Style Guide

A

a, an

  • Pronunciation should determine the article to be used. Use ‘a’ before consonant sounds: a historic event; use ‘an’ before vowel sounds: an honorable man.

 academic degrees

  • Academic degrees should be spelled out and lowercased: He earned a doctorate in engineering.
  • Capitalize when using the official name of the degree: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science.
  • Use an apostrophe with bachelor’s in journalism, but no apostrophe in Bachelor of Science or Master of Business Administration.
  • When a person has earned more than one degree, it is better to add the word degree for more clarity: He holds three master’s degrees in three different fields. She earned a master's and a doctorate from Harvard.
  • Do not use periods and do not leave spaces when writing abbreviations: PhD, MA, BSc, BA.
  • The word degree should not follow the abbreviation.
    • Incorrect: He has a BA degree in journalism.
    • Correct: He has a BA in journalism.

academic departments

  • Capitalize when using the official name of the department: Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.
  • Lowercase shortened, unofficial versions: journalism and mass communication department.
  • Capitalize proper nouns even when using the unofficial name: English and comparative literature department, Middle East studies department.
  • See appendix 1 for a list of academic departments at AUC.

 academic integrity (task force)

  • Capitalize when using the official name: Task Force on Academic Integrity; otherwise lowercase: academic integrity task force.
  • Use the task force on second reference.

 academic year / term

  • See year, academic and semesters.

 acronyms

  • On first reference, spell out the word and put the acronym in parentheses, with no periods. On second reference, write the acronym with no periods or parentheses.

 A.D./B.C.

  • Place A.D. before the number and B.C. after the number. Do not write fourth century A.D. The fourth century is sufficient. If A.D. is not specified with a year, the year is presumed to be A.D.

 addresses

  • Spell out street and avenue with a numbered address: 5 Youssef El Guindi Street, 420 Fifth Avenue.
  • Spell out and capitalize when part of a formal street name: Sheikh Rihan Street.
  • Lowercase and spell out when used alone or with more than one street name: Mohamed Mahmoud and Sheikh Rihan streets.
  • Always use figures for an address number: 5 Youssef El Guindi Street.
  • Spell out and capitalize First through Ninth when used as street names; use figures for 10th and above: 420 Fifth Avenue, Ninth Street.
  • Rules for numerals apply with regard to floor numbers. Spell out one through nine; write 10 and above as figures: second floor, 10 th floor. Capitalize only when part of a formal street address. Lowercase in tables or running text.
  • Abbreviate and capitalize room (Rm) and apartment (Apt). Do not use periods or the number sign #:
    • Office of Communications and Marketing
    • 5 Youssef El Guindi Street
    • Second floor, Apt 2
  • Use periods in the abbreviations P.O. for P.O. Box numbers.
  • In U.S. addresses, abbreviate state names (without periods) when used in conjunction with the name of a city, town, village or military base: New York, NY.
  • In running text, place a comma between the city and the state name. Spell out the state name: She traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, then to Nashville, Tennessee.
  • The standard address for AUC’s departments and offices is as follows:  
    • The American University in Cairo
    • Name of department or office
    • 113 Kasr El Aini Street
    • P.O. Box 2511
    • Cairo, 11511
    • Egypt 
  • For the New York office, the address is as follows:
    • 420 Fifth Avenue, Third floor
      New York, NY 10018
      USA

adviser

  • Do not use advisor. However, use advisory.  

affect, effect

  • Affect (v.): to influence, (n.) emotion (term used in psychology).
  • Effect (v.): to cause, (n.) result.

 ages

  • Always write in figures, unless the age marks the beginning of a sentence or headline.
  • Where the age is used as an adjective before a noun or a substitute for a noun, use hyphens: She has a 1-year-old boy; The game is for 6-year-olds.
  • Do not use the word years or years old unless required by the context: The woman, 40, has a son who is 20 years old. The constitution is 100 years old.
  • Do not use an apostrophe for age ranges: The man is in his 50s.

 alma mater

  • No capitalization and no italics.

 a lot

  • Not alot.

 alphabetizing

  • In a series or list, alphabetize using the letter-by-letter method.
  • In people’s names, initials should precede any name beginning with the same letter: Robinson, T. comes before Robinson, Theodore.
  • Accented words should be alphabetized as though unaccented.
  • Numbers should be alphabetized as though they were spelled out.

 alumni, alumnae, alumna, alumnus

  • alumni: plural for male and female graduates of a university.
  • alumnae: plural for female graduates.
  • alumna: singular for a female graduate.
  • alumnus: singular for a male graduate.

 am

  • Do not capitalize and do not use periods: 11 am.
  • Avoid redundancy: 9 am this morning.

 America, American

  • Use United States or U.S. instead: He is from the United States; He is a U.S. citizen.

 The American University in Cairo

  • Use AUC on second reference. Do not capitalize “the” in running text.

 ampersand (&)

  • See appendix 2, punctuation.

 and/or

  • Avoid using and/or. Use ‘or’ instead.
    • Incorrect: You may submit your papers on Wednesday and/or Thursday.
    • Correct: You may submit your papers on Wednesday or Thursday.
     

anniversaries

  • Lowercase anniversaries: centennial, bicentennial.

 anti-

  • Generally, do not use hyphens when forming a compound that does not have a special meaning and which can be understood if anti- is used before the word.
  • Use a hyphen before proper nouns: anti-Islamic, anti-European.
  • Consult The American Heritage Dictionary, fourth edition; if the word is not listed, hyphenate.

 apostrophe

  • See appendix 2, punctuation.

 Arab, Arabic

  • Arab is used as an adjective: Arab country, but Arabic is used to refer to the language: Arabic classes.

 Arabic names

  • Use the individual’s preference as to how to spell his or her name in English.
  • If the individual’s preference is not known:
    • Use an English spelling that is close to the way the name sounds in Arabic. If the name is that of a celebrity or political figure, check how it is commonly spelled in the media.
    • Capitalize Al or El and do not hyphenate.

 Arabic words

  • Do not italicize hajj, Ramadan and jihad. Italicize intifada.
  • Consult The American Heritage Dictionary, fourth edition. If the word is listed, do not italicize. If it is not listed, italicize.

 assure, ensure, insure

  • Assure: to make someone feel certain about something; give confidence to.
  • Ensure: to guarantee.
  • Insure: reference to insurance.

 asterisk (*)

  • Use to indicate footnoted material.
  • Asterisks follow punctuation marks and go inside parentheses.

 award, fellowship, scholarship

  • Capitalize award, fellowship and scholarship when part of the official name: Fulbright Scholarship, Excellence in Research and Creative Endeavors Award, Public School Scholarship, otherwise, lowercase: honorary scholarship.