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Editorial Style

Following NC State's editorial style lends your writing a professional sheen and ensures a consistent experience for all of our readers.

Clear, Consistent Writing

Editorial style is a set of rules that tells you what to do when there's more than one "correct" way to write something. Examples include determining which words to capitalize in a headline or when to spell out a number versus using a numeral. Without a clear-cut set of style guidelines, writers often address these situations in inconsistent and contradictory ways, which undermines their credibility.

NC State’s editorial style is based on The Associated Press Stylebook, with exceptions and additions as noted below. When AP style conflicts with NC State's own guidelines, you should follow the latter. To resolve questions of spelling, AP recommends using Merriam-Webster.

You should follow these rules far more often than not. However, situations may arise when bending a rule makes more sense than following it. Clarity and consistency are the most important considerations.

Use the search bar or index to find a specific editorial style reference.

Hunt Library

This library on Centennial Campus houses collections relevant to science, technology, engineering, mathematics and textiles. The library’s full name is:

James B. Hunt Jr. Library

References to the governor himself, as opposed to the building named after him, use a comma after “Hunt”:

Gov. James B. Hunt, Jr. addressed the audience.

internet

Lowercase in all cases.

italics

NC State differs from AP with regard to italics. Use italics for unfamiliar foreign words and phrases that are not proper nouns:

The indigenous people of that region subscribe to a Weltanschauung that views the health of the people as dependent upon the health of the land.

The Afro-Brazilian drum troupe Grupo Cultural Olodum performed on Paul Simon’s album Rhythm of the Saints.

Foreign words and phrases found in the dictionary can generally be set in roman type:

The commedia dell’arte provided a way for the artistic classes to comment on political issues of the day.

Titles of large works — books, journals, magazines, newspapers, albums, television shows and the like — are italicized.

  • Being Written is a novel by NC State alumnus William Conescu.
  • The professor’s research was published in the Journal of Materials Sciences.
  • The New York Times has requested an interview with the chancellor.

Jane S. McKimmon Conference and Training Center

This facility, informally known as the McKimmon Center, is named for a home demonstration leader who was among the first women to receive degrees from NC State. In addition to providing a wide array of learning opportunities, professional meeting facilities and university services, the center also houses NC State Continuing and Lifelong Education.

Jr., Sr., III

The terms Jr., Sr., III and the like used after a person’s name are part of the name and thus generally do not take a comma:

Lonnie Poole Jr. gave a generous gift to the university.

If a person requests that we use the comma with his or her name, we should grant the request out of respect for the individual. We should also remember that when a building, fund or other entity is named after a person, the entity and the person are distinct from one another, and so are their names. Hence, at the request of Gov. Jim Hunt, we use the comma in his name.

Gov. James B. Hunt, Jr. spoke to an appreciative audience.

But there is no comma used in the full name of the Hunt Library:

The James B. Hunt Jr. Library is one of the most technologically advanced learning and collaboration spaces in the world.

Kennedy-McIlwee Studio Theatre

This performance venue, located on the second floor of Thompson Hall, is operated by University Theatre, a division of Arts NC State. Kennedy-McIlwee Studio Theatre seats 103 patrons.

land-grant

The first federal legislation that authorized the creation of land-grant state universities was the Morrill Act of 1862. The legislation authorized the federal government to give states land that they could use to create universities that would teach “agriculture and mechanic arts” to the “industrial classes.” The hyphenated adjective land-grant (lowercase and with hyphen, as in land-grant state universities, land-grant tradition, and land-grant institution) is in keeping with the editorial practice of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. It is correct to say the state received a land grant (no hyphen).

LGBTQ Pride Center

NC State’s LGBTQ Pride Center, a unit of NC State’s Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity, was founded in 2008 as the GLBT Center. The LGBTQ Pride Center’s mission is to engage, develop and empower members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities and their allies.

LGBTQ+

This is NC State’s preferred abbreviation for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and associated identities.” In quotations and the formal names of organizations and events, other variations, such as LGBT, LGBTQ and LGBTQIA+, are also acceptable.

majors, degree fields

Use lowercase for terms that generically describe a major or the field a degree is in, even if the term is part of the name of an academic department or college:

  • Correct: She earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering.
  • Incorrect: She earned a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering.

A major or field in a foreign language is designated by that language’s name — e.g., English, Spanish, Russian, etc. — and is thus capitalized.

When giving an NC State alumnus’ undergraduate major and year in parentheses after their name, capitalize the major (this is an exception to AP style). State the major first and then the year. Also, state the year as a two-digit abbreviation preceded by an apostrophe.

Leigh-Kathryn Bonner (International Studies ’15) founded a company called Bee Downtown, an urban beekeeping startup.