EDUCAUSE uses The Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition), available online by subscription, as its main source of reference for style questions. See in particular Chicago's hyphenation guide for compounds and words formed with prefixes as a table.
Note that information that appears in this online style guide supersedes that in the Chicago manual. Always check here first for style questions. If you don't find what you're after here, please refer to Chicago.
Whenever possible, explanations of style and use are given in this guide; many entries have just the word, term, or phrase.
EDUCAUSE uses Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th edition), available online by subscription, as its spelling guide.
Resources
The Yahoo! Style Guide is an invaluable tool, with advice on writing for the web, editing basics, and other resources. If you do not find a word here, consult their word list.
MIT Libraries Virtual Reference Collection is an excellent resource for information ranging from acronyms through weather.
Abbreviations (acronyms, initialisms, and contractions) and IT terms often pose a particular challenge. In addition to MIT's site, the following are useful resources:
- Glossary of Academic Information Technology Terms
- Whatis.com (Contains more than two thousand individual encyclopedic definition/topics and a number of quick-reference pages on information technology.)
| # | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
#
20-something
Note numeral and hyphen.
24/7
Note slash instead of x symbol. Example: The phones are staffed 24/7.
3D
No space, no hyphen. Not 3-D.
3G, 4G
Types of cell phone networks.
50-50
Note hyphen and use of numerals. Example: They figure their candidate has a 50-50 chance.
8x, 16x
Format for values that denote the speed of drives such as CD and DVD drives. Example: The DVD-RW drive boasts write, rewrite, and read speeds of 16x, 8x, and 16x, respectively.
9/11
Acceptable abbreviation for September 11, 2001, when space is tight.
A
add-on (n., adj.), add on (v.)
Note hyphen when used as a noun or adjective. Two words when used as a verb.
a priori
Two words, even if used as a modifier (no hyphen); not italicized.
a.m.; see time
AA, associate's degree, associate's degrees; see degrees
abbreviations (acronyms, initialisms, and contractions)
Chicago uses abbreviation as the umbrella term for words we encounter daily like ECAR and spam. The word acronym refers to terms based on the initial letters of their various elements and read as single words (AIDS, laser, NASA, scuba); initialism refers to terms read as a series of letters (AOL, NBA, XML); and contraction refers to abbreviations that include the first and last letters of the full word (Mr., amt.).
Spell out the first instance of an abbreviation, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Occasionally the order maybe reversed; give the abbreviation, with the spelled-out version following the abbreviation in parentheses.
If the work has multiple chapters, spell out the acronym on first use in each chapter. There's no need to provide an abbreviation in parentheses if it occurs in the same sentence or if it's a well-known term like IT. Some common abbreviations need not be spelled out: CIA, FBI, MIT, UCLA.
ad hoc
Two words, even if used as a modifier (no hyphen); not italicized.
Advanced Core Technologies Initiative (ACTI)
an EDUCAUSE Affiliate
AN-MSI
Advanced Networking Project with Minority-Serving Institutions
analytics
Treat analytics and its variants (e.g., learning analytics) as a mass noun like information, taking a singular verb. Example: Analytics is the discovery and communication of meaningful patterns in data. [Wikipedia definition]
annual conference; see EDUCAUSE Annual Conference
annual meeting; see ELI Annual Meeting
anytime (adv.), at any time
anytime, anywhere (expression often used to indicate 24/7 accessibility)
ARL
Association of Research Libraries
ATM
asynchronous transfer mode
audio/video (A/V)
audiovisual (AV)
awards program, EDUCAUSE Awards Program
See the EDUCAUSE awards page for proper names of awards and fellowships.
B
BA, bachelor's degree, bachelor's degrees; see degrees
backbone
backchannel
Note: this is an exception to M-W.
bandwidth
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Note that the ampersand is never spelled out.
bills
Congressional bills that originate in the House of Representative should be designated as H.R. 1492. Note the period after each letter and a space before the number. Bills from the Senate are designated as S.R. 1493. (The numbers are examples only.)
board of directors, board of regents, board of trustees, board
Not capitalized unless full name is used, as in EDUCAUSE Board of Directors.
bring your own device (BYOD)
build-out (n.), build out (v.)
buy-in
C
campus-wide
See the rule for -wide words.
CAN-SPAM Act
Capitol Hill
The area in Washington, D.C., surrounding the Capitol, and on which the Capitol sits. (This is not named because it's a hill in the nation's capital.)
