Editorial Style Guide

A university-wide style guide that provides standards for punctuation, spelling, language usage, tone and the myriad other elements necessary for effective communications is an essential part of telling Tulane’s story and positioning the university as one of the nation’s leading research and academic institutions.

In its communications, Tulane primarily follows AP style (subscription required). In cases where AP style might not offer instruction, this guide follows Chicago or MLA style. Internal communications for all schools should adhere to this style, as well. In rare cases, a school or department may need a customized style in a particular instance, but such deviations should be discussed with University Communications and Marketing (UCM) before being adopted. School and departmental style exceptions may not be followed in media releases and/or articles appearing in Tulane Today, Tulanian and other university publications. (Note: This guide does not apply to research or academic publishing or the publication of theses, which should follow the dictates of the publisher or instructor.)

Tulane Editorial Style Guide

Accessibility 

• Create content that works well with screen readers, braille displays, screen magnifiers and other assistive technologies. The goal is to make sure everyone can understand the content, even if they cannot see the page or image.
• Use plain language whenever possible, familiar words rather than jargon. Keep sentences relatively short, avoid acronyms on first references, and break up long paragraphs. Use descriptive headings. Organize content with meaningful headings instead of simply making text bold.
• Make links descriptive. A screen reader often reads links independently of surrounding text.
  • Instead of:
    • More Information.
  • Write:
    • How to Apply for Financial Aid.
    • Research Opportunities for Undergraduates.
    • Campus Parking Information.
  • Avoid:
    • Click here.
    • Read more.
    • Learn more.
  • Instead write:
    • Read the undergraduate admissions requirements.
    • View the commencement schedule.
    • Download the annual report (PDF).

Active voice 

• Write in the active voice in which the subject of the sentence performs the action rather than receives it.
  • Examples: 
    • Active Voice: The researcher conducted the experiment.
    • Passive Voice: The experiment was conducted by the researcher.
    • Active Voice: Tulane University opened the new research center.
    • Passive Voice: The research center was opened by Tulane University.

Acronyms / Abbreviations 

• Avoid using abbreviations and acronyms on first reference unless they are widely recognized, such as HIV, FBI, GPA, NASA, ROTC, etc. Spell out acronyms or abbreviations on first reference, but do not use or place the acronym in parentheses on the first reference, per AP style .
• Avoid the abbreviation “TU” in general. TNBRC and SOM, SoPA, MARI, etc., may sometimes be used on second reference in communications that are externally facing, including Tulane Today and the Tulanian, but “the school,” “the center,” “the institute,” etc., is preferred and should also be used to avoid “acronym soup” in stories. A school may also choose to use its school abbreviation on first reference in its internal messages. See the Schools and Colleges section for more information.

Adviser 

• Per AP, use adviser rather than advisor in all references.

Alumni 

• Definition – To be considered a Tulane alumnus or alumna, an individual must have completed 12 hours of coursework. “Alumnus” is not the same as “graduate” — a graduate must have earned a degree from Tulane.
• Gender and plural forms – When referring to alumni, note that “alumni” includes both men and women; the singular male is an “alumnus,” the singular female is “alumna” and “alumnae” refers to a group solely composed of women.
• For a gender-neutral option, AP style suggests alum or alums. Both gender-neutral and gender-specific terms are acceptable. Communicators should use their discretion to determine which is most appropriate within the context.
• School and year of degree – In copy geared for alumni, such as the Tulanian, graduates’ names may be followed with a parenthetical note of their school/college at Tulane University and the year of degree, followed by all subsequent schools and years — e.g., Tom Sawyer (SSE ’65). This key is recommended for the schools of Tulane. Include the abbreviation for every year, even if it’s the same school — e.g., Tom Sawyer (SLA ’85, SLA ’90).
• Tulane News stories, including stories to which Tulane Today links, should spell out the name of the degree, school and year, if relevant, rather than use the parentheticals.
• Tulanian stories use parentheticals. Note the direction of the apostrophe: (SSE ’85). In Tulanian stories, school and year of degree parentheticals should be included for anyone who is a Tulane alumnus.
• All content that mentions the school/college from which an alumnus earned a degree (or degrees) should list the school or college as the name by which it was known at the time the alumnus graduated, such as Newcomb College, the College of Arts & Sciences, etc.

Artificial Intelligence 

• AI, with no periods, is acceptable as an abbreviation on second reference. It is acceptable on first reference if it is the official name of a course, program or other similar title, event or offering.

