WPI Style Guide

Do not use periods for abbreviations of degrees.  

BA, BS, MBA, MS, PhD, ScD 

Abbreviate compass points in a numbered address. Use periods when abbreviating North, South, East, and West.  

• 721 E. 42nd St.  

Do not use periods when abbreviating quadrants (NE, NW, SE, SW).  

• 630 SW 10th Ave.
  not: 630 S.W. 10th Ave.  

Abbreviate Ave., Blvd., and St. only when part of a numbered address or name. Spell out when using the street name without a numbered address. 

• The WPI Townhouses are located at 79 Park Ave.
• The WPI Townhouses are located on Park Avenue. 

Spell out and capitalize, Road, Drive, Terrace, Circle, Alley, and so on when part of a numbered address or name. Lowercase and spell out any of these words when they are used collectively following two or more proper nouns.  

• 100 Institute Road
• Institute and Hackfeld roads 

See also addresses in Numbers.  

Do not abbreviate names of days in running text. 

When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. Never abbreviate March, April, May, June, or July.  

• Maria graduated last Saturday.
• Classes begin at the end of August.
• Classes begin Aug. 1.  

If abbreviations must be used due to space restrictions in charts or tables, use the following three-letter abbreviations without periods.  

• Days: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
• Months: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec (Do not abbreviate May.) 

See also time of day in Numbers (Dates and Times). 

Use periods and no space with initials standing for given names.  

• J.D. Salinger  

However, don’t use periods for names reduced only to initials.  

• FDR  

Abbreviate and capitalize after an individual’s full name and use a period after the abbreviation. Do not precede or follow with a comma.  

• Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Ga.  

Do not abbreviate names of states when they stand alone in running text.  

The session will focus on international opportunities for businesses in Massachusetts.  

When a state appears with the name of a city or town in running text, use the state abbreviations listed in the AP Stylebook (and below) rather than the two-letter, all-caps postal code abbreviation. Note that the AP style uses initial caps and periods with the abbreviations.  

• I’m going home to Hartford, Conn., for winter break.
• She graduated from Tufts University in Medford, Mass., last May.  

Refer to the dateline section of the AP Stylebook for a list of cities that can stand alone with no state. In running text, however, Worcester should stand alone, without Mass. 

Use the two-letter, all-caps postal code abbreviation without periods (AL, CT, NY, PA, etc.) only with a full address. When a full address is written out and formatted for mailing, include a comma between the city and state. 

Worcester Polytechnic Institute 

100 Institute Road 

Worcester, MA 01609 

Omit the comma between the city and state when writing full addresses in running text.  

• Miriam lives at 123 Main Street, Waltham MA 02451.  

In headlines, if you must abbreviate Massachusetts, use Mass. instead MA. 

Below are the state name abbreviations as designated by the AP Stylebook, (with postal code abbreviations in parentheses):  

Note that the following eight state names should never be abbreviated in running text; their postal code abbreviations are in parentheses: Alaska (AK), Hawaii (HI), Idaho (ID), Iowa (IA), Maine (ME), Ohio (OH), Texas (TX), Utah (UT). Also: District of Columbia (DC). 

See also commas in Punctuation & Formatting. 

Unless you are certain your reader will understand the acronym, spell it out on first reference. Follow the spelled-out text with the acronym in parentheses only if you will use it again on the same web page or document. 

• The objective of the Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP) is to help graduates understand, as citizens and professionals, how their careers will affect society at large.  

Do not include acronyms in headers and page titles—even if they have been introduced earlier on the page—unless the acronym is a common term such as BA.  

Form plurals of acronyms by adding a lowercase s without an apostrophe.  

• resident advisors (RAs)  
• FAQs 
• GPAs  

Ampersands (&) may be used in webpage menus, titles, and headers and in charts and tables. Do not use ampersands in running text; use and instead unless the ampersand is part of an official name. See also company names in Capitalization. 

• The Housing and Residential Experience Center supports students through personal growth, leadership opportunities, academic achievement, and student engagement.  
• not: The Housing & Residential Experience Center supports students through personal growth, leadership opportunities, academic achievement, & student engagement.  

It is acceptable to use contractions instead of extended forms of verbs (e.g., don’t instead of do not). The contraction is more informal and concise.  

Lowercase both the full name of a degree and general references to the degree in running text.  

• bachelor of arts, a bachelor’s degree 
• master of science, a master’s
• doctorate in engineering, a doctorate 

Lowercase the subject of a degree that a student has earned or is working toward earning.  

• Lola has a master of engineering in power systems engineering.  
  not: Lola has a master of engineering in Power Systems Engineering.  

However, capitalize the subject of a degree when referring to a program name in running text. Likewise, capitalize and use full degree names in primary webpage headers.  

• Our Master of Engineering in Power Systems Engineering program prepares electrical engineers for professional practice in the electric utility industry. 
• Master of Science in Robotics  
  not: MS in Robotics 

See also programs in this section (below).

Capitalize the full formal names of centers, departments, offices, programs, buildings, institutes, committees, associations, clubs, organizations, prizes, grants, awards, scholarships, and so on. Use lowercase when the names are shortened or when used as a generic term.  

• the Morgan Teaching and Learning Center, the teaching and learning center, the center 
• the Alumni Association, the association  
• the Actuarial Math Club, the math club, the club  
• the Dearborn Foundation Scholarship, the Dearborn scholarship, the scholarship  
• the WPI Award for Distinguished Service, the distinguished service award, the award  
• the Board of Trustees, the board 

When the word the precedes a name, do not capitalize it in running text, even when part of the official name, except for The Global School and The Business School.  

See also entries in this section for academic degrees, departments, offices, and programs. 

On first reference, use full, formal company names rather than acronyms, abbreviations, or informal versions. To verify the official company name, consult the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, or Securities and Exchange Commission. In all instances, use the spelling preferred by the company, except for the instances listed below.

• Capitalize the first letter of company names except when there is a capital letter somewhere else in the name, such as eBay. However, always capitalize the first letter of a company’s name when used at the beginning of a sentence.
• Include and capitalize “The” only if it is part of the formal company name. For example:  The Walt Disney Co.
• Do not use all-capital-letter names unless the letters are individually pronounced: BMW. Others should be uppercase and lowercase. Ikea, not IKEA.
• Do not use a comma before Inc. or Ltd., even if it is included in the formal name.
• Use an ampersand only if it is part of the company’s formal name. Otherwise, write out and.
• Do not use other symbols such as exclamation points or asterisks that might distract or confuse a reader. For example, use Yahoo, not Yahoo! and  Toys R Us, not Toys “R” Us.

Capitalize official course names, with or without the course number. When referring to a subject in general, use lowercase.  

• CS 534 Artificial Intelligence
• biotechnology class
• Next semester, I will be taking Chemical Reactor Design, as well as Experimental Photochemistry.  

See also course numbers vs. course titles in Numbers. 

On first reference, capitalize the full names of departments, using the construction Department of.  

• the Department of Physics, the physics department, the department  

Do not capitalize fields of study, majors, and minors unless they are proper nouns, such as English or French.  

