Editorial Style Guide

Preface

We all communicate with different words through different media, but our identity as a university remains the root of all we say and write. In order for the university to be clear in its communications, we must use language consistently.

The Editorial Style Guide is a resource for Calvin University faculty and staff, serving as our editorial standard and addressing many of the style issues presented when producing various publications.

Our word choices are important. Calvin affirms the fundamental truth that all humans are made in the image of God, and we believe that this truth should guide the language we use. The Editorial Style Guide has updated guidelines for inclusive language so that we may speak with respect toward all who are made in the image of God.

The Editorial Style Guide is not intended as an authoritative source for style issues pertaining to academic publications. To resolve issues for academic papers, dissertations, journal articles and the like, please consult the latest edition of the MLA Handbook. And to resolve non-academic issues not covered in the Editorial Style Guide, please refer to the latest editions of the Associated Press Stylebook or the Chicago Manual of Style.

Even as the Editorial Style Guide is Calvin’s standard for written communication, it is not a document carved in stone. It is, rather, a living document, one that will require updates. In keeping our guidelines as contemporary and usable as possible, we welcome queries and thoughts about revisions to the Editorial Style Guide. Please email any questions or suggestions to marketing@calvin.edu.

We hope this guide is a valuable resource for you as you communicate the Calvin story to the world at large.

Introduction

The Ivan Ilyich School of Usage, and Beyond

"He was by nature attracted to people of high station as a fly is drawn to the light, assimilating their ways and views of life and establishing friendly relations with them. … He succumbed to sensuality, to vanity, and latterly among the highest classes to liberalism, but always within limits which his instinct unfailingly indicated to him as correct.”

This famous description of Ivan Ilyich, in Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886), describes very economically the central flaw of Ivan Ilyich’s character, of his soul. He had the chameleon’s gift of adaptive coloration, always keen to blend in with the social and cultural classes he aspired to belong to. But he failed to develop a self in the process, settling instead for a masterful impersonation of a self, an impersonation that he hoped would bring him the status he thought he needed.

Few readers admire a character who systematically sidestepped the obligation to know himself. But in matters of usage, I tell my student writers that they need to work hard to graduate from what I have called the Ivan Ilyich School of Usage, not because such study is sufficient, but because it is a useful place to begin.

Writers who want to be taken seriously in the larger world (the academy, the professions and public life generally) must learn how to write in ways that are not self-destructive. Writers who ignore the conventions of Standard Edited English—conventions of spelling, punctuation, paragraphing and grammar, for instance—will usually discover that they have created the kinds of distractions that most readers are unwilling to ignore. The same principle holds true in matters of usage. A writer who regularly fails to observe current usage distinctions is also very likely to fail to communicate effectively with his or her intended audience. The writer who wishes to be taken seriously will work on mastering the most important usage distinctions—she will aspire to be a graduate of the Ivan Ilyich School of Usage, practicing her skills and learning how to work with words, phrases and clauses in ways that meet the basic demands of Standard Edited English.

But writers should also realize that effective language is not generated by prescriptive usage rules. Effective prose is generated elsewhere, and prescriptive rules have very little jurisdiction there. Good writers should aspire to go well beyond the production of merely acceptable prose, not because mere acceptability isn’t a real achievement—it is. But we want our prose to do more than demonstrate the ability to avoid errors. We want it to communicate information clearly and effectively; we want it to communicate a spirit or an attitude; we often want it to communicate a self—our own self, the self that Ivan Ilyich forgot to develop. We want to give shape and meaning to the world, in ways that allow us to feel that we can sometimes control language. We want our writing to display mastery, spirit, our own personal voice and style. When we manage to do that, we’ve graduated from the Ilyich School.

James Vanden Bosch 
Department of English 
Calvin College

Acronyms

Usage of acronyms, the abbreviated forms of titles and other terms

Use an acronym in parentheses following the formal, spelled-out name on the first reference of the organization or program it represents. Thereafter, the acronym may be used in place of the formal name. If there is no second reference to the organization or program in the text, it is not necessary to add the acronym. If the title of an organization or entity is typically lowercased, do not capitalize the name of the organization or entity that the acronym represents when using it in front of an acronym.

• CORRECT: A National Science Foundation (NSF) grant of $7.5 million will allow Calvin science and philosophy students to spend an interim on Neptune.
• CORRECT: This past semester, the organizers of Living Our Faith Together (LOFT) teamed with the department of health, physical education, recreation, dance and sport (HPERDS) to produce some rigorous chapel exercises. “We’ve had record attendance in our yoga vespers sessions,” said one LOFT coordinator.

See also B.acronyms and C.acronyms.

The acronyms of some organizations and government agencies are widely recognized and do not require spelling out on first reference.

The following acronyms can be used without spelling out their formal names: CIA, FBI, NASA, NFL, UNICEF, YMCA, YWCA.

• CORRECT: This week, the FBI launched an investigation of the CIA on the same day that NASA launched its latest space probe.

Athletic Terms

Usage of sports-related terminology

acronyms

It is unnecessary to spell out the most commonly used sports acronyms: ACHA, AFC, MIAA, MVP, NBA, NCAA, NFC, NFL, PGA.

See also A.acronyms.

All-America/ All-American

1. Use All-America when referring to the team and All-American when referring to an individual.

2. All-America and All-American are hyphenated, even when not used as compound modifiers.

3. Do not capitalize the names of individual All-America(n) events.

• CORRECT: Three South Dakotans are on the current All-America team.
• CORRECT: Jethro Tull was selected as second-team All-American.

See also H.hyphen.

championship(s)

1. A season-ending event at the conference, regional or national level in cross country, basketball, volleyball, soccer, baseball, softball and other team sports that allows for only one champion is referred to as a championship. A season-ending series of events in swimming and diving, track and field, golf, tennis and other team sports, through which athletes can win individual honors, is referred to in the plural: championships.

2. Capitalize the words championship and championships when used as a part of official names of athletic events.

• CORRECT: One twin won the 100-yard butterfly, and one twin won the 100-yard freestyle event at this year’s NCAA III Swimming and Diving Championships.
• CORRECT: Fans are still talking about the Calvin player who repeatedly served the ball into the net at the NCAA III Volleyball Championship.

coach

Capitalize coach when it is used in front of a name. Lowercase coach when it stands alone, when it appears after a name or when it is used in apposition as though it were a job description.

• CORRECT: The Calvin soccer team was united and fervent in their praise of Coach Cheryl Booter, who, unfortunately, was the coach of the opposing team. Coach Booter knew how to motivate, they said.
• CORRECT: The players mutinied when Bob Hardwood, the basketball coach, forced them to do synchronized swimming as part of the training regimen. (Following the name.)
• CORRECT: The new play, designed by men’s hockey coach Henri Skaetz, was known as “The Tooth Extractor.” (Used in apposition.)

See also L.titles, of Persons.

cross country

The term cross country is not a compound modifier and should not be hyphenated.

• INCORRECT: The design of Calvin’s new cross-country course included water hazards with live-in crocodiles.
• CORRECT: The design of Calvin’s new cross country course included water hazards with live-in crocodiles.

See also H.hyphen.

facilities

See also C.facilities/ recreational areas.

The Game

See also C.events and C.The Rivalry.

hole in one

This term is unhyphenated.

Knights

All Calvin University athletic teams bear the official name Knights. There is no distinction—i.e. “Lady Knights,” “Knighties”—made between Calvin’s male and female sports teams.

• CORRECT: Gender Equality Now and athletes from several women’s teams demonstrated in front of the Calvin University fieldhouse after members of the women’s volleyball team were referred to as “Knighties” in the Chimes spoof issue.

MIAA

Do not capitalize the names of individual Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) teams and events. Do capitalize the word All in the term All-MIAA.

• INCORRECT: Lynn Smith made All-MIAA First Team, and Jeff Brown won an All-MIAA Honorable Mention in volleyball.
• CORRECT: Lynn Smith made All-MIAA first team, and Jeff Brown won an All-MIAA honorable mention in volleyball.
• CORRECT: While the university played in the MIAA tournament, the team did not win an MIAA championship.

See also A.acronyms and B.acronyms.

NCAA

1. Capitalize the official names of NCAA-sanctioned events.

• CORRECT: Larry Parched drank 12 quarts of Gatorade after winning the pole vault at the NCAA III Track and Field Championships.

2. Calvin is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. Use NCAA Division III on first reference. Thereafter, NCAA III may be used. Capitalize the word "Division" except when standing alone. Always use Roman numerals when referring to Division III.

• CORRECT: Three Calvin long jumpers met their girlfriends (one from Calvin, one from Dordt, one from Valparaiso) at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships.
• CORRECT: At the NCAA III Golf Championships, one golfer hit his ball into a sand trap only to discover it was a sinkhole. (That was a hard hole to score.)

See also B.acronyms and B.championship(s).

swimming and diving

1. The official name of the team including both swimmers and divers is the swimming and diving team.

2. Do not hyphenate swimming and diving, even when it is used as a compound modifier.

• INCORRECT: At a recent swimming-and-diving event, Julie Freestyle swore she spotted mermaids.
• CORRECT: At a recent swimming and diving event, Julie Freestyle swore she spotted mer-people.

3. Hyphenate compound modifiers for swimming events, such as 400-meter medley relay and 400-meter individual medley.

4. Use the full title of the swimming event on first reference; condense in following references.

• CORRECT: Katie Speedo won the 400-meter backstroke and the 200-meter freestyle. Brittany Tyr placed fifth in the 400-backstroke.

See also B.track and field and H.hyphen.1.

tennis rankings

In tennis, refer to the level of the player as No. 1 singles, No. 2 doubles, etc. Do not use number 1 singles or #2 doubles, etc.

• INCORRECT: Eileen Love dreamed of being the number 1 singles player in the country, even back when she was the number 2 singles player in the city.
• CORRECT: Eileen Love dreamed of being the No. 1 singles player in the country, even back when she was the No. 2 singles player in the city.

track and field

a. The official team name for track and field athletes is the track and field team.

b. Do not hyphenate track and field, even when it is used as a compound modifier.

• INCORRECT: During his track-and-field event, Greg Springen knocked over a couple of hurdles and a slew of hurdlers.
• CORRECT: During his track and field event, Greg Springen knocked over a couple of hurdles and a slew of hurdlers.

See also B.swimming and diving.

c. Hyphenate compound modifiers for track events, such as 100-meter hurdles and 4x100-meter relay.

d. Use full titles of the event on first reference; condense in following references.

• CORRECT: Kate Smith (not that Kate Smith) won the 400-meter hurdles and the 200-meter sprint. Bridget Jones (not that Bridget Jones), along with her three roommates, placed fifth in the 4x400-relay.

e. Use a hyphen—not quotation marks—to indicate feet and inches in running text for track and field achievements in Calvin publications.

• INCORRECT: She jumped 6’-10.”
• CORRECT: She jumped 6-10.

See also B.swimming and diving.3 and H.hyphen.1.

Calvin

Style issues pertinent to Calvin University: usage of administrative and academic titles, department and discipline names, facility names, etc.

acronyms

1. Use an acronym in parentheses following the formal, spelled-out name of the university organization or program it represents. Thereafter, the acronym may be used in place of the formal name.

• INCORRECT: The paintball incident occurred during Calvin’s popular LOFT service.
• CORRECT: The paintball incident occurred during Calvin’s popular Living Our Faith Together (LOFT) service. “We thought the worshipers wearing camouflage were doing liturgical movement,” said a LOFT organizer.

2. The name of a university organization or entity that is typically lowercased can be represented by an acronym.

• CORRECT: This past semester, Calvin Around Town (CAT) partnered with the department of health, physical education, recreation, dance and sport (HPERDS) on a tour of new Grand Rapids health clubs.

See also A.acronyms.

3. Following are some common Calvin acronyms:

AER: Academic Evaluation Report 
AHANA: African American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American 
CAA: Calvin Alumni Association 
CALL: Calvin Academy for Lifelong Learning 
CARE: Calvin Assessment Response and Evaluation 
CAS: communication arts and sciences 
CAT: Calvin Around Town 
CCE: Cross-Cultural Engagement 
CCRS: Calvin College Rehabilitation Services 
CEAP: Calvin Environmental Assessment Program 
CFAC: Covenant Fine Arts Center 
CICW: Calvin Institute of Christian Worship 
CIT: Calvin Information Technology 
FEN: From Every Nation 
FFM: Festival of Faith and Music 
FFW: Festival of Faith and Writing 
FIDC: Faith and International Development Conference 
FTIAC: first time in any college 
HPERDS: health, physical education, recreation, dance and sport 
IDIS: interdisciplinary 
ISDO: International Student Development Office 
K4L: Knights for Life 
LOFT: Living Our Faith Together 
MAC: multicultural affairs committee 
MSAB: Multicultural Student Advisory Board 
MSDO: Multicultural Student Development Office 
NCA: North Central Association 
NCATE: National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education programs 
SAGA: Sexuality and Gender Awareness 
SAO: Student Activities Office 
SAPT: Sexual Assault Prevention Team 
SLC: Service-Learning Center 
STEP: Striving Toward Educational Possibilities (conference) 
WMRL: West Michigan Regional Lab

See also A.acronyms.

alma mater

Lowercase alma mater when referring both to the school and to the song.

