“wrote”

• “Read” is used instead of “said” when quoting a statement, email or other written document
• “Wrote” can also be used for emails or statements 

• Use “said ____ ” only if you are identifying the individual
• Also use “said ___, description” if the writer includes descriptor
  • e.g.: “I love USC,” said Tommy Trojan, USC’s unofficial mascot.
• Use “ ___ said” for everything else
  • e.g.: “I love USC,” Trojan said. 
• In Magazine articles only: “said” can be replaced with words like “exclaimed,” etc. on a case-by-case basis — consult with Mag Editor/Chief Copy first

• Used in brackets after a copied or quoted word that appears odd to show that the text was quoted verbatim
  • e.g.: She wrote, “They made there [sic] beds.”

• Used by writers for clarity if quotes are unclear on their own
  • e.g.: “[USC] is home to one of the best football teams in the country.” 

• Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence
  • e.g.; “However: The dean rejected the offer.” 

• When using directional words that end in “-ward” (e.g. toward, forward, upward, backward, etc.), no “s” at the end of it
  • “Toward” not “towards”

• Treat an ellipsis as a three-letter word, using three periods and two spaces on either side
  • e.g.: This is … correct.

• Created with “Option + Shift + Hyphen” (Mac) or by clicking hyphen three times
• Use an em dash instead of commas to spotlight a phrase. 
• Use a space on either side.
  • e.g.: “This is — correct.” 
• Never use a dash next to a comma
  • Incorrect: “I ran down Trousdale Parkway — the sky sunny as always —, and I almost fell.”

• • Seldom used in AP Style
    • Grammar wise, an en dash is used to signal a range or the word “to”
  • Always replace an en dash with the word “to” UNLESS it’s between days in the same month
• Day to day in same month: Sept. 8-10

• • Day to day in different month: Sept. 30 to Oct. 1 
  • Month to month: September to October
  • Year to year: 2014 to 2016

• Farther/farthest means distance
  • e.g. “I threw the ball farthest!” “Leavey is located farther east than THH”
• Further means additional or more
  • e.g. “The professor went further in-depth on how to write”

• Use of this perspective is only acceptable in Opinion, Magazine or columns

• Do not italicize, stylize or place in quotation marks

• Hyphens are joiners. Dashes and hyphens are not the same!
• Typically used for adjectives, not nouns
  • CORRECT: “He is wearing a button-up shirt to the formal” (button-up is an adjective describing the noun “shirt”)
  • INCORRECT: He wore a button up to the formal (in this case, button up is a noun)
• Only use a hyphen if it’s intended to make the meaning clear and avoid unintended meanings 
  • e.g.: “one-way street,” “little-known song,” “tight-knit group”
• Hyphens are unnecessary when two-word terms are clear and unambiguous without the hyphen
  • e.g.: “third grade teacher,” “chocolate chip cookie,” “emergency room visit”
• Hyphenate compound nouns, “well-” combinations and when elements are joined by “to,” “and” or “or”
  • e.g.: “merry-go-round,” “sister-in-law,” “so-and-so,” “20-minute intervals,” “6-year-olds”
• Never hyphenate adverbs (words ending in -ly) because the -ly makes the meaning clear and easy to read
  • e.g. “She asked President Folt a wonderfully phrased question.”
• If you need to pluralize a compound noun, always make the first word plural
  • “Sister-in-law” becomes “sisters-in-law”
• Never put spaces between words and hyphens

• If is an adverbial conjunction. Whether is a nounal conjunction. They are NOT the same or interchangeable. 
  • e.g. I will help you if you give me a ride vs. Whether I give you a ride depends on my schedule.

• It’s is a conjunction meaning “it is”
  • e.g. “It’s a sunny day outside!”
• Its is a possessive pronoun, used for things or places without genders
  • e.g. “Los Angeles is famous for its sunny days!”

• “Its” is singular; “their” is plural
  • e.g.: “USC won its championship game.”
  • e.g.: “The Trojans won their championship game.”

• Less is used for uncountable things
  • e.g. “There is less sand in Chicago than Los Angeles.”
• Fewer is used for things that are countable
  • e.g. “There are fewer donuts in my box than yours.”

• “Such as” or “including” are preferred in all text except for opinion and columns, but like is acceptable

• Acceptable to “may” use when stating a possibility
• “might” is preferred to “may” when casting doubt on a possibility

• Never ok, O.K., or okay

• Never used except when:
  • Quoting printed, emailed or written material
  • One of the clauses has “and”
  • e.g.: “Students, faculty and staff.” 
  • e.g.: “Students can major in international relations, history, and philosophy, politics and economics.” 

• Never used unless you are identifying the year of a movie (see A&E)

• Periods go inside quotation marks
  • e.g.: “This is correct.” 
• The period always goes at the end of the sentence — use a comma at the end of a quote if the identifier comes after
  • e.g.: “I love the Daily Trojan,” Tommy Trojan said.

• When a singular proper noun ends in -s, make it possessive by adding an apostrophe, but if the noun is not proper, add an apostrophe and an s
  • e.g. “The car owned by Mr. Jones is Mr. Jones’ car.”
  • e.g. “The handle of the cutlass is the cutlass’s handle.”

• Double quotation marks in the article when referring to spoken or written quotes. (See Arts & Entertainment for more).
• Should always be full sentences in articles
  • e.g.: “I love USC,” Trojan said. 
• Single quotation marks for headlines (i.e. in hed only)
  • e.g.: ‘Missing’ is one of the most anticipated movies of the year
• Single quotation marks if a quote within a quote
  • e.g. “I told her, ‘I love USC!’” Trojan said.

• Do not use in news or sports articles. Use sparingly in columns, reviews and Op-Eds.

