Columbus Academy Graphic Standards

For assistance in obtaining Columbus Academy logos and guidelines for use, please contact Director of Communications Bob Lee at 614-509-2222 or Bob_Lee@columbusacademy.org.

Columbus Academy Style Guide

Based on the “Associated Press Stylebook” with adaptations relevant to Columbus Academy, this style guide should be adhered to in all school communications.

abbreviations -- Before using an abbreviation or acronym, write out the whole word or title. On second reference use the abbreviation.

academic degrees -- B.A. (Bachelor of Arts), M.A. (Master of Arts), M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration), M.S.F. (Master of Science in Finance), J.D. (Juris Doctor), Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy). Use “bachelor’s degree” and “master’s degree” when referring to degrees in general. Capitalize formal names of academic degrees (Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts in Accounting).

academic subjects -- Academic subjects are not capitalized unless referring to a language. She teaches math. Her research is in biology. He teaches English. Specific classes are capitalized. She teaches Chemistry 101.

addresses -- Abbreviate Rd., Ave., Blvd., and St. only with a numbered address. Columbus Academy is on Cherry Bottom Road. CA’s address is 4300 Cherry Bottom Rd.

ages -- Always use figures. A 5-year-old boy, but the boy is 5 years old. The boy, 7, has a sister, 10. The race is for 3-year-olds. The woman is in her 30s.

alumni/a/ae/us -- Female singular: alumna; female plural: alumnae; male (or generic) singular: alumnus; male plural or mixed-group: alumni. Use alumni when referring to a group of Columbus Academy graduates. Many CA alumni attend reunion.

a.m., p.m. -- Lowercase, with periods.

book titles -- Put book titles in quotes.

CD-ROM -- Acronym for a compact disk acting as a read-only memory device.

class year -- Use a backward apostrophe (’) before the class year: Jane Academy ’95. On a Mac keyboard, press shift, alt and closed bracket(]).

• For alumni, a class year following a person’s name indicates that he/she is an alumnus/a of Columbus Academy.
• For current students, do not use the student’s graduation year with other grade-level descriptions: seventh-grader Joe Academy or Joe Academy ’15, not seventh-grader Joe Academy ’15.
• Graduate degrees: The degree comes after the year and is set off by commas: Joan Smith ’00, Ph.D., spoke at assembly.

coach -- Capitalize when used as part of an official title or when used without a modifier: Coach Jim Stahl, Head Field Hockey Coach Anne Horton. If coach is preceded by a modifier, use lowercase: third base coach Matt Carter ’00. Lowercase coach when it stands alone, follows the name, or is set off from the name by commas: The coach, Jeff Warstler, played tennis in college.

Columbus Academy -- Write out on initial use. The Columbus Academy can also be used on initial use only. On subsequent uses, CA or Academy is acceptable.

commas -- In a list of three or more items, no comma before the final “and” or “or.”

dates -- always use Arabic figures without st, nd, rd, or th. The event is planned for May 8.

departments -- Uppercase formal names: History Department.

directions -- Lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc. when they indicate compass direction. Capitalize when they designate regions (the Northeast, Central Ohio).

dollars -- Always use a "$" followed by a numeral. Admission is $5. The goal is $100 million.

e-mail -- Always insert hyphen.

first annual -- No such thing. An event becomes “annual” when it is held every year for more than one year. Instead, use “inaugural.”

GPA -- Acronym for grade-point average. Do not use G.P.A. or gpa or g.p.a.

Grades -- Capitalize and use numeral when referring to specific grades (Grade 6, Grade 12, Grades 9-12). Lowercase as an adjective (seventh-grade student).

grade-point average -- not grade-point-average or grade point average; may also use GPA.

Internet -- Always capitalized. Refers to the World Wide Web, as opposed to the Intranet.

Intranet -- Columbus Academy’s internal password-protected network containing Moodle and other software for faculty and students.

Jr., Sr. -- Do not precede with a comma: Joe Johnson Jr.

letter grades -- use capital letter and the corresponding plus or minus symbol (A+, B-, C); not A plus, B minus.

magazine titles -- Capitalize essential words in title. Italicize; no quotation marks. (The article was in Time magazine and the journal Nature.)

months -- When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. Spell out when using alone: Jan.1, 2010; January 2010.

numbers -- Spell out one through nine, except in ages, percentages (2 percent; .06 percent), and money (6 cents, $2).

online -- One word in all cases when referring to the computer connection term. (The article is available online. Clark has an online store. I do all my shopping online.)

professional titles -- Capitalize only when the title appears first as an official part of the person's name: Head of School John Mackenzie; John Mackenzie, head of school of Columbus Academy; John Mackenzie is head of school of Columbus Academy; the Columbus Academy head of school, John Mackenzie.

quotation marks -- The period and the comma go within the quotation marks.

states -- Spell out when they stand alone. Abbreviate according to AP rules. Use the two-letter Postal Service abbreviations only with full addresses, including ZIP code.

streets -- Capitalize street when used in proper names (Main Street, Downing Street). Exception: two streets named together (Park and Main streets). Abbreviate street only when used in a formal street address: 130 Main St. The house is located on Woodland Street.

theater -- Not theatre, unless it is used in a proper name: the school’s theater, Schoedinger Theatre, theater lobby.

time -- Use a.m. and p.m. Instead of 12 p.m. or 12 a.m., use noon or midnight to avoid confusion.

U.S. -- Use as an adjective: John Smith retired from the U.S. Army. Use United States as a noun: John lives in the United States.

Vikings -- Also, Vikes is acceptable after first use.

weights -- Use figures: The baby weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces. She had a 6-pound, 7-ounce boy.

website -- Also, webpage or homepage.

World Wide Web -- Always capitalize. Also capitalize Internet.