SPH Stylebook.
Updated October 2018
This style guide is intended to help writers, editors, and proofreaders with style as it pertains to all SPH communications, be they electronic or print. It is not intended to replace the Chicago Manual of Style or the BU style guide, which are your initial resources, but to supplement them. Nor is it meant to be a guide for other writing you might produce, be it academic or journalistic.
Generally, Chicago Style applies. Some of the definitions and examples that follow are from Chicago. Examples here are in italics to set them off from the definitions.
Do not rely on existing SPH web page copy for style assistance, as it is often incorrect.
A
A’s, B’s, C’s Use apostrophe for single letters. Omit apostrophe for multiple letters: ABCs. This holds true for common abbreviations: There are four TVs in our house, but only three DVDs.
abbreviations Follow Chicago. See individual entries under dates, months.
academic titles No academic or honorary titles are used before or after names: Dr., Mr., Ms., MD. The only exception may be in certain alumni materials. For modified titles the modifier goes first (i.e. Research Associate Professor not Associate Researcher Professor).
academic year Write 2015–2016 for the academic year. Avoid writing 2014/15 or 2014–15.
acronyms Acceptable on second reference. No periods. No parentheses after first reference. If you feel the need to use parentheses to explain the acronym, then you shouldn’t use the acronym, but the full name or a version of the full name. NASA, WHO
ad interim roman type, lowercased, without a comma, and following a title
addiction Never use the term “addict”; say “person with addiction.”
addresses Follow Chicago style. See individual entries for streets
administrative titles Generally, titles are uppercase before and lowercase after the name. Long titles should be placed after the name.
ages Always use numerals: 7-year-old boy; the girl is 8. It is a 4-year-old program. The woman is in her 30s.
Alumni Office Not Alumni Association
alumni years Indicate the school or college and year of graduation after an alum’s name with the acronym and year abbreviation run together without a space: COM’07, CAS’99. Use parentheses: Meaghan Agnew (SPH’05). In the context of a specific school, you may also write “SPH Class of 2007.” Note the capitalization of “Class.”
alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae Use alumnus (alumni in the plural) when referring to a man who has attended a school. Use alumna (alumnae in the plural) in similar references to a woman. Use alumni when referring to both men and women.
ampersand never use a comma after an ampersand: Center for Health Law, Ethics & Human Rights
area codes Use hyphens rather than parentheses: 617-638-2684.
appositives Use commas to separate appositives: Sunday, June 9, at 8 p.m.
attributions Generally, said is sufficient. In feature treatments and in magazine stories, present tense, says, may be used. According to is generally reserved for references to documents, not individuals.
Generally, name of the speaker goes first: Jones said or Jones says is preferred over said Jones or says Jones.
B
bachelor’s, bachelor’s degree, BA All are acceptable, but avoid the redundant B.A. degree
between, among Between introduces two items; among introduces more than two.
Blackboard
book references Include the publisher and the date of publication in parentheses (Penguin Books 1999), when an article is about that particular book. If a passing reference is made, no publishing information is needed.
book titles Refer to BU style. Capitalize principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions with four or more letters. Capitalize an article – the, a, an – or a word of fewer than four letters if it is the first or last word in a title.
Boston Medical Center
Boston University School of Public Health Do not use “the” in front of the full school name. Only use the full school name in outward-facing communications; for internal pieces, such as news articles on the website, use School of Public Health on first reference and SPH thereafter.
brackets, parentheses Use brackets [], not parenthesis (), for editorial clarification in quotes. “I said I would do it [kill the man with the funny hat]. “
bullets Make bullets with option and 8 keys. Use bullets to introduce several items after a colon. If bulleted items consist of sentence fragments, lowercase the first letter of the item and end it with a semicolon. If items consist of complete sentence and paragraphs, begin with capital letter and end with period. Do not mix the two. Examples:
Inside the whale, Captain Ahab found:
- two brown dogs;
- three green cats; and
- a blue monkey.
They agreed to implement the following measures:
- Eliminate all people over six feet tall. This would allow for smaller doorways and save on construction costs.
