Www.apstylebook.com

[Catrin Muzquiz]

The Office of Public Affairs at Mississippi State University follows the Associated Press Stylebook, which is updated annually. This style guide documents preferences for exceptions to AP style, reinforces recent changes or topics frequently questioned, and clarifies special uses unique to this institution, subject matter and audiences. See www.apstylebook.com

abbreviations and acronyms. A few universally recognized abbreviations are acceptable or required in some circumstances. (See AP Stylebook.) Some others are acceptable depending on the context. But in general, avoid alphabet soup. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms that the reader would not quickly recognize. Always spell out on first reference--some well known MSU abbreviations include CAVS, NSPARC, ORED, SSRC.

academic degrees. Avoid an abbreviation and use a phrase such as: John Jones, who has a doctoral degree in psychology. (Prefer doctoral degree instead of doctorate). Use an apostrophe in bachelor's degree, a master's, etc., but there is no possessive in Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science. Also: an associate degree (no possessive). Bachelor of Science in management (lowercase the program). Capitalize when using the full, proper name of the degree. Lowercase when using a shortened, informal description of the degree.

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 men and women.

annual. An event cannot be described as annual unless it has been held in at least two successive years. Do not use the term first annual. Instead, note that sponsors plan to hold an event annually.

assistant professor, associate professor. Use specific titles to distinguish the titleholder from a full professor. Cap titles before names, lowercase titles after names, unless the title itself is a proper name, such as the Kelly Gene Cook, Sr. Chair in Civil Engineering. OPA prefers long titles to come after the name.

*Note: to make an em dash, type a letter or word followed by two dashes and another word. Do not include any spaces. Once the space after the second word is entered, the dashes will become an em dash.

composition titles (e.g., books, movies, plays, poems, songs). Put quotation marks around the names of all such works except the Bible and books that are primarily catalogs of reference material. (See AP Stylebook). Do not use italics.

department names. Spell out the formal name of the department on first reference. Department of Communication. Lower case informal reference is fine later in the story (communication department). If the department is mentioned only in casual reference and is not a main focus of a story, or if part of many departments in a list, the informal lowercase reference is acceptable. Also see academic departments.

Extension. Capitalize when referring to the Mississippi State University Extension Service (first reference) or personnel (Extension agent). On second reference, use Extension to refer to the agency. Do not capitalize when used in series with other land-grant missions (research, extension and academic programs).
She works at the Extension office in Oktibbeha County.
4-H is an Extension program.

Extension titles. In a news release about Extension activity, identifying the source as an Extension specialist is preferred over academic title. Both Extension title and academic title can be used, however, where appropriate. When necessary, spell out the joint appointment: an Extension fisheries specialist with research support from the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station.

scientific names (chemicals). Each has a chemical name, which describes its molecular makeup, an active ingredient name and a trade (product) name. All appear in regular type. For instance, Roundup is the branded trade name of the chemical compound N-(phosphononethyl) glycine, which has as its active ingredient glyphosate. In most cases, only the trade name is capitalized.

URL or Uniform Resource Locator. In stories where a website is important, list it at the end of the story. Use the full URL protocol: Avoid burying long URLs inside of a sentence. Do not underline URLs. When the URL does not fit entirely on one line, break it into two or more lines without adding a hyphen or other punctuation mark or use a URL shortener, such as bit.ly.

Web. Short form of World Wide Web, it is a service, or set of standards, that enables the publishing of multimedia documents on the Internet. The Web is not the same as the Internet, but is a subset; other applications, such as email, exist on the Internet. Also, website, webcam, webcast and webmaster. But as a short form and in terms with separate words, the Web, Web page and Web feed.

Mississippi State University is an equal opportunity institution. Discrimination in university employment, programs or activities based on race, color, ethnicity, sex, pregnancy, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, or any other status protected by applicable law is prohibited. For more information, please contact the Office of Compliance and Integrity.

The Stevens Editorial Style Guide was created to educate and guide communicators, faculty and staff in the use of a universally consistent style for Stevens print, graphic and electronic materials. This style should also be employed by all consultants retained by Stevens.

Stevens Institute of Technology uses The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. While AP style is useful as a framework, Stevens has modified this style where appropriate for university purposes. The following guide explains how Stevens style differs from AP style, and describes how we address certain editorial situations not clearly delineated in AP's Stylebook. Consult the AP Stylebook, available online at www.apstylebook.com, for basic style questions. In cases where Stevens style differs from AP style, the Stevens style takes precedence.

For guidance on voice and tone, refer to the Stevens Brand Guideline.

Here are some helpful tips to follow across all types of content:

During registration, advisers will check off an acknowledgment:
I affirm that, as the KSPA adviser for my students, I will arrange for the proctoring of the Writing Contests between (date/time) and (date/time). The proctoring arrangements will allow time for all writing contests to be completed under the supervision of a faculty/staff member from my school who will enforce KSPA rules about 1) individual work, 2) no use of artificial intelligence, and 3) only approved web pages: Google Classrooms (www.classroom.google.com) and The Associated Press Stylebook Online (www.apstylebook.com).

During the course of submitting their entry, all Regional/State writing contest students will confirm that their contest entry is entirely composed of their own original work and was not aided by the use of AI. You can see those acknowledgments on the sample prompt here: LINK

KSPA wants to ensure students submit their best, original work. For that reason, students must complete their Regional/State writing entries in a supervised setting. This supervision does not apply to visual contests.

This is similar to how KSPA contests were run prior to COVID-19, when all students completed their entries in a supervised room. The only change? That supervision will be provided by the school, rather than at a Regional contest location.

The KSPA adviser should arrange the proctored situation, whether during school, before school or after school. The adviser may proctor the contest themselves or ask for another school staff/faculty member to proctor. The proctored contest time can also be during instructional time, such as newspaper or yearbook class.

To create their entries, students cannot use any writing programs, such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs. The entirety of the writing should occur in the answer space within the KSPA quiz. Please note: students will not be able to cut and paste into the answer space on the quiz. They must type the entire entry.

Many KSPA students compete in more than one writing contest. In these situations, students need to complete all of the KSPA contests under the supervision of a proctor.
KSPA has made two changes that we hope will encourage students to continue participating in multiple writing contests:

The department shares the DOD story daily through official statements and a variety of informational products, engaging with many audiences around the world. Communicators should refer to this guide for correct use of the DOD brand in all communications from inception to production and delivery, in all media.

The DOD seal was first authorized for official use on Aug. 22, 1949, by Defense Secretary Louis Johnson, when the National Military Establishment was redesignated the Department of Defense. The design of the seal and its symbolism is described in Appendix VI Joint Army and Air Force Bulletin No. 23:

The American bald eagle, long associated with symbolism representing the United States of America and its military establishment, has been selected as an emblem of strength. In facing to the right, the field of honor is indicated. The eagle is defending the United States, represented by the Shield of thirteen pieces. The thirteen pieces are joined together by the blue chief, representing the Congress. The rays and stars above the eagle signify glory, while the three arrows are collectively symbolic of the three component parts of the Department of Defense. The laurel stands for honors received in combat defending the peace represented by the olive branch.

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