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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
according to Use only when referring to a nonhuman source, such as a book or an agency. For human sources, use a form of said.
affect It's a verb: How will this affect me? Effect is a noun: The effect was chilling.
afterward There is no such word as afterwards. Similar rule applies to forward, backward, upward, toward: None end in “s”
adviser Not advisor. However, there are advisory committees.
ages Always use numerals. I am 62 years old; the 5-year-old boy.
alderman or alderwoman Never alderperson. Never abbreviated. Correct style is 4th Ward Alderman John Doe.(Always use numerals rather than spelling out the ward or district number). See AP Stylebook entry, political divisions
all right. Never alright, despite what The Who sang about the kids.
alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae These terms refer to people who
have attended (but not necessarily graduated from) a school.
A male is an alumnus. A group of men are alumnni.
A female is an alumna. A group of females are alumnae.
A group people that includes both males and females are alumni.
approximately Rarely use it. About is shorter and means the same thing.
at about Redundant, as in, "She arrived at about noon." Correct: "She arrived about noon."
Around, about: Use about, unless you're talking about circumnavigating
something:
He came over about 11 p.m. (not around 11 p.m.)
I am about 5 feet tall.
We drove around the city.
Attribution Title / name / said ... , in that order unless the
title is more than three words.
... SA President Joe Blow said.
... said Joe Blow, president of the National Association of Students for
Wombat Awareness.
automatic weapons Question any story or police report that says automatic weapons were used. Most handguns are semiautomatic weapons, which have to be cocked before firing each shot. Automatic weapons, such as an Uzi or AK-47, fire repeatedly when you hold the trigger down. They are illegal except for military use and generally don't show up in DeKalb crime.
avenue Abbreviate only with a numbered address. She lives on 12th Avenue. She lives at 1242 12th Ave. Ditto for boulevard (Blvd.) and street (St.).
a while, awhile Two words if preceded by a prepopsition; otherwise
one word.
I will stay for a while
I will stay awhile
bachelor's degree
backward. Not backwards.
back yard (noun); backyard (adjective)
Barsema Hall Home to NIU's College of Business. Scheduled to open in September 2002. Named for Dennis Barsema, NIU alumnus who donated $20 million for the building in fall 2000. Barsema made his fortune as CEO of Redback Networks, an Internet infrastructure company based in California.
between connects two things, not three or more. For three or more, use among.
block People get arrested in the 1000 block of State Street, not on or at.
Board of Trustees NIU's governing board since January 1996. On first reference, call it the NIU Board of Trustees. On second reference, it's the BOT or the trustees.
Board of Regents NIU's governing board prior to 1996. On first reference, call it the Board of Regents. On second reference, it's the board or the regents.
book titles Put them in quotation marks. "War and Peace." Exceptions: religious works such as the Bible or the Koran; reference works such as Webster's Dictionary.
boulevard Abbreviate only with a numbered address. She lives on Columbus Boulevard. She lives at 1242 Columbus Blvd. Ditto for avenue (Ave.) and street (St.).
Bryzynski, Brad State Senator (35th District) who represents DeKalb. Republican from Sycamore.
Capital is a city, capitol is a building
Our nation's capital is Washington, D.C.
The Capitol building is in Washington, D.C. (capitalized when it's the building's
proper name)
Each state's capitol building lies in its capital city.
Castellaneta, Dan NIU alumnus (1979, art education) and the voice of Homer Simpson (also Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby, Grandpa Simpson and others). Lives in Los Angeles with wife, actress/artist Deb Lacusta.
century Lowercase as part of a specific time period: 21st century.
chairman, chairwoman Never chairperson.
city council Lowercase unless the city name is used with it. The DeKalb City Council. The city council. Same rule applies for other public bodies, such as the county board.
city of DeKalb Almost always, you can use either the city or DeKalb, but you don't need both.
Chick Evans Field House Second reference: the fieldhouse. Seating capacity for sporting events: 6,044.
Chronopoulos, Bessie former DeKalb mayor.
Clark, Rick Director, University Programming and Activities
collective nouns words like jury, committee, club, audience, team, band, crowd and class are singular. They emphasize a group as one unit. The team won its game. The class took its test.
colon: Capitalize the word after a colon only if it's a complete
thought (if it could stand alone as a sentence). For instance:
Here's my problem: I can't run fast enough.
