Use a before a word that begins with a consonant sound, even if it’s spelled with a vowel. Use an before a word that begins with a vowel sound, even if it’s spelled with a consonant. If it helps, speak the words out loud.

an 1890s (a)
a eulogy (y)
a heroic (h)
a historic, a historian (h)
an hour (o)
an LSAT (e)
an MIAA record (e)
a one-year program (w)
a united front (y)
an X-ray (e)

associate degree
B.A. 
baccalaureate
Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science (bachelor’s degree; a bachelor’s in communication)
Bachelors of Arts or Bachelors of Science (plural)
M.A.
Master of Arts or Master of Science (master’s degree; a master’s in English)
Masters of Arts or Masters of Science (plural)

Omit periods for three or more consecutive capital letters.

MBA
MFA
Ph.D.

The names of degree programs, majors and minors should be lowercase, unless a word is a proper noun (e.g., English). See majors and minors.

B.A., creative writing
master’s in English education

See departments and academic programs.

In general, academic titles are capitalized when they are used before a name, but not after.

Do not qualify the title professor with associate or assistant before a name, but do use it after the name, if applicable.

Professor Julian Morrow
Julian Morrow, associate professor of classics
Dean Vernon Wormer
Vernon Wormer, dean for academics

See academic degrees.

On first reference, use the full name of a department, division, office or organization, and include the acronym in parentheses only if it is used later in the text. (If an acronym is not used later in the text, it is not necessary to include it at all.) In every case, strive for clarity and avoid confusion.

To make a plural of an acronym that ends with a period (e.g., Ph.D.), rewrite it to avoid use of the acronym: two doctorates. If it’s absolutely necessary to use the acronym, include an apostrophe: Ph.D.’s 

Computing and Information Technology (CIT)
Events and Conferences Office (ECO)
Human Resources (HR)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Avoid the following acronyms:

Board of Trustees (never BOT or BoT)
Boerigter Center for Calling and Career (never BCCC)
Campus Safety (never CS)
Hope College (never HC)
Campus Print and Mail Services (never PMS)
Public Affairs and Marketing (never PAM)

Hope College follows the Associated Press style for whether or not to write out Avenue, Street or other similar words: Abbreviate such words when they are part of an address, but spell them out when they are not. 

The De Pree Art Center and Gallery is located at 275 Columbia Ave., between 10th and 13th streets.
The Dow Center is located at 168 E. 13th St., at the corner of 13th Street and Columbia Avenue.

Note that the words are capitalized when part of a specific street name but lowercased when used as a general description. 

Alumni is a plural noun that refers to a group of male graduates or to a group of both male and female graduates, even if there is only one male. The singular alumnus refers to one male graduate, while alumna refers to one female graduate. The plural alumnae refers to a group of female graduates.

If you have trouble deciding which to use, try alum and alums. These abbreviations should be used sparingly; keep your audience in mind — never use them in a formal context.

When referring to an alumnus’ class, use an abbreviated date with a left-facing apostrophe in front of the year.

If an alumna has a different last name than her graduating name, first state the name with which she graduated, then her class year, then her current last name: Wilma Slaghoople ’67 Flintstone

Fred Flintstone ’67; never ‘67
Pebbles Flintstone ’06; never 2006
Pebbles Flintstone-Rubble ’06

See apostrophe.

In general, use and instead of &.

See ampersand.

The most common meaning of biannual is “happening twice a year,” but it can also (though less frequently) mean “happening every two years.” To avoid confusion, you may use biannual to mean twice yearly and biennial to mean every other year. Better, simply write what you mean: twice yearly or every other year

For scripture references, spell out the full name of the book. Separate chapter and verse with a colon.

John 3:16
John 3:16–18 (note the en dash)

Never Jn. 3:16 or John 3.16

Board of Trustees

the board
the trustees
trustee

Never BOT or BoT

Noun and verb; never weblog.

Do not use bold for emphasis. Emphasis should be communicated through how you write and organize your content.

Following are the names of facilities owned, leased or used by Hope College as they are commonly used in first reference (acceptable secondary references follow in italics and parentheses). 