Carnegie Mellon
Formerly included a hyphen; the name has changed officially to exclude the hyphen.
catalog
CD-ROM
cell phone (n., adj.; never hyphenated)
chargeback
check-in (n.), check in (v.)
CHEMA
Council of Higher Education Management Associations (see CHEMA membership page for many higher ed acronyms).
chief business officer (CBO)
chief executive officer (CEO)
chief financial officer (CFO)
chief information officer (CIO)
chief operating officer (COO)
chief security officer (CSO)
chief technical officer (CTO)
client-server
CNI
Coalition for Networked Information
co-author, co-chair, co-host, co-sponsor, co-worker
Note: This is an exception to Chicago's rule and Merriam-Webster.
college
Don't capitalize unless it's part of the official name, e.g., Colorado College; the college.
comma
Use the serial comma, which means in a series of three or more words or phrases, include the comma before the and. For example: EDUCAUSE membership is open to institutions of higher education, corporations serving the higher education information technology market, and other related associations and organizations.
convener instead of convenor.
cost-benefit analysis
cost-effective
Core Data Service, CDS, CDS survey, but core data survey
cost savings (n.), cost-savings (adj.)
CLIR
Council on Library and Information Resources
credit card (n., adj.; never hyphenated)
CUPA-HR
College and University Professional Association for Human Resources
cyberattack, cyberethics, cybersecurity, cyberspace
Note and do not change government’s two-word usage of cyber security, i.e., National Cyber Security Alliance.
D
data
Treat data as a mass noun like information, taking a singular verb. Example: The data is lost. NOTE: Data, Reserach, and Analysis (ECAR, CDS) uses a plural verb.
data set
data warehouse
database
decision maker
decision making (n.), decision-making (adj.)
degrees
Do not use periods: AA, BA, BS, MA, PhD, JD, MD, etc.
departments and offices
The president's office or the chemistry department, but the Department of Chemistry.
desktop
dial-up
dialogue
dialog is used only for computers, e.g., dialog box.
digital rights management (DRM)
digital subscriber line (DSL)
Variations include xDSL, HDSL, ADSL, RADSL.
dot-com
Also, dot-org, dot-net, and dot-edu. Alternatively, you can use .com, .net, .org, or .edu, depending on the context, but be consistent. Do not use dot-org and .org in the same piece.
downtime
E
"e" terms
EDUCAUSE style is to retain the hyphen following the "e" when abbreviating "electronic." Examples include e-business, e-commerce, e-discovery, e-learning, e-portfolio, and e-mail, though the rule applies to any word using this construction. When it appears at the beginning of a sentence, it should be capitalized: E-mail has become a widespread form of communication. The second word in the combination term is lowercase unless the term appears in a title or ad in which each word is capitalized: E-Learning Gathers Steam. Exceptions are formal programs such as e-Framework and ePortfolio (see below).
ECAR Symposium, the symposium
EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, annual conference
The phrase annual conference is capped only if preceded by EDUCAUSE. Use either EDUCAUSE Annual Conference or EDUCAUSE 20xx; avoid 20xx EDUCAUSE Annual Conference.
e-Framework
An initiative by the UK’s Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and Australia’s Department of Education, Science, and Training (DEST).
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
ELI Annual Meeting, annual meeting
ELI Fall Focus Session, ELI Spring Focus Session, ELI focus session, focus session
ELI Web Seminars, ELI Web Seminar, web seminar
Capped if preceded by ELI.
em dash —
The em dash is used without spaces on either side. When using plain text, substitute two hyphens for an em dash. (See A List Apart for a guide to the differences between the en and em dash, as well as HTML coding for the two.)
en dash –
The en dash, half the length of an em dash and longer than a hyphen, is used to connect continuing or inclusive numbers, e.g., pp. 5–7; 1910–99. It is also used in place of a hyphen in a compound adjective when one of the elements of the adjective is an open compound, e.g., information technology–enhanced learning. (See A List Apart for a guide to the differences between the en and em dash, as well as HTML coding for the two.)
end user (n.), end-user (adj.)
enterprise resource planning (ERP)
enterprise-wide
See the rule for -wide words.
ePortfolio, Iowa ePortfolio
This unique capitalization is used only for the trademarked product developed by the University of Iowa.
EPUB
Preferred capitalization of the IDPF, the organization that "develops and maintains the EPUB standard format for reflowable digital books and other digital publications that are interoperable between disparate reading devices and applications." Note: capitalization for their logo is ePUB.
