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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.

Founders’ Day

March 7 marks the anniversary of the founding of the university. The Founders’ Day event commemorates the 1887 passage of a bill in the state legislature that provided for the founding of a college to teach agriculture and mechanic arts.

General Administration

The governing body of the 17-campus University of North Carolina system, of which NC State is a constituent institution. See entry for The University of North Carolina for a list of all 17 campuses.

Governors Scott Courtyard

This courtyard on North Campus — bounded by Kilgore Hall, the Phytotron, Fox Science Teaching Laboratory, David Clark Labs and Nelson Hall — was constructed in 2004. The word “Governors” in the courtyard’s name is plural in honor of North Carolina’s two governors named Scott: W. Kerr Scott (1949-1953) and Robert W. Scott (1969-1973).

graduation year

For alums of NC State, when giving their graduation year with their name, give the last two digits of the year they graduated immediately after their last name. Precede the year with a backward-facing apostrophe (i.e., the apostrophe points toward the left, where the “missing” first two years are).

  • Kevin Howell ’88 became chancellor of NC State in 2025.

You can also give their major with their graduation year. This is usually done by giving their major and year, in that order, in parentheses after their name. Although academic majors are usually lowercase, in this construction they are capitalized.

  • Jane Tuffy (International Studies ’15) will give the commencement address.

In the lower third of a video, you can either give the year alone as in the first example above, or you can give the major and year on a separate line below the name, without parentheses.

  • Jane Tuffy
    International Studies ’15

When an alum has multiple degrees from NC State, give them all as in the first example above, separated by commas.

  • Christina Koch ’99, ’00, ’02 broke the record for the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman.

When an alum has earned a graduate degree, you can use degree abbreviations to indicate which degree the alum earned. To do this, give the degree abbreviation prior to the graduation year. In the example below, alumna Christina Koch earned two bachelor’s degrees (’99 and ’00) and one master’s degree (’02) from NC State.

  • Christina Koch ’99, ’00, M.S. ’02 broke the record for the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman.

Gregg Museum of Art & Design

This museum, a unit of Arts NC State, uses the ampersand in its name.

On first reference, use “Gregg Museum of Art & Design.” On subsequent references, use “Gregg Museum” or “the Gregg.”

headlines and headers

Apply these capitalization guidelines to article headlines, headers within articles, and webpage titles and headers:

  • Capitalize all words in a headline, header or title except articles (a, an, the); prepositions of three or fewer letters (for, of, on, up, etc.); and conjunctions of three or fewer letters (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet, etc.) unless any of those come first or last.
  • Capitalize prepositions of four or more letters (above, after, down, inside, over, with, etc.) and conjunctions of four or more letters (because, while, since, though, etc.)
  • Capitalize both parts of a phrasal verb: “What To Look For in a Mate”; “Turn Off the Lights in Silence.” But: “A Life of Eating Chocolate for Stamina”; “Living With Both Feet off the Ground.” (Note the different uses of “for” and “off,” and thus the different capitalization, in those examples.)
  • Capitalize “to” in infinitives: “What I Want To Be When I Grow Up.”

Holladay Hall

NC State’s first building, Holladay Hall, was originally called the Main Building. The cornerstone was laid in August 1888, and the building was opened Oct. 3, 1889. The building was renamed for the college’s first president, Alexander Quarles Holladay, in 1915. Today, Holladay Hall houses the office of the chancellor and other administrative offices.

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.