• Simon is a liberal arts and engineering major and a nanoscience minor.  
  not: Simon is a Liberal Arts and Engineering major and a Nanoscience minor. 
• Nora is an assistant professor of American literature.  
  not: Nora is an assistant professor of American Literature.  

Lowercase general compass points and terms derived from them if they simply refer to direction. Also lowercase directions when referring to part of a city or state.  

• We hiked east through the hills and then north past the lake.  
• Brattleboro is in southeastern Vermont. 

Capitalize geographic locations when they indicate recognized regions.  

• the Southern states, the East Coast, the Northeast, a Western accent, the South, Western Massachusetts, Central Massachusetts 

Capitalize all major words in a title or headline (a practice known as title case; guidelines listed below). Also use title case for titles of books, movies, journals, newspapers, radio and television programs, book chapters, speeches, news headlines, podcasts, etc.  

Capitalize:  

• The first word in the title
• All nouns, pronouns, verbs (including the to in infinitives), adjectives, and adverbs regardless of length
• Prepositions (e.g., Among, Minus, Through) and conjunctions (e.g., Since, Because, Although) of five or more letters
• Both parts of phrasal verbs, which are multiword verbs consisting of a verb plus a preposition or adverb (e.g., Turn Off, Pick Up, Catch On, See To)  

Lowercase:  

• Articles (a, an, the)
• Prepositions of four or fewer letters (e.g., in, on, to, from, down)
• Coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)  

Examples:  

• Make Lifelong Friends Among Your WPI Classmates
• In the Classroom and Beyond
• We Are Looking Toward the Future
• WPI Professor Wins Award for Her Research
• Bringing In the New Academic Year (Here, “In” is part of the phrasal verb “bringing in.”)
• Careers in Management Information Systems (Here, “in” is functioning as a preposition.)  

Follow these rules for hyphenated compounds in title case: 

• Always capitalize the first element of a hyphenated compound.
• Capitalize all subsequent elements unless they are articles (a, an, the), prepositions of three or fewer letters (e.g., in, on, to), or coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).
• If the first element is a prefix that can’t stand alone (e.g., anti, non, pre), don’t capitalize the second element unless it’s a proper adjective or noun.  

Examples:  

• Project-Based Learning
• Center for Well-Being
• Up-to-Date Information
• Solutions-Focused Framework
• Pro-education Interests
• Two-Thirds of Undergraduates Live on Campus
• Word-of-Mouth Marketing  

See also titles of works in Names & Titles (Titles). 

For secondary headlines—whether at the beginning of a news story (immediately following the headline) or within the body text to break up large sections of text—use sentence case capitalization: Capitalize only the first word of the header, as well as proper nouns. Do not include a period at the end of subheads using sentence case.  

• First-Year Students Explore Artificial Intelligence 
  Great Problems Seminar incorporates critical thinking about AI into curriculum
• not: First-Year Students Explore Artificial Intelligence 
  Great Problems Seminar Incorporates Critical Thinking About AI Into Curriculum.  

Capitalize the full names of offices, including the word office. On first reference, spell out the full name of the office. The preferred reference for offices is Office of.  

• the Office of Accessibility Services
• the accessibility services office
• the office

Capitalize the academic or departmental part of degree-program names, but not the word program. Note: The Undergraduate Catalog and Graduate Catalog are the official documents of record for program names. When referring to a nondegree program, capitalize the word Program on first reference only if it is part of the official name. Do not capitalize the word program when referring to a nondegree program on second reference.  

• the Master of Science in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology program, the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology program, the program  
• the Trustee Mentor Program, the mentor program, the program 

Use sentence case (capitalize only the first word and proper nouns) for row and column heads. 

Use title case capitalization for website button text. 

• Learn More 
  not: Learn more 

After a person’s name has been given in full, use only that person’s last name on subsequent references. Use Jr., II, and so on with complete names only. Avoid courtesy titles: Dr., Ms., Mrs., and Mr.  

See also initials and Jr./Sr. in Abbreviations & Shorthand (Abbreviations). 

Set off academic degrees with commas when used after a name.  

• Violet Brown, MBA, spoke to our class last week.  

For people with PhDs, do not use the courtesy title Dr. or refer to them as doctors.  

See also academic degrees in WPI-Specific Styles). 

For plurals of proper names ending in es, s, or z, add es.  

• Joneses, Lyonses, Martinezes 

Faculty should be referred to by their proper title on first reference. Alternatively, they may be referred to by a descriptor such as “researcher” on first reference and then identified with their proper title on second reference. 

Generally, the WPI faculty is composed of: 

• Tenured and tenure-track faculty members
  • Titles for full-time faculty members who focus on research and teaching are Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor.
  • Titles for full-time faculty members who focus on teaching are Assistant Professor of Teaching, Associate Professor of Teaching, and Professor of Teaching.
• Nontenured and nontenure-track faculty members
  • Assistant Teaching Professor, Associate Teaching Professor, and Teaching Professor
  • Instructor and Senior Instructor
  • Professor of Practice
  • Assistant Research Professor, Associate Research Professor, and Research Professor
  • Assistant Visiting Professor, Associate Visiting Professor, and Visiting Professor
  • Post-Doctoral Scholar 

Do not use the title “full professor” in any instance. 

Categories, titles, and roles of faculty are defined in detail in the Faculty Handbook, which can be found on the Faculty Governance page. 

For faculty who hold an endowed position, the wording of their title should match the donor’s original agreement. Check the precise wording on the Endowed Professorship webpage. 

See also titles of people in this section (below). 

Capitalize titles (such as Dean, President, Governor, etc.) only when used as part of a person’s name. Titles are not capitalized when they stand alone or follow a name.  

• Professor Murakami is at a conference in London this week.
• The professor of my biotechnology class is at a conference in London this week.
• Yoshi Murakami, professor of biotechnology, is at a conference in London this week.  

Lowercase titles in sentences that use commas to set off the title from a name.  

• The university’s president, Grace Wang, will speak at the ceremony tomorrow.
  but: Tomorrow, President Grace Wang will speak at the ceremony. (Here, president is being used as part of Wang’s name.)  

Do not capitalize informal descriptive or occupational titles used before a person’s name.  

• I’d be happy to introduce you to attorney Jane Wilson.
• We saw environmental engineering professor Eli Landon at the mall.  

Separate long titles from names by using constructions that require a comma.  

• Alexis Wright, associate vice president of XYZ Communications, attended the meeting. 

Exception to the rules above

• Named professorships and full formal titles denoting academic honors are always capitalized, even when following a person’s name or standing alone.
  • Marie Liston, the John E. Sinclair Professor of Mathematical Sciences, lectured on optimal design in continuum mechanics.
  • She was recently named the John E. Sinclair Professor of Mathematical Sciences.
• Formal agreements with University Advancement specify the exact wording to be used when referring to someone with an endowed professorship. Use the wording found on the endowed professorship webpage (or check directly with Advancement), even if the academic subject in the title differs from the name of the WPI department.
  • Brajendra Mishra, the Kenneth G. Merriam Professor of Mechanical Engineering, won the award.
    not: Brajendra Mishra, the Kenneth G. Merriam Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, won the award. (Omit and Materials even though the formal name of the department is Mechanical and Materials Engineering.)
• If the recipient of an endowed professorship is also a department head, include both titles on first reference.
  • Kris Billiar, the John Woodman Higgins Professor of Engineering and head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, has been awarded a grant. 