• Never capitalize the first word after a semicolon

• Never use “the” in front of a group name because it is often used to be dehumanizing
  • Instead of “the disabled,” use “those with disabilities” 
  • e.g. “the poor” “the mentally ill” “the disabled” “the French”

• Which is a non-restrictive clause, meaning the sentence can be read without it and the overall point doesn’t change 
  • e.g. “The newspaper-themed cupcakes, which I baked, were delicious!”
• That is a restrictive clause, meaning it provides essential information to understanding the sentence — never use with commas
  • e.g. “I live in a house that has a cardinal and gold roof.”

• Can be used when referring to a person who is a citizen of the U.S.
• Do not use as an adjective

• Always capitalize
• Never hyphenate “Asian American”
  • Never hyphenate anything “-American”
  • Be more specific when possible: e.g. Chinese American, Taiwanese American
• Pilipinx rather than Filipinx 
• Use APIDA instead of AAPI or APIA
  • Spell out on first reference [Asian Pacific Islander Desi American]
  • Use more specific terms if possible

• Do not use the shorthand BIPOC or POC on first reference, unless necessary in a direct quotation 
• BIPOC → “Black, Indigenous and people of color”

• Never bi

• “African American” if the person prefers it

• Opinion: if the writer prefers it when writing about their own experiences

• Always capitalize
• Never hyphenate “African American”

• Never use, unless in a direct quotation — if directly quoted, always lowercase
  • The term is not used because it has “broad implications that are variable and unique”
• Opinion pieces may be okay, but still preferred to use other more specific terms

• deaf refers to the physiological confident of not being able to hear
• Deaf refers to Deaf culture and multicultural experience

• Refer to a disability only when it’s relevant to the story and when the diagnosis comes from a reputable source, such as a medical professional or other licensed professional. 
• When possible, use people-first language unless otherwise indicated by the source
• When possible, ask the source how they would like to be described. If the source is unavailable or unable to, ask a trusted family member or relevant organization that represents people with disabilities.
• Avoid made-up words like “diversability” and “handicapable” unless using them in direct quotes or to refer to a movement or organization
• Never use “handicapped.” 

• Preferred over “gay rights”

• In general, use terms that can apply to any gender
  • e.g.: “police officer” instead of “policeman, “door attendant” instead of “doorman,” “chair” or “chairperson,” “business owner” or “businessperson” not “businessman/businesswoman”
• “U.S. representative” and “member of Congress” is preferred. 
  • “Congressman” and “Congresswoman” are acceptable 
• Without a common gender-neutral word, use the masculine noun that assumes a general word. 
  • E.g.: actor, waiter, host
  • However, use actress when referring to awards with actress in the name and if she prefers actress. 

• Capitalized in reference to either Greek life or Greek culture

• Use person-first language, such as “a person experiencing homelessness” instead of “a homeless person”
• “Unhoused person” is also acceptable.
• “Unsheltered individuals” refers to people who use a place not meant for human habitation (e.g.: cars, parks, sidewalks, abandoned buildings, on the street)

• ONLY capitalize an illness known by name of person or geographical area
  • e.g. Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Ebola virus
  • e.g. celiac disease, cancer, leukemia, coronavirus

• “illegal immigrant” is not an acceptable term. “Illegal” is used to define actions, not people. Never use the term “alien.”
• An acceptable term is “undocumented immigrant” or “person who entered the country illegally.”

• Always capitalize
• Avoid “Indigenous American”
• Do not use interchangeably with Aboriginal or First Nations — they do not mean the same thing
• Refer to what source identifies as 
• Opinion pieces are flexible

• For North Korean names, they are spelled as three separate words, each capitalized; use family name on second reference
  • e.g. “Kim Jong Un” → “Kim”
• For South Korean names, they are written as two names, with the given name hyphenated and a lowercase letter after the hyphen; use family name on second reference OR stage name for K-pop/drama
  • “The K-pop singer Soyeon” (stage name)
  • “Jeon So-yeon” (given name) → “Jeon”

• Hispanic, Latine and Chicano are not interchangeable
• Use Latino/a if source identifies this way or an opinion piece
• Do not use “Latinx”
  • If used in a quote, use brackets: [Latine]
• Do not refer to someone as Latine when specificity is possible
  • e.g.: Cuban, Puerto Rican, Brazilian, Mexican, etc.
• Acceptable as the adjective and/or noun form for a person whose ancestors were from a Spanish-speaking land or culture or from Latin America.

• LGBTQIA+ is acceptable on first reference
  • Try to be as specific as possible
    • e.g.: “the transgender community”

• Never “male”

• Do not use “gay marriage” or “same-sex marriage”
• Can also just use “marriage”

• Defined as a shooting with four or more people killed – not including the shooter – in a public location with firearms, as defined by the Congressional Research Service 

• Capitalize medication terms that are made up of proper names, brand names or trade names
• Always use lowercase for generic names/the chemical name
  • ibuprofen vs. Advil
  • acetaminophen vs. Tylenol

• Spell out on first reference
  • Middle Eastern and North African
• MENA acceptable in all future references

• Do not refer to someone as Middle Eastern when specificity is possible
  • e.g.: Armenian, Lebanese, Israeli, etc. 
• Middle Eastern is not synonymous with Arabic or Muslim.
• Term applies to southwest Asia, west of Pakistan and Afghanistan (Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the eastern part of Turkey also known as Asia Minor, United Arab Emirates and Yemen), and northeastern Africa (Egypt and Sudan).
• A broader interpretation of the region also includes Armenia, Azerbaijan and other bordering countries.

• Capitalize in reference to Native Americans or Indigenous peoples
• Lowercase if reference to native to a city or state, hyphenate
  • e.g. “Oklahoma-native”
• Opinion pieces are flexible

• No hyphen or space in between
  • Not “non-binary” or “non binary”
• When referring to plural, use: “nonbinary individuals” or “nonbinary people”

• Preferable over “elderly” and “senior citizen”

• Capitalize Pride in referring to events or groups honoring LGBTQIA+ communities and later references
  • e.g.: “Pride day,” “Pride month,” etc. 

