Berkeley Advancement Identity

SPELL OUT
In general, spell out on first reference, followed by the acronym in parentheses. Use the acronym in subsequent references. World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

ABBREVIATE
CEO is acceptable in all references for chief executive officer.

Spell out state names in the body of a story. In datelines, lists, or party affiliations (D-Calif.), use the abbreviation listed in AP. Postal code abbreviations (CA, MD, IL) are acceptable in formats such as class notes. See Cities.

Omit periods from most initialisms. DOE, NCAA, NEA, NIMH, SAT scores, and UNESCO.

The exceptions are U.S., which is used as an adjective (the U.S. government), and U.N. Use United States as a noun.

Only use the ampersand in design elements, or when it is part of a formal name or acronym (College of Letters & Science/L&S). Otherwise spell it out.

PLURALS
Do not use apostrophes to form plurals (1960s, not 1960’s), unless it would be confusing without (A’s and B’s, not As and Bs; p’s, not ps).

POSSESSIVES
Possessives of singular common nouns ending in s are formed by adding ’s. Athletics does not use the ’s. campus’s legacy, thesis’s premise

Possessives of singular proper names ending in s use only an apostrophe. Chancellor Lyons’ team, Nikki Jones’ research

Plural proper possessive for names ending in s. the Lyonses’ dog, the Joneses’ library

Plural nouns modifying other nouns do not need an apostrophe if they are used in an attributive rather than a possessive sense. Parents Weekend is a weekend for parents, not a weekend possessed by parents.

Don’t use the apostrophe if it is not part of a formal name. Department of Veterans Affairs

Follow AP for holidays. Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Presidents Day, Veterans Day

See Bias-free Language page.

They should be consistent in their look and general length, but they may vary in construction. They should also be relatively short in length. You can add periods at the end if they are full sentences.

STATES
Lowercase state when used as an adjective or common noun. a state map, the state economy

Capitalize state when writing about the state government. The State of California provides about 14 percent of Berkeley’s annual budget.

TITLES AND HEADINGS
Capitalize all major words in hyphenated compounds unless they are preceded by a prefix or musical note. Long-Range Development Plan, Pre-collegiate Academy, E-flat Concerto

PLURALS FOLLOWING PROPER NAMES
Lowercase plurals of generic terms when using proper names. University and Shattuck avenues, departments of Chemistry and Physics

Look up “datelines” in AP for a complete list of domestic and international cities that can stand alone in a dateline without a state or country identification. Most U.S. cities do not need state identifiers, except those with the same name in different states (Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri). In general, spell out state names.

INTRODUCING ONE COMPLETE SENTENCE
Capitalize the first word after a colon if it is a proper noun or starts a complete sentence: I say it often: Research is different at Cal.

MOST COMMON USE
This is one AP rule we defy: We do use the serial or Oxford comma to separate elements in a series. Berkeley researchers are tackling the biggest scientific, technological, societal, and cultural issues of our time.

The final comma in this example separates each component. You help support scholarships, academic mentoring and tutoring, and health and wellness programs.

SEPARATING CLAUSES
Use a comma to separate clauses in a sentence when both clauses can stand alone as independent sentences. Graduates should assemble at 1 p.m., and the doors open for guests at 2 p.m.

Do not use a comma if the sentence has one subject and two verbs or objects.

• Incorrect: We are grateful to have you here today, and for your generous support of UC Berkeley. Correct: We are grateful to have you here today and for your generous support of UC Berkeley.
• Incorrect: For more information, or to make hotel reservations, visit celebration.berkeley.edu. Correct: For more information or to make hotel reservations, visit celebration.berkeley.edu.

CONJUNCTIONS
The comma rule for separating clauses applies to English’s seven coordinating conjunctions. (Use the mnemonic FANBOYS to remember them.) for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

The same rule also applies to not only and but also.

• Incorrect: He was not only a good friend, but also a great brother. Correct: He was not only a good friend but also a great brother.

AS WELL AS
In general, you don’t need a comma before as well as, which means “in addition to,” because it makes the information that follows less important than the rest of the sentence. You could get rid of the comma and use and instead.

MONTH AND YEAR

• September 2000 (no comma)

MONTH, DAY, YEAR

• September 10, 2009

DECADES

• 1980s (no apostrophe) or ’90s

SEASONS
Seasons are not capitalized. She graduated in spring 2025. The fall 2026 semester has begun.

