This is the latest version of the evolving Davidson style guide, meant to address usage specific to Davidson College as well as common questions of style.

For general reference, see The Chicago Manual of Style and Merriam-Webster's 11th edition. Please direct questions regarding these resources to the library.

Questions or comments, please contact Angie Rice-Figueroa. Printable guide (PDF).

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Spelling Preferences Quick List

adviser, not advisor
aesthetics, not esthetics
archaeology, not archeology
catalog, not catalogue
gray, not grey
coauthor, not co-author
nonprofit, not non-profit
percent, not per cent or % (except in lists and scientific copy)
theatre, not theater
traveled or traveling, not travelled or travelling

A
a vs. an with acronyms
Use a or an based on the acronym's pronunciation. For example, a WYSIWYG application and an ASCII file.

a.m./p.m.
Use the lower case with periods in all print copy.
Web note: use am/pm in Web copy

academic degrees
A Ph.D. is a doctorate.
An M.A. is a master’s degree.
A B.S. or a B.A. is a bachelor’s degree.
When used after a name, an academic abbreviation is set off by commas: William
Mahony, Ph.D., spoke to the class.
Do not precede a name with a courtesy title for an academic degree and follow the name with the abbreviation for the degree in the same reference: e.g., not Dr.
William Mahony, Ph.D.; nor Professor William Mahony, Ph.D.

academic departments/disciplines
Department of History is the preferred style.
History Department may be used informally or as a second reference.
N.B.: Upper case is a departure from Chicago style.

acknowledgment—not acknowledgement

Admission, The Office of
use the singular:

adverse, averse
He predicted adverse weather.
She is averse to change.

adviser, not advisor
One who advises; your academic adviser.
[While the British spelling of advisor is acceptable, Davidson style dictates adviser, as preferred in Merriam-Webster’s.]

affect/effect
John affected a cosmopolitan air.
The urban air affected his lungs.
The effect of the bad air was wheezing.
She effected energy conservation through PR brochures.

African American
Generally preferred as proper noun or as an adjective
Do not hyphenate; this applies as well to Asian American, Latino American, etc.
Do not capitalize a color when referring to race; i.e., white, black.

alumnus (male singular)

alumna (female singular)

alumni (male plural or in reference to Davidson graduates in general)

alumnae (two or more female graduates)

Never write “alum.”

and/or—A shortcut to avoid; it can lead to confusion or ambiguity. Use either word, but not both words in a sentence. If necessary, use an “or both” phrase: salt or pepper or both.

annual—An event cannot be described as annual until it has been held in at least two successive years.

apostrophe
its: a possessive pronoun that takes no apostrophe
it’s: a contraction of “It is”
Thus: When it’s thundering, the dog tucks its tail.
The apostrophe precedes the “s” in a singular surname: Mr. Smith’s garage is larger than Mr. Jones’s.
The apostrophe follows a possessive plural surname. Thus: The Smiths’ garage is next to the Joneses’ garage.
Use no apostrophe when pluralizing a surname: The Joneses are having a party; I’ll be there after I visit the Smiths.

B
Buildings
See: Campus Buildings and Spaces

C
Campus Buildings and Spaces

This list includes commonly cited or new spaces.

Akers Hall
Alumni Stadium
Alvarez College Union [not Alvarez Student Union]
Armfield Hall
Arthur Vining Davis Foundations Conference Room
Baker Sports Complex
Baker-Watt Science Center
The Barber Theatre
Belk Hall
Carol Grotnes Belk Turf Field
Katherine and Tom Belk Visual Arts Center
Cannon Hall
Chambers Building
Chidsey Center for Leadership Development
Covington Tennis Courts
Covington Golf Course
Carnegie Guest House
Covington Tennis Courts
Covington Golf Course
Cunningham Theatre Center
Dana Science Laboratory
Davis Café
Doe Weight Room
Duke Family Performance Hall
Jesse Ball DuPont Dining Room
Eumenean Hall/Philanthropic Hall (Eu Hall, Phi Hall)
Flowe Hall
Hance Auditorium
Hart Hall
Mariam Cannon Hayes Amphitheatre
Hobart Park
Hodson Hall
Lula Bell Houston Laundry
Irwin Hall
Jamieson Hall
Knobloch Campus Center
Knox Hall
E. H. Little Library
Little Hall
Lilly Family Gallery
Martin Chemical Laboratory
D. Grier Martin Court
Morcott Room
Multicultural House
Nisbet Fitness Center
Blanche Knox Parker Garden
Philanthropic Hall, Phi Hall
Richardson Hall
Richardson Plaza Sculpture Garden
Richardson Stadium
Ryburn Hall
Sentelle Hall
Sloan Music Center
C. Shaw Smith 900 Room, Smith 900 Room
Spencer Lobby
Spencer Office Suite
Sprinkle Room
Stephen B. Smith Field
Tomlinson Hall
Tyler-Tallman Hall
Van Every/Smith Galleries
Vann Center for Ethics
Watson Life Sciences Building
Watts Hall
Carole and Marcus Weinstein Center
Wilson Field

campuswide

cardinal/ordinal
April 18, not April 18th
The third time was a charm.

