Web Services - Style Guides

Please use the spell-check function on OmniUpdate when entering any text on the Web site. If you’re unsure of a spelling and would like a second source, please use the Merriam Webster Dictionary.

For other questions not addressed here, please refer to the Associated Press Style Book.

abbreviations and acronyms – Avoid abbreviations and acronyms the user will not recognize. Spell out an organization’s title or building’s name on first reference and use the acronym after that: Campus Activities Board met on Thursday to plan the next CAB event. Use common abbreviations such as St., Ave. and Blvd. Also see states.

academic degrees – If mentioning a degree is helpful to establish credentials, use abbreviations set off by commas: John Jones, M.A., addressed the audience, Jane Jones, Ph.D., spoke to the faculty. There is no need to use Dr. before a name if you follow the name with Ph.D.
Writing out the degree is also acceptable: John Jones, who has a master’s degree in psychology, addressed the audience.

accented letters – See special characters.

alumni – One male Simpson graduate is an alumnus. Two or more male graduates are alumni. One female graduate is an alumna. Two or more female graduates are alumnae. Several people of mixed or indeterminate sexes are alumni.
A student who attended Simpson but didn’t graduate is a former student.

a.m., p.m. – Lowercase, with periods. Also see times.

apostrophes – See possessives.

buildings – Use the full name on first reference but shorten for later references if the abbreviation is well-known. If the common abbreviation is made up of just letters, do not use periods between the letters: BSC, BPAC. Buildings at Simpson College include:

Amy Robertson Music Center
Art Center
Blank Performing Arts Center
Brenton Student Center
Barker Hall
Buxton Hall
Buxton Stadium
Carver Science Center
College Hall
Cowles Fieldhouse
Dunn Library
Great Hall
Hillman Hall
Hopper Gymnasium
Kresge Hall
Mary Berry Hall
McNeill Hall
Pfeiffer Dining Hall
Picken Hall
Smith Chapel
Wallace Hall

capitalization – Avoid unnecessary capitalization, but always capitalize proper nouns. Academic departments, specific classes and college offices are considered proper nouns: Department of Mathematics, a mathematics class, Mathematics 201, Counseling and Career Services.

class standing – Students are first-years, sophomores, juniors or seniors, do not capitalize these class standings even when used as the student’s title: the first-year class, three sophomore students, junior John Doe.

commas – Use commas to separate parts of a series, but don’t use a comma before the conjunction in a simple series: Simpson students come from north, east, south and west. Do use a comma before the conjunction if the series has an element that includes a conjunction: The course will cover energy, solid waste, air and water pollution, and the history of environmental problems.

compound modifiers – Compound modifiers are two or more words that express a single concept. When a compound modifier comes before a noun, use hyphens between the words: a full-time student, a two-hour class. Don’t hyphenate compound modifiers that include the word very or adverbs ending in -ly: a very happy professor, an easily remembered name. Many compound modifiers after nouns don’t need hyphenated: He goes to school full time.

copyright symbol – See special characters.

dashes – See special characters.

dates – Long month names should be abbreviated when used with a specific day: Yesterday was Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2005, the event was held on Sept. 4. Always spell out March, April, May, June and July. Spell out any month when used without a specific date: School starts in August.
Do not use superscript letters such as "th" and "nd" with dates.

days – Spell out days of the week, do not abbreviate them. When a range of days is needed, the preferred format is: Monday through Friday, or Monday to Wednesday.

ellipses – See special characters.

e-mail – Abbreviation of electronic mail, so e-mail is lowercase unless it’s the first word of a sentence. When linking to someone’s e-mail address, use that person’s name as the link text instead of their address.

FAQ – Abbreviation for frequently asked questions. It is capitalized and has no periods between letters.

first-year – Not freshman. See class standing.

hyphens – Hyphens are joiners. To create a list of points, use the bullets button on the OmniUpdate formatting toolbar, not hyphens. Also see compound modifiers.

ID – No periods: Please show your student ID, she lost her ID.

Internet – Internet is a proper noun and is capitalized.

money – For amounts under a dollar, use numerals and the word cents: 5 cents, 50 cents. Use numerals for any amount over a dollar and don’t use unnecessary zeroes: Her phone bill was $11.58, I owe him $5. For amounts more than $1 million, use the $ and up to two decimal places: It is worth $2.25 million.

names – The first reference to a person should use his or her full name and title: Frank Colella, professor of economics, or Professor Frank Colella. After that, his or her last name only may be used. Also see titles.

numbers – Spell out one through nine, but use figures for 10 and above. Spell out first through ninth, but use figures for 10th and above. Spell out any number if it’s the first word in a sentence or rewrite the sentence so another word is first. When a large number must be spelled out: thirty-four; two hundred ninety-seven. Also see money.

possessives – Usually shown with an apostrophe. For singular and plural nouns not ending in s, add an apostrophe and s: woman’s books, women’s rights. For singular and plural nouns ending in s, just add an apostrophe: Kansas’ schools, students’ rooms.

professor – Do not assume a member of the faculty is a professor. At Simpson there are five ranks of faculty:

Lecturer: A rank provided to part-time faculty who have taught with distinction at Simpson for several years.
Instructor – An entry-level rank for full-time faculty who do not possess a terminal degree but must attain one to be awarded tenure.
Assistant Professor – An entry-level rank for full-time faculty who do hold a terminal degree but have not yet attained tenure.
Associate Professor – Mid-level faculty who typically have been on the Simpson faculty for at least six years and have been granted tenure.
Professor – Tenured senior faculty members who have been at Simpson College for at least 13 years.