In many cases, the names included here are not the official building names; for formal uses, the official building name may be appropriate.

A. Paul Schaap Science Center (Schaap Science Center)
Anderson-Werkman Financial Center
Bekkering Admissions Office
Boeve Baseball Stadium
Brewer Track
Campus Safety Office
Cook Hall
De Pree Art Center and Gallery
DeWitt Center (DeWitt Center main theater; DeWitt Center studio theater)
DeWitt Tennis Center (never DeWitt Center)
Dimnent Memorial Chapel (Dimnent Chapel, Dimnent, the chapel)
Dow Center
Durfee Hall
Dykstra Hall
Edge Ice Arena
Ekdal J. Buys Athletic Fields (Buys Athletic Fields)
Gilmore Hall
Graves Hall
Haworth Engineering Center
Haworth Hotel
Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts (Jack H. Miller Center; never Miller Center or the Jack)
John and Dede Howard Recital Hall (never Howard Recital Hall or Howard Hall)
Jim and Martie Bultman Student Center (Bultman Student Center)
Jim Heeringa Athletic Center (Heeringa Center)
the Keppel House
Knickerbocker Theatre
Kollen Hall
Kruizenga Art Museum
Lichty Hall
Lubbers Hall
Lugers Fieldhouse
Maas Center (Maas Center auditorium; Maas Center conference room)
Martha Miller Center for Global Communication (Martha Miller Center; never Miller Center or the Martha)
Phelps Hall (Phelps Hall dining hall; never Phelps Dining Hall)
President’s Home
Ray and Sue Smith Stadium
Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse (DeVos Fieldhouse)
Scott Hall
Theil Research Center
van Andel Huys der Hope (Huys der Hope, Campus Ministries House)
Van Andel Soccer Stadium
Van Vleck Hall
Van Wylen Library
Van Zoeren Hall
Vande Poel-Heeringa Stadium Courts
VanderWerf Hall
Voorhees Hall
Wolters Softball Stadium
Wyckoff Hall

See residential buildings.

View a current list of all Hope College buildings.

Capitalize when referring to the campus service (e.g., He attended Wednesday Chapel) or in the name Dimnent Memorial Chapel or Dimnent Chapel. Lowercase for generic uses or in general references to the chapel building.

See buildings.

Capitalize when referring to a graduating class. Lowercase in all other uses.

Class of 1982
Class of ’82
the sophomore class

Even when used in front of a name, coach is lowercase.

coach Eric Taylor
coach Taylor

When used as part of a formal name (e.g., Hope College, Wheaton College), college should always be capitalized. When not part of a formal name or when referring to colleges in general, always use lowercase.

Hope College
Our college was chartered in 1866.
A liberal arts college education is awesome.

See Hope College.

Use of contractions (e.g., don’t, we’d) is encouraged. As a general rule, when we write for the web, we write how we speak — and we often speak in contractions. Using contractions can help with an informal, conversational, friendly tone. Don’t use them excessively, though.

For more formal uses, contractions are discouraged.

Capitalize course names. No italics. Use quotation marks only if needed for clarity. Reserve official course codes (e.g., POL 212) for the catalog unless necessary for clarification.

Global Feminism
Contemporary Topics in Political Thought

Follow the month, day, year format: August 5, 2006. Dates should only include ordinal numbers (e.g., 22nd, 15th) if you are handwriting a letter to your grandmother.

When a date appears in a sentence, offset the year with a comma before and after only if the day of the month is used; if the day of the month is not included, no commas are necessary. 

August 5, 2006
I began my job search in August 2021.

Use an apostrophe to indicate numerals that are left out; show plural by adding the letter s: the 1980s, the ’90s, the mid-1830s.

Note that the apostrophe curves to the left ( ’ ) when replacing numerals. See apostrophe.

At Hope, we have deans of academic divisions and programs; we do not have deans for anything at all. Capitalize dean when used as a title before a name, but lowercase it if it appears after a name.

Dean Peter Venkman
Peter Venkman, dean for parapsychology 

See academic titles.