• CORRECT: Calvin was our mother’s alma mater, and she sang the “Friendship Song,” which was Calvin’s alma mater long before Calvin had an official alma mater.

alumna/ alumnae/ alumni/ alumnus

Alumnus is the singular, masculine form, referring to a former student (whether or not that student graduated). Use the singular alumna and plural alumnae to refer to female former students. Alumni is Calvin’s preferred plural for a group of former students composed of both women and men. Use the term alum only on second reference and thereafter.

• CORRECT: The lone alumnus, Kenny Kowalski, joined some friendly alumnae in a group hug at the alumni picnic.

See also C.graduation year/ exit year.

alumni association

Capitalize alumni association only when using the official name, Calvin Alumni Association (CAA). Lowercase subsequent references to alumni association and to association.

• CORRECT: There has been record turnout of good-looking alumni at Calvin Alumni Association events. “Our alums certainly are aging well,” commented a spokesperson for the alumni association.

See also C.acronyms and C.chapters.

board of trustees

Do not capitalize board of trustees.

• CORRECT: At its autumn meeting, the Calvin board of trustees denied tenure to a promising candidate whose undergraduate degree came from a clown college.

Calvin Annual Fund

Capitalize Calvin Annual Fund, the name of the alumni giving program. Do not capitalize the unofficial title “annual fund.”

Calvin University/ Calvin Theological Seminary

1. Refer to the university as Calvin University on first reference in publications that are intended for an audience beyond the Calvin community (e.g., press releases). For publications that circulate primarily to the Calvin community and constituency (e.g., Spark), Calvin may be used on first reference. Using Calvin as a second reference is acceptable for all publications. Do not capitalize university when it stands alone as a reference to Calvin University.

• CORRECT: The National Merit Scholarship allowed Jesse SmartBright to study at Calvin University, his school of choice. He favored Calvin for its academic reputation and for its Frisbee golf course.

2. Do not refer to the university as Calvin University and Seminary, except as a historical reference to Calvin College and Seminary. The university and seminary are two separate entities. The official name of the seminary is Calvin Theological Seminary. Do not capitalize seminary when it stands alone as a reference to Calvin Theological Seminary.

3. Name history. Following are the names adopted by Calvin University and the dates of their adoption:

• 1876 Theologische School van de Ware Hollandsche Gereformeerde Kerk (Theological School of the True Dutch Reformed Church)
• 1880 Theologische School van de Hollandsche Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerk (Theological School of the Dutch Christian Reformed Church)
• 1895 Theological School of the Christian Reformed Church
• 1906 John Calvin Junior College and Theological School
• 1908 Theological School and Calvin College
• 1930 Calvin College and Seminary
• 1931 Calvin College 
     Calvin Seminary
• 1958 Calvin Theological Seminary
• 1991 The schools adopt separate boards of trustees
• 2019 Calvin University
• CORRECT: He graduated from Calvin College in 1999 and entered Calvin Theological Seminary in 2000.
• CORRECT: Calvin’s official name in 1930 was Calvin College and Seminary.

Calvin Theatre Company

The official name of Calvin’s dramatic company uses the 
-re spelling of theatre. (Traditionally, dramatic companies use the -re spelling and cinemas use the -er spelling.) Do not use the 
-re spelling to refer to a theater major.

• CORRECT: The dramatis personae of the Calvin Theatre Company spend their non-rehearsal time at a local movie theater. Theater majors like movies.

Calvin Theological Seminary

See C.Calvin College/ Calvin Theological Seminary.

centers

1. Use the official name of a Calvin center on first reference. Capitalize both the official and unofficial names of Calvin’s centers. When using the official name, capitalize the principle words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters. Lowercase articles (a, an, the) in a name unless used as the first word of the name. Use the official name of the center on first reference.

2. Following are the official names of Calvin centers:

• Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship
• H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies (commonly the Meeter Center)
• Seminars in Christian Scholarship
• Van Lunen Center: Executive Management in Christian Schools (commonly the Van Lunen Center)
• CORRECT: The new catechism was unearthed in the basement of the H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies. The Meeter Center has a stockpile of unexplored texts, including some very old, very rare Calvinist comic books.

3. Do not capitalize the word center when it stands alone.

• INCORRECT: Rumor has it that there is a Jacuzzi in the Van Lunen Center. The Center’s staff denies the rumor, adding that if there were a Jacuzzi at the Center, it would be there for its therapeutic benefit to staff.
• CORRECT: Rumor has it that there is a Jacuzzi in the new Van Lunen Center. The center’s staff denies the rumor, adding that if there were a Jacuzzi at the center, it would be there for its therapeutic benefit to staff.

See also C.chairs and C.institutes.

chairs

1. Use the official name of a Calvin endowed chair on first reference. Capitalize both the official and unofficial names of Calvin endowed chairs. When using the official name, capitalize the principle words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters. Lowercase articles (a, an, the) in a name unless used as the first word of the name. Use the official name of the chair on first reference.

2. Following are the official names of Calvin chairs:

• Arthur H. DeKruyter Chair in Faith and Communication 
  (commonly the DeKruyter Chair)
• Brummel Chair in Organic Chemistry (commonly the Brummel Chair)
• Frederik Meijer Chair in Dutch Language and Culture (commonly the Meijer Chair)
• Gary and Henrietta Byker Chair in Christian Perspectives on Political, Social, and Economic Thought (commonly the Byker Chair)
• James and Judith Chambery Chair for the Study of Ethics in Business (commonly the Chambery Chair)
• Paul B. Henry Chair for the Study of Christianity and Politics (commonly the Henry Chair)
• Queen Juliana Chair of the Language and Culture of the Netherlands (commonly the Queen Juliana Chair; non-endowed)
• William Spoelhof Teacher-Scholar-in-Residence Chair (commonly the Spoelhof Chair)
• CORRECT: The proper name for the chair is the Arthur H. DeKruyter Chair in Faith and Communication, and the guy who holds it is sitting over there in an Eames Lounge Chair.

3. Do not capitalize the word chair when it stands alone.

• INCORRECT: The professor who filled the Gary and Henrietta Byker Chair in Christian Perspectives on Political, Social, and Economic Thought said that he found it hard to remember the entire name of the Chair.
• CORRECT: The professor who filled the Gary and Henrietta Byker Chair in Christian Perspectives on Political, Social, and Economic Thought said that he found it hard to remember the entire name of the chair.

See also C.centers and C.institutes.

chapters

Lowercase everything but proper nouns when referring to alumni chapters.

• CORRECT: Calvin’s Arizona-Phoenix alumni chapter and Washington-Seattle alumni chapter learned everything they know about laser tag from the Michigan young alumni chapter.

See also C.alumni association.

Class of …

Capitalize the word class when it refers to a graduating class.

• CORRECT: Mitchell Louter returned to campus for the reunion of his class, the Class of ’93, but he spent all his time alone in the library.

See also C.graduation year/exit year.

Commencement/ Convocation/ Homecoming /Honors Convocation

Capitalize official university events such as Commencement, Convocation, Homecoming and Honors Convocation.

• CORRECT: At this year’s Commencement, devoted family and friends of the 2015 graduating class perspired in the stands.

See also C.events.

committees

Lowercase references to committees.

• CORRECT: The student senate tabled its afternoon discussion in favor of table tennis.

conferences/ symposia

Capitalize the official names of Calvin’s conferences and symposia. Capitalize the principle words of the official name, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters. Lowercase articles (a, an, the) in a name unless used as the first word of the name.

• CORRECT: This year’s Symposium on Worship will once again be held in January … in Michigan. Have these people never heard of Jamaica?

See also C.festivals/series.

courses/ curricula

Do not capitalize the names of university studies, fields of study, curricula and majors, unless they are proper nouns. Do capitalize names of specific courses and enclose them in quotation marks.

• CORRECT: I took “Philosophy of Language and Interpretation” three times, and now I can’t understand anything anyone is saying. But epistemology I get.
• CORRECT: She majored in history, philosophy and German, but now she can’t find a job.

See also C.departments/ divisions and C.majors.

When referring to a course by its numbers, do not capitalize the department name unless it is a proper noun.

• INCORRECT: Unfortunately, if she took Chemistry 201, she couldn't take English 338.
• CORRECT: Unfortunately, if she took chemistry 201, she couldn't take English 338.

degrees

1. Lowercase formal names of academic degrees.

• CORRECT: The artist, who had earned a bachelor of arts in fine arts, was herself pretty fine.
• CORRECT: The new master of accounting degree attracted students to the accounting department.

2. Use an apostrophe plus s (’s) when writing the possessive form of an academic degree.

• CORRECT: She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology and later earned a master’s degree in psychology. Now she manipulates plants for a living.

See also H.apostrophe.

3. Do not use the word degree behind doctorate, a title that can stand alone. Do use the word degree after doctoral.

• INCORRECT: All of our professors of classics hold doctorate degrees.
• CORRECT: All of our professors of classics hold doctoral degrees.
• CORRECT: Calvin professor of English emeritus Charlotte Otten holds a doctorate in English—not in lycanthropy.

4. Use a comma between the degree holder’s name and his or her degree abbreviation.

• CORRECT: The keynote address was given by Betsy Trotwood, PhD, Cambridge.

5. Omit periods in the abbreviations of academic degrees.

• CORRECT: Kenny Webbers earned a BA in English from Calvin and an MS and PhD in criminology from Western Michigan University. (Now he’s the English department’s bouncer.)

6. The word degree should not follow a degree abbreviation.

• INCORRECT: He held a BA degree in biology.
• CORRECT: He held a BA in biology.

7. Following are common academic degrees and their abbreviations, with degrees granted by Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary indicated by asterisks:

BA*—bachelor of arts 
BCS*—bachelor of computer science 
BFA*—bachelor of fine art 
BME*—bachelor of music education 
BS*—bachelor of science 
BSA*—bachelor of science in accounting 
BSE*—bachelor of science in engineering 
BSOT*—bachelor of science in letters and occupational therapy 
BSN*—bachelor of science in nursing 
BSR*—bachelor of science in recreation 
BSW*—bachelor of social work 
EdD—doctor of education 
MA—master of arts 
MAcc—master of accounting 
MA Ed Min*—master of arts in educational ministry 
MA Wor*—master of arts in worship 
MDiv*—master of arts in divinity 
MEd*—master of education 
MS—master of science 
MTS*—master of theological studies 
PhD—doctor of philosophy 
ThD—doctor of theology 
ThM*—master of theology

See The Chicago Manual of Style for other degree abbreviations.

departments/ divisions

Do not capitalize the names of Calvin academic or administrative departments unless they refer to languages.

• CORRECT: In her long tenure at Calvin, Regina Moon worked in the political science, English, classics, mathematics and statistics, and French departments. Moon was both well informed and exhausted when she retired.

Do not capitalize names of Calvin’s academic divisions (language literature and the arts; natural sciences and mathematics; intertextual disciplines; social sciences) or administrative divisions (administration and finance; advancement; enrollment and external programs; information services; student life).

• CORRECT: Minerva McGonagall, Calvin’s new dean of intertextual disciplines, spoke eloquently about the integration of faith and learning.
• CORRECT: Rubeus Hagrid, the new vice president of administration and finance at Calvin, won’t let anyone kill the spiders in his office.

Do not abbreviate department in running text.

• INCORRECT: During her sophomore year, she worked in the history dept. and discovered a lot of administrative idiosyncrasies there.
• CORRECT: During her sophomore year, she worked in the history department and discovered a lot of administrative idiosyncrasies there.

See also C.offices.

east campus

Do not capitalize references to east campus. Do capitalize references to Knollcrest East.

• CORRECT: Knollcrest East refers to the student apartments on the south side of the east campus.

emerita/ emeritae/ emeriti/ emeritus

1. Emeritus is the singular, masculine form for a retired professor. When referring to female professors, use the singular emerita or plural emeritae. Emeriti is Calvin’s preferred plural for a group of men only or a group composed of men and women.

• CORRECT: At Homecoming, three emeritae discussed politics with an emeritus who voted libertarian.
• CORRECT: The emeriti included a former Tulip Queen and her whole court!

See also C.alumna/alumnae/alumni/alumnus.

2. When referring to retired faculty, it is proper to use either professor emerita or emeritus plus field of study before the name or emerita/emeritus professor plus field of study following the name. It is also proper to use emerita/emeritus in parentheses behind name and title to refer to an emeritus faculty member.

3. Capitalize Professor Emerita/Emeritus before the name unless it stands in apposition or is used as a job description.

• CORRECT: Gordon Spykman, emeritus professor of religion and theology, was familiar with the Dutch term for “Reformed antennae,” and Professor Emeritus George Harper, formerly of the English department, knows the names of many of the trees on the Calvin campus.
• CORRECT: The keynote, “Deconstruction and the Role of Moondoggie in Gidget Cinema,” was delivered by communication arts and sciences Professor James Darren (emeritus).

