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Guidelines
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Style
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Q
Q-and-A format
Quadrangle, Francis—Center of the Red Campus and location of the Columns. Named to National Register of Historic Places in 1974. First reference: Francis Quadrangle. Other references: Quadrangle or Quad. For MU’s Quad, always capitalize.
quotation marks—Put the following in quotation marks: titles of poems (except poems that are book-length), songs, music movements, presentations, speeches, lectures, television episodes, short stories; chapters in books; articles in magazines or journals; and news headlines (if used in body text).
- Titles of symposia or panels do not need quote marks.
- See italics.
R
races, nationalities—Capitalize proper names of races, nationalities, tribes and people, as in Caucasian, Hispanic, Italian, Eskimo, Cherokee, Chinese. Lowercase colors: white, black, etc.
ranges— Correct form is $12 million to $14 million. Do not write $12 to $14 million or $12–14 million. Rule also applies to using the word percent: 18 percent to 20 percent.
rear/raise—One rears children but raises animals and inanimate objects.
record breaker
Red Campus—Campus buildings built with red brick and located near Jesse Hall and Francis Quadrangle
reply cards—See invitations, formal.
research assistant—The abbreviation is RA; plural is RAs. Do not use the abbreviation on first reference.
Research Reactor Center—Use University of Missouri Research Reactor Center as first reference. Second reference: reactor, MURR or the center.
research park—Do not confuse the MU Research Park, located on Providence Road, with Discovery Ridge, MU's research and development park. See Discovery Ridge.
research university—See Association of American Universities and university identification.
Residence on Francis Quadrangle—Use as first reference to the house on Francis Quadrangle, formerly called the chancellor’s residence. Second reference: residence.
résumé
Reynolds Journalism Institute, Donald W.—Official title and first reference: Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute. Second reference: Reynolds Journalism Institute, institute.
rock 'n' roll
S
says, said—Among attributive verbs, says and said usually say it best; they’re short, clear, neutral and accurate. To avoid monotony, use such substitutes as went on, continued, added.
- Be wary when using the following words in attribution; they can be misleading: stated, declared, pointed out, noted, warned, charged, claimed.
- Never use verbs denoting nonverbal processes as attribution, such as smiled, wept, laughed, as in “I’m fond of him,” she smiled/laughed. One doesn’t smile or laugh words; one says them while smiling or laughing.
seasons—Lowercase spring, summer, fall, winter and derivatives such as springtime unless part of a formal name as in Summer Olympics, Winter Olympics.
- At MU: fall and spring semesters; summer session.
semi/multi—Rules in prefixes apply, but in general, no hyphen: Semifinal, semiannual. Hyphenate to avoid repeated vowels, as in semi-invalid.
schools and colleges—MU has 19 schools and colleges. Capitalize the proper names when used in first references: School of Medicine. Lowercase in other references: medical school.
sexism—Avoid masculine references he and his when the description assumes that both sexes are involved. In most cases, sentences can be rewritten from singular to plural without damaging meaning or structure: After a student has completed the application process, he is assigned an adviser can be changed to read: After students have applied to MU, they are assigned advisers.
South Quadrangle—South Quadrangle See Carnahan Quadrangle.
sports teams—see See athletics and Tigers.
spring break
state names—Spell out state names when they stand alone; abbreviate in tabular material and when combined with a city name. For postal addresses, use standard two-letter designations without punctuation: MO, IL, KS.
- Eight states are never abbreviated in text or as part of an address: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah.
- In text, use these abbreviations for city-state combinations: (Alabama) Ala., (Arizona) Ariz., (Arkansas) Ark., (California) Calif., (Colorado) Colo., (Connecticut) Conn., (Delaware) Del., (Florida) Fla., (Georgia) Ga., (Illinois) Ill., (Indiana) Ind., (Kansas) Kan., (Kentucky) Ky., (Louisiana) La., (Maryland) Md., (Massachusetts) Mass., (Michigan) Mich., (Minnesota) Minn., (Mississippi) Miss., (Missouri) Mo., (Montana) Mont., (Nebraska) Neb., (Nevada) Nev., (New Hampshire) N.H., (New Jersey) N.J., (New Mexico) N.M., (New York) N.Y., (North Carolina) N.C., (North Dakota) N.D., (Oklahoma) Okla., (Oregon) Ore., (Pennsylvania) Pa., (Rhode Island) R.I., (South Carolina) S.C., (South Dakota) S.D., (Tennessee) Tenn., (Vermont) Vt., (Virginia) Va., (Washington) Wash., (West Virginia) W.Va., (Wisconsin) Wis. and (Wyoming) Wyo.
- Note: Always use periods with such two-letter abbreviations as N.D., N.Y., S.C., N.J., except for mailing addresses.
- Use periods in D.C. for District of Columbia.
- See addresses.
state of the art—Avoid this cliché; instead, describe the upgrade or improvement to office, equipment, facility, technique.
State Historical Society of Missouri—Offices are adjacent to Ellis Library. Official name may be shortened to State Historical Society when there is no chance of confusion with the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis.
stepbrother, stepfather, stepmother, stepsister, stepfamily
Stephens College—All faculty members are instructors. The school has no assistant professors, associate professors or professors.
stress reliever
student-athlete
student number—Do not use student ID number. See ID card.
study abroad
such as/like—Do not confuse like with such as
System, University of Missouri—The first reference to the four-campus University System (Columbia, Kansas City, Rolla and St. Louis) should be University of Missouri System. Thereafter use UM System, University System or University (with uppercase U). Uppercase System when used alone.
The four universities in the System are identified as followed:
- University of Missouri (MU or Mizzou, not UMC)
- University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC)
- Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T)
- University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL)
In the cases above, use an en dash (medium dash; see dashes) rather than a hyphen when possible: University of Missouri–St. Louis.
For more information, see the Collected Rules and Regulations of the UM System: Chapter 170.060 university identification and symbols.
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