Editorial Guidelines
This guide addresses common editorial questions about the SIUE editorial style, higher education terminology and stylistic consistency. To communicate SIUE messages, news and information clearly to a wide range of audiences, University Marketing and Communications (UMC) has established University Editorial Guidelines based on both the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook and writing standards that are unique to higher education and SIUE.
Contact Beth Giese, assistant director of marketing and communications, with questions.
Referring to SIUE/SIUE Cougars
Within text, refer to the name of the University as either “Southern Illinois University Edwardsville” or “SIUE.” Note there is no comma, dash or “at” between University and Edwardsville.
When using SIUE within text, use all caps.
Cougars is always capitalized when referring to SIUE and its community: SIUE Cougars, the Cougars, etc.
Below is an alphabetical listing of common guidelines used for content produced by UMC and the University community.
Academic Degrees
Lowercase the names of academic degrees/areas of study unless they contain a proper noun (e.g., French studies, English, mass communications, dance, chemistry).
Undergraduate Degrees: The use of bachelor’s or bachelor's degree is acceptable. When referring to degrees from arts or sciences, use Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Science.
Use an apostrophe when writing bachelor's or master's but not when writing Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science, as there is no possessive. When referring to an associate or doctoral degree, do not include a possessive (e.g., associate, not associate’s).
Examples:
• He earned a bachelor’s in mass communications and a master’s in studio art.
• She received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and a Master of Arts in philosophy.
• John graduated with an associate of film and later went on to earn his doctorate in biology.
Graduate Degrees: The degree should be spelled out on first reference and then abbreviated on subsequent references without periods written after each letter.
Example: Brown received his Master of Science in mass communications in May. He will use his MS to begin a career as an adjunct lecturer.
Doctoral degree or doctorate are the preferred terms to reference a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Doctor of Music (DM), etc.
Examples:
- Jane earned a doctorate in anthropology in 2008. Her doctoral degree provided the necessary level of expertise.
- Jane Smith, PhD, in an associate professor of anthropology.
Academic Titles
Titles are lowercase when the title is a description (e.g., John Smith, PhD, associate professor of accounting in the SIUE School of Business).
Titles are capitalized when they precede an individual’s name (e.g., Associate Professor of Accounting John Smith, PhD, from the SIUE School of Business).
To minimize capitalization, generally follow this order:
- Professor's name, degree, rank and department
- Dean's name, degree, rank and college/school
- Vice chancellor's name, rank and area
Advisor or Adviser
Both are acceptable. “Advisor” is consistent with National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). "Adviser" is consistent with Student Affairs Professionals in Higher Education (NASPA).
African American
No hyphen. Acceptable for those in the U.S. The terms are not necessarily interchangeable. Americans of Caribbean heritage, for example, generally refer to themselves as Caribbean American. Follow an individual’s preference if known, and be specific when possible and relevant.
Examples: Minneapolis has a large Somali American population because of refugee resettlement. The author is Senegalese American.
Alumnus, Alumni, Alum
Use alumnus (alumni in the plural) when referring to a male graduate. Use alumna (alumnae in the plural) for similar references to a woman. Use alumni when referring to a group of graduates. Alum, alums are informal, unisex terms.
When identifying SIUE alumni, you may use degree and class year without periods in the degree abbreviations. If including an individual's specific degree, it should be lowercase.
Example: Sally Jones Cougar, BA '00, MA '03; Joe Cougar, BS mass communications '95
When it's not possible to determine a person’s degree, use just the class year.
Example: Joe Cougar, ’95, or Jane Doe, ’87, ’95
For married alumni, use both married and maiden names, if appropriate.
Example: John Cougar, BS '01, and Sally (Jones) Cougar, BA '01, MA '03.
Ampersand (&)
Used in digital content for navigation and headings.
The word "and" should be used in all other instances.
Apostrophes
When an apostrophe is used to indicate omission, it should be placed where the omission occurs.
Example: The MRF was popular during the ’70s.
Avoid using contractions in writing (e.g., don’t, won’t, couldn’t, etc.).
Add only an apostrophe for possessives that end in s or z.
Example: The students' grades were posted yesterday.
