Editorial Style Guide

As a general rule, CMU uses common abbreviations.

etc., e.g., i.e., Q1, H2, FY

On first reference, spell the abbreviated word or phrase out and include its abbreviation in parentheses.

e.g., Lowell Heiny Hall (LHH) houses the financial aid office.

The names of other institutions are not abbreviated on first reference.

e.g., On Friday, the men’s lacrosse team plays the Metropolitan State University of Denver.

For a cleaner look, CMU does not use periods in abbreviations, except in the case of U.S.

e.g., The symphony plays at 7:30pm in the Moss Recital Hall.

As a general rule, use contractions (such as 'can't,' 'won't,' 'isn't') for all non-official communications to create a conversational tone and improve readability.

Avoid contractions in formal and academic writing – such as formal reports, academic papers, or official correspondence – to maintain a more professional tone.

Use the international currency codes (ISO 4217) to write currencies.

e.g., EUR, USD, SEK.

Write the currency codes after the figure.

e.g., 5 million USD

Use a dash with no spaces between dates.

e.g., The event ran from Jan. 13-Feb. 13.

Capitalize the names of months in all uses. 

When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Spell out when using alone, or with a year alone.

e.g., Dec. 12 was the coldest day of the month. 

When a phrase lists only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas.

e.g., December 2023 was a cold month. 

When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with commas.

e.g., CMU was founded on April 20, 1925.

In general, spell out one through nine.

e.g., The Mavericks finished second. He had nine months to go.

Use figures for 10 or above and whenever preceding a unit of measure or referring to ages of people, animals, events or things. Also in all tabular matter, and in statistical and sequential forms.

As a general rule, abbreviate units of measurement.

No space between symbols and numbers.

e.g., 25%, 4ft.

COMPARING NUMBERS:

Use "more than" or "less than" but it is now accepted by the AP to use "over" or "under".

CMU uses periods, not dashes, in phone numbers.

e.g., Reach CMU at 970.248.1020

CMU does not include periods in “am” or “pm”.

Include a space between the time and “am” or “pm”.

The time is reflected as a numeral.

When writing an exact time (e.g., 8 am, 3 pm, etc.), do not include :00.

Use colons only with times not on the hour.

e.g., The lu’au begins at 6:30 pm in the University Center.

CMU uses 12 pm and 12 am when referencing noon and midnight.

Write URLs without including “www”.

e.g., colorado.gov

The ballroom in the University Center is the Meyer Ballroom. When indicating a particular part of the ballroom, put the cardinal direction at the end and capitalize it.

e.g., The Aspinall Lecture is in the Meyer Ballroom South.

On first reference use Sturm-ANB Bank Mobile Learning Lab (always capitalized).

On second reference use Mobile Learning Lab (always capitalize). 

Use an apostrophe in bachelor's degree, a master's, etc. There is no possessive when the full degree is spelled out, as in Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science. Note that the full name of the degree is capitalized.

There is no apostrophe in associate degree.

Use such abbreviations as BA, MA, PhD and MD only after a full name — never after the last name alone. Use on first reference of the name and then subsequent references are just the individual's last name.

Do not use periods in abbreviations of degrees.

When used after a name, an academic abbreviation is set off by commas.

e.g., John Doe, PhD, spoke at the E Day keynote luncheon.

In the case of doctorates, CMU does not use the abbreviation “Dr.” before a name. Use the academic abbreviation after the name, set off by commas.

e.g., John Doe, PhD, touched the lives of thousands of students during his tenure as professor of history.

When listing the degrees of alumni, write the name, then the major, then the abbreviated year of attendance or graduation.

e.g., Jane Doe, mass communication, ‘12 or Jane Doe, mass communication, ‘12, BA; ‘14, MBA;

John Doe, Spanish, attended ‘89-’91. Jane Doe, ‘12 & ‘15.

The formal title of academic departments is styled Department of _______, with capitalization.

e.g., Department of Kinesiology, Department of Health Sciences.

On second reference, department names may be expressed informally without caps.

The kinesiology department, the health sciences department.

The Department of Business is the only exception as it was renamed Davis School of Business in October 2020.

The formal titles of academic programs are capitalized including the word Program.

e.g., Mathematics Program, Accounting Program

On second reference, program names may be expressed informally without caps or inclusion of the word program.

Alumni is not capitalized unless it’s part of the phrase “the CMU Alumni Association”.

Use alumnus (alumni in the plural) when referring to a man who has attended CMU.

Use alumna (alumnae in the plural) for similar references to a woman.

Use alumni when referring to a group of both men and women.

An event cannot be described as annual until it has been held in at least two successive years.

Do not use the term first annual. Instead, note that sponsors plan to hold an event annually.

Division should be capitalized and unabbreviated. Use roman numerals.

e.g., CMU is home to # NCAA Division II teams.

The main campus is capitalized only in phrases like “Colorado Mesa University’s Main Campus”.

The Montrose Campus is always capitalized.

CMU Tech is on the Bishop Campus, which is also always capitalized.

