Style Guidelines for FML Writers

Abbreviations

Abbreviations should be spelled out in first use with abbreviation in parentheses, and then abbreviated in second use.

Example: Two seniors were awarded scholarships to New York University (NYU). While attending NYU, they plan to study biology.
Example: The Villanova women's cross-country team won its second consecutive National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship. Defending their NCAA title was a goal all season long.

Back to Top

Abbreviations of State names

See the AP Stylebook for state abbreviations. Use the two-letter Postal Service abbreviations only with full street addresses with ZIP code.

Back to Top

Academic degrees

Use bachelor's degree, master's degree but no apostrophe in Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science.

Use such abbreviations as BA, MA, PhD only after a full name, not after just a last name, and only when necessary for identification.

When used after a name, an academic abbreviation is set off by commas: Daniel Moynihan, PhD, spoke.

Do not precede a name with a courtesy title for an academic degree and follow it with the abbreviation for the degree in the same reference.

Right: Dr. Pam Jones, a chemist.

Wrong: Dr. Pam Jones, PhD

Back to Top

African American

African American does not have a hyphen, according to the Oxford African American Studies Center (database).

Back to Top

African diaspora

The d in diaspora is lower case (unless the term is a part of a title)

Back to Top

Alumni, identification of by college and class year

Alumni, identification of by college and class year.

On first mention, alumni will be identified by class year and college, in that order. For colleges, use the following abbreviations: A&S, COE, CON, VSB, VLS.

Example: John Smith '87 A&S

Note: Do not space between "A&S" (not "A & S")

Back to Top

Alumni with master's degrees from Villanova

Identify as follows: year followed by degree initials; do not include the area of study or the college.

Example: John Smith, PhD, '75 A&S, '77 MS

Exception: Mary Jones, JD, '99 VLS [include the law school]

Do not use "GS" (Graduate Studies)

Back to Top

Ampersands (&)

Ampersands should not be used when describing Villanova University Colleges and departments. "And" should be used instead.

Example: Barbara Wall, PhD, vice president for Mission and Ministry

Example: Faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences have a new mission.

Back to Top

Augustinians

Augustinians must always have "the Rev." before their name in first reference. Those with doctoral level degrees must always have their degrees listed after their names in first reference. Thereafter, they can be referred to as "Father" or "Brother." As per AP Style, do not abbreviate to "Fr" or "Br."

First reference: The Rev. Charles Oakley, OSA, PhD
Second reference: Father Oakley

First reference: Brother Michael Smith, OSA
Second reference: Brother Smith

Exception: Father Allan Fitzgerald, OSA Father Fitzgerald insists on the title Father, not Rev.

Back to Top

Blog Titles

Use quotation marks around blog and other composition titles. Associated Press Stylebook Online, 2007-02-04

(Source: Ask the Editor, Punctuation)

Back to Top

Building Names and Campus Landmarks

On first mention, the building should be referred to by its full name. Thereafter, if it has a popular acronym (see below), the acronym can be used on second reference.

• Alumni Hall
• Alumni House
• Austin Hall
• Bartley Hall
• Burns Hall
• Butler Annex
• Caughlin Hall
• Center for Engineering Education & Research (CEER)
• Chemical Engineering Building
• Connelly Center
• Corr Hall
• Davis Center for Athletics and Fitness
• Delurey Hall
• Donahue Hall
• Dougherty Hall
• *Dundale (use only its proper name, Picotte Hall at Dundale)
• Driscoll Hall
• Falvey Hall (the proper name for "Old Falvey," according to Father Gallagher)
• Falvey Memorial Library
• Farley Hall
• Farrell Hall
• Fedigan Hall
• Financial Services Building
• Galberry Hall
• Gallen Hall
• Garey Hall
• Geraghty Hall
• Good Counsel Hall
• Health Services Building
• Heating Plant
• Jackson Hall
• Jake Nevin Field House
• John Barry Hall
• Katharine Hall
• Kennedy Hall
• Klekotka Hall
• Maintenance Building
• McGuire Hall
• Mendel Field
• Mendel Science Center
• Middleton Hall
• Military Sciences Building
• Moriarty Hall
• Moulden Hall
• O’Dwyer Hall
• Picotte Hall at Dundale
• Rudolph Hall
• St. Augustine Center for the Liberal Arts (SAC)
• St. Mary’s Hall
• Sheehan Hall
• Simpson Hall
• South Campus
• Stanford Hall
• Stone Hall
• Structural Engineering Teaching & Research Laboratory
• Sullivan Hall
• The Grotto
• The Oreo
• The Pavilion
• The Quad
• Tolentine Hall
• Vasey Hall
• Villanova Conference Center
• Villanova Stadium
• Welsh Hall
• West Campus
• White Hall
• Villanova Conference Center

Back to Top

College of Engineering Buildings and Engineering Centers of Research

Engineering buildings

• Center for Engineering Education and Research (CEER)
• Chemical Engineering Building
• Structural Engineering Teaching and Research Laboratory
• Tolentine Hall
• White Hall

Engineering Centers of Research

• Center for Advanced Communications
• Center for Nonlinear Dynamics and Control
• Villanova Center for the Advancement of Sustainability in Engineering

Back to Top

Capitalization

Use lowercase except for words that are proper nouns or adjectives.

