When referring to the sport, however, lacrosse.

letterwinner, letterwinners
Not letterman or letterwoman/lettermen or letterwomen.

majors
A student can major in a program; or, he/she can, for example, be an English major. Do not capitalize the title of a program unless it is a proper noun.

maroon
One of UW-L's school colors. Gray is the other. See gray entry.

minorities
See nationalities and races entry.

months
Capitalize the names of months in all uses. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Spell out when using alone or with a year alone.
When a phrase lists only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas. When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with commas.
Examples: January 1994 was a cold month. Jan. 21 was the coldest day of the year. His birthday is May 6.
Feb. 14, 1994, was the target date.

names
There is no excuse for misspelling a name. A complete interview includes asking those interviewed how to spell their names. Ask if they have a preference for a shortened or full-length reference to their names. For instance, don't assume a woman named Deborah is a Debra, Debbie, Debby or Deb; or a Stephen is Steven or Steve. Verify spellings of last names; for instance, is it Gundersen or Gunderson. In general, ask people to spell their names even if they appear to be common spellings.

nationalities and races
Capitalize Asian, Native American, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, Alaskan Native, Eskimo or Intuit. Lower case black and white. American Indian is the AP preferred term for Native American. Use person's preference, especially if you plan to use the term African-American. See the AP Stylebook nationalities and races entry.

No.
Use as the abbreviation for number in conjunction with a figure to indicate position or rank: No. 1 man, No. 3 choice.

Numerals
See AP Stylebook entry. Briefly, follow these examples: No. 1 team; 20th century; 1st Ward; first in line; first base; 5-year-old boy; the 1990s; 12 credits; eight credits. Spell out numbers one through nine; use numerals beginning with 10.

obscenities
The use of profane language in print should be avoided, but sometimes an offensive word is part of an important quote. You may use "damn" or "god" if it adds significantly to the story. Do not use racial or ethnic slurs. Avoid offensive words rather than replace letters of offensive works with hyphens. See AP Stylebook obscenities entry.

one space versus two spaces after punctuation
With today's typesetting capabilities, one space after all punctuation is the preferred spacing for all copy that will be printed by a commercial printer. All copy submitted to the Publications Office should have one space only after all punctuation (after periods, semi-colons, colons, etc.).

office
Capitalize office when it is used as part of a formal tile: University Relations Office, Chancellor's Office.
Lowercase all other uses, including phrases such as: the office which promotes the university.

OK OK'd, OK'ing OKs
Do not use okay.

organizations
Use complete title of an organization according to the list published by Student Activities and Centers. Second references may be made to "the organization," "the club," the council," "the board," etc.

percent
One word. Spell out in all instances, except tabular form when % is appropriate.

plays
Put quotes around the title. Use "theater," not "theatre," except in proper names that use that spelling: She will be in the theater production. The play is in Toland Theatre. The musical is performed by University Theatre.

political parties, office holders
Capitalize Democrat and Republican. If an elected official holds national office, note state: Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis. If the person holds state office, list city of resident, ie., Rep. Jennifer Shilling, La Crosse.

pompon
One word when referring to the large ball of crepe paper waved by Eagles fans. However, the UW-L Pom Pon Squad performs with the Screaming Eagles.

Port O' Call
Not Port O' Call Lounge when referring to room in Cartwright Center-Gunning Addition.

possessives
See AP Stylebook entry.

pounds
Spell out, do not abbreviate with lbs. except in tabular form.

powwow
One word.

quotes
Quotes should be used to convey unique information; do not overuse quotes. Take every opportunity to reduce ordinary quotes to para-phrases. "Said"or "says" are perfectly fine attributive verbs.
When using quote marks, use straight quotes only to convey measurements as in inches or feet. Use curly quotes for attribution. For example: The 5' 4" brunette said, "That's a fantastic idea."

rooms
Generally, do not use the term when referring to a room number in a building. Instead use: The meeting is in 222 Cartwright Center. However, use the term and capitalize it when used with a name: Ward Room.

state names
Spell out the names of states when they stand alone. Eight states are never abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. When used in conjunction with the name of a city, town or village, use this list of state abbreviations:

Ala.	Md.	N.D.
Ariz.	Mass.	Okla.
Ark.	Mich.	Ore.
Calif.	Minn.	Pa.
Colo.	Miss.	R.I.
Conn.	Mo.	S.C.
Del.	Mont.	S.D.
Fla.	Neb.	Tenn.
Ga.	Nev.	Vt.
Ill.	N.H.	Va.
Ind.	N.J.	Wash.
Kan.	N.M.	W. Va.
Ky.	N.Y.	Wis.
La.	N.C.	Wyo.

Exception: For addresses, use postal state abbreviations - see address entry.

telephone numbers
Here is the format for an on-campus extension: 58888 (for 785-8888). Here is the format for off-campus numbers: (608)555-5555. Always use the area code.

that, which, who, whom
Use who and whom in referring to people and to animals with a name: John Doe is the man who helped. Use that and which in referring to inanimate objects and to animals without a name. See essential, non-essential clauses entry in AP Stylebook.

times
Use figures except for noon and midnight. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes: 11 a.m.,
1 p.m., 3:30 p.m.
Avoid such redundancies as:
10 a.m. tomorrow morning,
10 p.m. Monday night, 12 noon Wednesday.

Timetable
The official name of the class schedule published by the Records and Registration Office each semester.

travel, traveled, traveling, traveler

university
See college, university names entry.

Valhalla
Not Valhalla Hall when referring to the room in Cartwright Center-Gunning Addition.

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Copyright © 2005 by the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse and the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. All Rights Reserved.