Website Writing Style Guide
For Use With All UCLA Humanities Websites
We hope that you find this complete guide to style on UCLA Humanities Websites a boost to ensuring that not only are your Phd’s spelled Ph.D., but that you move towards making your content reflect the current style rules followed throughout all UCLA digital properties.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
Abbreviations/Initials
Do not include spaces between letters in abbreviations: Daniel J.B. Mitchell, U.S.A.
About Us
For a proper introduction to your department website page we highly recommend the use of an About Us page – this will allows those unfamiliar with your department or center to learn about what your degree, program or center offers in terms of degrees or services. Oftentimes the About Us is written by the chair of a department, and they sign their name at the bottom, but this is not a requirement.
Academic Courses
Capitalize simple names of academic courses: She is enrolled in Philosophy 135.
Academic Degree Abbreviations
When abbreviating a degree pay special attention to where you place a period. Here are examples of common degrees listed on Humanities websites, and how they should be abbreviated – B.A., B.S., Ed.D., M.A., M.B.A., M.Ed., Ph.D.
Academic Departments
Lowercase the names of academic departments, except when used formerly or preceded by the name of the university: the UCLA Department of Linguistics, the department of philosophy
Academic Divisions
Lowercase academic division names, except when preceded by the name of the university or the name of the college: the dean of the division of humanities, the UCLA Division of Humanities
Academic Titles
Capitalize and spell out formal titles such as chancellor, dean or vice chancellor when they precede a name. Lowercase elsewhere. Never use the abbreviation Prof.
Acronyms
Avoid acronyms as much as possible. For example, UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability should be second-referenced as the institute rather than IoES.
Address
Use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd. and St. only with an address number: 356 Hollywood Blvd., 1221 Gower St. Otherwise, spell out: Wilshire Boulevard, Gayley Avenue. Designations such as alley, drive, road, circle and terrace are always spelled out: 234 Westview Terrace. Lowercase avenues, streets, etc. when used with more than one proper name: Enter the campus at Hilgard and Westholme avenues.
Advanced Placement
Use AP (no periods) when abbreviating on second reference.
Adviser
Should be spelled as such, and not advisor
Alumnus, Alumni, Alumna, Alumnae
Use alumnus (alumni in the plural) when referring to a man who has attended a school. Use alumna (alumnae in the plural) for similar references to a woman. Use alumni when referring to a group of both men and women.
a.m., p.m.
Lowercase, with periods. Include a space between the numeral and a.m. or p.m.: 10 p.m., 9 a.m.
Anderson School of Management
Use UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Apostrophe
When omitting letters or figures, use apostrophes: rock ‘n’ roll, ’tis the season to be jolly, the 1920s and ’30s. When omitting figures in a series of years, do not use the apostrophe (and connect with an en dash): 2006–07.
Arts and Architecture
Use the School of the Arts and Architecture (note the the before Arts).
B
Bachelor’s Degree
B.A. (See: academic degrees.)
B.C., before Christ
When referring to historical calendar years, use B.C. Also, use A.D. Do not use B.C.E. and C.E. unless these are specifically noted in the context of archaeology specific content. Note: In listing a particular year, A.D. comes before the year (A.D. 40), while B.C. comes after (375 B.C.)
Bear Statue
The official name of the statue on the UCLA campus is “The Bruin.”
It may be referred to as “The Bruin,” “The Bruin” statue or the statue “The Bruin.” Do not use Bruin bear.
Biannual
Twice a year.
Bible
Capitalize, without quotation marks, when referring to the Scriptures in the Old Testament or New Testament.
Biennial
Every two years.
Bimonthly
Every other month. Semimonthly means twice a month.
Biweekly
Every other week. Semiweekly means twice a week.
Board of Directors/Board of Trustees
Lowercase in all uses, even when used as part of a proper name: He serves on the board of directors for the company. She is on the UCLA Alumni Association board of directors.
Book Titles
(See composition titles.)
Broad Art Center
Use Eli and Edythe Broad Art Center. The Broad Art Center is acceptable on second reference.
“The Bruin”
The official name of the bear statue. (See: bear statue.)
Bruins
The name of UCLA’s sports team and also acceptable if referring to UCLA faculty, staff or students.
Bunche Center
Use the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA. Bunche Center is acceptable on second reference.
