Identity Guidelines

Editorial Style Guide

F

fall, fall semester
Lowercase references to seasons and academic periods.

She is getting married this fall. She will get her degree after the fall semester.

farther/further:
Farther refers to distance, further refers to time or degree.

She walked farther to class.
He will look further into the missing money.

fax
Do not use all capital letters; it’s not an acronym.

field trip
fieldwork

first semester, first-semester
Hyphenate as an adjective before the noun; otherwise, leave as two words.

He needs tips for a successful first semester.
All first-semester freshmen must attend orientation.

foreign words and phrases
Commonly used foreign phrases and their abbreviations are not italicized; a good rule of thumb is if a foreign word is listed in the dictionary, don’t italicize it:

ex officio, et al., cum laude, pro forma, hors d’oeuvres

Less common terms are italicized:

ante prandium, s’il vous plait, porque

When using a foreign word throughout a story, italicize it on first reference only:

The institute will honor the fallen soldiers with an ofrenda, or altar. The ofrenda will remain on display through the end of the year.

forms
Full names of official forms and documents are capitalized but are not italicized or enclosed in quotation marks:

Declaration of Independence, Federal Income Tax Return, Financial Aid Certification Sheet, General Scholarship Application, Free Application for Federal Student Aid, UTSA Housing Application

In general references where formal names are not used, it’s OK to lowercase.

He filled out the financial aid application. She filled out the housing application.

freshman/freshmen
Use the noun freshmen when referring to a group of first-time students. Use freshman as the adjective modifier and as a noun referring to a sole first-time student.

Freshman orientation is held during the summer.
All freshmen must attend a freshman orientation.
He was a freshman in 2000.

Fulbright

full time, full-time
Hyphenate as a modifier before a noun; do not hyphenate after the noun.

She works full time. He’s a full-time student.

fundraising, fundraiser
One word in all instances.