Style Guide

 

The purpose in defining an editorial style for the texts of all Lawrence Tech publications is to present the same consistency and strength of the University brand that is sought in its graphic standards.

Lawrence Tech follows the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual guidelines for capitalization, grammar, hyphenation, punctuation, variant spellings of words, number style, etc. However, as is typical with many organizations, Lawrence Tech style sometimes deviates from the AP Stylebook or addresses questions not covered by the AP Stylebook.

The Lawrence Tech Name
The University’s official name is Lawrence Technological University and must appear in its entirety in all publications and ads. In text, it should be used in its entirety upon the University’s first mention in a document. While the name Lawrence Tech has been adopted in acceptance of popular usage and has become the University’s brand, it should be used only
as a second reference in text.

  • Never use Lawrence Tech University.
  • Never use L.T.U.
  • Never use LTU in formal texts or in materials produced for the external community.

LTU can be used only informally in internal, nonofficial, and informal communications or in instances in which the full name of the University does not fit for space reasons. LTU is appropriate in on-campus student communications and on sports apparel.

When referring to Lawrence Tech as an entity, use University, always capitalizing University.

Correct: The University is . . .
Incorrect: The university is . . .
Correct: In detailing university policy . . .
Incorrect: In detailing University policy . . .

 

Abbreviations
Avoid abbreviations whenever possible and remember that the external community generally will not understand the internal Lawrence Tech shorthand in referring, for example, to colleges (e.g., COM, ECE) and degrees (e.g., BSIOE, DMIT).

 

Academic Degrees
Correct: associate degree
Incorrect: associate’s degree

Correct: bachelor’s degree; bachelor of science
Incorrect: bachelor degree; bachelors degree

Correct: master’s degree; master of science
Incorrect: master degree; masters degree

Correct: doctoral degree or a doctorate
Incorrect: a doctorate degree

Correct: Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering; BS in Biomedical Engineering; Master of Science Education; Doctor of Business Administration

Avoid abbreviating degrees because they begin to look like alphabet soup. When an abbreviation cannot be avoided, always spell out the first mention, with the abbreviation in parentheses following, and do not use periods in citing the degree.

Correct: MBA; MSME; BSAr
Correct: Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME)
Incorrect: B.S.C.E.; M.S.E.M.S.

 

Academic and Professional Titles
Capitalized before a name, lowercased after a name:

Correct: Hsiao-Ping Moore, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
Incorrect: Hsiao-Ping Moore, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

Correct: Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Hsiao-Ping Moore
Incorrect: dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Hsiao-Ping Moore

Generally, do not use the titles “Mr.,” “Dr.,” “Ms,” and “Mrs.,” in text. “Dr.” is used, however, in Commencement and honorific publications.

Correct: Hsiao-Ping Moore, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
Incorrect: Dr. Hsiao-Ping Moore, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

Correct: Stephen Brown, vice president of university advancement
Incorrect: Stephen Brown, Vice President of University Advancement

Correct: Vice President of University Advancement Stephen Brown
Incorrect: vice president of university advancement Stephen Brown

 

Academic/University Units
The names of colleges, as well as academic and service departments and offices, are capitalized.

Correct: College of Architecture and Design; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Office of University Advancement; Office of Admissions; Office of the Registrar; Computer Help Desk; DTE Energy One-Stop Center; One-Stop Center; the Larry Joe

However, when colleges, departments, and offices are referred to in shortened form, they are lowercased:

Correct: the college; the department; the office; the registrar

 

Acronyms
Avoid whenever possible. If they must be used, always give the full name upon first mention followed by the acronym in parentheses.

 

Alumni
The correct usage is as follows:
alumnus: one male graduate
alumni: more than one male graduate or former student or a mixture of male and female graduates
alumna: one female graduate
alumnae: more than one female graduate

 

Alumni Designation
When an alumnus/ae is cited, his or her degree and year of graduation is provided after the name and set off by commas. Be mindful that the apostrophe indicating that part of the year is omitted faces the correct direction.

Correct: John Doe, BSME’78, visited campus for Open House.
Incorrect: John Doe, BSME‘78 visited campus for Open House.

 

And
In text, use and, not the ampersand &. In heads, captions, and ads, the use of & is permitted if space limitation prevents using and.

 

Board of Trustees
Always capitalize the full name. BUT the board . . .

 

Buildings
A. Alfred Taubman Student Services Center, Taubman Center thereafter
Applied Research Center
Architecture Building
Art and Design Center
Don Ridler Field House, the field house thereafter
Science Building
Wayne H. Buell Management Building, Buell Management Building thereafter
Engineering Building

 

Courses/Programs
Capitalize specific course names. Lowercase subjects of study.