“Adjunct Professor” is not an official rank. It’s a description for individuals who are part-time faculty members at Simpson and have not attained the rank of lecturer.

semesters – May Term is a proper noun and is capitalized but do not capitalize fall or spring semesters: She took an economics class in the fall, He enjoyed May Term, the spring semester ends in April.

Simpson College – Use Simpson College or the college, not the College.

spaces – Use only one space at the end of sentences, not two.

special characters – Certain special characters don’t translate well in an HTML document and can result in strange characters appearing on your page. To use these characters, click on the copyright symbol in the formatting toolbar of OmniUpdate. Some special characters are accented letters, copyright symbols, dashes, ellipses, trademarks and registered trademarks.

states – Abbreviate states when used in conjunction with cities or towns, but spell them out when they stand alone: The student is from Boston, Mass., the student is from Massachusetts.
Eight states are never abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. For all other states, use common abbreviations as opposed to postal abbreviations: Minneapolis, Minn., not Minneapolis, MN.

telephone numbers – Always use a 10-digit telephone number, even if the number is on campus. Include the area code in parentheses: (515) 961-1681.

times – Use numerals for times except noon and midnight. A colon separates hours and minutes when necessary: 8 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 5:30 p.m., 9 p.m. For time ranges, use a hyphen without spaces: We'll be there from 8-10 a.m., He worked 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

titles – When titles are used before names, they are capitalized: Professor of Biology Pat Singer. When they are used after a name, do not capitalize titles: Pat Singer, professor of biology. Titles such as Dr., Mr., Miss, Ms. or Mrs. should not be used. Use “the” before Rev. to denote a member of the clergy: the Rev. Chris Waddle. Legislative and governmental titles should be written as: Sen. Charles Grassley or U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, Rep. Leonard Boswell or U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell, or Gov. Tom Vilsack. Also see class standing and names.

trademarks, registered trademarks – See special characters.

Web – Web is an abbreviation of World Wide Web and is capitalized.

Web site – Always two words, also Web page, Web design, Web search.


