Editorial Style Guide
A-Z
A
- a, an:
- Use a before a consonant sound: a historical time, a one-year employee, a universal theme
- Use an before a vowel sound: An energy crisis. An honorable mention. An 1800s invention.
- A lot: use as two words, not a lot.
- Abbreviations: similar to acronyms; if there is a chance someone could misunderstand, spell it out. Do not abbreviate titles before a person’s name, except Mr., Ms., Mrs., and Dr.
- Academic degrees:
- Either say “bachelor of arts” or “master of arts” (no apostrophes), or bachelor’s degree or master’s degree (not bachelor’s or master’s of arts).
- Associate degree has no apostrophe or “s”
- When the degree mentioned is specific: Master of Business Administration, both the degree and the field are capitalized.
- If the word “degree” is used, then it is not capitalized: master of arts degree in business administration
- Academic majors: Lowercase all majors except those that are proper nouns: a country (European History), a language (German, French, English, Spanish), etc. when used with the word “degree.”
- She has a bachelor’s degree in history
- If the major accompanies a specific degree, it is capitalized. Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Systems. Bachelor of Applied Science in Business.
- Academic titles: Capitalize and spell out formal titles such as provost, executive vice president, chair, etc., when they precede a name. Lowercase when the title is after a name or stands alone. For instructors, use the correct earned title or rank; do not use “Professor” as a courtesy title. Lowercase modifiers, such as department in department Chair Jerome Wiesner. Capitalize endowed professorships in all instances, including when they stand alone or are listed after names.
- President Chad Hickox
- Chad Hickox, president
- Vice President of Student Services Colleen Vandenboom
- The provost said …
- Assistant Professor John Smith
- John Smith, assistant professor
- Jane Smith is the Vannevar Bush Professor
- Professor Emeritus Ami Gupta and Dean Emeritus Sean Gomez
- Academic year: use a dash to refer to an academic year: 2025–26
- Acronyms: In general, avoid using acronyms for identity. Some readers, especially those outside the realm of our institution, find unfamiliar acronyms confusing. Therefore, when writing for the community, use acronyms sparingly. Think of them as an option, not a requirement.
- When the choice is made to use an acronym, the first mention of a proper noun is spelled out: Walla Walla Community College.
- If there is a subsequent reference to it in the remaining text, the acronym follows the full phrase: Walla Walla Community College (WWCC). The acronym, WWCC, may then be used consistently in place of the words Walla Walla Community College.
- However, if a proper noun is followed by minimal or no additional reference in the remaining text, there is no point in including the acronym.
- Never use an acronym on first reference. Even common acronyms.
- Addresses: Use the abbreviations , Blvd.and St. only with a numbered address: 709 Deakin Ave. Spell them out and capitalize when part of a formal street name without a number: College Street. Lowercase and spell out when used alone or with more than one street name: Walla Walla avenues.
- Always spell out other words, such as drive, road, terrace, circle, etc.
- Always use figures for the address number: 711 S. Rayburn St.
- Spell out and capitalize Firstthrough Ninth when used as street names; use figures for 10th and above: 303 Third Ave., 202 22nd Blvd.
- Abbreviate compass points used to indicate directional ends of a street or city quadrants in numbered addresses: 909 E. Third St., 600 E St. NW. Do not abbreviate if the number is omitted: East Sixth Street, unless customary locally
- Advisor: The preferred spelling of someone who advises. Exception to AP style.
- Affect / effect: Affect as a verb means to influence. Avoid affect as a noun unless it is being used within a psychological context. Effect as a noun means result. Avoid its use as a verb.
- The next game will affect the standings.
- The effect was overwhelming.
- African American: Acceptable for an American Black person of African descent. Also acceptable is Black. The terms are not necessarily interchangeable, as not all black-skinned people are from Africa. If race must be identified, ask the subject which term they prefer.
Racial categories are not hyphenated: African American, Asian American, Indian American, etc. Native American and American Indian refer to Indigenous populations.
- Afterward: correct as “afterward,” not “afterwards”
- Alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae, alum:
-
- Alumnus: a graduate or former student of a specific school, college or university.
- Alumni: plural for alumnus.
- Alumna: a woman who is a graduate or former student of a specific school, college or university.
- Alumnae: plural for alumna.
- Alum: the shortened, informal version of an alumnus or an alumna.
- a.m., p.m.: Lowercase, with periods.
- Ampersand (&): Best to avoid in text unless part of a proper noun.
- Awards: Capitalize them: Classified Employee of the Year Award
B
- Backward: Correct as “backward,” not “backwards.”
- Basic skills: Not capitalized unless part of a proper noun.
- The students will improve their basic skills in the areas of math and reading.
- WWCC’s Basic Skills Program includes elementary math.
- Biannual, biennial, bimonthly, biweekly
- Biannual means twice a year
- Biennial means every two years
- Bimonthly means every other month
- Biweekly means every other week
- Black: Capitalize Black, and not white, when referring to groups in racial, ethnic or cultural terms.
- Board, board of directors, board of trustees: Capitalize only when part of a proper name.
- The Walla Walla Community College Board of Trustees meeting is held on the second Tuesday of each month.
- The board of directors approved the meeting’s agenda.
- It is important to inform the board of that decision.
- Break: Capitalize Winter Break, Spring Break and Summer Break when used to reference a specific time period in the academic calendar. On second reference, use break.
C
- Cancelled vs. canceled: both are correct (cancelled is the British spelling, whereas canceled is the American spelling).
- Capitol / Capital: Capitol is the building in which a state legislative body meets. A capital is the city where the seat of a government is located. When used in a financial sense, capital describes money, equipment or property used in a business or corporation.
- Certificate program names:
- Capitalize specific certificate program names: Cybersecurity Certificate Program.
- Do not capitalize certificate when using it in a generic manner: Rachel will receive her certificate from Walla Walla Community College.
- Chair: Use the gender-neutral “chair,” not chairman or chairwoman. Exception to AP. Also, vice chair, not vice-chair. Capitalize if it precedes the name as a formal title:
- Committee Chair Bob Jones
- Bob Jones, committee chair
- Use primarily as a title. Avoid phrases like “He holds the chair …” say “leads” instead.
- Chancellor: In text, capitalize titles, including chancellor, only when they precede the name:
- Chancellor Julie White.
- Lowercase titles when used alone or when following names: Julie White, chancellor. The chancellor.
- Coed: No hyphen.
- College is lowercase when it stands alone. Do not capitalize college unless with the full name of the college, Walla Walla Community College.
- Commencement: Capitalize “Commencement Ceremony” as a formal name of the event. Commencement alone is lowercased. Commencement is preferred over graduation when referring to the event.
- The 2025 Winter Commencement Ceremony is Dec. 8.
- The speaker for this year’s commencement ceremony is Oprah Winfrey.