CMU Tech programs are capitalized.

e.g., Agricultural Sciences Program, Electric Lineworker Program

Doctoral is an adjective, doctor and doctorate are nouns.

e.g., CMU offers a Doctor of Nursing Practitioner program. Students in this doctoral program may obtain their doctorate after several years of study.

The correct spelling is the following:

Professor Emeritus of Biology John Doe.

Professor Emerita of Biology Jane Doe.

Late John Doe, professor emeritus of biology,

Use the following terms: Asian; Pacific Islander; Black; Hispanic; American Indian; Alaska Native; White, non-Hispanic.

Capitalize each ethnicity.

Freshman is the singular noun.

e.g., Luke is a freshman at CMU. 

Freshmen is the plural

e.g., Luke and Jack are freshmen at CMU.

The adjective is always singular.

e.g., Luke had an interesting freshman seminar at CMU.

These are each one word when used as a noun.

e.g., This is your MAVzone login.

Used as two words in verb form.

e.g., I will log in to MAVzone.

In almost all cases, CMU’s various offices are styled ______ Office.

e.g., Admissions Office, Financial Aid Office, Registrar’s Office

The only exceptions are the Office of Academic Affairs, the Office of Student Success, the Office of the President and the Office of Student Accounts. 

Both words are capitalized in the context of the campus department.

CMU spells theatre with an “-re” ending.

e.g., CMU’s Department of Theatre Arts. 

e.g., The concert will be in Robinson Theatre.

Per CU’s publications: 

University of Colorado Boulder or CU Boulder. Please note that there is no hyphen.

University of Colorado Colorado Springs or UCCS.

University of Colorado Denver or CU Denver. Please note that there is no hyphen.

Use past tense (he said, she said), not present tense (he says, she says).

Capitalize the full name of a product or brand, including all major words. This applies to both the product name itself and any associated trademarks or logos.

e.g., iPhone, Coca-Cola, Nike Air Jordans.

Use generic terms to describe a product or brand when necessary for clarity or when referring to a category of products rather than a specific brand. 

e.g., smartphone instead of iPhone, coke instead of Coca-Cola.

Use the appropriate trademark symbols (™, ®) as applicable, especially for well-known brands or registered trademarks. However, if trademark symbols are not commonly used or if the product is not well-known, it may be omitted.

Be consistent in capitalization and styling when referring to the same product or brand throughout a piece of writing. Avoid variations in spelling or capitalization unless specifically required by the brand's style guidelines.

Overall, the key is to treat product names and brand names with the same consistency and attention to detail as other proper nouns, ensuring accuracy and clarity in written communication.

Two words, uppercase M and C.

Shorthand for Maverick Club.

Two words, uppercase M and P.

Shorthand for Maverick Pavilion.

Maverick can be used for both members of the student body and alumni, and members of a CMU athletic team.

Female athletes are also Mavericks. CMU does not use the phrase “lady Mavericks”.

Maverick is capitalized.

Alternatively, the Mavily is an acceptable and interchangeable term.

Note the capitalization.

xlhl.net

SupportingCMU.org

CMUmavericks.com

xlhl.net/future

tech.xlhl.net

As a general rule, use non-gendered pronouns and terms such as 'they/them' or 'person/people' instead of gendered pronouns ('he/him,' 'she/her') if the gender of the subject is unknown.

Use gender-neutral terms when referring to roles or occupations.

e.g., Firefighter' instead of 'fireman,' 'police officer' instead of 'policeman'

Prefer the use of ‘one’ in sentences for gender-neutrality

e.g., 'A committed student is more likely to succeed than one who skips class’ instead of ‘A committed student is more likely to succeed than if he has been skipping class.’

Be mindful of gendered language in descriptions or examples and strive to use language that is inclusive of all identities.

Respect individuals' chosen names and pronouns, and use them consistently in all communications when referring to them.

Acceptable in all references for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning and/or queer. 

In quotations and the formal names of organizations and events, other forms such as LGBTQIA and other variations are also acceptable with the other letters explained. ‘I’ generally stands for intersex, and ‘A’ can stand for asexual (a person who doesn't experience sexual attraction), ally (some activists decry this use of the abbreviation for a person who is not LGBTQ+ but who actively supports LGBTQ+ communities) or both. Queer is an umbrella term covering people who are not heterosexual or cisgender and is acceptable for people and organizations that use the term to identify themselves.

When referencing the location of an event, specify the details in the following order:

1. Campus
2. Building
3. Room number

e.g., Bishop Campus, Kayenta Hall, Room 113 

Include Colorado after all town names except Grand Junction, Montrose and Denver.

e.g., Delta, Colorado, was named because of its location on the delta, where the Gunnison River and the Uncompahgre River intersect.

As a general rule, CMU uses double inverted commas for direct speech and quotes.

e.g., “We're close to winning the tournament,” says the coach.

IN A SERIES:

Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series. AP style guide does not use the oxford comma.

e.g., CMU’s colors are maroon, white and gold.

Put a comma before the concluding conjunction in a series, however, if an integral element of the series requires a conjunction.

e.g., I ordered orange juice, toast, and ham and eggs from Bookcliff Cafe.