	Creative Services News Services Web Services Simpson Website Formatting & Style Guides Resources Staff
Style and Punctuation Please use the spell-check function on OmniUpdate when entering any text on the Web site. If you’re unsure of a spelling and would like a second source, please use the Merriam Webster Dictionary. For other questions not addressed here, please refer to the Associated Press Style Book. abbreviations and acronyms – Avoid abbreviations and acronyms the user will not recognize. Spell out an organization’s title or building’s name on first reference and use the acronym after that: Campus Activities Board met on Thursday to plan the next CAB event. Use common abbreviations such as St., Ave. and Blvd. Also see states. academic degrees – If mentioning a degree is helpful to establish credentials, use abbreviations set off by commas: John Jones, M.A., addressed the audience, Jane Jones, Ph.D., spoke to the faculty. There is no need to use Dr. before a name if you follow the name with Ph.D. Writing out the degree is also acceptable: John Jones, who has a master’s degree in psychology, addressed the audience. accented letters – See special characters. alumni – One male Simpson graduate is an alumnus. Two or more male graduates are alumni. One female graduate is an alumna. Two or more female graduates are alumnae. Several people of mixed or indeterminate sexes are alumni. A student who attended Simpson but didn’t graduate is a former student. a.m., p.m. – Lowercase, with periods. Also see times. apostrophes – See possessives. buildings – Use the full name on first reference but shorten for later references if the abbreviation is well-known. If the common abbreviation is made up of just letters, do not use periods between the letters: BSC, BPAC. Buildings at Simpson College include: Amy Robertson Music Center Art Center Blank Performing Arts Center Brenton Student Center Barker Hall Buxton Hall Buxton Stadium Carver Science Center College Hall Cowles Fieldhouse Dunn Library Great Hall Hillman Hall Hopper Gymnasium Kresge Hall Mary Berry Hall McNeill Hall Pfeiffer Dining Hall Picken Hall Smith Chapel Wallace Hall capitalization – Avoid unnecessary capitalization, but always capitalize proper nouns. Academic departments, specific classes and college offices are considered proper nouns: Department of Mathematics, a mathematics class, Mathematics 201, Counseling and Career Services. class standing – Students are first-years, sophomores, juniors or seniors, do not capitalize these class standings even when used as the student’s title: the first-year class, three sophomore students, junior John Doe. commas – Use commas to separate parts of a series, but don’t use a comma before the conjunction in a simple series: Simpson students come from north, east, south and west. Do use a comma before the conjunction if the series has an element that includes a conjunction: The course will cover energy, solid waste, air and water pollution, and the history of environmental problems. compound modifiers – Compound modifiers are two or more words that express a single concept. When a compound modifier comes before a noun, use hyphens between the words: a full-time student, a two-hour class. Don’t hyphenate compound modifiers that include the word very or adverbs ending in -ly: a very happy professor, an easily remembered name. Many compound modifiers after nouns don’t need hyphenated: He goes to school full time. copyright symbol – See special characters. dashes – See special characters. dates – Long month names should be abbreviated when used with a specific day: Yesterday was Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2005, the event was held on Sept. 4. Always spell out March, April, May, June and July. Spell out any month when used without a specific date: School starts in August. Do not use superscript letters such as "th" and "nd" with dates. days – Spell out days of the week, do not abbreviate them. When a range of days is needed, the preferred format is: Monday through Friday, or Monday to Wednesday. ellipses – See special characters. e-mail – Abbreviation of electronic mail, so e-mail is lowercase unless it’s the first word of a sentence. When linking to someone’s e-mail address, use that person’s name as the link text instead of their address. FAQ – Abbreviation for frequently asked questions. It is capitalized and has no periods between letters. first-year – Not freshman. See class standing. hyphens – Hyphens are joiners. To create a list of points, use the bullets button on the OmniUpdate formatting toolbar, not hyphens. Also see compound modifiers. ID – No periods: Please show your student ID, she lost her ID. Internet – Internet is a proper noun and is capitalized. money – For amounts under a dollar, use numerals and the word cents: 5 cents, 50 cents. Use numerals for any amount over a dollar and don’t use unnecessary zeroes: Her phone bill was $11.58, I owe him $5. For amounts more than $1 million, use the $ and up to two decimal places: It is worth $2.25 million. names – The first reference to a person should use his or her full name and title: Frank Colella, professor of economics, or Professor Frank Colella. After that, his or her last name only may be used. Also see titles. numbers – Spell out one through nine, but use figures for 10 and above. Spell out first through ninth, but use figures for 10th and above. Spell out any number if it’s the first word in a sentence or rewrite the sentence so another word is first. When a large number must be spelled out: thirty-four; two hundred ninety-seven. Also see money. possessives – Usually shown with an apostrophe. For singular and plural nouns not ending in s, add an apostrophe and s: woman’s books, women’s rights. For singular and plural nouns ending in s, just add an apostrophe: Kansas’ schools, students’ rooms. professor – Do not assume a member of the faculty is a professor. At Simpson there are five ranks of faculty: Lecturer: A rank provided to part-time faculty who have taught with distinction at Simpson for several years. Instructor – An entry-level rank for full-time faculty who do not possess a terminal degree but must attain one to be awarded tenure. Assistant Professor – An entry-level rank for full-time faculty who do hold a terminal degree but have not yet attained tenure. Associate Professor – Mid-level faculty who typically have been on the Simpson faculty for at least six years and have been granted tenure. Professor – Tenured senior faculty members who have been at Simpson College for at least 13 years. “Adjunct Professor” is not an official rank. It’s a description for individuals who are part-time faculty members at Simpson and have not attained the rank of lecturer. semesters – May Term is a proper noun and is capitalized but do not capitalize fall or spring semesters: She took an economics class in the fall, He enjoyed May Term, the spring semester ends in April. Simpson College – Use Simpson College or the college, not the College. spaces – Use only one space at the end of sentences, not two. special characters – Certain special characters don’t translate well in an HTML document and can result in strange characters appearing on your page. To use these characters, click on the copyright symbol in the formatting toolbar of OmniUpdate. Some special characters are accented letters, copyright symbols, dashes, ellipses, trademarks and registered trademarks. states – Abbreviate states when used in conjunction with cities or towns, but spell them out when they stand alone: The student is from Boston, Mass., the student is from Massachusetts. Eight states are never abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. For all other states, use common abbreviations as opposed to postal abbreviations: Minneapolis, Minn., not Minneapolis, MN. telephone numbers – Always use a 10-digit telephone number, even if the number is on campus. Include the area code in parentheses: (515) 961-1681. times – Use numerals for times except noon and midnight. A colon separates hours and minutes when necessary: 8 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 5:30 p.m., 9 p.m. For time ranges, use a hyphen without spaces: We'll be there from 8-10 a.m., He worked 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. titles – When titles are used before names, they are capitalized: Professor of Biology Pat Singer. When they are used after a name, do not capitalize titles: Pat Singer, professor of biology. Titles such as Dr., Mr., Miss, Ms. or Mrs. should not be used. Use “the” before Rev. to denote a member of the clergy: the Rev. Chris Waddle. Legislative and governmental titles should be written as: Sen. Charles Grassley or U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, Rep. Leonard Boswell or U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell, or Gov. Tom Vilsack. Also see class standing and names. trademarks, registered trademarks – See special characters. Web – Web is an abbreviation of World Wide Web and is capitalized. Web site – Always two words, also Web page, Web design, Web search.
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