- WWCC has Spring Commencement and Winter Commencement Ceremonies.
- Committee group:
-
- Unless a committee or group is officially recognized and formally named, avoid capitalizing. For example, “The committee will review the applications to select interview candidates.”
- Capitalize the official, proper names of long-standing committees and groups.
- Compose / comprise: Compose means to create or put together. Comprise means to contain, to include all or embrace. Do not use “of” with comprise.
- The salad is composed of lettuce, radishes and carrots.
- The zoo comprises many animals.
- The zoo is composed of many animals.
- Composition titles: Put titles of creative works such as books, plays, poems, TV shows, songs and movies in quotation marks. Do not use italics. Do not use italics or quotes for magazines or other reference works such as newspapers, dictionaries, handbooks or software.
- Barry Manilow sings the song “Mandy.” He wrote songs and starred in the movie “Copacabana.” He also wrote his autobiographical book, “Sweet Life: Adventures on the Way to Paradise.” The New York Times and The New Yorker gave the book positive reviews.
- Do not use italics or quotes for the Bible.
- Capitalize, without quotation marks, when referring to the Scriptures in the Old Testament or the New Testament.
- Lowercase “biblical” in all uses.
- Course Titles: Capitalize the official name of the course title. Lowercase when referring to subject matter. Use the course number when it is relevant to the topic. Do not put course titles in quotation marks. When combining the course number and title, put the subject matter abbreviation in all caps, with a space between the subject and the number, followed by a colon and the course title:
- She is teaching HIST 305: The History of Modern Civilization.
- Smith is teaching English 101.
- Her course, Modern Usage of Language, has 30 students enrolled.
- Thirty students are enrolled in her language course.
D
- Dates: no comma after the year in a date in text. September 1, 2024 is reserved for your event. It is preferred to use the year after the date.
- Dashes: In editorial copy, WWCC prefers to use a long dash — or em-dash — to set off clauses. Use a space on either side of the dash. Hyphens should be used to show spans of time or dates.
- George — a junior from Texas — is going to the conference.
- The conference runs from Jan. 3-6, 2018.
- The hours are 9-11 a.m.
- Days of the week: Do not abbreviate days of the week. In the interest of clarity, WWCC prefers to always pair days of the week with dates when the event being referenced occurs within the next 30 days. There is no need to use the day when the event is in the past, unless there is a specific reason. Do not use “MWF” or “T/TH” designations in editorial copy. They may be acceptable in tables or lists showing class times.
- The event is Monday, Nov. 20, 2017.
- Her class is held Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- Department: The full formal name of the department should be capitalized. You may leave the department name uppercase if referring to the official department. If referring generally to subject matter, do not capitalize the name.
- The Department of History / the History department
- She is a professor in Biology / She is a professor of biology.
- Lowercase “department” when used generically: He is the department chair. She is a history professor. The college has a history department.
- District-wide vs. District wide: use district-wide.
- Doctor / Ph.D.: Refer to someone as doctor (e.g. “Dr.”) only when they hold a medical or veterinary degree. If the subject wishes to designate their doctorate, set it off with commas after the full name, never just after a last name. Only indicate a doctorate if it is relevant to the content or by the request of the person. The preferred form is to avoid an abbreviation and use instead a phrase that describes their expertise, rather than a title: Carl Grimes, who has a doctorate in psychology. Do not use Ph.D. to refer to the degree, use doctorate. When Ph.D. comes at the end of the sentence, do not add an additional period.
- John Snow, Ph.D.
- John Snow has a doctorate in biology. (Not: John Snow has a Ph.D. in biology.)
- Doctorate / Doctoral: Doctorate is a noun, referring to the degree, title or rank of Ph.D. Doctoral is an adjective, “relating to or designed to achieve a doctorate.”
- He has a doctorate in physics.
- Her doctoral dissertation is in physics.
- Colin Bridgerton, a doctoral student in history, traveled to Greece.
E
- Email: no hyphen and lowercase within a sentence. “Amy will email you her presentation.”
- Employees: Refer to those employed by Walla Walla Community College as employees, unless there is a specific reason to differentiate between faculty and staff.
- E.g.: Means “for example”: She organized her sock drawer by length, e.g., ankle, crew, knee-high. Using “For example” is preferred over e.g.
- English as a Second Language vs. English as a second language: No dashes between words, always lowercase the words “as” and “a.” Because it is a proper noun, English is always capitalized.
- Capitalized the phrase if referring to the specific department or course. For example: Walla Walla Community College has an English as a Second Language Program to assist students. (a specific division/department). Do not capitalize if used in a generic manner: “Walla Walla Community College is offering several levels of English as a second language (ESL) courses in the fall.”
F
- Fax: Not an acronym, therefore not all the letters are not capitalized.
- Federal: Not capitalized unless part of a proper noun.
- The Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
- The program is offered through the federal government.
- Female/woman: Use “woman/women” in place of “female” whenever possible. “woman/women” refers to gender and is inclusive of transgender individuals. “Female” refers to biological sex.
- First-come, first-served: This phrase is lowercase and includes hyphens; a comma should be included after “come”: first-come, first-served.
- Fiscal vs. monetary: Fiscal is used for budgetary matters; monetary is used for money supply. Examples: Receipts must be processed before the end of the fiscal year. The program had a monetary need to supply all the textbooks.
- Full-time vs. full time; Part-time vs. part time: Hyphenate only when used as an adjective preceding a noun. Linda is a full-time instructor. We considered having an intern full time, but four days worked better.
- Fundraising / fundraiser: One word in all cases.
G
- Government: Always lowercase and never abbreviated. The exception is proper nouns. State government, U.S. government, federal government. The government raised taxes. The Government Accountability Office issued a report on community college funding.
- Governor: Same capitalization rules as titles: Capitalize when specific and preceding a person’s name. Washington state Governor Jay Inslee. Lowercase when the title follows the person’s name: Jane Smith, governor, will sign the bill today. Lowercase when using the word in a generic manner: The governor’s initiative will be placed on the ballot.
- GPA: Acceptable in all references for grade-point average.
H
- Headlines: If you are unsure what to capitalize in a headline or subhead, use this online tool and select sentence case, https://titlecaseconverter.com.
- Health care: Health care should be written as two words, not one.
- Hispanic: A person from (or whose ancestors were from) a Spanish-speaking land or culture. Latino and Latina are sometimes preferred. Follow the person’s preference. Use a more specific identification when possible. A gender-neutral plural option for Latino /Latina is Latinx. If that is the person’s preference.
I
- In regard to: In regard to is the proper phrase, not in regards to.
- Indigenous: Indigenous and Aboriginal are identities, not adjectives, and should be capitalized to avoid confusion between indigenous plants and animals and Indigenous human beings. Avoid referring to Indigenous people as possessions of states or countries. Instead of “Washington’s Indigenous people,” write “Indigenous people of Washington.”
