When writing for Chadron State’s external audiences, individuals are expected to follow guidelines of the “Associated Press Stylebook.” The college adheres to the AP’s manual because its guidelines have become a standard for producing copy that is comprehensible by readers with various degrees of education and reading skills. Most entries in the AP Stylebook are similar to those found in other respected style reference guides.

Communication from Chadron State has the potential to be viewed by many constituencies: students, potential students, alumni, employees, media representatives, students’ parents and potential donors, to name a few. Documents that employ AP style will be consistent in a number of ways, including abbreviations of states and months and the usage of acronyms.

Always keep in mind: who, what, when, where, why and how.

1. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term.

   cardinal, white, and gray

2. Do not join independent clauses with a comma.
   1. Independent clause: a group of words that contains a subject and verb expressing complete thought. A basic sentence, in other words.

      Dan Brown’s books are entertaining; they are full of engaging ideas.

   2. It is also correct to write the above sentence as two sentences.
3. Do not break sentences in two by using periods for commas.

   Good: She was an interesting talker, a woman who had traveled all over the world and lived in half a dozen countries.
   Bad: She was an interesting talker. A woman who had traveled all over the world and lived in half a dozen countries.

4. Use only one space after periods, semicolons, and colons. Also, all punctuation goes inside quotation marks.
5. Use tabs or paragraph styles, not spaces, to indent text.
6. Maintain the active voice while writing.

   Good: The art department will host a pancake breakfast.
   Bad: The art department will be hosting a pancake breakfast.

7. Use definite, specific language.
   1. Prefer the specific to the general, the definite to the vague.
8. Omit needless words and be concise.

   Good: The dog barks at the mailman because he taunts him.
   Bad: The reason why the dog barks at the mailman is his taunting.

9. Possessives
   1. Plural nouns not ending in S: add ’s

      The alumni’s contribution.

   2. Plural nouns and singular proper names ending in S: add only an apostrophe

      The witness’ story didn’t match up with the defendant’s.
      Dickens’ version of London is upbeat.

10. Chadron State College is an “it” and the Eagles are “they”

    Chadron State College and its alumni are proud to announce a gift of $1 billion to the Chicoine Center.
    The Eagles stormed out of their dugout after a wayward pitch struck the sports information director in the head.

11. Keep leads simple. Don’t exhaust the reader with many sentences over 20 words. Use only the best quotes. Don’t assume anything and study the stylebook.

30 Second Spots

• 30 seconds, 65 words = lots of inflection, sincere read
• 30 seconds, 78 words = typical, straight read
• 30 seconds, 90 words = fast read
• 30 seconds, 100 words = hard sell, maximum speed read

60 Second Spots

• 60 seconds, 130 words = lots of inflection
• 60 seconds, 155 words = typical, straight read
• 60 seconds, 180 words = fast read
• 60 seconds, 200 words = hard sell, maximum speed read

Note: Short numbers, symbols, etc., count as one word each. Phone numbers, such as 1-800-CHADRON, count as two words.

Abbreviations are acceptable but do not use abbreviations a reader would not quickly recognize.

An acronym is a word formed from the first letter or letters of a series of words: laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation). An abbreviation is not an acronym.

When abbreviations or acronyms need to be defined, spell out on first citation and follow with the definition in parentheses.

Eight students from Gering High School recently joined the Rural Health Opportunities Program (RHOP) at Chadron State College.

It is acceptable to refer to Chadron State College as CSC on second reference. Chadron State is also acceptable on second reference. Do not create alphabet soup while writing abbreviations and acronyms.

Capitalize academic degrees when used in a singular fashion in a body of text.

Matt Damon received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Chadron State College.

Apostrophe versus no apostrophe. A main use of the apostrophe is to indicate possession:

master’s degree in journalism
bachelor’s degree in journalism
No possessive needed: Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science.

Lowercase when used informally, except for proper nouns or adjectives. Capitalize when used formally.

