Office of Marketing and Communications

Office of Marketing and Communications

Office of Marketing and Communications

University Styleguide

Voice and Tone

The Saint Joseph's University brand is:

  • Active and confident
  • Energetic and focused
  • Sassy and direct
  • Open minded and forward looking
  • Curious and optimistic
  • Informed and authentic

When writing in the brand voice, this personality should come through. The University brand book offers an thorough description of the voice and tone. 

Read full Voice and Tone Guidelines

A Note on AP Style

The Office of Marketing and Communications follows the AP Stylebook generally, with several exceptions specific to Saint Joseph’s University. The online AP stylebook can only be accessed through a paid subscription and is recommended for use by content creators who regularly contribute  to Saint Joseph’s website or publications. Proofreader marks are also outlined on the site. Purchase of the stylebook subscription is not necessary for those who infrequently contribute content.

The editorial style guide below outlines some of the most frequently referenced rules, as well as some of the University's exceptions to AP Style.

AP Stylebook

Capitalization and Punctuation

    • Capitalize Bachelor/Master of Arts/Science, e.g., Bachelor of Arts in communication studies, Master of Science in education.
    • Lowercase bachelor’s/master's degree, e.g., bachelor’s degree in marketing, master’s degree in biology.
    • Lowercase master of business administration, master of education, doctor of philosophy, doctor of education, doctor of business administration, doctorate.
    • Use periods with B.A./B.S. and M.A./M.S./M.F.A., Ed.D., Ph.D., but not with MBA.
    • Capitalize formal department names, e.g., Department of Theology, Department of Finance.
    • Lowercase informal department names, e.g., theology department, finance department.
    • Lowercase program titles, e.g. honors program, gender studies program.
    • Lowercase names of majors and minors, e.g., biology major, marketing major.
    • Lowercase chairs, e.g., Brian C. Duperreault ’69 chair for risk management and insurance
    • Uppercase scholarship in named scholarships, e.g., John P. McNulty Scholarship, but merit scholarship.
    • Note: Maguire Academy of Insurance and Risk Management, but risk management and insurance major (RMI).
    • Some programs use an  ampersand in their official names:
      • Pharmaceutical & healthcare marketing
      • English & professional writing program
    • Capitalize formal office names, e.g., Office of Marketing Communications.
    • Lowercase informal office names, e.g., marketing communications.
    • Note: Not Atlantic Ten
    • A-10 is acceptable on second reference.
    • Uppercase when official name: Rev. Joseph S. Hogan, S.J., Award, Medical Alumni Award, HSB Hall of Fame Award.
    • Lowercase when not part of official name, e.g., Shield of Loyola award, Executive of the Year award.
    • Use "chair," not "chairwoman" or "chairman," to refer to academic department heads.
    • Do not use a serial comma.
    • Do not use a comma before name suffixes (Jr., Sr., etc.) or company designations (LLC, Ltd., Inc., tc.)
    • Use a comma before Esq.
    • Lowercase commencement.
    • Capitalize course names; do not put them in quotation marks, e.g., The Craft of Language
    • Set off an em dash (either two consecutive hyphens or shift-option-hyphen) with a space on each side
    • Place abbreviated degree after faculty member's name, set off with commas, if it’s the terminal degree in the field, followed by their academic title, e.g., Ann Jones, M.F.A., associate professor of art; Ann Jones, Ph.D., professor of biology.
    • Capitalize official  title before name, e.g., Professor of Art Ann Jones; lowercase reference before name, e.g., art professor Ann Jones.
    • Use last name only on subsequent references. Use “Dr.” on subsequent reference for medical doctors only.
    • Lowercase semester names, e.g., fall semester, spring semester
    • Place a comma between the city and the state name, and another comma after the state name, unless it ends a sentence.
    • Always spell out state names.
    • Include hometown and major(s) in text whenever possible.
    • Capitalize “the” on first reference if it’s part of an official name, e,g., The Perch, The Inquirer.

Numbers and Dates

    • When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Spell out month name when using it alone, or with a year alone, e.g., January 2016 was a cold month. Jan. 2 was the coldest day of the month.
    • When a phrase lists only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas. When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with commas, e.g., Commencement will be May 10. Aug. 28, 2017, was the first day of classes. The semester ended Friday, Dec. 22.
    • Do not use -st, -nd, -th, etc., with a date, e.g., The event was held Sept. 1. But do use them with anniversaries of 10 and above. Spell out the number of the anniversary if under 10, unless the number is the name of something, e.g., seventh anniversary, 7th Fleet.
    • Spell out zero through nine.
    • Use numerals for 10 and above.
    • Use numerals for ages.
    • If a number begins a sentence, spell it out.
    • For all external numbers, separate the area code, the exchange, and the extension with hyphens, e.g., 610-660-1000.
    • Use figures except for noon and midnight.
    • Use a colon to separate hours from minutes: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 9-11 a.m., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    • The construction 4 o'clock is acceptable, but time listings with a.m. or p.m. are preferred.
    • Capitalize the full name of the time in force within a particular zone: Eastern Standard Time, Eastern Daylight Time, Central Standard Time, etc.
    • Lowercase all but the region in short forms: the Eastern time zone, Eastern time, Mountain time, etc.

