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
D
days of the week Capitalize. Avoid abbreviating except in tabular formats, and then use the first three letters but no period.
dates Use numbers without st, nd, rd or th. Use day of the week, comma, then month, date, comma, and finally year when needed, followed by a comma or other punctuation mark (most often a period). Month-year combinations don't require commas. Use an apostrophe to indicate numbers from a year that are left out (the year '99). There is not an apostrophe before an s (1990s). Separate dates involving spans of time with an en dash (2000-05).
degrees The various degrees are all lowercase when spelled out. Use an apostrophe in associate's degree, bachelor's degree and master's degree. Use abbreviations only in tabular or non-sentence material or when there are credentials to cite for multiple people. When using abbreviations, use only after a full name, set off with commas, and punctuate with periods (this is one of the exceptions to the general rule against using periods in an abbreviation). Example: Leah McDonald, M.S., will talk about requirements for the associate of applied science degree.
departments, divisions Capitalize official names of divisions and departments.
desktop Use one word whether referring to a computer monitor or to the top of a desk.
domain name A domain name is an address for a website based on a conventional system. Most American domain names are in the form of "server.organization.type" while non-US domain names use the format "server.organization.country." Lane's domain name, or URL, is 2011sitearchive.lanecc.edu.