See also C.titles.

events

1. Capitalize the official names of Calvin’s traditional, annual events, including athletic events.

2. Following is a (non-exhaustive) list of some of Calvin’s traditional, annual events:

• Cardboard Canoe Race
• Chaos Night
• Cold Knight Club
• Commencement
• Convocation
• The Game/ The Rivalry
• Homecoming
• Honors Convocation
• Mud Bowl
• Sem Pond Jump
• CORRECT: Rey Washington's dorm won Chaos Night two years in a row, and she went on to win the Mud Bowl as a junior and the Cardboard Canoe Race as a senior. She's the envy of the school.

See also C.Commencement/ Convocation/ Homecoming/ Honors Convocation and C.The Rivalry.

facilities/ recreational areas

1. Use the official name of a Calvin facility or recreational area on first reference. Capitalize both the official name and—in indicated cases—the unofficial name of a facility or recreational area. Some facilities and recreational areas have informal names that do not require capitalization: the chapel, the fieldhouse, the residence halls, physical plant, soccer fields, tennis courts, cross country course.

2. Following are the formal names of Calvin facilities and recreational areas:

• Bergsma Natatorium (former pool; use as historical reference)
• Calvin Chapel
• Calvin College Rehabilitation Services
• Calvin’s Crossing
• Calvin Theological Seminary (do not refer to the seminary as “Calvin Seminary”), see also C. Calvin College/ Calvin Theological Seminary
• Cave (see Fish House)
• Center Art Gallery
• Commons
• Commons Annex
• Covenant Fine Arts Center (CFAC) - formerly Fine Arts Center
• DeVos Communication Center (DC)
• DeWit Manor
• Dice Mineralogical Museum
• Ecosystem Preserve (do not refer to the preserve as the “nature preserve”)
• Engineering Building (EB)
• Prince Engineering Design Center
• Vermeer Engineering Projects Center
• Fish House (refers to the coffeehouse in the Cave in Johnny’s Café)
• Forum (refers to the forum on the ground floor of the DeVos Communication Center)
• Gainey Athletic Fields (do not refer to the fields as the “Gainey Athletic Facility”)
• Gezon Auditorium
• H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies (commonly Meeter Center)
• Hekman Library (HL)
• Heritage Hall (refers to the archives in Hekman Library)
• Hiemenga Hall (HH)
• John “Doc” DeVries Hall of Science (commonly DeVries Hall)
• Knollcrest Dining Hall
• Knollcrest East (KE) Apartments:
  • Alpha
  • Beta
  • Delta
  • Gamma
  • Kappa
  • Omega
  • Phi-Chi
  • Sigma
  • Theta-Epsilon
  • Zeta-Lamda
• Lab Theater
• Mail and Printing Services
• North Hall (NH)
• Prince Conference Center (PCC)
• Ravenswood
• Raybrook Office Suite
• Residence halls:
  • Beets-Veenstra (BV)
  • Boer-Bennink (BB)
  • Bolt-Heyns-Timmer (BHT)
  • Kalsbeek-Huizenga-van Reken (KHvR)
  • Noordewier-VanderWerp (NVW)
  • Schultze-Eldersveld (SE)
  • Rooks-Van Dellen (RVD)
• Robert L. Bytwerk Video Theater (commonly Bytwerk Video Theater)
• Science Building (SB)
• Seminary housing:
  • Bavink
  • Berkhof
  • Kuyper
  • Omega
  • Sigma
• Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex:
  • Hoogenboom Health and Recreation Center
  • Huizenga Tennis and Track Center
  • Van Noord Arena and Fitness Center
  • Venema Aquatic Center
• Uppercrust
• Vincent and Helen Bunker Interpretive Center (commonly Bunker Interpretive Center)
• West Michigan Regional Lab (refers to the lab in DeVries Hall)
• William Spoelhof University Center; commonly Spoelhof Center (SC)
• Youngsma Center

See campus map at calvin.edu/map.

festivals/ series

1. Capitalize only the official names of these Calvin events. Capitalize the principle words of the name, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters. Lowercase articles (a, an, the) in a name unless used as the first word of the name.

2. Following are the official names of Calvin’s festivals and series:

Artist Series 
DisArt Festival 
Fall Music Festival 
Family Weekend 
Festival of Faith and Music 
Festival of Faith and Writing 
January Series 
Symposium on Worship (Use the former title Symposium on Worship and the Arts when historically.)

3. Do not capitalize the ;the in the Artist Series or in the January Series in running text, and do not use an ampersand to represent the and in the Festival of Faith and Writing or the Festival of Faith and Music in running text.

NOTE: The offices that oversee these events are free to capitalize the and use the ampersand in their logos.

• CORRECT: This year, one of the January Series speakers also participated in the Artist Series and the Festival of Faith and Writing. (It was overkill.)

See also C.conferences/ symposia, C.logos and C.programs.

first-year student/ freshman

Use the term first-year student instead of freshman.

• CORRECT: The seniors chastised the first-year student who improvised politically incorrect lyrics for the “Friendship Song.”

graduation year/ exit year

1. Use an apostrophe to abbreviate years of university classes. The apostrophe should indicate the omitted part of the date 
(use ’, not ‘).

• INCORRECT: Sandi Fleming ‘89 is still “positivizing the norm” for beachcombing in the Los Angeles area.
• CORRECT: Sandi Fleming ’89 is still “positivizing the norm” for beachcombing in the Los Angeles area.

2. Do not use a comma to separate the name from the year of graduation.

• INCORRECT: Fred Weasley, ’04, owns a joke shop with his brother George Weasley, ’04.
• CORRECT: Fred Weasley ’04 owns a joke shop with his brother George Weasley ’04.

3. Use a comma between multiple years of graduation indicating more than one university degree.

• CORRECT: Wackford Squiers ’85, MA ’87.

4. To refer to an alumnus who didn’t graduate, use ex (which stands for the year of exit) without a space before the exit year. Style rules applying to graduation year also apply to exit year.

• INCORRECT: Bart Simpson, ex’00 never seems to get any older.
• CORRECT: Bart Simpson ex’00 never seems to get any older.

5. When referring to graduates of Calvin who have also earned a degree at Calvin Theological Seminary, cite the name of the degree plus the year earned following the Calvin grad year. Separate the multiple degrees with a comma.

• CORRECT: It looks like Kevin Kuivenhoven ’86, MDiv ’89 earned his divinity degree the year the Berlin Wall came down. (No cause and effect implied.)

Homecoming

Capitalize references to Homecoming.

See also C.Commencement/ Convocation/ Homecoming/ Honor's Convocation and C.events.

honors

Do not capitalize the word honors when referring to a person who graduated with honors.

• CORRECT: Sally Paresseux could have graduated with double honors in English and classics, but she frankly stated that she didn’t want to work that hard.
• CORRECT: He was an honors graduate in 1987, but since then his life has gone downhill.

Honors Convocation

Capitalize references to Honors Convocation.

See also C.Commencement/ Convocation/ Homecoming/ Honors Convocation and C.events.

institutes

1. Use the official name of a Calvin institute on first reference. Capitalize both the official and unofficial names of Calvin’s institutes. When using the official name, capitalize the principle words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters. Lowercase articles (a, an, the) in a name unless used as the first word of the name.

2. Following are the official names of Calvin institutes:

• Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (commonly Worship Institute)
• Clean Water Institute of Calvin College
• Gainey Institute for Faith and Communication (commonly Gainey Institute)
• John and Judy Spoelhof Family Institute for Christian Leadership in Business (commonly Spoelhof Institute)
• Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning (commonly Kuyers Institute)
• Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity (commonly Nagel Institute)
• Paul B. Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics (commonly Henry Institute)
• CORRECT: It was named the Paul B. Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics, but we call it the Henry Institute. (And sometimes, we call it “Henry.”)
• CORRECT: The powers-that-be at the Henry Institute are well on their way to founding a third party.

3. Do not capitalize the word institute when it stands alone.

• INCORRECT: The Institute, named for Milton Kuyers, was founded in 2004.
• CORRECT: The institute, named for Milton Kuyers, was founded in 2004.

See also C.centers and C.chairs.

interim

Do not capitalize the word interim when referring to Calvin’s January and May terms. Do capitalize names of specific interims and enclose them in quotation marks.

• CORRECT: Every January, professors Schmidt and Hettinga expose large groups of students to sub-zero temperatures on the venerable “New England Saints” interim. (The proposed new name for “New England Saints” is “Toying With Frostbite.”)

See also C.courses/ curricula.

Knights

See also B.Knights. 
 

Knights for Life (K4L)

Knights for Life refers to Calvin's young alumni chapters.

majors

Do not capitalize the names of academic concentrations (majors) unless they are proper nouns.

• INCORRECT: At various times in her college career, Kathy McMajorsma has majored in German, Engineering, Philosophy, French and Biotechnology and minored in Medieval Studies.
• CORRECT: At various times in her college career, Kathy McMajorsma has majored in German, engineering, philosophy, French and biotechnology and minored in medieval studies. (Her parents have not appreciated her tuition bills.)

See also C.courses/ curricula.

musical ensembles

Capitalize the official names of Calvin musical ensembles. Capitalize the principle words of the official name, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters. Lowercase articles (a, an, the) in a name unless used as the first word of the name. Use the official name of a Calvin musical ensemble on first reference. Use the former names of Calvin musical ensembles as historical references.

Calvin Orchestra 
Campus Choir 
Capella 
Collegium Musicum 
Flute Choir 
Gospel Choir 
Jazz Band 
Symphonic Band (formerly Knollcrest Band) 
Women's Chorale 
Wind Ensemble (formerly Calvin Band)

offices

Do not capitalize the names of Calvin University offices.

• INCORRECT: The Alumni and Public Relations Office was home to both the Development and Student Life offices during the infamous “Spoelhof Shuffle.”
• CORRECT: The alumni and public relations office was home to both the development and student life offices during the infamous “Spoelhof Shuffle.”

See also C.departments/ divisions.

programs

1. Capitalize the official names of Calvin’s programs. Capitalize the principle words of the official name, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters. Lowercase articles (a, an, the) in a name unless used as the first word of the name. Use the official name of the program on first reference.

2. Following are the official names of some of Calvin’s programs:

• Adult and Continuing Education
• Anthony J. Diekema Faculty Fellowships
• Calvin Academy of Lifelong Learning (CALL) (See A.acronyms and C.acronyms).
• Continuing Education
• Dirk and JoAnn Mellema Program in Western American Studies
• Entrada Scholars Program
• First Saturdays at the Ecosystem Preserve
• Fridays at Calvin
• Honors Program
• Lilly Vocation Project
• McGregor Summer Research Fellowship Program
• Pew Younger Scholars program
• Project Neighborhood
• Seminars in Christian Scholarship

• INCORRECT: The students who visited Calvin through Entrada especially liked the unscheduled explosion they witnessed in the chemistry lab.
• CORRECT: The students who visited Calvin through the Entrada Scholars Program especially liked the unscheduled explosion they witnessed in the chemistry lab.

3. Do not capitalize the word program when it stands alone.

• INCORRECT: Coordinators of the McGregor Summer Research Fellowship Program said the Program received some interesting proposals this year, including one called “Merging Hermeneutics and Homiletics: Hermenetics or Homileutics?”
• CORRECT: Coordinators of the McGregor Summer Research Fellowship Program said the program received some interesting proposals this year, including one called “Merging Hermeneutics and Homiletics: Hermenetics or Homileutics?”

publications

Capitalize and italicize the names of official university publications: Spark, Chimes, Dialogue, Verge, etc.

• CORRECT: The article about the significance of Krispy Kreme doughnuts to the American workplace—the article that was excerpted in The New York Times—was published in Chimes, not in Spark.

See also K.books/ periodicals/ long musical compositions and K."the" in a title .

recreational areas

See also C. facilities/ recreational areas.

The Rivalry

The annual, nationally televised men’s basketball game between Calvin University and Hope College has traditionally been called The Game by Calvin and The Rivalry by Hope. In 2006, Calvin adopted Hope’s nomenclature, and this storied hardwood showdown is now referred to as The Rivalry by both schools. Capitalize both words in historic references to The Game and current references to The Rivalry.

roads

1. Capitalize the official names of Calvin’s on-campus roads.

2. Following are the official names of Calvin on-campus roads:

• East Campus Drive is the road that leads to the DeVos Communication and Prince Conference centers.
• Knight Way is the road that leads from the fieldhouse past the residence halls to the Fine Arts Center.
• Knollcrest Circle is the large loop that encircles the main campus and its adjoining athletic fields

See campus map at www.calvin.edu/map.

titles

1. Capitalize both academic titles (professor, dean, provost) and administrative titles (president, vice president, director, etc.) when they appear before a name. Lowercase an academic or administrative title when it follows a name, stands alone or is used in apposition, not as part of a name but as if it were a job description.