- Insure, ensure, assure:
- Insure is for insurance: life and disabilities policies insure one’s income.
- Ensure means guarantee: The company ensures the accuracy of their testing.
- Assure means to set the mind at ease: I assure you the fingerprints do not match.
- Italic type: AP style rarely uses italics and instead uses quotation marks for most titles. You can italicize magazines and newspapers. You can also use italics for emphasis.
- Its vs. it’s: its is one word, shows possession and doesn’t have an apostrophe. It’s is a contraction of two words, it is. It’s likely the Community Education department will add more classes this fall. Francesca knitted a scarf that was treasured by its new owner.
J
- Junior, senior: Abbreviate Jr. or Sr. and use as a full name with no comma. Each is a unique, separate person. William Allen Smith Jr. William Allen Smith Sr.
K
- Kick off/kickoff: Kick off is the verb, kickoff is the noun and adjective. Avoid “kicking off” anything that is not related to athletics.
L
- Latino/Latina/Latinx: Often the preferred term for a person from (or whose ancestors were from) a Spanish-speaking land or culture or from Latin America. Latina is the feminine form. Follow the person’s preference. Use a more specific country of origin when possible. A gender-Neutral plural option for Latino/Latina is Latinx, if that is the person’s preference.
- Lewiston-Clarkston Valley: The preferred term on first reference. A lowercased “valley” is OK on the second reference.
- LGBTQA+: An acceptable reference for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer and/or questioning, plus other sexual and gender identities. It does not need to be defined. Fewer or additional letters can be used to be more inclusive or in quotations and names of organizations or events.
- Library: Walla Walla Community College Library on first reference. Capitalize Library on second reference.
- Lifelong: As an adjective, lifelong is spelled as one word.
- Log in, log on, log off: Use as one word for nouns. For verbs, use two words. Do not hyphenate. When used as an adjective, a hyphen is added.
- The login changes every 30 days.
- I log in to my email every day.
- Please give me the log-in password.
- Long term / Long-term: Hyphenate when used as a modifier.
- He will win in the long term.
- He has a long-term assignment.
M
- Majors: Lowercase in all instances, unless it is a proper noun. If referring to the formal name of a program, capitalize.
- She is a business major.
- He earned a journalism degree.
- She is an English major.
- She is in the Native American Law Program.
- Male/man: Use “man/men” in place of “male” whenever possible. “Man/men” refers to gender and is inclusive of transgender individuals. “Male” refers to biological sex.
- Monthlong/yearlong: One word.
- More than vs. over: The preferred term in reports for numbers is more than, not over: Enrollment was increased by more than 20 percent. Over is a better choice for special relationships. The plane flew over the city. Over is more commonly used for ages: Seniors are over 62 years.
- Multicolored, multimillion, multilateral, multicampus, multilingual, Multilanguage: All used as one word, no spaces or hyphens.
- Myriad: An indefinitely large number or great number of persons or things. Do not use with “of.”
- The library has myriad books.
- There are myriad options for eating in Seattle.
N
- Nationalities: Capitalize the proper names of nationalities, peoples, races, tribes, etc. However, use only when relevant to the story. When identifying someone by race or nationality, be sensitive to the person’s preference and standard accepted phrases. For example, do not use Oriental for people who are Asian.
- Native American: Acceptable for Indigenous people in the U.S. Follow the person’s preference. Where possible, be precise and use the name of the tribe: He is a Navajo commissioner. Such words or terms as wampum, warpath, powwow, teepee, brave, squaw, etc., can be disparaging and offensive (when not referring to something by its formal name). Do not appropriate these phrases for non-cultural uses, such as using the term “powwow” to refer to holding a meeting.
- First Nation is the preferred term for native tribes in Canada.
- Tribes from Alaska prefer Alaska Native.
- Lowercase tribe/tribal and reservation except as part of the formal name.
- Use Indian only for people from India.
- On second reference, Native/Natives is acceptable.
- Noncredit vs. non-credit: Noncredit should be spelled as one word with no hyphen.
- Nondiscrimination, nonprofit: used as one word, no spaces or hyphens.
- Numbers: Numbers 0 through 9 should be spelled out in any reference except when referencing time (see entry for time for more details) or ages. Numbers 10 and above should be referenced using numbers except when then number as at the beginning of a sentence; in that case, it should be spelled out. John Doe has registered for three classes. John Smith has worked for Pierce College for 20 years. Twenty-five students are enrolled in the painting class.
- Following dates, omit th, rd, st, nd: Not December 21st, but rather December 21.
- Grade numbers (unless they begin a sentence): She passed the 7th grade.
- Age of students: Welcome seminars are primarily geared to new students over 18. Always use figures for people and animals (but not for inanimates). The girl is 8 years old. The law is eight years old.
- Only use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun. A 5-year-old boy. The boy is 5 years old.
- When using generic ages, use an s with no apostrophe. The woman is in her 30s.
- Phone numbers: do not use periods to separate numbers: 253-555-3239.
- Dimensions – use figures and spell out “inches,” “feet,” “yards,” etc.: The basketball player is 6 feet 4 inches tall. Hyphenate the dimensions if they are used as adjectives: The 5-foot-6-inch woman, the 5-foot-7-inch man.
- When using percentages in a paragraph, spell out “percent:” When looking at comparative data, the program is up three percent over last quarter.
O
- Office: Capitalize with the office’s official name or commonly used name. Lowercase when using a shortened form.
- Office of the Dean of Students; Dean of Students’ Office
- Office of the Registrar; the Registrar’s Office
- Office of Research and Economic Development; the research office
- On: Do not use “on” before a date or day of the week when its absent would not lead to confusion except at the beginning of a sentence.
- The meeting will be held on Monday.
- He will be inaugurated Jan. 20.
- Online: written as one word, no hyphens.
- Oxford comma: As a general rule, Walla Walla Community College does use the Oxford comma also known as the serial comma. For consistency across the website and communications materials. *This does not follow AP Style.
- We went to the store and bought milk, butter, and bread.
P
- Parentheticals/parenthesis: In editorial writing, parentheses are often used to indicate an acronym or show how something will be referred to throughout an article. Only indicate the acronym with a parenthetical if the acronym is used again somewhere in the article.
- The Student Activities Center (SAC)
- Part-time vs. part time: hyphenate only when used as an adjective preceding a noun. Steve is a part-time instructor. We considered having an intern part time, but realized we needed someone who could work full time.
- Percent: Use the % sign when paired with a numeral, with no space, in most cases. But, capitalize when it is the start of a sentence.
- 1%, 4 percentage points
- At Walla Walla Highschool, 30% of the teachers are Washington natives.
- More than 90% of students enjoy academic breaks.
- Ten percent of students do not enjoy academic breaks.