See also names of people in Names & Titles (Names) and academic rank in this section (above). 

Italicize titles of books, movies, plays, radio and television programs, periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals), video games, podcasts, and other longer works. Do not italicize titles of reference works or websites. 

• All Things Considered
• USA Today
• WPI Journal
• New Technology Magazine
• The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology
• Facebook 

Put quotation marks around titles of chapters, essays, short stories, TV, radio, and specific podcast episodes, articles and features in periodicals, speeches, lectures, songs, and other shorter works. 

• John Muir’s essay “Among the Animals of Yosemite” 
• “The Lottery” is a short story by Shirley Jackson.
• The article “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail in ’72” 

Capitalize and italicize the in the name of a newspaper, magazine, or website if that is the way the publication prefers to be known. Do not capitalize or italicize the before names if listing several publications, some of which use the as part of the name and some of which do not. 

• This morning, I read The New York Times.
• Yesterday morning, I read the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Business Journal, and the New York Times. 

See also headlines and titles in Capitalization. 

Spell out whole numbers from zero through nine; use figures for 10 and above.  

• David has worked at the same company for seven years.  
• The workshop attracted 32 students from 22 different countries.  

For numbers in the millions and above, use a combination of figures and words. Do not go beyond one decimal place unless contractually required to cite the full amount (such as with research grants). 

• 3 million, 5.2 billion, 14 billion  

Exceptions to the guidance above:  

Spell out a number beginning a sentence unless the number is a calendar year.  

• Twenty-four people attended the event.  
• 2020 was an eventful year.  

When two numbers fall side by side, spell out the first number.  

• The program offers twelve 4-credit courses.  

Use figures with abbreviations, symbols, ages, percentages, temperatures, decimals, dimensions, credits, chapter numbers, and page numbers.  

• 30 mph, 5' 4", $9, 8 years old, 5%, 3 degrees, 7.9, 6 x 8 feet, 4 credits, Chapter 6, page 7  

Use figures in scores, court decisions, and legislative votes.  

• a 10–7 win, a 5–4 ruling, a vote of 52–48  

Use figures for coordinates in tables and charts and for parts of documents and worksheets.  

• See row 7, column 3.  
• Refer to lines 1–9 on page 12 of this document.  

Spell out numbers used in casual reference.  

• I can think of a thousand reasons why you should finish your homework on time.  

For plurals of numbers, add s.  

• The women’s suffrage movement began in the late 1840s.  
• The school I’m applying to looks for quantitative GRE scores in the 160s.  

Use figures for address numbers and numbered street names.  

• 1163 5th Ave.
• 701 19th St.  

See also addresses in Abbreviations & Shorthand (Abbreviations).

Always use course titles when addressing external audiences. Course numbers are not adequately descriptive.  

• All majors must complete Introduction to Thermodynamics. 
• All majors must complete ES 3001 Introduction to Thermodynamics.  
  not: All majors must complete ES 3001. 

The exception to this rule is ID 2050, the course taken prior to starting the IQP. Use ID 2050 sparingly, though, and include an explanation for readers outside the WPI community. 

• The group really started to bond during the teamwork exercises in ID 2050, the social science research course students take prior to starting their IQP.  

Spell out fractions less than one in running text, using hyphens between words.  

three-fourths, four-fifths  

Use figures for amounts over one, converting to decimals if practical.  

Preferred: 1.5 

Acceptable: 1½  

Use figures and the dollar sign except in casual references, and eliminate zeros when possible.  

• Karima loaned me a dollar.
• That notebook costs $6. 
  not: That notebook costs $6.00.
• Sean’s books cost $10.50 and $12. 
  not: Sean’s books cost $10.50 and $12.00.

When a sentence contains two or more numbers belonging to the same category of information, apply the general guidelines.  

• I met with 11 students this morning, 14 this afternoon, and nine this evening.  

Spell out ordinals from first to ninth. Use figures for 10th and above.  

• A team of WPI students won first place in the competition.
• He was one of the great engineers of the 19th century.  

Do not use superscripts for the letters in ordinal numbers.  

• 11th edition  
  not: 11^th edition 

Use figures and the percent symbol (%) with percents. Do not spell out the word percent.  

• 9%, 120%  
  not: 9 percent, 120 percent  

Separate the area code with a hyphen instead of either parentheses or a period. Also use a hyphen, not a period, to separate the first three digits from the last four digits in a phone number. Do not include the 1 before the area code or the 800 prefix.  

• 123-456-7890  
• 800-456-7890  
  not: 1. 508.831.5000 

For phone numbers with extensions, do not include a comma before ext.:  

• 123-456-7890 ext. 11  

In the case of proper names, use words or figures according to an organization’s practice.  

• 7-Eleven, L-3 Communications  

See also company names in Capitalization.

To indicate position or rank, use No. with the number in running text. 

• Forbes ranked WPI No. 14 for colleges with the highest-earning graduates. 
  not: Forbes ranked WPI #14 for colleges with the highest-earning graduates. 

In brochures, facts and figures, and other short-form marketing materials, use # with the number. 

State the name of the building, followed by the room number. Use a comma between the building name and the room number. Capitalize Room when used in conjunction with a room number.  

• Fuller Laboratories, Room 112 

Place a comma after digits signifying thousands.  

• 2,350 students 

Use cardinal numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) for specific dates even though these numbers may be pronounced as ordinals (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.).  

• Our next meeting will be Aug. 20.
  not: Our next meeting will be Aug. 20th.  

Format dates in a month-day-year sequence and spell out the name of the month instead of using all numerals. This practice avoids confusion for international audiences since all countries do not use the same order when formatting dates.  

• Oct. 9, 2024
  not: 10/9/24  

When citing a day, date, and time in running text, day-date-time is the preferred order.  

• Saturday, Nov. 15, 8 a.m. 

See also time of day in this section (below) and commas in Punctuation & Formatting (Punctuation).  

Use commas to set off years when used with a month and day. However, when listing only a month or season/semester and a year, do not separate them with a comma. Note: Do not capitalize winter, spring, summer, or fall, even when referring to semesters. 

• Sept. 6, 2010, was the publication date of our first newsletter.
• Our first newsletter was published in September 2010.
• I’m taking Introduction to Algorithms in spring 2015.  
  I’ll be on sabbatical during the fall semester. 

If the last two digits of a class year might be misunderstood, use the full year to avoid confusion. For other class years, use an apostrophe and the last two digits of the year.  

• Margaret Yang ’09
• William Baxter 1914  

In a range of years in the same century, drop the first two digits in the second year and use an en dash, not a hyphen.  

• the 2015–16 academic year
  not: the 2015–2016 academic year  

Use an s without an apostrophe to indicate spans of decades or centuries. Shortened versions of decades with an apostrophe and an s are also acceptable; use an apostrophe to indicate omitted numerals. Note: The apostrophe should face out ( ’ ), not in ( ‘ ).  

