Style Guide

The CSUF Catalog Style Guide contains editorial guidelines for grammar and punctuation as well as university-specific conventions. It is intended to provide a set of consistent editorial standards specifically for the catalog. It is not designed to be a guideline for technical or academic writing.

Guidelines are based on university style, in addition to the AP Stylebook and Webster’s New World College Dictionary.

Additions and updates will be made as needed.

For more information about these guidelines, contact the Catalog Editor at catalog@fullerton.edu.

Abbreviations

In general, avoid most abbreviations.

All-Capital Abbreviations

All-capital abbreviations (e.g., ASC) do not take periods except when referring to nations, states, cities or persons.

Academic degrees

Use periods with all degrees (B.S., M.A., Ph.D.) except for the Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Cal State Fullerton

Cal State Fullerton is the preferred second reference when abbreviating California State University, Fullerton. Do not use Cal State and Fullerton independently when referring to the university. Do not use Fullerton State. It is preferable to avoid abbreviations of schools, programs and organizations except in tables, headlines and other situations where space is limited.

GPA

Acceptable in all references for grade-point average. (AP style)

General education

Spell out general education. Avoid using G.E. except in course descriptions.

Organizations

Spell out the name of an organization on first reference. Do not follow an organization’s name with an abbreviation or acronym in parentheses or set off by dashes. If an abbreviation or acronym would not be clear on second reference without this arrangement, do not use it.

Example: The Career Development Center received a grant from the Western College Placement Association to study the current job market. The CDC will begin research as soon as the WCPA funds are received.

United States

U.S. as an adjective; United States as a noun

Academic and Administrative Titles

Titles are capitalized only when they precede a person’s name.

Examples:

• President John J. Johnson; John J. Johnson, president of the university.
• Dean Mary Jones; Mary Jones, dean of the College of Business and Economics.
• The proposal presented by the college deans and department chairs is subject to approval by the president.

In general, do not use “Dr.” or “Ph.D.” before or after a doctor’s name in text when referring to a medical doctor or someone holding a doctorate.

Capitalization

Academic Degrees

Academic degrees are capitalized only in specific references (Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, Doctor of Philosophy, etc.). They are not capitalized in general references (bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate). The word “degree” is not capitalized.

Examples:

• His objective is a Bachelor of Arts in History.
• The university offers several master’s degree programs.
• One of these is the Master of Public Administration.
• She received her master’s in public administration, but she is undecided about her doctorate. 

Capitalize degrees when they are referred to by initials: B.S., M.A., Ph.D. Use periods with no space in between. The exception is MBA, but use M.P.A., M.S.W.

Building Names

Building names are capitalized.

Examples:

• Miles D. McCarthy Hall or McCarthy Hall
• William B. Langsdorf Hall or Langsdorf Hall

Abbreviate building names only in tables, on maps and in other formats where there is a shortage of space. The proper form for building abbreviation is the building’s initials, capitalized without periods or spaces in between. Visual Arts is VA, McCarthy Hall is MH, Humanities-Social Sciences is H, etc. Room designations with an abbreviation take the following form: H-213, MH-238, etc. Informal building names are not capitalized.

Class Level

Class level references are not capitalized except when referring to the formal name of a group.

Departments and Colleges

References to disciplines such as art, accounting, geography and engineering are capitalized only when referring to a specific department or course or in specific reference to a degree. Disciplines derived from proper nouns (French, German, Spanish, etc.) are always capitalized.

Examples:

• They are studying philosophy.
• The Department of Geography and the Environment offers many courses.
• She earned a B.A. in History or a Bachelor of Arts in History.

General Education

Lower case general education.

Nationalities

Nationalities, peoples, races and tribes are capitalized.

Examples: American, Chicano, Arab, Caucasian, Apache.

Seasons and Semesters

Seasons and semesters are not capitalized.

Example: We are looking forward to summer vacation after the spring semester.

Titles

Titles are capitalized only when they precede a person’s name.

Examples:

• President John J. Johnson; John J. Johnson, president of the university.
• Dean Mary Jones; Mary Jones, dean of the College of Business and Economics.
• The proposal presented by the college deans and department chairs is subject to approval by the president.

University

Lowercase “university” when it refers to California State University, Fullerton.

Dates

Do not use ordinal numbers in dates. Abbreviate months when referring to a specific date.

Examples:

• Jan. 8 not January 8th.
• The womens basketball season starts in November.

List dates as month, day and year.

Gender

Copy intended to apply to both sexes should be free of gender references. Use of the second person or the plural form will help avoid awkwardness.

Example: All students should pay their fees on Monday.

If there is no alternative to singular pronouns in copy intended for both sexes, use “he or she,” “him and her,” etc. They/them/their can be used as an example of a singular and/or gender-neutral pronoun.

Lists

Bulleted and Numbered

Capitalize the first word after each bullet/number and use a period at the end of each item.