Correct: Introduction to Psychology; Visual Communication
Incorrect: basic design 1

Correct: The student is taking mathematics, chemistry, and English literature courses.
Incorrect: The student is taking Mathematics, Chemistry, and English Literature courses.

 

Course Work
Not coursework

 

Dates
Correct: Oct. 24, 2003; October 24, 2003
Incorrect: Oct. 24th, 2003

 

Email
Do not hyphenate.

 

Email Addresses
All email addresses should be typed in lowercase letters, unless an external address is case-specific.

Correct: js0001244@ltu.edu; larryt@ltu.edu
Incorrect: JS0001244@ltu.edu; LarryT@ltu.edu

 

Fund Raising
Correct: Fund raising, fund raiser, fund-raising (adj.), National Association of Fundraisers (follow organization’s chosen spelling)
Incorrect: fundraising, fundraiser, fund-raising (n), fund-raiser (n)

 

GPA
Correct: GPA
Correct: 3.0 GPA; 2.75 GPA
Incorrect: G.P.A.
Incorrect: 3.00 GPA

 

Housing
Correct: University Housing-South; University Housing-North
Correct: Housing-South; Housing-North

 

Jr., Sr.
Correct: John Doe, Jr.
Incorrect: John Doe Sr.

 

Money
When citing monetary figures in nonfinancial texts, do not provide empty cents placeholders.

Correct: $10
Incorrect: $10.00

 

Numbers
Spell out 1–9, use Arabic numerals 10 and up.

 

Numbers (Inclusive)
Inclusive numbers should not include digits that are unnecessary for understanding a numerical spread. An N-dash should be used between inclusive numbers.

Correct: 325–27; 1914–18; 1997–2003; 2000–03; 2001–06
Incorrect: 325-327; 1914-1918; 1997-2003; 2000-2003; 2001-2006

 

Numbers with Names
Do not put a comma after a name and before a Roman numeral indicating that two (or more) members of a family bear the same name:

Correct: John Doe III
Incorrect: John Doe, III

 

Online, Onsite
Do not hyphenate these words.
Incorrect: On-line; on-site

 

Punctuation
Commas
Serial commas are used in all publications except for press releases.

Correct: The student gathered books, computer, and iPod before running off to class.
Incorrect: The student gathered books, computer and iPod before running off to class.

Dashes
Use an N- (preferred) or M-dash, with a space before and after, to denote a break in thought. Whichever dash is chosen, it should be used consistently.

Correct: (N-dash) The professor noted – to his students’ dismay – that the test was not canceled.
Correct: (M-dash) The professor noted — to his students’ dismay — that the test was not canceled.
Incorrect: The professor noted--to his students’ dismay--that the test was not canceled.
Incorrect: The professor noted–to his students’ dismay–that the test was not canceled.
Incorrect: The professor noted—to his students’ dismay—that the test was not canceled.

 

Percentages
Never use % in text, only in lists of statistics or numbers.

Correct: The student earned a 95 percent on the test.
Incorrect: The student earned a 95% on the test.

 

Semesters
When referring to a specific semester and year, capitalize the semester:

Correct: Spring 2007
Correct: The Spring 2007 semester begins . . .
Incorrect: spring 2007
Incorrect: …the Spring semester begins …

 

Spaces Between Sentences
Do not insert two spaces between sentences. Use one only.

 

Room Numbers (on campus)
Correct: A200, T156, S100
Incorrect: A 200, T 156, S 100

 

Telephone Numbers
Use periods between the numbers and not hyphens or parentheses.

Correct: 248.204.4000
Incorrect: (248) 204-4000; (248) 204.4000; 1.248.204.4000

Use p, f, and c to indicate telephone, fax, and cell numbers.

Correct: 248.204.4000 p; 248.204.4000 f; 248.204.4000 c
Incorrect: f 248.204.4000; fax 248.204.4000; F 248.204.4000

 

Time
Correct: 11 – 11:30 a.m.; Noon – 4 p.m., 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Incorrect: 11:00-11:30 am; 12- 4 PM; 7:00 A.M. – 8:00 P.M.

 

Website Addresses
Generally drop http://www at the beginning of website addresses. It has become unnecessary, as has the back slash at the end of web addresses.

Correct: ltu.edu; google.com
Incorrect: www.ltu.edu; http://www.google.com/

 

Web Terminology
email, NOT e-mail
homepage, NOT home page
Internet
online, NOT on-line
the World Wide Web
the Web
web manager
webpage, NOT web page
website, NOT web site

 

 

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