• 1900s, 1960s, the Roaring ’20s, the ’80s 

Avoid using a dash with from or between in a range of dates.  

• from June 1 to July 15
  not: from June 1–July 15  

It is not necessary to repeat the month when citing a range of dates.  

• May 7–14  

Use these formats to indicate date and year ranges. Note the use of the en dash.  

• Sept. 1–9, 2023
• March 25–June 10, 2024
• the Classes of ’15–19
• the winter of 1999–2000 

See also dashes in Punctuation & Formatting (Punctuation). 

Use a.m. and p.m. (lowercase with periods) to indicate the time of day. There should be a space between the number and a.m. or p.m. Do not use :00 or o’clock for times on the hour. Use midnight and noon instead of 12:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.  

• 4:30 p.m., 9 a.m., noon
  not: 9:00 a.m., 9 o’clock, 12:00 p.m.  

Avoid redundancies such as 11 a.m. this morning or 7 p.m. Friday night; instead use 11 a.m. or 7 p.m. Friday.  

It is not necessary to repeat a.m. or p.m. when citing a length of time. (Note the use of an en dash instead of a hyphen.)  

• 2:30–4 p.m.  

Use to instead of an en dash with from or between in a length of time.  

• The meetings will take place from 8 to 11:45 a.m. 

See also dashes in Punctuation & Formatting (Punctuation).

When used before a graduation year, apostrophes should face out ( ’ ). Be sure to use the apostrophe symbol ( ’ ), which curls, and not a prime mark ( ' ), which is straight, or an open single quotation mark ( ‘ ). Computer programs sometimes default to prime marks or open single quotation marks instead of using apostrophes.  

• Ruthie Parrish ’86  
  not: Ruthie Parrish ‘86  

A year without a degree abbreviation refers to a WPI undergraduate degree.  

Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree, a master’s, etc., but do not add an apostrophe plus s to full degree names, such as bachelor of arts, master of science, etc.  

• Samuel has a bachelor’s degree in interactive media and game development. 
• Samuel has a bachelor of science in interactive media and game development.  
  not: Samuel has a bachelor’s of science in interactive media and game development.  

Add ’s to form the possessive of most singular common nouns.  

• the school’s career counselor 
• my class’s textbook  

For nouns that are plural in form but singular in meaning, add an apostrophe only.  

• mathematics’ formulas 
• the United States’ foreign policies  

To form the possessive of singular proper nouns ending in s, add an apostrophe only.  

• Honduras’ economy 
• Henry James’ novels  

Add only an apostrophe to form the possessive of plural nouns ending in s. For plural nouns not ending in s, add ’s.  

• the students’ homework 
• the Jacksons’ family business 
• the alumni’s efforts  

To show joint possession, use an apostrophe with the last noun only.  

• Estelle and Leo’s presentation was fascinating. (Estelle and Leo both gave the presentation.)  

To show individual possession, use the possessive form with each element.  

• Marie Curie’s and Jonas Salk’s discoveries (Curie and Salk made separate discoveries.)  

To form plurals of single letters, add ’s.  

• She received all A’s this semester.  

Capitalize the first word following a colon only if it is the beginning of a grammatically complete sentence or a proper noun. 

• The implications of her speech were clear: It was time for decisive action.
• WPI has a lot to offer: extraordinary students, world-renowned faculty, and state-of-the-art research facilities. 

When using a colon to introduce a series or a list in running text, make sure the words that introduce the series or list constitute a grammatically complete sentence. 

• You must take these prerequisites: biology, chemistry, and calculus.
  or: The required prerequisites include biology, chemistry, and calculus.
  not: The required prerequisites include: biology, chemistry, and calculus. 

Note: You may, however, use a colon after a sentence fragment when introducing a bulleted or numbered list. See also lists in Formatting and Lists (below). 

Place a comma before the coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) used to join the items in a series. This comma is known as the serial (or Oxford) comma. 

• Summer courses at WPI allow students to accelerate their studies, keep on track, or learn about a new subject in a more relaxed atmosphere with smaller classes. 

When a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) joins two independent clauses or clauses that could stand alone as separate sentences, use a comma before the conjunction. Note: Do not use a comma to separate independent clauses joined by because. 

• The International House serves as a hub of activity for international students and scholars, and its staff hosts a variety of social events throughout the year.
  not: We engage our students in challenging programs, because we know they want to be pushed and rise to the level of our expectations. 

If the independent clauses themselves contain commas, use a comma, not a semicolon, before the conjunction. 

• WPI’s founders had different ideas about how best to educate technological professionals, and in merging their visions, a new, influential model of higher education emerged.
  not: WPI’s founders had different ideas about how best to educate technological professionals; and in merging their visions, a new, influential model of higher education emerged. 

Use a comma to separate an introductory phrase or clause from the main clause.  

• On Wednesday, we will meet in the computer lab.
• After break, we discussed our reading.
• Before presenting, the speakers met in the library. 

Use commas to set off too. 

• He enjoys studying not only industrial engineering but organizational leadership, too.
• I, too, enjoy studying industrial engineering and organizational leadership.
• She didn’t know what courses she wanted to take, but then, too, she hadn’t even read through the course listings. 

Use commas to set off state and country names following the name of a city. Also use commas to set off individual elements in addresses that are used in running text. Note: With full addresses in running text, omit the comma between the city and state.  

• Henrik works in Lowell, Mass., but lives in Boston.
• Sarah will be interning in Beijing, China, next year.
• Roberto will be doing his IQP at the Rabat, Morocco, Project Center next year.
• Nyla sent her application to Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Graduate Admissions, 27 Hackfeld Road, Worcester MA 01609-2280. 

See also addresses and states in Abbreviations & Shorthand (Abbreviations). 

Set off the year with commas when stating a specific date (month, day, and year). 

• The committee set July 5, 2015, as the start date for the project. 

Set off a date with commas when it follows the day of the week it refers to. (The preferred format is day-date-time.) Omit the comma when only a day or date is used with the time. 

• The premiere is Friday, Oct. 24, at 8 p.m. in the Little Theatre.
• The premiere is Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. in the Little Theatre. 

A dash is used for a change of thought. Use an em dash (—) rather than two hyphens (--). Do not add a space before or after an em dash. 

• We don’t just believe in making the world a better place though science, technology, the arts, and humanities—we actually do it. 

Use an en dash ( – ) for inclusive numbers unless the numbers are preceded by the word from or between. 

• See Chapters 11–15.
• from 10 to 12 students
• between 20 and 25 points 

Use the following keyboard shortcuts to type em and en dashes: 

iOS

• em dash: option + shift + hyphen
• en dash: option + hyphen 

Windows 

• em dash:
  • On a keyboard with a numeric keypad, type control + alt + minus sign.
  • In Microsoft Word, type two hyphens between two words without spaces. Word will autocorrect to the hyphens to an em dash.
  • In the Symbol menu in Microsoft Word, click on the Special Characters tab, then find and click on em dash. The symbol will be inserted wherever your cursor is.
• en dash:
  • On a keyboard with a numeric keypad, type control + minus sign.
  • In Microsoft Word, type a hyphen with spaces on either side. Word will autocorrect to an en dash. If you use this method, remember to delete the spaces on either side of the en dash.
  • In the Symbol menu in Microsoft Word, click on the Special Characters tab, then find and click on en dash. The symbol will be inserted wherever your cursor is.

