Exceptions to AP Style

  • Advisor—use this spelling in all instances.
  • No periods in degree abbreviations (PhD, BA, BS, MA).
  • Capitalize professor before the person’s name (Professor John Jones).
  • Capitalize full, formal department names (Department of Economics) and lowercase shortened or informal titles (economics department).
  • No space before or after an em or en dash.
  • Use people's first and last names on initial reference (following AP Style), and use only a last name in subsequent references. In stories featuring two people with the same last name, use first and last names. Features and campus community content can be more flexible depending on the tone.
  • Italicize most composition titles. See the "Composition Titles" page.
  • OK to follow an organization’s full name with its abbreviation in parentheses or set off by dashes.
  • Always use the full state name unless writing out full address with zip code, then use the appropriate two-letter postal abbreviation. 
  • African American, Asian American—no hyphen when used as a noun. Hyphenate when used as a modifier (Asian-American community).
  • OK to omit http:// at the start of a URL, unless needed for clarity.
  • Possessive of campus is campus’s, even if the next word begins with an “s,” a new rule from AP.
  • Room numbers—lowercase “room” (The lecture will be held in room 305).
  • Use appropriate diacritical and accent marks for print and web publications whenever possible. Avoid using these characters for content sent to the media.