Capitalization
General
In general, avoid unnecessary capitals. Sentences read more smoothly
if the eye isn't stopped by frequent capital letters. When too many
words are capitalized, they lose their importance and no longer attract
attention.
The college
Do not capitalize "college" when used as a noun referring to St. Olaf.
The words "college" or "university" are not capitalized when referring
to other institutions or when used as an adjective.
| Right: | The college is ranked high on the best-value list. |
| Wrong: | The College is ranked high on the best-value list. |
Addresses
Capitalize the proper names of addresses. Lowercase words like "avenue"
and "street" when used alone or with more than one street name.
| Right: | Elm Street, St. Olaf Avenue, Northfield Boulevard |
| Right: | Elm and Oak streets, Northfield and Cannon City boulevards |
Academic majors, degrees and honors
Except for languages (English, French, Norwegian, etc.) and studies
related to geographical areas, the names of academic disciplines are
not proper nouns and should not be capitalized. This includes references
to disciplines in major fields of study, programs and concentrations.
| Right: | He is a music major who also pursued Russian area studies. |
| Right | He majored in American racial and multicultural studies and completed a concentration in financial management. |
Academic departments, divisions and disciplines
Capitalize the formal names of academic departments, faculties and divisions.
(This is a divergence from Associated Press style.) Do not capitalize
the names of academic disciplines. Exception: In address blocks, directories
and tabular formats, the casual name may be capitalized.
| Right: | the Department of History, the History Department |
| Right: | the Department of English, the English Department |
| Right: | She teaches mathematics. |
| Right: | She became the academic administrative assistant of the Mathematics Department in 2001. |
| Right: | He presented his findings to the Natural Sciences and Mathematics Faculty, one of the five divisions of the college's academic program |
Academic and administrative programs and committees
Avoid capitalizing these unless using the full formal name of a committee,
center, group, program or initiative.
| Right: | She will visit the Center for Integrative Studies this afternoon. |
| Right: | She will visit the center this afternoon. |
| Right: | He is the chair of the Curriculum and Educational Policies Committee. |
| Right: | She coordinates the benefits program at the college. |
Administrative offices and divisions
Capitalize the formal names of administrative offices and divisions.
(This is a divergence from Associated Press style.) Lowercase casual
references. Exception: In address blocks, directories and tabular formats,
the casual name may be capitalized.
| Right: | The staff in the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations is very helpful. |
| Right: | Her work in alumni and parent relations is very satisfying. |
| Right: | That will be handled by the Office of Human Resources. |
| Right: | The office which oversees annual giving is part of the Advancement Division. |
Centuries and decades
Use numerals when describing centuries and decades. Lowercase the word
"century" except when it is part of a title. Be sure to use a hyphen
when "century" is modifying a noun.
| Right: | the 20th century |
| Right: | 18th-century literature, in the course "19th-Century Myths" |
Classes
Do not capitalize individual class designations: first-year student,
sophomore, junior, senior. (Note hyphenation of the words "first" and
"year" when used as an adjective modifying a noun.) Do not capitalize
generic references, e.g., the senior class. Do capitalize the formal
names of organized entities: the Class of 1979, the Class of '92 Reunion
Gift Committee.
Ensembles, teams, etc.
Just as the word "college" is not capitalized when used as a noun referring
to St. Olaf, the words "band," "choir," "orchestra," "football," "soccer,"
etc., are not capitalized on second reference to one of those organizations.
| Right: | A member of the St. Olaf Band, he was pursuing an independent major through the Center for Integrative Studies. |
| Right: | A member of the band, he could usually be found at the center, where he was working on an independent major in music therapy. |
| Wrong: | A member of the Band, he was also a familiar sight at the Center. |
Events
Capitalize the formal names of specific events occurring at the college:
Commencement 2002, Fall Open House, Honors Day 2002, the Dittmann Center
Dedication. Do not capitalize general uses of these words.
| Right: | New York City firefighter Brenda Berkman was selected to be the keynote speaker at Commencement 2002. |
| Right: | Her parents will attend commencement at St. Olaf. |
| Right: | Fall Open House will be held on Oct. 15. |
| Right: | The Admissions Office's fall open house was scheduled for Oct. 15. |
Geographical terms
Capitalize north, south, east and west when they are part of specific
geographic regions or official names of organizations. Don't capitalize
general compass directions.
| Specific | General |
| the Far East | the east entrance |
| the Western Hemisphere | the western United States |
Publications and other titles
Italicize the names of newspapers and magazines and the titles of books,
journals and movies when they are in text; enclose article titles in
quotation marks. Capitalize the principal words, including prepositions
and conjunctions of four or more letters. Capitalize an article —
"the," "a," "an" — or words of fewer than four letters that are
the first or last words in a title.
| Right: | The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Of Mice and Men, Gone With the Wind |
| Right: | Atlantic Monthly published his article titled "Life in a Small Town" in January. |
Seasons, days of the week
The names of the days of the week and the months of the year are always
capitalized. The four seasons are not capitalized when standing by themselves.
They are capitalized when part of proper names.
| Right: | Homecoming takes place in the fall. |
| Right: | There will be a number of information sessions during Fall Open House 2002. |
Titles
In text, titles are capitalized only if they directly precede the name
of the individual. A title following the name of an individual or a
title by itself is not capitalized. (For specific information about
academic, courtesy, legislative, military and religious titles, see
TITLES later in this guide.
| Right: | President Lars W. Boe will speak at the event. |
| Right: | Ole E. Rĝlvaag, professor of Norwegian, will speak at the event. |
| Right: | The president, Clemens M. Granskou, will speak at the event. |
| Right: | The crowd stood as the president of the United States entered. |
When used as part of a mailing address, the title is capitalized, whether
it appears in text or block address form. When used in a directory listing
or similar situations, a title may be capitalized whether it precedes
the name, follows the name or appears in tabular form.
| Right: | Send your comments to: P. G. Schmidt, Manager of Music Organizations, St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Ave., Northfield, MN 55057 |
| Right: | Send your submissions to: Carl A. Mellby Professor of Political Science St. Olaf College 1520 St. Olaf Ave. Northfield, MN 55057 |
Exception: Titles of the holders of named professorial chairs are always
capitalized in full, whether they appear before or after the holder's
name:
| Right: | Anton Armstrong, the Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Professor of Music |
| Right: | Tosdal Professor of Music Anton Armstrong |
| Right: | John Ferguson is the Elliot and Klara Stockdal Johnson Chair of Organ and Church Music |
Some words identifying occupations or professions should not be capitalized
even if they precede the name. Do not capitalize in instances such as:
| Right: | attorney Clarence Darrow |
| Right: | pianist Van Cliburn |
| Right: | music faculty member F. Melius Christiansen |
| Right: | basketball coach Pat Summitt |