INTRODUCING DIRECT QUOTES: 

Use a comma to introduce a complete one-sentence quotation within a paragraph.

e.g., Looft said, "These are exciting. They take virtual welding to a whole new level.”

Do not use a comma at the start of an indirect or partial quotation.

e.g., Taggart said Academic Partnerships bring "people power to this partnership."

BEFORE ATTRIBUTION:

Use a comma instead of a period at the end of a quote that is followed by attribution.

e.g., "This is CMU’s style guide," Summer said.

Do not use a comma if the quoted statement ends with a question mark or exclamation point. 

e.g., "Is anyone still reading this?" she asked.

WITH NONESSENTIAL PHRASES:

A nonessential phrase must be set off by commas. An essential phrase is a group of words critical to the reader's understanding. A nonessential phrase provides more information about something.

e.g., Don’s wife, Deyon, formed the charitable organization with him in the ‘70s. (Since Don only has one wife, set her name off with commas.)

An essential phrase must not be set off from the rest of a sentence by commas. 

e.g., They went to the farmers market with their daughter Julie. (Since they have more than one daughter, Julie's name is critical if the reader is to know which daughter is meant.)

An en dash (–) is the width of an n, a little longer than a hyphen. It is used when you might otherwise use the word “to”.

e.g., The years 2001–2003

An em dash (—) is the width of an m. Em dashes indicate added emphasis, interruptions or an abrupt change in thought.

ABRUPT CHANGE: 

Use em dashes to denote an abrupt change in thought in a sentence or an emphatic pause.

e.g., As an artist, Schmidt has drawn, painted and printed  — but his real passion is cast-metal sculpture.

SERIES WITHIN A PHRASE:

When a phrase that otherwise would be set off by commas contains a series of words that must be separated by commas, use em dashes to set off the full phrase. 

e.g., The educational tour  — a partnership of the CMU Alumni Association, the Museum of Western Colorado and Chevron  — provided a unique opportunity for students.

WITH SPACES:

Put a space on both sides of a dash in all uses except with numbers.

In general, use the semicolon to indicate a greater separation of thought and information than a comma can convey but less than the separation that a period implies.

TO CLARIFY A SERIES:

Use semicolons to separate elements of a series when the items in the series are long or when individual segments contain material that also must be set off by commas.

e.g., He is survived by a son, John Smith, of Chicago; three daughters, Jane Smith, of Wichita, Kan., Mary Smith, of Denver, and Susan, of Boston; and a sister, Martha, of Omaha, Neb.

Note that the semicolon is used before the final “and” in such a series.

TO LINK INDEPENDENT CLAUSES:

Use semicolon when a coordinating conjunction such as and, but or for is not present.

e.g., The package was due last week; it arrived today.

In general, confine capitalization to formal titles used directly before an individual's name.

Capitalize formal titles when they are used immediately before one or more names. 

e.g., President John Marshall.

e.g., Vice President for Student Services Jody Diers.

Capitalize and abbreviate titles when used before a name both inside and outside quotations

e.g., Gov., Lt. Gov., Rep., Sen.

A formal title generally is one that denotes a scope of authority, professional activity or academic activity.

e.g., Sen. Cory Gardner

LOWERCASE:

Lowercase and spell out titles when they are not used with an individual's name.

e.g., The president issued a statement. The pope gave his blessing.

Lowercase and spell out titles in constructions that set them off from a name by commas.

e.g., Joe Biden, vice president, was re-elected in 2012. 

e.g., Pope Francis, the current pope, was born in Argentina.

Apply the following guidelines to book titles, computer game titles, movie titles, opera titles, play titles, poem titles, album and song titles, radio and television program titles, and the titles of lectures, speeches and works of art.

Capitalize the principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters.

Capitalize an article – the, a, an – or words of fewer than four letters if it is the first or last word in a title.

Translate a foreign title into English unless a work is generally known by its foreign name. An exception to this is reviews of musical performances. In those instances, generally refer to the work in the language it was sung in, so as to differentiate for the reader. However, musical compositions in Slavic languages are always referred to in their English translations. 

Italicize the title. If it is not possible to italicize it, put it in quotation marks.

e.g., The Colorado Mesa University Fight Song

e.g., Author Carroll Multz’s book Deadly Deception is selling well.

e.g., The Pirates of Penzance was one of the theatre department’s mainstage shows.

Titles of articles or stories are not capitalized or italicized. They are put in quotations.

Capitalize each word.

e.g., Risks Related to Covid-19.

Italicize the titles of periodicals.

The Maverick is CMU’s magazine.

The Daily Sentinel is italicized with a capital T. 

CMU’s newspaper is the Criterion — only Criterion is capitalized and italicized.

CMU Tech offers the career and technical programs at Colorado Mesa University. Use CMU Tech in most instances unless clarification is needed, then use Colorado Mesa University Tech.

Do not refer to CMU Tech as a division of CMU.

Spell Colorado Mesa University out on the first reference, CMU is ok on second reference

When referring to “the university”, university is not capitalized.

Foundation is only capitalized when it’s a part of the phrase “the Colorado Mesa University Foundation” or “the CMU Foundation”.

When the word “foundation” stands alone, it is not capitalized.