Writing Style Guidelines

B

bachelor’s degree

• An apostrophe should be used when referencing a bachelor’s degree.
• When writing out the formal title of a bachelor’s degree, exclude the apostrophe and ‘s’ (e.g., Bachelor of Arts degree in Nursing).
• See degrees and certificates for additional guidelines.

backward

This word does not end in ‘s’.

Blackboard

One word, capitalized.

Board of Trustees

• When referencing the governing board of CWI, the proper name is the College of Western Idaho Board of Trustees.
• The CWI Board of Trustees or the Board may be used on second reference.

bookstore

The College of Western Idaho Bookstore on first reference. The CWI Bookstore or the Bookstore may be used on second reference. 

break

Capitalize when referencing a specific time period in the academic calendar on first reference (e.g., Spring Break, Summer Break, Fall Break, Winter Break). Lowercase break when standing alone.

bulleted lists

• Use bullet points, not dashes, to introduce individual item of a list. 
• Put a space between the bullet point and the first word of each item. 
• Start with the same part of speech (noun, verb, etc.) for each item. 
• Use the same voice (active or passive) for each item. 

Use one of the styles below for each item in the list. The selected style should stay consistent throughout the list.  

Complete sentences or longer phrases:

• Capitalize the first word following the bullet point. 
• Use a period at the end of each item. 

Single words or short phrases:

• The first word following the bullet point should be lowercase unless it is a proper noun. 
• The first word may be capitalized when using in select promotional materials and graphic design applications.
• Do not add a period or any other punctuation at the end of each item.

D

dashes

See hyphen / en dash / em dash for guidelines.

dates

• Capitalize the names of months in all uses.
• Abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. when writing full dates (e.g., Aug. 8, 2022) and when using the month and day (e.g., Sept. 16).
• In instances where the month is only accompanied by a year, names of months should be spelled out (e.g., January 2022).
• March, April, May, June, and July should not be abbreviated at any time.
• Do not add st, nd, rd, or th after numerals (e.g., 21st, 2nd, etc.).
• In tabular material, use these three-letter forms without a period: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

days of the week

Days of the week should always be spelled out and capitalized (e.g., Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday).

decades

When used as a noun, there should be no apostrophe. When used as a possessive, include an apostrophe.

• The 2000s were a profitable time.
• Back in the ‘90s, gas was much cheaper.
• Their final paper discussed the 1990s’ culture.

Use Arabic figures to indicate decades of history. Use an apostrophe to indicate numerals that are left out.

• 2022-2023 Academic Calendar
• Class of '23

degrees and certificates

Capitalize the name of a degree or certificate when used as a proper noun or adjective.

• College of Western Idaho offers associate degrees in Automotive Technology, Communication, and more.
• The student was awarded an Associate of Arts degree in Communication.

Use lowercase when referring to unofficial course/class names or using general degree references.

• He took a biology class fall semester.
• She wants to earn an associate degree.

departments

• Use title case when referring to the official name of an academic department at the College (e.g., The Department of Biology).
• The word ‘department’ should remain lowercase when following the department name (e.g., the Biology department).
• General references to a subject matter should not be capitalized (e.g., She teaches history.).

directions and regions

Lowercase words like north, west, northeast, etc. when giving directions.

• Drive east for five miles to find the Ada County Center.

Capitalize these words when describing a region.

• The student spent time in the Midwest and on the East Coast.
• He has a Southern accent.

disciplines

See departments for guidelines.

disperse / disburse

• Disperse means to break up and scatter in all directions (e.g., The club dispersed the flyers across campus).
• Disburse is a financial term referencing a pay out from a public fund (e.g., Financial aid will disburse your funds.).

dual-credit

• Capitalize and do not hyphenate when referring to the College’s Dual Credit Program.
• In general references, do not capitalize unless used as the first word in a sentence.
• Hyphenate when used as a compound adjective describing a type of student (e.g., dual-credit student).

F

faculty titles

When referring to a member of faculty, their official academic title should be used.  

• Teacher (teach in Adult Education, Fire Service, or Law Enforcement; part-time, non-benefited)
• Industry Teacher (teach in Workforce Development, part-time, non-benefited)
• Adjunct Instructor (teach in Instruction, part-time, non-benefited)
• Instructor (full-time, benefited)
  • Assistant Professor
  • Associate Professor
  • Professor

Do not use 'professor' as a generic title; it is an earned academic rank. If you are unsure of a person’s official academic rank, use “instructor”.

Do not abbreviate academic titles.

