Writing Style Guidelines from A to Z
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
A
abbreviations Spell out unfamiliar abbreviations on first use, and then casual or shortened references are usually preferable to abbreviations. With most abbreviations composed of capital letters, it is not necessary to use periods after the individual letters: two exceptions to this general rule are degree names (B.A., M.S., Ph.D.) and when abbreviating "United States" ( U.S. ).
acronyms Acronyms are abbreviations that form words from the first letters in a series of words. Avoid acronyms unless they are familiar or if the full name is cumbersome, spell out most acronyms on first use, and use casual or shortened references instead of acronyms when possible. Example: A valuable source of information about college polices can be found on the college website in the College Online Policy and Procedure System (COPPS).
addresses Spell out all words unless short on space. The college mailing address is 4000 East 30th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon 97405.
affirmative action statement The short version of the college's official statement is all lowercase with no period and looks like this: an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution
alignment/justification Text in paragraph form should be left justified in nearly all circumstances, since this is the convention and it makes text easy to read. Fully justified text that is aligned on both the left and right sides should be avoided because it usually causes very uneven and awkward spacing between words and repels readers.
a.m., p.m. Lowercase, with periods. The terms a.m. and p.m. stand for ante meridiem, meaning "before noon," and post meridiem, meaning "after noon." For more information, also see the entry for "time" in the A to Z section.
ampersand (&) Use an ampersand only in graphs or tables where space is too tight to allow for the word "and" or when the ampersand is part of an official company name.
