General Style
In most cases, the Undergraduate Catalog and Graduate Catalog will follow the same style guide as the JMU Publications Office. This means grammar and punctuation will be correct according to Associated Press style. This may differ from the style used in your unit; however, since the catalog is one of many JMU publications, it is important that it reflect the same style and tone as other JMU publications.
Common Style Conventions for the Catalog
Here are some the most frequently used style conventions for the Undergraduate Catalog and Graduate Catalog.
Academic Degrees
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Style |
Example |
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Use an apostrophe in bachelor's degree and master's degree. |
Smith received his bachelor's degree from Harvard and master's degree from JMU. |
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Capitalize the names of specific degrees (Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, etc.) |
Anna Bishop ('05) graduated with honors and received a Bachelor of Arts degree. |
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An academic abbreviation is set off by commas when used after a name; do not precede a name with a courtesy title for an academic degree and follow it with the abbreviation for the degree in the same reference. |
Daniel Moynihan, Ph.D., spoke... |
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When spelling out the degree title use uppercase for the degree title but not for the subject; abbreviations may also be used. Subjects whose names are proper nouns, like English, are exceptions. |
Sue has a Bachelor of Science degree in public administration. Sue has a B.S. degree in art, and a B.A. in English. The College of Business offers a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in marketing. |
Academic Titles
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Style |
Example |
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Capitalize formal titles such as professor only when they precede a name; lowercase elsewhere. |
Professor Jan Jones has joined our faculty. Our faculty welcomes Jan Jones as the professor of history. |
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Do not use in second reference. |
Jones formerly served as head... |
Academic Unit
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Style |
Example |
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Use to refer collectively to departments, schools and degree-granting programs. |
All academic units are required to... |
Academic Head
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Style |
Example |
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Use to refer collectively to department heads, school directors and degree-granting program coordinators/heads. |
Academic Years
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Style |
Example |
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Do not uppercase. |
first year student, sophomore, junior, senior. |
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Do not use "freshman" |
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Do not hyphenate first year in "first year student." |
Adviser/Advisor
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Style |
Example |
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Advisor is appropriate in reference to someone in an academic advising role. In all other contexts, use adviser. |
A student’s academic advisor, a faculty research advisor An adviser to the president, a financial services adviser |
Annual
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Style |
Example |
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An event cannot be described as annual until it has been held at least two successive years. |
The annual spring graduation... |
Building Names
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Style |
Example |
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Do not abbreviate the names of campus buildings. |
The Music Building is on the Quad. |
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Capitalize the proper names of buildings, including the word building if it is an integral part of the proper name. |
The College of Business building is now Zane Showker Hall. |
Capitalization
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Style |
Example |
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When referring to JMU, do not capitalize university after the first reference. |
The university tries to... |
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Units of the university are lowercase. |
All colleges within the university... |
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The full names of colleges and departments |
The College of Business will... |
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Always capitalize President when referring to the JMU president by name. |
Meanwhile, President Rose spoke to... |
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Use lowercase with all other uses of the title. |
The president spoke at graduation... |
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Capitalize academic titles when the full title is used. |
The Vice President for Student Affairs appeared... |
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Use lowercase with all other uses of titles. |
The vice president and dean will... |
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In general, avoid unnecessary capitals. Capitalize nouns that constitute the unique identification for a specific person, place or thing. |
John, Mary, America, Harrisonburg, Warren Hall |
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Lowercase the common noun elements of names in all plural uses. |
Duke, Warren, Zane Showker and Wilson halls |
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Capitalize common nouns such as college, department and university when they are an integral part of the full name for a person, place or thing. |
College of Business, Department of Biology, James Madison University, School of Music |
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Lowercase these common nouns when they stand alone in subsequent references. |
the college, the department, the school, the university |
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On first reference, use the proper name for colleges, departments, schools, offices, etc. |
The Office of Publications is located in Nicholas House. |
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On second reference lowercase and use generic names. |
The publications office is located in Nicholas House. |
Colon
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Style |
Example |
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Use a colon before the statement above a list. |
I purchased the following items:
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Comma in a Series
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Style |
Example |
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Use a comma before 'and' in a series only when and occurs in the series. See AP stylebook for more information. |
The departments of biology, chemistry and mathematics are part of the College of Science and Mathematics. The departments of biology, chemistry, geology and environmental studies, and mathematics are part of the College of Science and Mathematics. |
Department
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Style |
Example |
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Only capitalize when 'Department' is part of the official name. |
The Department of World Languages and Cultures The biology department |
James Madison University
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Style |
Example |
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Use James Madison University on first reference. |
James Madison University was founded... |
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On subsequent references, "JMU," "Madison," or "university" are all acceptable. |
Admission to the university is competitive. |
School
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Style |
Example |
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Capitalize only when using the school's formal name. |
The School of Music presented the program. The music school presented the program. |
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Because JMU has departments as well as schools and programs, when you use school in a generic sense, check to see if you also need to say department and program to be inclusive. |
Students are accepted by the department, school or program on the basis of their academic records. |
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Semester
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Style |
Example |
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Capitalize the specific semester when referring to a Fall, Spring or Summer semester within a specific academic year. |
She completed her research in Spring 2017. The new course will be offered to students in the spring semester. |
Spaces Between Sentences
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Style |
Example |
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Use one space at the end of a typed line. |
This is one sentence. This is the second. |
Student Classification
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Style |
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The established convention at Madison is to refer to an undergraduate as a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior based on the number of credits the student has earned. However, the term "first-year" may be used in conjunction with certain programs that reflect when a student entered the university. For example, a student who comes to JMU directly from high school with 29 credit hours would be classified as a sophomore, but would attend first-year orientation. |
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Theater/Theatre
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Style |
Example |
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Use "theater" unless "theatre" is part of the official name. |
JMU School of Theatre and Dance We went to a theater workshop. |
For more information on the JMU style guide, refer JMU's University Communication and Marketing section on Publications. You can also see the AP (Associated Press) Stylebook.