catalog
not “catalogue”

chair
The non-sexist “chair” is preferred to “chairman” or “chairperson.”

class years
Eileen Keeley ’89
Eileen Keeley, Class of 1989
John McCartney was in the Class of 1974.

In a sentence, consider the class year as part of the name, aand do not set off with a comma:

• John Syme ’85 is the editor for class notes.

but:
Our class reunion was fantastic.
Avoid using a class year as a suffix when the proper name is used in the possessive.

College vs. college
College is considered a proper noun only when paired with Davidson, not when used in reference to Davidson; thus, use lowercase case when it appears alone: I attended Davidson College before the college was admitting women.

commas
Use the serial comma: I remembered to bring my pen, pencil, and notebook.

Commencement, Commencement Weekend, commencement
Use uppercase when referring to Davidson’s graduation ceremony.
Use lowercase in all other circumstances.

comprise /compose
Use these with care. To comprise is “to be made up of, to include” (the whole comprises the parts). To compose is “to make up, to form the substance of something” (the parts compose the whole). The phrase comprised of, though increasingly common, is poor usage. Instead, use composed of or consisting of.

convocation, Spring Awards Convocation

D

dashes
When using a long dash (em dash) in text, use no space before or after the dash: Jane Doe will buy a house—if she gets a raise.
(Spaces around the dash are acceptable, but will be removed when formatted for a printed publication.)
Avoid overusing the long dash as a compositional device.

The en dash (medium dash, between a hyphen and a long dash) indicates duration of time or the relationship between numbers and requires no spaces:
E.g.

The keystrokes for an em dash (long dash):
Mac: shift + option + hyphen
PC:control + alt + hyphen (on the number pad) in most cases.

The keystrokes for an en dash (medium dash):
Mac: option + hyphen
PC: control +hyphen (on the number pad) in most cases.

Dates
The all-numeral style of writing dates (7/10/44) should not be used in body text for practical as well as aesthetic reasons, as the month-date-year style is not globally consistent.
If using an all-numeral style, avoid trendy choices, e.g.: 07.10.44
When specific dates are expressed, cardinal numbers are used, although they may be pronounced as ordinals.

• August 1, she got her first job.

When a date is mentioned without the month or the year, the number is usually spelled out, e.g.

• April 1 will be a holiday, but you’d better show up on the second.

Do not use ordinals in copy: Let’s have the party on August 13!

Years: Express years in numerals, unless they stand at the beginning of a sentence.

Decades: Various styles are acceptable, including:

Centuries:

Davidson Research Initiative, DRI

The Davidson Trust
The name for Davidson's policy to replace loans in financial aid packages with grants. Use the entire phrase, The Davidson Trust, with the uppercase T in the word The:
The college family is eager to support The Davidson Trust.

The Duke Endowment
The article "the," which precedes the name of this foundation, is always written with an uppercase T:
Davidson's largest donor, The Duke Endowment, is based in Charlotte.

E
ellipses
Use three (dot dot dot space) between sentence fragments. If the first section of the quoted copy is a complete sentence, leave the period for a total of four (dot dot dot dot space).
Avoid overusing the ellipsis as a compositional device.
Note: In copy submitted for design and layout, do not use Microsoft Word’s auto-ellipsis feature; it does not translate into design software.

e-mail, online
not email
Not on-line

emerita, emeritus
These terms refer to individuals who have retired but who retain their rank or title. Place emerita or emeritus after the formal title: Louise Nelson, professor emerita of political science, Professor Emeritus Don Kimmel.

The plural is emeriti: Malcolm Partin and Earl Edmondson, professors emeriti of history.
These words are not italicized, as they are in common usage.

F
Family Weekend (not Parents Weekend)

farther, further
Although these words have long been used interchangeably to denote spatial, temporal, or metaphorical distance, a divergence in meaning is evolving. As adverbs, farther has begun to take over the meaning of spatial distance, but when there is no notion of distance, further is used:

Further is also a sentence modifier: Further, the leadership is not enthusiastic.

As a adjective, farther relates to distance: We’ll head for that farther shore.

