- abbreviations
When a civil or military title is used before a last name, it should be spelled out. With full names, the title should be abbreviated. Do not use title on second reference, except in quoted material.
Gen. Tommy Franks
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY (or describe party affiliation in context)
Gen. Tommy Franks is leading the mission. Franks described the situation as "tense," but his aide explained, "If there is a man for this task, it's General Franks."
Abbreviate and capitalize Co. and Corp. and Inc. and Ltd., and do not precede with a comma. These abbreviations are not necessary when the company name is familiar and the context is clear.
- academic degrees
University style recommends that in most instances, a person's credentials can and should be noted within the context of the publication, typically close to the first appearance of the person's name.
Jennifer Johnson, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Strong Memorial Hospital, performed the procedure.
Arnold Smith, a professor of pediatrics, met the family in the child's room.
Cynthia Jones, who holds a doctorate in toxicology, read the results.
History professor Don James and his team are studying the origins of black holes.
On subsequent references, people should be referred to by their surnames only without an honorific title. (Phrases such as "Dr. Jones" or "Professor Smith" should be limited to material directly quoted from a speaker or from another source.)
When the listing of academic credentials with a person's name is standard practice (for example, in official bulletins of the University), the abbreviations for the credentials should be listed after the name and be set off by commas.
Department of Philosophy
John Jones, Ph.D., Duke University
Sarah Smith, M.Phil., Cambridge University
Plurals of academic degrees do not take an apostrophe.
B.A.s, B.S.s, Ph.D.s
Bachelor of Arts | B.A. |
Bachelor of Music | B.M. |
Bachelor of Science | B.S. |
Master of Arts | M.A. |
Master of Arts in Teaching | M.A.T. |
Master of Public Health | M.P.H |
Master of Science | M.S. |
Master of Business Administration | M.B.A. |
Master of Science in Nursing | M.S.N. |
Master of Music | M.M. |
Medical Doctor | M.D. |
Doctor of Dental Surgery | D.D.S. |
Doctor of Philosophy | Ph.D. |
Doctor of Musical Arts | D.M.A. |
Doctor of Education | Ed.D. |
Doctor of Pharmacy | D.Pharm. |
- administrative titles
Use lowercase unless the title precedes the name. See the organizational charts for official administrative titles.
Jackson, president of the University
President Jackson
Ron Dow, dean of River Campus libraries
Dean Ron Dow
- Board of Trustees
Capitalize the complete, formal name; lowercase otherwise.
The Board of Trustees will meet.
The trustees will meet.
The board will meet.
Capitalize trustee when it appears before a name.
Mary Brown, trustee since 1994
Trustee Mary Brown
- book titles
Use italics for all book titles.
See publications.
- capitalization
Faculty and administrative titles are capitalized when the full title precedes the name; lowercase otherwise.
Professor of History William Jones
Charles Phelps is our ninth provost.
Provost Charles Phelps announced the initiative.
- chair
For internal offices, use chair and not chairman.
Jack Frost, chair of the English department, will speak to the group.
EXCEPTION: Recent chairs of the Board of Trustees have usually preferred to be called chairmen (even the women). Check this for each use.
- chairman, chairwoman, chairperson
For external offices, use chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson given the preference of the office holder.
The chairman of Xerox will speak.
Capitalize before a name as a title; lowercase otherwise.
We asked Chairman Robert Dempsey of CIP to address the class.
- chapter titles
Use roman type in quotation marks. See publications.
- company names
Abbreviate and capitalize Co. and Corp. and Inc. and Ltd. and L.L.P, and do not precede with a commas. These abbreviations are not necessary when the company name is familiar and the context is clear.
The panel will be led by Xerox chairman Anne Mulchahy.
Maintain odd capitalizations and punctuations. But when a name with a lowercase first letter begins a sentence, capitalize the first letter.
eBay, Yahoo!
EBay's initial public offering was one of the most successful of the dot-com era.
- compositions, musical
See musical compositions
- computer programs, names of
Capitalize the principal words in the names of computer programs. Do not use italics or quotation marks. Use the company's conventions for spelling.
