FAQ regarding editorial style
OSU follows The Associated Press style with only a few exceptions.
Buying the most recent edition of The Associated Press Stylebook or signing up at apstylebook.com can prevent spills down the most slippery of stylistic slopes.
Academic degrees
Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Doctorate or Ph.D. are the preferred terms when noting a degree held. Associate degree doesn’t need an apostrophe because it’s singular and not possessive.
Exception to AP style: OSU can use Dr. in the first reference of any individual who holds a true doctorate of any kind — M.D., DVM, Ph.D., Ed.D., etc. Do not continue the use of Dr. in subsequent references.
Advisor or Adviser?
Advisor is a word you hear quite a bit around a university – and we use it often in marketing/communications pieces, too. And while we typically toe the party line when it comes to AP style around here, we are making an exception for this word, given that their professional association prefers the spelling to be “advisor.” Let’s all get on the same page, so to speak. It’s advisor at OSU, not adviser.
Ampersand
In order to maintain consistency across all campus entities, OSU editorial guidelines require the use of the word “and” rather than the ampersand symbol (&) in the titles of colleges, departments, divisions, etc., as well as in all editorial copy.
Capitalization and job titles
Following AP style, OSU does not capitalize academic departments and campus offices unless they contain a proper noun or unless they are part of the official name.
Capitalize formal titles (those that indicate authority, usually governmental) used before a name. Lowercase titles that are set off by commas, titles not used with a name and titles that refer to occupation.
With great diplomacy, President Joe Eaton cultivated a relationship between OSU and other countries.
The president cultivated a relationship between OSU and other countries.
Students enjoyed professor Eaton’s class.
AP views the term professor as an occupation and therefore lowercase before a name.
AP style does call for the capitalization of Professor Emeritus as a conferred title
before a name. In compliance with that guideline, Regents Professor should also be
capitalized as a conferred title before a name:
The full names of endowed chairs are also capitalized on first reference:
OSU style note: When referencing President Kayse Shrum in articles and releases, references should appear in the following order:
First reference: OSU President Kayse Shrum
Second reference: Dr. Shrum
All subsequent references: Shrum
Commas
OSU follows AP style, which mandates no comma before the “and” in a simple series.
“This, that and the other thing” is correct, but “this, that, and that other thing”
is not.
Use a comma before the concluding conjunction in a series, however, not if an integral
element of the series requires a conjunction: I had orange juice, toast, and ham and
eggs for breakfast.
Also use a comma before “and” if you’re linking what could be two full, separate sentences: He did this, and she did that. But: He did this and she that.
Composition titles
OSU follows AP style, which has several rules depending on the type of material. OSU
does not use italics in articles as the formatting will not copy over on most programs.
Composition titles for most articles, books and newspapers will go in quotation marks,
excluding almanacs, directories, dictionaries, encyclopedias, gazetteers, handbooks,
magazines, religious works and similar publications. Magazine names are plain text,
however only the official name is capitalized, for example: STATE magazine.
TV shows and movies are also in quotation marks, but not the station or channel they
are on. Song titles are in quotation marks. Scientific names are in plain text with
the first word capitalized, for example: Tyrannosaurus rex.
I watched "Living the Code" on Inside OSU.
I read "Your Favorite Article" in CONNECT magazine.
The professor wrote the article called “Getting Ahead in Academia” that ran in "The New York Times."
Dash (—) vs. hyphen (-)
Long dashes are typed with a space before and after — just like that. Hyphens are used to consolidate things, so to speak, and so, there are no spaces: 2-4 p.m., for example. Hyphens are used to connect two or more words into a single concept. Dashes are used to indicate an interruption, especially in transcribed speech.
Land-grant
OSU hyphenates land-grant and does not capitalize it in copy.
Modifiers
Place descriptive words and phrases close to the word described to avoid confusion.
Eaton walked to the bus on the cellphone (incorrect).
Talking on the cellphone, Eaton walked to the bus (correct).
Please note in construction like this:
That the subject (Eaton) is doing what is described. This type of construction is not correct:
One Health
One Health is written as two words in all usage and is capitalized.
Passive construction
Active sentence structure places the subject in the subject position. Passive voice lengthens and confuses the sentence by using phrases to move the subject after the verb.
Active: The committee appointed Eaton director.
Active: The National Science Foundation awarded the Eaton study a $1 million grant.
Possessives
For instances not dealt with below, consult the AP Stylebook entry on “possessives.”
Plural nouns not ending in s, add ’s: the alumni’s contributions, women’s rights.
Plural nouns ending in s, add only an apostrophe: the churches’ needs, the girls’
toys, states’ rights.
Nouns plural in form but singular in meaning, add only an apostrophe: mathematics’ rules, measles’ effects. Apply the same principle when a plural word occurs in the formal name of a singular entity: General Motors’ profits, the United States’ wealth.
Nouns the same in singular and plural are treated the same as plurals, even if the meaning is singular: one corps’ location, the two deer’s tracks, the lone moose’s antlers.
Singular nouns not ending in s, add ’s: the church’s needs, the girl’s toys, the horse’s food, the ship’s route, the VIP’s seat.
Singular common nouns ending in s, add ’s: the hostess’s invitation, the hostess’s seat; the witness’s answer, the witness’s story.
Singular proper names ending in s, use only an apostrophe: Achilles’ heel, Agnes’ book, Ceres’ rites, Descartes’ theories, Dickens’ novels, Euripides’ dramas, Hercules’ labors, Jesus’ life, Jules’ seat, Kansas’ schools.
Pronouns
Pronoun reference problems occur when the pronoun doesn’t agree in number with the noun it references.
The department listed a job opening in its accounting office (correct).
State names
When writing a state name, OSU will spell out the state name per AP style. Remaining consistent with AP style, a state name appearing alone in text should be spelled out. Cities that don’t need a state name in a dateline (ex. Oklahoma City, Dallas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, etc. — see “datelines entry” in the AP Stylebook) don’t need a state name in the body of a story, chart, photo caption, etc. Oklahoma cities that don’t need Oklahoma: Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Stillwater. Miami, Oklahoma, needs Oklahoma in all references.
University
University is always lower case on second reference when it stands alone.
Web
OSU continues to follow AP in the use of “web,” “internet,” “homepage,” “website,” “online” and “email” and in the capitalization of “World Wide Web.”