• Use if an individual specifically identifies as queer or in an opinion piece
• LGBTQIA+ preferred

• “Racism is a doctrine asserting racial differences in character, intelligence, etc. and the superiority of one race over another, or racial discrimination or feelings of hatred or bigotry towards people of another race.” – AP Stylebook
• If racist is not the appropriate term, give careful thought on how to best describe the situation
  • Depending on the specifics of what was said or done, alternatives may include xenophobic, bigoted, biased, nativist, racially divisive, or in some cases, simply racial. 
  • Avoid racially charged, racially motivated or racially tinged. They are euphemisms which convey little meaning. 

• Never “sexual preference”

• Avoid using across all sections, including Opinion and Features/Magazine

• “Person who uses substances,” NOT “drug abuse” or “drug addicts”
• Substance use disorder, NOT drug abuse

• When describing suicide, use “died by suicide” 
  • NOT “committed suicide”
• Avoid “successful suicide” and “completed suicide” 

• Not Turkey

• Preferred to minority

• Not capitalized 
• “white” and “caucasian” are not interchangeable

• Never “female”

• Always in double quotation marks
  • e.g.: “To Kill A Mockingbird”

• • If the creator has revealed and confirmed their full name publicly, use the structure below:
    • e.g.: Tyler “Ninja” Blevins
    • The names Ninja and Blevins (with no quotation marks) are acceptable for all following references
  • If the creator has not personally revealed their full name (if they haven’t confirmed it and OK’d it), only use their screen name with no quotation marks
    • e.g.: Ironmouse
      • When quoting a creator who only goes by their screen name, use their screen name 
        • e.g.: “I love this song,” said Ironmouse.
    • e.g.: Dream 
      • While Dream has revealed his first name, on first reference it should be: 
        • e.g.: Dream, whose first name is Clay
        • e.g.: Clay, known online as Dream 
  • If the creator has an eponymous name with their online persona, use the structure below:
    • e.g.: Kyedae Shymko, known online as simply “Kyedae” (quotation marks)
  • If the creator has an extremely long name, simply use their first and last name with their screen name in quotation marks between
    • e.g.: Olajide “KSI” Olatunji
• If a creator is interviewed and states that they would only like to go by their online persona or a certain name, follow their statement and only use their preferred name

• • If they prefer to use their full name, use their last name throughout the article

• Year released in parentheses 
• Articles addressing current media (released this year) do not need the year in parentheses
• Use double quotation marks and do not italicize
  • e.g.: “La La Land” (2016)
• Do not use double quotation marks around character names
  • e.g.: Joey Tribbiani, Ross Geller, Rachel Greene

• Only print publications should be italicized
• Everything else is stylized with quotation marks
  • e.g.: The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times
• Italics can also be used for emphasis

• Forward slash with a space on each side ( / ) between verses
• Double quotation marks around the entire lyric block
• Song verses always start with capital letters after slashes
  • e.g.: “Holdin’ me back / Gravity’s holdin’ me back / I want you to hold out the palm of your hand / Why don’t we leave it at that?”

• Always use double quotation marks around the title, never italics
  • e.g.: “Her Loss” by Drake
  • e.g.: “Rich Flex” by Drake and 21 Savage

• Name of the TV show in double quotation marks 
• If mentioning a specific season, do not capitalize season and number unless it’s in a subheading or header
  • e.g.: season two of “Emily in Paris”
• Actor’s name in parentheses
  • e.g.: Emily (Lily Collins)
• For actors who only go by a single name, simply refer to them by their stage name
  • e.g.: Rue (Zendaya)

• No year release, only double quotation marks 
• Articles addressing current media (released this year) do not need the year in parentheses
• Use double quotation marks and do not italicize
  • e.g.: “Grand Theft Auto V” 
• Do not use double quotation marks on characters and fictional places
  • e.g.: Mario, Princess Peach, Waddle Dee Town

• Do not use advisor, unless in a written quote or a position is explicitly stylized that way

• Never capitalize
• Alum for singular, alumni for plural
• Do not include the year with alum/ni, but do include USC on first reference; omit USC on future references
  • Incorrect: “2019 alum”
  • Correct: “USC alum”

• “At Alumni Park”

• “At Associates Park”

• Check websites to confirm 

• Capitalize both words

• “Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum” on first reference
• “At the Coliseum” acceptable on future references

• Stylized with an exclamation point

• Course numbers should never be used
• Use the specific name of the course in quotes
  • e.g.: “Organizational Behavior and Leadership” rather than “BUAD 304”

• Use an apostrophe in “bachelor’s degree,” “master’s degree,” etc. 
• No apostrophe in “associate degree” 
• No apostrophe in “Bachelor of Arts” or “Master of Science”
• Do not capitalize the subject/major 
• Only use abbreviations (B.A., M.A., etc.) when identifying many individuals by their degrees
  • e.g.: “Tommy Trojan has a bachelor’s degree in business administration,” “Jane Doe completed her Master of Science in global medicine.”

• “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” on first reference
• “DEI” acceptable on future references

• Capitalize all university departments
• Look up the official website and take the official name from there
  • e.g.: “USC Athletics,” “Division of Student Affairs,” “Department of Economics,” “Office of Sustainability”

• Capitalize when used without “Los Angeles”
  • e.g.: “My apartment is in Downtown.”
• Do not capitalize when used with Los Angeles
  • e.g.: “My apartment is in downtown Los Angeles.”
• Never DTLA

• “Department of Public Safety” on first reference
  • Never “Dept. of Public Safety”
• “DPS” acceptable on future references

• “Everybody’s Kitchen” on first reference
• EVK acceptable on future references

• “Exposition Park” on first reference
• Expo Park acceptable on future references

• Never use an apostrophe
• Always capitalize
• USC’s specific farmers market should be referred to as the “Trojan Farmers Market”

• “At Founders Park”