Academic Department names should always be capitalized: the History Department, the Department of English or the Department of Humanities and Augustinian Traditions.

Academic majors: use lower case for majors with the exception of languages, which are proper nouns.

Committee: capitalize when part of a formal name: The Student Life Committee.

Honors: Use lower case and italicize cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude.

Academic majors: use lower case for majors with the exception of languages, which are proper nouns.

Internet but use lower case for web.

Programs: capitalize as proper nouns: Africana Studies, Continuing Studies

Title, personal: Before name, capitalize. After name, do not capitalize.

Back to Top

Captions

When groups are small or the identification is intuitive, do not use left-to-right designations.

In large groups or where clarity is needed, write "(left to right)" or whatever format is syntactically correct for the context.

Back to Top

Church

The church on Villanova's main campus should always be referred to as St. Thomas of Villanova Church.

Back to Top

Clergy (see Augustinians)

The church on Villanova's main campus should always be referred to as St. Thomas of Villanova Church.

Back to Top

Coaches

Please note: when writing about coaches for the magazine, find out if they are alums and note their class year and college on first reference. See table below.

Back to Top

Colleges

First reference: always use the official name of the college.

Second reference: its popular acronym (if it has one) can be used.

Examples:
Villanova University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; second reference: A&S
    * Note: the College's proper name is Liberal Arts and Sciences. Do not leave out "Liberal."
Villanova University College of Engineering; second reference: COE
Villanova University College of Nursing; second reference: CON
Villanova School of Business; second reference: VSB
Villanova University School of Law; second reference: VLS

Back to Top

Dates, Numbers

Spell out the name of the month when using it alone with a year. When using a month and a year only, do not separate with commas. When a phrase is used with a month, date and year, set both the date and year off with commas.

January 2002
Jan. 13
Jan. 13, 1990
He was born Jan. 13, 1990, in Austin, Texas.

When referencing a span of years, use a hyphen and drop the first two numbers of the second year. If the years span a century change, use all four numbers of the second year.

2002-04
1979-2002
mid-'90s

To describe the sequences of dates or inclusive dates, use a hyphen (with no spaces between the hyphen and the characters) instead of the word "to" or "through."

The box office is open Monday-Friday.

Do not use suffixes with dates.

Right: Oct. 14
Wrong: Oct. 14th

Use an "s" without an apostrophe after the year to indicate spans of decades or centuries. Use an apostrophe before the year for class years or abbreviations to indicate the first two numbers of the year are omitted.

Smith University was formed in the 1840s.
Sherry will graduate with the Class of ’07.

An apostrophe after the year is needed for possessives.

The presidential election was 1980’s biggest news story.

Spell out numbers from one to nine. Use numerals for all numbers 10 and above. Spell out a numeral at the beginning of a sentence but numeral years may start a sentence:

1980 was a very good year.

Do not use superscripts: The 7th (not "7^th") Annual Open Mic Poetry Reading

Back to Top

Deans

Patrick G. Maggitti, PhD, The Helen and William O'Toole Dean, Villanova University School of Business

Jean Ann Linney, PhD, Dean, Villanova University College of Arts and Sciences

M. Louise Fitzpatrick, EdD, RN, FAAN, Connelly Endowed Dean and Professor of Nursing, Villanova University College of Nursing

Gary A. Gabriele, PhD, Drosdick Endowed Dean, Villanova University College of Engineering

John Y. Gotanda, JD, Dean, Villanova University School of Law

 

First reference: should include full title, e.g., M. Louise Fitzpatrick, EdD, RN, FAAN, Connelly Endowed Dean and Professor of Nursing at Villanova.

Second reference: Dean Fitzpatrick

Note: When "Dean" comes before the last name, it is always capitalized.

Back to Top

Deans, associate or assistant

Associate and assistant dean titles should be in lower case after the individual’s name, unless it is an endowed deanship. When the title is before the individual’s name, it should be capitalized.

Example: Mary Smith, associate dean, College of Engineering

Example: Mary Smith, associate dean, Graduate Studies and Research; Mary Smith, associate dean, Enrollment Management

Example: Associate Dean Mary Smith

Back to Top

Departments

Department names should always be capitalized.