TIME

• Use a.m. or p.m., not A.M., AM, pm, or other variations.
• Use either noon or 12 p.m., but not 12 noon.
• Pacific Daylight Time/PDT
• Pacific Standard Time/PST

(or similar terms for different regions)

Make sure to note the time correctly. Daylight savings time in the United States falls between early March and early November.

DURATION
To indicate duration of time, use to between the hours in text, but an en dash in calendar or tabular entries: Text: The picnic will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tabular: Class times are 11 a.m.–noon, 4–5 p.m., and 9:30 a.m.–3 p.m.

Do not use :00 to indicate the top of the hour. 10 a.m., not 10:00 a.m.

There’s no space between the numbers and en dash in a tabular listing: 10–11 a.m.

EM DASH
Use an em dash with spaces on both sides to set off phrases. I will go — no matter what — tomorrow night.

EN DASH
Use an en dash with no spaces between numbers in times.

Capitalize it as a motto, but don’t italicize it unless it’s the name of a book, magazine, or title of a publication: Fiat Lux

See also Gender under Bias-free Language section.

In general, use gender-neutral terms whenever possible:

• chair, chairperson, police officer

Do not use s/he or his/her.

Recast in the plural:

• Donors may pay by credit card if they so choose.

Be careful not to mix singular and plural.

• Incorrect: Every student has their preference.
• Correct: All students have their preferences.

If a piece of collateral is a story about a specific person or persons, such as a feature or bio, ask what pronouns people use. Don’t ask what they prefer.

THEY/THEM/THEIR
In pieces about people who identify as neither male nor female or ask not to be referred to as he/she/him/her, use the person’s name in place of a pronoun. While the use of they/them/their is acceptable as a gender-neutral pronoun, avoid confusion whenever possible by using the person’s name. If they/them/their is essential, explain in the text that the person uses (not prefers) a gender-neutral pronoun.

CAPITALIZATION
In general, capitalize compass points when referring to a place and lowercase when referring to a direction:

• Settlers from the East went west in search of new lives.

Lowercase compass points when describing a section of a nation, state, or city (eastern Texas) unless denoting widely known sections:

• Southern California, Northern California

Other accepted uses:

• the Bay Area, the West Coast, Western capitalism, Eastern religion

COMPOUND ADJECTIVES THAT PRECEDE THE NOUN THEY MODIFY are hyphenated unless they are easily recognized as a single concept:

• lower division or upper division class, computer science field, private sector contributions, real estate markets

COMPOUNDS THAT ARE HYPHENATED AS ADJECTIVES

off-campus housing, part-time employment, decisionmaking skills

COMPOUNDS NOT HYPHENATED AS NOUNS

• her housing is off campus; she works less than full time; findings that assist in decision making

COMPOUND ADJECTIVES WITH -LY are not hyphenated: privately funded, highly regarded

COMPOUND ADJECTIVES WITH NUMERALS should not be hyphenated:

• the $40 million campaign

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• fundraising (not fund-raising, fund raising)

For additional guidance, see the Word List in Appendices.

Words starting with a pronounced h, long u or eu take the article a, not an:

• a hotel, a historic study, a euphonious word; but an honor, an heir

Use one space after a period in printed and online materials.

COMPANY
For a company’s formal name, consult the national stock exchanges, the New York Stock Exchange, www.nyse.com, or Nasdaq, www.nasdaq.com. According to AP Style you do not use a comma before “Inc.” or “Ltd.,” even if it is included in the formal name. Include the full company name somewhere in the story. The formal name need not be used on first reference. Generally, follow the spelling and capitalization preferred by the company. For example, “eBay.” But capitalize the first letter if it begins a sentence. Do not use all-capital-letter names unless the letters are individually pronounced. For example, “BMW.” Others should be uppercase and lowercase. For example, USA Today not USA TODAY.

Use an ampersand only if it is part of the company’s formal name but not otherwise in place of “and.” Use “the” lowercase unless it is part of the company’s formal name.

See also the company names entry in the Associated Press Stylebook.

PERSONAL
Except in letter salutations, avoid use of courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., or Ms.) except to distinguish persons with the same last name. First (and last) names may be used in informal situations. Subsequent references should be consistent: either last names (preferred) or first names.