Further indicates in addition: No further action is needed here.

fellow
Lowercase in all uses, as in Kristi Multhaup is an honorary fellow of the American Psychology Association. Exception: Uppercase when part of proper name, such as Fulbright Fellow.

first year vs. freshman
The institutional usage for “freshman” is “first year student.”

Note: The term “freshman” is not taboo, since students, parents, and faculty commonly use the term.

Used only as a modifier. Examples:

foreign/foreigner
Do not use when referring to people or countries. Instead write international student(s) or country(ies).
Write: foreign words, foreign language, foreign money, foreign names.

fractions
Spell out amounts less than one, using hyphens between the words: one-half, two-thirds, four-fifths.

fundraiser, fundraising
The noun phrase “fund raiser” is now acceptable as a compound word without a hyphen. Note: This is a departure from Merriam-Webster.
But do not use a verb form “to fundraise”; use “to raise funds.”

G
gray, not grey; but write greyhound

H
Hispanic/Latino
Either is acceptable, but do not use interchangeably within a document.

Homecoming, Homecoming Weekend
But: Davidson has a strong homecoming program.

Honor Code/honor code
The Honor Code is a hallmark of Davidson culture.
Davidson is one of several colleges with honor codes.
A code of honor binds the Davidson community.

hyphens/dashes
A hyphen joins words.
A dash joins parts of sentences. Avoid overusing the dash as a compositional device.

Using hyphens: Words that might be misread, like re-creation, should be hyphenated. Hyphens can eliminate ambiguity, such as in much-needed clothing. But where no ambiguity could result, hyphens are not required: public welfare office.

See also: dashes

I
impact
Use only as a noun; not a transitive verb. Thus:

Consider using “influence,” or “affect,” which can be used as nouns or transitive verbs.

Do not make into an adjective form, e.g., never “impactful” or, even worse, “impacting.”

Consider using “powerful,” “influential.”

Internet/Web
Capitalize Internet and Web in all instances that refer to the World Wide Web or Internet. Spell “Web site” as two words.
A person who maintains a Web site is a “webmaster.”

Internet-based, Internet address

Interstate 77
Use this form for first references; thereafter, use I-77 or interstate. This rule applies to all interstate highways.

italics
Use italics for:

In general, smaller elements contained within those listed above—songs within a CD, episodes within a TV series, etc.—go in quotes: “The Puffy Shirt” (an episode of Seinfeld).

Web addresses are italicized in print publications: www.davidson.edu
Use italics for foreign words or phrases, unless in common English usage.

When in doubt, consult Merriam-Webster.

L
Latino/Hispanic
Either is acceptable, but do not use interchangeably within a document.

less/fewer
“less” is used to describe an amount that cannot be specifically quantified; “fewer” is used with items that can be counted.

lie/lay
“to lie ” (to stretch out on a horizontal surface) is an intransitive verb; “to lay” (to put something down) is a transitive verb, thus taking an object.

To confuse things further, the past tense of “to lie” is “lay.”

Ex.:

M
Money
I owe you three dollars.
Tickets: $3 or $3.00
Three million or $3 million.

months
Spell out when using alone, or with a year alone. In a phrase citing only a month and a year, do not separate year with a comma or commas.

My son left for Davidson in August 2007.
When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec.

Where space is an issue, it is acceptable to abbreviate months when used with a specific date.
When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with a comma.

• Exams begin on Dec. 14, 2007, with exam rooms located in the ChambersBuilding.

N
No-Loan Policy: See The Davidson Trust

numbers
In general copy, write out numbers zero through ninety-nine; use arabic numerals beginning with 100. Written out numbers above 100 are acceptable, but generally confined to round numbers.

E.g.:

Exception: In Davidson Journal class notes, write out one through nine, begin arabic numerals with 10.

Never begin a sentence with an arabic numeral.
Use numerals for exact time, percentages, athletic scores, page numbers:

Telephone numbers:
The style is 704-894-2000, as the area code is not optional.
Do not use a trendy style, as in 704.894.2000.

See also: Dates

O
online, email
not on-line
not e-mail

orient, not orientate

over, more than
Use “over” to indicate a physical relationship.
Use “more than” to indicate quantity.

• More than twenty robins flew over the picnic table.

P
percent
Write out in copy or in the body of a letter: About 50 percent of Davidson students are male.

In lists, in the web and scientific copy, it is acceptable to use the % symbol.

plurals
Write as it sounds:

points of the compass
Compass points and terms derived fromt them are lowercased if they simply indicate direction or location.