Back to Top

first-year student

Not freshman

Back to Top

Initials

Do not space between letters, and use periods.

Example: J.D. Smith

Back to Top

Library

The Library’s proper name is Falvey Memorial Library or Falvey. Do not use Falvey Library. Library is capitalized when referring to this institution. Library is not capitalized when used as an adjective.

Back to Top

Library Director

Prefer University librarian to library director: sounds more academic.

Back to Top

Mascot

The official name of the Villanova mascot is Will D. Cat.

Back to Top

Months

As per AP Style, when a month is followed by a date, abbreviate only the following: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Do not abbreviate months used alone or used with only a year.

Back to Top

Names, Suffixes

Do not use a comma before suffixes such as "Jr." and "III"

Back to Top

Periods in abbreviations

Except where noted otherwise, do not use periods in abbreviations. All degrees should be capitalized.

Examples: OSA, MBA, RN

Back to Top

Portal

The official name of the portal is MyNova. The official name of the faculty/staff channel (where the feature articles are found) is "the faculty/staff channel of MyNova."

Back to Top

Position announcements

No position appointments below Dean or AVP will receive a stand-alone announcement in the magazine, although such information can be referenced in an article.

Back to Top

Prefixes

Generally do not hyphenate when using a prefix with a word starting with a consonant. Except for cooperate and coordinate, use a hyphen if the prefix ends in a vowel and the word that follows begins with the same vowel: re-elect, re-enlist, re-establish. For many other words, the sense is the governing factor:

Recover (regain)	re-cover (cover again)
Reform (improve)	re-form (form again)

Use a hyphen if the word that follows is capitalized.

Back to Top

President

First-time use of Father Peter’s name should read, the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, ’75 A&S

subsequent references — Father Donohue

Back to Top

President’s Cabinet

Vice President for Academic Affairs
Rev. Kail C. Ellis, OSA, PhD

Vice President for Administration and Finance
Kenneth G. Valosky, MS

Vice President and General Counsel
Dorothy A. Malloy, JD

Vice President for Student Life
Rev. John P. Stack, OSA

Vice President for University Advancement
Michael J. O’Neill, MBA

Vice President for University Communication
Ann E. Diebold, MBA

Vice President for Mission and Ministry
Barbara E. Wall, PhD

Vice President for Technology and Chief Information Officer
Stephen W. Fugale

Director of Athletics
Vincent P. Nicastro, MBA

Back to Top

Priests

(see Augustinians)

Back to Top

Professorships

For endowed professors, include the title of that endowment. In a descriptive phrase, "professor" should be in lower case. The name of their department should be capitalized. When the professor title is before his or her name, it should be capitalized.

Example: Aaron M. Bauer, PhD, the Gerald M. Lemole, MD Endowed Chair in Integrative Biology

Example: Mary Smith, PhD, associate professor, Biology

Example: Villanova Biology Professor Mary Smith, PhD

Example: Drosdick Endowed Dean of Engineering

Example: The James R. Birle Professor of Energy Technology

Example: The Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Moritz, Sr., Chair in Systems Engineering

Back to Top

Professors without doctorates

First reference: Professor James Miller

Second reference: Professor Miller

Back to Top

Professors with doctorates

Professors with doctoral degrees always must have "PhD" after their names in first reference. Thereafter, they can be referred to as "Dr."

First reference: Mary Smith, PhD,

Second reference: Dr. Smith

Back to Top

Punctuation

Quotations marks: Use quotation marks to surround the exact words of a speaker or writer. The period and comma always go within the quotations marks. The dash, semicolon, question mark and exclamation point go within the quotation marks when they apply to the quoted matter only. They go outside when they apply to the whole sentence.

Semicolons and quotation marks: Semicolons go outside quotation marks. "Day in the Life"; "A Little Help from my Friends";

Back to Top

Quotes, pull

Set off pull quotes with quotation marks; identify the speaker of the quote by name, class year, college and title (when applicable)

Back to Top

Saint

Use "St.," not "Saint," when it precedes a proper name ("St. Augustine")

Back to Top

Spacing between sentences

Use only a single space between words or between sentences.

Back to Top

Spelling, preferred

• email
• E-ZBorrow
• "Find It" icon
• First-year student (not "freshman")
• home page
• mid-Atlantic
• monthlong
• nonprofit
• PhD and PhD’s plural
• printout
• Quran
• teenage
• website
• Wildcard

Back to Top

Student employee of the month

not student worker of the month or student of the month (National Student Employee Appreciation Week)

Back to Top

Student residence halls

Student residence halls should always be referred to as such. Never use the word "dormitory."

Back to Top

Student names and surnames, undergraduate

After first reference, identify undergraduate students by first name.

Example: Mary Smith has enjoyed her four years at Villanova. Mary hopes to attend law school.

