MSU Editorial Style Guide

Academic titles are capitalized when they immediately precede a personal name and lowercased when following a name: Associate Professor John Doe; Jane Smith, assistant professor.

When an academic title is used in apposition before a personal name as a descriptive tag, it is lowercased: The team was led by history professors William Green and Susan White.

The term “professor” should not be used simply to indicate “faculty member.” (Use of “professors” in the example above indicates that Green and White are, indeed, full professors, not just members of the history faculty.)

The forms for MSU titles are vice president “for”; dean “of”; chair or chairperson “of”; professor, associate professor and assistant professor “of” and instructor “in” — followed by the applicable field or unit.

See also University Distinguished Professor and MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor.
 

Spell out and lowercase names of degrees when referenced generically in running text: He earned a bachelor’s degree, a master’s in history, a master of business administration and a doctorate.

Use such abbreviations as B.A., M.A., LL.D. and Ph.D. only when the need to identify many individuals by degree on first reference would make the preferred form cumbersome. Do not use periods in MBA. Use these abbreviations only after a full name — never after just a last name.

Capitalize degree abbreviations with periods and set off with commas when following a name: John Doe, Ph.D., was the guest speaker.

Accommodation refers to something supplied for the convenience of accessibility: Accommodation for persons with disabilities is available. Accommodations generally refers to lodging and related service arrangements: The hotel offered first-class accommodations.

If two adjectives can be joined by “and” without affecting the meaning, they are coordinate and should be separated by a comma: It was a long, arduous exam.

The plurals of alumna and alumnus are alumnae and alumni, respectively. While “alumna” and “alumnae” refer specifically to a woman or women and alumnus refers specifically to a man, “alumni” can be used to refer to both men and women. Inclusive alternatives include “graduates” and “alums.” These terms can mean either persons who have attended or those who have graduated from an institution. Clarification should be made if relevant to the context.

When referencing graduation details, follow this format: Jane Doe, 2024 graduate of the College of Natural Science, not College of Natural Science grad ‘24. 

Avoid using “&” in place of “and” in running text and in the names of MSU units or colleges that use an ampersand. It's acceptable to retain for external entities that use ampersands in their formal names. 

Three words

Direct and indirect quotes require attribution. For news writing, the preferred attribution is “said.” For feature writing, use “says.”

MSU is a member of the Big Ten Conference (not Big 10), which has 18 members. Other members are: Indiana University; Northwestern University; Ohio State University; Pennsylvania State University; Purdue University; Rutgers University; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Illinois; University of Iowa; University of Maryland; University of Michigan; University of Minnesota; University of Nebraska; University of Oregon; University of Southern California; University of Washington; and University of Wisconsin. Always capitalized.

Use the capitalized term as an adjective in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense: Black people, Black culture, Black literature, Black studies, Black colleges. Use of the capitalized Black recognizes that language has evolved, along with the common understanding that, especially in the United States, the term reflects a shared identity and culture rather than a skin color alone.

Board of Trustees is capitalized in both explicit and implicit references to Michigan State University. Secondary references, such as “the board” or “the trustees,” are lowercased.

The complete building name is used on first reference: Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building, Communication Arts and Sciences Building.

Buildings named for a person use only the last name: Breslin Student Events Center, Hannah Administration Building, Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center, Wharton Center for Performing Arts.

Residence halls (never referred to as dorms or dormitories) do not include “residence” in their names: Case Hall is located near the Daugherty Football Building. Do not include directional indicators for halls with two sides unless relevant to the text: The James Madison College dean’s office is located in South Case Hall.

One word

See also hyphen.

Lowercase the common noun elements of names in plural uses: departments of History and English, Red Cedar and Wilson roads, Wharton and Breslin centers. Exception: plurals of formal titles with full names are capitalized: MSU Trustees Kelly Tebay and Mike Balow.

Write out full name in all instances referring to the department; compress name for endowed chairs only (C.S. Mott Endowed Chair in Public Health). 

Where the government rather than the place is meant, the words “city” and “state” are lowercase: This is a city of East Lansing ordinance. She works for the state of Michigan.

Spell out and set off with commas the name of a geographical unit when it follows the name of a smaller geographical unit found within its borders: East Lansing, Michigan, is the home of MSU. London, England, is the home of Big Ben.

Set off the year with commas when a specific date precedes it: March 1, 2009, was the deadline. Do not include commas when only a month precedes the year: March 2009 was the deadline.

That which is continual is intermittent or frequently repeated. That which is continuous is constant or uninterrupted.

Official course titles are capitalized: Latin America and the World, IAH 203: Latin America and the World.

One word

Data typically takes singular verbs and pronouns when writing for a general audience. For example: The data is sound. However, in scientific and academic writing, plural verbs and pronouns are often preferred.