- Phone numbers: Format with dots rather than hyphens: 509.885.2002; 800.XXX.XXXX. Do not include “1” before the area code. Phone numbers should always include the area code. Do not use parenthesis around the area code. *This is a deviation from AP Style.
- Plural/possessive: With a singular noun just add ’s to indicate possession. If the noun is plural and does not end with an s (such as children) add ’s (children’s). If the plural form already ends in s (Williamses), just add an apostrophe (Williamses’). Singular nouns with two or more syllables and ending in s may be followed by the apostrophe alone (Professor George Nicholas’ office).
- Plural proper nouns: Lowercase the common noun element in plural uses.
- The Snake and Salmon rivers.
- It will be in the Clearwater and Whitewater rooms.
- Pregame/Postgame: One word.
- Preregistration, preregistered: written as one word, no hyphens.
- Professor: Capitalize a faculty member’s professional title when it comes before a name on first reference. Exception to AP Style. Do not abbreviate professor titles: Ast. Prof. Vanessa Smith.
- Associate Professor Vanessa Smith / Clinical Assistant Professor Joe Collins.
- Vanessa Smith, an associate professor of English / Joe Collins, clinical assistant professor.
- Michael Levin is the Vannevar Bush Professor.
- Program names capitalization/abbreviations and acronyms: Always capitalize when referring to a specific program or department. Always spell out the full program name first, then use acronyms in parenthesis for each reference after that: English as a Second Language (ESL) program.
- Pronouns: When writing about individuals, ask them which pronouns they would like to use in the content. Some people use gender-neutral pronouns like their/they/them, while other use she/he pronouns.
- Resume: Be consistent with using the American English resume without adding accents.
- Room: capitalize only when being used with a specific number: English 101 will be held in Room 117. Lowercase the word in generic references: The room needs to be cleaned before the quarter begins.
S
- Said/says: Said is the preferred attribution verb in all WWCC articles, both print and online. Generally, quote attribution should be subject verb: So-and-so said, not said so-and-so. However, if the attribution contains a long title or description, try to keep “said” close to the name:
- “I really like spaghetti sauce,” said George Jones, a senior.
- “I really like spaghetti sauce,” senior mathematics major George Jones said.
- Scientific names: In the text of a story or press release, italicize scientific names when their inclusion is necessary. Use the common name when possible following the scientific name. (Be sure to identify the common name alongside the scientific one.) If using the scientific name in a headline or subhead, do not italicize it.
- Seasons, quarters and terms: Capitalize when referring to a specific term or season: Fall 2025 Quarter. Do not capitalize when referring to the season in a generic manner: Our program has a larger enrollment in the fall term than in the winter term.
- Semesters: Only capitalize spring, fall, summer or winter when it immediately precedes the semester year. For example, Fall 2025 Semester. Not: Fall semester 2025 or Fall and Spring semester 2025 or 2025 Spring semester.
- Staff: Use a singular verb if you are considering the group as a unit: The entire staff is contributing to the gift. If you are speaking of the staff as individuals: The staff (members) are notified about an opportunity to study abroad.
- State: When talking about Washington in a generic way, use lowercase state, unless it’s the first word of a sentence. Use state of Washington, Washington state. Never capitalize “state” unless referring to the college WSU.
- Statewide: written as one word, no hyphens
- Systemwide: written as one word, no hyphens
T
- Technology Terms: Below is a list of commonly used computer and Internet terms, acronyms and software programs:
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop
- AutoCAD
- Backup
- Database
- Download
- email
- Internet: capitalize when referring to the World Wide Web)
- Keyword
- PC
- Pop-up menu
- Pull-down menu
- Screen saver: two words
- Spreadsheet
- Troubleshooting
- User ID: two words
- Website; webcast
- Temperatures: Use figures for all except zero. Except in technical and scientific contexts, use a word, not a minus sign, to indicate temperatures below zero and spell out the word degree rather than use the degree symbol. See other examples below. Temperatures get higher and lower and go up and down. They do not get warmer or cooler.
- The day’s low was minus 10.
- Temperatures were in the 30s (no apostrophe).
- Wrought iron melts between 2700 and 2900 degrees Fahrenheit (no commas).
- Time: use lowercase a.m. or p.m. with periods. Noon and midnight are acceptable and preferred to 12 noon or 12 midnight (both are repetitious). Use times using just hours: 9 a.m. instead of 9:00 a.m. Registration opens at 7 a.m. The office closes at 6 p.m. The game starts at 3 p.m.
- Time, date, place: Events should always be listed in time-date-place format:
- It will take place at 3 p.m. Friday, March 3, in the Dietrich Dome.
- The performances are held at 7 p.m. Friday, March 3, through Sunday, March 5.
- Time Zones: Capitalize the full name of each time zone: Pacific Standard Time, Pacific Daylight Time. Lowercase all but the region in short forms: The event is at 7 p.m. Pacific time. Use the same format for other time zones.
- Titles: Capitalize titles only when they’re used immediately before a person’s name in text. Vice President Julie White spoke at the event. When the title comes after a person’s name, never capitalize it: Julie White, chancellor, will speak at the event. When referenced without a specific name, always use lowercase: The chancellor will attend the event.
- Transgender: An adjective to describe people whose gender does not match the one usually associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. “Trans” is acceptable on second reference. Identify people as transgender only when relevant. Ask for their pronouns.
- Do not use the term “transgendered.”
- Use “transition” to describe the legal, medical or social processes transgender or nonbinary people may undergo to match their gender identity, not “sex change.”
U
- United States: U.S. is acceptable as a noun or adjective for United States. In headlines, it’s US.
V
- Versus/Verses: Verses are lines of poetry. Versus is against or in contrast to. Spell out in ordinary writing. In short expressions, the abbreviation is permissible. For court cases use “v.”
- The issue of Fords vs. Chevys has long been argued.
- I would rather be living in Washington versus New York.
- Grazing rights were determined in the case of Butterberry v. Holsteinville.
- Veterans services: No apostrophe in either word.
W
- Waitlist vs. wait list vs. wait-list: correct as one word, no hyphen: waitlist.
- Walla Walla Valley: The preferred term on first reference. A lowercased “valley” is OK on the second reference.
- Web: Short form of World Wide Web, it is a service, or set of standards, that enables the publishing of multimedia documents on the internet. The web is not the same as the internet, but is a subset; other applications, such as email, exist on the internet. Lowercase “web” in all uses.
- Website, webcam, webcast, webfeed, webmaster, webpage. But web address, web browser.
- “www” is not needed in website names.
- -wide: Generally, no hyphen when adding the suffix “wide” to a word.
- Citywide, campuswide, statewide, worldwide
- Exception, college-wide
- Workforce, workplace, workstation: Each are one word, no hyphen.
- Work site: correctly used as two words, no hyphen.
- World class/worldclass: As a noun, two words. As an adjective, hyphenate.
