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concise A Helpful Guide writing to Grammar and the Hofstra Writing Style capitalization poster invitation punctuation Information provided by the Editorial Services Department Office of University Relations
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INTRODUCTION “Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is hard.” – William Zinsser, On Writing Well “On the surface, punctuation is simple stuff: a system of clear, well-documented rules we all learned in school. But when you sit down to write an article or a story or a business email or a blog post, suddenly it’s not so simple. One after another, situations arise in which the basic rules you thought you knew are no help at all.” – June Casagrande, The Best Punctuation Book, Period Good writing involves choosing “good” words, creating sentences that are free of unnecessary or meaningless words, and using punctuation marks that help create sense and clarity. Hofstra’s Editorial Services Department is here to help polish your writing and offer editorial suggestions. Based partly on questions and suggestions I received throughout the year, the 2016 Grammar Guide focuses on capitalization rules; tips on how to write clearly and eliminate unnecessary words; basic elements of an invitation, poster and brochure; punctuation rules; and new and interesting entries in the current Associated Press Stylebook. I hope you find this guide helpful. If you have any questions or if any concept is unclear, please let me know. Contact information is listed on the back cover. Also, if you would like copies of the previous three guides, I would be glad to send them to you through interoffice mail. Last year’s guide is available at hofstra.edu/PDF/UR_guide_grammar.pdf. References: On Writing Well by William Zinnser (New York: Harper Perennial, 2006; reissued 2016). The Best Punctuation Book, Period by June Casagrande (New York: Ten Speed Press, 2014). The Associated Press Stylebook 2016 (New York: The Associated Press, 2016).
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INSIDE THIS GUIDE
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Associated Press Capitalization Guidelines...............2
invitation capitalization Concise Writing..........................................................4 Creating an Invitation, Brochure or Poster ................5 Punctuation: Frequently Asked Questions................5
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The Associated Press Stylebook (2016)......................6
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ASSOCIATED PRESS CAPITALIZATION GUIDELINES The Associated Press guidelines for capitalization are specific, but fairly simple. In general, the rule is to avoid unnecessary capitals, using a capital letter only if it can be justified by one of the principles listed in the book. If there is no listing in the stylebook, please consult Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary at merriam-webster.com; use lowercase if the dictionary lists it as an acceptable form for the sense in which the word is being used.
Below are the basic rules: • PROPER NOUNS: Capitalize nouns that constitute the unique identification for a specific person, place or thing: John, Mary, Boston, England. • PROPER NAMES: Capitalize common nouns such as party, river, street and west when they are an integral part of the full name for a person, place or thing: Democratic Party, Republican Party, Mississippi River, Fleet Street. Lowercase these common nouns when they stand alone in subsequent references: the party, the river, the street. [EXCEPTION: In subsequent references to Hofstra University, use Hofstra or the University (capitalized).] Lowercase the common noun elements of names in plural uses: the Democratic and Republican parties, Main and State streets, lakes Erie and Ontario. • DERIVATIVES: Capitalize words that are derived from a proper noun and still depend on it for their meaning: American, Christian, Christianity, English, French, Marxism, Shakespearean. Lowercase words that are derived from a proper noun but no longer depend on it for their meaning: french fries, herculean, malapropism, pasteurize, quixotic, venetian blind. • COMPOSITIONS: Capitalize the principal words (including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters) in the names of books, movies, plays, poems, operas, songs, radio and television programs, works of art, etc. • TITLES: Capitalize formal titles when used immediately before a name. Lowercase formal titles when used alone or in constructions that set them off from a name by commas. Use lowercase at all times for terms that are job descriptions rather than formal titles. Please refer to page 3 for more specific guidelines and examples.