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. January 2018 was a cold month. Jan. 2 was the coldest day of the month. His birthday is May 8. Feb. 15, 2019, was the target date. 

Decades may be referred to in any of the following ways: the 1960s, the ’60s, the sixties.

Centuries are referred to in ordinals — words for first through ninth and a combination of numbers and letters for 10th and later.

When referring to when an event took place in a news release, use the specific day of the week (i.e., Thursday or Saturday) instead of “today” or “tomorrow.” For example, On Saturday, I will not go into work. Today and tomorrow are not incorrect but should only be used outside of news articles.

Doctor of osteopathic medicine or doctor of osteopathy  

Do not use “Dr.” as either a medical or academic title preceding a name. If needed for the context, follow a name with the appropriate degree: John Smith, M.D.; Jane Doe, Ph.D. Alternatively, include the type of physician or specialty. For example, John Smith, a board-certified neurosurgeon, led the research team. 

Three words

The preference of MSU’s Office for Education Abroad prefers “education abroad,” not “study abroad.”

To indicate “for example,” use “e.g.” set off by commas: The course will include many components, e.g., weekly reading assignments, a group project, a final exam.

The em dash (—) is used to set off parenthetical phrases, especially long or complex ones, where something stronger than a comma is effective: The building — one of MSU's oldest — will be reroofed. Include a space on both sides of an em dash.

The plurals of “emerita” and “emeritus” are “emeritae” and “emeriti,” respectively. While emerita and emeritae refer specifically to a woman or women and emeritus refers specifically to a man, “emeriti” can be used to refer to both men and women and should be used for the general plural term. All references follow the noun: dean emerita of the college, professors emeriti.

These terms are honorary designations and should not be used simply to mean retired.

The en dash (–) is used to connect words or numbers to indicate “from this through this”: The Lansing–Chicago flight leaves early. He served as president 1995–2000. If “from” or “between” is used before the first of a pair of numbers, the en dash should not be used; instead, “from” should be followed by “through” and “between” by “and”: He served as president from 1995 through 2000. He served as president between 1995 and 2000.

The en dash is used in place of a hyphen to join two elements when at least one element contains two or more unjoined words: Nobel Prize–winning author.

The en dash is used by some universities to indicate a specific campus: University of Wisconsin–Madison.
 

Both ensure and insure mean “to make certain.” However, only insure refers specifically to insurance.

MSU’s fall break for students occurs in the middle of the semester. See the Office of the Registrar’s Academic Calendar for specific dates.

The word fax is derived from the word facsimile; it is not an acronym, so it should not be expressed in all capital letters.

MSU Admissions uses “first-year student” to describe someone enrolled at MSU for the first time who has 0–27 credits.

Do not capitalize former when preceding a title: former MSU President Clifton Wharton; Clifton Wharton, former MSU president.

Full names of official forms and documents are capitalized: Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

MSU Admissions uses first-year student, not freshman, to describe someone enrolled at MSU for the first time with 0–27 credits.

Hyphenate as an adjective before a noun: She is a full-time student. Otherwise, leave as two words: He attends college full time.

One word in all cases.

In general, use terms that can apply to any gender. Such language aims to treat people equally and is inclusive of people whose gender identity is not strictly male or female.

Balance these aims with common sense, respect for the language and an understanding that gender-neutral or gender-inclusive language is evolving and in some cases is challenging to achieve.

A true gender-neutral noun often presents itself easily: chair or chairperson, firefighter, workforce. In other cases, a noun may technically not be gender-neutral but instead be a masculine noun that assumes the generic case under English language convention: actor, host.

He, him and his should not be used to refer to both genders. Use the plural terms they, them and theirs or revise the sentence to eliminate their use entirely.

In most cases, a plural pronoun should agree in number with the antecedent: The children love the books their uncle gave them. They/them/theirs is acceptable as a singular and/or gender-neutral pronoun. 

Humanity is preferable to mankind. Manufactured is preferable to manmade.

Use grade point average without a hyphen. GPA is also acceptable in all references.

Always two words (noun or adjective)

Use the full name, Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences, when referring to the partnership on first reference. In secondary references, opt for either “Henry Ford and MSU” or “the partnership.”

The fewer hyphens the better; use them only when not using them causes confusion.

Use a hyphen to separate noninclusive numbers, such as telephone numbers: 517-355-1855, 1-800-942-7866 (1-800-WHARTON).

Use a hyphen in compound modifiers. See adjectives, phrasal.

But when a modifier that would be hyphenated before a noun occurs instead after a form of the verb to be, the hyphen usually must be retained to avoid confusion: The man is well-known. The woman is quick-witted. The children are soft-spoken. 

Do not use a hyphen to designate dual heritage: Italian American, Mexican American, French Canadian, Latin American.

Avoid duplicated vowels, tripled consonants: Examples: anti-intellectual, pre-empt, shell-like.