Ellipses consist of three periods ( ... ). Put a space on both sides of an ellipsis but not in between the periods. Use an ellipsis to indicate the deletion of one or more words in quoted material.  

• The Gettysburg Address begins with, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth … a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” 

If a grammatically complete sentence precedes an ellipsis, use a period after the last word before the ellipsis and before the first word of the next sentence.  

• “WPI’s campus is teeming with activity throughout the academic year. ... From New Student Orientation in the fall to Commencement in the spring, there is always something happening on campus.”  

Do not end a sentence with an ellipsis.  

Use a single exclamation point only when needed to convey emphasis, but use sparingly. 

• Congratulations on your acceptance to WPI! 

Hyphenate compound modifiers that precede the noun they modify. 

• student-centered support 
• career-focused curriculum 
• 17th-century painter 
• well-known fact 

Do not hyphenate compound modifiers that follow the noun they modify. 

• The student was well known. 
• Her work is awe inspiring. 

Also, do not hyphenate compound modifiers when one of the elements is an adverb ending in ly. 

• a completely new course 
• an incredibly helpful resource 

Hyphenate prefixes that stand alone as part of a pair or group. 

• full- and part-time students 
• micro- and macronutrients 

Use a hyphen in a compound adjective when one or more of its elements are open compounds. 

• Pre-World War I years 
• non-Worcester Polytechnic Institute link 
• Nobel Prize-winning author 

Use a single space after a period at the end of a sentence. 

Use curly/smart quotes ( “ ), not straight quotes ( " ). Periods and commas at the end of quotations always go inside the quotation marks. Place question marks, exclamation points, colons, and semicolons inside quotation marks only if they are part of the quoted material. 

• Evelyn exclaimed, “I got an A on my exam!” 
• Who said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”? 

Write captions in the present tense. A caption may be a complete sentence or a sentence fragment. Captions do not require end punctuation unless they are complete sentences. 

• Professor Elizabeth Rutledge
• Professor Alexander Bennet lectures on biofuel development.
• Students doing lab work in robotics engineering 
• Jasper Stevens ’16, winner of the Robert Fellman Memorial Scholarship Prize  
• Helen Jones ’18 wins this year’s Charles O. Thompson Scholarship.  

Identify the people in a photo from left to right.  

• Orientation leaders (from left, Kaylee Rodgers ’17, Theo Marquam ’16, and Elena Chandran ’16) welcome incoming students.  

If there are only two people in a photo, use left or right but not both.  

• Leif Anderson, left, and Melissa Gomez discuss cryptography and data security. 

Use this format when providing contact information on a webpage or printed asset. Include a street address, phone number, fax number, email address, and website (or combination thereof):  

• Office of the Provost  
  Worcester Polytechnic Institute  
  100 Institute Road  
  Worcester, MA 01609  
  508-831-5222  
  Fax: 508-831-5774  
  provost@wpi.edu  
  www.wpi.edu  

While it’s necessary to distinguish fax numbers from phone numbers (as shown in the previous example), the preferred style is to omit labels with phone numbers, email addresses, and websites.  

Incorrect  

• Office of the Provost  
  Worcester Polytechnic Institute  
  100 Institute Road  
  Worcester, MA 01609  
  Phone: 508-831-5222  
  Fax: 508-831-5774  
  Email: provost@wpi.edu  
  Website: www.wpi.edu 

When possible and appropriate, avoid using following or below to refer to elements on the page when the layout of the page itself provides those signals.  

OK You should attend the following sessions:  

• Session A  
• Session B  
• Session C  

Better  You should attend these sessions:  

• Session A  
• Session B  
• Session C  

Introduce bulleted and numbered lists with either a complete grammatical sentence or a sentence fragment, followed by a colon. Capitalize the first word of each list item. Do not use end punctuation unless the items in the list are complete sentences. Keep list items short; aim to limit each list item to two lines of text. However, avoid long, narrow lists by arranging short items into two or more columns.  

• Your application should include: 
  • A completed application form 
  • Two letters of recommendation 
  • An official transcript 
• Reasons to choose Worcester Polytechnic Institute: 
  • We guide remarkable learning and discovery. 
  • We engage in innovative technology solutions. 
  • We make serious learning fun and exciting.  

Do not use end punctuation if the listed items complete a sentence fragment that introduces the list.  

• Your end-of-term project will involve: 
  • Interviewing a community leader 
  • Writing a 15-page paper 
  • Presenting your paper to the class 
• To receive extra credit, you can: 
  • Write an extra paper 
  • Conduct an interview 
  • Give an extra presentation  

Note: Even though the items in the second example above could stand on their own as complete sentences outside the context of this list, they should not end with a period since they complete the sentence fragment that introduces the list.  

However, if each item in the bulleted list can stand on its own as a complete sentence and the introduction to the list can stand on its own as a complete sentence, include end punctuation in the bulleted items. 

• You will receive an A if you meet all of the requirements:
  • Complete 10 journal entries. 
  • Meet weekly with your advisor.
  • Turn in your final paper by the deadline. 

Make the items in a list parallel. For example, here is the first list above but in nonparallel and, therefore, incorrect form. Notice that the last item in the list is a complete sentence, but the first two items are sentence fragments.  

Incorrect:  

• Your application should include these documents: 
  • A completed application form 
  • Two letters of recommendation 
  • You should also send an official transcript.  

Do not use lists for fewer than three items. 

• See the course catalog for major and minor requirements.  
  not:  
  See the course catalog for specific requirements: 
  • Major requirements 
  • Minor requirements 

Gender and sex are not the same thing and should not be used interchangeably. Broadly speaking, gender refers internal feelings and perceptions likely connected to socially constructed norms of behaviors and characteristics. Sex, on the other hand, is a scientific and medical designation based on biological characteristics such as chromosomes and reproductive anatomy.  

When referring to someone in the third person, use the personal pronouns that the individual uses, if known. If the person’s pronouns are not publicly available and/or you aren’t able to confirm with the person in question the pronouns they identify with, use they/them/theirs. Do not assume the person’s pronouns based on their first name or their appearance.  

When referring to or asking about someone’s personal pronouns, avoid using phrases such as preferred pronouns, chosen pronouns, or identifies as.  

Use pronouns she/her/hers; he/him/his; and they/them/theirs without introduction.  

Use the singular themself to refer to someone who uses they/them pronouns. When using they/them/their as a singular pronoun, use plural subject-verb agreement.  

• That’s Dylan. They are doing their IQP in New Zealand next year.  