• CORRECT: That Professor Staff seems to be something of a polymath.
• CORRECT: Long before the event, the director of media relations prepared a statement, and that should have been the end of the matter—but, alas!
• CORRECT: It is rumored that the provost of Calvin University has the ability to become invisible.
• CORRECT: Apparently, the new dean for language literature and the arts, Professor Literati, can’t read.

2. Capitalize the names of distinguished professorships.

• CORRECT: It is not correct that Calvin professor of English emerita Charlotte Otten is the Boris Karloff Distinguished Professor of Lycanthropy at Transylvania University. It was some guy they called “Moony.”

3. Use the title professor, not Dr., to refer to a Calvin professor, no matter what degree level the professor has attained. It is not necessary to use the title instructor or the terms adjunct, assistant, associate or full to distinguish between professors except in publications—i.e., reports from the provost’s office or the academic catalog—that require such distinctions.

• INCORRECT: Some who attended the wedding saw Dr. Vanden Bosch at the reception, proofreading the menu.
• CORRECT: Some who attended the wedding saw Professor Vanden Bosch at the reception, proofreading the menu.

4. Lowercase titles of officers of a class or student organization.

• INCORRECT: Peter Ennui was elected Student Body President, but resigned the office two weeks after the election due to a virulent case of senioritis.
• CORRECT: Peter Ennui was elected student body president, but resigned the office two weeks after the election due to a virulent case of senioritis.
• CORRECT: Meghan Caret was the editor of the famous pop-up issue of Dialogue.

See also K.titles.

We-Haul

The team of students, faculty and staff that helps incoming students on move-in day is called We-Haul.

Computer terms

Usage of computer and Internet terminology

capitalization and hyphenation

1. email

Lowercase the word email in Calvin publications.

2. Internet

Capitalize the term Internet in Calvin publications.

3. online

Lowercase the word online in Calvin publications.

4. web, web page, website

The term web is lowercased when it stands alone and refers to an address on the World Wide Web (capitalized). The terms web page and web feed are composed of two separate words. The single terms website, webcam, webcast and webmaster are lowercased.

• CORRECT: “This website lacks content,” griped Luke Robinson repeatedly as he perused the sites of several peer institutions. "That's no way to do web."

email references

Italicize email addresses in running text. Do not use a colon to separate an introductory sentence fragment from an email address.

• INCORRECT: For more information about the Servetus Club email: hereticon@spit.calvin.edu.
• CORRECT: For more information about the Servetus Club, email hereticon@spit.calvin.edu.

See also H.colon.2

web address references

1. Refer to the Calvin website as www.calvin.edu, not calvin.edu. Note that the site is italicized and not underlined; do not use Microsoft Word’s blue hyperlink formatting.

• CORRECT: The Internet address for Calvin University is www.calvin.edu, not www.agentsofrenewalgonewild.com, as reported in a recent Chimes article.

2. Omit unnecessary characters such as http:// when citing a web address in text in Calvin publications. To determine which characters are unnecessary, it is advisable to check a web address online.

• INCORRECT: For more information on the African and African Diaspora studies program, visit http://www.calvin.edu/academic/african/.
• CORRECT: For more information on the African and African Diaspora studies program, visit www.calvin.edu/academic/african.

3. When a sentence ends in an Internet address, do not omit the final period. If possible, rephrase the sentence to resolve any ambiguity.

• INCORRECT: For more information, visit www.calvin.edu
• CORRECT: For more information, visit www.calvin.edu.
• REPHRASED CORRECT: Visit www.calvin.edu for more information.

4. When a line break divides a web address, do not insert a hyphen.

• INCORRECT: When the curious first-year student tried to access www.agentsofre- 
  newalgonewild.com, the screen, inexplicably, went black.
• CORRECT: When the curious first-year student tried to access www.agentsof 
  renewalgonewild.com, the screen, inexplicably, went black.

5. Do not use a colon to separate an introductory sentence fragment from a web address.

• INCORRECT: For more information, visit: www.agentsofrenewalgonewild.com.
• CORRECT: For more information, visit www.agentsofrenewalgonewild.com.

See also H.colon.2

Event Publications

Invitations, programs, menus, postcards and conference programs—for events such as the Symposium on Worship or the Festival of Faith and Writing, for example—form a special category of Calvin publications. Publications from this category may require a more formal editorial style, which includes uppercasing titles of events and persons involved in the events. Authors of publications tied to events (Commencement, Honors Convocation, the Scholarship Dinner) are free to use either the Calvin style or a more formal style for their invitations, programs, menus, postcards and conference programs.

Consistency is the key to good editorial style: Whatever style is chosen, it is important to follow that style throughout the publication. Please note that it is the recommendation of this guide that formal style be reserved for a very few and select publications.

NOTE: Current Calvin style recommends lowercasing names of menu items—except for the first word on a line and proper nouns—on programs in which titles have been uppercased. (See example.)

Numbers

Usage of numerical figures: biblical citations, dates, grade levels, historical periods, measurements, money, percentages, telephone numbers and time

biblical citations

1. Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3), not Roman numerals (I, II, III), in biblical citations.

• INCORRECT: It turns out, there is no III Chronicles!
• CORRECT: It turns out, there is no 3 Chronicles!
• CORRECT: Self-control is listed as a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:23.

2. Use an en dash, not a hyphen, between numbers in biblical citations.

• INCORRECT: James 3:13-18 (hyphen)
• CORRECT: James 3:13–18 (en dash)

See also H.dash, em and en.3 and H.dash, em and en.5.

dates

Use an en dash, not a hyphen, when citing continuing numbers in a date.

• INCORRECT: The 2006 Bachelor of Arts Exhibition is May 12-20.
• CORRECT: The 2006 Bachelor of Arts Exhibition is May 12–20.

See also H.comma.4; H.dash, em and en.3; H.dash, em and en.5 
and J.dates.

fractions

1. For amounts less than one (i.e., one-half), spell out the fraction using hyphens.

CORRECT: Jane Zandstra has been in the Cold Knight Club for six and a half years (the one-half is for the time she waded in only to her waist).

2. For amounts larger than one, use numerals when appropriate: Spell out numbers below 10 if not an age, dimension or other numeral-only figure.

3. To represent fractions, use the fraction symbols available in word-processing programs (1½), as opposed to the chunky, difficult-to-decipher backslash (11/2).

CORRECT: Debbie Vreeland is 27½ years old and owns one-eighth of her family business. Two-thirds of her life was spent in a 9¾-by-12½-foot cubicle. She believes that her pricey office chair has increased her happiness by two-thirds.

See also F.general usage.1, F.general usage.4, F.measurement and F.percentages.

general usage

1. Spell out the numbers one through nine, and use numerals for the numbers 10 and above.

• CORRECT: Jeff ate four of the 12 doughnuts that were in the Krispy Kreme box, and the office manager was forced to send a student worker for another dozen.

2. Place a comma after numerals signifying thousands. Omit the comma when referring to temperature and street addresses.

• CORRECT: Calvin enrolls more than 4,000 students annually.
• CORRECT: The students heated the compound to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, thereby melting the lab and everything in it.

3. Spell out a number used to begin a sentence.

• CORRECT: Twenty-five students signed up for the interim, but, oddly, very few seemed interested in the volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands.

4. Use regular numbers, not ordinal numbers, for dates and ages of persons. Do not use superscript when writing ordinals.

• INCORRECT: “The Sustainability Festival will enlighten many on May 23rd at the Bunker Interpretive Center,” said Myena Gray, the center’s cheerleader.
• CORRECT: “The Sustainability Festival will enlighten many on May 23 at the Bunker Interpretive Center,” said Myena Gray, the center’s cheerleader.

grade levels

Spell out grade levels one through nine, and use numerals for grade levels 10 and above. Hyphenate grade levels.

• CORRECT: It was a fifth-grader who pulled the fire alarm, but an 11th-grader took the rap for it.

See also F.general usage.1.

measurement

1. Use numerals for dimensions, percentages, distances, computer storage capacity and other measurements.

2. Spell out inches, feet and yards to indicate length, depth, height and width.

• INCORRECT: She stood 6’6” tall. She was very tall.
• CORRECT: She stood 6 feet, 6 inches tall. She was very tall.
• INCORRECT: The rug he brought back from Petra measured 8 1/2’x11 1/2’, but the Customs guys called it a 9’x12’ rug.
• CORRECT: The rug he brought back from Petra measured 8½ feet by 11½ feet, but the Customs guys called it a 9-by-12 rug. (He also said it was woven by Nabataeans: yeah right.)
• CORRECT: The senior engineering team’s design for its team project had dimensions of 6.7 meters by 4.3 meters by 30 cubits, until one engineer realized he had referenced his morning devotions instead of his tape measure.
• CORRECT: The business professor claimed that he had documented a 7-percent decrease in completed homework assignments.

See also F.percentages.

money

1. Note monetary amounts in running text using numerals and a dollar sign. Do not include a decimal point and zeros when citing a whole dollar amount in running text.

• INCORRECT: He spent $9.00 to take her to the university play.
• CORRECT: He spent $9 to take her to the university play.
• CORRECT: She reimbursed him for the $4.50, but she broke his heart all the same.

2. Use numerals for amounts of more than $1 million, and spell out million, billion and trillion.

• CORRECT: The anonymous donor gave $35 million for campus renovations, which was nice.

3. Use the word cents when citing amounts less than $1 in running text.

• CORRECT: At the end of the semester, Sara Goedkoop had 59 cents remaining on her debit card, so she called home for cash, as was her wont.

percentages

1. Always use numerals to indicate percentages, and spell out the word percent.

2. Hyphenate between the number and the word percent when they form a compound modifier.

• INCORRECT: Because of a computer error, the faculty of the history department received raises of 15%.
• CORRECT: Because of a computer error, the faculty of the history department received raises of 15 percent.
• CORRECT: It took more than a year for history department professors to come clean about their 15-percent raises. (compound modifier)

See also H.hyphen.1.

telephone numbers/ extensions

1. When citing phone numbers, omit the 1 preceding the area code and place the area code in parentheses. Punctuate the remaining phone number with a hyphen, not a slash or period.

• CORRECT: As a result of a prefix change, the Calvin University phone number is now (616) 526-6000.

2. When noting an on-campus phone extension, use the term ext. plus 6- and the extension.

• CORRECT: Any questions about the style guide, style issues in general or anything else imaginable in the entire universe should be directed to Professor James Vanden Bosch at ext. 6-6592.

Places

Abbreviations of state names as well as proper use of compass directions

compass directions/ geographical regions

1. Lowercase compass directions: north, south, east, west, northwest, southeastern and others.

• CORRECT: She moved to the southwestern United States, but will not wear sunscreen—so she’s toast.
• CORRECT: Only tourist associations refer to west Michigan as West Michigan.

2. Capitalize regions within the United States, but not within individual states.

• CORRECT: Soon after moving from east Wisconsin to the East Coast, the Calvin alumnus was seen sporting a sou’wester.
• CORRECT: The Pacific Northwest is famous for salmon fishing, Starbucks and Bill Gates’ humongous house. The Midwest isn’t famous for much.

states/ provinces/ territories

1. Spell out the names of states, provinces and territories in running text and when they stand alone. Use an abbreviation of a state name when referring to a city and state together in a list. Do not abbreviate a Canadian province or territory name.

• INCORRECT: The alumnus hailed from Elmira, N.Y., but he had never visited the Finger Lakes.
• CORRECT: The alumnus hailed from Elmira, New York, but he had never visited the Finger Lakes.
• CORRECT: The alumnus was a New York native, but he had never visited the Finger Lakes.
• CORRECT: The alumna hailed from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and her accent gave her away to the guy from Ontario.

2. Use Associated Press abbreviations, not postal codes, for U.S. states and territories in lists for Calvin publications. Do not abbreviate in running text. Eight states are never abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah.

3. Following are the abbreviations for U.S. states and territories:

States 
Alabama Ala. 
Alaska no abbreviation
Arizona Ariz. 
Arkansas Ark. 
California Calif. 
Colorado Colo. 
Connecticut Conn. 
Delaware Del. 
Florida Fla. 
Georgia Ga. 
Hawaii no abbreviation
Idaho no abbreviation
Illinois Ill. 
Indiana Ind. 
Iowa no abbreviation
Kansas Kan. 
Kentucky Ky. 
Louisiana La. 
Maine no abbreviation
Maryland Md. 
Massachusetts Mass. 
Michigan Mich. 
Minnesota Minn. 
Mississippi Miss. 
Missouri Mo. 
Montana Mont. 
Nebraska Neb. 
Nevada Nev. 
New Hampshire N.H.
New Jersey N.J. 
New Mexico N.M. 
New York N.Y. 
North Carolina N.C. 
North Dakota N.D. 
Ohio no abbreviation
Oklahoma Okla. 
Oregon Ore. 
Pennsylvania Pa. 
Rhode Island R.I. 
South Carolina S.C. 
South Dakota S.D. 
Tennessee Tenn. 
Texas no abbreviation
Utah no abbreviation
Vermont Vt. 
Virginia Va. 
Washington Wash. 
West Virginia W.Va. 
Wisconsin Wis. 
Wyoming Wyo. 