• Beta Theta Pi
• Chi Phi
• Delta Tau Delta
• Kappa Alpha Order
• Kappa Sigma
• Lambda Chi Alpha
• Phi Delta Theta
• Phi Sigma Kappa
• Phi Kappa Tau
• Pi Kappa Alpha
• Sigma Alpha Mu
• Sigma Chi
• Sigma Nu
• Tau Kappa Epsilon
• Zeta Beta Tau

IFC (Interfraternity Council)

• Kappa Sigma
• Phi Tau
• Phi Sigma Kappa
• Delta Tau Delta
• Phi Delta Theta
• Chi Phi

PHC (Panhellenic Council)

• Alpha Chi Omega
• Alpha Delta Chi
• Alpha Delta Pi
• Alpha Phi
• Delta Delta Delta
• Delta Gamma
• Gamma Phi Beta
• Kappa Alpha Theta
• Kappa Kappa Gamma
• Pi Beta Phi

MGC (Multicultural Greek Council)

• Alpha Gamma Alpha
• Gamma Zeta Alpha
• Kappa Delta Chi Sorority
• Lambda Theta Alpha
• Lambda Theta Nu
• Lambda Theta Phi
• Lambda Upsilon Lambda
• Omega Phi Beta
• Sigma Delta Alpha
• Sigma Lambda Beta
• Sigma Lambda Gamma
• Zeta Phi Rho

NPHC (National Pan-Hellenic Council)

• Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. 
• Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. 
• Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 
• Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. 
• Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. 
• Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. 
• Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

Professional Fraternity Council

• Alpha Kappa Psi
• Delta Kappa Alpha
• Delta Phi Epsilon
• Delta Sigma Pi
• Phi Alpha Delta
• Sigma Phi Delta

Asian Greek Council

• Alpha Delta Kappa
• Delta Phi Kappa

• “Fryft program” on first reference
• “Fryft” acceptable on future references
• Can use “Shryft” in reference to the shared-lyft program

• Acceptable on first reference
• Capitalize all letters

• Include the year graduated on first reference; never include USC
  • Incorrect: “USC graduate”
  • Correct: “2019 graduate”

• Capitalize when used in place of Keck or Norris Medical Center
  • e.g.: “I went to the Hospital today,” Trojan said. 

• “USC Hospitality” on first reference
• “Hospitality” (capitalized) acceptable for future references 

• “USC Housing” on first reference
• “Housing” (capitalized) acceptable for future references 

• “Health Sciences Campus” and “University Park Campus” on first reference
• “HSC” and “UPC” acceptable on future references

• Spell out unless it is in reference to a specific form of identification. 
  • e.g. “Students are asked to show their USC student ID to get on campus after 9 p.m.”

• “Interfraternity Council” on first reference
• “IFC” acceptable on future references

• Lowercase unless directly quoting a written quote that does capitalize it
  • e.g.: “interim Provost … “

• “KXSC” acceptable on first reference 

• Los Angeles Times on first reference
• L.A. Times or the Times acceptable on future references

• “The Lorenzo” or “The Lorenzo apartment complex” on first reference
• “The ‘Zo” acceptable on future references (depending on the style of the article)

• “Los Angeles” on first reference
• “L.A.” acceptable on future references
• “LA” with NO PERIODS in titles only (headlines/heds)

• “Los Angeles Police Department” on first reference
• “LAPD” acceptable on future references

• Always spell out majors, never capitalize and do not use acronyms
  • e.g.: PPE → philosophy, politics and economics
• Never refer to a student as a “double major” or say that they are “double majoring”
• For students with two majors, list out both majors
  • e.g.: “Tommy Trojan, a junior majoring in journalism as well as business administration.”
  • e.g.: “Students can major in international relations, history, as well as philosophy, politics and economics.”
• Common Mistake: pluralizing the major
  • e.g. the major is communication, not communications
• For students without a major, call them “undeclared”
  • e.g. “Tommy Trojan, an undeclared freshman”

• “At McCarthy Quad”
• Not “on” or “in” 

• Capitalized always 

• All capitalized

• “Panhellenic Council” on first reference
• “PHC” acceptable on future references

• “Parkside Restaurant” and “Parkside dining hall” both acceptable

• Birnkrant Residential College
• Marks Tower
• New North Residential College
• Pardee Tower
  • Somerville Place
  • Latinx Sol y La Luna Floors

FRESHMAN SUITES

• McCarthy Honors Residential College
• Parkside Arts & Humanities Residential College
• Parkside International Residential College

FRESHMAN APARTMENTS

• Cale and Irani Residential College
• Cardinal Gardens
• Parkside Apartments
  • Religion & Spirituality Floor
• Webb Tower

UNDERGRADUATE APARTMENTS

• Annenberg House
• Cale and Irani Residential College
• Cardinal ‘N Gold
• Cardinal Gardens
• Century Apartments
  • Rainbow LGBTQ+ Community
  • Somerville Place
  • Latinx Sol y La Luna Floors
• Cowlings and Ilium Residential College
• La Sorbonne
• McClintock Apartments
• McMorrow Residential College
• Nemirovsky and Bohnett Residential College
• Parkside Apartments
• Webb Tower

GRADUATE HOUSING

• Annenberg House
• Centennial
• Fairmont
• Founders
• Helena
• Manor
• Max Kade House
• Pacific
• Seven Gables
• Severance Street Apts.
• Sierra
• Stardust
  • Veterans’ Housing
• Sunset
• Terrace
• Troy East
• Troy Hall
• Troyland
• Twin Palms
• University Regent
• Veterans’ Housing
• Vista
• Windsor

FAMILY HOUSING

• Bel-Air
• Regal Trojan
• Regent
• Sunset

SPECIAL INTEREST PROGRAMS

• Special Interest Communities
• Residential Colleges
• Faculty in Residence Communities

NON-UNIVERSITY HOUSING

• Currie Hall (HSC)
• USC Gateway
• The Lorenzo (see “Lorenzo”)

• Both Rock and Reilly’s and Rock & Reilly’s are acceptable since the brand is inconsistent

• Never “South Los Angeles” or “South L.A.”