FAFSA

• When referencing the FAFSA, the proper name is Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
• FAFSA may be used on second reference.
• The URL studentaid.gov should be used communications. 

farther / further

Farther describes physical distance. Further refers to an extension of time or degree.

• College of Western Idaho can help students further their education.
• The Nampa Campus is father away than I would like.

file names

• PDF
• PNG
• JPEG or JPG

first-generation student

A student who is the first in their family to attend college. See compound modifiers for additional guidelines.

fiscal year

FY23 or fiscal year 2023 are both acceptable when referring to budget years.

flyer

When referring to a collateral/promotional piece, flyer should be spelled with a ‘y’.

forward

This word does not end in ‘s’.

foundation

• When referencing the College’s foundation, the proper name is the College of Western Idaho Foundation.
• The CWI Foundation or the Foundation may be used on second reference.

full-time

See compound modifiers for guidelines.

further

See farther / further for guidelines.

H

headlines

Use title case in article headlines, capitalizing all essential words.

healthcare

• Use as one word when referencing a CWI class or program (e.g., The College has several healthcare programs.).
• Use two words in other references (e.g., Health care is a critical industry in Idaho.)

help desk

Capitalize when referring to CWI’s Information Technology Help Desk.

Higher Education in Idaho

Preferred abbreviations for Idaho colleges and universities are as follows:

• Boise State University (Boise State)
• Brigham Young University-Idaho (BYU-I)
• College of Southern Idaho (CSI)
• College of Eastern Idaho (CEI)
• Idaho State University (ISU)
• Lewis-Clark State College (LCSC)
• North Idaho College (NIC)
• Northwest Nazarene University (NNU)
• The College of Idaho (C of I)
• Treasure Valley Community College (TVCC)
• University of Idaho (U of I)
• Western Governors University (WGU)

high-tech

Hyphenated when used as an adjective (e.g., Software development is a high-tech industry.)

homepage

One word, not hyphenated. Do not capitalize unless it appears as the first word in a sentence.

hyphen / en dash / em dash

Hyphens ( - ) are used as joiners, such as for compound modifiers. Do not add spaces before or after the hyphen.

• Bryson is a first-generation student.

En dashes ( – ) are used for date or time ranges. Add a space before and after an en dash.

• Spring Break is March 21 – 25.
• In Microsoft Word, ALT + 0150 will create an en dash.

Em dashes ( — ) are used to signal an abrupt change, to set off a series within a phrase, before attribution to an author, after datelines, and to start lists. Add a space before and after an em dash.

• Each program offers unique — and exciting — classes to students.
• In Microsoft Word, type two hyphens in a row (--) or ALT + 0151 to create an em dash.

J

L

Latinx

Latinx is a term predominately used in higher education as a non-gendered reference to a person or group culturally or nationally identifying with a Hispanic or Latin-American culture. Latinx is often used interchangeably with Hispanic and Latino/Latina. See race / ethnicity for additional guidelines.

library

The College of Western Idaho Library on first reference. The CWI Library or the library on second reference. Do not capitalize ‘library’ when standing alone.

locations

Use the official title of campus locations when referencing locations. Acronyms may be used on second reference.

• Ada County Center
  • Ada County Center Lynx Building (ALYN)
  • Ada County Center Mallard Building (AMAL)
  • Ada County Center Pintail Building (APIN)
  • Ada County Center Quail Building (AQUL)
• Canyon County Center (CYNC)
• CWI Horticulture (HORT)
• Nampa Campus
  • Nampa Campus Academic Building (NCAB)
  • Nampa Campus Administration Building (NADM)
  • Nampa Campus Aspen Classroom Building (NASP)
  • Nampa Campus Micron Education Center (NMEC)
  • Nampa Campus Multipurpose Building (NCMP)
  • Nampa Campus Willow Building A (NCWA)
  • Nampa Campus Willow Building B (NCWB)
  • Nampa Campus Willow Building C (NCWC)

login / log in

• One word if used as a noun or an adjective (e.g., Use your login information to access the site.).
• Two words without a hyphen is used as a verb (e.g., Please log in to access your schedule.).
• When referencing a way to log in to a site or portal, Sign In is preferred.