Several students enjoy working for the college’s English and Humanities department.
Members of the College Relations department frequently speak to students in communication courses.

Confine capitalization to formal titles used directly before an individual’s name. Lowercase in all other uses.

According to Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing Robert Plant, the levee breaks.
According to Robert Plant, vice president for enrollment and marketing, the levee breaks.

On first reference to an individual with an academic title, use the academic title after the name. Do not refer to the individual as Dr. in subsequent references.

Do not use other titles, such as Mr., Ms., or Director, in subsequent references.

Use the following

• alumnus: (alumni in plural form) when referring to a man
• alumna: (alumnae in plural form) when referring to a woman
• alumni: when referring to a group of men and women
• alum: if no other usage fits it is acceptable to use. However, it is colloquial.

Numerals are used when the exact time is emphasized. Use lowercase and periods. Do not use AM, PM, am, or pm. Numbers should never be used to express noon or midnight.

• Good: 3:14 p.m.
• Good: 1 p.m.
• Bad: 12 noon

Capitalize only when an integral part of a proper name or when referring to a specific board.

The board will meet to decide the pool’s fate.
The Nebraska State College System Board of Trustees will meet tomorrow.

There are a variety of named buildings and spaces within buildings at CSC. Consistent references to buildings are important to avoid confusion among first-time visitors to the college. On first reference, using the official name listed below. In subsequent references, casual references, and tabular material, some shorthand names can be used, but the official names are encouraged throughout.

Armstrong Gymnasium
Shorthand: Armstrong

Andrews Hall
Shorthand: Andrews

Beebe Stadium (Don Beebe Stadium is acceptable.)

Burkhiser Complex
Shorthand: Burkhiser

Brooks Hall
Shorthand: Brooks

C Hill (C-Hill is acceptable.)

Chicoine Atrium (Do not confuse with Chicoine Center. Include a reference to the Sandoz Center as the overall location when writing about the Chicoine Atrium.)

The musicians played a scherzo in the Chicoine Atrium at the Sandoz Center.

Chicoine Center (Do not confuse with Chicoine Atrium.)
Shorthand: Chicoine

Coffee Agriculture Pavilion (Part of the Rangeland Complex.)

Chadron State College rodeo practices take place in the Coffee Agriculture Pavilion at the Rangeland Complex.

Crites Hall
Shorthand: Crites

Eagle Ridge

Elliott Field (Include a reference to Beebe Stadium as the overall location when writing about Elliott Field.)

Beginning with the 2018 football season, Elliott Field at Beebe Stadium will feature an artificial turf playing surface.

High Rise

Hildreth Hall
Shorthand: Hildreth

Kent Hall
Shorthand: Kent

King Library (When referencing the Library Learning Commons, be sure to identify King Library as the physical location of the Commons.)
Shorthand: Library

Students have access to tutoring and internship services in the Library Learning Commons at King Library.

Kline Center (Kline Parking Lot to refer to the former location of this building is acceptable.)
Shorthand: Kline

Maintenance Building

Marshall Press Box (Con Marshall Press Box is acceptable. Include a reference to Beebe Stadium as the overall location when writing about Marshall Press Box.)

The announcers called the game from Marshall Press Box at Beebe Stadium.

Math Science Center of Innovative Learning (In historical references, this building may be referred to as the Math Science Building. Note the distinction if confusion may result.)
Shorthand: Math Science COIL (Math Science is acceptable)

Memorial Hall
Shorthand: Memorial (M-Hall is acceptable.)

Miller Hall
Shorthand: Miller

Nelson Physical Activity Center
Shorthand: NPAC/PAC

Old Admin (In historical references, this building may be referred to as the Administration Building. Note the distinction if confusion may result.)

Rangeland Complex (Coffee Agriculture Pavilion and Rangeland Lab are parts of the overall Rangeland Complex.)
Shorthand: Rangeland (Take care to avoid confusion between the rangeland buildings and the rangeland programs of study.)

Rangeland Lab (Part of the Rangeland Complex.)