See academic degrees.

At Hope College, we have departments of academic subjects, not academic subject departments. For example, we have a Department of Mathematics and Statistics; we do not have a Mathematics Department or a Math Department. If you must refer to the math department, that’s fine — so long as you don’t capitalize it.

Department of Mathematics and Statistics
the math department
Department of Religion
the religion department

American Ethnic Studies Program
Department of Art and Art History
Department of Biology
Biochemistry and Microbiology Program
Center for Leadership
Center for Ministry Studies
Department of Chemistry
Department of Communication
Department of Computer Science
Department of Dance
Department of Economics and Business
Department of Education
Emmaus Scholars Program
Department of Engineering
Department of English
First-Year Seminar and Advising
General Education and Interdisciplinary Studies
Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences
Global Learning Program
Department of History
International Education
International Studies
Joint Archives of Holland
Department of Kinesiology
Klooster Center for Excellence in Writing
Library (Van Wylen Library is the name of a building, not a department)
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Mellon Scholars Program
Department of Music
Neuroscience Program
Department of Nursing
Office of Multicultural Education
Phelps Scholars Program
Department of Philosophy
Department of Physics
Department of Political Science
Department of Psychology
Department of Religion
Senior Seminar
Department of Sociology and Social Work
Department of Theatre
Women’s and Gender Studies
Department of World Languages and Cultures

See offices and services.

View a current list of departments and academic programs.

At Hope College, we have academic subject divisions, not divisions of academic subjects. If you must refer to the division of natural and applied sciences, that’s fine—so long as you don’t capitalize it.

Natural and Applied Sciences Division
division of natural and applied sciences

Humanities Division
division of humanities

Fine and Performing Arts Division
division of fine and performing arts

Social Sciences Division
division of social sciences

When referring to the Humanities Division and the Fine and Performing Arts Division together, we use Arts and Humanities Division.

See dean, Dean. 

e.g. is from the Latin phrase exempli gratia and means “for example.”
Use e.g. when providing only a selection of all the possible examples.

His doctor is looking into antidepressant medication (e.g., Prozac, Effexor).

See i.e.

The professor emeritus distinction is appointed by the Board of Trustees. It is not synonymous with “retired professor” and should not be used unless an individual has received the distinction.

professor emerita (female)
professors emeritae (more than one professor emerita)
professor emeritus (male)
professors emeriti (more than one professor emeritus)

Note: A group of both male and female professors emeriti uses the masculine plural form, even if there is only one professor emeritus.

Capitalize the names of official college events, but do not use quotation marks.

Winter Happening
the Pull

Use freshmen only when referring to more than one first-year student.

the freshman class
freshman enrollment
More than 100 freshmen attended the event.

In many cases, the term first-year or first-year student may be an appropriate gender-neutral alternative to freshman. Be aware, though, that some students transfer to Hope as sophomores, juniors or seniors; for these students, ‘first-year’ and ‘freshman’ are not synonymous. Use with care.

Avoid frosh except in the most casual uses.

Flying Dutchmen is the nickname of a Hope College men’s athletic team.

Flying Dutch is the nickname of a Hope College women’s athletic team.

Flying Dutchmen is a team nickname; Flying Dutchman is never an individual identifier. The Flying Dutchman is a ghost ship, not a person who plays on a Hope College team.

Capitalize God in all instances when referring only to the one true God. When referencing any other god or multiple gods, the word should be lorwercased.

Pronouns for God should be lowercased: he, him (never He or Him except at the beginning of a sentence).

Google is a trademarked web search engine. Google, Googling and Googled can be used informally as a verb. Always capitalize.

For grade point average in all uses.

On the Hope College website, our heading styles are automatically formatted as all caps. Do not simply type in all caps, however. Use title case (capitalize the first letter of each major word), then use the formatting dropdown menu in the WYSIWYG toolbar to apply the appropriate style. 

Headings are expressions of information hierarchy, not design choices. Heading 1 (h1) is always reserved for the page heading, which means the first heading you use in the page content must be h2, after which you may use another h2 (for parallel information) or an h3 (for subordinate information). Avoid skipping from h1 to h5, for example, or from h2 to h4.