Burkle Center for International Relations
Use UCLA Ronald W. Burkle Center for International Relations or simply the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations on first reference. Burkle Center is acceptable on second reference
C
California Digital Library
CDL is acceptable on second reference.
California Digital Library’s
MELVYL Catalog MELVYL Catalog is acceptable on second reference.
Center for 17th- & 18th-Century Studies
On second reference, the Center is acceptable.
Center for Jewish Studies
Should use UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies on first use, then Leve Center acceptable on second use.
Center for the Study of Religion
On second reference, the Center is acceptable.
Century
Use lowercase, and spell out numbers less than 10: the first century, the 20th century, 19th-century author.
César E. Chávez Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies
Not Chicana/o Studies
Chair
Use the full title of an endowed academic chair when appropriate. Make sure to specify that someone holds the chair, not that they are the chair: J. Fraser Stoddart, who holds UCLA’s Fred Kavli Chair in Nanosystems Sciences, but not J. Fraser Stoddart, UCLA’s Fred Kavli Chair in Nanosystems Sciences. An alternate construction may include the word professor in place of chair and the word of in place of in: J. Fraser Stoddart, UCLA’s Fred Kavli Professor of Nanosystems Sciences; Daniel J.B. Mitchell, Ho-Su Wu Professor of Management. (See also: academic titles)
Chancellor
Capitalize only when it precedes the chancellor’s name: Chancellor Albert Carnesale was the university’s eighth chief executive. Drop the title after the first reference: Carnesale was inaugurated on May 15, 1998. Always lowercase when the title, regardless of rank, follows the name: Albert Carnesale, the chancellor of UCLA, was the university’s eighth chief executive. (See also: academic titles.)
Charles E. Young Research Library
Research Library is acceptable on second reference.
Chicano Studies Research Center
Use the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center.
Cities and Towns
Unless a city or town is widely known, include the state and/or country: Paris, Los Angeles, London — but Dayton, Ohio; Show Low, Ariz.; Needles, Calif.; Lagos, Nigeria. When a city name is followed by a state, the state should be set off by commas: I went to Spokane, Wash., for my sister’s birthday. The preferred form for a section of a city is lowercase, but widely recognized section names should be capitalized: South-Central Los Angeles, the Westside, New York’s Lower East Side, but northern Los Angeles, western Miami. Spell out the full names of cities unless in direct quotes: I live in Los Angeles — but “I’ve always wanted to go to L.A.,” she said.
City
Capitalize city if part of a proper name: Kansas City, New York City. Lowercase elsewhere, including in “city of” constructions: Oklahoma’s largest city, the city of Boston, the city of Pittsburgh. Capitalize city if it is part of a proper name or title: City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, City Manager Anton Sweet.
Clark Library
Use William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. Clark Library is acceptable on second reference. The title of the head of the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library is librarian.
Co-
Retain the hyphen when forming nouns, adjectives and verbs that indicate occupation or status: co-worker, co-author, co-chairman, co-sponsor.
College Library
Located in the Powell Library Building. The title of the head of the College Library is college librarian.
College of Letters and Science
The College of Letters and Science is the largest academic unit at UCLA. The College is acceptable on second reference.
Commas
Use commas in a simple series of nouns or phrases. Use commas in a simple series of elements that includes a conjunction. Use semicolons to separate phrases in a series in which one or more of the individual phrases contain commas.
• The course covers racism, sexism and age discrimination (with a simple series of nouns, no comma before and).
• The course aims at opening students’ eyes, expanding their horizons and persuading them to act (with a simple series of phrases, no comma before and).
• He gulped some hot coffee, grits, and ham and eggs for breakfast (with a series including another conjunction, insert a comma before and).
• The finale includes a burst of red, white and blue fireworks; a tap-dance routine; and a patriotic dachshund dressed like Uncle Sam (with a series of phrases that include commas, use semicolons. Insert a semicolon before and).
Committee
Capitalize only when part of a proper name: the Scholarship Steering Committee — but the head of the committee was a no-show.
Composition Titles
Enclose in quotation marks the titles of books, films, operas, plays, poems, exhibits, albums, songs, and television programs and episodes: the art exhibit “Chicano Visions”; the opera “The Marriage of Figaro”; the famous novel “Paradise Lost”; the song “Some Enchanted Evening”; the film “The Godfather”; “Chuckles Bites the Dust,” an episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
Capitalize the first letter of all words in titles except for conjunctions, articles and prepositions of three letters or less: “Ant and Bee Are Friends,” “Tender Is the Night,” “A Concise History of Practically Everything,” “Still Life With Woodpecker.”