Sexual orientation refers to the part of a person’s identity that includes the type of physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction the individual feels toward others. Avoid using sexual preference, as that implies that the person chooses who they are attracted to. Likewise, avoid using sexuality as a synonym for sexual orientation. Examples of sexual orientations include gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, pansexual, asexual, heterosexual, and straight. With the exception of lesbian, these terms should be used as adjectives only, not nouns. Lesbian can be used as either a noun or an adjective. Avoid using the outdated term homosexual, which was long used as a category of mental illness and is considered stigmatizing.  

Regardless of the specific topic or the audience, focus your writing on the positive (what is possible) rather than on the negative (what is not possible). This is especially important when communicating about a disability or health condition.  

• accessible parking 
  not: handicapped parking
• burn survivor 
  not: burn victim 

As you navigate an ever-changing world, let your writing be guided by two overarching principles of inclusive language:  

• Be specific and intentional in your word choices.
• Be respectful of others by calling people what they call themselves (even if it contradicts WPI’s Style Guide). When in doubt, ask them. 

An umbrella term, used throughout the U.S. in public policy and legal documents, for a broad category that includes physical, emotional, and intellectual conditions. Mention a disability only if it is relevant in the context of the story or publication. Whenever possible, ask the person you are writing about how they want to be described. Avoid the terms handicap to refer to a disability or handicapped to refer to a person.

The World Health Organization defines deafness as “profound hearing loss, which implies very little or no hearing.” Lowercase deaf when referring to the condition of total or profound hearing loss. Capitalize Deaf when referring to individuals who identify as members of the Deaf community, but note that some people with hearing loss prefer to use the lowercase form when describing themselves. When in doubt, ask. 

Generally speaking, “mental health” relates to the condition of someone’s emotional and mental state. A person’s mental health is one piece of their overall well-being. While some aspects of a person’s mental health are outwardly visible, many are largely invisible. It is therefore important not to make assumptions about anyone’s mental health or diagnosis. Avoid referring to someone’s mental health unless it is relevant in the given context. If it is relevant, it is best to ask the person’s permission before including those details since this information is often highly sensitive and personal. When referring to someone’s mental health, be specific, avoid euphemisms, and use medically accepted terms. To avoid defining someone by their mental health condition, use person-first language.  

• a student with schizophrenia  
  not: a schizophrenic student  

With person-first language, use the verb “has” instead of “is” and avoid verb phrases such as “suffering from.”  

• she has bipolar disorder  
  not: she is bipolar  

Similar considerations should be made when writing about people with limited mobility as when writing about any type of disability. In particular, avoid language that portrays people with physical disabilities as victims. 

• wheelchair user or person who uses a wheelchair 
  not: wheelchair bound or confined to a wheelchair   

Be aware that handicap and handicapped are considered outdated terms that should be avoided when describing a person. Instead name the person’s specific condition or use person with a disability.  

Merriam-Webster defines neurodiversity as “individual differences in brain functioning regarded as normal variations within the human population.” The term was coined in the 1990s in reference to people on the autism spectrum; since then, the definition has expanded to include those with other neurological differences, including dyslexia and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. In the broadest sense, the term neurodiversity is a shorthand reference to human brain function and behavioral traits and the belief that there is no such thing as a “normal” brain. Be careful to avoid implying that there is a “preferred” or “normal” way of being or thinking that includes only people without autism or another neurological diagnosis. 

Use the simplified term blind only when referring to someone with total blindness. In other circumstances, use legally blind or other terms such as limited vision or low vision. Whenever possible, ask the person in question what term they prefer to use. Avoid outdated terms such as partial blindness, poor vision, and visually challenged.  

The terms race and ethnicity each refer to distinct aspects of a person’s identity and the terms should not be used interchangeably. In addition, a person’s race or ethnicity should be mentioned only if it is relevant in the given context.  

Race is a form of categorizing people based on perceived physical characteristics. Racial categories are not based on biological facts and these categories can change over time, depending on the dominant group’s perception of others in society. Examples of race include Asian, Black, Native American, and white.  

Ethnicity is a form of categorizing people based on shared cultural characteristics, including language, food, values, beliefs, ancestry, and more. Examples of ethnicity include Arab, Haitian, Korean, and Latino.  

The term minority (or racial minority) is oversimplified, often inaccurate, and should be avoided. Instead, use underrepresented, underserved, or marginalized to refer to those outside the dominant group. If possible and relevant, use the specific identity that the person in question uses to describe themselves.  

Acceptable terms used to describe racial and ethnic groups change over time, just as language more broadly also changes. Always ask the person(s) in question what term(s) they would like you to use when referring to them in your writing. What follows are guidelines based on WPI’s overall editorial style. 

Use biracial or multiracial to describe people of two or more racial backgrounds, respectively. Avoid the term mixed-race. 

Do not use a hyphen in a multiword name when used in either noun or adjective form, even if the term serves as a compound modifier.  

• Asian American students  
  not: Asian-American students  

To describe people in the United States with ancestry from Africa, the terms African American (no hyphen) and Black (capitalized) are both generally acceptable. Note that African American and Black are not always synonymous.  

Use Asian American (no hyphen) to describe Americans of Asian descent. 

Use white (lowercase), as noted in the AP Stylebook.  

Hispanic and Latino describe ethnicities and the two terms are not interchangeable: Hispanic refers to people of Spanish-speaking origin from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain, while Latino refers to anyone from Latin American, even if they don’t speak Spanish (as is the case in Brazil). Note that the word Latino is gendered: Latino is masculine, Latina is feminine. Whenever possible, ask the person in question which term they prefer.  

When referring to a group of Native people in the United States, either Native American or Indigenous (capitalized) is acceptable. Do not use the term Native American when referring to an individual in the United States; instead use their specific preferred Native nation affiliation (for example, Cherokee, Hopi, or Seneca). Avoid the term tribe in all cases; use People or Nation (capitalized) instead (Navajo Nation, not Navajo tribe).  

The terms Arab and Middle Eastern are not interchangeable. Arab is an ethnic identity used to describe people whose native language (or whose ancestors’ native language) is Arabic. More than 20 countries in Africa and western Asia—including Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morrocco, Somalia, and Yemen—count Arabic as the official or one of the official native languages. Middle Eastern, on the other hand, refers to people from (or whose ancestors are from) a broad geographic region spanning multiple continents that share certain characteristics. The term Arab American (no hyphen) is acceptable to describe people in the United States with Arab ancestry. Avoid citing Arab American as a racial category; the U.S. government classifies Arab Americans as “white.” 

Either the full name of the university or the abbreviation WPI should be used on first reference in running text. On subsequent references, the Institute or the university are acceptable. These are the approved names and abbreviations for WPI: 

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute 
  not: the Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• WPI
• the Institute (capitalize Institute)
• the university (lowercase university) 

Special rules for capitalizing several WPI-specific phrases and names have developed over the years. 

• A-Term, B-Term, etc.: Capitalize both the letter and Term, separated by a hyphen. 
• schools: Capitalize The when using the full name of The Business School and The Global School, but lowercase the when using the full name of the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering. 
• QuadFest: One word. Capitalize both the Q and the F.  
• STEM Education Center: The official name does not begin with “the.” 
• The Hill: In reference to Boynton Hill, capitalize both words. 
• the Quad: In reference to the campus Quandrangle, lowercase the and capitalize Quad. 
• the WPI Plan, the Plan: Lowercase the, but capitalize Plan. 

