Maryland Carey Law Style Guide

This guide sets the editorial standards for Maryland Carey Law communications, including web content, email, print materials, and news stories. Entries are listed alphabetically.

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Acronyms

In most cases, follow a first reference with its acronym in parentheses when it is referred to later in the story, as in: Center for Dispute Resolution (C-DRUM).

On the Web

  • On long pages and in accordions, where each section may be read on its own, spell out the full name again on first reference in each section.

Alumni Year

Add the alum’s class year on first reference with a space, an apostrophe, and the last two digits, as in: Tamika Tremaglio ’95 is chair of the Maryland Carey Law Board of Visitors.

On the Web

Check that the apostrophe points toward the missing numbers (’95), not away from them. Word processors and some editors often convert it to an opening single quotation mark (‘95), which is incorrect and may be announced by screen readers as “left single quote.”

Ampersand

Use an ampersand only when it is part of a formal name (Baltimore & Ohio Railroad) or as a design element. Do not use it as a substitute for “and” in running text.

Baltimore Locations

  • Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI on second reference)
  • Fells Point (no apostrophe)
  • Hippodrome Theatre (part of the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center)
  • M&T Bank Stadium (no spaces around the ampersand)
  • Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Commas

Use the serial comma with “and” and “or.”

Formatting

  • lions, tigers, and bears
  • cats, dogs, or parrots

Dates and Times

Formatting

  • Jan. 9
  • May 21
  • 9 a.m.
  • 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • 6 to 8 p.m.
  • Noon to 1:30 p.m.
  • ’99
  • ’90s or 2010s

Rules

  • Do not use “th” or “st” with dates.
  • Place periods in a.m. and p.m.
  • Spell out the word “to” instead of using a hyphen or dash.
  • Spell out noon and midnight.
  • Use an apostrophe for dropped numbers, with the apostrophe pointed in the direction of the missing numbers.
  • Add an “s” (no apostrophe) for plural numbers.

On the Web

Check that the apostrophe in dropped numbers (’99, ’90s) points toward the missing numbers. Software often inserts an opening single quotation mark (‘99) instead, which screen readers may announce as “left single quote.”

Degrees and Titles

Do not abbreviate titles such as professor, director, or associate dean.

Formatting

  • JD, LLM, MSL (Master of Science in Law/master’s degree)
  • Professor Robert Percival is director of the Environmental Law Program.
  • Robert Percival is a professor at Maryland Carey Law.
  • Robert Percival, professor and director, Environmental Law Program
  • The American Bar Association is proud to announce that it will award the Honorable Stephen G. Breyer. (Lowercase “the” in “the Honorable.”)

Divisions

  • Day Division
  • Evening Division
  • Part-time Evening Division
  • Full-time Day Division

Dollar Amounts

Formatting

  • $60
  • $1.6 million
  • $1 million to $3 million

Rules

  • Do not write out decimal points in whole-dollar amounts.
  • For $1 million and above, round to the nearest 100,000 unless the exact number is necessary for tabulation. For example, $1,569,433 rounds to $1.6 million.
  • Avoid the construction “$1 to $3 million,” which means one dollar to 3 million dollars. Use “$1 million to $3 million” instead.

Ellipses

Rules

  • Use an ellipsis only in quotations, with a space before and after ( … ), to take the place of text left out in the middle of a sentence.
  • If the ellipsis comes at the end of a sentence, use a space before and after, followed by a period ( … .).
  • Do not use an ellipsis to signify a pause.

Health Care

Health care is two words as both a noun and an adjective, with no hyphen.

Login, Logon, and Logoff

  • Noun: one word (login, logon, logoff)
  • Verb: two words (log in, log on, log off)

Months

Formatting

  • Jan. 9
  • December 2013
  • May 15, 1972, was her birthday.

Rules

  • Abbreviate all months except March, April, May, June, and July when used with a specific date: Jan. 9.
  • Spell out the month when used with a year alone: December 2013.
  • A comma follows a complete date: May 15, 1972, was her birthday.

Abbreviations

  • January (Jan.)
  • February (Feb.)
  • August (Aug.)
  • September (Sept.)
  • October (Oct.)
  • November (Nov.)
  • December (Dec.)

On the Web

On webpages, spell out month names in full (January 9, not Jan. 9). Some screen readers read abbreviations inconsistently, and full names are easier for all readers to scan.

Programs and Clinics

Capitalize “Program” and “Clinic” only as part of the full, official name, as in: Environmental Law Clinic, Law & Health Care Program. Use lowercase when the word stands alone, as in: The clinic was established in 1988.

Semesters and Academic Periods

Do not capitalize semesters or academic periods.

  • winter, spring, summer, fall
  • semester, orientation, registration

States

Formatting

  • Tennessee is beautiful in the spring.
  • La Plata, Md.
  • Washington, D.C.

Rules

  • Spell out state names when used without a city in running text.
  • Abbreviate state names when used with a city.
  • Do not use the U.S. Postal Service’s two-letter abbreviations unless the text includes a complete address with a ZIP code.
  • Eight state names are never abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, and Utah.

Accepted Abbreviations

Ala., Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Conn., Del., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Kan., Ky., La., Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Mont., Neb., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.M., N.Y., N.C., N.D., Okla., Ore., Pa., R.I., S.C., S.D., Tenn., Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., and Wyo.

On the Web

On webpages, spell out state names in full, even with a city (La Plata, Maryland). Some screen readers read abbreviations such as “Md.” as individual letters, and full names are clearer for all readers.

Toward

Use “toward,” not “towards.”

University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

Use the full name on first reference. On second reference, use Maryland Carey Law or the law school.

URLs, Web, Email, and Phone Numbers

Formatting

  • law.umaryland.edu
  • web copy, webpage, web tools
  • email
  • On-campus phone number: 6-XXXX
  • Off-campus phone number: 410-706-XXXX

On the Web

  • Do not write out URLs on webpages. Link descriptive words that say where the link goes instead. For example, write “Visit the Admissions page” with “Admissions page” linked, not “Visit law.umaryland.edu/admissions.” Screen readers read URLs aloud awkwardly, and descriptive link text tells every reader where a link leads.
  • Do not use “click here,” “learn more,” or “read more” as link text. Screen reader users often move through a page by its list of links, so each link must make sense on its own.
  • Email addresses may be written out and linked, since the address itself describes the link.
  • Always use the full off-campus phone number on webpages. Visitors outside the law school cannot dial an on-campus extension.
  • Link phone numbers so mobile visitors can tap to call.