Athletics
See Intercollegiate Athletics
Bachelor’s Degree
See academic degrees
Blacks, whites (n): Do not use either term as a singular noun.
Capitalizing "Black(s)" in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense, conveys an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black, including those in the African diaspora and within Africa.
Lowercase "black" when referring to the color, not a person(s).
Phrasing such as Black people, white people, Black teachers, white students is preferable when clearly relevant.
Example: White officers account for 64% of the police force, Black officers 21% and Latino officers 15%.
Do not write in a way that assumes white is default.
Example:
- Not: The supervisor accused his employee, who is Black, of stealing.
- Instead: The white supervisor accused his employee, who is Black, of stealing.
The plural nouns Blacks and whites are generally acceptable when clearly relevant and needed for reasons of space or sentence construction.
Example: Diversity Day was attended by Blacks, whites, Latinos and Asian Americans.
Following AP Stylebook guidelines, SIUE will continue to lowercase the term “white” in racial, ethnic and cultural senses.
“There was clear desire and reason to capitalize Black. Most notably, people who are Black have strong historical and cultural commonalities, even if they are from different parts of the world and even if they now live in different parts of the world. That includes the shared experience of discrimination due solely to the color of one’s skin. There is, at this time, less support for capitalizing white. White people generally do not share the same history and culture, or the experience of being discriminated against because of skin color.”
AP Stylebook, July 20, 2020
Black and white are acceptable as adjectives when relevant.
Black (adj.)
Use the capitalized term as an adjective in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense.
Examples: Black people, Black culture, Black literature, Black studies, Black colleges
Board of Directors
See SIUE Foundation Board of Directors
Board of Trustees
See SIU Board of Trustees
Campus Wide
Always two words and lowercase.
Capitalization
Avoid unnecessary capitalization. Use a capital letter only when principles in this style guide justify, not to convey importance. See university for capitalization guidelines of the university name.
Cities
Well-known cities are not written with their state location while all others are. When writing cities with states, use AP Style state abbreviations (see states).
Cities not requiring state references:
Atlanta
Baltimore
Boston
Chicago
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
Edwardsville
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
New Orleans
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Pittsburgh
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Antonio
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington
Example: I moved from St. Louis to Peoria, Ill.
Chair (of a committee or department)
May be used as a noun and as a verb. Avoid chairperson or chairman.
Examples:
• He is the committee chair.
• She chairs the committee.
Course
Capitalize the course name but do not include the course number.
Example:
ANTH 111A-Human Ancestry and Adaptations should be written as Human Ancestry and Adaptations.
Coursework
Always one word.
College and Schools
College and School names should always be capitalized.
• College of Arts and Sciences
• School of Business
• School of Dental Medicine (Part of Southern Illinois University. See below for special instructions.)
• School of Education, Health and Human Behavior
• School of Engineering
• School of Nursing
• School of Pharmacy
• Graduate School (See below for special instructions)
When referring to an individual college or school at SIUE, identify with SIUE on first reference. When referring to the School of Dental Medicine, identify with SIU on first reference. After the first reference, “the School” or “the College” may be used.
When referring to the Graduate School, only capitalize when referring specifically to the SIUE Graduate School, not when referring to graduate school in general.
Example:
• She was told the Graduate School would be able to give her information about assistantships. She wanted to attend graduate school to enhance her career choices.
Colon
Use to introduce a series.
Example: The vendor provided the following for the banquet: chairs, tables and tablecloths.
See series and commas for further guidelines on how to write a series.
Also use a colon to set off an important phrase: You need to remember one thing: Don't be late.
If a colon is followed by a complete sentence, capitalize the first word after the colon. Do not use in a sentence after “include” or “including” unless the sentence reads: The course will include the following: group projects, individual reports and class discussion.
Commas
Use a comma before “and” when needed for clarity. When listing a complex series of phrases, use a comma before “and.”
Example:
• Job duties include project management, employee motivation, communication and training, and design.
Commas should also always be written inside quotation marks.
Example: “Don’t forget to return your books,” said the librarian.
Composition titles
Put quotation marks around the names of books, movies, plays, poems, albums, songs, operas, radio and television programs, lectures and presentations, speeches, webinars, and works of art.