fall recess/

winter break

• Always lowercase
• Refer to “seasons” for information about semesters

• When referring to the establishment on Figueroa Street, state the full name on first reference
• “The 901 Bar & Grill” on first reference 
• “the 9-0” acceptable on future references

• Capitalize when referring to the portion of 28th Street where Greek houses are located or USC’s Greek organizations as a whole

• All capitalized

• Not USC Trojan Marching Band

• No periods in hed (headlines)
• Used as an adjective and noun
  • Adjective: “U.S. cities”
  • Noun: “the U.S. agreed with Germany”

• “Undergraduate Student Government” on first reference
• “USG” acceptable on future references

• Used as a noun
  • “United States” on first reference
  • “U.S.” on second reference
• Never use “America” in its place
  • America and U.S. are not interchangeable
• “US” (no periods) in headlines 

• Capitalize when referring to USC specifically
• Not capitalized when referring to other universities 

• Stylized as “UC [city].” 
• UCLA
• Only UCLA and USC are allowed to be abbreviated on first reference 

• UC Berkeley, California
  • “Cal” acceptable on second reference 

• UC San Diego, UCSD
• UC Santa Barbara, UCSB
• UC Merced
• UC Riverside, Riverside
• UC Irvine, Irvine
• UC Davis, Davis 

• Omit USC before schools and university titles 
  • e.g.: “President Carol Folt,” not “USC President Carol Folt”
• No USC before sports teams
  • e.g.: “the women’s basketball team,” not “the USC women’s basketball team”
• When using possessive, use singular “its” 
  • e.g.: “following USC’s announcement of its divestment from fossil fuels”

• USC Alumni Association on first reference; later references may use USCAA or Alumni Association

• Either “USC Bookstores” or “the USC Bookstore”

• When referring to buildings on campus, leave out first names
  • e.g.: “Leavey Library” not “Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Library”
• This is not a comprehensive list of all the buildings on the UPC campus 
  • Please refer to this link to find all the names of the buildings on campus
• Leventhal School of Accounting (this also refers to the building ACC)
• Allyson Felix Field (AFF)
• Annenberg Hall (ANN)
• Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism (ASC)
• Bridge Hall (BRI)
• The Center for International and Public Affairs (CPA)
• Davidson Continuing Education Conference Center (DCC)
• Colich Track and Field Center (CTF)
• Norris Dental Science (DEN)
• Crow Center for International & Public Affairs (DCC)
• Doheny Memorial Library (DML)
• Dornsife Neuroscience Imaging Center (DNI)
• Drama Center (DRC)
• Figueroa Street Structure (EPS)
• Engemann Student Health Center (ESH)
• EVK Residence Hall (EVK)
• Figueroa Building (FIG)
• Facilities Planning & Management (FPM)
• Galen Athletic Pavilion (GAP)
• Galen Event Center (GEC)
• Gerontology Center (GER)
• Ford Salvatori Hall of Letters, Arts and Sciences (GFS)
• HEDCO Neurosciences Building (HNB)
• Iovine and Young Hall (IYH) 
• Fertitta Hall (JFF)
• Hubbard Hall (JHH)
• Popovich Hall (JKP)
• Kaprielian Hall (KAP)
• Kaufman International Dance Center (KDC)
• Musick Law Building (LAW)
• Loker Track Stadium (LTS)
• Leavey Library (LVL)
• Lyon Recreation Center (Lyon Center is acceptable)
• Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience (MCB)
• McClintock Building (MCC)
• Mudd Memorial Hall of Philosophy (MHP)
• Mudd Memorial Research Building (MMR)
• Norris Jr. Cancer Hospital Research Institute (NOR)
• Physical Education Building (PED)
• Downey Way Structure (PSA)
• Jefferson Boulevard Structure (PSB)
• Stauffer Pharmaceutical Sciences Center (PSC)
• Royal Street Structure (PSD)
• Flower Street Structure (PSO)
• McCarthy Way Structure (PSX)
• Ramo Hall of Music (RHM)
• Rapp Engineering Research Building (RRB)
• Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH)
• Taper Hall (THH)
• Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL)
• School of Cinematic Arts Building (SCA)
• Mudd Building (SGM)
• San Pablo Parking Structure
• Shrine Parking Structure (SHP)
• Stauffer Hall of Science (SHS)
• Sample Hall (SKS)
• Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH)
• McAlister Field (SMF)
• Seaver Science Center (SSC)
• Wilson Student Union (STU)
• Tutor Campus Center (TCC)
• Uytengsu Aquatics Center (UAC)
• Dauterive Hall (VPD)
• Watt Hall of Architecture and Fine Arts (WAH)
• Phillips Hall (WPH)
• Zumberge Hall of Science (ZHS)

HSC Campus buildings

• Clinical Administration Building (CLB)
• Currie Hall (CHD)
• Norris Healthcare Center (NOR)
• Keck Hospital of USC (KMC)
• Keck Cafeteria (KMC) 
• Edmondson Faculty Center (EFC)
• Pappas Quad 

• Hotel is capitalized

• Do not precede with “USC” or first names 
  • WRONG: “The USC Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry”
  • CORRECT: “The Ostrow School of Dentistry”
• Lowercase “school” when using name on second reference
  • e.g.: “The Annenberg school is known for its outstanding journalism

• Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism / Annenberg
• Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences / Dornsife
• Marshall School of Business / Marshall
• Leventhal School of Accounting / Leventhal
• School of Architecture / School of Architecture
• School of Cinematic Arts / SCA
• Ostrow School of Dentistry / School of Dentistry
• Rossier School of Education / Rossier
• Viterbi School of Engineering / Viterbi
• Roski School of Art and Design / Roski
• Davis School of Gerontology / School of Gerontology
• Gould School of Law / Gould
• Iovine and Young Academy / IYA
• Kaufman School of Dance / Kaufman
• Keck School of Medicine of USC / Keck
• Price School of Public Policy / Price
• Dworak-Peck School of Social Work / School of Social Work
• School of Dramatic Arts / SDA
• Thornton School of Music / Thornton
• School of Pharmacy / School of Pharmacy
• Chan School of Occupational Therapy / Chan
• Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy / School of Physical Therapy
• USC Bovard College / Bovard

• Never “the USC Village,” “The Village,” or “University Village”
• Always “at USC Village”

• Never use ampersand (& symbol).