A
- a, an:
- Use a before a consonant sound: a historical time, a one-year employee, a universal theme
- Use an before a vowel sound: An energy crisis. An honorable mention. An 1800s invention.
- A lot: use as two words, not a lot.
- Abbreviations: similar to acronyms; if there is a chance someone could misunderstand, spell it out. Do not abbreviate titles before a person’s name, except Mr., Ms., Mrs., and Dr.
- Academic degrees:
- Either say “bachelor of arts” or “master of arts” (no apostrophes), or bachelor’s degree or master’s degree (not bachelor’s or master’s of arts).
- Associate degree has no apostrophe or “s”
- When the degree mentioned is specific: Master of Business Administration, both the degree and the field are capitalized.
- If the word “degree” is used, then it is not capitalized: master of arts degree in business administration
- Academic majors: Lowercase all majors except those that are proper nouns: a country (European History), a language (German, French, English, Spanish), etc. when used with the word “degree.”
- She has a bachelor’s degree in history
- If the major accompanies a specific degree, it is capitalized. Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Systems. Bachelor of Applied Science in Business.
- Academic titles: Capitalize and spell out formal titles such as provost, executive vice president, chair, etc., when they precede a name. Lowercase when the title is after a name or stands alone. For instructors, use the correct earned title or rank; do not use “Professor” as a courtesy title. Lowercase modifiers, such as department in department Chair Jerome Wiesner. Capitalize endowed professorships in all instances, including when they stand alone or are listed after names.
- President Chad Hickox
- Chad Hickox, president
- Vice President of Student Services Colleen Vandenboom
- The provost said …
- Assistant Professor John Smith
- John Smith, assistant professor
- Jane Smith is the Vannevar Bush Professor
- Professor Emeritus Ami Gupta and Dean Emeritus Sean Gomez
- Academic year: use a dash to refer to an academic year: 2025–26
- Acronyms: In general, avoid using acronyms for identity. Some readers, especially those outside the realm of our institution, find unfamiliar acronyms confusing. Therefore, when writing for the community, use acronyms sparingly. Think of them as an option, not a requirement.
- When the choice is made to use an acronym, the first mention of a proper noun is spelled out: Walla Walla Community College.
- If there is a subsequent reference to it in the remaining text, the acronym follows the full phrase: Walla Walla Community College (WWCC). The acronym, WWCC, may then be used consistently in place of the words Walla Walla Community College.
- However, if a proper noun is followed by minimal or no additional reference in the remaining text, there is no point in including the acronym.
- Never use an acronym on first reference. Even common acronyms.
- Addresses: Use the abbreviations , Blvd.and St. only with a numbered address: 709 Deakin Ave. Spell them out and capitalize when part of a formal street name without a number: College Street. Lowercase and spell out when used alone or with more than one street name: Walla Walla avenues.
- Always spell out other words, such as drive, road, terrace, circle, etc.
- Always use figures for the address number: 711 S. Rayburn St.
- Spell out and capitalize Firstthrough Ninth when used as street names; use figures for 10th and above: 303 Third Ave., 202 22nd Blvd.
- Abbreviate compass points used to indicate directional ends of a street or city quadrants in numbered addresses: 909 E. Third St., 600 E St. NW. Do not abbreviate if the number is omitted: East Sixth Street, unless customary locally
- Advisor: The preferred spelling of someone who advises. Exception to AP style.
- Affect / effect: Affect as a verb means to influence. Avoid affect as a noun unless it is being used within a psychological context. Effect as a noun means result. Avoid its use as a verb.
- The next game will affect the standings.
- The effect was overwhelming.
- African American: Acceptable for an American Black person of African descent. Also acceptable is Black. The terms are not necessarily interchangeable, as not all black-skinned people are from Africa. If race must be identified, ask the subject which term they prefer.
Racial categories are not hyphenated: African American, Asian American, Indian American, etc. Native American and American Indian refer to Indigenous populations. - Afterward: correct as “afterward,” not “afterwards”
- Alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae, alum:
-
- Alumnus: a graduate or former student of a specific school, college or university.
- Alumni: plural for alumnus.
- Alumna: a woman who is a graduate or former student of a specific school, college or university.
- Alumnae: plural for alumna.
- Alum: the shortened, informal version of an alumnus or an alumna.
- a.m., p.m.: Lowercase, with periods.
- Ampersand (&): Best to avoid in text unless part of a proper noun.
- Awards: Capitalize them: Classified Employee of the Year Award
B
- Backward: Correct as “backward,” not “backwards.”
- Basic skills: Not capitalized unless part of a proper noun.
- The students will improve their basic skills in the areas of math and reading.
- WWCC’s Basic Skills Program includes elementary math.
- Biannual, biennial, bimonthly, biweekly
- Biannual means twice a year
- Biennial means every two years
- Bimonthly means every other month
- Biweekly means every other week
- Black: Capitalize Black, and not white, when referring to groups in racial, ethnic or cultural terms.
- Board, board of directors, board of trustees: Capitalize only when part of a proper name.
- The Walla Walla Community College Board of Trustees meeting is held on the second Tuesday of each month.
- The board of directors approved the meeting’s agenda.
- It is important to inform the board of that decision.
- Break: Capitalize Winter Break, Spring Break and Summer Break when used to reference a specific time period in the academic calendar. On second reference, use break.
C
- Cancelled vs. canceled: both are correct (cancelled is the British spelling, whereas canceled is the American spelling).
- Capitol / Capital: Capitol is the building in which a state legislative body meets. A capital is the city where the seat of a government is located. When used in a financial sense, capital describes money, equipment or property used in a business or corporation.
- Certificate program names:
- Capitalize specific certificate program names: Cybersecurity Certificate Program.
- Do not capitalize certificate when using it in a generic manner: Rachel will receive her certificate from Walla Walla Community College.
- Chair: Use the gender-neutral “chair,” not chairman or chairwoman. Exception to AP. Also, vice chair, not vice-chair. Capitalize if it precedes the name as a formal title:
- Committee Chair Bob Jones
- Bob Jones, committee chair
- Use primarily as a title. Avoid phrases like “He holds the chair …” say “leads” instead.
- Chancellor: In text, capitalize titles, including chancellor, only when they precede the name:
- Chancellor Julie White.
- Lowercase titles when used alone or when following names: Julie White, chancellor. The chancellor.
- Coed: No hyphen.
- College is lowercase when it stands alone. Do not capitalize college unless with the full name of the college, Walla Walla Community College.
- Commencement: Capitalize “Commencement Ceremony” as a formal name of the event. Commencement alone is lowercased. Commencement is preferred over graduation when referring to the event.
- The 2025 Winter Commencement Ceremony is Dec. 8.
- The speaker for this year’s commencement ceremony is Oprah Winfrey.