Exceptions: Do not use quotation marks for the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, journals and magazines, newspapers, and books that are primarily catalogs of reference material: Time magazine, the New York Times, the journal Science, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Manual of Style, the Bible.
(See separate listing for music titles.)
Compound Modifiers
When a compound modifier — two or more words expressing a single concept — precedes a noun, use hyphens to link all the words in the compound except the adverb very and all adverbs that end in –ly: a first-quarter touchdown, a bluish-green dress, a full-time job, a well known man, an easily remembered rule. However, house style omits the hyphen when the meaning is quite clear without one: a high school student, an affirmative action program — not a high-school student or an affirmative-action program.
Conferences and Events
Enclose most conference and event names in quotes: “Digital Mania,” “UCLA Women 4 Change 2006.” Do not use quotes for conference and event names that are merely descriptive: the 79th Annual Academy Awards, the Internet Protocol Symposium.
Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA
Located in the basement of the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Cotsen Institute is acceptable on second reference.
County
Capitalize when part of a proper name: Suffolk County, Los Angeles County. Lowercase in other uses: the county Board of Supervisors, the population of the county.
D
Darling Law Library
Use High and Hazel Darling Law Library. On second reference, Law Library is acceptable.
Dashes
An em dash is the long dash that is most frequently used to denote an abrupt change in thought: Will you — can you — pay your taxes? An em dash is not the same thing as a hyphen, which is used as a joiner: a plate of grayish-pink shrimp. Nor is it the same as the shorter en dash (–). The en dash is generally reserved for periods of time (2006–07, Monday–Thursday, 5 a.m.–5 p.m.) and for compound adjectives when one of the adjectival elements is an open compound (New York–London flight, post–Civil War period, Academy Award–winning). Note: The em dash is set off by a space on either side, but the en dash is not. (See also hyphens.)
Days
Capitalize the days of the week. Please, please do not abbreviate, except when needed in a tabular format: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat (three letters, without periods, to facilitate tabular composition). Capitalize Day in widely recognized holidays: New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Christmas Day.
Dean
Capitalize only when part of a name: Judy Olian, dean of the UCLA Anderson School of Management; Dean Judy Olian. (See also academic titles.)
Dean’s List
Lowercase in all uses: He is on the dean’s list. She is a dean’s list student.
Decades
Use Arabic figures: the 1960s — not the sixties. Use apostrophes when numerals are omitted: the ’60s. (See also years.)
Degrees
(See academic degrees.)
Departments
(See academic departments.)
Directions and Regions
In general, lowercase “north,” “south,” “northeast,” “northern,” etc., when they indicate compass direction; capitalize these words when they designate regions: He drove west. The cold front is moving east. A storm system that developed in the Midwest is spreading eastward. It will bring showers to the East Coast by morning. She has a Southern accent. He is a Northerner.
With names of nations, lowercase unless they are part of a proper name or are used to designate a politically divided nation: northern France, eastern Canada, Northern Ireland, South Korea.
With states and cities, lowercase compass points when they describe a section of a state or city (western Texas, southern Atlanta), but capitalize widely known sections (Southern California, the South Side of Chicago, Los Angeles’ Westside, the Lower East Side of New York). If in doubt, use lowercase.
Director
Do not capitalize when referring to an occupation: Richard M. Leventhal, director of the institute; Cotsen Institute of Archaeology director Richard Leventhal.
Dollars
Always lowercase. Use figures and the “$” sign in all except casual references or amounts without a figure: The book cost $4.
For specified amounts, the word takes a singular verb: He said $500,000 is what they want. For amounts of more than $1 million, use the “$” sign and numerals up to two decimal places. Do not link the numerals and the word by a hyphen: It is worth $4.35 million. It is worth exactly $4,351,242. He proposed a $300 billion budget. The form for amounts less than $1 million: $4, $25, $500, $1,000, $650,000.
E
East Asian Library
Use the Richard C. Rudolph East Asian Library on first reference. East Asian Library is acceptable on second reference.
