Writing Style

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The Office of Communications & Marketing follows the Associated Press Stylebook for common practices in writing with a few College-specific exceptions outlined below.

To help make all College communications consistent and effective, refer to this Gettysburg College Editorial Style Guide and the AP Stylebook. Style could change depending on usage or context when necessary.

If you have specific questions about style or usage not covered in this guide, please contact Megan Miller, Director of Content Strategy and Editor of GETTYSBURG College Magazine, at memiller@gettysburg.edu.


Gettysburg College A to Z Guide

For all marketing materials, refer to the Associated Press Stylebook. This A-to-Z guide includes common AP use cases, as well as Gettysburg College-specific phrasing.

A-C

a before h: Use a before a pronounced h: a historian, a horse, a hysterical joke. Use an before an aspirated h: an hour, an honest man.

academic degrees: Avoiding abbreviations is preferred for clarity of degree (e.g. doctorate in philosophy). Use apostrophe and lowercase in common reference. Capitalize in specific reference (bachelor’s degree vs. Bachelor of Arts). Use periods in abbreviations (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.).

academic departments/programs: Capitalize department names, but lowercase majors and minors. Capitalize before names as part of position titles.

  • The Chemistry Department held a summer camp for high school students.
  • The chemistry major co-authored a paper with a professor.
  • The Peace and Justice Studies Program launched a new initiative.
  • The peace and justice studies minor landed a job working for the government.
  • Mathematics Prof. John Doe
  • Exceptions:
    • Africana studies major
    • Civil War era studies minor
    • East Asian studies major (Chinese track, Japanese track)
    • English major
    • French major
    • German studies major
    • Greek minor
    • Italian studies major
    • Jewish studies minor
    • Latin minor
    • Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies major
    • Middle East and Islamic studies minor
    • Sunderman Conservatory of Music major vs. music major
    • Spanish major

A Consequential Education: Capitalize, but do not italicize or quote A Consequential Education. Lowercase parts of the phrase if separated in any way (e.g. Her education here has been truly consequential). See Trademarks and Licensing for more information.

administrative offices: Capitalize formal and casual names (e.g. Office of Admissions and Admissions Office).

advisor: Advisor is preferred at Gettysburg College.

alma mater: This is not capitalized, unless in reference to the College’s Alma Mater song.

Alumni Association: Refers to the Gettysburg College Alumni Association.

Alumni Association Board of Directors: Capitalize on formal references.

Alumni Association Executive Board: Capitalize on formal references.

Board of Trustees: Capitalize on all references. Follow title guidelines before names.

business names: Capitalize, but if a different style is preferred by the featured business, please accept their request (e.g. sister katie brand in the Winter 2022 magazine).

brand signatures: Capitalize, but do not italicize or quote Do Great Work, A Consequential Education, and the Gettysburg Approach. Lowercase parts of the phrase if separated in any way (e.g. He pursues great work in his role today. Her education here has been truly consequential.)

Bullets: Name for the College's sports teams or informal for Gettysburg College Athletics. Always plural. Use student-athlete when referring to an individual.

Bullets Marching Band: Always capitalize.

canceled: Canceled, not cancelled.

chair: Gettysburg College's Board of Trustees and academic departments have a chair, not a chairman. Use chair to avoid gender bias.

chapel: Capitalize only when using its proper name: Gettysburg College Christ Chapel.

Class Notes: This is to be used only in GETTYSBURG College Magazine. All abbreviations are acceptable to save space, including:

  • Universities (U of Md. instead of University of Maryland)
  • The first time a member of the class is mentioned, their name should be bolded and italicized. If another alum is mentioned in a different class year’s note, do not bold or italicize.

class years: Use abbreviated class years with names with apostrophes. Apostrophes open to the left (John Doe ’25). Specific use cases include:

  • Capitalize class on full reference (Class of 2025).
  • For class years in other centuries, write in full to avoid confusion (Jane Doe, Class of 1865).
  • Couples: John ’65 and Jane (Doe) ’64 Smith. List class years for both alumni, even if the same year. (Don’t list maiden names of non-alumni. Don’t list maiden name of alumni if married name is preferred.)
  • Separate class years and parent years with space and comma. (Jane Doe ’64, P’20, P’22).
  • Separate class years and master’s year with space and comma. (Jane Doe ’95, M’24)
  • Possessives attach to the name, not the class year (John Doe’s ’18 team).

clubs: Capitalize if part of a larger organization like Greek life. Lowercase sports clubs. (e.g. German club, ice hockey, Jazz Appreciation Society, Alpha Delta Pi, pre-law club).

co-curricular: Use hyphen for co-curricular.

College: Capitalize when in reference to Gettysburg College. Lowercase in all other instances when mentioned generally (e.g. a college education).

College colors: Capitalize in formal references, such as the “glorious Orange and Blue” in the College’s Alma Mater song, but lowercase in general descriptions, such as orange and blue socks.

commas: We use the Oxford comma.

composition titles (books, plays, movies, TV programs, etc.) are not italicized. They are capitalized and put in quotes.

  • “The Star-Spangled Banner”
  • “Of Mice and Men”
  • “Time After Time”
  • “This Is Us” on NBC
  • “CBS Evening News”
  • “Star Wars”

course titles: Capitalize. No quotation marks.