- WWCC has Spring Commencement and Winter Commencement Ceremonies.
- Committee group:
-
- Unless a committee or group is officially recognized and formally named, avoid capitalizing. For example, “The committee will review the applications to select interview candidates.”
- Capitalize the official, proper names of long-standing committees and groups.
- Compose / comprise: Compose means to create or put together. Comprise means to contain, to include all or embrace. Do not use “of” with comprise.
- The salad is composed of lettuce, radishes and carrots.
- The zoo comprises many animals.
- The zoo is composed of many animals.
- Composition titles: Put titles of creative works such as books, plays, poems, TV shows, songs and movies in quotation marks. Do not use italics. Do not use italics or quotes for magazines or other reference works such as newspapers, dictionaries, handbooks or software.
- Barry Manilow sings the song “Mandy.” He wrote songs and starred in the movie “Copacabana.” He also wrote his autobiographical book, “Sweet Life: Adventures on the Way to Paradise.” The New York Times and The New Yorker gave the book positive reviews.
- Do not use italics or quotes for the Bible.
- Capitalize, without quotation marks, when referring to the Scriptures in the Old Testament or the New Testament.
- Lowercase “biblical” in all uses.
- Course Titles: Capitalize the official name of the course title. Lowercase when referring to subject matter. Use the course number when it is relevant to the topic. Do not put course titles in quotation marks. When combining the course number and title, put the subject matter abbreviation in all caps, with a space between the subject and the number, followed by a colon and the course title:
- She is teaching HIST 305: The History of Modern Civilization.
- Smith is teaching English 101.
- Her course, Modern Usage of Language, has 30 students enrolled.
- Thirty students are enrolled in her language course.
D
- Dates: no comma after the year in a date in text. September 1, 2024 is reserved for your event. It is preferred to use the year after the date.
- Dashes: In editorial copy, WWCC prefers to use a long dash — or em-dash — to set off clauses. Use a space on either side of the dash. Hyphens should be used to show spans of time or dates.
- George — a junior from Texas — is going to the conference.
- The conference runs from Jan. 3-6, 2018.
- The hours are 9-11 a.m.
- Days of the week: Do not abbreviate days of the week. In the interest of clarity, WWCC prefers to always pair days of the week with dates when the event being referenced occurs within the next 30 days. There is no need to use the day when the event is in the past, unless there is a specific reason. Do not use “MWF” or “T/TH” designations in editorial copy. They may be acceptable in tables or lists showing class times.
- The event is Monday, Nov. 20, 2017.
- Her class is held Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- Department: The full formal name of the department should be capitalized. You may leave the department name uppercase if referring to the official department. If referring generally to subject matter, do not capitalize the name.
- The Department of History / the History department
- She is a professor in Biology / She is a professor of biology.
- Lowercase “department” when used generically: He is the department chair. She is a history professor. The college has a history department.
- District-wide vs. District wide: use district-wide.
- Doctor / Ph.D.: Refer to someone as doctor (e.g. “Dr.”) only when they hold a medical or veterinary degree. If the subject wishes to designate their doctorate, set it off with commas after the full name, never just after a last name. Only indicate a doctorate if it is relevant to the content or by the request of the person. The preferred form is to avoid an abbreviation and use instead a phrase that describes their expertise, rather than a title: Carl Grimes, who has a doctorate in psychology. Do not use Ph.D. to refer to the degree, use doctorate. When Ph.D. comes at the end of the sentence, do not add an additional period.
- John Snow, Ph.D.
- John Snow has a doctorate in biology. (Not: John Snow has a Ph.D. in biology.)
- Doctorate / Doctoral: Doctorate is a noun, referring to the degree, title or rank of Ph.D. Doctoral is an adjective, “relating to or designed to achieve a doctorate.”
- He has a doctorate in physics.
- Her doctoral dissertation is in physics.
- Colin Bridgerton, a doctoral student in history, traveled to Greece.
E
- Email: no hyphen and lowercase within a sentence. “Amy will email you her presentation.”
- Employees: Refer to those employed by Walla Walla Community College as employees, unless there is a specific reason to differentiate between faculty and staff.
- E.g.: Means “for example”: She organized her sock drawer by length, e.g., ankle, crew, knee-high. Using “For example” is preferred over e.g.
- English as a Second Language vs. English as a second language: No dashes between words, always lowercase the words “as” and “a.” Because it is a proper noun, English is always capitalized.
- Capitalized the phrase if referring to the specific department or course. For example: Walla Walla Community College has an English as a Second Language Program to assist students. (a specific division/department). Do not capitalize if used in a generic manner: “Walla Walla Community College is offering several levels of English as a second language (ESL) courses in the fall.”
F
- Fax: Not an acronym, therefore not all the letters are not capitalized.
- Federal: Not capitalized unless part of a proper noun.
- The Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
- The program is offered through the federal government.
- Female/woman: Use “woman/women” in place of “female” whenever possible. “woman/women” refers to gender and is inclusive of transgender individuals. “Female” refers to biological sex.
- First-come, first-served: This phrase is lowercase and includes hyphens; a comma should be included after “come”: first-come, first-served.
- Fiscal vs. monetary: Fiscal is used for budgetary matters; monetary is used for money supply. Examples: Receipts must be processed before the end of the fiscal year. The program had a monetary need to supply all the textbooks.
- Full-time vs. full time; Part-time vs. part time: Hyphenate only when used as an adjective preceding a noun. Linda is a full-time instructor. We considered having an intern full time, but four days worked better.
- Fundraising / fundraiser: One word in all cases.
G
- Government: Always lowercase and never abbreviated. The exception is proper nouns. State government, U.S. government, federal government. The government raised taxes. The Government Accountability Office issued a report on community college funding.
- Governor: Same capitalization rules as titles: Capitalize when specific and preceding a person’s name. Washington state Governor Jay Inslee. Lowercase when the title follows the person’s name: Jane Smith, governor, will sign the bill today. Lowercase when using the word in a generic manner: The governor’s initiative will be placed on the ballot.
- GPA: Acceptable in all references for grade-point average.
H
- Headlines: If you are unsure what to capitalize in a headline or subhead, use this online tool and select sentence case, https://titlecaseconverter.com.
- Health care: Health care should be written as two words, not one.
- Hispanic: A person from (or whose ancestors were from) a Spanish-speaking land or culture. Latino and Latina are sometimes preferred. Follow the person’s preference. Use a more specific identification when possible. A gender-neutral plural option for Latino /Latina is Latinx. If that is the person’s preference.
I
- In regard to: In regard to is the proper phrase, not in regards to.
- Indigenous: Indigenous and Aboriginal are identities, not adjectives, and should be capitalized to avoid confusion between indigenous plants and animals and Indigenous human beings. Avoid referring to Indigenous people as possessions of states or countries. Instead of “Washington’s Indigenous people,” write “Indigenous people of Washington.”