Include the university’s boilerplate language in press releases and high-level job prospectus materials to provide readers with an overview of WPI. The current boilerplate language is located on the Marketing Communications Resources and Tools page, in the accordion menu under “Tools, Files, and Templates You Can Use.” 

The university’s mission statement can be found here.  

A year without a degree abbreviation refers to a WPI undergraduate degree. The apostrophe before the year should face out ( ’ ), not in ( ‘ ).  

• Edward Chen ’14  
  not: Edward Chen ‘14  

Use commas to set off the name from the degree abbreviation and class year for advanced degrees.  

• Rosa Gomez, MS ’10   

For alumni who have earned both an undergraduate and a graduate degree from WPI, identify them as follows.  

• Ahmad Balafrej ’04, PhD ’13 
• Alex Popov ’23, MS ’23 (Note the repetition of ’23, which is necessary for students who earn a bachelor’s and a master’s in the same year.) 

Include prior names, if necessary, in parentheses.  

• Maria (Almodovar) Crowley ’76  

If adding a title after a name and class year, use a comma after the year.  

• Jamal Taylor ’94, professor of ecology  

For people with PhDs, do not use the courtesy title Dr. or refer to them as doctors. Include PhD (or other terminal degree) with class year after a name only if the person is a WPI alum.  

• Mario Esposito teaches in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. 
• Professor Mario Esposito teaches in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.  
  Mario Esposito, PhD ’14, teaches in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. 

Capitalize the full names of WPI celebrations and events.  

• Parents Weekend, Undergraduate Research Projects Showcase, New Student Orientation  

Also capitalize words such as Commencement, Reunion, and Homecoming when referring to a specific WPI event.  

• Do you know who the speaker will be at Commencement next month? 
• She has spoken at several commencement ceremonies. 

Capitalize the full names of offices, including the word office. On first reference, spell out the full name of the office. The preferred reference for offices is Office of.  

• the Office of Accessibility Services, the accessibility services office, the office  

Capitalize the academic or departmental part of degree-program names, but not the word program. Note: The Undergraduate Catalog and Graduate Catalog are the official documents of record for program names. When referring to a nondegree program, capitalize the word Program on first reference only if it is part of the official name. Do not capitalize the word program when referring to a nondegree program on second reference.  

• the Master of Science in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology program, the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology program, the program  
• the Trustee Mentor Program, the mentor program, the program 

Use a before consonant sounds and an before vowel sounds. Use an before MS, MA, MBA, and other master’s degree abbreviations.  

• a historic day  
• an MS in chemical engineering

Not adviser. 

African American (no hyphen) and Black (capitalized) are both generally acceptable to describe people in the United States with ancestry from Africa. Note that African American and Black are not always synonymous. See also people of African origin in Respectful Language (Race and Ethnicity).  

Alumna is the singular, feminine form, and alumnus is the singular, masculine form. Alumnae is the feminine plural, and alumni is the plural for a group of graduates or former students made up either of men only or of both men and women. Alum and alums are acceptable gender-neutral options in informal writing. Do not capitalize any of the above forms.  

Arab is an ethnic identity used to describe people whose native language (or whose ancestors’ native language) is Arabic. Arab American (no hyphen) is acceptable to describe people in the United States with Arab ancestry. Avoid citing Arab American as a racial category; the U.S. government classifies Arab Americans as “white.” See also people of Middle Eastern origin in Respectful Language (Race and Ethnicity). 

No hyphen. Use to describe Americans of Asian descent. See also people of Asian origin in Respectful Language (Race and Ethnicity). 

The preferred shorthand at WPI for all people within racially and ethnically marginalized groups. BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, and people of color and ALANA stands for African American, Latino/a American, Asian American, Native American.  

Black (capitalized) and African American (no hyphen) are both generally acceptable to describe people in the United States with ancestry from Africa. Note that African American and Black are not always synonymous. See also people of African origin in Respectful Language (Race and Ethnicity). 

One word. 

Not catalogue.  

Use instead of chairman or chairwoman.  

Capitalize when used with a figure in reference to a book chapter (e.g., Chapter 17).  

The term used to describe someone whose gender identity corresponds with the sex they were assigned at birth.  

Capitalize in reference to Worcester municipal entities but lowercase in reference to Worcester as a geographic location.  

• Students worked with staff from the City of Worcester on their IQP. 
• The university is located in the city of Worcester. 

Capitalize when referring to a graduating class.  

• The Class of ’85 produced several influential graduates.  

Two words. 

One word.  

Use full names on first reference; on subsequent references, abbreviations are acceptable.  

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (first reference)  
• MIT (subsequent references)  

Capitalize when referring to the ceremony at WPI.  

• Commencement 2015  
• Will you be attending Commencement next Saturday?  

In commonwealth of constructions, capitalize in reference to Massachusetts as an official entity. Lowercase when omitting of Massachusetts.  

• We applied for grant funding from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  
• Students from across the commonwealth attended the event. 

When referring to a course, use the word course rather than class. It is best to reserve the word class for the meeting time and for the people taking a course together.  

The course is offered by the Department of Mathematical Sciences; classes meet twice a week.  

One word.

One word. Capitalize when referring to the official names of WPI's degree programs or graduate certificate program. In all other instances, lowercase. 

WPI’s Master of Science in Cybersecurity program offers students the option to focus their studies around either software or hardware. 

In today’s world, successful companies need strong cybersecurity measures.  

Capitalize when referring to a specific list for a specific period of time; otherwise, use lowercase.  

• I was named to the B-Term Dean’s List. 
  but: I’m working hard to make the dean’s list. 

The word degree should not follow a degree abbreviation or the full name of a degree.  

• She earned an MBA from WPI last year. 
  not: She earned an MBA degree from WPI last year.
• He plans to graduate with a bachelor of arts. 
  not: He plans to graduate with a bachelor of arts degree.  

Use bachelor’s degree, not baccalaureate.  

• Amelia has a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering.  
  not: Amelia has a baccalaureate in aerospace engineering.  

Do not capitalize.  

Acronym for the Department of Integrative and Global Studies. Spell out on first reference.

Use doctorate in, not doctorate of. 

• The guest speaker received an honorary doctorate in business during Commencement. 
  not: The guest speaker received an honorary doctorate of business during Commencement. 

Capitalize when referring to the proper name of the planet; otherwise, use lowercase.  

• How far is Earth from Mars?  
• He has a bachelor’s degree in earth science.  

Emerita is the singular, feminine form, and emeritus is the singular, masculine form. Emeritae is the feminine plural, and emeriti is the plural for a group made up either of men only or of both men and women. Lowercase except when used before a name or when the word is an official part of a named professorship. Place emerita or emeritus after the title professor. Note: These are honorary designations bestowed on only some retired faculty and do not simply mean “retired.”  

• Professor Emerita Jane Smith  
• John Smith is a professor emeritus of physics.  

One word.

