Editorial Style Manual for Writers

Publications offices develop editorial style guides in an effort to bring consistency to the publications and other materials they produce. A style guide defines, for writers and editors, the "house style," which is a set of rules reflecting how the publications office has chosen to deal with the spelling, punctuation capitalization of commonly used words and phrases.

House styles generally have as their foundation one or two widely used editorial style manuals and dictionaries. WPI's primary style reference is The Chicago Manual of Style. For style issues not addressed in this guide, we turn to Words Into Type. Our primary referee on spelling is Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. For high-tech terms, we consult Wired Style.

A / B / C / D / E / F / G / H / I / J / L / M / N / O / P / R / S / T / U / W

 

A

advisor
(spelling exception to Webster's Dict.)
alumna
a female graduate
alumnae
a group of female graduates
alumni
a group of graduates (male and/or female)
alumnus
a graduate (male or female)

B

boards, committees/other groups
(on second reference, use word in parentheses)
WPI Alumni Association (the association)
WPI Alumni Funds Board (the board)
WPI Board of Trustees (the board)
WPI Committee on Governance (the committee)
B.S.
bachelor of science (use periods)
ex: He earned a B.S. in chemistry.
He earned a bachelor of science in chemistry.
He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry.
buildings on campus
Alden Memorial
Alumni Gymnasium
Atwater Kent Laboratories
Boynton Hall
Campus Center
Fuller Laboratories
George C. Gordon Library
Harrington Auditorium
Higgins House
Higgins Laboratories
Kaven Hall
Olin Hall
Salisbury Laboratories
Washburn Shops

C

campus
WPI has three campuses: Worcester, Waltham and MetroWest (in Southborough)
catalog
(not "catalogue")
chair, head
either is acceptable for chief of academic unit; use chair when referring to committee chief
class years, majors
John Q. Bachlerr '68
Jane Q. Bachlerr '75ME
James M. Maaster '96 (M.S.)
James M. Maaster '96 (M.S.M.E.)
Pamela A. Dokktor '87 (Ph.D. '93)

When a two-digit class year could apply to more than one class (i.e., '00 could be 1900 or 2000), use this form: James P. Centenarian, Class of 1902
conference rooms, lecture halls
Archives Room (Gordon Library)
Beckett Conference Room (Fuller Labs)
Chairman's Room (Campus Center)
Discovery Classroom (Higgins Labs)
Forkey Conference Room (Harrington Auditorium)
Hagglund Room (Campus Center)
Higgins Lecture Hall (Washburn Shops)
Kinnicutt Hall (Salisbury Labs)
Mid-Century Room (Campus Center)
Newell Hall (Atwater Kent Labs)
Odeum (Campus Center)
Perreault Hall (Fuller Labs)
Peterson Room (Campus Center)
Seminar Room (Gordon Library)
Taylor Room (Campus Center)
course titles
capitalize (no quotation marks)
ex: Next term he will take Quantum Mechanics II.
course work
two words

D

dates
year is set off with commas when used in mid-sentence ex: The event will be held April 12, 2003, in Boston.

no comma is used between month and year if there's no day. ex: The March 2003 issue is in the mail.
departments/programs
capitalize name of department/program; on second reference: the department/program
Biology and Biochemistry Department
Biomedical Engineering Department
Chemical Engineering Department
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department
Computer Science Department
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
Fire Protection Engineering Program
Department of Humanities and Arts
Department of Management
Manufacturing Engineering Program
Materials Engineering Program
Mathematical Sciences Department
Mechanical Engineering Department
Military Science Department
Physics Department
Social Science and Policy Studies Department
Dr.
use only when referring to a medical doctor
ex: Dr. Jane M. Smith (or Jane M. Smith, M.D.)

E

e-mail
(use hyphen)
emeritus (singular), emeriti (plural)
ex: Professor Emeritus Jane Smith is on campus;
John Jones and James Smith, professors emeriti, ...
EMSEP
Excellence in Mathematics, Science and Engineering program

F

fax numbers
use hyphens, not parens
ex: 508-831-5753
fire safety
two words, unless referring to WPI's Center for Firesafety Studies
FPE
Fire Protection Engineering
Frontiers/Strive
two-week summer programs that challenge soon-to-be high school seniors to explore the outer limits of knowledge in science, mathematics and engineering.