Newspaper and magazine names are capitalized but should not be placed in quotes. Capitalize names in the way the publications prefer to be known: Harper's Magazine, Newsweek magazine, The New York Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
CougarNet
One word with capital C and N.
Days of the Week
Spell out days of the week. They are only abbreviated when used in a tabular format. Months are abbreviated when listed along with the day of the week.
Example: Commencement was held on Saturday, Dec. 18, for students and their families.
Dean’s List
Capitalize when referring to the honorary list published each semester recognizing SIUE students’ academic achievements.
Departments
When referring to any University departments, the word “department” should be capitalized along with the field of study and written before the field of study.
Example: Department of Mass Communications, Department of Biological Sciences.
When referring to a department without the official title, use lowercase.
Example: The biology department has many students graduating in December.
Director of Development
Not Development Director.
Distinguished Professor, Distinguished
Always capitalize when referring to this formal, SIUE-specific title. Lowercase when informally describing a professor as “distinguished.”
Examples
• There are many distinguished professors at SIUE.
• Jane Doe, Distinguished Professor of linguistics, recently published an article about French syntax.
Doctor
Use Dr. in first reference as a formal title before the name of an individual who holds a doctor of dental medicine, doctor of medicine, doctor of optometry, doctor of osteopathic medicine, doctor of pharmacy, doctor of podiatric medicine or doctor of veterinary medicine.
Do not use Dr. before the names of individuals who hold other types of doctoral degrees. See academic degrees/academic titles.
Medical Doctors
Upon first reference, a physician should have “Dr.” before their name. To clarify the individual is a medical doctor, the physician should also have areas of expertise listed. Expertise areas, again, are not capitalized.
- Dr. Jane Doe, pediatrician and lecturer, advised students to study.
- Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jane Doe will visit the campus to speak with pre-med students.
All references following the first do not include “Dr.” for physicians or professors. See names for further details.
Doctor of Philsophy (PhD)
See academic degrees.
Dorm, Dormitory
Avoid these terms. See residence hall.
Double Spaces
Do not use double spaces between sentences. Use a single space after the period.
E-Lert
SIUE's emergency communication text messaging service.
E-ID
The username students, faculty and staff use to log in to many of the SIUE systems.
East St. Louis/St. Louis
Abbreviate “St.” in St. Louis and East St. Louis. Always spell out “East” in East St. Louis. Exceptions to these rules are organizations that use different forms (e.g., Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis Zoo).
East St. Louis Center/Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus
The SIUE East St. Louis Center is part of the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus, which includes the East St. Louis Center and other services not affiliated with SIUE. When writing about the center or the campus, all words must be capitalized and written exactly as above.
Email Address
Lowercase, no hyphen. In text, italicize (do not underline or hyperlink) the email address.
Example: Contact Doug McIlhagga, executive director, university marketing and communications, dmcilha@siue.edu.
em dash
This is the long dash (—) used to separate two parts of a sentence. Put a space on both sides of the dash.
Examples: SIUE is the university — in fact, the only university — in Edwardsville, Ill.
en dash
This is a short dash (–) that connects things that are related by distance, such as page numbers or spans of time. Use with no spaces on either side.
Examples:
• The years 2009-2011
• Pages 147-150
Emeritus, Emerita, Emeritae, Emeriti
This term can be included with a person’s title either before or after their name, but capitalization of the work only occurs before the name and not after. Use “emeritus” if gender is unknown.
Examples:
• Dr. Steve Smith, professor emeritus
• Professor Emeritus Dr. Steve Smith
This term differs according to number and gender:
• professor emerita: one female
• professor emeritus: one male
• faculty emeritae: plural female
• faculty emeriti: plural male or plural of both genders.
Fiscal Year
Use fiscal year on first reference, fiscal with the year thereafter or FY plus the year.
Example: She reported that fiscal year 2016 wasn't as profitable as fiscal 2015.
Friends Groups
SIUE Foundation's associated organizations, also known as Friends groups.