Microsoft Word, PowerPoint
But when a name with a lowercase first letter begins a sentence, capitalize the first letter.
IMovie software is now available in all versions of Mac OS.
- dean
Use lowercase unless the title precedes the name.
Ron Dow, dean of River Campus libraries
Dean Ron Dow
- diseases
Lowercase, unless the disease name contains a proper name that would otherwise be capitalized.
lung cancer
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Alzheimer's disease
- dissertations
Use roman type in quotation marks for dissertation titles.
See publications.
- Dr.
See academic degrees.
- Ed.D.
See academic degrees.
- endowed chairs
Names of endowed chairs are always capitalized, whether accompanied by a personal name or not.
Mary Wellman, Alfred R. Warren Distinguished Service Professor
The Burt Wolbach Professor of Pathology will teach this ongoing seminar.
- exhibitions, titles of
Use italics for the titles of art exhibitions.
The Dimensions in Pop exhibition will run through March.
Exhibition, not exhibit, is the preferred term for a
public showing of art and other creative works.
- faculty
Faculty titles are lowercase unless the title precedes a name.
Jones, professor of history
Professor of History Jones
On subsequent references, faculty should be referred to by their surnames only without an honorific title. (Phrases such as "Dr. Jones" or "Professor Smith" should be limited to material directly quoted from a speaker or from another source.)
Do not use the abbreviation prof. when referring to faculty.
There are several ranks of faculty (assistant, associate, professor, instructor) and it is important to note that these should not be used interchangeably.
Names of endowed chairs are always capitalized, whether accompanied by a personal name or not.
Mary Wellman, Alfred R. Warren Distinguished Service Professor
The Burt Wolbach Professor of Pathology will teach this ongoing seminar.
- films
Titles of films should be in italics.
Gone with the Wind is still my favorite movie.
- geographic terms
Capitalize places, real or imaginary, with special names.
Scottish Highlands; Finger Lakes; Gotham City
- honorific titles
Use the honorifics Miss, Mr., Mrs., and Ms. only in quotes. When it is necessary to distinguish family members from one another, use first names rather than honorifics.
The Smiths agreed that John would support the family while Jane went to graduate school.
- Inc.
Abbreviate and capitalize; do not set off with commas. This abbreviation is not necessary when the company name is familiar and the context is clear.
- initials
When a person uses initials for their first name, the initials are followed by periods and a space.
H. L. Mencken
W. E. B. DuBois
- italics
The following types of titles should be in italics:
newspapers | books |
magazines | movies |
pamphlets | operas |
proceedings and collections | oratorios |
periodicals | musical compositions (Individual pop songs are NOT in italics. Use roman type in quotation marks.) |
poems | plays |
TV series (Individual episodes, single programs are NOT in italics. Use roman type in quotation marks.) | art exhibitions |
ships, spacecraft, aircraft (but not the abbreviations: SS, USS, HMS, etc.) |
- journals
Use italics for journal titles. Use roman type in quotation marks for individual journal article titles.
- Jr.
Do not set off with commas.
Sammy Davis Jr.
- lectures
Use roman type in quotation marks for titles of lectures or presentations.
- M.A., M.S., M.M., M.B.A., M.A.T., M.P.H., M.S.E., M.S.N.
See academic degrees.
- M.D.
See academic degrees.
- magazines
Use italics for the names of magazines. Capitalize and italicize "magazine" only when it is part of the official name of the publication.
PC Magazine, Time magazine
- military titles
When a civil or military title is used before a last name, it should be spelled out. With full names, the title should be abbreviated. Do not use title on second reference, except in quoted material.
Gen. Tommy Franks
Gen. Tommy Franks is leading the mission. Franks described the situation as "tense," but his aide explained, "If there is a man for this task, it's General Franks."
- movies
Use italics for the titles of movies.
Gone with the Wind is still my favorite movie.
- Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss
See honorific titles.
- musical compositions
Use italics for most musical composition titles. Individual pop song titles are set in roman type with quotation marks.
The quartet played Canzona per Sonare No. 4
for the graduate procession.
The group had their first top 10 hit with "Do You Believe in Magic?".
