Style
Select a letter of the alphabet to search for a specific topic.
e—Use a hyphen in words that use this prefix as short for electronic: e-mail, e-book, e-business.
- See e-mail.
editor in chief—No hyphens.
elderly—Some people consider this an insensitive word, so use it sparingly and carefully. Don’t use as a description for an individual, but the word can be used generically, as in home for the elderly or concern for the elderly. Likewise, watch such descriptions as old man, old woman, old people or senior citizen.
Ellis Fischel Cancer Center—Located at 115 Business Loop 70 W. and part of University Hospitals and Clinics. Second reference: Ellis Fischel or center.
Ellis Library—See library.
e-mail—Short for electronic mail. Use the hyphen: e-mail, e-mail messages, e-mail system. Acceptable for use as a verb: Bill Doe e-mailed Sally Ray for directions to the party or E-mail billdoe@missouri.edu for more information.
e-mail addresses—These are not case-sensitive, so you can write lowercase: billdoe@missouri.edu. However, writing with uppercase for clarity or formality is acceptable: BillDoe@missouri.edu. Whichever you choose, be consistent.
emerita, emeritus—These refer to individuals who have retired but who retain their rank or title. Place emerita or emeritus after the formal title: Sally Ray, associate professor emerita of journalism, Professor Emeritus Bill Doe. The plural is emeriti: Bill Doe, Bob Doe and Sally Ray, professors emeriti of journalism.
eMprint—This new media product from the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute blends newspaper and online features. First used with Columbia
Missourian content.
entitled—A right to do or have something, not a synonym for titled or called: Staff are entitled to promotions; the book is titled/called (not entitled).
equal opportunity/ADA institution—Correct phrase to use on publications and letterhead, instead of the phrase equal opportunity employer. The article an (lowercase) may precede equal opportunity/ADA institution. ADA stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act.
events—Random events occur; planned events take place; both happen.
every day (adverb)—Sally Ray jogs every day.
everyday (adjective)—Jogging is part of Sally Ray’s everyday routine.
extension—Capitalize when used as part of a division name: University of Missouri Extension (office in 108 Whitten Hall). Do not use University Outreach and Extension, which refers to the now-defunct UM System extension structure.
- Lowercase when used alone: The university conducted a two-day extension program or This is an extension activity.
- Second reference: MU Extension. This form is preferred both for programs based on campus and those at county extension centers.
- Never use the terms Universitywide Extension, University Extension or Extension Division. Do not abbreviate as MUE or UME.
- For people with on-campus and extension appointments, base titles on context. Use a departmental title when referring to teaching or research: Sally Ray, associate professor of plant sciences, won a teaching award. Use extension title when referring to extension activities: Sally Ray, University of Missouri Extension plant pathologist, spoke to local growers about her findings.
- or people with off-campus extension appointments, use regional specialists, not county agents. Identify them by community location: Bill Doe, regional housing and environmental design specialist, St. Joseph. Add identifier if an extension connection is not implied otherwise: Bill Doe, University of Missouri Extension regional housing and environmental design specialist, St. Joseph. Split up such information among more than one reference if possible.
extension center—Capitalize when referring to a specific center such as the University of Missouri Extension Center in Greene County.
- Do not use the phrase County University Extension Center.
- See the campus telephone directory or visit extension.missouri.edu for a list of statewide extension centers.
faculty—See collective nouns.
fellow—Lowercase in all uses, as in Bill Doe is a fellow of the International College of Mathematics. Exception: Uppercase when part of proper name such as Fulbright Fellow.
- Write fellow of (not fellow in) an organization.
Financial Aid office—Official name is the Office of Student Financial Aid. Its address is 11 Jesse Hall.
- Acceptable reference: Student Financial Aid. Other references: financial aid, office. Note: The word aid is singular.
firsthand
first names—Acceptable for children in stories. When writing about adults, last names are preferable.
- See titles.
flagship—This word is appropriate for description of the University of Missouri in Columbia as a leading institution: Missouri’s flagship institution or Missouri’s flagship university.
following—Avoid using as a preposition in sentences such as He spoke following dinner. Recast sentences to use either the words after or afterward.
follow up (verb)—Patients should follow up with a doctor’s appointment following surgery.
follow-up (noun, adjective)—The appointment was a follow-up after surgery. The patient scheduled a follow-up appointment.
For All We Call Mizzou—The university’s campaign to raise $1 billion in private donations. The campaign began in 2000 and is slated to end in 2008.
- The word campaign always should be lowercase: the For All We Call Mizzou campaign.
- Second reference: campaign.
- Do not call the campaign a capital campaign or comprehensive campaign.
- Do not put in italics or quotation marks.
foreign/foreigner—Do not use when referring to students or countries. Instead write international student(s), country(ies), international(s).
- Write: foreign words, foreign language, foreign money, foreign names.
forward—Not forwards
fractions—Spell out amounts less than one, using hyphens between the words: one-half, two-thirds, four-fifths.
- Some computer-software programs provide a function for creating fractions combined with whole numbers: 2 1/3, 5 3/10, 8 13/16. When that option is not available, use figures with a space between the whole number and the fraction: 2 1/3, 5 3/10, 8 13/16.