People and Positions

    • Alumnus: singular male
    • Alumna: singular female
    • Alumni: plural male/plural mixed
    • Alumnae: plural female
    • Note: Not alum or alums
    • Capitalize all references to Saint Joseph's Board of Trustees.
    • Capitalize Trustee when it’s an SJU Trustee.
    • Lowercase "board" on second reference.
    • Include single quote shaped curved as an apostrophe and two-digit class year after each alumnus, e.g., Joe Smith ’82. (Shift-option-right bracket will make a single quote curved as an apostrophe)
    • Always place graduate degrees in parentheses after the graduation year, e.g., Martin Farrell ’88, ’98 (M.S.), Colleen Sabatino ’10 (M.A.). Note: no comma before first class year.
    • Capitalize "Class" in “Class of” when referring to a specific graduating class, e.g., the Class of 1991.
    • In story copy, note when individuals are the parents of current students or alumni.
    • Follow Jesuits’ names with S.J. set off by commas, and do not use Rev., e.g., Michael Jones, S.J., teaches … (exception from AP).
    • Use Fr. Jones on subsequent references. (exception from AP).
    • Mark C. Reed, Ed.D.
    • On second reference use Dr. Reed not “President Reed”
    • Capitalize titles only when used directly before a person's name. In all other instances use lowercase titles set off by commas.
      • Vice President for University Relations Joseph Kender …
      • Joseph Kender, vice president for university relations,
    • Lowercase modifiers such as department in department Chair John Smith, Ph.D., associate professor of history.

University Terms/Names

    • Capitalize SJU Alumni Association and Saint Joseph’s University Alumni Association but lowercase “the alumni association.”
    • Bluett, Theatre Forum Theatre; note spelling of "Theatre."
    • Chapel of St. Joseph-Michael J. Smith, S.J., Memorial
      • Use "St. Joseph," and not "Saint." The reference is to SJU’s patron saint, not to the University itself. Note comma after "S.J."
    • Maguire Wolfington Welcome Center; use full name on subsequent references.
    • Presidents' Lounge; note placement of apostrophe.
    • Refer to the full SJU Building and Location Names guide for complete listing of names and how to refer to them on second reference.
    • Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations
    • Institute of Clinical Bioethics
    • Faith-Justice Institute
    • Kinney Center for Autism Education and Support; Kinney Center on second reference
    • Maguire Academy of Insurance and Risk Management; note name change.
    • Pedro Arrupe, S.J., Center for Business Ethics; note inclusion of S.J., set off with periods
    • Lowercase academy, center, institute on second reference (when saying, for example, the academy is nationally ranked” Otherwise “The Maguire Academy is nationally ranked.”
    • Avoid using acronyms for the colleges and schools
    • College of Arts and Sciences on first reference; the college on subsequent references
    • Erivan K. Haub School of Business on first reference; Haub School of Business, Haub School or Haub on subsequent references
    • School of Health Studies and Education on first reference; the school on subsequent references
    • Crimson and gray (not grey)
    • Latin for "care of the person"; italicize and use without capitals.
    • Note: two words in general text, but different in specific academic programs:
      • Two words in interdisciplinary health care ethics minor
      • One word in pharmaceutical & healthcare marketing program
    • Do not capitalize unless it starts a sentence.
    • Italicize except when used in branded image creative.
    • The Hawk Will Never Die. - note capitalization of each word and period.
    • Named rooms in buildings should include both room and building name:
      • Haub Executive Center, McShain Hall
      • Greaton Room, Barbelin Hall
      • Wolfington Teletorium, Mandeville Hall
      • North Lounge, Campion Student Center
    • Numbered rooms should include the building's primary name, followed by the number: Barbelin 106, Bellarmine 218
    • Always spell out "Saint” in “Saint Joseph's."
    • “St. Joe’s,” with both words abbreviated, is acceptable in informal uses (quotes)
    • Capitalize "University" in standalone references to Saint Joseph's (exception from AP).