It may be helpful to think of headings as bullets in an outline:

• h1
  • h2
  • h2
    • h3
    • h3
      • h4
  • h2
    • h3
      • h4
      • h4
    • h3
      • h4
    • h3
  • h2

Always use the full name in first reference. In subsequent references, Hope or the college may be used, depending on context. In some cases (especially legal, business or other formal and professional communications), use of the full name in all references may be appropriate. 

Avoid ambiguity or confusion around the word “hope.” 

Never use HC or Hope college.

i.e. is from the Latin phrase id est and means “that is” or “in other words.” Use i.e. when clarifying meaning or explaining a statement with more precision.

Please take the medication as prescribed (i.e., twice daily).

See e.g.

Use italics to indicate book titles, movie titles and the names of publications (e.g., newspapers, magazines and academic journals).

Do not use italics for emphasis. Emphasis should be communicated through how you write and organize your content.

log in (verb)
login (noun)
log on (verb)
logon (noun)

Except for proper nouns and adjectives (e.g., English, Spanish), majors and minors are lowercase.

Anderson-Werkman Financial Center
100 E. 8th St.
PO Box 9000
Holland, MI 49422-9000

Note: 
Abbreviate direction (e.g., E., S., NW.) and street suffix name (e.g., Ave., Blvd., Ct., Ctr., Dr., Pkwy., Rd., St.).

We do not use periods in PO Box (never P.O. Box or Post Office Box).

Whenever possible, use the nine-digit ZIP Code.

See addresses.

A person from Michigan. Never Michiganian.

Capitalize the names of the month in all uses. When used with a specific date, months of more than five letters may be abbreviated: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. Do not abbreviate when using alone or with only the year. Months may be spelled out for more formal uses or aesthetic considerations. 

Rick Astley was born Feb. 6, 1966. 
August is my favorite month. 
There was a total solar eclipse in April 2024.

See dates.

Use full name and academic title on first reference. Subsequent references may use the individual’s last name and academic title (e.g., Dr., Professor) if he or she has one, but it is not necessary. 

If an individual has no academic title, use only their last name; a courtesy title (e.g., Ms., Mrs., Mr.) or religious title (e.g., the Rev., Pastor) may be used as appropriate but is not necessary.

Professor Pomona Sprout teaches herbology. Professor Sprout is an exceptional faculty member. According to her peers, Sprout recently managed to procure some mandrakes. 

See academic titles.

Following is a short list of high-profile names and titles as they should be used for first reference, along with preferred uses for subsequent references.

President Matthew A. Scogin ’02 in formal use; President Matt Scogin in more common use. Second reference: President Scogin, Matt Scogin, Scogin (never Scogie, the Scogs, Matty Poppins)

Albertus Van Raalte (Van Raalte)

In general, but not always, spell out numbers one through nine and use figures for numbers 10 and higher. 

There are plenty of exceptions:

• Addresses: 4 Privet Drive
• Ages for people and animals: the 7-year-old boy, but the seven-year-old painting
• Dollars and cents: $3; 99 cents
• Dates: December 3
• Highways: Route 2
• Millions, billions: 4 million
  Use up to two decimal places for figures that don’t need to be exact: 4.38 billion
• Percentages: 7 percent
• Speed: 2 mph
• Temperatures: 3 degrees
• Times: 8 a.m. 

Unless it’s a year, spell out every number that begins a sentence: 

Seventy-six trombones led the big parade. 
1966 was a great year for the ’80s and for YouTube.

If you’re writing a number with more than three digits, use a comma.
Be especially careful with four-digit numbers that can look like years:

2,019 donuts
Class of 2019

As with many words, add an s without an apostrophe to make a number (including decades) plural: 3s, 1400s

Use an en dash (–) with no spaces to indicate number ranges. If you are using a construction that begins with “from,” use the word “to” rather than an en dash. 

There were 25–30 students at the event.
The study ran from 1994 to 1996.