Territories 
American Samoa A.S. 
District of Columbia D.C. 
Guam Guam 
Northern Mariana Islands M.P. 
Puerto Rico P.R. 
U.S. Virgin Islands V.I.

3. streets

Do not abbreviate the words avenue, boulevard and street in running text, unless they are accompanied by a numeral.

• CORRECT: The residents of the White House live on Pennsylvania Avenue.
• CORRECT: The residents of the White House live at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Punctuation

Usage of the ampersand, apostrophe, colon, comma, dash (en and em), ellipsis, hyphen, italics, parentheses, quotation marks and semicolon

ampersand

Do not use an ampersand in text in place of the word and unless the ampersand is part of a proper name, such as a trademarked corporate title.

• INCORRECT: Lynn & Jeff have agreed to do commentary at the chess match.
• CORRECT: Lynn and Jeff have agreed to do commentary at the chess match.
• CORRECT: The Festival of Faith and Writing is a biennial event.

See also C.Logos.

• CORRECT: Procter & Gamble Co. recalled the product and issued an apology.

apostrophe

1. Use an apostrophe plus s to form the possessive of singular nouns that do not end in s, x or z.

• CORRECT: The church’s position was clear in the case of the plagiarized sermon.

2. Use an apostrophe plus s for singular common nouns ending in s, unless the following word beings with s.

• CORRECT: The countess’s tiara was found in the Ecosystem Preserve, but the countess herself was never located.
• CORRECT: The countess’ sister was devastated at her disappearance.

3. Use an apostrophe following the s for singular proper nouns (names) ending in s, x or z.

• CORRECT: There is no biblical reference of that miracle during Jesus’ ministry.
• CORRECT: Professor Rodriguez’ popularity waned after he delivered a final exam written entirely in cuneiform.

4. Use an apostrophe plus s to form the possessive form of plural nouns that do not end in s, x or z.

• CORRECT: The alumni’s popular new event involved a big-screen TV and lots of chips. (It had good attendance from male alumni.)

5. Use an apostrophe after the s to form the possessive of plural nouns, including proper nouns, that end in s, x or z.

• CORRECT: It was the students’ decision to go on academic strike, and those students’ grades suffered.
• CORRECT: It was the Joneses’ hideous McMansion that inspired the Smiths’ humongous new house.

6. Use the rules for plural nouns to form possessive for nouns that are the same in singular and plural.

• CORRECT: During the Great Winter Tracking Challenge, one student corps’ direction was entirely diverted by the deer’s tracks in the Gainey Athletic Fields, and they ended up at DeWit Manor, asking for directions.

7. Use an apostrophe after the s to form the possessives when a plural word is found in the formal name of a singular entity.

• CORRECT: Professor C. Theorist held the view that General Motors’ profits had something to do with the tuition increase.

colon

1. Use a colon to introduce a list.

• CORRECT: Semester in Britain participants should expect to experience some amazing things: the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, Stonehenge and tomatoes at breakfast.

2. Do not use a colon to separate a verb from its complement or a preposition from its object (essentially separating two parts of a sentence). Use a complete sentence to introduce a list.

• INCORRECT: All spring break hikers must wear: a residence hall T-shirt, hiking boots and sunscreen with SPF 30 or above—especially the sunscreen.
• CORRECT: All spring break hikers must wear the following: a residence hall T-shirt, hiking boots and sunscreen with SPF 30 or above—especially the sunscreen.

3. Use a colon to connect two sentences when the second sentence is an explanation of the first. Capitalize the first word of the second sentence if it is a proper noun or the beginning of a complete sentence.

• CORRECT: All students returning from the spring break hiking trip had rashes: the consequence of stumbling into poison oak.
• CORRECT: All students returning from the spring break hiking trip had rashes: They had stumbled en masse into a patch of poison oak.

4. Use a colon to introduce a direct quotation of more than one sentence within a paragraph.

• CORRECT: In his 1986 Commencement address, “A Good Spot of This Earth,” English professor Ed Ericson reflected on Calvin history: “And so terra agricultura became terra cultura. For what these Dutch people had built was a college campus. Naturally, they named it after a Frenchman.”

comma

1. Use a comma before the conjunction joining two independent clauses (sentences). Do not use a comma between compound elements that are not independent clauses.

• CORRECT: Aaron VanVander arrived eager for his first day of classes, but he realized he would probably drop at least one of them before the week was up.
• INCORRECT: Aaron VanVander arrived eager for his first day of classes, but realized he would probably drop at least one of them before the week was up.
• CORRECT: Aaron VanVander arrived eager for his first day of classes but realized he would probably drop at least one of them before the week was up.

2. Use a comma to set off an introductory phrase.

• CORRECT: Fleeing his organic chemistry final, Tom Cobarde took refuge in the Ecosystem Preserve.
• CORRECT: In 1999, sophomore Jocelyn Sciocco failed to return from spring break.

3. Do use the final comma (the comma preceding the conjunction) in a series.

• INCORRECT: The grant amount requested will be used for faculty training, updated technology and donuts.
• CORRECT: The grant amount requested will be used for faculty training, updated technology, and donuts.
• CORRECT: The grant amount requested will be used for faculty training, updated technology, and donuts and coffee. (The concluding element donuts and coffee contains the conjunction and.)

4. Use a comma between the day and year in a date. Use a comma following the year in a date. Do not use a comma when only the month and year are written.

• CORRECT: Calvin College dedicated Calvin’s Crossing on May 8, 2002, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
• CORRECT: Calvin College dedicated Calvin’s Crossing in May 2002 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

5. Use a comma to set off expressions—such as namely, for instance, and i.e. and e.g.— that introduce a list of examples.

• CORRECT: Bones from several small animals (e.g., a mink, a squirrel, a weasel, a mongoose) were found in the art department’s kiln. (Why? Why? Why?)

6. Use a comma preceding Jr., Sr. and numerals (II, III) in a person’ s name.

• CORRECT: Professor Elizabeth Vander Lei has studied the rhetoric of Martin Luther King, Jr.

dash, em and en

1.Use the em dash to signal an abrupt change of thought or to set off a parenthetical phrase within a sentence with more emphasis than commas can supply. The em dash is useful for setting off an idea that amplifies or explains the sentence. Do not capitalize the first word of the sentence or phrase set off by the em dash(es) unless it is a proper noun. Close spaces between em dashes and text.

• CORRECT: If closed-up spaces are good enough for the em dashes in The New Yorker—arguably the nation’s most literary magazine—they’re good enough for Calvin University publications.
• CORRECT: At the long Rangeela rehearsal—it ran over four hours!—some guys were trying to distract the dancers with laser pointers.
• CORRECT: The director of the physical plant, the current holder of the Spoelhof Chair and the president—those were the people who did an Airband act dressed as elves.

2. To create an em dash (—) on a PC, press CTRL+ALT+the minus sign on the farthest right of the computer keyboard. To create an em dash on a Macintosh, press SHIFT+OPTION+the hyphen key.

3. Use an en dash to represent a range of numbers in dates, times and page references. The en dash is shorthand for up to and including or through. Close spaces between the en dash and text.

• CORRECT: Petra: Lost City of Stone, the most comprehensive exhibition of Nabataean culture ever created, was held April 4–Aug. 15 at Calvin College.

• CORRECT: Society of Lapidarians Annual Conference

  Schedule 
  8 a.m.–9 a.m. breakfast 
  9:15 a.m.–10:30 a.m. keynote address: “The Many Facets of Facets” 
  10:30 a.m.–11 a.m. break 
  11 a.m.–12 p.m. workshop: “The Unkindest Cut”

4. For the sake of parallel construction, if from is used before the first number, the words to or through should be used instead of an en dash.

• INCORRECT: Petra: Lost City of Stone, the most comprehensive exhibition of Nabatean culture ever created, was held from April 4–Aug. 15 at Calvin College.
• CORRECT: Petra: Lost City of Stone, the most comprehensive exhibition of Nabatean culture ever created, was held from April 4 through Aug. 15 at Calvin College.
• CORRECT: Petra: Lost City of Stone, the most comprehensive exhibition of Nabatean culture ever created, was held April 4–Aug. 15 at Calvin College.

5. To create an en dash (–) on a PC, press CTRL+the minus sign at the farthest right of the computer keyboard. To create an en dash on a Macintosh, press OPTION+the hyphen key.

See also F.dates.

ellipsis

1. An ellipsis is a set of three non-spaced periods that indicate that part of a quotation is missing. Because writers should take care to accurately represent quoted material, please use ellipses only when necessary, and take care that any omission of quoted material leaves the meaning of the original quote intact.

2. Place an ellipsis where the omission occurs in a quote. Leave a space before and after an ellipsis.

ORIGINAL QUOTATION: “There is not a square inch of creation in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” Abraham Kuyper

• INCORRECT: “There is not a square inch of creation over which Christ does not cry: ‘Mine! ...’”
• CORRECT: “There is not a square inch of creation ... over which Christ ... does not cry: ‘Mine!’”

3. When a grammatically complete sentence follows an ellipsis, capitalize the first word of that sentence, even if it was lowercased in the original quoted material.

ORIGINAL QUOTATION: “What do you mean less than nothing? I don’t think there is any such thing as less than nothing. Nothing is absolutely the limit of nothingness. It’s the lowest you can go. It’s the end of the line. How can something be less than nothing? If there were something that was less than nothing, then nothing would not be nothing, it would be something—even though it’s just a very little bit of something. But if nothing is nothing, then nothing has nothing that is less than it is.” Charlotte’s Web

• INCORRECT: “What do you mean less than nothing? … nothing has nothing that is less than it is.” Charlotte’s Web
• CORRECT: “What do you mean less than nothing? … Nothing has nothing that is less than it is.” Charlotte’s Web

4. Do not use an ellipsis before the first word of a quotation, even if the beginning of the sentence has been omitted. Do not use an ellipsis at the end of a sentence, even if the quotation is incomplete, unless the omission is deliberate.

ORIGINAL QUOTATION: “Yet all perfect and well-poised art is really a hint.” G.K. Chesterton

• INCORRECT: “… All perfect and well-poised art is really a hint,” Chesterton tells us.
• CORRECT: “All perfect and well-poised art is really a hint,” Chesterton tells us.

ORIGINAL QUOTATION: “A dreary industrial town controlled by hoodlums of enormous wealth, the ethical sense of a pack of jackals and taste so degraded that it befouled everything it touched.” S.J. Perelman on Hollywood

• INCORRECT: S.J. Perelman called Hollywood “a dreary industrial town controlled by hoodlums… .”
• CORRECT: S.J. Perelman called Hollywood “a dreary industrial town controlled by hoodlums.”

5. When using ellipsis points to indicate that a sentence has deliberately been left incomplete, leave a space between the ellipsis and the final punctuation.

ORIGINAL QUOTATION: “In those days there was no Broene Center. If you had a problem, you had a problem.” John Timmerman

• CORRECT: Commenting on mental health services in the pre-Broene Center era, the speaker had only to hint at Timmerman’s famous line, “If you had a problem … .” Several audience members nodded appreciatively.

hyphen

1. Hyphenate a compound modifier when it precedes a noun.

• CORRECT: The cutting-edge facilities on campus suggested a strong master plan.
• CORRECT: The building into which the physical plant crew moved adjustable desks was cutting edge.
• CORRECT: He was an African-American scholar of some renown.
• CORRECT: The scholar, who lectured on the ancient city of Zimbabwe, was an African American from Pittsburgh.

2. Hyphenate off campus only when it is used as a compound modifier.

• CORRECT: Jeremy Verkoper did a bit of fundraising to furnish his off-campus digs.
• CORRECT: Verkoper’s fundraising effort provided furniture for living off campus.

3. Hyphenate spelled-out compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine. Hyphenate fractions.

• CORRECT: Seventy-five people showed at the reception, where 45 were expected (and they ran out of rumaki).
• CORRECT: By the time the vice president delivered the giant sub to his hungry staff, it was one-third its original size.

See also F.fractions and F.general usage.

4. Use a hyphen between prefixes such as un and non and nouns. Do not use a hyphen after the prefixes anti, co, pre, semi or sub and nouns or adjectives, except proper nouns.

• CORRECT: The professor scanned the student essays for signs of non-Kuyperian thinking.
• CORRECT: Calvin admitted the semiliterate student, but insisted that he avail himself of Student Academic Services.
• CORRECT: Many students confused patriotism with pro-American sentiment during that chaotic time.
• CORRECT: “He’s subhuman,” protested the students of the interim resident adviser.

See also M.race and ethnicity.2.

5. Use a hyphen to resolve ambiguity in a sentence.

• INCORRECT: The guilty students decided to recover the couch involved in the infamous “Rooks-Van Dellen Contretemps.”
• CORRECT: The guilty students decided to re-cover the couch involved in the infamous “Rooks-Van Dellen Contretemps.”