- Repeal the anti-Martian act. Officials now say the act unfairly discriminates against extraterrestrials.
- Require citizens to carry blenders with them at all times. “Access to instant daiquiris isn’t merely a luxury; it’s a right,” said councilman Beasley.
C
The Campaign for Boston University
campus Uppercase: Medical Campus, Charles River Campus
campus phone numbers All BU phone numbers should include area code and prefix: 617-638-7894
capitalization Follow Chicago and BU style. Use lowercase when possible. See titles, book titles, directions and individual entries.
cents Spell it out for amounts of money less than $1. The programs cost 70 cents apiece.
century Lowercase: It is from the 14th century; a 20th-century painting. Do not use superscript.
Centers The three School-wide centers at SPH are:
- Center for Global Health & Development
- Health & Disability Research Institute
- Center for Health Law, Ethics & Human Rights
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
chair Avoid using chairman or chairwoman unless it is the official designation.
city Lowercase when referring to municipal government: city of Boston
city and state Omit state name after major cities (follow Chicago style). Omit state name for Massachusetts cities and towns. They are assumed to be in Massachusetts. He is from Methuen, and she is from Butte, Montana.
College of Arts & Sciences CAS on second reference
College of Communication COM on second reference
College of Engineering ENG on second reference
College of Fine Arts CFA on second reference
College of General Studies CGS on second reference
College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College SAR on second reference
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Comma In a series of three or more items, employ the serial or Oxford comma: Bob, Ted, and Alice went to the beach.
Join compound sentences, those with two subjects and two verbs, with a comma: Joe went to the store, and he bought 17 cans of dog food. His wife went to the store and bought two more.
Use commas to distinguish left and right in captions: Tom, left, received the award.
Commencement Refers to the BU-wide graduation ceremony only. Should be capitalized.
Commonwealth Capitalize when referring to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
colleges/universities Always spell out the name of a university when first referenced: the State University of New York at Buffalo, California State University. After that, you can abbreviate the school when appropriate: SUNY at Buffalo, CSU.
Congress Capitalize when referring to US Congress
Convocation Refers to the SPH graduation ceremony. Capitalize.
course titles Roman with title caps but no quotation marks.
coursework
court cases in italic and title cap: Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt
D
dash In text, use an em dash using the option, shift, and hyphen keys simultaneously. Do not use a space on either side of the dash.
data Normally a plural noun, it takes plural verbs and pronouns. The data show that women are smarter than men.
dates Follow BU style. For inclusive dates, in text: The festival runs from July 11 to 13. In lists you may use: Aristotle and the Single Woman, July 11-13. Avoid constructions such as from September 11- 13.
Omit st, nd, rd and th after numerals: October 12, not October 12th
decades Use numerals, with no apostrophe before the s: the 1990s. Do not abbreviate the decade (e.g. the ’90s).
department Lowercase, except when used with full name: community health sciences department; Department of Community Health Sciences
Department names The six departments at SPH are:
- Biostatistics
- Community Health Sciences
- Environmental Health
- Epidemiology
- Global Health
- Health Law, Policy & Management (use ampersand, not “and”)
doctorate, doctoral degree, PhD All are acceptable. Do not combine, as in PhD degree.
E
ellipses Used to show that words have been left out of text or quotes. Generally not necessary when quoting sources from your own interviews. Do not use ellipses at the beginning or end of direct quotes, even if they are only fragments.
When ellipses fall in the middle of a sentence, treat them as a three-letter word, with one space on either side: He was … unable to respond to the letter. When the ellipses come at the end of a sentence, close the spaces and add a period: He was unable to respond….
email no hyphen
etc. This means “and all the stuff the writer finds too trivial to mention.” It adds nothing to good writing, so think long and hard before you use it. If used in a quote, spell it out: etcetera.
exclamation point Use very sparingly. Use a comma after mild interjections. Use a period after mildly exclamatory sentences.