See dash.

Refer to the AP Stylebook for more information.

Academic Success Center
Admissions
Advancement Services
Alumni and Family Engagement
Athletics
Boerigter Center for Calling and Career
Business Services
Campus Ministries
Campus Safety
Career Development Center
Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Performance
Center for Faithful Leadership
Center for Ministry Studies
Chief Financial Officer
Children’s After School Achievement (CASA)
Computing and Information Technology
Counseling and Psychological Services
CrossRoads Project
Dean for Multicultural and International Education
Development and Alumni Engagement
DeVos Fieldhouse
DeWitt Tennis Center
Dining Services
Disability Services
Dow Center 
Events and Conferences
Financial Aid
Frost Research Center
Haworth Inn and Conference Center
Health Center
Hope Academy of Senior Professionals (HASP)
The Hope Fund
Hope Summer Repertory Theatre
Hope-Geneva Bookstore
Human Resources
Institutional Research
International Education
Intramurals
Joint Archives of Holland
Klooster Center for Excellence in Writing
Kruizenga Art Museum
Library
Office of Multicultural Education
Occupational Health and Fire Safety
Parent Relations
Program for the Academically Talented (PATH)
Phelps Scholars Program
Physical Plant
President’s Office
Provost’s Office
Public Affairs and Marketing
Registrar’s Office
Residential Life and Housing
Risk & Responsibility
Sponsored Research Programs
Step Up
Student Development
Student Life
The Hope Fund
Ticket Office
Transportation
Upward Bound
Van Raalte Institute
Video Services
Wellness (H2O)

See departments and programs.

Use periods instead of parentheses and/or hyphens.

616.395.7000

When used in a sentence, spell out percent. Note that it is one word; never per cent. 

When used in a technical capacity, such as a table of figures, it may be appropriate to use the percent symbol ( % ).

Never P.O. Box or Post Office Box.

President Matthew A. Scogin ’02 in formal use; President Matt Scogin in more common use.

Second reference: President Scogin, Matt Scogin, Scogin (never Scogie, the Scogs, Matty Poppins)

See names and academic titles.

See academic titles.

Keyboard shortcuts:

(PC alt shortcuts require a full keyboard with number pad)

Mac: option + R
PC: ALT + 0174

See trademark.

Albers/Dorian Cottage
Anchor Cottage
Avison Cottage
Baker Lofts
Beck Cottage
Beeuwkes Cottage
Belt Cottage
Bergen Cottage
Blue Apartment
Blue Cottage
Boers Cottage
Brown Cottage
Brownstone Apartments
Brumler Apartments
Cavanaugh Apartments
Centennial Cottage 
Centurian Cottage
Champion Apartments
Cleo Apartments
College East Apartments
Columbia Apartments
Cook Hall
Cook Villages
Davis Cottage
DeGraaf Cottage
Delta Phi Cottage
Deutsches Haus
DeYoung Cottage
Diekema Cottage
Doesburg Cottage
Dosker Cottage
DuBois Cottage
Durfee Hall
Dykstra Hall
Fairbanks Cottage
Fairbanks Townhouse Apartments
Fraternal Cottage
Fried Cottage
Gazelle Apartment
Gilmore Hall
Grey Apartment
Harrington Apartment
Hawkinson Cottage
Hinkamp Cottage
Hoffman Cottage
Holleman Cottage
Kasteel Cottage
Kids Hope Apartment
Kilwin Apartment
Klaaren Cottage
Klaasen Apartments
Kleinheksel Cottage
Kleis Cottage
Kollen Hall 
Kooiker Cottage
Kraker Apartments
Kraker Annex Apartments
Kruithof Cottage
Kuizenga Cottage
Kuyper/Emersonian Cottage 
Lampen Cottage
Lichty Hall
Loraine Lubbers Cottage
Mandeville Cottage
Marguerite Prins French House
Mast Cottage
Mayor’s Cottage
Mouw Cottage
Mulder Cottage
Oggel Apartments
Parkview Apartments
Patterson Cottage
Phelps Hall
Pieters Cottage
Poll Cottage
Reese Cottage
Reeverts Cottage
Rider Cottage
Riepma Cottage
Ross Apartment
Schrier Cottage
Schuppert/Cosmopolitan Cottage
Scott Hall
ScrapYard Lofts
Sib Cottage
Sigma Cottage
Smith Cottage
Sommer Cottage
Spoelstra Cottage
Steffens Cottage
Strand Cottage
Strong Cottage
Stryker Cottage
Sutphen Cottage
Sweet Apartment
Taylor Cottage
Timmer Cottage
Tree House Apartments
Van Drezer Cottage
Van Saun Cottage
Van Schaack Cottage
Van Vleck Hall
Van Zyl Cottage
Vander Borgh Apartments 
Vennema Apartments
Ver Beek Cottage
Vergee Apartments
Visscher Cottage
Voorhees Hall
Welmers Cottage
Wyckoff Hall
Yellow Duplex
Yonkman/Arcadian Cottage
Zoeteway Cottage
Zuverink Cottage
Zwemer Cottage

