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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.

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 vs. land grant

The Morrill Act of 1862 established the nation’s land-grant university system by authorizing federal land grants to states to help create colleges that would teach “agriculture and the mechanic arts” to the “industrial classes.” A second Morrill Act in 1890 extended land-grant status to additional institutions, including many historically Black colleges and universities.

Use the hyphenated, lowercase adjective “land-grant” when describing universities, institutions or missions (e.g., land-grant university, land-grant tradition). Use the open form “land grant” as a noun (e.g., the state received a land grant).

LGBTQ Pride Center

NC State’s LGBTQ Pride Center, a unit of NC State’s Division of Academic and Student Affairs, 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 (including graduate degrees), 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 Ph.D. 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 alum’s 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 a backward-facing apostrophe:

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

months

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

Examples:

  • The last day of class is Dec. 12.
  • Spring break will begin on March 17.
  • The building was completed sometime in July 2025.
  • October is my favorite month.
  • Thanksgiving takes place on Nov. 25 this year.

Mr. and Ms. Wuf

NC State has two mascots, one male and one female: Mr. Wuf and Ms. Wuf. On Feb. 28, 1981, Mr. and Ms. Wuf were married in a mock wedding ceremony during halftime of a men’s basketball game at Reynolds Coliseum. The Wake Forest Demon Deacon mascot officiated the ceremony, and Chancellor Joab Thomas gave the bride away.

The female mascot should be referred to as “Ms. Wuf,” not Mrs. Wolf, Mrs. Wuf or Miss Wuf. The only exception is when the female mascot appears in pictures predating Feb. 28, 1981, in which she would be referred to as Miss Wolf.