Communicating with a consistent voice begins with following West Valley’s Editorial Style. In addition to editorial style, please pay attention to tone, which includes word choice and sentence structure. The tone of West Valley College’s voice is personal, friendly and inclusive. The language the college uses reflects the values of our community.
West Valley’s editorial style guide borrows heavily from The Associated Press Stylebook, which is used for print and digital platforms such as the college's website, news website, college and school newsletters, and other materials targeting a general audience.
West Valley College
First reference to the college should be its full name: West Valley College. Accepted second references are West Valley and "college." Do not capitalize "college" when used alone as a second reference. To avoid confusion with other organizations, avoid using "WVC."
Abbreviations
It is preferable to avoid abbreviations of schools, programs and organizations, except in tables, headlines and other situations where space is limited. Your copy will read better if you avoid abbreviations. When you do need to abbreviate, here are some reminders:
All-capital abbreviations or acronyms do not take periods, except when referring to nations, states, cities or people. Examples: NFL, CBS, NSF
Abbreviate grade point average in all capitals with no spaces: GPA.
Names of organizations should be spelled out on first reference. In general, do not follow an organization's name with an abbreviation or acronym in parentheses or set off by dashes (except legal documents). If an abbreviation or acronym would not be clear on second reference, do not use it.
Example: The National Association of Schools of Art and Design accredited the West Valley College Bill and Leila Cilker School of Art and Design. The NASAD accreditation is important to the future of both the Cilker School of Art and Design and the college.
African American
No hyphen (a 2019 AP Stylebook change for this and other dual heritage terms). Acceptable for an American Black person of African descent. The terms are not necessarily interchangeable. Americans of Caribbean heritage, for example, generally refer to themselves as Caribbean American. Follow a person’s preference.
Ages
Ages from one to nine should be spelled out. Ages 10 and above should be left in numerical form.
Examples: The student is 19 years old. The policy is four years old.
Ages used as nouns or adjectives before a noun require hyphens.
Examples: The racetrack features three-year-olds today. The 24-year-old student ran for office.
References to an age range for a decade require no apostrophes.
Examples:
The instructor was in her 30s. Not 30's.
She grew up in the 1950s. Not 1950's.
Alumni
Alumnus refers to one male graduate or former student, or to a graduate or former student of unspecified gender.
Alumna refers to one female graduate or former student.
Alumni refers to two or more graduates or former students, all or some of whom are male. Alumnae refers to two or more female graduates or former students.
In general, avoid the use of "alum" as the term refers to a chemical compound. As an alternative, "graduate" may be used.
American Indian, Native American
Both are acceptable terms in general references for those in the U.S. when referring to two or more people of different tribal affiliations. For individuals, use the name of the tribe; if that information is not immediately available, try to obtain it. Details from AP Stylebook: He is a Navajo commissioner. She is a member of the Nisqually Indian Tribe. He is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Some tribes and tribal nations use member; others use citizen. In Alaska, the Indigenous groups are collectively known as Alaska Natives.
First Nation is the preferred term for native tribes in Canada.
Indian is used to describe the peoples and cultures of the South Asian nation of India. Do not use the term as a shorthand for American Indians.
Ampersand, and
Avoid the use of "&" unless it is part of a company or institution's legal name, such as Procter & Gamble. The ampersand may be used in charts and lists where space is limited.
Asian American
No hyphen (a 2019 AP Stylebook change for this and other dual heritage terms). Acceptable for an American of Asian descent. When possible, refer to a person’s country of origin or follow the person’s preference. For example: Filipino American or Indian American.
Black(s), white(s)
Black(s), white(s) (n.)
Do not use either term as a singular noun. For plurals, phrasing such as Black people, white people, Black teachers, white students is often preferable when clearly relevant. Details and examples from AP Stylebook: White officers account for 64 percent of the police force, Black officers 21 percent and Latino officers 15 percent. The gunman targeted Black churchgoers. The plural nouns Blacks and whites are generally acceptable when clearly relevant and needed for reasons of space or sentence construction. He helped integrate dance halls among Blacks, whites, Latinos and Asian Americans. Black and white are acceptable as adjectives when relevant.
Black (adj.)
Use the capitalized term as an adjective in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense: Black people, Black culture, Black literature, Black studies, Black colleges.