Board of Tulane 

• On first reference, always use “the Board of Tulane.” On second reference use “the board.”
  • Note: “the Board of Tulane” is not the board’s legal name, which is the “Board of the Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund,” but it is the preferred usage in all non-legal communications.
• Mention that individuals are Board of Tulane members or former board members in stories whenever relevant.
• Before or after an individual’s name: “Board of Tulane member” or “former Board of Tulane member.”

Book Festival 

• First reference: New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University.
• Second reference: New Orleans Book Festival.
• Third reference: the festival (lowercase).

Additional options:

• NOLA Book Fest (shortest version for social/X/headlines or anywhere that character count is precious).
• New Orleans Book Fest is acceptable in more informal copy, if accompanied by other official references (logos, graphics, etc.), but typically “festival” is used instead of “fest.”
• The more informal “Book Fest” should be avoided in official, public references.
• First reference: Family Day at the Fest.
• Second reference: Family Day.

Bullet Points 

• All bullet points should end with periods, regardless of whether they are complete sentences or not.

Campuses and addresses 

• Avoid use of “the campus” or “the main campus.”
• Tulane has multiple campuses. Use the terms “uptown campus,” “downtown campus” and “northshore campus” or “the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center.”
• Use street addresses for mailing, websites, etc.

Listing mailing contact information:

• Spell out “Street,” “Avenue,” “Suite,” etc. except when a street number is used.
• Use the U.S. Postal Service’s abbreviations for states.
• Use this address format for mailing addresses:
  
  Person’s name 
  c/o Tulane University School or Department Name 
  Room number and building 
  Main office address (for example, the uptown campus address is: 6823 St. Charles Ave.) 
  City, state, ZIP  
  
  For example: 
  Riptide D. Pelican 
  c/o Tulane University Communications and Marketing 
  215 Gibson Hall 
  6823 St. Charles Ave. 
  New Orleans, LA 70118-5698
   
• To improve speed and accuracy in delivery, the post office recommends using the extended ZIP + 4 code .

Writing addresses within a sentence:

• Abbreviate to “St.,” “Ave.,” “Ste.,” etc., unless no street number is provided.
• Spell out states fully.
• Note that the following cities stand alone without a state:
  
  ATLANTA 
  BALTIMORE 
  BOSTON 
  CHICAGO 
  CINCINNATI 
  CLEVELAND 
  DALLAS 
  DENVER 
  DETROIT 
  HONOLULU 
  HOUSTON 
  INDIANAPOLIS 
  LAS VEGAS 
  LOS ANGELES 
  MIAMI 
  MILWAUKEE 
  MINNEAPOLIS 
  NEW ORLEANS 
  NEW YORK 
  OKLAHOMA CITY 
  PHILADELPHIA 
  PHOENIX 
  PITTSBURGH 
  ST. LOUIS 
  SALT LAKE CITY 
  SAN ANTONIO 
  SAN DIEGO 
  SAN FRANCISCO 
  SEATTLE 
  WASHINGTON
   
• Avoid using the number sign (#); use “No.” instead both in listings and writing.

Convocation 

• Uppercase in all references when used to describe the ceremonial welcome event of new students held before the beginning of the fall semester.
• Refer to the event as “the President’s Convocation” on first mention.

Commencement 

• Capitalize “Commencement” only when used to describe the university’s official Unified Commencement ceremony.

Compound words and hyphenated words 

• Refer to AP Stylebook and Merriam-Webster dictionary for proper usage.
• A hyphen is not used between adverbs ending in “-ly” and their adjectives (e.g., “federally funded programs”).
• Common compound words:
  • Chair holder and vice chair – two words, no hyphen (e.g., “It is the job of the chair holder to select topics for the symposium.”) Note: See the section on gender-neutral language .
  • Fundraiser and fundraising – one word in all cases.
  • Healthcare – one word.
  • Student-athlete – hyphenated.
  • Nonhuman primate – no hyphen.
  • See “Computer/technology terms” for more examples.
  • Service-learning – hyphenated when used as an adjective. Not hyphenated when used as a noun.
  • Second-line – only hyphenate when used as an adjective as in “second-line umbrellas.”