Enclose nicknames in quotes:

• John “Boomer” Smith

Do not divide personal names at the end of a line. Break after the middle initial(s) if it’s not possible to keep the whole name together:

• J. R. R. / Tolkien not J. R. R. Tol- / kien

AP and Chicago recommend that commas be dropped from names with suffixes:

• James Madison Jr., Walter A. Haas Sr., Arthur C. Oppenheimer II

In some instances, exceptions are made to follow individual preference:

• Walter Haas, Jr. Pavilion

Compound names should be hyphenated or not, according to the preference of the individual.

Compound names should be alphabetized under the last surname or according to the individual’s established usage.

FIRST AND LAST NAMES IN PROSE

AP Style recommends using a person’s first and last name on first reference, and their last name only on all subsequent references. UDAR follows this rule for articles on inspire.berkeley.edu.

However, depending on the use, audience, and/or the person’s request, we do use first name only on subsequent references for informal pieces, e.g., the chancellor’s biweekly alum letter or video scripts, or when using the last name only would feel too impersonal or institutional.

Whichever you choose, be consistent; do not use a first name for one person and a last name for another person in the same piece.

Spell out zero through nine in ordinary text, and spell out any number that begins a sentence:

• seven, 7,000

Exceptions include course numbers, grade-point averages, unit and monetary values, scores, percentages, compound numbers, and decimal fractions. Indicate all of these with numerals.

Use commas with all numbers above 999:

• 1,000, $13,500, 500,000

For amounts of a million or more, use figures when referring to monetary amounts, but follow the regular rule for other quantities:

• $8 million, eight million people, $40 million campaign

In a series, treat all numbers the same:

• Berkeley’s faculty includes 4 Pulitzer Prize winners, 136 members of the National Academy of Sciences, and 85 members of the National Academy of Engineering.

Spell out ordinals through ninth:

• first grade, 21st century, 25th anniversary, eighth reunion, 1oth annual, 18th reunion

Use a numeral in reference to a specific annum.

• In year 2 of the program, we will recruit three new professors.

Use numbers to represent ages, even those under 10.

If it can be done without confusion, single or multiple letters or numbers used as nouns form the plural by adding s alone:

the three Rs, YMCAs, in twos and threes

See also Apostrophes above.

Faculty is singular when referring to an academic body:

• Berkeley’s faculty is one of the finest in the nation.

Faculty is plural when referring to several individuals:

• The college’s faculty are working with local schools

Plural nouns ending in s take only an apostrophe:

• the VIPs’ entrance, states’ rights

Singular common nouns ending in s take ’s to form the possessive (unless you’re writing Athletics pieces):

• campus’s legacy, virus’s reach

Singular proper nouns ending in s take only the apostrophe to form the possessive:

• Lyons’ speech, Jones’ book

Plural proper possessive for names ending in s:

• the Lyonses’ dog, the Joneses’ library

Exception: when two or more sibilants precede the apostrophe:

• Kansas’, Moses’

A the preceding a name (of an association, company, or institution), even when part of the official title, is lowercase in the running text, according to Chicago. This is also the way of AP, which prefers “down” style:

• You are granted access to special events such as the Charter Hill Society Leadership Roundtable.
• Make a gift to the Cal Parents Fund today.

Exception: The name of the organization includes a specially designed font

Our designers often refer to this as watermark text, which is often used in programs and invitations. This usually includes the capitalized The.

‎PEOPLE
ACADEMIC

• the professor; Laura Sanchez, professor of comparative literature; Professor Sanchez

USED IN APPOSITION
When a title is used in apposition before a personal name — not alone and as part of the name but as an equivalent to it, usually preceded by the or by a modifier — it is considered not a title but rather a descriptive phrase and is lowercased:

• former presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy, Berkeley Haas professor Christine Parlour

DESCRIPTIVE TITLES
When preceding a name, generic titles that describe a person’s occupation should be lowercased:

• the historian Daniel Alexander Payne Murray not Historian Murray

For additional guidance about the treatment of people’s titles in Athletics collateral, see Athletics Style Guidelines.

WORKS

Italicize titles of books, periodicals, poems, plays, films, works of art, and long musical compositions. Titles of dissertations and theses, exhibition titles, course names, lectures, manuscripts, articles, songs, and television and radio episodes are enclosed in quotes.

Athletics follows AP style and uses quotation marks to set off titles of works.

Use URLs sparingly. Do not bold or italicize.

See Internet in Administrative Style and Usage.