This style guide identifies the rules, conventions, usage and preferred spellings commonly used and specific to University of Wisconsin Law School publications. It is intended to provide as much consistency as reasonably possible, and it is updated over time as the use or preference of language evolves.
Most of our publications, including the Gargoyle alumni magazine, follow the The Associated Press Stylebook (as of 2023) and the Merriam-Webster dictionary (AP preferred change as of 2024).
The most notable exception is that Admissions (Viewbook, Fact Card) uses the Oxford comma.
For most references, use law degree, bachelor's degree, master's degree, or doctorate in place of degree abbreviations. Bachelor of arts degree or master of fine arts degree is also acceptable. Use abbreviations only when necessary to distinguish the specific type of degree or when the use of full terms would prove cumbersome, such as in a list: She received her J.D. from Marquette and an LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown. He has an M.D. as well as a Ph.D. in biochemistry. Use commonly accepted abbreviations such as J.D., LL.B., LL.M., LL.D., B.A., M.A., M.S., Ph.D., etc. (note the periods). The word degree should not follow a degree abbreviation. See honors concerning terms of academic distinction used with degrees; see majors for referring to degrees in specific subjects.
Capitalize name of department and the words department, college, office, and school only when they appear as part of official name. Words such as department can be omitted on second reference, but if the department is still referred to by its official name, it should be capitalized. On the other hand, casual references to a department, where department is used as a descriptor, usually don't need to be capitalized: Department of Political Science; but a political science committee, the political science department. Do not capitalize department names when they are used to indicate the subject a professor teaches: Department of Anthropology, Dave Brown of Anthropology; but Dave Brown, professor of anthropology. Do not capitalize the words college, school, university, or department on second reference: College of Letters and Science, Law School, UW-Madison; but the college, the school, the university.
academic staff
Use only for employees officially designated as academic staff: Members of the academic staff, academic-staff member Jane Black.
Academic Staff Executive Committee (ASEC)
The executive arm of the Academic Staff Assembly.
academic titles
Capitalize and spell out formal titles such as professor, dean, president, chancellor, professor emeritus, and chairman only when they precede a name; lowercase when used in apposition: Dean Davis; Professor Julian Pleasants. But history professor Julian Pleasants; Julian Pleasants, professor of history; department chair Jon Roosenraad.
Do not capitalize ad hoc epithets that denote a person's duties: photographer Ann Wilson (not Photographer Ann Wilson).
See named professorships for the exception regarding formal named professor titles. See also emeritus.
acronym
Acronyms may be used to refer to an organization on second and subsequent references. In the first reference to the organization, set out the acronym parenthetically: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). If an organization's acronym is widely known, use the acronym for all references: IRS, FBI, CIA, CBS. (For further examples, see specific headings.) In general, use capital letters without periods for acronyms that are composed of the first letter of each word in the official name: NAACP, NLRB. If the acronym is a combination of words, capitalize only the first letter of each word: WiscInfo.
Use street addresses only for off-campus events and for announcements of events to off-campus audiences. Use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd. and St. only with a numbered address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Spell them out and capitalize when part of a formal street name without a number: Pennsylvania Avenue.
Lowercase and spell out when used alone or with more than one street name: Massachusetts and Pennsylvania avenues.
All similar words (alley, drive, road, terrace, etc.) always are spelled out. Capitalize them when part of a formal name without a number; lowercase when used alone or with two or more names.
Always use figures for an address number: 9 Morningside Circle. Spell out and capitalize First through Ninth when used as street names; use figures for 10th and above: 7 Fifth Ave., 100 21st St.
Abbreviate compass points used to indicate directional ends of a street or quadrants of a city in a numbered address: 222 E. 42nd St., 562 W. 43rd St., 600 K St. NW. Do not abbreviate if the number is omitted: East 42nd Street, West 43rd Street, K Street Northwest. No periods in quadrant abbreviations — NW, SE — unless customary locally.
adjunct
Title used for faculty with limited-term appointments. Although the University uses the term adjunct professor, the Law School does not. Use adjunct, lecturer or member of the adjunct faculty.
admission, admittance
Use admittance for physical entry to a specific place: no admittance to Ogg Hall. Use admission for figurative entry (admission of evidence) or, when physical entry is involved, in the further sense of right or privilege of participation: admission to law school, the price of admission to Mitchell Theatre.
Admissions, admissions office
Acceptable on second reference for the Law School Admissions Office.
Admitted Students Weekend
Use the plural students.
adviser
Not advisor.
alumni association
Acceptable on second reference for the Wisconsin Alumni Association or for alumni associations of specific schools or colleges: the Law School's alumni association. See Wisconsin Alumni Association.
alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae
Use alumnus (alumni in the plural) when referring to a man who has attended a school. Use alumna (alumnae in the plural) for similar references to a woman. Use alumni when referring to groups of men and women. In most informal uses, alum is an acceptable alternative. These terms can be used for people who attended and did not graduate.