My problem comes down to two things: speed and agility.
Exception: In headlines, the word after a colon always is capitalized.
comprise, compose A whole thing comprises its parts. The
parts compose the whole.
The MAC comprises these universities ...
Three senators compose the committee.
communication department The NIU department that includes both journalism and communication. It no longer is called the communcations studies department
Computer-related terms and styles
* database
* online (one word, no hyphen)
* e-mail
* Web, World Wide Web (always capitalized)
* home page (always two words)
* Web site (always two words)
* Internet (always capitalized)
* disk, diskette
* modem
* byte
* megabyte
* gigabyte
* ROM
* RAM
* CD-ROM
* MP3
Congress members Refer to them as:
U.S. Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Yorkville (use town name for Illinois Congress
members only)
Rep. John Doe, D-N.Y.
Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill.
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.
See also: state lawmakers
contact Just say call. Example: For more information, call (815) 555-5555
Convocation Center NIU's multipurpose arena, scheduled to open in August 2002. Use arena on second reference. The building's capacity for sporting events will be 8,700. For concerts, it will hold 10,000 including floor seating. Be cautious about calling it a 10,000-seat arena, because usually that's in a context where we're talking about sports. The building's stated price has been $36 million, all paid for by student fees.
courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss, etc.) Don't use them except for reason of clarity: It was Mrs. Wilson, not Mr. Wilson, who bought the cheese. Otherwise, "Amy Wilson" becomes "Wilson" on second reference.
Currently. The word rarely is needed. If you have a present-tense verb, it's assumed you mean now.
daylight-saving time Not savings. Not capitalized. And note the hyphen.
decades the 1980s; the '80s (no apostrophe before the "s"). The jury's still out on what to call the decade that began in 2000 (or 2001, if you're picky).
DeKalb. Never De Kalb or Dekalb.
DeKalb County Sheriff's Department. Not sheriff's office. Also, sheriff's police are deputies.
DeKalb police. Lowercase police unless you're saying the DeKalb Police Department.
DeKalb School District 428 DeKalb's only public school district. Includes eight elementary schools, two middle schools and DeKalb High School. It draws students from DeKalb, Malta and Cortland. Superintendent is Dr. Brian Ali. The district home page has links to each school. Individual schools (all are in DeKalb unless noted):
| Brooks Elementary | Lincoln Elementary | Rosette Middle School |
| Chesebro Elementary | Littlejohn Elementary | Huntley Middle School |
| Cortland Elementary (in Cortland) |
Malta Elementary (in Malta) |
DeKalb High School |
| Jefferson Elementary | Tyler Elementary |
DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport DeKalb's airport, 3232 Pleasant St.
department names, NIU lowercase, except English department
different than, not different from.
dimensions The 5-foot 6-inch guard. See AP Stylebook for much more.
dorms, dormitories use residence halls
doctor do not use it in front of a person's name on first reference unless he/she is a medical doctor (not a professor). Never use it on second reference.
drugs, narcotics Don't use interchangeably. All narcotics are drugs, but not all drugs are narcotics.
DuPage County
editor in chief Not hyphenated.
everyday, every day One word as an adjective: everyday people. Two words as an adverb: She goes to work every day.
Faculty Senate Second reference: the FS, or the senate.
farther, further Farther refers only to physical distance. Otherwise
use further.
I can throw a football farther than you
Can you expand further on your idea?
feels A sensory activity. Don't substitute it for thinks, as in He feels this is wrong.
Feithen, William DeKalb police chief
firefighter not fireman.
fiscal year Spell out on first reference: fiscal year 1997. Second reference: FY1996.
forward Not forwards (unless you're talking about two basketball players).
Founders Memorial Library No apostrophe in Founders. On second reference: the library.
fundraiser One word. Note that the Star's style differs from AP Style (which is hyphenated)
gambling Don't use the casino industry's euphemism, "gaming." Call it what it is.
General Assembly Proper name for the Illinois legislature; it
includes
both House and Senate.
Grant Towers North, South Use GTN and GTS on second reference.