Ethernet
ex officio
Two words, even if used as a modifier (no hyphen); not italicized in text.
extranet
F
federal
(government, agency, court, powers)
file sharing (n.), file-sharing (adj.)
file transfer protocol (FTP)
firewall
first-come, first-served
floorplan (n., adj.)
folksonomy
Avoid the synonymous term free tagging/freetagging.
for-profit
Frye Institute, the Institute
fundraising (n., adj.)
G
gateway
gigaPOP
This is the generic spelling. If the word begins a sentence or if it is part of a formal name, the g is capitalized, i.e., Florida GigaPOP. Also retain the unique spelling of gigPOP in the formal name where applicable, i.e., Pacific Northwest Gigapop.
groupware
H
handheld (n., adj.; never hyphenated)
hashtag
headline style
Capitalize first and last words in titles and subtitles and all other major words; lowercase the, a, an, and, but, for, or, nor, and to; lowercase prepositions regardless of length, except when used adjectivally or adverbially (also see prepositions in headlines); and the part of proper name that would be lowercase in text (de or von). See Chicago 8.157 for complete guidelines.
health care (n., adj.; never hyphenated)
help desk (n., adj.; never hyphenated)
higher education, higher ed (n., adj.; never hyphenated)
Hispanic-serving institutions
historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs)
home page
Be sure to use it as two words, not a single word. An exception is the Homepage department in EDUCAUSE Review.
honeypot
HTML
Stands for Hypertext Markup Language.
HyperCard
hypertext
hyphens
See Chicago 7.77 and the table on pp. 375–84 for a comprehensive overview of compounds and hyphenation, e.g., a two-and-a-half-year-old project but the project is two and a half years old. Below is a list of words we do not typically hyphenate when used as compound modifiers:
business continuity
distance education
distance learning
disaster recovery
distributed learning
fair use
financial aid
health care
help desk
high school
higher education
incident reporting
incident response
intrusion detection
learning object
learning space
life sciences
local area network (doesn't apply to LAN)
risk management
wide area network (doesn't apply to WAN)
I
ID
No periods, e.g., "A photo ID is required."
identity access management (IAM)
identity management (IdM or IM)
Information Age
EDUCAUSE capitalizes historical periods and designations: Millennial Generation, Millennials; Baby Boom but baby boomers.
information technology (n.), IT (adj.)
in-house (adj.), in house (adv.)
insource, insourcing
institutions' names
Some institutions include The as part of the official school name, e.g., The Pennsylvania State University, The University of Memphis. MIT is acceptable for Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Rutgers University is acceptable for Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; and Virginia Tech is acceptable for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and UCLA is preferred for University of California, Los Angeles. (Check an institution's web page for its style, as well as the EDUCAUSE Membership Directory.) Note: Per Chicago, we do not cap The in running text or in front matter/biographical information, unless the author specifically requests it; however, we do cap The in a speaker's byline information in a conference program.
institution-wide
See the rule for -wide words.
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
Internet
Internet is always capitalized, but intranet is not.
Internet Protocol (IP)
Internet service provider (ISP)
intranet
Intranet is capitalized only at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a title, etc. Internet, however, is always capitalized.
Ivy League (always capitalized)
Ivy-Plus
Referring to the Ivy League as well as a small handful of other select institutions.
J
Jasig
Java
JISC
judgment
jump start (n.), jump-start (v.)
K
KB
Capitalized, with a space between it and the numbers, e.g., 512 KB. For units with a single-letter designation, the space is eliminated, e.g., 500W.
L
laser disk
Learning 2.0, Life 2.0
These terms and other variations of the Web 2.0 theme should be capitalized.
life cycle (n.), life-cycle (adj.)
lifelong
listserv
LISTSERV is the trademarked term, often spelled Listserv. Use mailing list instead of listserv whenever possible.
local area network (LAN)
lockbox
logon (adj.), log on (v.)