Amendment
Capitalize when referring to amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Spell out the numbers one through nine; use numerals for 10 and above: Fourth Amendment; 14th Amendment. See also Constitution, U.S.
antitrust, antitrust law
Armory/Gymnasium
See Red Gym.
Journal articles, stories in a newspaper or magazine, book chapters, and other portions of a published work should be enclosed in quotation marks. See also composition titles.
Asian Pacific-American Law Students Association (APALSA)
assembly
Use assembly on second reference to refer to the Wisconsin State Assembly. If there may be confusion, use state assembly for the state legislative body.
Attorney
Capitalize as title before person's name.
attorney-client
Adjective, as in attorney-client privilege.
attorney fees
Not attorney's fees.
attorney-in-fact
Badgers
Official team name of UW men's and women's athletic teams. Acceptable as a substitute for UW on second reference for athletic teams or athletes: the Badgers host Minnesota, Badger athletes. Do not use to refer to other parts of the university or the state.
Benchers' Society
No apostrophe. On second reference, can use Benchers.
benefit
Not benefits as adjective: employee benefit issues.
Black Law Students Association (BLSA)
A 17-member panel that oversees the UW System. Use UW System Board of Regents on first reference and regents or board on second reference. Regents are appointed by the governor and are led by a president.
breach-of-contract
As an adjective, use hyphens.
burden-of-proof
As an adjective, use hyphens.
Bucky Badger
Use only for specific references to the UW's mascot.
buildings
Capitalize official names of campus facilities. On second reference, lowercase when proper name is not used: the Mosse Humanities Building; but the building. Include street addresses only when citing the location of an off-campus event or for an event for off-campus audiences. In some cases, building may be used to prevent confusion with the academic department of the same name; do not capitalize building in these cases (Law School, Law School building), but in most cases building names can stand alone (Grainger Hall, School of Human Ecology).
business, firm names
As of 2014, we no longer include entity type (PC, LLC, etc.); this is inline with common formatting standards. For example, use Smith & Jones, not Smith & Jones, LLC.
- The phrase and title “of counsel” is lowercase.
Camp Randall
Camp Randall, located on campus west of Randall Avenue, was used as a training ground, hospital, and stockade during the Civil War. The university's athletic facilities are located on the site of Camp Randall, along with a park and a memorial arch. Be sure to distinguish Camp Randall Stadium, the UW football stadium, from Camp Randall.
campus
Resist the temptation to use campus as a substitute for UW-Madison. The word is best used where it refers to the physical setting of the university: construction on campus, but not drinking on campus unless you mean within the physical bounds of campus; advising at UW-Madison, but not advising on UW-Madison's campus.
Campus Assistance and Visitors Center (CAVC)
Housed in the Red Gym, the CAVC runs the visitors center, as well as other services such as campus tours, group visits, and information requests. When directing people to its visitor offices, use visitors center.
Capital is the city in which the seat of government is located. It is also used to describe money, equipment, or property: Capital Square; capital budget; The state capital is Madison. Capitol is the building in which state or federal government is housed. See capitol.
capitol
The building in which state or federal government is housed. Use lowercase for state houses; capitalize for the building in Washington, DC: The state budget debate will head to the capitol. The Capitol was closed because of the anthrax scare. Also, Capitol Hill; but Capital Square (in Madison). See also capital.
Center for Patient Partnerships
Formerly the Patient Advocacy Project. Law School clinic, jointly run with Medical and Nursing Schools.
centers
Use lowercase when not referring to the full name of an academic or research center: the Campus Assistance Center; but the center.
chancellor
Capitalize as a formal title preceding a name or part of a formal office or committee name. Lowercase second reference: Chancellor John Wiley, the Chancellor's Office; but the chancellor will attend. Use just last name on second reference, no title.
class years for students and alumni
Capitalize Class if it is used, with graduation year in full: She is a member of the Class of 1985.
For identifying people by class when they are known to be students or alumni: Joan Smith '85, Peter Jones '02 (no comma, no parentheses).
clerk of court
Not clerk of courts.
coed
Coed residence halls house students of both sexes. Never use to refer to a female college student.
committee
Capitalize names of specific committees and task forces: The Committee on Undergraduate Education met yesterday. Lowercase second references: The task force selected the guest speakers.
In general, use italics for the following: titles of books, pamphlets, movies, plays, and works of art; newspapers, journals, and other periodicals; and operas and long musical compositions.
In addition, use italics for titles of televison programs that are continuing series; use quotation marks, however, to refer to a nonseries program or a single episode: Her favorite episode of The Simpsons is "Marge vs. the Monorail."
In general, use quotation marks for titles of poems, songs, and unpublished works such as lectures and speeches. But, use italics for titles of poetry collections and long poems published separately: Paradise Lost; "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," from Prufrock and Other Observations.
Use plain roman type for references to the Bible.
Capitalize the first and last words and all principal words (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) of a title. In addition, capitalize all subordinating conjunctions (if, because, as, that, etc.). Capitalize prepositions of five or more letters; use lowercase for prepositions of four or fewer letters. Use lowercase for articles, coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor), and the to in infinitives: Of Mice and Men; All's Well That Ends Well; "Everybody's Got Something to Hide (Except for Me and My Monkey)."