Computer/technology terms 

• See also Tulane’s supplemental Drupal Guide for web pages.
• Website addresses (URLs): In digital copy, link to the page via hyperlink rather than including the full address. In printed copy such as the Tulanian where hyperlinks are impossible, try to avoid inclusion of a URL. If necessary to mention, then printing the full URL is acceptable.
  • The Tulane University home page should be written: tulane.edu.
  • Drupal and WordPress sites should not have “www” added to the URL. This may result in technical problems accessing the website.
  • Check that the website address works and appears in text exactly as it appears online. Always test the URL.
  • In text, do not exclude “www” in an address or add “www” to an address because this may result in technical problems accessing the website.
  • Common digital terms:
    • “Cellphone,” “smartphone” and “smartwatch” are single words.
    • The word “email” is not hyphenated. Use a hyphen with other e-terms: “e-book,” “e-commerce.”
    • The word “internet” is not capitalized.
    • The words “online” and “offline” are not hyphenated.
    • The term “web” is lowercased.
    • The terms “webpage,” “website,” “homepage” are one word, not capitalized, nor hyphenated.

Crawfest 

• Crawfest, the largest student-run event at Tulane, is one word.

Degrees 

• Capitalize official degree names and lowercase general degree names. Common Tulane degrees:
  
  “bachelor’s degree” 
  “Bachelor of Arts degree” 
  “Bachelor of Science degree” 
  “master’s degree” 
  “Master of Arts degree” 
  “Master of Business Administration degree” 
  “Master of Public Health degree” 
  “Master of Science degree” 
  “doctoral degree, doctorate” 
  “Doctor of Medicine degree” 
  “Juris Doctor”

Donor lists 

• Note: Donor lists originate from the Office of Advancement.
• In lists, donors will be listed using a standard format which reflects name preferences defined in the university-wide donor database, unless a particular donation requires specific donors’ preferences.
• For anonymous donor(s), list “Anonymous” before other donor names. For multiple anonymous donors, include the number of donors in parentheses — e.g., “Anonymous (17)”.
• When a list has multiple paired donors, such as a couple, consistently indicate the joint gifts throughout the list, using either “and” or ampersand.
• If not specified by the donor, use salutations (e.g., Mr., Mrs., Dr.) when two donors share the same line for a joint gift; otherwise list a sole donor’s name without salutation (e.g., “Mr. and Mrs. Wit E. Wisdom” or “Wit E. Wisdom”).
• In lists, it’s acceptable to abbreviate salutations (e.g., Hon., Rev., Col.).
• Lists of donors may include courtesy titles and degrees (e.g., “Penny Philanthropist, PhD, chief executive officer, Healthy Habits, Inc.”) Note: do not incorporate periods for the degree abbreviations (i.e., “PhD” instead of “Ph.D.”).
• In lists, do not use a comma before personal suffixes Jr., III, etc.; do use commas before degrees (e.g., “Lumin Smith III, MD”).
  • Sample donor list:
    • Anonymous (17).
    • Hon. Mary Future.
    • Penny Philanthropist, PhD.
    • Lumin Smith III, MD.
    • Mr. and Mrs. Wit E. Wisdom.
    • Wit E. Wisdom Jr.

Downtown Campus Center 

• The name of the building formerly known as Tulane Medical Center.

Endowed chairs and professorships 

• When writing about an individual who holds an endowed chair or professorship, include the full name of the chair/professorship title, as appropriate, somewhere in the text.
• The endowed chair/professorship title should be identified by its full name, capitalized, on first reference (e.g., “Jane Smarts, Wit E. Wisdom Professor of Law at Tulane, received the award.”). Use discretion and context to guide the appropriate inclusion of the chair/professorship title in subsequent references, such as “As holder of the Wit E. Wisdom Chair...”.

Future of Energy Forum 

• On first reference, use Tulane Future of Energy Forum; on second and subsequent references, use “the forum.”

Green Wave Athletics Terms 

• American Conference.
• Gameday.
• Letterwinner.
• On-campus (as an adjective)
  • Example: “The team’s on-campus activities.”
  • Use “on campus” (no hyphen) in other cases: “The team played on campus.”
• Pregame.
• Post-game.
• In-game.
• Kickoff.
• Green Wave is singular.
• Example: The Green Wave is undefeated.
• Angry Wave should always be gender neutral and be identified with the pronoun “it”.
• Green Wave Tennis.
• Tulane basketball.

Headlines 

• Use sentence case versus title case in headlines:
  • Sentence case: Tulane launches new sustainability initiative for students.
  • Title case: Tulane Launches New Sustainability Initiative for Students.