African American is also acceptable for those in the U.S. The terms are not necessarily interchangeable. Americans of Caribbean heritage, for example, generally refer to themselves as Caribbean American. Follow an individual’s preference if known, and be specific when possible and relevant. Details and examples from AP Stylebook: Minneapolis has a large Somali American population because of refugee resettlement. The author is Senegalese American.
Use of the capitalized Black recognizes that language has evolved, along with the common understanding that especially in the United States, the term reflects a shared identity and culture rather than a skin color alone.
Also use Black in racial, ethnic and cultural differences outside the U.S. to avoid equating a person with a skin color.
Campus Buildings and Locations
Building and location names are abbreviated only in class schedules, on maps and in other formats where space is limited. To abbreviate, use the building's initials, capitalized without periods or spaces.
To describe campus locations, use the building name followed by the appropriate room number. There is no need to use "room" before the room number.
Chicano/a
A term that Mexican Americans in the U.S. Southwest sometimes use to describe their heritage. Some prefer the recently coined gender-neutral term Chicanx, which should be confined to quotations, names of organizations or descriptions of individuals who request it and should be accompanied by a short explanation. Details and examples from AP Stylebook: Hernandez prefers the gender-neutral term Chicanx. For groups of females, use the plural Chicanas; for groups of males or of mixed gender, use the plural Chicanos. Use only if it is a person’s preference.
Computer, information technology terms
Capitalize the word "Internet" as a proper name to distinguish it from other kinds of nets. Spellings of some computer- and Internet-related words are below:
cyberspace
email
homepage
online
website
webcast
When writing website addresses and URLs, in most cases there is no need to prefix the web address with http:// or www. However, always confirm that the URL launches without the prefixes.
Dashes
Dashes are longer than hyphens. Single hyphens should not be used in the place of dashes. No spaces are needed before and after dashes. When dashes cannot be produced, on the Internet for example, two hyphens may be substituted. If using two hyphens, insert a space before and after the pair.
Em-dashes (—) can be used to denote a change in thought or to add emphasis to a pause; to set off a list of items in place of commas because the extra punctuation would be confusing; or to set off the attribution of a quote.
En-dashes (–) are used to denote a range.
Hyphens are used to hyphenate.
Dates, Time
Capitalize months of the year in all uses and spell out when they are used alone or with a year alone. When used with a specific date abbreviate the following months, Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Example: My birthday is Jan. 15.
Use "a.m." and "p.m." in lowercase with periods. Example: 7 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Use figures except for noon and midnight. Example: 8 a.m. – Noon
For readability and clarity in text, express dates of events in the sequence of time, day, date and place.
Example: The colloquium will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday, September 1, in Campus Center.
Spell out months when used alone or only with a year.
Example: January 1989 was the coldest month on record.
When using a month, day and year, set off the year with commas.
Example: June 6, 1944, was D-Day.
Faculty
When referring to the faculty of the college, school or department as a unit, faculty is a singular noun and takes a singular verb.
Example: The faculty is dedicated to serving students.
To refer to faculty members as individuals, add the word "members" and use a plural verb.
Examples:
Many faculty members are part of the organization.
Several members of the geology faculty are among the presenters.
She is a faculty member in the English department.
Latino/a, Hispanic
Latino, Latina
Latino is often the preferred noun or adjective for a person from, or whose ancestors were from, a Spanish-speaking land or culture or from Latin America. Latina is the feminine form. Some prefer the recently coined gender-neutral term Latinx, which should be confined to quotations, names of organizations or descriptions of individuals who request it and should be accompanied by a short explanation. Details and examples from AP Stylebook: Hernandez prefers the gender-neutral term Latinx. For groups of females, use the plural Latinas; for groups of males or of mixed gender, use the plural Latinos. Hispanics is also generally acceptable for those in the U.S. Use a more specific identification when possible, such as Cuban, Puerto Rican, Brazilian or Mexican American.
Hispanic
A person from—or whose ancestors were from—a Spanish-speaking land or culture. Latino, Latina or Latinx are sometimes preferred. Follow the person’s preference. Use a more specific identification when possible, such as Cuban, Puerto Rican or Mexican American.
Numbers and numerical references
As a general rule, numbers one to nine should be spelled out; numbers 10 and above should be left in numerical form. Use numerical figures, however, when referring to sections of a book, grade point average and scores.
Examples:
A GPA of 3.
Spell out the word "percent" in text. Do not use the symbol "%" except in tables and technical text.