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Below are some separate Associated Press entries that provide additional capitalization guidelines: • DIRECTIONS AND REGIONS: In general, lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc., when they indicate compass directions; capitalize these words when they designate regions. Below are some examples: COMPASS DIRECTIONS: He drove west. REGIONS: A storm system that developed in the Midwest is spreading eastward. It will bring showers to the East Coast by morning and to the entire Northeast by late in the day. The customs of the East are different from those of the West. She has a Southern accent. He is a Northerner. WITH NAMES OF NATIONS: Lowercase unless they are part of a proper name or are used to designate a politically divided nation: northern France, eastern Canada, the western United States. BUT: Northern Ireland, South Korea. WITH STATES AND CITIES: The preferred form is to lowercase directional or area descriptions when referring to a section of a state or city: western Montana, southern Atlanta. • ACADEMIC TITLES: Capitalize and spell out formal titles such as chancellor, chairman, etc., when they precede a name. Lowercase elsewhere. • TITLES: In general, confine capitalization to formal titles used directly before an individual’s name. The basic guidelines are as follows: LOWERCASE: Lowercase and spell out titles when they are not used with an individual’s name: The president issued a statement. The pope gave his blessing. Lowercase and spell out titles in constructions that set them off from a name by commas: The vice president, Joe Biden, was re-elected in 2012. Pope Francis, the current pope, was born in Argentina. FORMAL TITLES: Capitalize formal titles when they are used immediately before one or more names: Pope Francis, President Barack Obama, Vice Presidents John Jones and William Smith. ABBREVIATED TITLES: The following formal titles are capitalized and abbreviated as shown when used before a name both inside and outside quotations: Dr., Gov., Lt. Gov., Rep., and Sen. PAST AND FUTURE TITLES: A formal title that an individual formerly held, is about to hold or holds temporarily is capitalized if used before the person’s name. But do not capitalize the qualifying word: former President George W. Bush, Attorney General-designate Griffin B. Bell, acting Mayor Peter Barry. LONG TITLES: Separate a long title from a name by a construction that requires a comma: Charles Robinson, the undersecretary for economic affairs, spoke. 3
CONCISE WRITING Concise writing means eliminating unnecessary words, industry jargon, passive verbs, and adverbs and adjectives that are either redundant or decorative. It is important to make every word count. I recommend reading (in its entirety) On Writing Well by William Zinsser. Published 40 years ago (and revised six times since then), the book offers invaluable information, including chapters on simplicity, clutter, style and usage. It is more than a book filled with do’s and don’ts; it is what the author calls a “craft book” – designed to teach us how to apply writing principles to our writing. The author writes with warmth, humor and a love for the English language. I’m sure you will find it both insightful and inspirational.
Listed below are some tips for general conciseness: • Replace vague words with more powerful and specific words. • Be sure that every word in a sentence is meaningful. • Eliminate words that are redundant or explain the obvious. • Eliminate unnecessary adverbs and adjectives; instead, choose strong verbs and nouns.
The following are common redundancies. Deleting the word(s) in parentheses eliminates needless repetition.
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• (absolutely) essential/necessary
• (general) public
• (advance) reservations/warning
• introduced (a new)
• (added) bonus
• join (together)
• (basic) fundamentals/necessities
• (knowledgeable) experts
• (brief) moment/summary
• may/might (possibly)
• (careful) scrutiny
• (natural) instinct
• (constantly) maintained
• (past) experience/history/records
• could (possibly)
• (personal) friend/opinion
• (current) trend
• plan (ahead/in advance)
• during (the course of)
• (please) RSVP
• (end) result
• (still) persists/remains
• evolve (over time)
• (sum) total
• (fellow) classmates
• (two equal) halves
• (final) outcome
• (unexpected) emergency
CREATING AN INVITATION, POSTER OR BROCHURE Basic Invitation Components: • Host’s information • Event type/name/purpose (luncheon, dinner, reception, lecture, etc.) • Date, time and location • Special instructions (“Black Tie,” “Directions Enclosed,” etc.) • Reply instructions
Basic Poster Guidelines: • Minimize the text and focus on the important details. • Include the host’s information; event name, date, time and location; and a few event highlights or benefits. • Include fee and reservation instructions (if any). • Include contact information and a website for more information.
Basic Brochure Guidelines: • Do not put a lot of text on the front cover. • Consider including a website or contact phone number on the front cover. • Be concise in your writing, and keep the information brief and easy to read by using bullets and headings. • Use photos or other graphic elements. • Include detailed contact information on the back cover.
