Style is a tool that helps writers and editors maintain consistency within an organization or a single publication. In the College's case,
style helps all divisions, departments, and offices present a unified, logical picture to the public through the printed materials they produce.
The Office of College and Community Relations developed this Editorial Style Guide to help anyone writing for, or about, The College of New Jersey.
We have based it in part
on widely accepted reference works, such as The Chicago Manual of Style, but we have also included many editorial recommendations specific to TCNJ.
This guide addresses many of the most commonly asked questions about style and several of the most common errors. It is not
a comprehensive guide, however. For questions not covered by this guide, we encourage you to consult The Chicago Manual of Style or the
college edition of Webster's New World Dictionary. Please note: Press releases should follow The Associated Press Stylebook. |
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Abbreviations |
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When abbreviating
The College of New Jersey, always use TCNJ. Never use CNJ.
Avoid abbreviations
in running text.
Professor Smith, roman
Prof. Smith
Abbreviations can be used in running text when they are part of official names.
The student center was designed by J. T.
Brown & Partners. |
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Academic Degrees |
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No periods are used between the letters of degrees.
BA, BFA, MA, BS, PhD, EdD, JD
In references to degrees, the word degree is never capitalized.
Robin earned her Master of Education degree last spring.
When referring to degrees in general, lowercase the first letter of the degree.
He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering.
Capitalize formal names of academic degrees.
Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts
Note that while bachelor's and master's end in 's, other generic words for degrees do not.
associate degree, bachelor's degree, master's degree, doctoral degree, doctorate
Be careful to use the correct form of degree names.
Master of Arts or master's degree, not Masters of Arts
The word degree should not follow a degree abbreviation.
He has a BA in history.
Do not precede a name with a title of an academic degree and follow it with the abbreviation for that degree.
Dr. William Adams or William Adams, MD, not Dr. William Adams, MD
See also: "Terminal Degree." |
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Academic Departments/Offices |
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The names of offices, departments, and programs at TCNJ are capitalized only when
the full, official name is used.
Department of Art, Office of Career Services
Do not capitalize when using an informal name.
art department, the department, career services office |
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Academic Majors |
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Lowercase all academic majors except for words that are proper nouns. |
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Academics |
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Do not use this word to mean courses of study or course work. As a noun it means an educator.
(A procession of academics.) As an adjective, it means related to education, school, or
scholarly activity. To say someone "excelled at academics" misuses that word. |
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Acronyms |
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Always spell out the full name, title, or phrase the first time you refer to it in text, followed immediately by
the acronym in parentheses. The acronym may then be used on subsequent references.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded a summer fellowship to John Jones. The NEH awards....
Periods generally are not used between the letters of acronyms-TCNJ, SAT, UPS
No apostrophe is needed for the plural form of acronyms (SATs, GREs). However, an apostrophe is used for the
possessive form of acronyms.
TCNJ's stadium |
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