Greek Always capitalized, whether you're talking about an ethnic
background or the
university's fraternity/sorority system. Greek Row, the Greek system.
grade point average Spell out on first reference. Second reference: GPA.
Groth, Cary NIU athletics director. Appointed by President John La Tourette in August 1994.
Hastert, Dennis U.S. Speaker of the House, and DeKalb's congressman. Republican from Yorkville. Represents Illinois' 14th Congressional District. Got his graduate degree at NIU.
highway Spelled out, except in Police Beat, where it's abbreviated hwy.
historic, historical An event is historic if it is especially
important or stands out in history. Anything that happened in the
past is historical.
The board made a historic decision.
She researched historical events of the 19th century.
Holmes Student Center First reference: spell it out.
Second reference: the student center.
Homecoming Capitalized if referring to the specific event. Lower-case
if referring it in the generic sense.
The president will speak during NIU's Homecoming celebration.
Universities have celebrated homecoming for years.
home page Two words.
hopefully Often misused, as in, "Hopefully we can go to the
game."
A correct use would be, "He gazed hopefully at the door."
Huskies, Huskie The NIU sports mascot. Never "Husky."
Huskie Bus Line NIU's student-funded mass-transit system. See routes
Huskie Stadium: Where NIU plays its football games.
Illinois Board of Higher Education Second reference: IBHE.
imply, infer Writers and speakers imply. Readers and listeners infer.
injuries are suffered, not sustained or received.
Internet Capitalize it.
intersections Wrong: at the intersection of Fourth Street and College Street. Right: at Fourth and College streets.
investigations In a police story, rarely do you need to write, an investigation was started, or an investigation continues. The story should make that obvious.
its, it's It's means it is. It does NOT show possession.
The team got its first win. It's a great day for a game.
journalism area NIU has not had a journalism department since 1995. It's the journalism area of the communication department. However, students still can major in and earn a degree in journalism
Judson, Rob NIU basketball coach. Hired in March 2001. Former job: assistant coach at University of Illinois under Lon Kruger and then Bill Self. Replaced Brian Hammel, who resigned in December 2000 (interim coach was Andy Greer). Judson's starting salary: $140,000.
King Memorial Commons Spell out on first reference.
Second reference: the MLK Commons.
Kishwaukee College The DeKalb area's local community college. Located in Malta. Many NIU students take classes there as well.
Kishwaukee Community Hospital DeKalb's hospital. Located at 626 Bethany Road on DeKalb's north edge.
Koran Use the preferred spelling Quran when referring to the Muslim holy book.
La Tourette, John former NIU president, 1986-2000. Came to NIU in 1979 as provost and vice president for academic affairs. Native of New Jersey. Undergrad, graduate and doctoral degrees in economics from Rutgers University.
lay, lie Lay means to put or place. Lie means to rest or recline, or to tell an untruth.
Legg, J. Ivan. NIU provost. Named in March 2001. Began working at NIU in July 2001. Previous job: provost, University of Memphis.
Lowden Hall Most of NIU's upper administrators, including the president, have their offices here. Informally (such as in an editorial or column), Lowden Hall may be used as a synonym for the NIU administration.
majors
wrong: Joe Black, sophomore engineering major, spoke today ...
right: Joe Black, a sophomore engineering major, spoke today ...
better yet: Sophomore engineering major Joe Black spoke today ...
Don't capitalize the name of a major unless it's a word that normally would be capitalized, like English.
Malls
Area shopping malls and their towns include:
- Charlestown Mall, St. Charles
- CherryVale Mall, Cherry Valley (near Rockford)
- Fox Valley Mall, Aurora
- Gurnee Mills, Gurnee
- Machesney Park Mall, Machesney Park (near Rockford)
- Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg
master's degree
MetroCentre Rockford's sports and entertainment arena.
The full title is the Rockford MetroCentre.
Mid-American Conference NIU's conference starting in 1996-97.
Second reference: The MAC.
Midwest Capitalized when talking about this region of the country.
mind-set Hyphenated in all instances.
months Abbreviate when using with a number: Dec. 25.
Spell out when it stands alone (this January); or with year only (June 1996).
Don't abbreviate March, April, May, June, July.
Abbreviations are Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.
