��ƷSM����ӰƬ

The following list includes easily confused words as well as the preferred spelling and capitalization for words that are commonly used in CU��Boulder writing. For words not included here, consult��Merriam-Webster. Typically, the preferred, U.S. (as opposed to British Commonwealth) spelling is listed first when there is more than one correct spelling.

• advisor |��Use this spelling in all instances.
• alum |��Abbreviation for alumnus or alumna. Avoid this abbreviation in formal copy.
• alumna |��Singular for female graduate; alumnae is the plural when referring to only female graduates.
• alumni |��Plural for combination of male and female graduates or male graduates. Use "graduates" if a non-gendered term is preferred.
• alumnus |��Singular for male graduate. Also used as generic reference for male or female graduate.
• bachelor’s, baccalaureate |��Lowercase, as in��bachelor's degree, but Bachelor of Arts,��etc., is capitalized.
• Big 12 Conference��
• Board of Regents |��Use the full name for first reference. Subsequent references may be styled as��the regents��or��the board. Board of Regents is singular; regents takes a plural verb. No possessive apostrophe for the��regents meeting. See also: regents entry.
• Buffalo |��Preferred plural is Buffaloes (rather than Buffalos). Plural possessive is Buffaloes’. Capitalized because ����’s the proper name of CU’s sports teams.
• Buff OneCard
• campus | Possessive is campus’s, even if the next word begins with an “s,” a new rule from AP.
• campuswide
• cancel, canceling, canceled, cancellation
• check-in, check in |��Hyphenated as a noun, two words as a verb.
• checkout, check out |��One word as a noun, two words as a verb.
• city of Boulder |��Lowercase��city.
• co- |��Use a hyphen when forming nouns, adjectives and verbs that indicate occupation or status; do not hyphenate in other combinations: co-author, co-worker, coeducational, cocurricular, cooperate.
• college, the
• Coloradan |��Not Coloradoan.
• commencement |��Capitalized only when referring to a specific one by year: the 2025 Commencement.
• compose/comprise/constitute |��Compose��means to create or put together. Comprise means to be made up of. Comprised of��is redundant.��Constitute��means to be the elements of and may work best when neither��compose��nor��comprise��seems to fit.
• coursework��
• credit hours | Always use numerals: 3 credit hours
• CU NightRide
• cum laude |��Translates as “with distinction.” No italics for this and other commonly used Latin terms. (If ����’s in Merriam-Webster or another standard dictionary, ����’s considered common enough to not require italics.)
• data |��Both a plural noun and a collective noun—i.e., it represents a unit—that can take a singular verb.
• decision making |��No hyphen when used as a noun. Hyphenate only when used as an adjective immediately before a noun.
• department, the
• Distinguished Professor | Capitalize to differentiate the ��ƷSM����ӰƬ honor from a merely excellent professor
• division, the
• doctoral/doctorate |��Doctoral is an adjective; doctorate is a noun.
• email |��Capitalize the e only when the term appears at the beginning of a sentence, in a heading, or on a form where other entries (such as Address, Phone) are capitalized. Do not hyphenate as e-mail.��Email��as a plural is a collective noun and does not take an��s. Use��email messages.
• emeritus, emerita, emeriti |��Honorary title for retired professor:��emeritus��for a male professor,��emerita��for a female professor.��Emeriti��is plural for both male and female professors.
• every day/everyday |��The single word everyday is an adjective.
• faculty |��A collective noun referring to an institution’s entire teaching staff. It can take��a singular or plural verb, depending on the context.��To refer to an individual who is part of a faculty, faculty member is preferred for clarity.
• federal |��No capital except when the term refers to an architectural style or is part of a formal name: the federal government, Federal Express, the Federal Housing Administration.
• female/woman |��Female can be an adjective or a noun; woman is a noun only. For clarity, careful writers use female as an adjective only and woman as a noun only.
• Fulbright scholar | Lowercase scholar.
• full time |��Hyphenate only when used as an adjective immediately before a noun: full-time job; Ellen works full time.
• fundraising |��One word, no hyphen, along with fundraise and fundraiser.
• GPA |��Need not be spelled out on first use; always use numerals and as many decimal places as needed: 3.0, 2.5, 3.97.
• graduate school | Capitalize when referring to ��ƷSM����ӰƬ's Graduate School.
• gray |��Rather than grey, which is the British Commonwealth preference. (Unless, of course, Grey is part of a proper noun.)
