Texas A&M Health Editorial Style Guide

Introduction

This style guide is designed to encourage consistency, clarity and accuracy across the many publications produced by the institution. It is intended for use with publications providing news and information for campus and community audiences, not scholarly manuscripts or academic materials. Although this guide does not hold the answer to every editorial quandary, it does provide a foundation upon which to base your writing decisions. Institution-wide consistency in writing style helps build credibility of our brand and high standards of accuracy and consistency are essential to conveying a positive, professional image of the institution.

This guide is a supplement to the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook and Merriam-Webster Dictionary, which are the official style and spelling references for the institution. When a choice of spelling is given, use the first option. The listings in this guide include the most frequently used rules as well as several departures from the AP Stylebook, where noted.

Note—the AP Stylebook and Texas A&M Health Editorial Style Guide may be updated periodically.

For additional guidance, contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at health.tamu.edu/about/admin/marcomm.html.

Part 1

Referencing the Institution

Organizational Names

Building Names

Degrees and Programs

People and Titles

Boilerplates and Messaging

Part 2

General Editorial Guidelines (A–Z)

Part 3

Appendices

Commonly Misused Words

Extra Help for Commas

Extra Help for Word Choice

Military Titles