6. Use a hyphen to avoid duplicate vowels and awkward letter combinations.

• INCORRECT: For those who preenrolled in the Ecosystem Preserve pond study, there were free tadpoles.
• CORRECT: For those who pre-enrolled in the Ecosystem Preserve pond study, there were free tadpoles.

parentheses and brackets

1. Use parentheses to frame an interruption (an explanation, digression or amplification) in a sentence. If an interruption retains a logical connection to the sentence, use commas to enclose it. If the interruption is disruptive enough to the sentence that commas cannot rein it in, use parentheses.

• CORRECT: The Whiskey Creek Debacle, which the physical plant staff had to clean up, dyed the waterfowl in the Sem Pond bright orange.
• CORRECT: The Whiskey Creek Debacle (complete history to follow) dyed the waterfowl in the Sem Pond bright orange.

2. If a phrase within parentheses forms a complete sentence, capitalize the first word of that sentence and use closing punctuation.

• INCORRECT: The annual “Report on Reports” (this is a comprehensive report on all the reports issued by the influential committee on committees) was not as illuminating as we hoped it would be.
• CORRECT: The annual “Report on Reports” (This is a comprehensive report on all the reports issued by the influential committee on committees.) was not as illuminating as we hoped it would be.

3. Closing punctuation—a period, question mark or exclamation mark—precedes a closing parenthesis if it belongs to the parenthetical matter and follows the closing parenthesis if it belongs to the surrounding sentence.

• CORRECT: The hovercraft (Boy, can that thing maneuver!) skimmed over the Commons lawn and circled the Commons Annex!

4. Use a comma to precede an opening parenthesis only in a sentence that lists items separated by numbers or letters enclosed in parentheses. A comma should follow, not precede, a closing parenthesis.

• CORRECT: Three groups of students were cited in the report: (1) high-achieving students, (2) students who were admitted on a probationary basis and (3) slackers.
• INCORRECT: The professor gave a comprehensive, though perhaps laborious (and sort of crazy,) preamble to his lecture.
• CORRECT: The professor gave a comprehensive, though perhaps laborious (and sort of crazy), preamble to his lecture.

5. When a phrase within parentheses qualifies as a complete sentence but is dependent on the surrounding material, do not capitalize the first word or use ending punctuation within the parentheses.

• CORRECT: The interviewer’s question about the candidate’s shoe preference (it was totally inappropriate) had nothing to do with Reformed doctrine.

6. Use brackets to enclose material—editorial interpolations, explanations or corrections—added by someone other than the original writer. Material in brackets may also replace, rather than explain or amplify, the original material. Use brackets sparingly.

• CORRECT: “When they [campus safety officers] crashed the DeWit Manor soiree, they claimed they did it for security reasons,” Beverly Luna said.
• CORRECT: No Nabataeans [the original residents of Petra] were harmed in the creation of Petra: Lost City of Stone.

quotation marks

1. Use double quotation marks to enclose quotations run into the text. Use single quotation marks for quotations printed within quotations and double quotation marks for quotations within quotations within quotations.

• INCORRECT: The student was overheard saying, ‘That exam was a cinch, and I didn’t even use the notes hidden in my shoe!’
• CORRECT: The student was overheard saying, “That exam was a cinch, and I didn’t even use the notes hidden in my shoe!”
• INCORRECT: When she began her speech at the memorial dinner with, “It may truly be said of this man that “he nevere yet no vileinye ne sayde/ In al his lyf, unto no maner wight,”” some of the celebrants (unfamiliar with Chaucer) thought she had been drinking.
• CORRECT: When she began her speech at the memorial dinner with, “It may truly be said of this man that ‘he nevere yet no vileinye ne sayde/ In al his lyf, unto no maner wight,’” some of the celebrants (unfamiliar with Chaucer) thought she had been drinking.

2. Do not use quotation marks for block quotations set off from the text, but do use quotation marks to enclose quoted material within block quotations.

• CORRECT: G.K. Chesterton made some observations on decorating in On Lying in Bed:

I could not understand why one arbitrary symbol (a symbol apparently entirely devoid of any religious or philosophical significance) should thus be sprinkled all over my nice walls like a sort of smallpox. The Bible must be referring to wallpapers, I think, when it says, “Use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do.”

3. It is not necessary to use quotation marks when the name of the speaker is given first, or in reports of testimony when the words question and answer or the letters Q and A are used.

• CORRECT:

  Interviewer: Who will benefit from the tuition reimbursement? 
  Smith: Me and my kin. Oh—and other full-time faculty and staff.

• CORRECT:

  Q: Can you explain the Reformed position on that issue? 
  A: I’m not sure that I can articulate it.

4. Set periods and commas inside quotation marks.

• INCORRECT: The registrar protested, “But aqua aerobics won’t fulfill the ‘Physical World’ core requirement”.
• CORRECT: The registrar protested, “But aqua aerobics won’t fulfill the ‘Physical World’ core requirement.”
• CORRECT: “Reading banned books makes me feel so daring,” confided the first-year student about her “Developing a Christian Mind” (DCM) class.

5. Set exclamation points and question marks inside the quotation marks when they are part of the quotation, outside when they are part of the larger sentence.

• INCORRECT: “This Calvin obsession with donuts must cease,” exclaimed the irate nutritionist after passing a free book table where dozens were available!
• CORRECT: “This Calvin obsession with donuts must cease!” exclaimed the irate nutritionist after passing a free book table where dozens were available.
• INCORRECT: Is it true that “He who laughs last, laughs best?”
• CORRECT: Is it true that “He who laughs last, laughs best”?

6. Set semicolons and colons outside quotation marks.

• INCORRECT: The professor said the itinerary for the Mexico interim needed “a little fine-tuning;” he said nothing, however, about a three-day detour to Barbados.
• CORRECT: The professor said the itinerary for the Mexico interim needed “a little fine-tuning”; he said nothing, however, about a three-day detour to Barbados.
• CORRECT: The provost ordered: “Shred all copies!”

7. Use single quotation marks in headlines.

• INCORRECT: University architect on Fish House expansion: “Not one square inch!” (Chimes headline)
• CORRECT: University architect on Fish House expansion: ‘Not one square inch!’ (Chimes headline)

semicolon

Use a semicolon to join two or more independent clauses (sentences) that are closely related in meaning—if, for example, the second sentence explains, amplifies or provides a contrast to the first. Lowercase the first word of the sentence following the semicolon.

• CORRECT: By the time the student graduated, she was pretty poor; she had run up her miscellaneous account and had to pay it to walk.
• CORRECT: He went off to play guitar in chapel; we went off to play darts in the communications and marketing office.

Religious Terms

Usage of Christian and other religious terminology

Apocrypha/ apocryphal

1. Capitalize Apocrypha only when referring to the books included in the Septuagint and Vulgate but excluded from the Jewish and Protestant canons of the Old Testament. Do not italicize Apocrypha or the name of any sacred text. Spell out the names of books of the Apocrypha:

• Baruch
• Bel and the Dragon
• Ecclesiasticus (Sirach)
• 1 Esdras
• 2 Esdras
• Judith
• Letter of Jeremiah
• 1 Maccabees
• 2 Maccabees
• Prayer of Manasses (or Manasseh)
• Rest of Esther
• Song of Three Holy Children
• Susanna
• Tobit
• Wisdom of Solomon

2. Do not capitalize the word apocryphal, which describes information of spurious origin and doubtful authenticity.

archbishop/ bishop

Capitalize archbishop or bishop when used before a prelate’s name or as a title. Lowercase the word archbishop standing alone.

• CORRECT: Archbishop Santos celebrated the Eucharist.
• CORRECT: The archbishop said the cloister was closed for cleaning.

See also L.Titles, of Persons.

baptism

See also I.sacraments/ services and rites

Bible/ biblical

1. Capitalize Bible and all nouns referring to sacred texts.

2. Lowercase the word biblical and other adjectives derived from names of sacred texts.

• CORRECT: He didn’t have sufficient biblical evidence for his supposition, though he did reference two fairly long Bible verses.

See also I.Apocrypha/ apocryphal.2 and I.scripture/ the scriptures/ scriptural.

Bible books

1. Capitalize, but do not italicize, names of books of the Bible. Spell out books of the Bible in text but abbreviate books of the Bible in parenthetical or other scripture reference. Use Arabic (1, 2, 3) rather than Roman (I, II, III) numerals in all Bible references.

• CORRECT: The “roll call of faith” is found in Hebrews 11.
• CORRECT: The “roll call of faith” includes some people who were “stoned,” “sawn asunder,” “slain with the sword” and “wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented,” (Heb. 11:37 KJV), none of which sounds enjoyable.
• INCORRECT: The sermon on II Thessalonians led Judy to wonder aloud, “Whatever happened to the Thessalonians?”
• CORRECT: The sermon on 2 Thessalonians led Judy to wonder aloud, “Whatever happened to the Thessalonians?”

See also F.biblical citations.1.

2. Do not capitalize the words book, gospel or epistle when used as part of the name of a specific book of the Bible.

• CORRECT: His sermon referenced the book of Job, the gospel of Matthew, the epistle of Paul to the Romans and, oddly, the Weekly Reader.

3. Following is an alphabetical list of books of the Bible and their abbreviations

Acts

Judges

Amos

1 Kings

1 Chronicles (1 Chron.)

2 Kings

2 Chronicles (2 Chron.)

Lamentations (Lam.)

Colossians (Col.)

Leviticus (Lev.)

1 Corinthians (1 Cor.)

Luke

2 Corinthians (2 Cor.)

Malachi (Mal.)

Daniel (Dan.)

Mark

Deuteronomy (Deut.)

Matthew (Matt.)

Ecclesiastes (Ecc.)

Micah (Mic.)

Ephesians (Eph.)

Nahum

Esther

Nehemiah (Neh.)

Exodus (Ex.)

Numbers (Num.)

Ezekiel (Ezek.)

Obadiah (Obad.)

Ezra

1 Peter (1 Pet.)

Galatians (Gal.)

2 Peter (2 Pet.)

Genesis (Gen.)

Philemon (Phm.)

Habakkuk (Hab.)

Philippians (Phil.)

Haggai (Hag.)

Proverbs (Prov.)

Hebrews (Heb.)

Psalms (Ps.)

Hosea (Hos.)

Ruth

Isaiah (Isa.)

1 Samuel (1 Sam.)

James

2 Samuel (2 Sam.)

Jeremiah (Jer.)

Song of Solomon (Song of Sol.)

Job

1 Thessalonians (1 Thess.)

Joel

2 Thessalonians (2 Thess.)

John

1 Timothy (1 Tim.)

1 John

2 Timothy (2 Tim.)

2 John

Revelation (Rev.)

3 John

Romans (Rom.)

Jonah

Titus

Joshua (Josh.)

Zechariah (Zech.)

Jude

Zephaniah (Zeph.)

Bible references

1. Enclose a biblical reference in quotation marks, observing established rules of punctuation for quoting.

2. When the quotation is cited in running text, cite the abbreviated name of the book from which the reference comes, the numbers for the reference and the abbreviated name of the Bible version used, as follows: book, chapter and verse, version. Enclose the whole in parentheses.

• CORRECT: The New Testament tells us that God is a “rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6, KJV), but that doesn’t mean we seek God for rewards.

3. When a biblical quotation forms a complete sentence, cite book, chapter and verse, and version following the quotation without enclosing in parentheses.

• CORRECT: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Heb. 11:6 KJV.

See also H.quotation marks.

Bible sections

1. Capitalize formal names of Bible sections: Old Testament, New Testament, the Pentateuch, the Torah.

NOTE: Old Testament is a Christian term, and Hebrew Bible orJewish Bible is the appropriate reference in material dealing with Judaism or Jewish themes.

2. Lowercase less formal designations such as gospel and epistle. Do not capitalize adjectives modifying Bible sections: the pastoral epistles, the synoptic gospels.

• CORRECT: That verse is found in the Pentateuch, but I can’t begin to tell you in which book.
• CORRECT: Something like that verse is found in the gospels, specifically in Matthew but maybe also in Luke or Mark. Wait, it’s in the gospel of John!
• CORRECT: He was searching the concordance (in vain) to find some verse about biorhythms he swore was in the pastoral epistles.

Bible versions

1. Capitalize, but do not italicize, the names of Bible versions spelled out in text.

• CORRECT: Pastor Goodman believed that the King James Version was the only legitimate version of the Bible and that a cane pole was the only legitimate fishing rod.

2. Use abbreviations for Bible versions in parenthetical and other scripture reference.

• CORRECT: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Heb. 4:4-15 KJV.

3. Translations of the New Testament by Eugene Peterson, J.B. Phillips and James Moffatt, as well as the Douay-Rheims version, are not abbreviated.

• CORRECT:“Seeing that we have a great High Priest who has entered the inmost Heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to our faith. For we have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are unintelligible—he himself has shared fully in all our experience of temptation, except that he never sinned.” Heb. 4:14–5 Phillips.