Students take part in a plant identification project in the Rangeland Lab at the Rangeland Complex.

Sandoz Center (The full name, Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center, is encouraged on first reference.)
Shorthand: Sandoz

Sheaman Heating Plant
Shorthand: Heating Plant (Boiler House is acceptable in internal documents.)

Softball Field

Sparks Hall
Shorthand: Sparks

Student Center

Work Hall (Edna Work Hall is acceptable. Do not refer to the building as Edna or Edna Hall.)

Work Wing (Edna Work Wing is acceptable. Do not refer to the building as Edna or Edna Wing.)

Every press release generated by College Relations, Sports Information, or other entities associated with Chadron State College needs a byline. Use the author’s name, followed by the author’s title. For general press releases, CSC College Relations or CSC Sports Information can be used. Any story that includes direct quotes needs an author’s name attached to it.

Rod Stewart, CSC Sports Information Director
Maggie May, CSC Marketing Coordinator
CSC College Relations
CSC Sports Information

In general, avoid unnecessary capitals. In more formal pieces, such as the President’s Report, letters, or presentations, exceptions are permissible. For more exceptions, see the entry under advertising and informal copy.

Proper nouns: capitalize nouns that name a specific person, place, or thing.

Derivatives: capitalize words that are derived from a proper noun and still depend on it for their meaning.

American, Shakesperean

Titles: capitalize formal titles when used before a name. Lowercase formal titles when used alone or after a name. Lowercase all terms that are job descriptions rather than formal titles.

Do not capitalize casually.

Use a comma between adjectives if the word “and” works equally well.

Chadron State has a smart, diverse student body.

Don’t use a comma between adjectives if you can’t replace it with “and.”

The nasty brown buffalo.

List ages with a comma on both sides.

Jay, 15, and Craig, 18, both play lacrosse.

Use a comma to introduce a quote of one full sentence.

Chris said, “Jay was coaching in the all-star game.”

Apply the following guidelines to book titles, computer game titles, movie titles, opera titles, play titles, poem titles, album and song titles, radio and television titles, and titles of lectures, speeches, and works of art.

Capitalize the principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters.

Daniel wrote a book report on “Fear Nothing.”

Capitalize an article — the, a, an — or words of fewer than four letters if it is the first or last word in a title.

Put quotation marks around the names of all such works except the Bible and books that are primarily catalogs of reference material. In addition to catalogs, this category includes almanacs, directories, dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, and similar publications.

Magazine names are not put in quotes but the letters of the name are capitalized. Lowercase magazine unless it is part of the publication’s formal title.

Time magazine and Rolling Stone

Newspaper names are capitalized and not put in quotes.

The Omaha World-Herald

Capitalize the names of courses because they are in effect titles. Include the course number in parentheses after the course name.

Dewayne teaches Black and White Photography (ART 319).
Craig brought his horse to the equine course this summer.

For amounts larger than thousands, spell out the denomination.

1 million
100 billion

Keep this in mind: a hyphen is short, an en dash is long, and an em dash is longer.

An em dash is used when a dash is desired. In other words, an abrupt shift in a sentence without spaces on either side.

Dewayne—sweat dripping from his brow—stepped onto the dance floor.

An en dash is used between numbers or dates. A hyphen is also acceptable. Used in compound adjectives with one element consisting of two words. Used in place of “to.” However, if “from” precedes the range, do not use the en dash, use “to.”

A hyphen is used to join compound adjectives.

Join us Thursday, 1-4 p.m. to celebrate.
Join us Thursday from 1 to 4 p.m. to celebrate.
The Maine-New York area.

Do not use multiple hyphens to imitate em or en dashes.

Use Arabic figures only. Do not use st, nd, rd, or th in any instance.

Sept. 11, 2001, is a day many Americans will never forget.

For events that occur within one week of a news story, use the day of the week.

The concert is set for Friday at Memorial Hall.

For events that occur one to two weeks after a news story, use the day of the week and date.

The concert is set for Friday, Feb. 11, at Memorial Hall.