Back to Top

Student surnames, graduate students and other adults

Identify graduate students and all other adults by last name only after first reference.

Exceptions: use "Dr." and "Father" with last name on subsequent references

Back to Top

Suffixes

Do not use a comma before suffixes such as "Jr." and "III"

Back to Top

Telephone numbers

ext. 96997
610-519-6997

Back to Top

Terminal degrees

List terminal degrees after a person’s name on first occurrence. If they have more than one degree, the terminal degree should come first.

Examples: PhD, MD, DO, DDS, DMD, DVM, STD, MFA, MBA

Example: John Smith, PhD, MFA

Back to Top

Titles, capitalization of

When the title first appears before an individual’s name, it should be capitalized. When it first appears after an individual’s name, it is not capitalized.

Example: Under the guidance of Assistant Professor Jane Smith, PhD, the students conducted an important experiment.

Example: Jane Smith, PhD, assistant professor of Political Science, assisted the students.

student employee of the month <- treat it like a title

Example: Student Employee of the Month, Squidward Tentacles, ...

Example: Squidward Tentacles, student employee of the month, ...

Also, write student employee of the month, not student worker of the month or student of the month (National Student Employee Appreciation Week)

Prefer University librarian to library director: sounds more academic.

Back to Top

Titles, formatting of

Online databases and resources are not italicized.
    American National Biography Online

Print book titles are italicized.
    The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets

Blog titles are in quotation marks.
    "Emily Singley's blog"

Paintings are in quotation marks.
    "Mona Lisa"

Back to Top

Tricky words

Alumnus: Use alumnus (alumni in the plural) when referring to a man who has attended a school. Use alumna (alumnae in the plural) for similar references to a woman. Use alumni when referring to a group of men and women.

Complement, compliment:
Complement is a noun and a verb denoting completeness or the process of supplementing something.
    The ship has a complement of 200 sailors and 20 officers.
    The tie complements his suit.
Compliment is a noun or a verb that denotes praise or the expression of courtesy.
    The captain complimented the sailors on their dedication.
    She was flattered by the compliments on her outfit.

Ensure, insure: Use ensure to mean guarantee: Steps were taken to ensure accuracy. Use insure for references to insurance: The policy insures his life.

Imply, infer:
    Writers or speakers imply in the words they use.
    A listener or reader infers something from the words.

Lay, lie: The action word is lay. It takes a direct object. Laid is the form for its past tense and its past participle. Its present participle is laying. Lie indicates a state of reclining along a horizontal plane. It does not take a direct object. Its past tense is lay. Its past participle is lain. Its present participle is lying. When lie means to make an untrue statement, the verb forms are lie, lied, lying. See p. 142 of the AP Stylebook.
    I will lay the book on the table.
    He lies on the beach during the noon hours.
    I will lie down.
    He is lying on the beach.
    The prosecutor has laid the blame on him.

Presently: Use it to mean in a little while or shortly, but not to mean now.

Staff is defined as a body of persons employed in a business, etc. (editorial staff of a newspaper). (b) those in authority within an organization, esp. the teachers in a school. Staff is a collective noun which takes singular verbs and pronouns.
    The staff is meeting to set its goals and objectives.
    The staff was rewarded with a pizza party.

Toward not towards.

Back to Top

University

When describing Villanova, "University" should always be capitalized.

Example: The University is embarking upon a Campus Master Plan.

Back to Top

URLs

Always use the shortest possible URL.

Back to Top

Veritas, Unitas, Caritas

The University motto should be uppercase and italicized — Veritas, Unitas, Caritas — in all references.

Back to Top

Website

It is www.villanova.edu. Do not use http:// before our Web address.

Back to Top

Writing hints

Decide: what kind of article you are writing? Is it providing information or is it reporting on a lecture or an event?

For an article providing information, start with the most important information first answering such questions as who, what, when, where, why and how. Use brief sentences with simple, direct words.

For articles describing an event or speech, still use short, simple sentences with active-voice words. Before covering the event, find information about the speaker and topic. At the event, note the number attending and the atmosphere. To catch the attention of the reader, the title or headline might include alliteration, rhyme, play on words or clichés. Consider starting the article with a provocative point, a quotation, a question or an anecdote. You may want to include the audience reaction.

Occasionally, the editorial staff will edit your article because:

• Articles must conform to University-wide style guidelines.
• Space considerations, such as the need to cut words to make room for photos or other articles, may result in the need to edit.
• There may also be edits for clarity/readability.
• Articles may need to fit certain word counts determined by layout of the publication.

If you want to reread your article before publication, please let us know. Thanks!

Back to Top

Special Notes

1. Do not use superscripts("5th," not "5^th")
2. Use only a single space between words or between sentences.
3. Don’t use a hyphen with adverbs that end in "ly"