N

names

• Always use a person's first and last name on first reference in writing.
• On second reference, just the last name should be used.
• To distinguish between people with the same last name, the first and last name can be used on subsequent references.
• Courtesy titles (e.g., Mr., Mrs., Dr.) should not be used unless part of a direct quotation.

noncredit

Not hyphenated. Do not capitalize unless it appears as the first word in a sentence.

nonprofit

Not hyphenated. Do not capitalize unless it appears as the first word in a sentence.

noon

See time for guidelines.

numbers

• Add an ‘s’ without an apostrophe to plural numbers (e.g., 2000s).
• Spell out numbers one through nine and use numerals for numbers 10 and above.
  • He earned three degrees.
  • They have 17 students in the class.
• In sentences beginning with a number, the number should be spelled out.
  • Eleven of the programs have certificate options.
• Fractions standing alone are spelled out. Use numerals for fractions used with whole numbers.
  • About one-third of students use financial aid.
  • This program takes 2 1/2 years to complete.
• Use commas in four-digit numbers and greater (e.g., 8,974).
• Use numerals and a dollar sign for large sums of money (e.g., $1.2 million).

number ranges

When referring to money:

• The College is seeking $10 million to $12 million in funding.
• The Biology Club hopes to raise between $50 and $100 at the fundraiser.

Other references:

• I am expecting a pay increase of 12 – 15%.
• Employees are hoping for a pay increase between 10 and 15%.

P

parenthesis

Use parentheses to include information in a quote that is not part of the original.

• This year’s budget (2009) has been finalized. 

part-time

See compound modifiers for guidelines.

percent

Use the % symbol when paired with a numeral with no space (e.g., 30% of students take classes online).

periods

Use a single space after a period at the end of a sentence.

phone numbers

Use periods in phone numbers (e.g., 208.562.3000).

plural proper nouns

Lowercase the common noun element in plural uses (e.g., Ada and Canyon counties).

p.m. / a.m.

See time for guidelines.

prefixes

Words formed with prefixes such as non-, pre-, post-, un-, re-, co-, etc. are spelled without a hyphen.

• noncredit
• reapply
• nonprofit

programs

• Use title case when referring to the official name of an academic program at the College (e.g., Law Enforcement program).
• The word ‘program’ should remain lowercase when following the program name (e.g., the Criminal Justice program).
• General references to a subject matter should not be capitalized (e.g., The student is interested in a career in law enforcement.).

Visit Programs & Degrees for the most up-to-date list of programs.

R

race / ethnicity

The College uses the following categories to indicate race and ethnicity when reporting student demographics in alignment with definitions provided by the United States Census Bureau:

• American Indian / Alaska Native
• Asian
• Black / African American
• Hispanic / Latino
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
• White

room names and numbers

When referring to a specific room, suite, or designated location on campus it should always be preceded by the official building name or acronym.

• Nampa Campus Administration Building, Suite 102
• Nampa Campus Academic Building, 2nd Floor Atrium
• NCAB, Room 122
• APIN, Student Commons

T

that

‘That’ may usually be omitted when a dependent clause immediately follows a form of the verb (e.g., The employee said she had signed the report.).

time

• Write a.m. and p.m. lowercase with periods, no capitalization, or spacing (e.g., 2:30 p.m.).
• Include a space between the hour or minutes and a.m. or p.m. (e.g., 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.).
• Noon should be used to indicate 12 p.m. Do not capitalize unless it is the first word of the sentence (e.g., 11 a.m. – noon).
• Midnight should be used to indicate 12 a.m. Do not capitalize unless it is the first word of the sentence (e.g., The application closes at midnight.). 
• Use :00 for consistency (e.g., 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.)

titles

• Capitalize titles preceding a person’s name (e.g., President Gordon Jones).
• Lowercase titles following a person’s name (e.g., Gordon Jones is the president of the College.).
• The following titles are capitalized and abbreviated when used before a name both inside and outside quotations: (Dr., Gov., Lt., Rep., Sen.)

title case

• Use title case for document and article headings.
• Title case displays initial capital letters in words except for articles (a, an, the) and short prepositions (of, for, on, in, by).

titles of publications

• Use italics for titles of separately published catalogs or pamphlets (e.g., CWI Catalog, CWI Student Handbook, Fall 2022 Class Schedule, etc.).
• Use quotation marks for titles of articles or chapters within a separately published work (e.g., View the “Transcripts” section in the CWI Catalog to learn more.).

toward

This word does not end in ‘s’.

trademarked names

Trademarked brand names used in everyday language should be capitalized (e.g., Band-Aid, Clorox, Post-it Notes, Q-tips, etc.).

Treasure Valley

When referencing the area encompassing Ada and Canyon counties, use Treasure Valley as a proper noun.

two-year

See compound modifiers for guidelines.

V

X