- Insure, ensure, assure:
- Insure is for insurance: life and disabilities policies insure one’s income.
- Ensure means guarantee: The company ensures the accuracy of their testing.
- Assure means to set the mind at ease: I assure you the fingerprints do not match.
- Italic type: AP style rarely uses italics and instead uses quotation marks for most titles. You can italicize magazines and newspapers. You can also use italics for emphasis.
- Its vs. it’s: its is one word, shows possession and doesn’t have an apostrophe. It’s is a contraction of two words, it is. It’s likely the Community Education department will add more classes this fall. Francesca knitted a scarf that was treasured by its new owner.
J
- Junior, senior: Abbreviate Jr. or Sr. and use as a full name with no comma. Each is a unique, separate person. William Allen Smith Jr. William Allen Smith Sr.
K
- Kick off/kickoff: Kick off is the verb, kickoff is the noun and adjective. Avoid “kicking off” anything that is not related to athletics.
L
- Latino/Latina/Latinx: Often the preferred term for a person from (or whose ancestors were from) a Spanish-speaking land or culture or from Latin America. Latina is the feminine form. Follow the person’s preference. Use a more specific country of origin when possible. A gender-Neutral plural option for Latino/Latina is Latinx, if that is the person’s preference.
- Lewiston-Clarkston Valley: The preferred term on first reference. A lowercased “valley” is OK on the second reference.
- LGBTQA+: An acceptable reference for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer and/or questioning, plus other sexual and gender identities. It does not need to be defined. Fewer or additional letters can be used to be more inclusive or in quotations and names of organizations or events.
- Library: Walla Walla Community College Library on first reference. Capitalize Library on second reference.
- Lifelong: As an adjective, lifelong is spelled as one word.
- Log in, log on, log off: Use as one word for nouns. For verbs, use two words. Do not hyphenate. When used as an adjective, a hyphen is added.
- The login changes every 30 days.
- I log in to my email every day.
- Please give me the log-in password.
- Long term / Long-term: Hyphenate when used as a modifier.
- He will win in the long term.
- He has a long-term assignment.
M
- Majors: Lowercase in all instances, unless it is a proper noun. If referring to the formal name of a program, capitalize.
- She is a business major.
- He earned a journalism degree.
- She is an English major.
- She is in the Native American Law Program.
- Male/man: Use “man/men” in place of “male” whenever possible. “Man/men” refers to gender and is inclusive of transgender individuals. “Male” refers to biological sex.
- Monthlong/yearlong: One word.
- More than vs. over: The preferred term in reports for numbers is more than, not over: Enrollment was increased by more than 20 percent. Over is a better choice for special relationships. The plane flew over the city. Over is more commonly used for ages: Seniors are over 62 years.
- Multicolored, multimillion, multilateral, multicampus, multilingual, Multilanguage: All used as one word, no spaces or hyphens.
- Myriad: An indefinitely large number or great number of persons or things. Do not use with “of.”
- The library has myriad books.
- There are myriad options for eating in Seattle.
N
- Nationalities: Capitalize the proper names of nationalities, peoples, races, tribes, etc. However, use only when relevant to the story. When identifying someone by race or nationality, be sensitive to the person’s preference and standard accepted phrases. For example, do not use Oriental for people who are Asian.
- Native American: Acceptable for Indigenous people in the U.S. Follow the person’s preference. Where possible, be precise and use the name of the tribe: He is a Navajo commissioner. Such words or terms as wampum, warpath, powwow, teepee, brave, squaw, etc., can be disparaging and offensive (when not referring to something by its formal name). Do not appropriate these phrases for non-cultural uses, such as using the term “powwow” to refer to holding a meeting.
- First Nation is the preferred term for native tribes in Canada.
- Tribes from Alaska prefer Alaska Native.
- Lowercase tribe/tribal and reservation except as part of the formal name.
- Use Indian only for people from India.
- On second reference, Native/Natives is acceptable.
- Noncredit vs. non-credit: Noncredit should be spelled as one word with no hyphen.
- Nondiscrimination, nonprofit: used as one word, no spaces or hyphens.
- Numbers: Numbers 0 through 9 should be spelled out in any reference except when referencing time (see entry for time for more details) or ages. Numbers 10 and above should be referenced using numbers except when then number as at the beginning of a sentence; in that case, it should be spelled out. John Doe has registered for three classes. John Smith has worked for Pierce College for 20 years. Twenty-five students are enrolled in the painting class.
- Following dates, omit th, rd, st, nd: Not December 21st, but rather December 21.
- Grade numbers (unless they begin a sentence): She passed the 7th grade.
- Age of students: Welcome seminars are primarily geared to new students over 18. Always use figures for people and animals (but not for inanimates). The girl is 8 years old. The law is eight years old.
- Only use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun. A 5-year-old boy. The boy is 5 years old.
- When using generic ages, use an s with no apostrophe. The woman is in her 30s.
- Phone numbers: do not use periods to separate numbers: 253-555-3239.
- Dimensions – use figures and spell out “inches,” “feet,” “yards,” etc.: The basketball player is 6 feet 4 inches tall. Hyphenate the dimensions if they are used as adjectives: The 5-foot-6-inch woman, the 5-foot-7-inch man.
- When using percentages in a paragraph, spell out “percent:” When looking at comparative data, the program is up three percent over last quarter.
O
- Office: Capitalize with the office’s official name or commonly used name. Lowercase when using a shortened form.
- Office of the Dean of Students; Dean of Students’ Office
- Office of the Registrar; the Registrar’s Office
- Office of Research and Economic Development; the research office
- On: Do not use “on” before a date or day of the week when its absent would not lead to confusion except at the beginning of a sentence.
- The meeting will be held on Monday.
- He will be inaugurated Jan. 20.
- Online: written as one word, no hyphens.
- Oxford comma: As a general rule, Walla Walla Community College does use the Oxford comma also known as the serial comma. For consistency across the website and communications materials. *This does not follow AP Style.
- We went to the store and bought milk, butter, and bread.
P
- Parentheticals/parenthesis: In editorial writing, parentheses are often used to indicate an acronym or show how something will be referred to throughout an article. Only indicate the acronym with a parenthetical if the acronym is used again somewhere in the article.
- The Student Activities Center (SAC)
- Part-time vs. part time: hyphenate only when used as an adjective preceding a noun. Steve is a part-time instructor. We considered having an intern part time, but realized we needed someone who could work full time.
- Percent: Use the % sign when paired with a numeral, with no space, in most cases. But, capitalize when it is the start of a sentence.
- 1%, 4 percentage points
- At Walla Walla Highschool, 30% of the teachers are Washington natives.
- More than 90% of students enjoy academic breaks.
- Ten percent of students do not enjoy academic breaks.