D-F

Do Great Work: Capitalize, but do not italicize or quote Do Great Work. Lowercase parts of the phrase if separated in any way (e.g. He pursues great work in his role today). See Trademarks and Licensing for more information.

events: Capitalize in formal titles. Lowercase otherwise. (e.g. 50th Class Reunion; Reunion Weekend; they gathered for their class reunion).

Emeritus: An honor earned (not automatic), usually upon retirement. Conforming to the rules of Latin, use this descriptor after the title. (Examples: Single person, by gender and placement: President Emerita Jane Doe; Professor Emeritus John Doe; Jane Doe, professor emerita). Multiples by gender: professors emeriti (for all men or mixed group); professors emeritae (for all women). Reference to all the faculty and staff who hold emeritus status is, simply, “the emeriti.”

first-year student(s): Do not use freshman/freshmen.

First-Year Seminar: Use hyphen and capitalize.

G-I

G’burg: Not G’Burg or g’burg

Gettysburg Approach: Capitalize, but do not italicize or quote the Gettysburg Approach. Lowercase parts of the phrase if separated in any way (e.g. The holistic and intentional approach to education at Gettysburg College ensures that every experience on campus—in the classroom and beyond—matters).

headlines: Use sentence case in headlines. Encourage short headlines for better user experience.

hyphens: Do not use in bimonthly, bilingual, email, firsthand, multidisciplinary, multimedia, nonprofit, online, upperclass, website. Use as needed for compound words (first-year student, First-Year Seminar).

J-L

Jr., III, etc.: Abbreviate and capitalize when part of someone's name. Do not separate by a comma. John Doe Jr. or John Doe III.

library: Use lowercase in generic use. Capitalize when using full name, Musselman Library.

links: When writing for our website, links should be included to relevant Gettysburg College pages (e.g., when linking to department or program pages). Links to external pages can be omitted, unless required for additional context.

M-O

majors/minors: See academic departments/programs.

magazines: Capitalize initial letters. No quotes or italics. Lowercase magazine unless it’s in the formal title. Follow preferred style. Check masthead when in doubt. (e.g. Harper’s Magazine, Newsweek magazine, Time magazine. There’s a listing under M in the stylebook specifically about this. Exception: Follow our masthead for GETTYSBURG College Magazine.)

months: Certain months are abbreviated if listed with a specific date (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec.).

names: This is to be used only in GETTYSBURG College Magazine. Bold and italicize all names of alumni, students, staff, or faculty members in copy, but not in photo captions. Also, bold and italicize abbreviated title before name if included (e.g. Africana Studies Prof. Jane Doe).

newspapers: Capitalize the in name if preferred. No quotes or italics. (e.g. The Gettysburgian)

numbers: Spell out zero through nine. Write numbers for 10 and above. Write ages as numerals. For rounded large numbers, spell out (one thousand). For dates: May 7, not May 7th.

OK, not okay.

Orange & Blue Club: With ampersand. Fundraising group that fosters and supports excellence in intercollegiate athletics at Gettysburg College.

P-R

percent: AP Style now allows the percentage sign (%) to be used with a numeral.

period: Always place a period inside quotation marks. Use only one space after a period, not two.

position titles: Abbreviate professor to Prof. before names. Spell out after names or in general references. Capitalize position titles before names, but lowercase after names. If endowed, use full endowed name on first reference and don’t abbreviate professor. If a professor is also the chair of the department, use Chair. Simply say professor, not associate or assistant. Use last name only on second reference. Use preferred name of professor upon request; double check as needed. Remember to use parent and/or alumni years as needed.

  • English Prof. John Doe P’21
  • Thompson Endowed Chair in Environmental Studies and Professor Jane Doe
  • Eisenhower Institute Executive Director Jane Doe
  • John Doe, the Gilder Lehrman NEH Chair of Civil War Era Studies and History…
  • Jane Doe, an economics professor…
  • I am forever grateful for my professor…

quote attribution: "Said" is preferred to "says."

race: Capitalize Black, Indigenous, and other nationality references. Do not hyphenate African American or Asian American. More details linked here.

residence hall: Instead of dorm.

S-U

Sr., III, etc.: Abbreviate and capitalize when part of someone's name. Do not separate by a comma. John Doe Sr. or John Doe III.

states: Spell out, even if listed with a specific city. Some cities can stand alone if no confusion would result (e.g. Baltimore, Denver, Philadelphia). Do not use postal codes for states.

teams: Lowercase. (e.g. women’s basketball team)

theatre vs. theater: Use theatre arts if using as the major or Theatre Arts Department. Use theater if using casually in reference to the physical space. If the formal name of a theater spells it theatre, use the preferred spelling (Majestic Theater vs. Kline Theatre).

time: 3 p.m., not 3 PM. Exceptions: Use noon and midnight.

titles: See position titles.

United States: Spell out, unless abbreviated in formal name (U.S. Department of Education).

upperclass students: No hyphen with “upperclass.” See hyphens. The word “upper-class” implies wealth, not college standing.

V-Z

visiting professors and visiting instructors: Temporary hires for sabbatical replacements or occasional courses. This non-tenure-track designation can be combined with any rank (instructor, assistant professor, etc.). Use Prof. designation in copy.

Washington, D.C.: Follow this punctuation.

years, plural: Do not use a possessive apostrophe. (e.g. 1970s or the ’70s). Use full years, not abbreviations (e.g. 2024-2025 academic year).