G

Global Perspective Program
(see IGSD)
Goat/Goat's Head
A black goat was the mascot of the Class of 1893.
graduates
gender-neutral alternative to the term alumni/ae (which is not used at WPI)

H

Homecoming
general gathering of alumni each fall
home page
two words

I

IGSD
Interdisciplinary and Global Studies Division – oversees the Interactive Qualifying Project and the Global Perspective Program (the University's pioneering global projects program). Also administers interdisciplinary majors.
Inc.
no comma before
ex: Pfizer Inc.
Internet
capitalize, the Internet
IQP
Interactive Qualifying Project

J

Jr.
no comma before
ex: John M. Smith Jr.

L

LEaP
Leadership Education and Practice

M

major areas of study
For current listing, refer to the Undergraduate Catalog (p. 22) or view it online.
MBA
master of business administration (no periods)
M.D.
medical doctor (use comma before)
ex: Jane M. Smith, M.D.
MQP
Major Qualifying Project
M.S.
master of science (use periods)
ex: He earned an M.S. in chemistry.
He earned a master of science in chemistry.
He earned a master's degree in chemistry.
myWPI
The "m" is always lowercase, no space between the words. Writers should avoid starting a sentence with myWPI.

N

nondiscriminatory language
use disabled, rather than handicapped
numbers
spell out below 10
use numerals with sports scores: 4 goals, 3 assists
use numerals with units of measure: 6 credit hours

O

online
one word

P

P.E.
professional engineer (use comma before)
ex: John M. Smith, P.E.
Ph.D.
doctor of philosophy (use periods)
ex: He earned a Ph.D. in chemistry.
He earned a doctor of philosophy degree.
He earned a doctorate in chemistry.
phone numbers
use hyphens, no parens around area code, use +1 for international compliance
ex: +1-508-831-5000
phonothon
(spelling exception to Webster's)
project centers/programs
View the current list of project centers/programs.
projects
Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP)
Major Qualifying Project (MQP)
Sufficiency

R

Reach, Camp
Camp Reach is a summer residential program for girls in Massachusetts who have completed the 6th grade and who are interested in learning more about careers in engineering and technology. (Note: formerly REACH, but should now be written in mixed case as shown above)
Reunion
spring gathering of special-anniversary-year classes

S

second reference
use lower case upon second reference to name used earlier.
ex: President Edward Alton Parrish attended the meeting. ... Alice sat beside the president.
ex: The WPI Board of Trustees will meet tomorrow. ... A film will be shown to the trustees.
S.I.M.
WPI's School of Industrial Management
Sr.
no comma before
ex: John M. Smith Sr.
state names
use two-letter postal abbreviation only with full mailing address (including ZIP codes). In running text, use upper/lower case abbreviations; set off state with commas.
ex: The Wooster, Ohio, native attends WPI, a Worcester, Mass., university.
Strive
see Frontiers/Strive
Sufficiency
(Humanitites and Arts Sufficiency, one of three required projects) Courses are taken in a specified thematic area of the student's choosing, culminating in a final independent study.

T

theatre
note spelling
ex: WPI's Theatre and Technology Program
Time of Day
Follow this style: 10 a.m., 2 p.m., 3:15 p.m. Midnight and noon and preferred over 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. Avoid redundant usages, such as 10 a.m. this morning; use 10 a.m. today, instead.
titles
Capitalize when title precedes a name.
ex: Associate Professor John Smith teaches this class.
This class is taught by mechanical engineering Associate Professor John Smith.
Lower case when it follows a name.
John Smith, associate professor, is on sabbatical.
Two Towers
The term refers to WPI's philosophy of "lehr und kunst" (theory and practice). The towers represent WPI's first building, Boynton Hall (where classes and labs were held starting in 1868) and the Washburn Shops (where students applied their knowledge, making products for sale under the tutelage of professional mechanics). Also the name of a book by Mildred McClary Tymeson on WPI's first 100 years.

U

United States
Use the above when referring to the country as a noun; U.S. is only acceptable when used as an adjective.
ex.: U.S. military bases are located throughout the United States.

W

Web
capitalize when referring to the World Wide Web
Web site
two words