• Friends of Art
• Friends of Cougar Softball
• Friends of Lovejoy Library
• Friends of Men’s Basketball
• Friends of Music
• Friends of Theater and Dance (FOTAD)
• Friends of The Gardens
• Friends of Golf
• Friends of Wrestling
Foundation
See SIUE Foundation.
Fund Raising, Fund-Raising
Two words that are only hyphenated when used as a modifier.
Examples:
• He works in fund raising.
• He chairs the fund-raising committee.
The Gardens at SIUE, The Gardens
Public botanical garden located on the SIUE campus. Spell out completely on first reference, then use The Gardens for subsequent references.
Grade Point Average/GPA
GPA acceptable in all references
Healthcare
One word
Home Page
The front page of a website. Always two words.
Hyphen
Connects two words that are conceptually related.
Examples: two-thirds, toll-free, well-being
Intercollegiate Athletics
Note “s” at the end of “athletics.” Not Athletic Department or Athletics Department. When referring to athletics, identify with SIUE (SIUE Intercollegiate Athletics).
Interim
Lowercase, unless written before a given title.
Examples:
• Interim Vice Chancellor Victor Chance
• Victor Chance, interim vice chancellor
Internet
Lowercase
Lovejoy Library
Elijah P. Lovejoy Memorial Library is the official name, but Lovejoy Library is also acceptable.
Master's Degree
See academic degrees.
Months
Spell out the month when the day of the week is not included. Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. are abbreviated when listed along with the day of the week.
Example:
• Today is January 1.
• Today is Monday, Jan. 1.
Names
On first reference, names should be spelled out in full with professional titles preceding them (Dr., military rankings, etc.). Subsequent references should be the last name only.
Example:
• Dr. Jim Smith performed the surgery. Smith has been an orthopedic surgeon for 20 years.
The NCERC at SIUE
The NCERC at SIUE on first reference, The Center on subsequent references.
Metro East
Official reference for the eastern suburbs of St. Louis that spans through five counties in southern Illinois. Illinois cities included in this area include Edwardsville, Collinsville, Belleville, East St. Louis, Granite City, Alton and O’Fallon. Metro East is always capitalized.
nonprofit, not-for-profit
Both are acceptable. Always hyphenate not-for-profit, never hyphenate nonprofit.
numbers
Spell out whole numbers below 10, use figures for 10 and above. Spell “first” through “ninth,” use figures for 10th and above. Physical quantities, such as distances, lengths, area, volumes, etc. are expressed in figures, whether for whole number or fractions (e.g. 45 miles, 10.5 pounds, 1 2/3 full). Numbers expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun, need to be hyphenated.
Examples:
• The five-year-old program
• The two-and-a-half-hour course
off campus, off-campus and on campus, on-campus
Written as two words, but hyphenated when used as a modifier.
Examples:
• Many SIUE students live off campus.
• The convenience of on-campus living is appealing.
OK
Do not use okay.
on
Do not use “on” prior to a date or day of the week.
Examples:
• The meeting will be held Monday.
• The class will be held October 10.
online
One word, no hyphen.
part time, part-time
Always hyphenate as an adjective, otherwise two words
Example: She is a part-time student and she also works part time.
percent
Use the % sign when paired with a numeral, with no space, in most cases.
Example: She answered 95% of the questions correctly.
In casual uses, use words rather than figures and numbers.
Example: She said he has a zero percent chance of winning.
Try to avoid starting a sentence with numbers and percentages. If it's necessary, spell out both.
Example: Eighty percent of the freshman class volunteered for the event.
period
Only one space between a period and the beginning of the next sentence. No periods after letters in acronyms.
phone number
Use hypens.
Example: 618-650-3705
residence hall
Lowercase unless part of a proper name. Avoid dorm or dormitory. Below are the full names of the SIUE residence halls:
• Evergreen Hall
• Bluff Hall
• Prairie Hall
• Woodland Hall
seasons/semesters
Lowercase except when beginning a sentence, and avoid using “of” before the specific year.
Examples:
• He will enter SIUE in fall 2025.
• She will study abroad during the spring semester.
SIU Board of Trustees
Lowercase on second reference when not using the full name.
Examples:
• The memo was sent to the trustees.
• The board will meet next week.
SIU System
Use formal name in all references except direct quotes.