M
MA, master's degree, master's degrees, master of science; see degrees
marketplace
mashup
mass noun
A mass noun (sometimes called a noncount noun) is one that denotes something uncountable, either because it is abstract {cowardice} {evidence} or because it refers to an indeterminate aggregation of people or things {the faculty} {the bourgeoisie}; the latter type is also called a collective noun. As the subject of a sentence, a mass noun usually takes a singular verb {the litigation is varied}. But in a collective sense, it may take either a singular or a plural verb form {the ruling majority is unlikely to share power} {the majority are nonmembers}. A singular verb emphasizes the group; a plural verb emphasizes the individual members. [Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, 5.8]
massive open online course (MOOC)
massively multiplayer online game (MMOG)
World of Warcraft is an example of an MMOG.
megabyte (MB)
memorandum of understanding (MOU)
metadata
metaverse
mid-90s, but mid to late 90s
middleware
Programming that mediates between two separate programs, or programming between a software program and hardware logic.
midsized
Millennial Generation, millennials
MIME
mouseover (n., adj.), mouse over (v.)
multimedia
multiuser virtual environment (MUVE)
Also known as a virtual world. Second Life is an example of a MUVE.
N
NACUBO
National Association of College and University Business Officers
name badge
name tag
nationwide
This is an exception to the -wide rule.
NERCOMP, NorthEast Regional Computing Program
Note that NorthEast is one word, with a capital E. Typically accompanied by the phrase, an EDUCAUSE Affiliate.
Net
Avoid Net (on its own) in text; spell out Internet instead.
Net Gen, Net Generation
A term introduced by Don Tapscott in Growing Up Digital (1999); use Millennial or Millennials instead.
Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC)
An EDUCAUSE-led initiative; "next generation" is not hyphenated and "generation" is not abbreviated. See also the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
net neutrality
Short for network neutrality, not Internet neutrality.
net savvy
A term coined and used frequently by the ELI.
nicknames and informal names
Nicknames should be enclosed in quotations marks, not parentheses, e.g., George Herman "Babe" Ruth. For informal names, Chicago recommends parentheses rather than quotation marks, e.g., Ramon (Ray) Maryn.
nonprofit
not-for-profit
With the hyphens, but should be changed to nonprofit when possible.
numbers
Spell out whole numbers below 10, use numerals for 10 and above. Use an en dash for continuing or inclusive numbers. Note: EDUCAUSE Review follows Chicago's general rule (9.2) below:
In nontechnical contexts, Chicago advises spelling out whole numbers from zero through one hundred and certain round multiples of those numbers. Most of the rest of this chapter deals with the exceptions to this rule and special cases.
O
off-site (adj.), off site (adv.)
on-demand (adj.), on demand (adv.)
online
on-site (adj., n.)
open educational resources (OER)
Treated as a plural when spelled out. Example: OER have transformed...
Open Knowledge Initiative (OKI)
open-source (adj.), open source (n.)
OpenCourseWare (OCW)
operating system (OS)
P
p.m.; see time
password
Patriot Act, USA PATRIOT Act
PCI DSS
No hyphen; not PCI-DSS. If spelling out, use initial caps and place in parentheses after abbreviation. Example PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).
per capita (no italics; never hyphenated)
percent
Generally, spell out percent when used in text, don't use % (exceptions are CDS summary report and other data-intensive copy). Example: Community colleges make up almost 21 percent of the EDUCAUSE institutional membership. Always use a numeral with percent and never hyphenate as a compound modifier: 5 percent profit.
Perl (programming language)
personal computer (PC)
PhD, doctorate; see degrees
plurals of proper names
Try always to use full proper names separately, as in "the University of New Mexico and the University of Montana" rather than "the universities of New Mexico and Montana."
policy making (n.), policy-making (adj.)
policymaker
problem solving (n.), problem-solving (adj.)
point-of-presence, POP; see gigaPOP
postconference, postsecondary
preconference
prepositions in headlines
Chicago 8.157: "lowercase prepositions, regardless of length, except when they are used adverbially or adjectivally (up in Look Up, down in Turn Down)..."
president-elect
proof-of-concept (always hyphenated)
public key infrastructure (PKI)
Q
R
recharge (as in chargeback)
re-create (note to distinguish from recreate)
reengineering
request for proposal (RFP)
résumé
roadmap
Note: This is an exception to M-W’s road map.
role-play (v.)
rollout (n.), roll out (v.)
S
Second Life (no italics)
service level agreement (SLA)
setup (n.), set up (v.), set-up (adj.)
side effect
single sign-on (SSO)
SMART Board
Trademarked product from SMART Technologies.
smart classroom
smartphone (n., adj.)