Most words formed with prefixes (e.g., midcareer, multidisciplinary, metadata) are not hyphenated. However, a hyphen is used when the prefix precedes a proper noun (mid-July) or to avoid double i’s (multi-institutional), double a’s (meta-analysis) and other combinations of letters or syllables that might cause misreading (re-cover versus recover).

Words formed with the suffix “wide” do not include a hyphen (e.g., campuswide) unless they have more than two syllables (e.g., university-wide) or include a proper noun (Lansing-wide).

Use hyphens for sports scores. Example: Spartan men’s soccer opens exhibition action with a 3-0 win. 

To indicate “that is,” use i.e. set off by commas: That great American holiday, i.e., Thanksgiving, is almost upon us.

See names, business.

Capitalize Indigenous. “Indigenous People” refers to a group of Indigenous peoples with a shared national identity. Capitalize “people” when referring to specific groups (e.g., the Indigenous People of Mexico). Otherwise, only capitalize “Indigenous” in Indigenous peoples or “Native” in Native peoples in general. When using “people(s)” with member names, do not capitalize, e.g., “Anishinaabe peoples” or “Ojibwe people.”

The name of MSU’s faculty, staff and retiree news website and weekly email is one word: InsideMSU.

Use of the phrase international students is preferable to foreign students.

Three words

In running text, vertical lists are best introduced by a complete sentence followed by a colon. Items in a list should be parallel; that is, each item should be introduced by a verb, a noun phrase or some other similar construction. 

If bulleted items are sentences, end with a period; if items are a single word or phrase, use no end punctuation. Be consistent with punctuation use within each list. 

Do the following to complete your application:

• Provide three letters of recommendation, including one from a teacher.
• Submit a brief personal essay.
• Send a check for $25.
• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form.

The following items must accompany your application:

• Three letters of recommendation
• Brief personal essay
• Check for $25
• Free Application for Federal Student Aid form

Always hyphenate mid-Michigan

References to the Midwest of the United States are capitalized. Derivatives, such as midwestern, are not.

Use Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum on first reference. MSU Broad Art Museum is acceptable on subsequent references.

MSU Libraries is a unit that encompasses the Main Library and numerous branch libraries, some located within the Main Library building and some in other facilities across campus.

As a collective noun, MSU Libraries takes a singular verb.

MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor is an official designation established in 2014. It is always written with initial capitals: Jane Doe, MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor of chemistry; Jane Doe, MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemistry.

The name of MSU’s news website is one word: MSUToday. The name of MSU’s podcast with Russ White is two words: MSU Today.

Business name qualifiers, such as Inc., LLC, Ltd., and PC, are not set off by commas: Pfizer Inc. was founded in 1849.

Personal name qualifiers, such as Jr., Sr., and III, are not set off by commas: John F. Kennedy Sr. was the 35th president of the United States.

Enclose nicknames in quotation marks within the complete name: George Herman “Babe” Ruth.

Include middle initials if expressly preferred by individuals. 

MSU’s north campus is the area north of the Red Cedar River.

Use words for numbers from one through nine. Use numerals for numbers 10 and greater. Use commas in numbers 1,000 and greater, except in reference to SAT scores, which do not contain a comma.

Use words for ordinals from first through ninth. Use numerals for ordinals 10th and higher.

Use words for fractions: two-thirds, three-quarters.

Use numerals for percentages: 5%, 55%.

Spell out numbers less than 10 for credit hours.

It is now acceptable to begin a sentence with a numeral and letter: 3D movies are becoming more popular. Do not use a hyphen in 2D or 3D. 

An exception for headlines is to use numerals as well as ordinals for numbers 10 and up. 

See also dates.

Hyphenate as an adjective before a noun: He has an on-campus job. Otherwise, leave as two words: She works on campus.

One word

Hyphenate as an adjective before the noun: She is a part-time student. Otherwise, leave as two words: He attends college part time.

Use the % sign when paired with a numeral, with no space, in most cases (a change in 2019): Average hourly pay rose 3.1% from a year ago; her mortgage rate is 4.75%; about 60% of Americans agreed; he won 56.2% of the vote. Use figures: 1%, 4 percentage points.

For amounts less than 1%, precede the decimal with a zero: The cost of living rose 0.6%.

In casual uses, use words rather than figures and numbers: She said he has a zero percent chance of winning.

Constructions with the % sign take a singular verb when standing alone or when a singular word follows an of construction: The teacher said 60% was a failing grade. He said 50% of the membership was there.

It takes a plural verb when a plural word follows an of construction: He said 50% of the members were there.

Always include the area code with a telephone number and separate it from the number with a hyphen. Example: 517-355-1855

Three rules are constant:

• Except for cooperate and coordinate, use a hyphen if the prefix ends in a vowel and the word that follows begins with the same vowel.
• Use a hyphen if the word that follows is capitalized.
• Use a hyphen to join doubled prefixes: sub-subparagraph.