F
farther, further Farther refers to physical distance. Further refers to an extension of time or degree.
fewer, less In general, use fewer for individual items, less for bulk or quantity. The trend is toward more machines and fewer people. She is less than 60 years old. Fewer than 10 applicants called. I had less than $50 in my pocket. I had fewer than 50 $1 bills in my pocket.
foreign phrases Use them sparingly. Terms that have fallen into regular English usage are in Roman type (entrée). Italicize all others. Terms preceded by double daggers in Webster’s New World Dictionary are considered foreign words and should be italicized: glasnost, perestroika .
fractions Spell out amounts less than one: two-thirds, four-fifths, seven-sixteenths. For amounts larger than 1, convert to decimals when possible. Otherwise, use figures: 1 3/16, 2 5/8 (they will get stacked during formatting)
Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies PAR on second reference
fundraising
G
grades Without quotation marks. He got two As, a C- and an F.
grade levels Rules for numerals apply. The program is for children in seventh through 12th grades.
greater Boston not Greater Boston
H
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
health care, healthcare Spell out health care as two words when it is a noun. Use healthcare when it is an adjective.
height Use words and numerals: He stood 5-foot-7. He was 5 feet 7 inches tall.
Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine SDM on second reference
hopefully Means in a hopeful manner. Do not use it to mean it is hoped, let us hope or we hope. Wrong: Officials said that hopefully they will wrap up the negotiations in April.
hyphen Not necessary when joining modifier ending in -ly and noun: It was a fully funded program. See individual entries for million, Mexican American, dash
*Use an en dash, not a hyphen or an em dash, to mark duration: September 9–12, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. (no space in between)
I, J, K
i.e. A shortcut of Latin origins used by blustery academics to mean that is to say. The English version is preferred. Same for e.g. and et al.
impact Avoid using as a verb
in vitro, in vivo not italic
Inc., Corp., Ltd., Co. Abbreviate when used with name. Omit the comma preceding Inc. or Ltd.
its, it’s The first one is a possessive form: The University lost its accreditation. The second is a contraction for it is or it has.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
L
last Do not use last in conjunction with a specific day or month. It happened last Wednesday. They went last October. Both are redundant. It happened Wednesday. They went in October. The most recent day or month is implied.
left, right Use commas, not parentheses, to distinguish left and right in captions. Tom, right, gave $100 million to the school.
lifecourse
livestream
low-income country Avoid “developing country.”
M
master Class two words, no hyphen
master’s, master’s degree, MS, MA All are acceptable. Avoid the redundant MS degree
MBA
Medical Campus capitalize
Metropolitan College MET on second reference
million $10 million budget. No hyphen. The number and the modifier million are considered a unit.
money use figures: $100,000, not one hundred thousand dollars. Use only those digits that are necessary: $60, not $60.00.
more than, over More than indicates quantities; over is a preposition and refers to the relative positions of objects. More than 100 people are expected, not Over 100 people are expected.
Mexican American, African American, Italian American Drop the hyphen in these uses, whether a noun or an adjective
middle initials In general, use them. Omit only when a person is publicly known without it.
N
names Use full first name and middle initials: James C. not Jim.
National Institutes of Health Note Institutes is plural. There are 11 in all. NIH on second reference.
next Do not append a day or month with next. Incorrect: They will start next December. The meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday. Correct: They will start in December. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.
nicknames They go in quotes: Henry “Scoop” Jackson. He goes by the name “Scoop.”
nonprofit
*numerals Spell out numbers one through nine; use numerals for 10 and above. Always use numerals for ages, even for those less than 10.
O
OK Not okay
P
page (continued on page 7). See story on page 2.
percent Repeat the word with every figure. Do not use the % symbol except in tables. There is a 30 percent to 50 percent chance of rain.
postdoctoral
possessives Chicago is very thorough on the topic (p. 198). A brief synopsis of the rules:
- singular common nouns ending in s: use ’s UNLESS the next word begins with an s: hostess’s dog, hostess’ seat
- single proper nouns ending in s: use an apostrophe only: Achilles’ heel
- plural nouns ending in s: use ’ only : the hostesses’ dogs, Mary Jones’ children
See Chicago for more detailed explanations
pressure As a verb, press is preferred. The editor pressed his writers to meet their deadlines.
pronouns Use a person’s preferred gender pronoun (PGP) in all written materials. If the preferred pronoun is not listed in a person’s email signature, you should ask for it. Here is a quick breakdown of some common pronouns; for a complete guide to SPH’s PGP and preferred name policies, please go to (LINK)
- She, her, hers and he, him, his.