- named chairs
See endowed chairs.
- newsletters
Use italics for the names of newsletters.
- operas
Use italics for opera titles.
La Bohème
- paintings
Titles of all works of art (paintings, drawings, photographs, statues) should be set in roman type with quotation marks.
Edvard Munch's masterpiece "The Scream" was stolen from a museum.
- pamphlets
Use italics for pamphlet titles.
- periodicals
Use italics for titles of all periodicals and journals.
See publications.
- Ph.D.
See academic degrees.
- place names
See geographic terms.
- plays
Use italics for titles of plays.
We saw Much Ado About Nothing at the Shakespeare Festival.
- poems
Use italics for titles of poems.
Edgar Allen Poe's Annabel Lee features haunting imagery.
- president
Capitalize as part of a full official name, or when used as a title before a name; lowercase otherwise.
Office of the President; President Thomas H. Jackson
Thomas H. Jackson is the University's ninth president.
- professor
See faculty.
- provost
Capitalize as part of a full official name, or when used as a title before a name; lowercase otherwise.
Office of the Provost
Thomas LeBlanc, vice provost
Charles Phelps is the University's ninth provost.
- publications
-
The following types of publication titles should be in italics:
newspapers | books |
magazines | movies |
pamphlets | operas |
proceedings and collections | oratorios |
periodicals | musical compositions |
poems | plays |
TV series | art exhibitions |
ships, spacecraft, aircraft (but not the abbreviations: SS, USS, HMS, etc.) |
Titles of the following publications should be roman type in quotation marks:
features (newspapers) | manuscripts in collection |
chapter titles | lectures and papers |
short stories | episodes of TV and radio programs |
essays | individual pop songs |
articles | short compositions |
dissertations and theses | works of art |
In publication titles, all words are capitalized except articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (and, but, or), and prepositions (of, in, on, etc.). The to in infinitives is also lowercase.
Death of a Salesman
"Midnight Train to Georgia"
- quotation marks
Titles of the following publications should be roman type in quotation marks:
features (newspapers) | manuscripts in collection |
chapter titles | lectures and papers |
short stories | episodes of TV and radio programs |
essays | individual pop songs |
articles | short compositions |
dissertations and theses | works of art |
- scholarly papers
Use roman type in quotation marks.
See publications.
- scholarly journals
See journals.
- scientific names
Capitalize the genus name, lowercase the species name, and italicize both.
Home sapiens; Canis lupus
English derivations and nontechnical uses recognized by the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary may be set in roman type, lowercase.
amoebas
- ships
Names of ships are in italics, but not the abbreviations: SS, USS, HMS, etc.
The president landed on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.
- software, names of
See computer programs
- song titles
See musical compositions.
- spacecraft
Names of spacecraft are in italics.
A team of scientist will lead the investigation into the Columbia disaster.
- statues
Titles of all works of art (paintings, drawings, photographs, statues) should be in roman type with quotation marks.
- television
Names of television series are in italics.
Friends; Seinfeld
Use roman type in quotation marks for individual episode titles and individual programs.
My favorite Friends episode is "The One with Phoebe's Husband."
Professor John Allen's work was featured on the PBS special "American History Revisted."
- titles
See administrative titles, publications.
- trustees
Capitalize trustee when it appears before a name.
Mary Brown, trustee since 1994
Trustee Mary Brown
See Board of Trustees
- vice president
Capitalize as part of a full official name, or when used as a title before a name; lowercase otherwise.
Office of the Vice President
Vice President and General Secretary Paul Burgett
He was an interim vice president at Brown University.
- vice provost
Capitalize as part of a full official name, or when used as a title before a name; lowercase otherwise.
Office of the Vice Provost
Vice Provost and and Chief Information Officer Mely Tynan
The vice provost will address the convention.
- webmaster
One word, lowercase. Refers to someone who is responsible for creating and maintaining a Web site.
office webmaster Jane Smith
Send an e-mail to the webmaster about that broken link.
- works of art
Titles of all works of art (paintings, drawings, photographs, statues) should be in roman type with quotation marks.
See publications.