Capital offenses

As a general rule, keep in mind that when too many words are capitalized they lose importance, and that readability studies show emphatically that readers are more likely to miss key points when too many words are capitalized.

As for SAES specifics:

• Descriptive job titles are not capitalized. ("Dean Alton Thompson" is a formal job title, but when the reference is to "Dr. Alton Thompson, dean of the SAES," the reference is descriptive, not formal.)

• When an individual has a long job title, put it after the individual's name so it doesn't require capitalization.

• If you put some titles after names to avoid capitalization and help with readability, then it's a good idea to put even shorter titles in the same document after the names of individuals, for consistency.

• Academic subjects are not capitalized unless they include proper nouns. Students majoring in "early childhood education" or "landscape architecture" are in the same boat as students majoring in "biology" and "mathematics." Only students majoring in proper-noun disciplines such as English and African American studies have capitals in their majors.

• Only capitalize committees, centers, groups, initiatives and programs when these entities have official, formal recognition. When a task force has been put together to look into an issue or a search committee named to fill a position, it is usually always a mistake to capitalize these groups.

• The names of professional organizations, meetings and conferences only need capitalization when the reference is a word-for-word formal title. While it's correct to capitalize the American Agricultural Economics Association, it's incorrect to put references to the "economics association" in capitals, or to refer to the organization's "annual conference" in initial caps.

• General references to academic degrees are not capitalized: doctorate, bachelor's degree, master of science.

• Seasons of the year are lowercase, except when part of a formal name. That means that it's "fall semester" and "summer session"; while "Spring Semester 2005" is correct if you really feel a need to use your shift key.

• The only time to capitalize "federal" is when it's is part of a formal name, such as the Federal Reserve Bank.

• While "State of North Carolina" is correct when you feel a need for a formal title more lengthy than simply "North Carolina," if you go on to discuss the "state motto," "state flag" or even the "state's responsibility to institutions of higher education," the "s" should be lower-case.

• The capitalization rules that apply to "state" also apply to the four academic departments within the SAES. While it is correct to indicate that "the Department of Animal Sciences includes faculty with an assortment of research interests," it is also correct in subsequent references to indicate that "the department offers course work that opens the door for an equally broad array of careers," and that "studies in animal sciences at A&T are rewarding in many ways."

Posted November 22, 2005 03:45 PM

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