• “WebReg” allowed on second reference

• AP never uses advisor 

• [grade + position + name]
  • e.g.: “sophomore quarterback Caleb Williams.”
• fifth-year
  • Always hyphenate 

• Capitalize Athletic Director if it precedes a name
  • Do not capitalize if it follows
  • e.g.: “Athletic Director Mike Bohn,” “Mike Bohn, the athletic director … “

• In general, use terms such as “chair” or “chairperson,” “councilperson” unless the -man or -woman terms are specified by an organization
• Capitalize as a formal title before a name
  • e.g.: “company Chair Henry Khan,” “committee Chairwoman Margaret Smith”
• Do not capitalize as a casual, temporary position

• Capitalize Head Coach if it precedes a name
  • Do not capitalize if it follows
  • e.g.: “Head Coach Lincoln Riley,” “Andy Enfield, the head coach … ”

• Capitalized when used as a title before someone’s name
  • e.g. “Dean Willow Bay”
• Lowercase if following their name
  • “e.g. “Willow Bay, dean of __ “
• Do not capitalize if they are a former dean

• Use only on first reference, and only if the person is a medical doctor
• Do not use as a courtesy title for individuals with doctorates
• Those with doctorates can be identified on first reference
  • E.x.: “Tommy Trojan, who has a doctorate in _____.“
• This person holds a doctorate is preferred over the term Ph.D. or Ph.D.s

• Capitalize if referring to ONE god, as it is their official name and title (monotheistic religions)
  • e.g. “At Sunday church service, I prayed to God.”
  • Similarly, capitalize pronouns in reference to a singular God
    • e.g. “I believe in Him.”
• Do not capitalize if referring to gods in general, because it implies multiple “gods” hold this title (polytheistic religions)
  • e.g. “There are many Greek gods,” “That actor is literally a god.”

• Abbreviate and capitalize “Gov.” when used immediately before a name
• Do not capitalize and spell out if following
• Govs. for plural
• Not used for USG positions
  • e.g.: “Gov. Gavin Newsom,” “Gavin Newson is a governor”

• Capitalize Mayor if it precedes a name
  • Do not capitalize if it follows
  • e.g.: “Mayor Karen Bass,” “Karen Bass, mayor of Los Angeles”

• Never use middle initials, even if it shows up on their official webpage/profile
  • Exception: when the interviewee specifically says to use middle name
• e.g.: “President Carol Folt” not “President Carol L. Folt”

• Capitalize and fully spell out formal titles, such as “chair” or “chancellor” if preceding a name

• Capitalize if they precede a name
• Lowercase if following
  • Lowercase modified “former”
  • Capitalize president when writing about former presidents if preceding the name
• e.g.: “President Joe Biden,” “President Carol Folt” “former President Barack Obama,” “Joe Biden, president of the U.S.,” “when speaking, the president said “ … ””

• Never capitalize before or after a name
  • AP Style views professor as an occupation rather than an official title
• Only capitalize the subject taught if it is a proper noun
  • e.g. “professor of French”, “professor of English”, “professor of business”
• When a professor is first mentioned, provide context (subject and school)
  • Always include if they are an associate professor, assistant professor, etc.
    • e.g. “associate professor of __”
• If their title is “Professor (Teaching),” simply rearrange to place “teaching” before “professor”
  • e.g.: “associate teaching professor of environmental science” 

• “Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Charles Zukoski”
• Capitalized when used as a title before someone’s name, lowercase if following their name
• When using the modifier “interim,” capitalize Provost but lowercase interim
  • e.g.: “interim Provost … ”

• Abbreviate and capitalize “Rep.” when used immediately before a name

• “resident assistant” on first reference (lowercase)
• “RA” acceptable on future references (“RAs” for plural)

• Capitalize when referring to a specific senate 
  • e.g.: “the United States Senate”
• Does not include the Undergraduate Student Government senate
  • USG senate is always lowercase

• Abbreviate as “Sen.” if used in reference to a public official in office
  • e.g. “Sen. Bernie Sanders”
• Spell out in reference to USG positions
  • e.g. “senator Brandon Tavakoli”

• Always lowercase titles before and after names 
• e.g.: “USG chief financial officer Khalil Daniels”

• “Teaching assistant” on first reference (lowercase)
• “TA” acceptable on future references (“TAs” for plural)
• Not to be confused with Supplemental Instruction (SI)

• Capitalize when used as a title before the name
  • e.g.: “Trustee Gordon Marshall”

• • For ages, always use figures
    • e.g. “the student is 19 years old”
  • If an adjective or a substitute for a noun, then it should be hyphenated
    • e.g. “a 21-year-old man”
• Do not use apostrophes when describing an age range

• • e.g. “he is in his 30s”

• General Rule:
  • You are AT a building/at Galen Center/at Leavey, etc.
  • You are IN a room/in a study room/in the newsroom, etc.

• Always use “th” or “rd” when describing someone’s birthday
  • e.g.: “It was his 18th birthday.” 
  • Do not spell out 

• Can use “th” after a number but do not super/subscript
  • e.g. “14th century”

• When months are used with a specific date, abbreviate January (Jan.), February (Feb.), August (Aug.), September (Sept.), October (Oct.), November (Nov.) and December (Dec.)
• All other months are spelled out
• Do not use “th” at the end
  • e.g.: “Jan. 23,” “May 5”
• Spell out the full month if only the month and year are provided
  • e.g.: “January 2008,” “August 2022”
• Only use a comma if the month, date and year are provided
  • e.g.: “Jan. 8, 2023”
• Do not use “on”
  • e.g.: “This happened Monday.”