- Phone numbers: Format with dots rather than hyphens: 509.885.2002; 800.XXX.XXXX. Do not include “1” before the area code. Phone numbers should always include the area code. Do not use parenthesis around the area code. *This is a deviation from AP Style.
- Plural/possessive: With a singular noun just add ’s to indicate possession. If the noun is plural and does not end with an s (such as children) add ’s (children’s). If the plural form already ends in s (Williamses), just add an apostrophe (Williamses’). Singular nouns with two or more syllables and ending in s may be followed by the apostrophe alone (Professor George Nicholas’ office).
- Plural proper nouns: Lowercase the common noun element in plural uses.
- The Snake and Salmon rivers.
- It will be in the Clearwater and Whitewater rooms.
- Pregame/Postgame: One word.
- Preregistration, preregistered: written as one word, no hyphens.
- Professor: Capitalize a faculty member’s professional title when it comes before a name on first reference. Exception to AP Style. Do not abbreviate professor titles: Ast. Prof. Vanessa Smith.
- Associate Professor Vanessa Smith / Clinical Assistant Professor Joe Collins.
- Vanessa Smith, an associate professor of English / Joe Collins, clinical assistant professor.
- Michael Levin is the Vannevar Bush Professor.
- Program names capitalization/abbreviations and acronyms: Always capitalize when referring to a specific program or department. Always spell out the full program name first, then use acronyms in parenthesis for each reference after that: English as a Second Language (ESL) program.
- Pronouns: When writing about individuals, ask them which pronouns they would like to use in the content. Some people use gender-neutral pronouns like their/they/them, while other use she/he pronouns.
- Resume: Be consistent with using the American English resume without adding accents.
- Room: capitalize only when being used with a specific number: English 101 will be held in Room 117. Lowercase the word in generic references: The room needs to be cleaned before the quarter begins.
S
- Said/says: Said is the preferred attribution verb in all WWCC articles, both print and online. Generally, quote attribution should be subject verb: So-and-so said, not said so-and-so. However, if the attribution contains a long title or description, try to keep “said” close to the name:
- “I really like spaghetti sauce,” said George Jones, a senior.
- “I really like spaghetti sauce,” senior mathematics major George Jones said.
- Scientific names: In the text of a story or press release, italicize scientific names when their inclusion is necessary. Use the common name when possible following the scientific name. (Be sure to identify the common name alongside the scientific one.) If using the scientific name in a headline or subhead, do not italicize it.
- Seasons, quarters and terms: Capitalize when referring to a specific term or season: Fall 2025 Quarter. Do not capitalize when referring to the season in a generic manner: Our program has a larger enrollment in the fall term than in the winter term.
- Semesters: Only capitalize spring, fall, summer or winter when it immediately precedes the semester year. For example, Fall 2025 Semester. Not: Fall semester 2025 or Fall and Spring semester 2025 or 2025 Spring semester.
- Staff: Use a singular verb if you are considering the group as a unit: The entire staff is contributing to the gift. If you are speaking of the staff as individuals: The staff (members) are notified about an opportunity to study abroad.
- State: When talking about Washington in a generic way, use lowercase state, unless it’s the first word of a sentence. Use state of Washington, Washington state. Never capitalize “state” unless referring to the college WSU.
- Statewide: written as one word, no hyphens
- Systemwide: written as one word, no hyphens
T
- Technology Terms: Below is a list of commonly used computer and Internet terms, acronyms and software programs:
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop
- AutoCAD
- Backup
- Database
- Download
- Internet: capitalize when referring to the World Wide Web)
- Keyword
- PC
- Pop-up menu
- Pull-down menu
- Screen saver: two words
- Spreadsheet
- Troubleshooting
- User ID: two words
- Website; webcast
- Temperatures: Use figures for all except zero. Except in technical and scientific contexts, use a word, not a minus sign, to indicate temperatures below zero and spell out the word degree rather than use the degree symbol. See other examples below. Temperatures get higher and lower and go up and down. They do not get warmer or cooler.
- The day’s low was minus 10.
- Temperatures were in the 30s (no apostrophe).
- Wrought iron melts between 2700 and 2900 degrees Fahrenheit (no commas).
- Time: use lowercase a.m. or p.m. with periods. Noon and midnight are acceptable and preferred to 12 noon or 12 midnight (both are repetitious). Use times using just hours: 9 a.m. instead of 9:00 a.m. Registration opens at 7 a.m. The office closes at 6 p.m. The game starts at 3 p.m.
- Time, date, place: Events should always be listed in time-date-place format:
- It will take place at 3 p.m. Friday, March 3, in the Dietrich Dome.
- The performances are held at 7 p.m. Friday, March 3, through Sunday, March 5.
- Time Zones: Capitalize the full name of each time zone: Pacific Standard Time, Pacific Daylight Time. Lowercase all but the region in short forms: The event is at 7 p.m. Pacific time. Use the same format for other time zones.
- Titles: Capitalize titles only when they’re used immediately before a person’s name in text. Vice President Julie White spoke at the event. When the title comes after a person’s name, never capitalize it: Julie White, chancellor, will speak at the event. When referenced without a specific name, always use lowercase: The chancellor will attend the event.
- Transgender: An adjective to describe people whose gender does not match the one usually associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. “Trans” is acceptable on second reference. Identify people as transgender only when relevant. Ask for their pronouns.
- Do not use the term “transgendered.”
- Use “transition” to describe the legal, medical or social processes transgender or nonbinary people may undergo to match their gender identity, not “sex change.”
U
- United States: U.S. is acceptable as a noun or adjective for United States. In headlines, it’s US.
V
- Versus/Verses: Verses are lines of poetry. Versus is against or in contrast to. Spell out in ordinary writing. In short expressions, the abbreviation is permissible. For court cases use “v.”
- The issue of Fords vs. Chevys has long been argued.
- I would rather be living in Washington versus New York.
- Grazing rights were determined in the case of Butterberry v. Holsteinville.
- Veterans services: No apostrophe in either word.
W
- Waitlist vs. wait list vs. wait-list: correct as one word, no hyphen: waitlist.
- Walla Walla Valley: The preferred term on first reference. A lowercased “valley” is OK on the second reference.
- Web: Short form of World Wide Web, it is a service, or set of standards, that enables the publishing of multimedia documents on the internet. The web is not the same as the internet, but is a subset; other applications, such as email, exist on the internet. Lowercase “web” in all uses.
- Website, webcam, webcast, webfeed, webmaster, webpage. But web address, web browser.
- “www” is not needed in website names.
- -wide: Generally, no hyphen when adding the suffix “wide” to a word.
- Citywide, campuswide, statewide, worldwide
- Exception, college-wide
- Workforce, workplace, workstation: Each are one word, no hyphen.
- Work site: correctly used as two words, no hyphen.
- World class/worldclass: As a noun, two words. As an adjective, hyphenate.