Is it Professor Kenna Griffin or professor Kenna Griffin? If you chose the first one, you're correct. When writing academic titles, you capitalize and spell out formal titles when they precede a name. You lowercase them elsewhere, according to the Associated Press Stylebook. The rule is the same as that regarding short and long … [Read more...]
Nerd Note: Writing Academic Departments
There are just some things you are guaranteed to reference when writing about a university or on an education beat. I wrote last week about how to write academic degrees. This post is on the related subject of referencing academic departments. According to the Associated Press Stylebook: Use lowercase when writing about academic degrees, … [Read more...]
Nerd Note: Writing Academic Degrees
If you're writing at a university or on an education beat, chances are great that you'll reference academic degrees. The Associated Press Stylebook provides specific rules to negate questions about how to reference academic degrees in your writing. According to the Stylebook: Avoid abbreviations like M.A. or Ph.D. when writing academic … [Read more...]
Nerd Note: Using Abbreviations in Your Writing
Abbreviations are tricky because you don't want your writing to look like alphabet soup, but you also don't want to insult or confuse your reader by spelling out things that commonly are known by their abbreviated titles. In general, you should avoid abbreviations on first reference unless you're certain the majority of your readership would … [Read more...]
Nerd Note: Using A or An
It's just a single letter, but the differences regarding when to use a or an can be confusing. Most of us learned to use an before words that start with vowels and use a everywhere else. For example, She ate an apple. I want a prize. Honestly, this is a pretty good rule, and will serve you well most of the time. The problem arises when … [Read more...]
The AP Releases Expanded 2015 Stylebook
It's like Christmas for nerds, only in May. The 2015 AP Stylebook was released today. Ok, I didn't mean the whole rhyming thing, but it really is a great day! The Stylebook contains 300 new or revised entries, which is The AP's way of making sure we're always learning. Just when we think we know what's in the Stylebook, they change … [Read more...]
Nerd Note: Using Its Correctly
This Nerd Note addresses one of my biggest pet peeves—the inappropriate use of the possessive its. It's means it is or it has. For example, It's cold outside. There is no possessive form of its. So, unless you mean it is or it has, you never use the apostrophe with its. For example, Is the sock with its mate? Remember that … [Read more...]