Moser, George Board of Trustees chairman, 1999-2000. Occupation: banker and real-estate developer. Chairman of the board of Charter National Bank and Trust, Northwest Bancorp, Inc., and Stonegate Properties, Inc., all in Hoffman Estates. He lives in Barrington Hills.
movies put movie titles in quotation marks: "Jurassic Park" Do not italicize.
Muhammad Founder of Islam. Lived from 570 to 632 A.D. in what is now Saudi Arabia.
Muslims People who adhere to Islam.
Newman Catholic Student Center
NIU Never spelled out.We assume readers know where they are.
northern Illinois northern isn't capitalized if you're talking about a geographic direction. But, do capitalize geographic regions: the West, the East Coast, the Midwest, etc.
the Northern Star Second reference: the Star. Italicized in all instances.
No. 1
This is the correct style. Always capitalize the abbreviation and follow
it with a numeral.
Don't say number one, or number 1, or #1. This is one of few exceptions
to the next rule ...
Numbers
Spell out one through nine. Use numerals for 10 and above. Use commas in
1,000 and above. Some notable exceptions:
Age. A numeral unless it starts a sentence. He is 18 years old.
Percentage. A numeral unless it starts a sentence. Simon won 62 percent
of the vote.
Dimensions. Use numerals to indicate inches, feet, yards, pounds.
The 6-foot-5 forward, the 6-10 center, he is 6 feet 10 inches tall.
Spell out all numbers if they start a sentence: Ten people attended the
meeting.
Big Ten Conference
We're No. 1.
Numbers that include fractions should be written as numerals: 2 1/2 years. Exception: when it starts a sentence: Two and a half years ago, ...
OK Never okay. Other forms: OKs, OK'd
online. Not on-line
over Use only when referring to direction. For quantity, use more than.
Palestine / Palestinian Prior to 1948, Palestine was the name for the territory that is now the nation of Israel. Today, there is no country called Palestine. Palestinian people generally live in either the West Bank or Gaza Strip.
palette / palate / pallet
An artist uses a palette.
Everyone has a palate in their mouth.
Warehouses load materials on a pallet.
Part time, part-time Hyphenate only when used as a compound modifier:
She has a part-time job. She works part time.
The same rules apply for full time / full-time
people, persons don't use persons unless it's part of a formal title: Bureau of Missing Persons. Otherwise, use people.
percentages Always use a numeral, unless at the beginning of a sentence. 3 percent; a 12-percent increase.
Peters, John G. NIU's 11th president. Selected by Board of Trustees in March 2000. Began working at NIU in June 2000. Starting salary: $215,000, plus benefits including free use of university house and car. Under contract through 2006. Previous job: provost at University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Wife is Barbara Peters. One son, Russell.
Ph.D.
pickets Workers who march in protests. Not picketers.
political parties Capitalize. The Republican Party. He is a Democrat.
Presidents Day No apostrophe.
Quran The preferred spelling, rather than Koran, for the Muslim holy book. Author: the Muslim prophet Muhammad.
radio stations Local stations are WDEK-FM (2nd reference: WDEK), WNIU, WNIJ, WKDI
the Rec Common name for the Student
Recreation Center, which is operated by the Office of Campus Recreation.
First reference: the Student Recreation Center.
Second reference: the Rec (capitalized).
resident assistant Spell out on first reference. Second reference: RA.
Residence Hall Association RHA on second reference.
road Never abbreviated, even with a numbered address.They live at 2432 Annie Glidden Road.
Said is for what people say. Stated is for reports. According to is for books or reference material.
Sanchez, Manuel "Manny" Chairman, NIU Board of Trustees, 2002-3.
seasons Lowercase: spring, summer, fall, winter.
semicolon Use sparingly, between two independent clauses. Coyne has been winning that race all year; we were looking forward to swimming tonight. In newspaper writing, a better option is breaking the clauses into two sentences. Coyne has been winning that race all year. We were looking forward to swimming tonight.
semitrailer the correct term for an 18-wheeler.