For events that are more than two weeks after a news story, use the date.

The concert is set for Feb. 11 at Memorial Hall.

Homecoming should not be capitalized when used in a generic way. However, when it is part of the college’s celebration every fall describing the name, it is acceptable to capitalize.

The alumni group gathered on the football field following homecoming.
The theme for Chadron State’s Homecoming this fall is Welcome to the Jungle.

Copyrights, trademarks, and patents have different definitions, and should not be referred to interchangeably. Appropriate copyright, registered trademark, and trademark symbols should be used instead of approximations.

Good: ©, ®, ™
Bad: (C), (R), TM

One word as a noun or adjective. Two words when used as a verb.

Here is Bruce’s login information.
Can you log in to Bruce’s account?

Spell out numbers from one through nine. Use numerals for numbers 10 or larger.

To form a plural, add ”s” with no apostrophe.

the 1960s
the ’60s (the initial apostrophe denotes omitted numbers)

When beginning a sentence with a number, spell it out.

Eleven soldiers spoke to the student government assembly Wednesday.

Use figures for times, measurements, sports scores and ages.

3 ounces, the Eagles won 5-4, the student was 19 years old

May be referred to as faculty member for consistency in a story. The preferred usage is determining the professor’s correct rank. Lowercase in all instances.

adjunct, instructor, associate professor, assistant professor, professor

Quotes must always be attributed to the speaker. When quotes appear in a news release, include a byline. If quotes do not appear in a news release, it is acceptable to use CSC College Relations or CSC Sports Information in place of the byline.

The word said is preferred and should almost be exclusively used. Do not use words such as shouted, admitted, exclaimed, etc. in order to remain neutral.

“Istanbul was once known as Constantinople,” Johnson said.

Use hyphens to separate digits. No parentheses should go around the area code.

Chadron State College’s switchboard can be reached at 308-432-6000.

Use an “s” without an apostrophe to indicate spans of decades or centuries.

The 1920s were decadent.

When presenting a year by its two-digit designation, use an apostrophe or single end quote: ’22 not ‘22.

The ’20s were decadent.

1. Cutlines for photos used in a journalistic matter should be as concise as possible. Unlike headlines, they should contain all articles and conjunctions, just like sentences in news stories. Be straightforward and clear.
2. The cutline writer should never make assumptions about what someone in a picture is thinking or try to interpret the person’s feelings from his or her expression. The reader should be given the facts.
3. Reflect the image. Cutline writers should make sure that the words accurately reflect the picture.
4. A photo featuring a group is allowable but “action” photos should always take precedence. When identifying three or more people, use this form: Four men were recently inducted into Chadron State College’s Blue Key Honor Fraternity. They are, from left to right: John Jones, Paul Jones, Quincy Jones, and Popeye Jones.
5. Always get the names of the people in the photos.
6. Include photographer credit with every cutline: Former President Bill Clinton speaks to the Young Republicans Club at Chadron State College Thursday. (Photo by Alex Helmbrecht/CSC)
7. When photos appear in internal publications, such as the Alumni Magazine or various admission pieces, photo credit should appear in the following way: (Photo by Alex Helmbrecht)

Advertising copy must clearly and quickly convey information to the audience in an easily understandable manner. If in doubt, revert to more formal copy that adheres to CSC’s news writing style manual.

Audience

• It is important to be aware of any target demographics when writing advertising copy.
• Above all, do not talk down to the audience or try to fake their vernacular.
• Keep the copy professional and businesslike.

Structure

• Punctuation may be omitted, particularly when making brief statements, such as material in a list.
• Sentences do not have to be grammatically complete, but should be complete in thought.
• Contractions may be used.

Web References

• Internet terminology may be shortened. For example, the CSC website may be referred to as csc.edu.

Symbols and Punctuation

• The symbols for ampersands, percentages, and similar constructs may be used in headline copy.
• Exclamation points should not be used. Good writing shows tone and emphasis through words, not punctuation.