View a current list of all Hope College buildings.

Lowercase the names of the seasons — spring, summer, fall/autumn, winter  — in all uses, even when referring to a semester (e.g., in fall semester, spring 2021).

When using a season with a year, do not include the word “of”:

He has worked here since spring 1996.

For search engine optimization.

Skype can be used informally as a verb for using the service. 

Except for addresses, Hope College spells out the full name of a state. When it follows a city, offset the state with commas (one before and one after). 

Only use postal abbreviations (e.g., MI) in addresses.

The state of Michigan has two peninsulas.
Tulip Time is an annual event in Holland, Michigan, that celebrates the city’s Dutch heritage.

Refer to states in the AP Stylebook. 

Unless it is spelled differently in the formal name of a program or facility, always use theater; never theatre.

Knickerbocker Theatre
The theater seats 500.

Department of Theatre
the theater department

Use italics for book titles, movie titles and publication names (e.g., newspapers, magazines, academic journals). 

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The New York Times
Forrest Gump

The titles of chapters, individual poems, articles and television episodes are placed in quotation marks: “How One University Worked to Meet Its ‘Challenge Grant.’”

For titles and headings of our own articles, stories or web pages, Hope College uses title case, with the first letter of each word (except prepositions) capitalized. 

When using title case with hyphenated words, capitalize the second word.

Off-Campus Study
Pre-Professional Programs

See headings. 

For job titles, see academic titles. For courtesy titles, see names.

Keyboard shortcuts:
(PC alt shortcuts require a full keyboard with number pad)

Mac: option+2
PC: ALT + 0153

See registered trademark.

A tussenvoegsel is the part of a Dutch name that appears between a first and last name (e.g., de, ten, ter, van, vander), usually considered part of the last name by English speakers. The capitalization and spacing of tussenvoegsels vary by preference and usage; for example, DeVos and deHaan, Vander Borgh and VanderWerf.

Double-check your spelling and use with care.

Use of Twitter (and related words) is being phased out for X, but is still acceptable in common usage. See X.

A tweet is a public message of up to 260 characters on Twitter. You may also use tweet as a verb. Never the Twitters, even in jest.

Do not underline text, as users think underlined content is a link. Use italics for book and movie titles.

See titles.

Rarely or never include an actual URL in your web content; instead, link your text. If you must list a URL, do not include www. at the front of a web address.

hope.edu
Visit the Hope College homepage.

Never www.hope.edu or https://www.hope.edu. 
Never Visit the Hope College homepage at hope.edu. 

In general, the United States or the United States of America is preferred for first reference. 

Never Web site or web site.

When referring to the region; never west Michigan or Western Michigan.

Although it is technically correct in many instances, we generally try to avoid using whom on the Hope College website. For many people, whom comes across as dated and stuffy. If you’re unsure, use who.

Use X in reference to the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. If necessary for clarity, you may use X.com.

A post is the preferred terminology instead of tweet (and repost instead of retweet, etc.).

Use of Twitter and related words is still acceptable in most cases.