University Writing Style Guide

• Avoid using them whenever possible.
• Exceptions: In some cases (CEO, GPA, NASA, U.S., NAACP, STEM, LGBTQIA+) abbreviations are more well known than their long form and are fine to use. Noting time zones as abbreviations is also acceptable.
• Avoid abbreviations in parentheses after a first reference.
• Never use an abbreviation in a headline.
• Never start a sentence with an abbreviation.

• Lowercase formal titles when they’re after a name: Lauren Griswold is the chief communications and marketing officer.
• Uppercase formal titles when they’re before a name: College of Arts and Sciences Dean Leslie Durham will attend the conference.
• Do not capitalize occupational titles and job descriptions.
• We break from AP style and capitalize professor titles when they are before a name.
• Capitalize named and endowed chairs and professorships, even when they fall after a name: Stephanie “Sam” Martin, the Frank and Bethine Church Chair of Public Affairs, will speak at the conference.
• Drop titles and first names on subsequent reference.
• Dr.: Use only for a medical doctor. An exception: President Tromp prefers a “Dr.” title.

• Lowercase degrees if spelled out: bachelor of arts, master of science, doctorate, doctor of education. Use an apostrophe in the short form: bachelor’s degree, master’s degree.
• Capitalize the degree when it includes a subject: Master of Arts in Communications.
• In stories, use bachelor’s degree or bachelor’s rather than BA or BS; master’s degree or master’s rather than MA or MS; doctoral degree or doctorate rather than Ph. D. or Ed., law degree rather than JD.
• Exceptions: MBA, MFA.
• Use associate degree, not associate’s.

• Honors including cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude are lowercase.

• Lowercase except for formal program names.
• Example: She is studying chemistry, accounting, and pursuing a certificate from Harvard Business School Online at Boise State.

• Use alum for an individual graduate, regardless of gender.
• Use alumni for the plural form, regardless of gender.

• Do not use “BSU.”
• Boise State vs. Boise State University: Depends on audience and context. Use your best judgment.

• Do not capitalize “university” except when it’s part of an official name. Boise State University is Idaho’s metropolitan university.
• College: Lowercase except when you use a college’s full name: Boise State is home to a number of colleges including the College of Arts and Sciences.
• Capitalize the first word after a colon if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence.

• We do not use the Oxford comma.
• What’s an Oxford comma? It’s the comma before the conjunction at the end of a list. Example: We ate carrots, potatoes, and lentils. The Oxford comma is the comma appearing before “and.”

• Capitalize when referring to the official May or December ceremony.
• Lowercase in general reference: Boise State’s Winter Commencement will take place in ExtraMile Arena. The university holds commencement ceremonies twice a year.

• Capitalize official course titles in text with no quotation marks.
• Example: This fall he is enrolled in Synchronic Methods in Anthropology.

• Follow this order for events listings: Time, date, place.
• Do not use “st,” “nd,” or rd.” The event is Sept. 1 on the Quad.
• Use a comma after dates included with years. Boise Junior College opened on Sept. 6, 1932, at St. Margaret’s Hall.
• Time notation examples: 10 a.m. 10:15 a.m.
• Write out noon rather than 12 p.m.
• Abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec.
• If you refer to a month without an exact date, write it in full. Example: The dorms open in January, but she can’t move in until Jan. 15.

• Use death, die. Don’t use euphemisms like “passed on” or “passed away” except in a direct quote.
• Headlines can be difficult when you’re writing about someone’s death. A couple possibilities: Boise State community remembers Joe Smith or Jane Smith leaves a legacy of innovation, etc.

• Uppercase when using the formal title, as in the Department of History.
• Lowercase when used informally. Example: Students in the chemistry department sponsored the project.

• Lowercase north, east, southwest, etc. The event will take place on the east side of the stadium.
• Capitalize when you’re talking about a region: Southwest Idaho lies directly north of Nevada. Southwest Idaho is one region in the West.

• Refer to a disability only when it’s relevant to the story you’re telling.
• Ask sources how they would like to be described.

• Don’t use them.