Francis Quadrangle—Francis Quadrangle Location of the Columns; center of the Red Campus; named for David R. Francis, governor of Missouri, 1888 to 1892; listed on National Register of Historic Places, 1974. Second reference: Quad or Quadrangle. Note spelling of Francis.
freelance—One word, no hyphen in all uses.
freshman—The class and a member of that class. Use freshmen as a plural noun: Freshmen ran through the Columns.
Freshman Interest Group(s)—Mizzou offers these learning communities for freshmen. Students with similar interests (academic, thematic) live together, enroll in the same classes and participate in special activities. Second reference: FIG or FIGs.
from . . . to—his construction denotes a logical progression, as from A to Z, from girlhood to womanhood, from stock room to board room or from soup to nuts.
- To write activities that range from bowling to fishing makes readers wonder what goes in between. To write from bowling to fishing to golfing to swimming is worse. Instead, write: activities as diverse as bowling, fishing, golfing and swimming.
full time, full-time—Hyphenate when used as a compound adjective, but not
as a compound adverb: Our department has 45 full-time students but Bill Doe works full time as a chemist.
fundraising, fundraiser—One word in all cases: Fundraising is difficult. They planned a fundraising campaign. A fundraiser was hired. The college sponsored a fundraiser.
Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center—First reference. Subsequent references: Black Culture Center or center.
General Assembly—Missouri’s legislative body
- First reference should be: Missouri General Assembly, not Legislature.
- Second references: General Assembly, assembly or legislature.
- See legislature or Missouri General Assembly.
goodbye
grade point average—Can use GPA on first reference when used with figures, as in A GPA of 2.5 (A = 4.0) is required or A 2.5 GPA is required.
- Spell out and do not hyphenate when used alone, as in a student’s grade point average.
graduate (verb)—When emphasizing the university's role, use graduated. The university graduated its largest class ever. When emphasizing students, use graduated from. Jane Doe graduated from the university. Avoid dropping from, an informal usage occasionally heard in casual conversation. Using passive voice (John Doe was graduated from the university) is an accepted usage that to some people now sounds formal and old fashioned.
graduate instructor—The abbreviation is GI; plural is GIs. Never use the abbreviation on first reference.
Graduate Professional Council (GPC)—The official student government for all graduate, professional and post-baccalaureate students.
Graduate School—Capitalize in all references when referring to MU’s. People who seek master’s and doctoral degrees at MU are enrolled in the Graduate School, except for those in law, medicine and veterinary medicine. Write graduate student in an area, not student in the Graduate School of an area.
gray—Not grey; but write greyhound when describing the animal and Greyhound for the bus company.
Greektown
Green Tennis Center at Epple Field—The University’s tennis facility.
groundbreaking
H
handicapped—See disabled.
headquarters—Takes singular or plural verb. Don’t use headquarter as a verb.
health care—Two words, with no hyphen as a compound modifier: He is a health care worker.
Health Care, University of Missouri—University of Missouri Health Care is the corporate title encompassing University Hospitals and Clinics; Columbia Regional Hospital; University Physicians; Rusk Rehabilitation Center; Missouri Rehabilitation Center in Mount Vernon, Mo.; and several affiliate hospitals throughout Missouri. The health system’s primary academic partners include MU’s School of Medicine, Sinclair School of Nursing and School of Health Professions.
- Do not abbreviate MU Health Care or UM Health Care.
- Use MU Health Sciences Center to refer to MU’s School of Medicine, Sinclair School of Nursing and School of Health Professions.
- See Hospitals and Clinics, University.
Hearnes Center—Preferred on all references to the Warren E. Hearnes Multipurpose Building. The building has two parts, the arena and the fieldhouse. The arena refers to the competition site for several sports teams, and the fieldhouse refers to the indoor track. Both areas are used for conventions, concerts and other events.
- Second reference: Hearnes or center.
highways—Federal highways other than interstates should be written as U.S. 63 North, U.S. 54. State highways should be written as Missouri 163, Missouri 740. Within Columbia’s city limits, use street designations for such highways: Stadium Boulevard, Providence Road. State secondary roads usually have letter designations: Route K, Route VV. Inside city limits, use names.
- See Interstate 70.
Hispanic—One term for those whose ethnic origin is a Spanish-speaking country. Some prefer Latino, so use as appropriate. Be specific and name a country if possible.
honorary degrees—For clarity, use the word honorary and spell out degree names: honorary doctor of humane letters degree, honorary doctor of laws degree. When necessary for brevity or consistency, as in a list of degrees after a person’s name, use the following abbreviations:
- doctor of fine arts, DFA
- doctor of social science, SocScD
- doctor of science, ScD
- doctor of humane letters, LHD
- doctor of letters, LittD
- doctor of divinity, DD
- doctor of laws, LLD
Hospital and Clinics, University—The usage depends on to what you are referring:
- University Hospitals and Clinics (plural Hospitals) includes University Hospital, Children’s Hospital, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center and University Physicians clinics.
- University Hospital and Clinics (singular Hospital) includes only University Hospital and University Physicians clinics.
- Subsequent references: the hospitals and clinics, the hospital and clinics, hospital, clinic.
hyphens—In general, fewer hyphens are better. Include when not using would cause confusion. Hyphenate compound modifiers that precede a noun. Do not hyphenate the adverb very or adverbs that end in -ly.