Style Guide

E

earth

  • The word earth is generally lowercase. Capitalize when used as the proper name of the planet: He is down to earth. Mercury is the planet closest to the sun, followed by Venus and then Earth.

 e-classroom

  • E-classrooms are classrooms equipped with electronic media and equipment. Use smart classrooms instead.

effect, affect

  • effect (n.) means result: The therapy had a phenomenal effect.
  • effect (v.) means to cause: The president will effect new changes in policy.
  • affect (n.) means emotion (used mostly in psychology).
  • affect (v.) means to influence: The incident affected her deeply.

 e.g., i.e.

  • e.g. (exempli gratia) means for example. Use it to give an example of something already stated.
  • i.e. (id est) means that is. Use it to clarify a point that has been made.
  • When using e.g. and i.e., set off with commas and use periods: Please state your status, i.e. graduate or undergraduate.
  • It is preferable to spell out the terms and avoid using e.g. and i.e.
  • Not preferred: The professor attended conferences in many countries worldwide, e.g. France, Italy and Egypt.
  • Preferred: The professor attended conferences in many countries worldwide, including France, Italy and Egypt.

 ellipses

  • See appendix 2, punctuation.

 e-mail

  • Not email.
  • Lowercase except when it is the first word in a sentence.
  • There should be no colon after e-mail in contact information: e-mail publications@aucegypt.edu.
  • E-mail may be used as a noun, verb or adjective:
    • He checks his e-mail daily (n.).
    • I e-mailed you the document (v.).
    • Your e-mail address is very creative (adj.)

 em dash, en dash

  • See appendix 2, punctuation.

 embassy

  • Capitalize with the name of a nation; lowercase without it: the Indian Embassy, the embassy.

 emerita, emeritus, emeriti

  • Professor emeritus means a retired male faculty who is permitted to retain the rank of his last academic appointment as an honorary title.
  • Capitalize when preceding the name; otherwise lowercase: Professor Emeritus E.H. Valsan was honored at the ceremony. E.H. Valsan was named professor emeritus.
  • Emerita refers to the female; emirit to the plural.
  • Professor emeritus, not emeritus professor.

 endowed professorships

  • Use the term endowed professorship lowercase, not endowed chair.
  • Capitalize when referring to the official name: the Abdulhadi H. Taher Endowed Professorship in Comparative Religion. The comparative religion professorship was launched last year.
  • Endowed professorship in, not of.

 enlightenment

  • Lowercase when meaning spiritual or intellectual insight: He enlightened me with his thoughts.
  • Capitalize when referring to the philosophical movement of the 18th century: We studied about the Enlightenment period in class.

 entitled, titled

  • Entitled means to have a right to something: People are entitled to fair treatment.
  • Titled refers to the names of books, movies, plays, songs or lectures. The professor will give a lecture titled “Water Issues in the Middle East.”

 eras

  • Capitalize the names of widely recognized eras: Dark Ages, Middle Ages.
  • Capitalize widely recognized popular names of periods and events: July 23 Revolution, Great Depression, Industrial Revolution.
  • Lowercase century: 21st century.
  • Capitalize only the proper nouns or adjectives in general descriptions of a period: ancient Egypt, classical Rome.
  • Capitalize the names or eras, but not the word era: Nasserist era.

 et al., etc.

  • Et al. is a Latin abbreviation meaning and others. Etc. is also a Latin abbreviation and means so on. Avoid such abbreviations.

 ethno-

  • Generally, do not hyphenate words with ethno- as a prefix.
  • Consult The American Heritage Dictionary, fourth edition. If not listed, hyphenate.

 evaluations

  • Capitalize full, formal name: 2004 Online Student Evaluation.
  • Lowercase short and general forms: student evaluation, evaluation system.

 events

  • Capitalize full, formal titles of events: 2003 Homecoming, 12th AUC Research Conference. Lowercase all other references: the homecoming, the conference.

 exam, examination

  • Spell out as examination on first reference. Use exam in subsequent references.

 exhibit, exhibition

  • Exhibit is a verb; exhibition is a noun: The professor will exhibit his students’ work at the gallery. The exhibition was well attended.

 extension, campus telephone

  • See telephone numbers.

 extra-

  • Do not hyphenate words where extra- means outside of: extracurricular activities; extramarital; extraterrestrial.
  • Hyphenate only when extra- is used as a compound modifier meaning beyond the usual scale or degree: extra-large cup; extra-mild taste.

 extracurricular

  • Do not use co-curricular.