Spell out ordinal numbers (first, second, third) first through ninth. For the 10th ordinal and above, use figures.
Examples: First, second, 10th, 23rd, 31st
When describing money, do not include the decimal places for whole dollars.
Example: Tickets cost $5 for general admission, $3 for students and $2.50 for children under 12.
When describing time, do not use minute placeholders for whole hours. To avoid confusion, always use noon, not 12 p.m.
People with disabilities
When writing about anyone with a disability—whether physical, intellectual or psychological/emotional—always strive to adopt "people first" language. This means using words that put the person at the center of a description rather than a label, their status, or focusing on what the individual cannot do.
For example, you would refer to a "graduate student who has epilepsy" but not a "graduate student who's an epileptic." As with any other area of sensitivity like this, please ask the individual how they prefer to be referred to and use this language as much as possible. Be sure if you are interviewing someone with a disability, whether visible or not, that they are aware of how much detail and information you will be sharing about their disability and/or ask them to review the content before it is published.
If the disability is not part of the story and there isn't a need to include it, don't.
Don't refer to someone who does not have a disability as "able-bodied." You can simply say they do not have a disability (or, if necessary, use "non-disabled") when it's necessary to distinguish that someone doesn't have a disability. Avoid using the term "normal."
Avoid sensationalizing a disability by using phrases like, but not limited to, "afflicted with," "suffers from," or "victim of."
Use "accessible" when describing a space, location or event that is modified to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
People with disabilities are typically not suffering from a disease or illness, therefore they should not be referred to as "patients," unless under a healthcare setting.
To show inclusiveness and sensitivity to students, you may want to refer to them as "students who are receiving services," which may include physical or mental help, or "students with a verified disability." Every CSU campus has services for students with disabilities and a wide variety of accommodations can be made if needed.
Personal pronouns
Do not presume maleness in constructing a sentence by defaulting to he/his/him. Usually it is possible, and always preferable, to reword the sentence to avoid gender.
In most cases, a plural pronoun such as they, them or their should agree in number with the antecedent: The children love the books their uncle gave them. They/them/their is acceptable in limited cases as a gender-neutral pronoun, when alternative wording is overly awkward or clumsy. However, rewording usually is possible and always is preferable. Clarity is a top priority; gender-neutral use of a singular they is unfamiliar to many readers.
In stories about people who identify as neither male nor female or ask not to be referred to as he/she/him/her: Use the person’s name in place of a pronoun, or otherwise reword the sentence, whenever possible. If they/them/their use is essential, explain in the text that the person prefers a gender-neutral pronoun. Be sure that the phrasing does not imply more than one person.
For more details and examples, see the AP Stylebook.
Quotation marks
Periods and commas, when used with quotation marks, always go within the quotation marks.
Example: The project is "long overdue," said Angela.
Dashes, semicolons, question marks and exclamation points go within quotation marks only when they relate to the quoted matter.
Example: Ask him, "How do you plan to implement the proposal?"
Schools
This is the list of the official names of schools with preferred second references (2), where applicable. For named schools, please include the name as noted below. Do not capitalize "school" when used alone.
Bill and Leila Cilker School of Art and Design | Cilker School of Art and Design
School of Continuing Education
School of Health and Human Development
School of Language Arts
Fang Pei Che School of Professional Studies | Che School of Professional Studies
School of Science and Math
School of Social Sciences
Titles
When using an academic degree in the title, do not use both Dr. and PhD. Likewise, using Dr. and PhD is not necessary when a person's academic or administrative title implies these credentials.
Use Dr. in the first reference to a formal title before the name of an individual who holds a doctor of dental surgery, doctor of medicine, doctor of optometry, doctor of osteopathic medicine, doctor of podiatric medicine, or doctor of veterinary medicine: Dr. Jonas Salk.
While referring to a person who holds a doctoral degree as “Dr.” in speech is acceptable, for clarity, avoid using Dr. in writing for those who are not medical doctors.
Example:
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci or Anthony S. Fauci, MD
Laura Hyatt, professor of biology
Telephone numbers
When writing telephone numbers, use the standard phone number configuration: (408) 741-2647. Always include the area code.
Years
For decades, use an "s" without an apostrophe.
Example: 1960s and '60s. (Not 1960's and 60's.)
On first reference, use 1960s, not '60s.
For centuries, the preferred format is the 20th century, not the 1900s.