Written Style Standards A-L
AACSB International
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Always capitalize with no periods or spaces
AALS
Association of American Law Schools. Always capitalize with no periods or spaces.
ABA
American Bar Association. Always capitalize with no periods or spaces.
ACE Fellowship
American Council on Education Fellowship
abbreviations
It is best to avoid abbreviations, especially those that may not be common or clear. If you do not know the proper abbreviation, please check The Elements of Style, Chicago Manual of Style, or Associated Press Stylebook.
Do not use periods for campus locations or degrees. For example: NYC, PLV, BR, or BA, MBA, JD, PhD
Use periods in abbreviations only when called for or according to tradition.
For example: U.S., P.A.A.W., e.g., a.m., and p.m.
Do not use an apostrophe to form plurals of abbreviations. For example:
CPAs, not CPA's
Before using any abbreviation, spell out the full name and indicate the abbreviation directly after in the parenthesis. For example: The School of Computer Science and Information Systems (CSIS) has developed a new online degree program. CSIS will . . .
academic degrees
Do not use periods when abbreviating degrees.When abbreviating an academic degree, do not put spaces after periods. Do not use the word “degree” after a degree abbreviation. For example: Smith received a MBA from the Lubin School of Business. When referring to degrees in general, lowercase the first letter of the degree (e.g., bachelor's degree). Use an apostrophe “s” ('s) for bachelor's degree and master's degree; but use associate degree. Do not capitalize formal names of academic degrees (e.g., bachelor of arts in marketing).
Only when the name of the department and the words department, office, center, and school appear in the form of the official divisional names should they be capitalized. “School of Computer Science and Information Systems” or “Office of Enrollment Marketing and Management” would use initial capitals, but “My department...”; “The center...”; “The school...”
academic year/calendar
Lowercase the names of the seasons: fall, winter, spring, summer
Formal: fall term 1996
Informal: fall '96
acronyms
If you know the acronym, you should use it. On first usage, spell out item in its entirety, with the acronym following directly after in parenthesis. On second reference, you may just use the acronym. For example: Challenge to Achievement at Pace (CAP). CAP is...
For more on acronyms, consult Appendix C.
addresses
Spell out avenue, street, lane, etc., in all cases. Spell out cities and states in straight copy.
administration
Always lowercase (e.g., the president's administration, the Lincoln administration).
admissions offices
The Office of Undergraduate Admission and the Office of Graduate Admission.
adviser, but advisory
AES
Adult Enrollment Services. Always capitalize with no periods or spaces.
affect, effect
affect=”to influence”; effect=”a result”
all right, not alright
alumni
Per Webster's II New College Dictionary, alumni is generally used to refer to both the alumni and alumnae of a coeducational institutional. Identify past and current students by their college/school and class year, with an apostrophe before the year (e.g., John Smith '99). Avoid the shorthand term “alum.”
a.m./p.m.
Use lowercase and with periods; do not capitalize.
among, between
among=more than two items; between=two items
ampersand
Use this symbol only if a corporation or another entity uses this symbol in its official name, then use it. Otherwise, never use it in straight copy. For example: J.P.Morgan & Co. Incorporated
anniversary
Capitalize when referring to a Pace University anniversary and lowercase in other references. >For example: As Pace celebrates its 100th Anniversary...
annual fund
Capitalize when referring to a Pace University Annual Fund and lowercase
in other references.
Aphros
Pace literary magazine
athletic teams
Only capitalize when using the full formal name of the team. The Setters is the official team name, and the Setter is Pace University's official mascot. For example: The Pace University Men's Varsity Basketball Team won...
The basketball team won...
The Pace football team...
The Pace Setters are having a winning season.
awards
Capitalize the names of awards only when using the proper and full name of the award. Do not capitalize when making a generic reference.
For example: The Homer and Charles Pace Award
a service award
board of trustees
Capitalize only when referring to the full formal name. Capitalize trustee only before a name.
For example: The Pace University Board of Trustees will meet this month.
The board will make its decision at that time.
At this meeting, Trustee Jane Doe will preside. Jane Doe has been a trustee since 1907.
bookstore
BR
Briarcliff campus. Use for internal University communications only.
Always capitalize with no periods or spaces.
buildings and facilities
Use the official name of campus buildings and facilities with capitals in formal communication. On second reference, if the name is partial, you may shorten the name with the appropriate designation. On second reference, when you do not use the proper name, lowercase hall, center, and building.
For example: The Jeanette and Morris Kessel Campus Center houses the Setters' Overlook Cafe.
The campus center is near the Environmental Center.
The Kessel Campus Center is...
The Pleasantville campus library...
The Edward and Doris Mortola Library on the Pleasantville campus...
The Midtown Center offers programs...