PUNCTUATION: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Do I need an ’s after a name that ends in s? No, use only an apostrophe: Achilles’ heel, Agnes’ book, Dickens’ novels. Do I need to capitalize the first word after a colon? Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence: He promised this: The company will make good all the losses. BUT: There were three considerations: expense, time and feasibility. When a sentence contains a date, where do I place commas? • A date written in the order month-day-year sets off the year with commas. • When a day of the week is included with a date, a comma should separate the day from the date. • When writing just the month and year, do not set off the year with commas. 5
How do I form a plural of a capital letter? Single capital letters take an apostrophe to form the plural: A’s and B’s. Multiple capital letters take no apostrophe: ABCs, IOUs, TVs, VIPs. Do I place periods, commas, question marks, etc., before or after a closing quotation mark? • The period and the comma always go before the closing quotation mark. • The question mark and exclamation point may come before or after a closing quotation mark, depending on whether they modify the whole sentence or only the quoted portion. • The colon and semicolon can come after a closing quotation mark but never before one. Where do I put commas to separate elements in a series? • As a general rule, do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series: The flag is red, white and blue. • Put a comma before the concluding conjunction in a series if an integral element of the series requires a conjunction: I had orange juice, toast, and ham and eggs for breakfast. [NOTE: The element ham and eggs contains the conjunction and.] • Use a comma before the concluding conjunction in a complex series of phrases: The main points to consider are whether the athletes are skillful enough to compete, whether they have the stamina to endure the training, and whether they have the proper mental attitude.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STYLEBOOK With a few exceptions, Hofstra’s Editorial Services Department follows the guidelines of The Associated Press Stylebook, an unparalleled source of information for writers and editors. It is part grammar book, part dictionary and part encyclopedia, and it is an essential tool for clear, precise writing. Updated annually, the book contains entries on the arts, business, the environment, health, people, places and sports. It also includes information on usage, grammar, capitalization and computer terminology, as well as chapters on social media, sports, food, fashion and religion. The Associated Press Stylebook is available in a web-based version (for desktop, laptop, smartphone and tablet) and as a spiral-bound book. Please visit apstylebook.com for details. 6
Below are some interesting entries. Since this is an election year, I’ve included quite a few entries that may be helpful in writing about politics and related topics. administration: Lowercase: the administration, the president’s administration, the governor’s administration, the Obama administration. Affordable Care Act: Shorthand for the formal title of the health care overhaul that President Barack Obama signed into law in 2010. Its full name is Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Use President Barack Obama’s health care law or the health care law on first reference. “Obamacare” in quotation marks is acceptable on second reference. Affordable Care Act can be used on subsequent references when necessary to refer to the law, but should be used sparingly. Polling indicates that not all Americans know the law by its formal name. aka: No periods. Abbreviation for also known as. amid: Not admidst. amok: Not amuck. battleground states: Lowercase. States where candidates from both major political parties have a reasonable chance for victory in a statewide race or presidential vote. Cabinet: Capitalize references to a specific body of advisors heading executive departments for a president, king, governor, etc. campaign manager: Do not treat as a formal title. Always lowercase. capital: The city where a seat of government is located. Do not capitalize. Capitol: Capitalize U.S. Capitol and the Capitol when referring to the building in Washington. Central Intelligence Agency: CIA is acceptable in all references. commander in chief: No hyphens. Capitalize only if used as a formal title before a name. Congress: Capitalize U.S. Congress and Congress when referring to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. congressional: Lowercase unless part of a proper name: congressional salaries, the Congressional Quarterly, the Congressional Record. congressional districts: Use figures and capitalize district when joined with a figure: the 1st Congressional District, the 1st District. Lowercase district whenever it stands alone. convention: Capitalize as part of the name for a specific national or state political convention: the Democratic National Convention, the Republican State Convention. 7