• homepage
• Honors Program
• IdentiKey
• interdisciplinary
• internet | No longer capitalized, per AP Style.
• its/����’s |��Its��is the possessive pronoun (remember: his, hers, its);������’s��is the contraction of “it is.”
• JILA |��This is no longer an acronym and should be used as the name.
• login/log in, log off��|��This is one word when used as a noun or adjective, and two words when used as a verb. Log in is preferred over log on.
• magna cum laude |��Translates as “with great distinction.” No italics. See also:��cum laude entry.
• major | Lowercase, as in history, mathematics, aerospace engineering, journalism. Capitalize proper nouns: French, Asian studies.
• master's | Lowercase, as in master's degree, but Master of Science, Master of Arts, etc., are capitalized.
• media |��A plural noun.
• midsemester
• midterm
• more than/over |��Over��generally refers to spatial relationships.��More than��is preferred with numerals. However, AP has determined they are interchangeable.
• multicultural
• MyCUBoulder
• MyCUInfo
• Nobel Prize |��Both��Nobel��and��Prize��should be capitalized, and the area in which the prize was won should be lowercased.��David Wineland won the Nobel Prize in physics in 2012. Five faculty have been named Nobel laureates at CU��Boulder. She is a Nobel Prize-winning author.
• non- |��Most words beginning with��non��do not use a hyphen:��noncredit,��nondegree, nonmajor,��nonprofit,��nonrefundable, nonresident. Exceptions include cases where the following word is a proper noun and when the resulting word would be unclear or confusing: e.g., non-tenure track.
• off campus |��(preposition plus noun)
• off-campus |��(adjective; hyphenated when it immediately precedes a noun)
• on campus |��(preposition plus noun)
• on-campus |��(adjective; hyphenated when it immediately precedes a noun)
• online |��(adjective, adverb)
• onscreen |��(adjective)
• on screen |��(adverb)
• orientation
• part time |��Hyphenate only when used as an adjective immediately before a noun.
• percent | You may use the % sign in all cases. Use numerals for percent (1%, 95%), but spell out one through nine when using “percentage points” (six percentage points, 27 percentage points).
• post- |��Most words formed with the post prefix are styled without a hyphen, unless the word begins with a capital or unless confusion would result: postdoctoral, postbaccalaureate, postgraduate, post-World War II.
• pre- |��Most words formed with the pre prefix are styled without a hyphen; do not hyphenate��preadmission, precollegiate, prelaw, premedicine, prepharmacy, preprofessional, prequalify, preregister, prerequisite.
• premier, premiere | Premier means first in importance or rank.��A premiere is a first performance.
• Presidents Leadership Class
• President’s Teaching Scholars
• problem solving |��No hyphen when used as a noun. Hyphenate only when used as an adjective before a noun.
• program, the
• re- |��In general, use a hyphen in compounds beginning with��re��only if the word following the��re��prefix begins with an��e��or if confusion would result: ��recover/re-cover. But reelect, reestablish, redo, rewrite.
• regents |��Lowercase when referring to individual members of the Board of Regents, unless used as part of a publication or personal title. See also: Board of Regents entry.
• residence halls |��Preferred term (rather than dorms).
• Rhodes scholar |��Lowercase��scholar.
• SAT |��Never spell out or use periods. It no longer is an acronym. It does not refer to anything except itself.
• school, the
• smartphone
• spring, summer, fall, winter
• spring break
• state of Colorado, the
• statewide | See -wide
• student-athlete,��student-employee |��Always hyphenate, whether used as a noun or adjective.
• summa cum laude |��Translates as “with highest distinction.” No italics. See also: cum laude entry.
• system | As in CU system,��always lowercase.
• theater |��Use this spelling except when it is spelled “Theatre” in a proper name (e.g., Mary Rippon Theatre, Department of Theatre and Dance).
• toward |��Not��towards, which is the British Commonwealth form. Same with backward and forward.
• underway |��One word in all uses.
• university, the | Do not capitalize when it refers generically to the University of Colorado or to one of its campuses.
• wait list, wait-list |��Two words as a noun, hyphenated as a verb or adjective.
• web |��Shortened form of World Wide Web. Spell it lowercase in all instances.
• webpage
• website
• -wide | Hyphenate when the base word has three or more syllables: citywide, campuswide, university-wide.
• Wi-Fi
• workload
• work-study |��Always hyphenate, whether used as a noun or adjective.
• World Wide Web