Faculty and staff can be used in both singular and plural senses. Use a singular verb when the term refers to the whole group.  

• The computer science faculty meets once a week.  
• The staff is planning to meet tomorrow.  

Use a plural verb when the term refers to individual members within the group.  

• The faculty disagree among themselves.  
• The staff are conflicted on how to proceed.  

Lowercase except when used as part of a proper name.  

• a research fellow, a Hertz Fellow, a Teaching Technology Fellow  
• a prestigious fellowship from the American Association of University Women  
• a Hertz Fellowship, a Teaching Technology Fellowship  

One word. 

Use FinTech (one word, capital F and T) for the official, formal name of WPI’s degree programs in financial technology. Use fintech (all lowercase) when referring more broadly to the financial technology field of study or industry. 

• She is among the first cohort graduating from the Master of Science in FinTech program.
• WPI is a good choice for students interested in fintech careers.  

Preferable to freshman. 

Hyphenate when used as an adjective before a noun; otherwise, leave as two words.  

• Carlos is a full-time student. 
• Sasha goes to school part time.  

One word.  

Capitalize library both when using the full name and the shortened name Gordon Library. Lowercase library if omitting Gordon.  

• The university archives are located in the basement of the George C. Gordon Library.
• The university archives are located in the basement of the Gordon Library.
• The university archives are located in the basement of the library. 

Acronym for grade point average; acceptable on first reference. No periods.  

One word.  

Capitalize when referring to the event at WPI.  

• WPI alumni felt right at home during last weekend’s Homecoming.  

Capitalize when referring to a group of Native people in United States. Native American is also acceptable. See also Indigenous people in Respectful Language (Race and Ethnicity). 

Capitalize when used alone in reference to WPI.  

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s 80-acre campus sits high on a hill on the west side of Worcester.
• The Institute’s convenient central location puts students close to all the best the city has to offer.  

Use instead of foreign students.  

Not Little Theater.

Two words.  

Latina and Latino refer to people of Latin American descent. Hispanic refers to a person who came from a Spanish-speaking country or whose ancestors came from a Spanish-speaking country. Use the person’s preferred term. Latina is feminine; Latino is masculine; Latinos is plural for both male-only groups and for mixed-gender groups; Latinas is plural feminine. See also people of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity in Respectful Language (Race and Ethnicity). 

The preferred shorthand at WPI for all gender and sexuality identities. The acronym stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and pansexual; the plus sign is used to show respect and sensitivity to all groups within the queer community. See also Respectful Language (Gender, Sex, and Sexual Orientation).

Use Native American (capitalized, no hyphen) to refer to a group of Native people in the United States; Indigenous (capitalized) is also acceptable. Do not use the term Native American when referring to an individual in the United States; instead use their specific preferred Native nation affiliation (for example, Cherokee, Hopi, or Seneca). See also Indigenous people in Respectful Language (Race and Ethnicity). 

Use instead of older students.

Hyphenate when used as an adjective before a noun; otherwise, leave as two words.  

• The program includes an off-campus internship.  
• Otto lives on campus.  

Not okay. 

Do not capitalize.

No apostrophe. Capitalize both words.  

No apostrophe. Capitalize both words.  

Use instead of disabled. Do not use handicapped. The term accessible is preferred over handicap accessible. See also disability in Respectful Language (Inclusive Language). For additional information, see the AP Stylebook entry for disabled, handicapped, impaired. 

Capitalize only when used before a name as a formal title. In all other references, lowercase. Do not abbreviate. See also academic rank in Names & Titles (Titles). 

• Professor Banerjee
• She is a professor of environmental engineering.  

One word. Capitalize both the Q and the F.  

Use instead of dorm or dormitory.  

Do not capitalize. May be shortened to RA on second reference. 

Capitalize when referring to named scholarships.  

• a Marshall Scholar, a Rhodes Scholar  

Lowercase except when used as part of a proper name.  

• a four-year scholarship  
• a Marshall Scholarship, a Rhodes Scholarship  

Capitalize as part of a proper noun; in all other references, school should be lowercased.  

• The Business School at WPI is known for developing innovative and entrepreneurial leaders for a global technological world.  
• The school emphasizes innovative and project-based education.  

Lowercase names of the seasons unless they are part of a proper name.  

• When does registration for fall 2025 begin?  
• the spring 2024 issue of WPI Journal  
• the Summer Olympics  

Do not capitalize.  

• fall semester, spring semester  

In general, choose modern forms of words to underscore the progressive nature of WPI. For example, email has evolved from e-mail and is the newer, condensed form of electronic mail.  

• cellphone 
• database 
• e-book 
• email 
• enewsletter 
• homepage 
• internet 
• JPG 
• log in, log in to, log on (verbs); login, logon (noun, adj.) 
• log out, log out of, log off (verbs); logout, logoff (noun, adj.) 
• MP3 
• offline 
• online 
• page view 
• password 
• PDF 
• pop up (verb), pop-up (noun, adj.) 
• sign in (verb), sign-in (noun, adj.) 
• sign out (verb), sign-out (noun, adj.) 
• screen name 
• screen reader 
• social network (noun), social-network (adj.) 
• smartphone 
• username 
• URL 
• web 
• webcast 
• webpage 
• website 
• Wi-Fi

Use that for restrictive clauses, or clauses that are essential to the meaning of a sentence. Use which for nonrestrictive clauses, or clauses that can be removed from a sentence without changing the sentence’s meaning. Note: Nonrestrictive clauses are set off by commas.  

• Our research in the life sciences and bioengineering is fueling breakthroughs that improve lives and advance new understandings of biological processes.  
• The food court, which is located on the first floor of the Rubin Campus Center, is where I’ll be after class.  

Use theatre instead of theater unless theater is part of a proper noun. 

• our local community theatre  
• Ed Sullivan Theater  

Not towards.  

Not transferrable.  

An umbrella term used to describe people whose gender identity does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth. Use transgender as an adjective only. Avoid using as either a noun or a verb. 

Lowercase university when used alone in reference to WPI.  

• At Worcester Polytechnic Institute, students apply the fundamentals of science and engineering to solve real-world problems. The university's innovative approach to education has produced several generations of graduates who have helped build a better world.

Use instead of upper-class students or upperclassmen. 

Use periods when use as an adjective or a noun. In headlines, omit periods. 

• A U.S. senator will speak at WPI tomorrow. 
• Headquartered in Massachusetts, the company has local offices across the U.S.  

Use a comma and periods.  

Hyphenate and capitalize both segments.

Put the relevant word(s) in quotation marks.

• The answer is “yes.”
• She said, “The terms ‘there’ and ‘their’ are homonyms.”

For plurals of words referred to as words, generally add s, with no apostrophe.  

• Ifs, ands, and buts
• dos and don’ts  

To avoid confusion, sometimes it is necessary to add an apostrophe before the s.  

• yes’s and no’s  

Hyphenate and use only as an adjective, not as a noun.  

• To learn more about work-study opportunities, stop by the Office of Financial Aid. 
  not: To learn more about work-study, stop by the Office of Financial Aid.  

Capitalize, no periods.