data: A plural noun, it normally takes plural verbs and pronouns. Election Day, election night: Note capitalization. Electoral College: Note capitalization. But lowercase electoral votes. executive branch: Always lowercase. federal: Lowercase when used as an adjective to distinguish something from state, county, city, town or private entities: federal assistance, federal court, the federal government, a federal judge. Federal Bureau of Investigation: FBI is acceptable in all references. first family: Always lowercase. first lady: Not a formal title. Do not capitalize, even when used before the name of the chief of state’s wife. former: Always lowercase. But retain capitalization for a formal title used immediately before a name: former President Bill Clinton. Founding Fathers: Capitalize when referring to the creators of the U.S. Constitution. ground zero: Lowercase. World Trade Center site is preferred. judicial branch: Always lowercase. legislature: Capitalize when preceded by the name of a state: the Kansas Legislature. Retain capitalization when the state name is dropped but the reference is specifically to that state’s legislature. Use legislature in lowercase for all plural references. majority leader: Capitalize when used as a formal title before a name. Lowercase elsewhere. media: Generally takes a plural verb, especially when the reference is to individual outlets: Media are lining up for and against the proposal. Sometimes used with a singular verb when referring to media as a monolithic (i.e., acting as a single unit) group: The media plays a major role in political campaigns. minority leader: Treat the same as majority leader. 9/11: Acceptable in all references to describe the attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. One World Trade Center: Skyscraper opened in 2014 on the site of the twin towers destroyed in the 9/11 attacks. NOTE: Spell out One; other buildings in the complex are named with numerals 2, 3, etc. political parties and philosophies: Capitalize both the name of the party and the word party if it is customarily used as part of the organization’s proper name: the Democratic Party, the Republican Party. 8
press secretary: Seldom a formal title. The formal title for the person who serves a U.S. president in this capacity is assistant to the president for press relations. primary: Do not capitalize: the New Hampshire primary, the Democratic primary, the primary. swing states: Lowercase. States where voters have vacillated between Republican and Democratic candidates in the last three or four presidential elections. tea party: Lowercase. Adherents are tea partyers. twin towers: Lowercase. The two tallest buildings in the World Trade Center complex destroyed in the 9/11 attack. Also lowercase north tower and south tower. woman, women: Use female as an adjective, not woman. She is the first female governor of North Carolina. World Trade Center site: Site of the seven-building complex in lower Manhattan destroyed on September 11.
NEW ASSOCIATED PRESS STYLE: internet: Always lowercase. Note: The web, like email, is a subset of the internet. They are not synonymous and should not be used interchangeably. web: Lowercase. Short form of World Wide Web, it is a service, or set of standards, that enables the publishing of multimedia documents on the internet. Also, website, webcam, webcast, webfeed, webmaster, webpage. BUT web address, web browser.
HOFSTRA EDITORIAL STYLE NOTES: Campus Locations (NEW STYLE): In order to accommodate all formats, Hofstra room and building locations referenced in printed publications will now appear as follows: Room 200 Hofstra Hall, South Campus Room 200 Hofstra Hall, 101 Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549-1010 Foreign words and phrases: Generally, italicize. However, if a foreign word or phrase has been accepted universally in the English language, i.e., has an entry in Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, it need not be italicized. North Campus, South Campus: Always capitalize. 9
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associated press Editorial Services Department at Hofstra University
Hofstra’s Editorial Services Department is here to assist all members of the Hofstra community who are responsible for creating marketing and informational publications. When a client submits text for a handbook, brochure, letter, postcard, poster, flier, etc., through WebCRD (the online system that moves jobs from editing to design to print), it is routed automatically to Editorial Services. We work to polish existing text and offer editorial and content suggestions to clients. Using The Associated Press Stylebook as our main reference, we edit approximately 1,600 jobs annually and pay special attention in reviewing Hofstra facts and statistics to ensure that this information is up-to-date and accurate. We welcome phone, email and in-person inquiries regarding grammar, spelling and style.
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Editorial Director Room 100A Butler Annex Email: Linda.Merklin@hofstra.edu Phone: 516-463-6884
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Alison Zorn
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Associate Editor Room 100 Butler Annex Email: Alison.Zorn@hofstra.edu Phone: 516-463-6054
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