Email Address
All displays of a person’s email address within a UCLA Humanities website should be hidden if displayed within a sentence of text. This can be achieved by reformatting your sentence to read “….for assistance please ‘contact Jane Bruin’…” with ‘contact Jane Bruin’ highlighted and linked to an email by using the ‘insert/edit link’ feature within the dashboard. When creating an embedded email link you will need to add “mailto:” before each email linked – i.e. mailto:jbruin@ucla.edu
Stand-alone email addresses, such as those displayed on a faculty or staff page are fine.
Eugene and Maxine Rosenfeld Management Library
Management Library is acceptable on second reference.
Events and Conferences
Enclose in quotes: “Digital Mania,” “UCLA Women 4 Change 2006.”
F
Film and Television Archive
Precede with “UCLA” on first reference. The archive is acceptable on second reference.
Former
Always lowercase. But retain capitalization for a formal title used immediately before a name: former President Nixon.
Founders’ Rock
Spelled with an “s’ ” — not Founder’s Rock. Founders’ Rock is where the University of California campus is said to have been dedicated in April 1860.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
see dropdown menus
Full time, Full-time
Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier: He works full time. She has a full-time job.
G
Geffen Playhouse
No “UCLA” in the title. Do not use UCLA’s Geffen Playhouse or the Geffen Playhouse at UCLA.
General Education
Following the style of the UCLA General Catalog, use “GE” (no periods) when abbreviating.
GPA
Acceptable in all references for grade-point average.
H
Hammer Museum
Use UCLA Hammer Museum. Hammer Museum or Hammer is acceptable on second reference.
Headers
Headers are very important component to almost all UCLA Humanities’ website pages – many headers, such as the title of the page, are pre-formatted for your website. Though outside of the title we encourage the use of the Header format within dashboard which can be accessed in the Paragraph dropdown box. PLEASE NOTE: We do not advice using any header size above “HEADING 3” as it will be larger in size the pre-formatted title of the page. As text of the page moves downward we recommend never using larger Headers than the Header that preceded it.
Hispanic/Latino/Chicano
Although AP style favors “Hispanic” for those whose ethnic origin is in a Spanish-speaking country, we prefer “Latino” (“Latina” for a female), the term also used by the Los Angeles Times: Chicago has a large number of Latino residents. She is a Latina. We also use the term “Chicano” (“Chicana” for a female) as a synonym for Mexican-American, when prefered by the source. “Hispanic,” “Latino” and “Chicano” can be used as both nouns and adjectives: The exhibit featured Chicano art. It drew a large number of Hispanics. When more specific identification is possible, use those terms (e.g., “Cuban,” “Puerto Rican,” etc.). Refer to people of Brazilian and Portuguese origin as such, not as “Hispanic.”
Historical Periods
Capitalize famous epochs: the Middle Ages, the Mesozoic Era, the Renaissance. Also capitalize widely recognized popular names for periods and events: the Atomic Age, the Boston Tea Party, the Civil War, the Exodus, the Great Depression, Prohibition. Capitalize only the proper nouns or adjectives in general descriptions of a period: ancient Greece, classical Rome, the Victorian era, the fall of Rome. Lowercase century: the 12th century. Note the hyphen when using a compound adjective: The 12th-century Crusaders may have introduced pointy toed shoes to Europe.
Hometown
Use a comma to set off an individual’s hometown when it is placed in apposition to a name, whether “of” is used or not: Tim Johnson, of Vermillion, S.D.; Mary Richards, Minneapolis.
Hours
Do not use “:00.” Include a space between the numeral and “a.m.” or “p.m.” Lowercase a.m. and p.m., and use periods. Example: 6 p.m. (not 6:00PM).
Humanities
Either UCLA College of Humanities, UCLA Humanities or Division of Humanities is ok for a formal first use, with Humanities acceptable on second reference.
Humanities Technology
HumTech is acceptable on second reference.
Hyperlink
Hyperlink all URLs. Include “http://” in hyperlinks that do not begin with “www”: To see a photo, visit http://images.google.com. For those that do begin with “www,” do not include “http://”: You can check the proper style at www.mla.org/style/style_top_index.htm. If a URL (or e-mail address) falls at the end of a sentence, use a period.
Hyphens
Do not insert spaces before and after hyphens: pre-Prohibition, co-author, Room C-4. Use hyphens when ethnic terms are used, either as nouns or adjectivally: More African-Americans majored in philosophy this year. More than 100 African-American philosophers met at UCLA. (See also dashes.)
I
ID
This is the abbreviated for “identification.” Do not use “i.d.”