Logos 

• See guidance regarding Tulane University logos and branding .

Motto 

• Tulane’s motto, Non sibi sed suis, should be written without commas and italicized.
• In the English translation, “oneself” is one word and a comma should be used: “Not for oneself, but for one’s own,” but the English version is not italicized.
• Tulane defines “one’s own” as all of humanity. The motto encapsulates the university’s dedication to selfless service and knowledge for the greater good.

Move-In 

• The annual multi-day event when first-year and returning students move into their on-campus residences.
• Move-Out should also be capitalized.

Names of buildings, outdoor spaces, centers, institutes and programs 

• Use the proper (complete and capitalized) names of these on first reference. Subsequent references may be shortened and written in lowercase if the meaning is clear.
• Verify names. The lists below are resources:
  • Correct names of centers and institutes. 
  • Names of uptown and downtown buildings. 
    • Note: Not all buildings are officially named and recorded.
• The names of centers should be capitalized even without the Tulane name (e.g., “Center for Gene Therapy”). Also, do not insert “University” in the names of centers and programs already named (e.g., “Tulane Cancer Center”).
• “Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse” – Refer to this venue as the “Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse” or “Devlin Fieldhouse, Home of the Avron B. Fogelman Arena.”
  • In all references, “Avron B. Fogelman Arena” and “Devlin Fieldhouse” should be of equal prominence.
• “Berger Family Lawn” – Use “Berger Family Lawn” on all references to this space that was formerly known as the LBC Quad.
• “ByWater Institute” – Use “Tulane ByWater Institute” (first reference); “ByWater Institute” (second reference); then “the institute” (subsequent references).
• “Cancer Center” – Use “Tulane Cancer Center” (first reference); the “cancer center” (second reference); “the center” on third reference.
• Hospitals – Use “University Medical Center,” “East Jefferson General Hospital,” “Lakeside Hospital,” “Lakeview Regional Medical Center,” “Manning Family Children’s,” or “Veterans Affairs Hospital” (first reference, respectively); then “the hospital” (subsequent references).
• Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life – Use “Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life” (first reference); then Lavin-Bernick Center or LBC (subsequent references).
• Jill H. and Avram A. Glazer Family Club – Use “Jill H. and Avram A. Glazer Family Club” (first reference); then “Glazer Family Club” (subsequent references).
• Biomedical Research Center – Use “the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center” (first reference); then “the biomedical research center” (subsequent references) or “TNBRC.”
• Charity Hospital – Use “former Charity Hospital Building” when referring to the structure that Tulane is transforming into a national hub of bioscience discovery and innovation. For the future naming of centers, programs, etc., it is recommended to include “Tulane University” in the official name.

Names of departments and offices 

• Capitalize when using the full, proper name (e.g., “the Department of History” or “the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery”).
• Lowercase when writing “history department” or “orthopaedics department.” Note the spelling of the department, “orthopaedics” versus “orthopedics.”
• Use the British spelling of “theatre” only when that form is part of a departmental name such as the Department of Theatre and Dance. The American spelling, “theater,” should be used in all other references, e.g., “Some students in the Department of Theatre and Dance study only theater.”
• The “Office of Undergraduate Admission” or the “admission office” is spelled without adding an “s” on the end of “admission.”
• The Tulane Hullabaloo or The Hullabaloo, not Hullabaloo.

Names of schools and colleges 

• The names of Tulane’s colleges and schools should be capitalized even without the Tulane name (e.g., “School of Medicine,” “School of Architecture and Built Environment”). Example: Tulane radiologist Dan Dorin joined the School of Medicine in 1998.
  • Architecture – Use “Tulane University School of Architecture and Built Environment” (first reference); “School of Architecture and Built Environment” (second reference); then “the school” (subsequent references).
  • Business – Use “the A. B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University” (first reference); “the Freeman School” (subsequent references). Leave a space between the “A.” and “B.”
  • Professional Advancement – Use “Tulane University School of Professional Advancement” (first reference); “SoPA” (second reference); then “the school” (subsequent references).
  • Law – Use “Tulane University Law School” (first reference); “Tulane Law School” (second reference); then “the law school” or “Tulane Law” (subsequent references).
  • Liberal arts – Use “Tulane University School of Liberal Arts” (first reference); “School of Liberal Arts” (second reference); then “the school” (subsequent references).
  • Medicine – Use “Tulane University School of Medicine” (first reference); then “the School of Medicine” or “the school” (subsequent references); do not use “Tulane Medical School” or “medical school.”
  • Newcomb-Tulane College – Use “Newcomb-Tulane College” (first reference); then “the college” (subsequent references).
  • Public health – Use “the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University” (first reference); then “the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine” (second reference); then “the school” (subsequent references).
  • Science and engineering – Use “the Tulane University School of Science and Engineering” (first reference); “School of Science and Engineering” (second reference); then “the school” (subsequent references).
  • Social work – Use “the Tulane University School of Social Work” (first reference); “School of Social Work” (second reference); then “the school” (subsequent references).
• For internal publications and letters, where it is understood that content references a Tulane school or department, the name “Tulane University” does not have to be included in the name of a school or department.