Sept. 11 Use this form on all references to the day of the 2001 terrorism attacks, as opposed to 9-11, 9/11 or other hybrids. To mention the events themselves, use the Sept. 11 attacks on first reference, and Sept. 11 thereafter.
sheriff's department See DeKalb County Sheriff's Department
Siegel, Myron Member, NIU Board of Trustees. Was BOT's first chairman, 1996-97. Occupation: attorney. Lives in Bannockburn, Ill.
Simpson, Bertrand Associate director, University Programming and Activities.
Simpson, Homer See Castellaneta, Dan.
song titles Put them in quotation marks. "The Stars and Stripes Forever."
Sparrow, Greg DeKalb mayor.
spokesman, spokeswoman never spokesperson.
sports use numerals for just about everything. The score was 8-6; 2 yards; 3 under par; 2 strokes.
Spring Break Capitalized
state abbreviations Eight are never abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii,
Idaho, Iowa, Maine,
Ohio, Texas and Utah. Otherwise, use AP Stylebook for
abbreviations. Do not use postal abbreviations
(for instance, use Ill., not IL).
Stevenson Towers North, South Use STN and STS on second reference.
state lawmakers Refer to them like this:
State Rep. David Wirsing, R-Sycamore
State Sen. Brad Burzynski, R-Sycamore
street Use St., Ave. or Blvd. with numbered addresses only. 423 Main St. Don't abbreviate road, lane. Write out the names of streets when you're not using a numbered address: She walked east on Jones Street.
Student Association Second reference: the SA.
Student Association Senate Second reference: the senate.
Student Recreation Center See the Rec
Subject A word that often shows up in the police blotter, when we mean person. Avoid copspeak
teenager One word, according to AP Style adopted in 2002 (it used to be hyphenated)
temperatures the 60s. No apostrophe. Minus 5 (not "5 below").
telephone numbers When an area code is used, put it in parentheses: (708) 555-5555.
time When talking about an event, give details in this order:
time, date, place.
The concert will take place at 7 p.m. Sept. 15 in the Duke Ellington Ballroom
of the Holmes Student Center.
Note that there are no commas in the time-date-place sequence.
Other rules:
4 p.m., 9 a.m., noon (not 12 p.m.), midnight (not 12 a.m.), 9 a.m. to 12:30
p.m.
Time references If you're writing about something that occurred within the past seven days, or will occur within the next seven days, use the day: The president will visit NIU on Tuesday. If more than seven days in the past of future, use the date: The president will speak at NIU on Sept. 23.
Titles: Capitalize a person's title if it's used before his/her
name: NIU Provost J. Carroll Moody. But don't capitalize it after the name:
J. Carroll Moody, NIU provost.
Generally, use the title before the name if it's three words or less: NIU
Athletic Director Cary Groth.
Use the title after the name if it's more than three words: John
Doe, DeKalb Township supervisor of assessments; Eddie Williams, vice president
of finance and facilities.
Some titles are more generic and are never capitalized: professor
Bob Roberts; police officer David Phillips.
toward There is no such word as towards.
University Health Service Second reference: the health center.
University of Chicago, University of Illinois-Chicago. They are two different schools. Second reference: UC and UIC.
University of Illinois U of I on second reference if you're talking about the Champaign-Urbana campus. For the University of Illinois at Chicago, it's UIC.
University Police Second reference: the UPs.
University Council: the UC or the council on second reference.
Valentine's Day
very use this word rarely
Veterans Day No apostrophe.
Web page, Web site: Each term is two words. A Web page is part of a Web site. If you're talking about a company's Web presence, it's a Web site, not a Web page. For instance, the Northern Star maintains a Web site.
Winter Break Capitalized if you're talking about the specific period of time students are off.
Wirsing, David DeKalb area's state representative (70th District) in the Illinois General Assembly. Republican, from Sycamore.
WKDI NIU's student-run radio station. Shut down by the Student Association in spring 2002. Offices were located in the Northern Public Radio offices on First Street.
WNIU / WNIJ NIU's two National Public Radio-affiliated stations.
World Wide Web Three words, all capitalized. Second reference: the Web.
X-ray
Yesterday, tomorrow. Don't use these. Always use the day of the week. If today is Thursday, and a meeting happened yesterday, you say the meeting happened Wednesday.
Z number Identification numbers issued to NIU students for access to computer labs and other services.
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