- They, them, theirs (Jean ate their food because they were hungry.) It can be used in the singular.
- Ze, hir (Jean ate hir food because ze was hungry.) Ze can also be spelled zie or xe and replaces she/he/they. Hir replaces her/hers/him/his/they/theirs
- Name instead of pronoun (Jean ate Jean’s food because Jean was hungry)
Professor There are three ranks: assistant professor, associate professor, and full professor (full is usually omitted). Capitalize professor before name and lowcase after name, except for named professorships: The Thomas Edison Professorship of Electrical Engineering. (Named professorships should be preceded by the.)
Q
Q&A, not Q+A
Questrom School of Business Questrom on second reference (formerly School of Management)
quotation marks Limit the use of quotation marks on sentence fragments. Unless the speaker used unusual language or you need the authority of the quotation marks, try to paraphrase using the speaker’s words.
Generally, commas, periods and semicolons go inside of quotations; colons go outside.
R
Room capitalize with a number; do not use Rm.
S
School of Education SED on second reference
School of Hospitality Administration SHA on second reference
School of Law LAW on second reference
School of Medicine MED on second reference
School of Public Health SPH on second reference. We do NOT use BUSPH except for Friday Letter submissions and the very occasional outward-facing piece of marketing material.
School of Social Work SSW on second reference
School of Theology STH on second reference
schools and department titles Formal titles of schools and departments are capitalized: School of Public Health; Department of Environmental Health, environmental health department. School names do not have BU in front of them on either first or second reference
seasons lowercase: It was a beautiful fall day. When the season refers to a semester, it gets capitalized. He entered the college in Fall 2015.
senate The Student Senate; the Massachusetts Senate
series Series titles do not get italics or quotation marks, but do get title caps: Dean’s Seminar Series
serial commas In a series of three, include the second comma: Jack, Jill, and John went up the hill
spaces always one space after a period, never two
state names Abbreviate according to Chicago. Do not use postal abbreviations.
street 32nd Street; 32nd and Hoover streets; 1405 32nd St.
Student Link
T
times use only necessary digits: 8 p.m., not 8:00 p.m.. Note that “a.m.” and “p.m.” are lowercase, and periods are used, with a space after the number.
titles (Composition) Italicize: movies, books, magazines, newspapers, albums, pieces of art, plays. Use quotation marks: TV shows, songs, articles, collections of art, lecture series, anything ephemeral. For orchestral works, capitalize but do not use quotes: Bach’s Suite No. 1 for Orchestra. If the title includes a non-musical term, the term gets quotation marks: Beethoven’s “Eroika” Symphony. Special titles get quotation marks: “Rhapsody in Blue”
U
university Uppercase when referring to BU, but lowercase when referring generally to higher education or other schools (except when used with their full, proper name).
under way Two words in almost all uses. The project is under way.
United States, US Spell it out as a noun. The United States invaded Panama. Abbreviate with no periods when used as an adjective. The US Supreme Court ruled on the case.
V
Veterans Administration no apostrophe
W,X,Y,Z
Washington, DC In text, DC (no periods) must be set off by commas, just as a state name would be. The Washington, DC, attorney.
web addresses no http:// (unless the site address doesn’t begin with www.)
website
which, that They are not interchangeable. See essential and nonessential clauses in Chicago. Which usually takes a comma, that does not (though this rule is slowly relaxing)
who, whom Use who and whom for references to human beings and to animals with personalized names. Use that and which for inanimate objects and animals without a name.
Who is the word when someone is the subject of a sentence, clause or phrase: The woman who rented the room left the window open. Who is there?
Whom is the word when someone is the object of a verb or preposition: The woman to whom the room was rented left the window open. Whom do you wish to see? [AP]
-wide Usually, no hyphen. Citywide, countrywide, universitywide.
written, authored Books and articles are written, not authored