• Drive south on the interstate to get to Huntersville, just south of Cornelius.
  

possessives
The general rule: Form the possessive of singular nouns by adding ‘s: the horse’s mouth
Form the possessive of plural nouns by adding an apostrophe: the puppies’ paws
Proper nouns: the general rule usually applies:

Exceptions: Plural nouns that are singular in meaning:

professor
Professor vs. Dr.
Preferred at Davidson (in body text): Professor Appleyard, not Dr. Appleyard
“Dr.” is acceptable in a student quote.
Do not use both. E.g., not Dr. Merlyn Schuh, James G. Martin Professor of Chemistry

As in all titles, capitalize when used before the name, lowercase when following
the name, e.g.:

But: Always capitalize named professorships, even following a name, e.g.:
Merlyn Schuh, James G. Martin Professor of Chemistry, spoke at the conference.

Q
quotation marks
Put the following in quotation marks:

R
ranges
Our goal is $250 million to $265 million, or more.
Not: $250 to $265 million; also not $250–$265 million

John W. Kuykendall was president of Davidson College from 1984 to 1997.
Not: … from 1984–1997.

Regional terms
Regional terms that are accepted as proper names are usually capitalized; adjectives and nouns derived from these terms are usually lowercased.
He is from the Northwest, but he considers himself a southerner.

Compass points and terms deriving from them are lowercased if they simply indicate a direction.
I was heading south on the interstate when you called.

résumé, not resume
Rev./Hon.
The Reverend Brown
Rev. John Brown
A modifier, not a noun, so never: The reverend gave her blessing.

residence hall vs. dorm
Institutional usage dictates “residence hall.” “Dorm” is still in conversational usage and may be used in a student quote or similarly informal context.

Reunion, Reunion Weekend, 50th Reunion

Rev./Hon.
The Reverend John Brown
Rev. John Brown

Reverend is a modifier, do not use as a noun.

• Correct: Reverend Smith gave her blessing.
• Never: The reverend gave her blessing.

review vs. test

S
scholar athlete, student athlete
Do not hyphenate; consider as an open compound, like high school.

seasons
Use lowercase, e.g., spring, summer, fall, winter, as well as derivatives such as springtime.

states
In copy, the names of states should be spelled out when standing along and preferably when following the name of a city. Never abbreviate when used alone.

• I live in Davidson,North Carolina.
• I was born in Virginia.

If abbreviating, use older forms as cited in Chicago, e.g., N.C., Tenn.
With an address followed by a zip code, use two-letter abbreviations preferred by the USPS, e.g., NC.

Eight states are never abbreviated in copy: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, and Utah.

When citing a city and state in a sentence, set the state off by commas:

• He was in Davidson, North Carolina, when he met the love of his life.

student employment
The preferred way to refer to campus jobs that are part of student financial aid packages.

T
that/which
This is a rule that bothers us. (essential clause)
This rule, which bothers us, can be confusing. (non-essential clause)
Also, use “who”, not “that,” in reference to a person:

theatre, not theater
The British usage, “theatre,” is the college style, as preferred by the Department of Theatre. Note: This is an exception to Merriam-Webster, which lists "theater" as preferred.

Time of day:
Spell out in copy: I woke up at five o’clock to study.
Except for a very specific time: The hospital called at exactly 5:37 a.m.
Never use numerals for noon or midnight.

time, date, place
Follow this sequence in announcing any past, present, or future events such as meetings, dinners, productions, classes:
Professor Case’s class meets from 10 a.m.to noon Monday and Friday in 350 Macintosh Hall, or Professor Case attended the annual convention Oct. 14 and 15 in Arlington, Va.

See also: Dates

titles and proper nouns
Capitalize a title when it precedes a name; lowercase the title when it follows a name:

trustee/s
The Davidson Board of Trustees met in February.
The college family was proud of the trustees’ vote to eliminate student loans.
Allison Hall Mauzé is a Davidson trustee.

T-shirt, not tee shirt or t-shirt
I love my new Davidson T-shirt.

U
URL: Acceptable in all references for uniform resource locator, a standard Web address.
Omit http:// in URLs. Just use www.davidson.edu, for example.

Exception: Include https:// when necessary to identify a secure site.

In text, consider italicizing as above to distinguish in copy.

U.S.A./U.S.
Use periods between the letters; do not use spaces. This applies to all abbreviations involving capital letters, with an exception for institutions that prefer to eliminate the periods in abbreviations their names, such as UNC and UVA.

use, not utilize

W
Web/Web site
Capitalize Web and Internet in all instances that refer to the World Wide Web or Internet. Spell “Web site” as two words.

Y
Years—see: Dates
Last updated 1/06/08

v.8.1
New versions of the Style Guide are published following major additions or changes.