4. Following are the names and abbreviations of some common Bible versions:

• American Standard Version, ASV
• Amplified Bible, AB
• English Revised Version, ERV
• English Standard Version, ESV
• Good News Bible, GNB
• Jerusalem Bible, JB
• King James Version, KJV
• Living Bible, LB
• New American Bible, NAB
• New American Standard Bible, NASB
• New English Bible, NEB
• New International Version, NIV
• New Living Translation, NLT
• New King James Version, NKJV
• New Revised Standard Version, NRSV
• Revised Standard Version, RSV
• Today’s New International Version, TNIV

biblical events

Capitalize biblically based and other religious events, such as the Creation, the Crucifixion, the Exodus, the Flood, the Resurrection, the Second Coming. Lowercase, however, when using these terms generically.

• CORRECT: His sermon ranged widely, from Creation to Second Coming, hitting all the high points in between.
• CORRECT: Many cultures have creation myths.
• CORRECT: When one patron failed to obey the “No Smoking” sign, there was a general exodus in the direction of the parking lot.

See also I.religious events, concepts and doctrines.

Calvinism/ Calvinist

Capitalize the words Calvinism and Calvinist and other words referring to adherents of John Calvin’s teaching.

• CORRECT: I think some local Calvinists would be surprised to learn that John Calvin isn’t Dutch, but French.
• CORRECT: I don’t think “Calvinistical” is a word, but Webster’s includes "Calvinistically.”

Christmas/ X-mas

See I.holidays.2.

church

The word church is capitalized only when used in the name of a specific church or denomination. It is not capitalized when it stands alone or is used to denote the worldwide church or the church of a particular country.

• CORRECT: The Old Time Methodist Church in Alto and the Tabernacle Community Church in Grand Rapids are two of the many churches that make up the church worldwide.
• CORRECT: The Roman Catholic Church is well established in that neighborhood.

denominations

Capitalize the full names of denominations.

• CORRECT: Members of the local Methodist church also attended the clambake.
• CORRECT: The African Methodist Episcopal Church holds weekly prayer meetings with members of the United Methodist Church.

See also I.religions.

evangelical/ evangelicalism/ fundamentalist/ fundamentalism

Lowercase the words evangelical, evangelicalism, fundamentalist and fundamentalism.

God/ god

1. Capitalize all of the names for the Christian God including the names of members of the Trinity. Capitalize the names of the deities of other religions.

• CORRECT: Yahweh is the Hebrew name for God.
• CORRECT: Christians are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
• CORRECT: Islam serves Allah.

2. Capitalize both biblical and extra-biblical names for God: Adonai, Yahweh, the Supreme Being, the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, etc.

• INCORRECT: She discussed the trinity in the context of monotheism.
• CORRECT: She discussed the Trinity in the context of monotheism.

3. Do not capitalize the pronouns for deity, unless quoting a Bible version in which they are capitalized.

• CORRECT: We thank the Lord for his steadfast love.

See also Lord/ lordship.

holidays

1. Capitalize the names of religious holidays and seasons.

• CORRECT: “Christmas, Yom Kippur, Lent, Passover, Holy Week, Good Friday, Hanukkah, Ash Wednesday, Ramadan—lots of potential days off,” said the clever slacker, who was evasive about his actual beliefs.

2. Christmas/ X-mas

Do not abbreviate Christmas as X-mas.

• CORRECT: Many Calvinists send Christmas cards, not X-mas cards, to those who send them holiday cards.

Koran/ Qur’an

Capitalize the names of sacred texts. The title Koran is interchangeable with Qur’an.

See also I.sacred texts.

Lord/ lordship

Capitalize Lord when referring to God. Lowercase lordship or other adjectival references.

• CORRECT: I have placed my life under the lordship of Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord.

See also I.God/ god.3.

Mass

Capitalize Mass when it refers to the Eucharist.

Muhammad

Muhammad is the preferred spelling of the name referring to the founder of Islam.

Muslim

Muslim is the preferred spelling for the name referring to followers of Islam.

Reformed/ reforming

1. Capitalize the word Reformed in running text when referring to the Reformed tradition of Christianity.

• INCORRECT: She is a reformed Christian.
• CORRECT: She is a Reformed Christian, raised in the Reformed faith, who attends a Reformed church, and her recent book is a good example of Reformed thinking.

2. Do not capitalize the word reforming as in the phrase “always reforming.”

• INCORRECT: Though always Reforming, he knew how to relax, too.
• CORRECT: Though always reforming, he knew how to relax, too.

religions

1. Capitalize the names of major religions, their adherents and the adjectives derived from them: the Anglican Church, Anglicanism, Buddhist, Buddhism, Catholic, Catholicism, Confucian, Confucianism, Hindu, Hinduism, Judaism, Protestant, Protestantism, Roman Catholic Church, etc.

• CORRECT: He was raised as a Catholic, but he really embraced Catholicism in his middle years.

2. Capitalize the names of denominations, communions, sects, religious movements as well as their adherents and the adjectives derived from them: the Amish, Baptist, Christian Science, Christian Scientist, Druid, Gnosticism, Sufism, etc.

• CORRECT: Raised in an Amish community, the intrepid fellow investigated Druidism, the Church of Christ, Scientist and Quakerism, finally settling among the Methodists.

See also I.denominations.

3. Capitalize both the historic and current official names of religious councils, synods, divisions and jurisdictions, but lowercase the words council, synod and the names of other such entities when they stand alone.

• CORRECT: The Second Vatican Council is also called Vatican II.
• INCORRECT: The Synod met in the Calvin Fine Arts Center this year, debated and voted on some stuff.
• CORRECT: The Synod of the Christian Reformed Church, aka Synod 2006, met in the Calvin Fine Arts Center this year, debated and voted on some stuff.

religious events, concepts and doctrines

1. Capitalize religious events such as the Inquisition, the Diaspora and the Hegira. Lowercase, however, when using these terms generically.

• CORRECT: Everyone in history class agreed that the Inquisition was shameful, even the Spanish majors.
• CORRECT: The second trip to Woodstock began as something of a hegira for the aging hippie, though the hitchhiker he picked up turned it into something of an inquisition: “Did you meet Hendrix? How about Wavy Gravy?”

See also I.biblical events.

2. Lowercase the names of religious doctrines: the atonement, justification by faith, sanctification, original sin, transubstantiation.

• INCORRECT: His defense of Justification was completely justifiable.
• CORRECT: His defense of justification was completely justifiable.

religious titles

1. Capitalize a religious title when it precedes a name. Lowercase a religious title when it stands alone, when it follows the name or when it is used as a job description.

• CORRECT: While enjoying their weekly 18 holes, Father Santos, Rabbi Gottesman, Imam Abdullah and Reverend Goodman discussed the fact that, together, they were the setup for a joke.
• CORRECT: A priest, a rabbi, an imam and a Baptist minister were playing golf … .

See also L.titles,of persons.1 and L.titles,of persons.2.

2. Capitalize honorific titles attached to religious titles.

• INCORRECT: A popular speaker, the right reverend Michael Homily, often began sermons with, “Let me be brief.”
• CORRECT: A popular speaker, the Right Rev. Michael Homily, often began sermons with, “Let me be brief.”

See also See also I.the Reverend.

the Reverend

Reverend is both a title and an adjective, and the proper form of the address includes the article the preceding the title. Common usage, however, allows the use of reverend without the the. Abbreviate the term Reverend as Rev. when used before a full name.

• CORRECT: Reverend Jones’ wife, Grace, said grace, and then he preached on grace.
• CORRECT: The Reverend Jones’ wife, Grace, said grace, and then he preached on grace.
• CORRECT: Reverend Homily performed the ceremony in the chapel.
• CORRECT: Rev. Thomas Homily performed the ceremony in the chapel.

sacraments/ services and rites

1. Capitalize the terms referring to the Lord’s Supper or Communion and its equivalents, the Mass and Eucharist.

• CORRECT: Raised both Lutheran and Catholic, Gerard Duo took awhile to understand that the Lord’s Supper and the Mass were different interpretations of the same sacrament.

2. Lowercase the names of religious services and rites.

• CORRECT: Seder followed vespers, which followed bar mitzvah, which followed confirmation; it had been a long and ecumenical week.

See also I.baptism.

sacred texts

Capitalize, but do not italicize (as with book titles) all nouns referring to sacred texts: Apocrypha, Bhagavad Gita, Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls, Qur’an (Koran), Talmud. The adjectives derived from names of sacred texts are lowercased: apocryphal, biblical, scriptural, talmudic.

See also I.Apocrypha/ apocryphal and I.Bible/ biblical.

Saint/ St.

The word saint may be abbreviated both when referring to a religious figure or a locale.

• CORRECT: The Saint Bernard traveled from St. Louis to St. Paul, tracking its owners to their new home.
• CORRECT: St. Paul addressed more than one letter “to all the saints at,” which raises some interesting questions about the qualifications for sainthood.

scripture/the scriptures/scriptural

Lowercase the nouns scripture, the scriptures and the adjective scriptural.

Time

Accurate representation of eras, centuries, dates, decades, months, times of day and seasons

AD, BC/ CE, BCE

1. The terms AD or anno Domini, “in the year of the lord,” and BC, “before Christ,” stand for calendar periods in the “Christian Era.” Traditionally, year one or AD 1 is reckoned as the year of Jesus’ birth, and 1 BC stands for the first year prior to his birth. The terms CE, “common era,” and BCE, “before the common era,” are used to represent the same dating system for those who don’t wish to identify time periods with Christianity. Users of this style guide are encouraged to use BC and AD, though BCE and CE are acceptable, as long as usage is consistent throughout a publication.

• INCORRECT: Her research concluded that the frozen man probably died somewhere around 7 BC and not 7 CE, as commonly held.
• CORRECT: Her research concluded that the frozen man probably died somewhere around 7 BC and not AD 7, as commonly held.

2. Set the terms AD, BC, BCE and CE in capitals without periods. When using Christian Era dating, AD precedes the date and BC follows it.

• INCORRECT: According to scholars, Jesus was probably born between BC 8 and BC 4, making him between 4 and 8 years old in the year he is commonly thought to be born.
• CORRECT: According to scholars, Jesus was probably born between 8 BC and 4 BC, making him between 4 and 8 years old in the year he is commonly thought to be born.

century

1. Use ordinal numbers for centuries, spelling out numbers less than 10. Do not use superscript. Lowercase the term for a particular century.

• INCORRECT: Leonardo da Vinci invented the helicopter—but not the corn popper—in the Fifteenth Century.
• CORRECT: Leonardo da Vinci invented the helicopter—but not the corn popper—in the 15th century.

See also F.general usage.

2. When using proper names in running text, follow the practice of the company or organization whose name includes a particular century.

• INCORRECT: The producer working on a film for 20th Century Fox was looking for a 21st-century fox to star in it.
• CORRECT: The producer working on a film for Twentieth Century Fox was looking for a 21st-century fox to star in it.

dates

1. Use cardinal numbers, not ordinal numbers, with dates, except in the case of formal programs or invitations, or in a direct quote.

• INCORRECT: May 7th, 1977
• CORRECT: May 7, 1977

2. When referring to a month, day and year, separate month and year with a comma. Do not use a comma to separate month and year when no day is cited.

• INCORRECT: The date of the fete is set. It’s May, 2007, specifically May 7, 2007.
• CORRECT: The date of the fete is set. It’s May 2007, specifically May 7, 2007.

3. Use a comma between the day and year in a date. Use a comma following the year in a date. Do not use a comma when only the month and year are written.

• CORRECT: Calvin College dedicated Calvin’s Crossing on May 8, 2002, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
• CORRECT: Calvin College dedicated Calvin’s Crossing in May 2002 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

See also F.dates.

decades

1. Do not use an apostrophe before the s when indicating a full decade of a particular century.

• INCORRECT: Many Calvin alumni remember campus life in the 1960’s with mixed feelings.
• CORRECT: Many Calvin alumni remember campus life in the 1960s with mixed feelings.

2. When using an apostrophe to abbreviate a decade, the apostrophe indicates the years omitted. Use (’) not (‘).

• INCORRECT: According to surveys, Calvin alumni from the ‘80s miss the “big hair” look.
• CORRECT: According to surveys, Calvin alumni from the ’80s miss the “big hair” look.

See also C.graduation year/ exit year.

months

1. The months of January, February, August, September, October, November and December may be abbreviated as Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Do not abbreviate the months March, April, May, June or July.

• INCORRECT: The annual Meeter Center masked ball will be held 7-11 p.m., Mar. 6 in the Willow Room of the Prince Conference Center.
• CORRECT: The annual Meeter Center masked ball will be held 7–11 p.m. March 6 in the Willow Room of the Prince Conference Center.