• Always use digits; never use an apostrophe at the end
  • e.g. “the 1940s”
• If shorthand, style with a closing apostrophe (upside-down apostrophe)
  •  “the ’70s.” 

• If a number below ten is a decimal, it can be allowed as a numeral
  • e.g. “2.5”
• Do not use more than 2 decimal places in text unless there are special circumstances (e.g.: blood alcohol level, which is 3 digits)
  • Always round up (if the digit is 5 or higher)

• Lowercase north, west, south or east when referring to compass directions
• Lowercase when referring to a country unless referring to a politically divided nation
  • e.g.: “Monterey Bay falls on the west coast”
  • e.g.: “southern Greece,” “North Korea”
• Capitalize when they are used as proper nouns
• Capitalize referring to regions and continents
  • e.g.: “I’m from the West Coast”
  • e.g.: “East Asia,” “I’m from the South”

• Never use “about” when referring to estimates
  • Correct: “He estimated there were 50 people”
  • Incorrect: “He estimated there were about 50 people”

• Use all figures and spell out inches, feet, etc. to indicate depth, height, length and width. 
  • e.g.: 5 inches of snow, a 5-foot man, 5 feet 6 inches tall, 6 feet wide and 5 feet high, the rug is 9 feet by 12 feet. 

• Spell out numbers from one-nine
  • e.g.: “one,” “two,” “three,” etc. 
• Use numerals for figures 10 and above
  • e.g.: “10,” “11,” etc. 
• Sports is an exception (refer to the sports guide)
• If numbers START a sentence, always spell them out
  • e.g. “Fifty copy editors are on the staff.”
  • Exception: if it’s a year (e.g. “2002 was a good year.”) or if it’s a combo of letters/numbers (e.g. “401(k) plans are offered.”)
• Use commas for numbers above 999 (1,000+)
• When referring to statistics with “x in x,” always use numbers
  • e.g.: “1 in 5 students were admitted.” 

• Only spell out percent if a statistic comes at the beginning of a sentence. Use % for all other references.
  • e.g. “Two percent of USC students…”, “After the survey, it showed that 20% of USC students”

• Do not capitalize seasons unless referring to an academic semester accompanied by a year
  • e.g.: “the course was offered in Spring 2022”
• Lowercase when referring to anything else
  • e.g.: “It happened in the spring of 2014”
  • e.g.: “the spring semester”

• Spell out the names of the 50 U.S. states whether standing alone or used in conjunction with a city, town, village or military base 

• Abbreviate Ave., Blvd., St. and directional cues when used with a numbered address
  • e.g.: “29th Street,” “101 N. Grant St.”
• Always spell out words such as alley, drive and road
  • e.g.: “605 Woodside Drive”
• Spell out Avenue, Boulevard, Street without a numbered address
  • e.g.: “Northwestern Avenue,” “South Ninth Street”
• For block labels, do not capitalize “block” and always spell out Street, Avenue and Boulevard
  • e.g.: “1600 block of Marengo Street”

• Lowercase “a.m.” and “p.m.”
• If an event takes place at the beginning of an hour, do not use :00 after it. 
  • e.g.: “1 p.m.”
• “Noon” is preferred to “12 p.m.” and “midnight” is preferred to “12 a.m.”
• If the event takes place in another timezone other than PST/PDT, adjust the times to match whichever time zone the event is taking place
  • e.g.: if an event is taking place in New York at 5 p.m. EST, write “5 p.m.”

• Always spell Washington, D.C., with commas 
  • Do not use D.C. standing alone unless in quotations

• Always use figures and spell out pounds, ounces, etc. 
  • e.g.: “The baby weighed 8 pounds” 

• No hyphen, acceptable on all references

• Use them in names and phrases where commonly used
  • e.g.  “déjà vu” 
• Do not use them in words like “café” unless specifically stylized with the accent
  • e.g. “Café 84,” “I went to a cafe today.” 
• Fiance (gender-neutral term) and fiancee (woman)
  • No accent mark 

• Do not put the acronym in parentheses after the term
• Spell out all acronyms on first reference except USC- and AP-specified exceptions
  • Check Sports Style Guide for sport-specific acronyms
• Well-known acronyms are acceptable in headlines

• SInce this is the most common acronym for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, abbreviate as ADHD for first and future references

• “artificial intelligence” on first reference, “AI” acceptable on second reference & beyond
• “AI” acceptable in heds/headlines

• People die of “complications from AIDS” not “of AIDS”

• American English is always used, unless you are quoting an article or an official name
• Examples:
  • Benefited over benefitted
  • Anemia over anaemia (Medical journals may use British English)
  • Canceled over cancelled
    • But use cancellation, not cancelation
  • Installment over instalment
  • Defense over defence
  • Flier over flyer
  • Rumor over rumour (British English typically uses the -ou, rather than the -o)
  • Theater over theatre, unless in an official title such as the “Dolby Theatre”
  • Traveled over travelled
  • Gray over Grey

• Never amidst

• Never amongst

• Capitalize without quotes
  • e.g.: Coachella, Academy Awards, etc. 

• Always spell out on first reference to avoid confusion
  • AP can be ‘Advanced Placement,’ ‘AP Style’ or ‘Associated Press’

• Spell exactly like this 

• Never “award show”

• Never backwards

• ‘Due to’ is a predicate adjective + preposition that means “the result of” or “resulting from.” It is always used after a form of the verb to be (is, was, were, are, etc.).
  • e.g.  “Her headache was due to the elephant on her head.”
•  ‘Because of’ is a preposition used to introduce an adverbial phrase and means “as a result of.” It is not used after a form of the verb to be. 
  • e.g. “She had a headache because of the elephant perched on her head.”