SIUE Foundation/SIUE Foundation Board of Directors
The SIUE Foundation exists separately from SIUE and is governed by its own board of directors. When referring to the Foundation, identify with SIUE. (Welcome to the SIUE Foundation.)
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Must be written in full on first reference. Not Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville or Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. SIUE is acceptable on second and subsequent references.
States
Spell out the name of a state when it stands alone in text.
Example: SIUE is a public university for the people of Illinois.
Use state abbreviations when the name of a city is included. When writing about a city in Illinois, the state abbreviation is not needed, unless the city needs to be distinguished from another city (O'Fallon, Ill. and O'Fallon, Mo.) All state abbreviations are listed below. Note that state abbreviations used in text are different from abbreviations used in postal addresses.
Alabama – Ala.
Arizona – Ariz.
Arkansas – Ark.
California – Calif.
Colorado – Colo.
Connecticut – Conn.
Delaware – Del.
Florida – Fla.
Georgia – Ga.
Indiana – Ind.
Kansas – Kan.
Kentucky – Ky.
Louisiana – La.
Maryland – Md.
Massachusetts – Mass.
Michigan – Mich.
Minnesota – Minn.
Mississippi – Miss.
Missouri – Mo.
Montana – Mont.
Nebraska – Neb.
Nevada – Nev.
New Hampshire – N.H.
New Jersey – N.J.
New Mexico – N.M.
New York – N.Y.
North Carolina – N.C.
North Dakota – N.D.
Oklahoma – Okla.
Oregon – Ore.
Pennsylvania – Pa.
Rhode Island – R.I.
South Carolina – S.C.
South Dakota – S.D.
Tennessee – Tenn.
Vermont – Vt.
Virginia – Va.
Washington – Wash.
West Virginia – W.Va.
Wisconsin – Wis.
Wyoming – Wyo.
When using a city and state together, do not add a comma after the state name.
Example: She lived in Kansas City, Mo. before moving to Edwardsville.
statewide
Lowercase, one word, no hyphen.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)
Acronym used to group careers and educational endeavors in the above listed fields. Spell out the acronym on first reference and then use STEM for subsequent references. Always write this acronym in all capital letters with no periods.
The Gardens at SIUE, The Gardens
Public botanical garden located on the SIUE campus. Spell out completely on first reference, and use The Gardens for subsequent references.
titles
In general, do not use Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms. Proper titles preceding names are capitalized (e.g., Executive Director Ann Edwards) but lowercase after the name (e.g., Ann Edwards, executive director).
University
Capitalize when referring specifically to SIUE.
Example: John Jones works at SIUE. He has worked at the University for 20 years.
U.S. News & World Report
Magazine names are italicized. First references should be written as U.S. News & World Report. Subsequent references may be shortened to U.S. News. There is a space between U.S. and News on both references.
vice chancellor
Never hyphenated or abbreviated. See titles for details on capitalization.
WE CARE Clinic
Capitalize WE CARE.
web address
Web address should not be underlined or hyperlinked in printed text. Addresses may be followed immediately by a period, comma or other punctuation. If an address must break between lines, place the split directly before a slash or a dot that is part of the address, and do not insert a hyphen.
The “https://www.” portion of the address and the final forward slash of the address are not necessary to include when writing the address. The SIUE web address can be written simply as siue.edu, rather than https://www.siue.edu/.
website
One word, lowercase.
Example: The SIUE website is siue.edu.
white
Following AP Stylebook guidelines, SIUE will continue to lowercase the term “white” in racial, ethnic and cultural senses.
“There was clear desire and reason to capitalize Black. Most notably, people who are Black have strong historical and cultural commonalities, even if they are from different parts of the world and even if they now live in different parts of the world. That includes the shared experience of discrimination due solely to the color of one’s skin. There is, at this time, less support for capitalizing white. White people generally do not share the same history and culture, or the experience of being discriminated against because of skin color.”
AP Stylebook, July 20, 2020
yearlong
One word, no hyphen.
ZIP code
Always written as two words. “ZIP” is an acronym for Zoning Improvement Plan and should always be capitalized with “code” written in lowercase.