• Lowercase unless it’s part of an official title.

• Refer to gender or sexual orientation only when it’s relevant to your story.
• Ask sources for their preferred pronouns and how they would like to be described.

• Write short, compelling headlines in an active voice. Close to 40% of our readers read our stories on their phones. We don’t want headlines that fill entire screens.
• Use sentence case. Capitalize only the first letter of your headline and proper nouns.
• Last names only in headlines.
• Use single quotes for quotation marks (for example, for book titles in headlines).

• Use them to break up longer stories. Make them descriptive for screen readers.

• Don’t use them. Screen readers can’t read them.

• On first reference, use Gov., Rep. or Sen. before the name.
• Do not use legislative titles before a name on second reference unless they are part of a quotation.
• Spell out and lowercase representative and senator in text.

• Capitalize when referring to a state’s legislature and in subsequent specific references: the Idaho Legislature; the state Legislature.
• Lowercase when used in a generic sense: The legislature is the law-making body of government.

• Use a colon when introducing lists.

• Lowercase except for majors that are proper nouns. Her major is computer science. He is an English major.

• Write out numbers one through nine. Use numeric figures for numbers 10 and greater.
• Exceptions: ages and measurements. Her two daughters are 1 month old and 3 years old. He is 6 feet 2 inches tall.
• Do not begin a sentence with a numeral.
• Exception: You can begin a sentence with a year. 2009 was a banner year.

• Use % when it’s with a number. Spell out otherwise.
• Example: Boise State’s in-state student population is 66%. The percentage of out-of-state students is growing.

• Use this format: Photographer name, Boise State Visual Services.
• Non-Boise State photos: Photo provided by followed by their name.
• If a photo has three or fewer people in it, you must name them.
• Remember that photo captions can be storytelling elements. Use them to share good quotes or additional details for your story.
• Note: Don’t duplicate information in a caption and alt text since that would be redundant for some readers. If you have a caption that is telling a story or providing context but not describing the photo, use the alt text to provide a visual description of the image.

• Use quotation marks for article titles, books, movies, presentations, titles of special events (art exhibits, touring displays).
• Do not use quotation marks for the titles of periodicals and journals. Example: The journal Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment published her article, “The life cycle of a horsefly.”

• Refer to race only when it’s relevant to the story you’re telling. If it is, remember that many racial terms, like other parts of our language, are actively evolving.
• Ask sources how they would like to be described.

Black vs. African American

• According to AP, both terms are acceptable in the U.S., but are not always interchangeable. Many Black Americans are of Caribbean descent, for example.
• Black is becoming a more popular, modern term denoting a shared identity and culture.
• Use the capitalized term “Black” as an adjective in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense: Black literature, Black studies. Note, the term “white” used in this way is not capitalized.

American Indians vs. Native Americans

• According to AP, both are acceptable terms in general references when referring to two or more people in the U.S. of different tribal affiliations.
• For individuals, use the name of the tribe. He is a Navajo commissioner. She is a member of the Nisqually Indian Tribe. He is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
• Some tribes and tribal nations use member; others use citizen. If in doubt, use citizen.

Asian American

• When possible, refer to a person’s country of origin or follow the person’s preference. Be as specific as possible. Instead of Asian American, for example, use Japanese American or Chinese American, etc.

Latino/Latina/Latinx/Hispanic

• Use a more specific identification when possible, such as Cuban, Puerto Rican or Mexican American.
• Many prefer an inclusive term: Hispanic/Latinx.

• Lowercase except as part of a title. Each spring, students sponsor the popular Spring Fling event.

• Spell out state names.
• Omit “Idaho” when referring to cities within the state unless it’s in one of our publications with readers outside of Idaho.

• Link websites to hyperlinks that are descriptive, concise and give the reader an expectation of the destination, i.e. avoid “click here,” “read more,” etc.
• Do not simply paste the URL into a story. Additionally, use unique text for each link and do not have multiple sites linked to the same text, i.e. hyperlinking “Boise State” to multiple URLs within the domain.
• Example: The Boise State webguide contains useful information on best practices for web accessibility.