Images
Images are the best way for a UCLA Humanities’ website to connect with a user by showing what the Department or Center offers, and what people are involved. If at all possible, use the highest res image at your disposal before posting to the website. It is very important that all images being posted to a UCLA website is a rights-free image – if necessary, please include a credit with the photograph when posted to your website.
International Institute
Use UCLA International Institute.
Islam/Islamic/Muslim
“Islam” is the name of a religion. “Muslim” is the name used for an adherent of the Islamic faith. Islam’s holy book is the Quran, which according to Islamic belief was revealed by Allah (God) to the Prophet Muhammad. It is the religion of more than 1 billion people in the world, making it the world’s second largest faith, after Christianity.
“Islamic” should be applied to what pertains directly to the faith and its doctrines: Islamic law, Islamic holy site. Use “Muslim” as an adjective to denote the works and acts of Muslims and their institutions: Muslim women, Muslim countries, Muslim art.
IT
Abbreviation for information technology. IT is acceptable on first reference unless used formally.
J
James West Alumni Center
The West Center is acceptable on second reference.
Journal Titles
Capitalize the first letter of all words in journal titles except for conjunctions, articles and prepositions of three letters or less — unless the journal’s official title specifically indicateds otherwise. Do not use quotes. Unless the word “journal” appears as part of the actual title (e.g., the Journal of the American Medical Association), please use it before the title: the journal Science, the peer-reviewed journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Junior
Abbreviate as “Jr.” only with full names of persons. Do not precede “Jr.” by a comma: Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
K
Koran
Use Quran in all references to the holy book of Islam.
L
Latino
(See Hispanic / Latino / Chicano.)
Lectures, Symposia
See the capitalization rules in composition titles. Use quotation marks around lecture and symposium titles: “Why Do Men Have Nipples?” is the question addressed in Leyner’s lecture. Capitalize “Program” when it is part of a name, but do not use quotation marks for program titles: Women’s Studies Program 25th anniversary celebration, not “Women’s Studies Program 25th anniversary celebration.”
LGBTQ
Acceptable initialism use for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer. UCLA Humanities has a LGBTQ Studies program.
Libraries
(See UCLA Library.)
Links
(See hyperlinks.)
Los Angeles
Spell out. Only use “L.A.” in quoted material.
Luskin School of Public Affairs
Precede by “UCLA” on first mention. Luskin School is acceptable on second reference.
M
Magazine Titles
Capitalize the first letter of all words in magazine titles except for conjunctions, articles and prepositions of three letters or less — unless the magazine’s official title specifically indicates otherwise. Do not use quotes. If the word “magazine” does not appear as part of the actual title (e.g., Time Rolling Stone, The Nation), use “magazine” (lowercase) for necessary clarification: the article appeared in Time magazine’s first issue of the year. Capitalize “magazine” if it is part of the title: The New York Times Magazine. Check the magazine’s masthead if in doubt.
MEChA
The name of the Latino student organization is an acronym for Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán). Note the lowercase “h.”
MELVYL Catalog
The official name is the California Digital Library’s MELVYL Catalog. MELVYL Catalog is acceptable on second reference.
Middle Ages
Denotes the period from A.D. 476 to approximately A.D. 1450.
Money
Do not use “.00” when listing dollars with no cents. $3, not $3.00.
Months
Capitalize the names of months in all uses. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Spell out months when used alone or with a year. When a phrase lists only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas: John came to California in January 2006. When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with commas: Feb. 14, 2007, is the target date.
Movie Titles
Capitalize the first letter of all words in magazine titles except for conjunctions, articles and prepositions of three letters or less. Do not italicize. Movie titles are enclosed in quotation marks: Director Milos Forman considers the insane asylum in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” to be a metaphor for the Soviet Union.
Muhammad
The chief prophet and central figure of the Islamic religioun.
Music Titles
Capitalize but do not use quotation marks for descriptive titles for orchestral works: Bach’s Suite No. 1 for Orchestra; Beethoven’s Serenade for Flute, Violin and Viola. If the instrumentation is not part of the title but is added for explanatory purposes, the names of the instruments are lowercased: Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in E flat major for violin and viola. If in doubt, lowercase the names of the instruments. Use quotation marks for nonmusical terms in a title: Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony. If the work has a special full title, all of it is quoted: “Symphonie Fantastique,” “Rhapsody in Blue.”
Muslim
(See Islam.)