• Always capitalize

• Never capitalize

• Always capitalized if in reference to the group of companies dominating the technology industry

• CEO is acceptable in all references for chief executive officer 

• Use chief financial officer on first reference, CFO after

• • Always use numerals
    • “U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit” 
• NOT “U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit”

• First reference / acceptable second reference and beyond
  • CIA / CIA 
  • Food and Drug Administration / FDA
  • Department of Agriculture / USDA
  • Department of Commerce / Department of Commerce
  • Department of Defense / DOD or Pentagon 
  • Department of Education / Department of Education (no abbreviation, not to be confused with the Department of Energy)
  • Department of Energy / DOE
  • Department of Health and Human Services / HHS
  • Department of Homeland Security / DHS
    • Includes: U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol
  • Department of Housing and Urban Development / HUD
  • Department of the Interior / Department of the Interior
  • Department of Justice / DOJ
  • Department of Labor / Department of Labor
  • Department of State / Department of State
  • Department of Transportation / DOT
  • Department of the Treasury / the Treasury
  • Department of Veterans Affairs / VA
• Lower “department” in plural uses, but capitalize the proper name element
  • e.g.: “the departments of Labor and Justice”
• Lowercase “the department” when it stands alone 
• Do not abbreviate department in any usage

• “Coronavirus” is acceptable when referring to the pandemic
  • e.g.: “coronavirus cases,” “coronavirus tests”
• “COVID-19” is acceptable when referring to the disease
  • e.g.: “COVID-19 deaths,” “COVID-19 patients”
• “The COVID-19 virus,” “the virus that causes COVID-19” and “the coronavirus” are acceptable when referring the virus
• The virus, however, is not called COVID-19
• Variant names are lowercase
  • e.g.: “the omicron variant”
• “COVID” is acceptable in headlines (for space), in quotes and proper names

• Use v. instead of versus/vs. 
  • e.g. “Roe v. Wade” not “Roe vs. Wade”
• Never italicize

• Never cross-town or cross town 

• Not Devil’s advocate

• Not Disney Plus

• Earth, not earth

• Not hyphenated e-mail or electronic mail

• Both singular and plural word to describe symbols used in text and social media posts
• If in a tweet/social media, and is important to the topic, do not include the actual emoji in the text; instead, write out a description of the emoji
  • i.e. Rihanna tweeted “new song?” with an emoji of a shocked face and three music notes
• If the emoji is unimportant or excessive, omit the emoji by using an ellipsis

• Never censored (unless it is a slur or another offensive term), but used sparingly and only when necessary, such as in quotations or to preserve the writer’s style in opinion-based articles.

• No hyphen

• For couples engaged to be married:
  • Fiance or “spouse-to-be” for a gender-neutral term
  • Fiancee for a woman, do not use the accent mark

• Never italicize words/sentences in foreign languages or put them inside quotation marks

• Not frontrunner or front runner

• Always one word, no hyphen

• Not gameplan or game-plan

• Do not use quotation marks 
• Journalists should avoid this, unless the hashtag is the subject of the story
  • Written as: “The #MeToo movement”

• Not hattrick or hat-trick

• Hawai‘i not Hawaii (note the okina opens to the second “i” rather than the first)

• Not health care

• Lowercase heaven and hell 

• Not hell bent or hell-bent

• Not highschool or high-school

• Not hip hop or hiphop

• Something with significance in history

• Not home page or home-page

• In court cases, people are “not guilty,” preferable to “innocent” — innocent implies that the non-guilt has already been proven and shows bias

• Always capitalized

• Always with the hyphen
• Never capitalize “-pop” and “-drama”

• Not life long or life-long

• Always one word in all cases

• Hyphenate when it’s a compound adjective
  • e.g. She was in a long-term relationship.
• Space when it’s a noun
  • e.g. We will have the best paper in the long term.

• One word, never hyphenate. 

• Not MacOS

• • Always use numerals
  • For cents or amounts of $1 million or more, spell the words cents, million, billion, trillion, etc.
    • e.g.: $26.52, $100, $8 million, 6 cents
• For Foreign Currency

• • On first reference, spell out the name
    • i.e. euros, pesos, canadian dollar
  • On second reference, use the symbol

• Capitalized Navy when referring to U.S. Navy, the Navy, Navy Yard, Navy Reserves

• Always apostrophe
• Capitalize when when you’re talking about the holiday/actual day
  • Do not capitalizing when referring to the new year as a time frame 

• Not no guest policy or no-guest-policy

• Not non profit or non-profit

• When referring to a “not-for-profit” organization

• Never OBGYN or OB/GYN, always use the hyphen

• Always hyphenated

• “Petri” is a proper noun and is always capitalized 

• Use ‘apps,’ never ‘applications’
• Do not italicize the name of apps; apps do not need to be stylized

• Not “Playstation”
• Use numerals for specific consoles
• “PS” acceptable on second reference when referring to a specific console
  • e.g.: “PlayStation 3” “PS5”

• Used as an adjective for “pop-up shop”

• Not rollercoaster or roller-coaster

• Use hyphen when an adjective

• Hyphenated

• Always hyphenate, not tee-shirt, tshirt or T-shirt

• Always spell out degrees, Fahrenheit and Celsius
  • e.g.: “18 degrees Fahrenheit”
  • e.g.: “1 million degrees Celsius”

• Aim to use “tweet” and “tweeted” as verbs sparingly unless used in quotations. See the entry on X for further detail
• Can be used either as a noun or a verb. Never capitalized.
• If the person who tweeted was famous, use their full name or however they are commonly addressed
  • e.g.: President Biden tweeted, “…”
• Format for quoting a tweet:
  • e.g.: user @___ tweeted “….”

• United Nations first reference, U.N. in later references
• In headlines, just “UN” – no periods

• Spell out, except for court cases

• Not WatchOS

• Always one word

• Not well being or wellbeing

• Not wifi or WIFI or Wi Fi

• On first reference, “the social platform X” On later references, “X” can be used by itself
• The verbs “tweet” and “tweeted” should be used sparingly outside of direct quotations; preferred language is “posted on X,” “said in a post on X,” etc. 

• Not X Ray or X-RAY or X-Ray

• not Youtube