IX. SPELLING AND USAGE

For answers to other questions of style and spelling, consult the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, American Heritage Dictionary, or Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary.

• acknowledgment and judgment (no e after g)

• advisor preferred to adviser

• affect: to have an influence on; effect: to bring about

• African American is two words. Hyphenate only when used as an adjective.

She is an African American.
We study African-American history and culture.
Exception: African American Studies (no hyphen) when referring to the USC program.

• Alumnus is the singular reference for a male graduate; alumna, the singular reference for a female graduate; alumni, the plural reference to a mixed group of male and female graduates or male graduates only; alumnae, the plural reference for female graduates only.

• Use a.m. and p.m. and do not include o’clock. Designate noon or midnight, rather than 12 a.m. or 12 p.m.

• Attorney is used only when referring to the representative of a client, otherwise lawyer.

• between when referring to two things, among when referring to more than two

• capital for the city, capitol for the building

• catalog, not catalogue

• Omit S.C. in conjunction with Columbia.

The legislators will meet soon in Columbia.

• course work, not coursework

• credit-hour (adjective), credit hour (noun)

• database, not data base

• disabled, not handicapped

• Doctorate is a noun, and doctoral is an adjective.

• Fax is not a proper noun nor an acronym and should be used upper and lowercase as appropriate.

• freshman (adj.): the freshman enrollment (never the freshmen enrollment)

• fund raising (noun), fund-raising (adjective), fund raiser (noun)

• grade point average, not grade-point average

• high school (noun), high-school (adjective)

• in regard to (never in regards to), but, he sends his regards

• international students, not foreign students

• kickoff (noun or adjective), kick off (verb)

• lay (transitive): I lay the book on the bed; past tense: I laid the book on the bed.

• lie (intransitive): I lie in bed; past tense: I lay in bed.

• less when describing an amount that cannot be counted, fewer when describing a number:

He was less agreeable to the plan than she was.
Fewer than 12 students attended the seminar.

• resume as shown here, not résumé or resumé

• Statehouse when referring to the S.C. capitol building

• theatre when referring to the department, discipline, or a performance; theater when referring to a building (exception: Longstreet Theatre)

• workplace, not work place

• workstation, not work station

Avoid

• Passive voice: The dean appointed John Jones; not, John Jones was appointed.

• The longer of two similar words: use (not utilize), competence (not competency).

• Sexist language: Avoid using he or she where possible, and do not use he/she. Write, “The president and a representative ...” not “The president and his/her representative …” Other avoidance techniques include pluralizing he and she to they, or substituting a common noun.

• The split infinitive.

He was told to quickly process the papers.
He was told to process the papers quickly. (preferred)

• The dangling participle.

Straddling the Arizona–New Mexico border, the archaeologist found a string of ancient pueblo ruins. (Was the archaeologist straddling the border?)

The archaeologist found a string of ancient pueblo ruins straddling the Arizona–New Mexico border. (better)