MSU’s provost is Laura Lee McIntyre.

The curved (or “smart”) version is preferred unless it is standing for inches in a measurement: 6' 8".

If the use of straight quotation marks is the convention for a website, consistency is key.

Quoted material is enclosed in quotation marks. Quotations within quotations are enclosed in single quotation marks: “Shakespeare, who is often called ‘the Bard of Avon,’ will be the focus of this English course,” said the professor.

Periods and commas precede closing quotation marks. Colons and semicolons follow closing quotation marks. Question marks and exclamation points follow closing quotation marks unless the question mark or exclamation point belongs within the quoted material.

In compliance with U.S. Department of Education mandates, MSU uses the following terms in reporting racial and ethnic data: American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Black or African American; Hispanic (of any race); Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; and White. Lowercase white in general text. 

Capitalize the proper names of nationalities, peoples, races, tribes, etc.: Arab, Arabic, African American and Black, Caucasian, Cherokee, Chinese (both singular and plural), Indigenous, Inuit, French Canadian, Hispanic, Japanese (singular and plural), Jew, Jewish, etc.

Use “residence halls,” not “dorms” or “dormitories.”

Lowercase seasons in all generic references: winter 2009, spring semester 2009. Capitalize when part of an official name: Fall Welcome activities.

The terms senior and seniors are the singular and plural nouns, respectively, that refer to students with at least 88 credits. “Fourth-year student/s” is an inclusive alternative.

The terms sophomore and sophomores are the singular and plural nouns, respectively, that refer to students with 28–55 credits. “Second-year student/s” is an inclusive alternative.

The geographic region is capitalized; the directional derivative is not: Southeast Michigan, southeastern Michigan

Only one space follows any form of punctuation, including a period, comma, question mark, exclamation point, semicolon, colon and the like.

One word

Where the government rather than the place is meant, the words city and state are lowercase: She works for the state of Michigan. This is a city of East Lansing ordinance.

Acceptable on first reference for science, technology, engineering and math, but spell out the full phrase shortly thereafter.

Always hyphenated

MSU’s Office for Education Abroad prefers the term “education abroad.”

Use these terms with care because they can be imprecise and politically and legally fraught.

“Survivor” can denote someone who has lived through an injury or disease but also can apply to someone who endured a threat but escaped injury. Example: a mass shooting survivor.

Likewise, “victim” can create confusion because it can variously mean someone killed, injured or subjected to mistreatment such as sexual misconduct.

Be specific if there is room for confusion. “The ceremony honored people wounded in the mass shooting,” not “The ceremony honored victims and/or survivors of the mass shooting.” “The play told the story of those killed in the hurricane,” not “The play told the stories of the hurricane’s victims.”

“Survivor” is often used to describe someone who has lived through physical or emotional trauma, as in abuse or rape survivor. It is best to be specific when referring to individuals, especially if the person was never in danger of death. The use of survivor gets more latitude when describing groups. A group of Holocaust survivors met at the memorial.

The definite article “the” should not be capitalized before names of either on- or off-campus entities, even if the entities capitalize it in their own materials: the School of Hospitality Business not The School of Hospitality Business; Ohio State University not The Ohio State University.

A gift from the class of 1873, the Rock is located north of the Red Cedar River on Farm Lane, featuring messages painted by students and serving as a gathering space on campus. 

Use “theater” unless the proper name is Theatre: Shubert Theatre.

In most cases, a plural pronoun should agree in number with the antecedent: The children love the books their uncle gave them. They/them/their is acceptable in limited cases as a singular and/or gender-neutral pronoun. 

In stories about people who identify as neither male nor female or ask not to be referred to as he/she/him/her: Use the person’s name in place of a pronoun, or otherwise reword the sentence, whenever possible. If they/them/their use is essential, be sure that the context and/or phrasing does not imply more than one person. 

Time is written numerically followed by a.m. or p.m., as appropriate, except for noon and midnight: 8 a.m., 2 p.m. Inclusion of terms like “in the morning” or “in the afternoon” is redundant. 

Civil, military, religious and professional titles are capitalized when they immediately precede a personal name and are lowercased when following a name or used in place of a name.

Do not use courtesy titles, i.e, Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss.

See also academic titles.

The abbreviation is acceptable as a noun or adjective for United States. In headlines, it’s US (no periods).

Even in references to MSU, the word “university” standing alone is lowercase: The university is in East Lansing.

Hyphenated
See also hyphen.

Remove “http://” and “www.” from URLs if inclusion is not needed for connection to the website.

One word and lowercase

Always hyphenated unless referenced otherwise in an official name like University Health and Wellbeing.