Official names and addresses of campus buildings and facilities:
Pleasantville Campus
861 Bedford Road
Pleasantville, NY >10570-2799Administrative Center
Ann and Alfred Goldstein Academic Center
The American Brands Conference Room (1st floor)
The Morton A. Sweig Conference Room (2nd floor)
Ann and Alfred Goldstein Health, Fitness, and Recreation Center
Art Barn
William L. Butcher Suite
Choate House
Costello House
Dyson Hall
Edward and Doris Mortola
Library
Environmental Center
Field House
Finnerty Field
Gannett Center
George F. Knerr Reading Room
Gottesman Room
Henry Birnbaum Conference Room
Jeanette and Morris Kessel Campus Center
John Buchsbaum House
Lienhard Hall
Marks Hall
Martin Hall
Miller Hall
North Hall
Pace University Art Gallery
Paton House
Setters' Overlook Cafe
Townhouses
Willcox Hall
Wright Cottage
Briarcliff Campus
235 Elm Road
Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510-2256Dow Hall
Hillside House
Howard Johnson Hall
New Dormitory
Tead House
Valley House
West Hall
Woodward Hall
The School of Law
78 North Broadway
White Plains, NY 10603-3796Aloysia Hall
Center for Continuing Legal Education
Dannat Hall
E-House
Hayes Library
Joseph and Bessie Gerber Glass Law Center
Land Use Law Center
New York State Judicial Institute
Preston Hall
Student Life Center
Women's Justice Center
Evelyn and Joseph I. Lubin Graduate Center
One Martine Avenue
White Plains, NY >10606-1932
New York City Campus
One Pace Plaza
41 Park Row
163 William Street
New York, NY >10038-1598Dyson Conference Room
Eddie Layton Student Union
Edward J.Mortola Courtyard
The Gallery at the Schimmel Center for the Arts
Grace and Thomas Hogan Wing
Henry Birnbaum Library
Joseph Miranne Faculty Dining Room
Maria's Tower
Pace Digital Gallery
Peter Fingesten Art Gallery
Philip A. Fulvi Reading Room
Robert Pace Study
Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts Theater
Schaeberle Studio Theater
Midtown Center
551 >Fifth Avenue
8th and 9th floor
New York, NY >10176-0899 (8th floor); 10176-0999 (9th floor)
CAE
Center for Academic Excellence. Always capitalize with no periods or spaces.
CAP
Challenge to Achievement at Pace. Always capitalize with no periods or spaces.
Campus
Lowercase in straight copy. For example: The New York City campus in lower Manhattan...
capitalization
Avoid the capitalization of common nouns. Capitalize the first word of a sentence, a proper noun, a proper adjective (e.g., Romance languages), a common noun when used as part of a specific individual name (e.g., Butcher Suite, but not “suite” when it stands alone), and a common adjective when used as part of a specific individual name. In business letter writing, it is appropriate to capitalize courtesy and professional titles after the name.
CCA
Center for Cultural Affairs. Always capitalize with no periods or spaces. On first reference, spell out and indicate abbreviation directly after parenthesis.
CCENHC
Center for Continuing Education in Nursing and Health Care. Always capitalize with no periods or spaces. On first reference, spell out and indicate abbreviation directly after in parenthesis.
CCLE
Center for Continuing Legal Education. Always capitalize with no periods or spaces. On first reference spell out and indicate abbreviation directly after in parenthesis.
CD-ROM, not CDROM or CD ROM
CDNY
Center for Downtown New York. Always capitalize with no periods or spaces.
chair, not chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson
citations for electronic and online resources
The following resources are helpful for the proper citation of materials from online resources: “A Guide for Writing Research Papers based on Modern Language Association (MLA) Documentation”; “Citing the Sites,” from Beyond the MLA Handbook: Documenting Electronic Sources on the Internet and Janice Walker's “MLA Style Citations of Electronic Sources.”
class
Capitalize class in formal uses. For example: Class of 1994
classes and courses
Use lowercase when you refer to courses and classes, unless you are using the specific name of a class or the class uses a proper noun or numeral. For example: I had a chemistry class and a marketing class.
I got an “A” in Chemistry 101.
I am taking Data Structures and Algorithms I.
CLOUT
Computers, Literacy, Opportunity, University, Technology.
Always capitalize with no periods or spaces.
Code of Life or Three Piece Cube
The granite sculpture in front of the Pace Plaza building donated by alumnus Henry C. Beinstein '64 and designed by David Bakalar.
college/schools
When listing the college/schools, list them in alphabetical order.
Dyson College of Arts and Sciences
Lienhard School of Nursing
Lubin School of Business
School of Computer Science and Information Systems
School of Education
School of Law
commas
Use a comma before the conjunction and/or in a series. For example: He wants to major in economics, English, or mathematics.
commencement
Use lowercase—for example, The University's annual spring commencement...— unless part of a proper title in formal publications—Pace University May 2001 Commencement.
cooperative, co-op
Do not hyphenate cooperative unless you abbreviate. The full, formal name of this office is Cooperative Education and Career Services, but Coop and Career Services is also acceptable.
committees
Capitalize full names of specific committees and lowercase on second reference.
For example: The Security Committee of the Student Government
Association met yesterday and the committee decided to...
contractions
Avoid.
course work
courtesy titles/academic titles
Lowercase titles unless they precede a name. Second and subsequent references generally use last name only. Use “Dr.” only before the name of an individual who holds a doctor of medicine, dentistry, or veterinary medicine degree: Dr. Jonas Salk. Place terminal degrees after all names on the first reference.
For example: Vice President for Students Thomas Doe, PhD
Allan Doe, AA, vice president for students
Professor John Doe,MA
Jane Doe, BS, professor of economics
CSIS
This is the abbreviation for the School Computer Science and Information Systems.
data
Write “data are...,” not “data is...”
dates
Dates should be spelled out fully and not be abbreviated.
For example: January 1, 2005
