Identity Guidelines

Editorial Style Guide

P

parallelism
Parallelism is the principle that parts of a sentence that are parallel in meaning should be parallel in structure. Items of a series also should be parallel in form.

Seeing is believing. To see is to believe.
NOT Seeing is to believe.

part-time/part time
Hyphenate only as a modifier before a noun.

Joe attends school part time.
Joe is a part-time student.

percent
Always spell out percent in text and use numerals. It is OK to spell out the number if a percent is used at the beginning of a sentence.

person-first language
Person-first language is used when referring to people with disabilities. In this language, the person is emphasized first, the disability second.

person with a disability
NOT person who is disabled, disabled person, crippled, handicapped, handicap or handicapped person

person who is unable to speak
NOT person who is mute or dumb

woman who is blind (only when referring to someone with complete loss of sight. In other cases use woman who is visually impaired or woman who has low vision)
NOT blind woman or the blind

student with a learning disability
NOT a slow learner, retarded or learning disabled
Avoid phrases like confined, bound, restricted or dependent; choose phrases like person who uses a wheelchair, person who walks with crutches. Avoid labeling or categorizations that begin with the: the disabled, the deaf or the blind.

Handicap can be used when citing laws and situations, but should not be used to describe a person with a disability.

Ph.D, Ph.D.’s
See abbreviations, plurals and titles.

photo I.D.

plurals
Generally, the only nouns that commonly take ’s for the plural form are (1) abbreviations with more than one period and (2) single letters:

M.B.A.’s
x’s and y’s
A’s and B’s

See also abbreviations.

Apostrophes are never used to form the plural of any proper noun. Plural names of people and other proper nouns are created by adding s or es. Most names ending in es, s, or z, use es to form the plural.

The Taylors will attend.
The Edwardses and Charleses can be added to the list.
The Gonzalezes were invited.

If the plural rule results in an awkward construction, recast the sentence.

The art show collection included seven paintings by Velasquez
NOT seven Velasquezes

policymaking
Always one word.

possessives
Make singular nouns possessive by adding ’s; make regular plural nouns ending in s possessive by adding only an apostrophe; plurals lacking an s are treated like singular nouns:

a student’s right, students’ duties, women’s lounge

Certain uninflected singular nouns that look like plurals, such as species and series, are treated like plurals to form the possessive:

The lecture series’ costs will be covered by the department.

Do not add an ’s to a word ending in s when it is describing a place, entity, event, etc.

Veterans Day, Visitors Bureau, a teachers college

When a proper name ends in s, add only an apostrophe for the possessive:

Dickens’ novels

Plural proper nouns add an apostrophe (no s) to indicate possession:

The reception will be at the Taylors’ home.
The Joneses’ tuition payment has been filed.

post-
In general, don’t hyphenate words wth a post- prefix:

postgraduate, postsecondary
BUT post-Freudian, post-Darwinian

pre-
Don’t hyphenate words with a pre- prefix unless the word that follows begins with an e.

premed, preprofessional
BUT pre-election, pre-enroll

president
See titles.

prior to
Use before instead.

professor
See titles.