Numbers and Numerical References

• Spell out one to nine. Use numerals for 10 and higher. Exceptions: use numerals for percentages, decimals, credit hours, grade-point averages, age, book sections and pages.
• Spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence or rephrase the sentence to avoid beginning with a number. Per AP style, the only exception is years, which can begin a sentence. Try to avoid this construction.
• Use numbers for centuries. Don’t spell out: 12th century or 7th century.

Percentage

When referring to percentages, do not use “%” except in tables and technical text.

Example: More than 20 percent passed the test with a score of 85 or better.

Phone Numbers

Use a dash to separate telephone number components (e.g., to separate the area code from the prefix.)

Example: 657-278-8489

Ordinal Numbers

Spell out ordinal numbers first through ninth. Numbers at or above the 10th ordinal may use figures.

Examples: First, second, 10th, 23rd, 31st

Punctuation

Ampersand (&)

Do not use “&” as an abbreviation for “and.” Use the ampersand only when it is part of an official name.

Apostrophes (possessives)

For plural nouns not ending in “s” add “‘s.” For plural nouns ending in “s” add only an apostrophe; same with nouns that are plural in form, but singular in meaning.

Examples:

• The alumni’s contribution, women’s rights
• The seniors’ gift, parents’ organization
• Mathematics’ rules

Commas

Use commas to separate items in a simple series but not before the conjunction.

Example: The items on the dean’s agenda included sabbaticals, collective bargaining and parking.

A comma should be used before the conjunction if there is a possibility of confusion without it.

Example: Among those attending the conference were the deans of art, humanities and social sciences, and health and human development.

Use a comma to separate a name and academic degree.

Example: Charles J. Kim, Ph.D.

Do not use a comma to separate a name from Jr. or Sr.

When used with quotation marks, commas and periods are always enclosed within the quotation marks.

Examples:

• “This parking lot is crowded,” he said.
• “I should have stayed at home.”

Colons and Semicolons

• Use a colon to introduce a series or a list.
• Use a colon to introduce an explanatory phrase or sentence.
• Colons and semicolons are followed by a single space.

Colons and semicolons are never enclosed within quotation marks unless they are part of the quotation.

Examples:

• He had not read Professor Jones’ monograph, “Ozone Contamination”; in fact, he had never heard of it.
• He retitled his monograph, “Ozone Contamination: Earth’s Open Window.”

Use semicolons in lists when items include commas.

Example: Board members at the meeting included: Tuffy Titan, president; H.J. Granger, vice president; and F. Baggins, secretary.

Hyphenated Words

Terms such as “lower division,” “upper division,” “on campus” and “off campus” are hyphenated in the adjective forms but are not hyphenated in the noun forms.

Examples:

• Students live off campus because there is limited on-campus housing.
• Those classes are considered lower division.
• Students generally take lower-division courses during their freshman and sophomore years.

Quotation Marks

Enclose the dash, question mark and exclamation mark within quotation marks only when they apply to the quoted material.

Examples:

• “Shall we all go together?” he asked.
• Did he say, “We should all go together”?

That and Which

That and which are not interchangeable. “That” defines and restricts; “which” does not and is preceded with a comma.

Examples:

• Cal State Fullerton provides residential opportunities that complement the academic mission of the university;
• The electric vehicle charging stations, which number more than 110 on campus, vary in charging times from 30 minutes to four hours.

University House Style Word List

This list contains words within CSUF house style, including guidance on spelling, capitalization, hyphenation, compounds and some definitions.

• Adviser.
• Alumna, alumnus, alumni.
• Campuswide, (CSU) systemwide, universitywide.
• Comprised of: don’t use this construction.
• Coursework.
• Cross-cultural.
• Decision-making.
• Email.
• Emeritus/emerita: when used in a title, use Jane Smith, emeritus professor of history. Avoid the use of “emerita.”
• Faculty: per webster’s new world dictionary, “all the teachers of a school, college or university.” Hence, use with singular verbs. Example: The Cal State Fullerton faculty supports the measure. If plural verb is desired, add the word members. Example: some Cal State Fullerton faculty members are opposed to the measure.
• Healthcare.
• Interdisciplinary.
• Multicultural.
• Multidisciplinary.
• Multilingual.
• Nonmajor.
• Nonresident.
• Pk-12 (meaning pre-kindergarten through grade 12).
• Re-entry.
• Residence halls: the correct description of student housing on this campus; do not use “dorms.”
• Rooms: Humanities-Social Sciences Building, Room 123; Titan Student Union Portola Pavilion.
• Sociocultural.
• Socioeconomic.
• Statewide.
• Theatre and dance: theatre is preferred spelling for department name; theater in other uses.
• Toward.
• Tuition fees: mandatory systemwide fees; accurately describes student costs. Note: students are also charged campus fees.
• University: capitalize only when it refers to California State University, Fullerton
• Universitywide.
• Web page.
• Website.
• Worldwide.
• Yearlong.

It is generally unnecessary to precede URLs, phone numbers and email addresses in lists with “website:”, “telephone:”, or “email:”. Readers can generally recognize these and don’t need a written prompt.