2. Do not abbreviate a month when it is not preceded by a day.

• INCORRECT: Two things were banned at the annual Meeter Center masked ball, held in Oct.: controlled substances and people dressed as Servetus.
• CORRECT: Two things were banned at the annual Meeter Center masked ball, held in October: controlled substances and people dressed as Servetus.

seasons

Do not capitalize the names of the seasons.

time of day

1. Use numerals for hours of the day. Lowercase a.m. and p.m. with periods in between.

• INCORRECT: While the awards ceremony was slated to start at 7 PM, the athletes could not resist commencing the ceremonial “taunting of the mascot” at 5 pm.
• CORRECT: While the awards ceremony was slated to start at 7 p.m., the athletes could not resist commencing the ceremonial “taunting of the mascot” at 5 p.m.
• CORRECT: Stella’s first class is at 10:30 a.m., and she’ll be sleeping until then as is her wont.

2. Only use :00 when noting the time in an events timetable.

• CORRECT: Retreat Schedule

8:00 a.m. breakfast 
9:45 a.m. stroll 
10:00 a.m. brunch 
11:00 a.m. nap 
11:45 a.m. strategizing 
noon lunch

3. Do not spell out hours of the day or use the word o’clock, except in the case of formal programs and invitations.

Titles, of Compositions

Usage of composition titles

academic papers/ speeches/ short musical compositions

Capitalize according to guidelines in K.books/ periodicals/ long musical compositions and enclose in quotation marks the titles of academic papers and individual speeches and musical compositions (such as popular songs).

• INCORRECT: The overworked administrative assistant finished typing the professor’s latest article, Toward a Deconstruction of Deconstruction, which quoted lyrics from I Have a Dream and My Girl.
• CORRECT: The overworked administrative assistant finished typing the professor’s latest article, “Toward a Deconstruction of Deconstruction,” which quoted lyrics from “I Have a Dream” and “My Girl.”

books/ periodicals/ long musical compositions

Italicize the titles of books, magazines, journals, newspapers, long poems, plays, lecture series, long musical compositions (such as operas and oratorios), movies, and ongoing radio and television series. Capitalize all words in these titles except for articles (a, an, the) and prepositions (when used as prepositions) and the conjunctions and, but, for, or and nor.

• CORRECT: The student opera Calvinalia somehow managed to fit references to the "Friendship Song", Leave It to Beaver, The Washington Post, the Song of Hiawatha, Death of a Salesman and Casablanca into the life of John Calvin.

headlines

Capitalize only the first word of a headline in all Calvin publications.

• INCORRECT: Driftwood Sculptures Featured at Center Art Gallery
• CORRECT: Driftwood sculptures featured at Center Art Gallery

series of compositions

When using titles that refer to both a whole composition and its parts, italicize the “whole” and enclose the "part” in quotation marks: italicize the title of a poem collection, but enclose a single poem from the collection in quotation marks; italicize the name of a magazine, but place the title of an article from that magazine in quotation marks; italicize the name of a television show, but place the title of an episode of that show in quotation marks, and so forth.

• CORRECT: The very strange student presentation was scored to “Birdland” from Weather Report’s Heavy Weather album.
• CORRECT: Calvin X-Files fans organized a party to watch “Herrenvolk,” the dopey fourth-season premiere of the show, which involved clone children raising bees.
• CORRECT: On poetry night, the local poet offered “Rancid I” from her self-published anthology The Rancid Verses.

"the" in a title

Do not italicize or capitalize the word the preceding the title of a newspaper or the word magazine following the title of a magazine unless the word is part of the official title of the publication.

• CORRECT: He was an avid reader of periodicals and maintained subscriptions to The Grand Rapids Press, The New York Times, the New York Post, the Weekly World News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times Magazine and The Banner.
• CORRECT: Several Ecosystem Preserve interns founded Slither, a magazine devoted to the preserve’s reptiles, whose main competition came from Lizard Magazine, an offering from previous interns, and the scholarly Reptilia (which was really more of a newsletter).

works of art and computer games

Capitalize—but do not italicize or enclose in quotation marks—the names of works of art and computer games.

• CORRECT: When during an interview the Tetris-addicted student said that the Winged Victory of Samothrace was his favorite work of art, not even his doting mother believed him.

Titles, of Persons

Usage of academic, courtesy and other titles

courtesy titles

Do not use courtesy titles in Calvin publications except for those used for formal events. Abbreviate the courtesy titles Mr., Mrs., Ms. and the formal title Dr. when used with a name. Do not use Mr., Mrs., Ms. and Dr. in combination with any other title or with abbreviations of academic degrees.

• INCORRECT: Ms. Heavenly Day, PhD, is the projected 2012 professor of the year.
• CORRECT: Ms. Heavenly Day is the projected 2012 professor of the year.
• CORRECT: Heavenly Day, PhD, is the projected 2012 professor of the year.

doctor/ PhD/ JD

Use the title Dr. when referring to a doctor of medicine, veterinary medicine or dentistry. Do not use it to designate a doctor of philosophy—the holder of a PhD—or the holder of a juris doctorate (JD).

• INCORRECT: Dr. Shady Malpractice attended the lecture on medical ethics by Dr. Ernst Ruminative, a professor of philosophy at Cambridge University.
• CORRECT: Dr. Shady Malpractice attended the lecture on medical ethics by Ernst Ruminative, a professor of philosophy at Cambridge University.

See also I.religious titles and I.the Reverend.

titles following a name or used in apposition

Lowercase a civil, military, professional, religious or royal title when it follows the name, stands alone or is used in apposition, not as part of the name but as if it were a job description.

• INCORRECT: Among the assembled at the theme park opening were the President of ACME Inc., the Chief of Police, newly elected Mayor Vernon Blandly, the Queen of Tasmania and the guy who used to play Rerun on Good Times.
• CORRECT: Among the assembled at the theme park opening were the president of ACME Inc., the chief of police, newly elected mayor Vernon Blandly, the queen of Tasmania and the guy who used to play Rerun on Good Times.

titles preceding a name

Capitalize a civil, military, professional, religious or royal title when it precedes a personal name.

• CORRECT: The 2005 Commencement address was delivered in flawless Texan by President George W. Bush.
• CORRECT: A grandmother of one 2005 graduate remarked that the Commencement speaker looked a lot like President Bush, “except around the ears.”
• INCORRECT: The staffer warned the interns that George W. Bush, President of the United States, thought the shade of bunting they were using was “too girly.” The President favored a stronger blue, he said.
• CORRECT: The staffer warned the interns that George W. Bush, president of the United States, thought the shade of bunting they were using was “too girly.” The president favored a stronger blue, he said.

Unbiased Language

Usage of ability and disability, gender-neutral and racially sensitive terminology.

“Calvin College is committed to creating a campus environment which honors the diversity of gender and race in the Christian community. Since language is a powerful influence in our academic community, we are committed to using inclusive language in all areas of the Calvin community’s life,” says the “Policy on Inclusive Language,” adopted by Calvin on Nov. 2, 1992.

disability

1. Make reference to a person’s disability only when pertinent to the story. Refer to a person’s specific condition whenever possible.

• CORRECT: Ms. Marchand, who has fibromyalgia, chooses her outfits based on which shoes are most comfortable each morning.

Do not use the term handicapped.

• CORRECT: Lee was disappointed to see a vehicle without a sticker in an accessible parking spot.
• CORRECT: At her new workplace, Ingrid had no trouble finding an accessible bathroom.

When referring to a person who does not have a disability, use non-disabled or person without a disability. Avoid the terms able-bodied, normal and whole whenever possible when contrasting with a person who has a disability.

2. In general, use person-first language when referring to someone with a disability.

• CORRECT: Student Academic Services provides study assistance for students with dyslexia.

Exception: Some disability communities prefer identity-first language. Whenever possible, ask which approach the person prefers. If unsure, use person-first language.

• CORRECT: Members of the Deaf community use a capital D when referring to Deaf culture and a lower case d when referring to audiological status.
• CORRECT: The Autism Self Advocacy Network is run by a group of autistic adults.

3. Only refer to a person’s mental illness if it is pertinent to the story and the illness has been appropriately diagnosed.

• CORRECT: Herb’s persistent depression contributed to his decision to take his own life.

Do not use mental health terms in other contexts.

• INCORRECT: Leanne was OCD about arranging the tables for the bake sale.
• INCORRECT: The president has a schizophrenic approach to public policy.

4. Only refer to a person’s intellectual disability if it is pertinent to the story. Do not use retarded, mentally retarded or mental disability.

• CORRECT: All four men living at My Brother’s House have intellectual disability.

5. Avoid descriptors like afflicted with, suffers from, confined to or other phrases that connote pity.

Other terms to avoid:

• abnormal (in reference to a person)
• birth defect
• deaf and dumb / deaf-mute
• insane or crazy
• lame (in reference to a person or with the meaning mediocre)
• midget
• senile
• psychotic
• vegetable (in reference to a person)

For more information on disability language, visit the National Center on Disability and Journalism.

gender

1. Do not single persons out by gender.

• INCORRECT: The texts chosen for the popular interim were by Dickens and Jane Austen.
• INCORRECT: The texts chosen for the popular interim were by Dickens and Ms. Austen.
• CORRECT: The texts chosen for the popular interim were by Dickens and Austen.

2. Use non-gendered terms to refer to both men and women.

• CORRECT: She was the lead actor in several Calvin Theatre Company productions, and she almost never removed her stage makeup—which was weird.

3. Avoid words that include the word man to refer to both men and women. Use the following terms:

• chair or chairperson instead of “chairman”
• spokesperson instead of “spokesman”
• mail carrier or postal carrier instead of “mailman”
• firefighter instead of “fireman”
• CORRECT: She was the spokesperson for People for the Ethical Treatment of Calvinists.
• CORRECT: He served as chair of the department of humanities until inhumane treatment forced him to resign, and she took his place.

4. To refer to a person of unknown gender, rephrase a sentence in one of several ways rather than using his to correspond with everyone.

• INCORRECT: Everyone should pack his copy of The Riverside Handbook to read on the long bus ride to Grammar Camp.
• CORRECT: Everyone should pack a copy of The Riverside Handbook to read on the long bus ride to Grammar Camp. (Insert a in place of pronoun.)

It is not necessary to change the singular to a plural when employing they, but either solution is acceptable. Avoid the structure his or her, which does not account for persons who do not align with either of these descriptors.

• INCORRECT: Everyone should pack his or her copy of The Riverside Handbook to read on the long bus ride to Grammar Camp.
• CORRECT: Everyone should pack their copy of The Riverside Handbook to read on the long bus ride to Grammar Camp.
• CORRECT: All students should pack their copies of The Riverside Handbook to read on the long bus ride to Grammar Camp. (Change the singular to a plural.)

Always use they when referring to persons who do not use gendered pronouns for themselves, unless specifically requested otherwise.

See also M.LGBT+.4.

5. Refer to adult females as women, not ladies or girls.

• CORRECT: The professor, who had been rebuked early in his career for sneering at “certain lady authors,” also offered a course on women in literature during which he referred to Becky Sharp as a “hussy.”

LGBT+

1. Use the acronym LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other sexual/gender minorities) as an umbrella term.

• CORRECT: A group of LGBT+ students and friends made M&M pancakes for the You Are Loved campaign.

2. Do not use homosexual in any context where same-sex can be used. Use same-sex oriented to describe a person, and same-sex couple, same-sex marriage, same-sex sexual behavior, etc. Include sexual orientation only when it is pertinent to a story, and avoid references a gay or alternative “lifestyle.”

• INCORRECT: Avery Dameron ’04, a homosexual ophthalmologist, will present his recent research on underwater glasses to Professor Walhout’s optics class.
• CORRECT: Avery Dameron ’04, an ophthalmologist, will present his recent research on underwater glasses to Professor Walhout’s optics class.

3. Gay may refer to men only, or more generally to men and women who are same-sex oriented. In specific references to women, lesbian is preferred. When the distinction is useful, write gay men and lesbians. Do not use gay as a singular noun.

• CORRECT: Several gay students raised concerns about the Boer-Bennink all-dorm date.
• CORRECT: Several gay and lesbian students raised concerns about the Boer-Bennink all-dorm date.

4. Refer to a transgender person with their desired pronouns. If no preference is known, use they. However, make an effort to learn a person’s preferred pronouns. Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from their assigned sex at birth, whether or not they have changed their biological characteristics. Include a person’s transgender status only when it is pertinent to a story.

• CORRECT: Alex Krupp, a transgender student, shared his story as part of a Transgender 101 event.

See also M.gender.4.

race and ethnicity

1. Use the U.S. Census Bureau’s terms—White; Black or African American; American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander—when referring to persons of a particular racial or ethnic group. Whenever possible, ask the individual their preferred term. Capitalize any term referring to a particular racial or ethnic group.

• CORRECT: The Black Lives Matter panel during UnLearn week featured African American, Asian and White panelists.
• CORRECT: Mai spoke with great respect of her Navajo heritage.

For complete U.S. Census Bureau guides, visit census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html.

2. Do not use the terms Oriental, colored, mixed, half-breed or Caucasian.

3. Hyphenate multi-word descriptors of ethnic or racial groups only when they serve as compound modifiers.

• CORRECT: The scholar who spoke on the ruins of the Great Zimbabwe was African American.
• CORRECT: She was an Asian-American scholar who taught African-American literature.