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Rockwood School District

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Style Guide

-wide

No hyphen: worldwide, nationwide, districtwide.

a, an

Use the article a before consonant sounds: a historic event, a one-year term (sounds as if it begins with a w), a united stand (sounds like you). Use the article an before vowel sounds: an energy crisis, an honorable man (the h is silent), an NBA record (sounds like it begins with the letter e), an 1890s celebration.

a.m., p.m.

Lowercase with periods.

abbreviation

Avoid using abbreviations the reader would not quickly recognize.

Some general principles:

BEFORE A NAME: Abbreviate the following titles when used before a full name outside direct quotations: Dr., Gov., Mr., Mrs. Spell out all except Dr., Mr., Mrs., and Ms. when they are used before a name in direct quotations.

AFTER A NAME: Abbreviate junior or senior after an individual’s full name and do not precede with a comma: Martin Luther King Jr., George Bush Sr. Abbreviate company, corporation, incorporated and limited when used after the name of a corporate entity. In some cases, an academic degree may be abbreviated after an individual’s name. See academic degrees.

WITH DATES OR NUMERALS: Use the abbreviations a.m., p.m., No., and abbreviate certain months when used with the day of the month.
See dates. Wrong: Early this a.m. he asked for the No. of your room. The abbreviations are correct only with figures. Right: At 9:30 a.m.; in room No. 6; on Nov. 13.

IN NUMBERED ADDRESSES: Abbreviate avenue, boulevard and street in numbered addresses: He lives on Maryland Avenue. He lives at 1215 Maryland Ave.

academic degrees

Do not precede a name with a courtesy title for an academic degree and follow the name with the degree abbreviation in the same reference.

A degree can either precede a name, such as: Dr. Curtis Cain; or follow the name, such as: Curtis Cain, Ph.D. Wrong: Dr. Curtis Cain, Ph.D.

Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, etc. Do not use an apostrophe in associate degree. Capitalize degree names if used in full: Master of Education, Bachelor of Science, Doctor of Education, etc. Lowercase, otherwise. See associate degree, bachelor’s degree, doctorate and master’s degree.

academic departments

Use lowercase except for words that are proper nouns or adjectives: the department of history, the history department, the department of English, the English department or when department is part of the official and formal name: Rockwood School District Department of Communications.

accept, except

Accept means to receive. Except means to exclude.

acronym

Avoid using an acronym on first reference, unless its meaning is readily recognized. Write a name in full on first reference, directly followed by the acronym in parentheses. An acronym then can be used in all subsequent references.

ACT

abbreviation acceptable on first use

acting

Always lowercase, but capitalize any formal title that may follow before a name: acting Principal John Smith. See titles.

addresses

Follow the guidelines established by the U.S. Postal Service for mailing addresses. When listing an address in a publication, use the state abbreviations in this guide with the city names. See states.

Use abbreviations Ave., Blvd. and St. only with a numbered address. Spell out and capitalize First through Ninth when used as street names; use figures with two letters for 10th and above.

Abbreviate compass points with a single, capital letter to indicate directional ends of a street in a numbered address, but spell out directions in a street name: 95 E. Beetdigger Blvd., 9361 S. 300 East.

Advanced Placement

AP is acceptable on second reference.

adviser

Not advisor.

affect, effect

Affect, as a verb, means to influence: The game will affect the standings.

Effect, as a verb, means to cause: He will effect many changes in the company.

Effect, as a noun, means result: The effect of the program was overwhelming.

African American

Do not hyphenate.

afterward

Not afterwards.

ages

Always use numerals. Examples: The 68-year-old teacher has taught for seven years; The man is in his 40s; The student is 12 years old; Tom Smith, 68, was named Teacher of the Year.

aid, aide

Aid is assistance. An aide is a person who serves as an assistant.

all right (adv.)

Never alright. Hyphenate only if used colloquially as a compound modifier: He is an all-right guy.

almost never

Do not use.  Instead use seldom or hardly ever.

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 reference to a woman. Use alumni when referring to a group of men and women.

ampersand (&)

Use as part of an organization’s formal name: Procter & Gamble Co. The ampersand should not be used in place of and.

annual

A first-time event cannot be the first annual. Instead, note that sponsors plan to hold the event annually.

app

short for application programming interface.

assistant

Do not abbreviate. Capitalize only when used in a formal title before a name. See titles.

assistant principal

Capitalize only when part of a formal title before a name: Assistant Principal John Smith.

associate degree

Not associate’s degree. See academic degrees.

association

Do not abbreviate. Capitalize as part of a proper name.

athletic department

Not athletics department.

bachelor’s degree

Not baccalaureate or bachelor degree. See academic degrees.

biannual, biennial

Biannual means twice a year and is a synonym for the word semiannual. Biennial means every two years.

bimonthly

Means every other month. Semimonthly means twice a month.

biweekly

Means every other week. Semiweekly means twice a week.

board of directors

always lowercase

Board of Education

See Rockwood Board of Education.

book titles

See titles.

buildings

Capitalize official building names (Administrative Center, Administrative Center Annex, Maintenance/Warehouse Center, etc.).

busing, buses

Not busses.

bylaw

not by-law.

Cabinet

See Superintendent’s Cabinet.

capital, capitol

Capital describes money, equipment or property used in a business, or the city where a seat of government is located. Capitol refers to a building and is capitalized in reference to a specific capitol building.

capitalization

In general, avoid unnecessary capitalization.

PROPER NAMES: Capitalize common nouns such as river, street and west when they are an integral part of the full name for a person, place or thing: Mississippi River, West Virginia. Lowercase these common nouns when they stand alone in subsequent reference: the river, the street. Lowercase the common noun elements of names in all plural uses: First and Second streets, lakes Erie and Ontario.
    
COMPOSITIONS: Capitalize the principal words in the names of books, movies, play, poems, operas, songs, radio and television programs, works of art, etc. See titles.
    
TITLES: Capitalize formal titles when used immediately before a name. Lowercase formal titles when used alone or in constructions that set them off from a name by commas. See titles.

capitol

See capital, capitol.

car pool (n.), carpool (v. and adj.)
chairman, chairwoman

The term chair should not be used. Only use chairperson if it is the organization’s formal title for an office. Capitalize as a formal title before a name: company Chairman Henry Ford.  Do not capitalize as a casual, temporary position: meeting chairman Robert Jones.

chapters

Capitalize chapter when used with a numeral in reference to a section of a book: Chapter 1, Chapter 20. Lowercase when standing alone.

Character.org

Formerly Character Education Partnership

cities

When naming cities within Rockwood School District boundaries: Ballwin, Chesterfield, Clarkson Valley, Ellisville, Eureka, Fenton, Manchester, Wildwood and Winchester in publications being sent within Missouri, it is not necessary to follow the city name with Missouri (an exception to the Associated Press Stylebook).

city

Capitalize city as part of a proper name: Kansas City, New York City. Lowercase elsewhere: a Texas city; the city government; the city Board of Education. Capitalize when part of a formal title before a name: City Manager Francis McGrath. Lowercase when not part of the formal title: city Health Inspector Frank Reese.

Class of (year)

Capitalize when referring to a specific graduating class: Class of 1973 reunion.