New Orleans terms and correct spellings 

• Beignet (ben-yáy) – Fried square dough covered in powdered sugar.
• Bienvenue (bee-en-ve-new) – Welcome.
• Crawfish – Not crayfish.
• Gulf South – geographic and cultural region of the northern coast of the Gulf; includes the coastal areas of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and the panhandle of Florida.
• Krewe – Mardi Gras organizations that host parades and balls.
• Lagniappe (lán-yap) – A little something extra.
• Parish – Louisiana uses the term “parish” instead of “county.”
• Neighborhoods – review this list of New Orleans’ many distinct neighborhoods.
• Neutral Ground – In other parts of the world, the median of a street or highway.
• NOLA – Short for “New Orleans, Louisiana” (use only in headlines).
• Northshore – The region across Lake Pontchartrain, north of New Orleans.
• Second line – New Orleans parade tradition in which organizers form the “first line,” while a “second line” of revelers follow dancing and waving handkerchiefs or parasols. Also, a tradition at Tulane’s Commencement and other events.
  • Note: Hyphenate when used as an adjective: “second-line umbrellas.”
• Sno-ball – A snow cone made with thinly shaved ice instead of crushed ice.
• Toward the lake, or toward the river — local means of giving physical directions.
• Wards – There are 17 numbered municipal wards in New Orleans. Uppercase and spell out the number designation of each ward. For example, the Ninth Ward, Seventh Ward, etc.
• West Bank – On the other side of the Mississippi River from downtown New Orleans. Unrelated to physical direction (i.e., it isn’t always to the west, given the curvature of the river).

Numbers, dates and times 

• Ages – Use numbers for all ages (e.g., “The 2-year-old child will be 3 years of age next year.”).
• Dates – When citing a specific date, include the day of the week on first reference and set off that date with a comma: Friday, July 3.
  • An exception can be made when the date is months in the future and not necessary to include at the time.
  • For headings of text and invitations, do not abbreviate the days of the week and months. Examples:
    
    Monday, August 20, 2007 
    August 2007 
    August 20
     
• In news writing, abbreviate, per AP style, the month when listed with a specific date:
  
  Monday, Aug. 20 
  Aug. 20
   
• Dollars – Use numbers to indicate dollar amounts, followed by the written designation as needed (e.g., 5 cents, $60,000, $4 million).
• Numerals – Spell out numbers one through nine and any number that begins a sentence. Use Arabic numerals for everything equal to or greater than 10 (e.g., 40, 99).
• Ordinal numbers – Spell out first through ninth when they indicate sequence in time or location. Starting with 10th, use figures (e.g., “The 11th annual event will be held on the second floor.”).
• Percentages – The percent sign should be used with figures (e.g., “The results show that 50% of the students benefited from the program.”).
• Phone numbers – When writing out phone numbers on websites, separate the area code and the phone number with a hyphen or parentheses — e.g., 504-865-5210 or (504) 865-5210. This is to ensure that people using mobile devices can tap the number to make a call. Do not add a “1” before toll-free numbers (e.g., 877-862-8080 rather than 1-877-862-8080). If your phone number includes mnemonic words or phrases, test it on some mobile devices to confirm that users can tap to call. If mobile devices do not recognize it as a phone number, display the numerals as well, e.g., 877-4TULANE (877-488-5263).
• Times – Use figures, except for “noon” (12 p.m.) and “midnight” (12 a.m.). Use a colon to separate hours from minutes. Do not use :00 if the time is on the hour. Examples:
   
  • 11 a.m.
  • 4:15 p.m.
  • from noon to 1 p.m. (use “to” when the phrase includes “from”).
  • noon-1 p.m.