N
Newspaper Names
Do not italicize or place newspaper names in quotes. Do not capitalize “The” in names: the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune.
Numerals
Spell out whole numbers below 10, use figures for 10 and above: eight, nine, 10. Spell out a numeral at the beginning of a sentence. If necessary, recast the sentence. Rather than 12 children entered the store, use Twelve children entered the store. 1976 was a very good year. Spell out “first” through “ninth” when they indicate sequence in time or location: first base, the First Amendment, he was first in line. Starting with 10th, use figures.
O
Online
Use one word.
P
Ph.D.
(See academic degrees.)
Phone Numbers
Use hyphens to separate the area code, the prefix and the last four digits. Do not use parentheses: 310-825-2585.
p.m., a.m.
Lowercase, with periods.
Powell Library Building
The Powell Library Building houses the College Library.
Professor
“Professor” is not capitalized before a name: chemistry professor Omar Yaghi, assistant professor of English Virginia Woolf. (See academic titles.)
Program Names
Capitalize “program” when it is part of a name, but do not use quotation marks for program titles: Student Research Program, K-14 Outreach Program, Business Law Program, Latin American Studies Program.
Q
Quarter (academic)
Lowercase academic quarters or terms: spring quarter, winter term.
Quran
The preferred spelling for the Muslim holy book. Use the spelling Koran only if preferred by a specific organization or in a specific title or name.
R
Rae Lee Siporin Library at the UCLA LGBT Center
This is the official name of the library at the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Campus Resource Center.
Regents
Capitalize on first reference: University of California Regents or the Regents of the University of California; the regents is acceptable on second reference.
Research Library
The official name is the Charles E. Young Research Library; Research Library is acceptable on second reference.
Ronald W. Burkle Center for International Relations
The center may be called the Burkle Center for International Relations on first reference.
Royce Quad
Acceptable in all cases as the name for the part of Dickson Plaza bounded by the Powell Library Building, the Humanities Building, and Haines and Royce halls.
S
Schools (professional):
- UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture – Note the “the” before “Arts.” UCLA Arts is acceptable on second reference.
- Graduate School of Education and Information Studies – GSEIS is acceptable on second reference.
- School of Law – UCLA Law or the law school is acceptable on second reference.
- Anderson School of Management – On second reference, use the school or UCLA Anderson.
- Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science – Use UCLA Engineering on second reference.
- Luskin School of Public Affairs – School is acceptable on second reference.
- School of Theater, Film and Television – TFT is acceptable on second reference.
- David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA – Geffen School of Medicine or Geffen School are acceptable on second reference.
- UCLA School of Dentistry
- UCLA School of Nursing
- UCLA Fielding School of Public Health – Formally the Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA. Fielding School of Public Health or Fielding School is acceptable on second reference.
Semicolons
Use semicolons to link independent clauses or to separate phrases in a series that include a comma: The finale includes a burst of red, white and blue fireworks; a tap-dance routine; and a patriotic dachshund dressed like Uncle Sam. Semicolons are placed outside of quotation marks: He has worked on a series of award-winning shows, including “Seinfeld,” where he was reunited with Jason Alexander; the “Mary Tyler Moore Show”; and “The Jeffersons.”
Senior
Abbreviate as Sr. only with full names of persons. Do not precede by a comma: Thurston Howell Sr.
Southern Regional Library Facility
SRLF is acceptable on second reference if the acronym is used in parentheses after the first reference.
Street
Abbreviate only with a numbered address. (See addresses.)
Student Store
The proper name is the UCLA Store
T
Telephone Numbers
Use hyphens to separate the area code, the prefix and the last four digits. Do not use parentheses: 310-825-2585.
Term
Lowercase academic terms or quarters: spring term, winter quarter.
Text Display
For ease of reading by users, large amounts of text within a UCLA Humanities’ website should be broken up if possible by using the following options:
- Adding Headers between paragraphs that have an obvious split in information – this can be achieved by using the ‘Paragraph’ pulldown box in the WordPress dashboard.
- Using Bullet Points or Numbered lists (we recommend Bullets before Numbers unless listing steps of instructions to be followed). These two options are available in the WordPress dashboard.
- To achieve a defining message at the top of the page, especially when stating a direct fact, statistic or quote, we recommend using the BLOCKQUOTE feature within the dashboard. If unsatisfied with the size/color of the Blockquote for your website please contact your representative at UCLA Web Operations.