Social Security number
Note: CMOS lowercases social security in this context.
states
Always spell out the names of states and territories when standing on their own, and unless it's a list or mailing address, it's preferable to spell out state names even when followed by a city (but use Washington, D.C.). When abbreviated, it's preferable to use the long abbreviation, e.g., Calif., Colo. (see Chicago 15.29), except when used in a mailing address (CA, CO, DC).
statewide
This is an exception to the -wide rule.
SURFfoundation
system-wide
See the rule for -wide words.
T
tablet PC (generic usage), Tablet PC (Microsoft product)
TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, the basic communication language of the Internet.
teardown (n.), tear down (v.), tear-down (adj.)
test-drive (always hyphenated)
time
Use numerals to state all times except noon (and midnight). So, instead of 12:00 p.m., write 12:00 noon. Always include the minutes, even with on-the-hour times, so it's 12:00 noon, not 12 noon. Use periods with the abbreviations a.m. and p.m. (lowercase, with a space after the number but no space between the letters): 5:15 p.m.
Avoid the redundant in the morning or in the afternoon when including a.m. or p.m. with a time as well as repeating a.m. and p.m.: 8:00 to 9:30 a.m., 8:00–9:30 a.m.
Abbreviate time zones in all capital letters, without periods. Time zones are listed below; they are lowercase when spelled out. Note that daylight saving does not have an s on the end.
|
Our standard is to list an event with the local time and the UTC conversion for international participants, with eastern time as the default time zone for virtual events, and provide a conversion link. Example:
1:00 p.m. ET (UTC-4); convert to your time zone [during daylight saving time]
1:00 p.m. ET (UTC-5); convert to your time zone [during standard time]
time frame
time-consuming (always hyphenated)
timeline
titles
Conference titles should appear in quotation marks, book titles should appear in italic, and book series titles should be set in roman type without quotation marks. Persons' titles should be capped in attributions and listings such as conference programs and ads. A title is lowercase and enclosed by commas when following a name. It is initial cap when preceding a name, unless it is a descriptive title. Examples:
Greg Sorkin, vice president, said...
Vice President Greg Sorkin said...
Jane Wilson, graphic designer, said...
Graphic designer Jane Wislon said...
toll free (n.), toll-free (adj.)
Note: Per Chicago; M-W always hyphenates toll-free.
toolkit
total quality management (TQM)
totebag
touch-tone
touchscreen (n., adj.)
Note: This is an exception to M-W’s touch screen.
tribal colleges and universities
U
U.K. (adj.), United Kingdom (n.)
underused
under way (adv.), underway (adj.)
Note: Almost always used adverbially, and frequently incorrectly used as one word in that context.
United States (n.), U.S. (adj.)
username
university
Don't capitalize unless it's part of the official name, e.g., "Duke University is located in North Carolina. The university is part of the Research Triangle."
university-wide
See the rule for -wide words.
UNIX
Use all caps rather than Unix (you'll see it both ways).
up-to-date (adj.), up to date (adv.)
URL
Stands for uniform resource locator. In text, URLs need not include the protocol (e.g., http://, https://, ftp://) and can begin with www., unless it's a formal context like a book. In ads and some marketing text, educause.edu is acceptable (no www. is required).
U.S. Department of Education (ED)
U.S. (adj.), United States (n.)
V
versus
Spell out, except in titles, when it becomes vs.
very high-speed Backbone Network Services (vBNS)
video game (n.), video-game (adj.)
video over IP; see Internet Protocol
videoblogging
videoconferencing
virtual private network (VPN)
voice over IP (VoIP); see Internet Protocol
voicemail
Note: This is an exception to M-W's voice mail.
W
waitlist
Note: This is an exception to M-W's wait-list.
web, web page, website, but Web 2.0
Lowercase the word web. The noun form is open for web page and closed for website. The adjective form is hyphenated but lowercase: web-happy. Web 2.0 and its variants (Life 2.0, Learning 2.0, etc.) should be capitalized.
webcast, webcaster, webcasting
webisphere
weblog, weblogging
Avoid if possible. Use blog and blogging instead.
whiteboard
-wide
Most constructions that include wide at the end are hyphenated, including campus-wide, enterprise-wide, institution-wide, system-wide, and university-wide. Exceptions to this rule are statewide, nationwide, and worldwide.
wide area network (WAN)
Wi-Fi
Wikipedia (no italics)
WiMAX
working group (generic), CALEA Tech Working Group (proper)
workplace
workstation
worldwide
This is an exception to the -wide rule.
X
XML
Stands for Extensible Markup Language.
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