Partnership 

• The word “partnership” should only be used to describe formal, contractual and legally binding relationships between organizations or individuals. Instead, use words such as “collaboration,” “cooperation,” etc., to describe non-contractual working relationships.

Photo Captions 

• Tell readers what they are seeing, identify the people pictured and explain why the photo is newsworthy. Write in the present tense.
  • Describe the action in the photo as if it is happening now.
    • Correct: “Tulane University President Michael A. Fitts speaks during commencement ceremonies Saturday.”
    • Not preferred: “Tulane University President Michael A. Fitts spoke during commencement ceremonies Saturday.”
  • Background information that isn’t reflected in the image can be written in the past tense.
    • Example: “President Michael A. Fitts speaks during Commencement. The ceremony honored more than 3,000 graduates.”
• Identify people from left to right. When multiple people appear in a photo, identify them in order from the viewer’s perspective.
  • From left, Jane Smith, John Doe and Maria Lopez... Use “from left,” not “left to right.”
• A caption should answer as many of these questions as are relevant:
  • Who is pictured?
  • What is happening?
  • Where did it occur?
  • When did it occur?
  • Why is it significant?
    • Note: Avoid stating the obvious. Don’t describe what readers can plainly see unless it adds meaning.
    • Example: Instead of “A student works in a lab,” write, “A Tulane student examines cancer tissue through a prototype of the new MAGIC-SCAN.”

President Michael A. Fitts 

• The name of Tulane’s president should be written as President Michael A. Fitts in most instances, including press releases (first reference), Messages from the President and other formal communications. “President Fitts” is sometimes acceptable for social media.

Punctuation 

• Use the em dash (—) for emphasis, not an en dash or hyphen. Include a space before and after the em dash.
• Oxford comma – per AP use only if omitting it would cause confusion or ambiguity.
• Ampersand – generally do not use. One exception is in donor listings. See: Donor Lists section above.
• Also, in Commencement programs an ampersand may be used instead of “and” in the School of Architecture and Built Environment, the School of Science and Engineering and the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

Quotes/attribution 

• Use past tense “said” in news stories; “says” may occasionally be used in feature writing.
• Attribute a quote to a specific individual after the first sentence: “This finding could revolutionize our entire view of the ancient Maya,” said Tulane Professor of Archaeology Samuel Diggs. “It’s a reminder that the more we learn, the more we realize we still have much to learn.”
• Use curly quotation marks — “ ” — and not straight quotation marks — " ". Same applies to apostrophes.

Seasons 

• Seasons are not capitalized (e.g., “fall 2027”). But capitalize when referring to a semester and special seasonal event (e.g., “Fall 2028 semester” or “Fall Move-In”).

Social Media Guidelines 

• See the social media guidelines for guidance on social media use by university departments, organizations, clubs and individuals.

Storytelling 

• See AP style for storytelling tips.
• Some top takeaways from the AP style guidance include:
  • Use precise language, not imprecise generalizations or labels. Be as specific as possible: “Japanese American women in their 20s,” for example, not “Young Asian women.” “People over 80,” not “Older adults.”
  • Limit use of the term community in reference to groups of people. While sometimes it is the best word, it also can imply homogeneity and the idea that all members of a particular “community” think and act alike. This is similar to the goal of avoiding any type of generalization or stereotype.
  • Don’t use dehumanizing “the” terms, e.g., the homeless, the blind, the mentally ill, the poor, etc.
  • Understand the difference between person-first language (people with disabilities, for example) and identity-first language (disabled people). Whenever possible, determine which approach a person prefers. When preferences can’t be determined, aim for a mix of person-first and identity-first language.
  • Be sensitive to the various meanings and implications of words: insane schedules, lame ideas, turning a blind eye, he must be deaf, etc.
  • When possible, use person-first language to describe someone who is incarcerated:
    • Example: “A man who is incarcerated in an Alabama prison is appealing his sentence,” instead of, “A state prison inmate is appealing his sentence.”
    • Do not use felon, convict or ex-con as nouns.
• Also see the AP listing for race-related coverage:
  • Consider carefully when deciding whether to identify people by race. It may be irrelevant to the story. If it is relevant, AP capitalizes “Black” and lowercases “white.” Other capitalized instances include, but aren’t limited to: Asian American, Caucasian, Latina/Latino/Latinx and Native American.
• See AP listing for the full gender-neutral language listing.
  • Be sensitive to the implications of language and avoid sexist terms.
  • When possible, replace masculine pronouns with nouns (e.g., “Each student should hand in his paper on time” may be rewritten as “Students should hand in their papers on time”).
  • Avoid using “chairman.” Use “chair.”
  • Instead of “freshman” use “first-year student.”