- Bold/Italic are always an option for all text though we discourage use of Italics unless referencing a paraphrase or title of media or publication.
Third World
The term refers economically developing nations of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Do not confuse with nonaligned, which is a political term.
3-D
Acceptable in all references to three-dimensional.
Times
Use figures except for “noon” and “midnight.” Use a colon to separate hours from minutes:
11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. Avoid such redundancies as 10 a.m. this morning, 10 p.m. tonight or 10 p.m. Monday night. The construction 4 o’clock is acceptable, but time listings with “a.m.”or “p.m.” are preferred.
Time Zones
Capitalize the full name of the time in force within a particular zone: Eastern Standard Time, Eastern Daylight Time, Central Standard Time, etc. Lowercase all but the region in short forms: the Eastern time zone, Eastern time, Mountain time, etc. The abbreviations EST, CDT, etc., are acceptable on first reference for zones used within the continental United States, Canada and Mexico only if the abbreviation is linked with a clock reading: noon EST, 9 a.m. PST. (Do not set off the abbreviations with commas.)
Time Periods
Capitalize famous time periods: the Middle Ages, the Mesozoic Era, the Renaissance. Also capitalize widely recognized popular names for periods and events: the Atomic Age, the Boston Tea Party, the Civil War, the Exodus, the Great Depression, Prohibition. Capitalize only the proper nouns or adjectives in general descriptions of a period: ancient Greece, classical Rome, the Victorian era, the fall of Rome. Lowercase century: the 12th century. Note the hyphen when using a compound adjective: The 12th-century Crusaders may have introduced pointy toed shoes to Europe. (See decades.)
Times
Do not use “:00.” Include a space between the numeral and “a.m.” or “p.m.” Lowercase a.m. and p.m., and use periods. Example: 6 p.m. (not 6:00PM). But 6:30 p.m.
Titles
Capitalize formal titles when they precede an individual’s name: UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale ate a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. Lowercase titles — regardless of rank — when they follow a name: Albert Carnesale, the chancellor of UCLA, was the university’s eighth chief executive. (A formal title generally is one that denotes a broad scope of authority, professional standing: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Dr. Marcus Welby, Lt. Gomer Pyle. But plumber Chaim Yonkel, musician John Zorn.) Drop the title after the first reference.
Lowercase and spell out titles when they are not used with an individual’s name: The president issued a statement. The pope gave his blessing.
A formal title that an individual formerly held, is about to hold or holds temporarily is capitalized if used before the person’s name. But do not capitalize the qualifying word: former President Ford, deposed King Constantine, Attorney General–designate Griffin B. Bell, acting Mayor Peter Barry.
(See academic titles, legislative titles, military titles.)
U
UCLA
Do not use University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA College of Letters and Science
Do not use UCLA College. The College is acceptable on second reference.
The UCLA Foundation
Capitalize the “T” in “The.”
UCLA Hammer Museum
Do not use the Hammer Museum at UCLA, the Armand Hammer Museum or some other variant.
UCLA Library
This title refers to the campuswide network of libraries. When describing the overall system, use UCLA Library on first reference. Library is acceptable on second reference. See names of individual libraries (e.g., Charles E. Young Research Library) for details.
United States/U.S.
The abbreviation U.S. (note periods) is acceptable as a noun or adjective for United States. Do not use periods in US in headlines.
University of California (campuses)
with comma(s): Short forms are acceptable on first reference: UC Berkeley, UC Davis.
University of California, Los Angeles
Use UCLA. No periods.
USA
Do not use periods in the abbreviated form for United States of America.
V
Vice Chancellor
Do not use vice-chancellor. (See academic titles.)
W
Website Address
All displays of a website address on a UCLA Humanities website should be hidden if displayed within a sentence of text. This can be achieved by reformatting your sentence to read “….for assistance please visit the Center for Digital Humanities…” with ‘Center for Digital Humanities’ highlighted and linked to a URL by using the ‘insert/edit link’ feature within the dashboard.
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
Clark Library is acceptable on second reference. The title of the head of the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library is librarian
Y
Years
Use apostrophes when numerals are omitted: class of ’09, the ’60s. Otherwise, drop the apostrophe: the 1800s, the 1990s. When omitting figures in a series of years, do not use the apostrophe: 2006–07.
Young Research Library Building
The official name of the building. But the library is known as the Charles E. Young Research Library.