Students 

• On first reference for external publications, always include Tulane University: “He is currently a Tulane University medical student” or “The Tulane University student attends the School of Medicine during the day and works at night.”
  • If necessary, add another sentence or qualifier to explain the student’s school or department — e.g., “Tulane University student Nancy Drew has received a Fulbright Scholarship to study early medieval texts in Great Britain. Drew, who is a senior enrolled in Newcomb-Tulane College, will study at Oxford University.”
  • Exceptions can be made for internal publications, where it’s understood the article is referencing Tulane students. Instead, one could describe the student by school or year — e.g., “School of Architecture and Built Environment student Nancy Drew, who graduated in 2026, has received a Fulbright Scholarship.”
• Do not refer to medical school students as T-1, T-2, etc. or law students as L-1, L-2, etc.; instead write, “first-year law student, etc.”
• Capitalize “Class” in “Class of 2029.”

Technical terms and jargon 

• Avoid the use of technical terms and jargon whenever possible. For example, “The proposed study will utilize a family intervention study design” could be rewritten as, “The study will compare the health status of family members.”
• If technical terms cannot be avoided, explain them briefly: “Johnson received wide acclaim for his writings about leaders of the nihilist movement. Nihilists believe that there is no greater guiding purpose to life and that faith in any divine being is not justified.”

Titles - administrative or professional titles 

• Use professional academic titles to identify faculty roles at Tulane, omitting Dr., DBA, DVM, MD, PhD, DrPH and other degrees.
  • Examples:
    
    “The study was led by Jack Quinn, professor of microbiology and immunology at the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center.”
    
    “Senior Professor of Practice Peter George said stocks should remain high.”
     
• Omit abbreviations for fellowships or certifications after names (e.g., FACS).
• Communicate a person’s expertise and academic excellence through the use of titles and context — i.e., cardiologist John Hart, rather than Dr. John Hart.
• Use discretion and context in determining the most appropriate descriptive terms for faculty with multiple titles and professional achievements.
• Without a name – Titles remain lowercase when a name is not used, including “professor” and “president.”
• Before a name – Uppercase when a formal title precedes the name (e.g., President Michael A. Fitts). This would also apply to titles before names like Chair, Director, any endowed professorships, etc.
• After a name – Lowercase when following the name (e.g., “Robin Forman, senior vice president and provost of Tulane University” and “Michael A. Fitts, president of Tulane University”).
• Always lowercase “professor,” “scientist” and other general titles before and after names but capitalize endowed chair titles before or after names — e.g., “Joe Smith, the Weatherhead Presidential Chair in Biotechnology Innovation” or “the paper was written by professor Jane Smith” or “Jane Smith, professor in the Department of History.”
• “Head Coach” is capitalized when it precedes a name.
• Omit “Mr.,” “Mrs.,” “Miss,” etc., regardless of gender, except in letters and donor lists. Omit the courtesy title “Dr.” for individuals who exclusively hold honorary degrees.

Titles of Compositions and Journals 

• For titles of books, movies, plays, poems, albums, songs, operas, radio and television programs, lectures, speeches and works of art:
  • Use quotation marks for all such titles except the Bible, the Quran and other holy books. This exception also applies to almanacs, catalogs, directories, dictionaries, encyclopedias, gazettes, handbooks, academic journals and similar publications.
  • Capitalize all words in a title except articles (a, an, the); prepositions of three or fewer letters (for, of, on, up, etc.); and conjunctions of three or fewer letters (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet, etc.).
  • Do not capitalize “magazine” unless it’s part of the publication’s formal title.
  • Capitalize prepositions of four or more letters (above, after, down, inside, over, with, etc.) and conjunctions of four or more letters (because, while, since, though, etc.).
• News publications and academic journals are neither placed in quotes nor italicized, per AP style.

Tulane University’s name 

• On first reference, use “Tulane University.”
• On second reference, use “Tulane.”
• On third reference, use “the university” (lowercase).
• Note that context should dictate usage. For instance, in Tulane Today, Tulanian and other university publications, it may not be necessary to include “Tulane University” or “Tulane” in every reference to schools, departments and students, as it’s often implied that an article is referencing Tulane.

WaveSync 

• The proper format is WaveSync.