Translate a foreign title into English unless a work is known to the American public by its foreign name: Vivaldi's The Four Seasons; but Verdi's La Traviata.
See also course titles, articles, and lectures for more guidelines.
conflict of law
As a noun, no hyphens. Use hyphens as an adjective.
Constitution, U.S.
Capitalize all subparts: Article I, Section 8, Clause 17. [Bluebook Rule 8]
See also Amendment.
Constitution, Wisconsin
Lowercase all subparts: article VII, section 2 [implied by Bluebook Rule 8]
Consumer Law Litigation Clinic
Law School clinical program.
Continuing Legal Education for Wisconsin (CLEW)
Lowercase when referring to multiple courses or courses in general: a fine-arts class; business classes. Uppercase if referring to specific name of a class or the class uses a proper noun or numeral: Psychology 200; History 205: Early American History; the professor teaches Introduction to Political Theory and a section of Government Affairs.
In general, do not use the courtesy titles Miss, Mr., Mrs., or Ms. with first and last names of the person: Betty Ford; Jimmy Carter. Do not use Mr. in any reference unless it is combined with Mrs.: Mr. and Mrs. John Smith; Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Do not use titles such as Professor, Chancellor, Doctor, or Dr. on second reference. [Chicago does not address this issue; this rule is a departure from AP style, which suggests using Dr. with medical doctors.]
Criminal Appeals Project
Clinical program in the Law School's Remington Center.
criminal justice
As adjective, no hyphen: criminal justice issues.
curriculum
Curricula in plural form.
D
dates
Spell out months and days of the week, except in closely set matter such as tables and lists: Tuesday, August 9; September 15, 1991. Never use a comma between the month and year when a specific day is not mentioned; the same applies for seasons: September 2001; fall 1991. The year should be set off by commas when a complete date is given: He always said that February 8, 1990, was the most important day of his life.
See also days, months, years.
days, months, years
Do not use on with dates when its absence would not lead to confusion: the program ends December 15 (not on December 15).
To describe sequences or inclusive dates or times use an en dash instead of to: Apply here May 7-9, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Use numerals rather than words or ordinal numbers (such as 10th, 11th, and 12th) when referring to specific dates: Submit applications by October 14 (not October 14th).
Spell out references to centuries, spelling out the numbers one through nine and using numerals for 10 and above; century is lowercased: the fourth century; the 19th century. For decades, use figures and add an s with no apostrophe to make the plural: 1960s; the 1890s. Use an apostrophe to substitute for the current century when citing class years or for other short references to a decade: She belonged to the Class of '72. Her father was a young man in the '40s.
See also dates.
dean
Capitalize as part of title: Dean Kenneth B. Davis, Jr. Do not capitalize when general: All the deans and directors agreed.
Department of Corrections (DOC)
Department of Workforce Development (DWD)
doctor
Professor is preferred. Use Dr. as a formal title only in quotes or when one's academic background is at issue. See courtesy titles; titles.
doctorate
Not doctorate degree. Use doctorate instead of abbreviations for most references. See academic degrees.
DoIT
Acceptable on second reference for the Division of Information Technology, the centralized computing-services organization for UW-Madison.
drop/add
Use a slash (/) with no spaces when referring to the official drop/add period.
E
East Asian Legal Studies Center
eastern daylight time, eastern standard time
When spelled out, use lowercase. EDT and EST are also acceptable.
Economic Justice Institute, Inc.
Formerly the Center for Public Representation, Inc. (CPR). Public interest law firm that, among other things, provides clinical experience for UW law students.
emeritus
Used to denote individuals who have retired but retain their rank or title. Use emeritus when referring to a male professor and emerita for a female professor. Use professors emeritus when referring to groups of men and women. Place after the formal title: Professor Emeritus Samuel Eliot Morison; Deborah Hancock, professor emerita of history. Not all retirees receive emeritus status; consult a current list (one is printed in the campus directory) to be certain. Some retirees may retain named professorships. See named professorships; see also academic titles.
ethical, ethics
Ethical can mean either "conforming to ethics" or "relating to ethics." Distinguishing which sense is intended, however, is not always clear. To avoid this confusion, use ethical for the former sense: conforming to ethics. E.g.: ethical authorization, breach, conduct, considerations, duty, limitation, prohibition, qualification, requirements (in the general sense), restriction, stricture, violation, etc. For the second sense--relating to ethics--use ethics as a modifier: ethics rule, opinion, provision, code, commission, guidelines, clearinghouse, project, requirements (relating specifically to continuing legal education requirements), etc.
F
faculty
Can stand alone on most references; use member in conjunction with faculty only when stating a person's membership among the faculty: The faculty voted down the proposal. Smith was on the faculty for 30 years. Smith, a member of the faculty, voted against the proposal. Like other collective nouns (group, staff, committee), faculty can be used in singular and plural senses. Use singular when the term refers to the whole unit: The law faculty has regular monthly meetings. Use plural form when the term refers to individual members within the collective: The faculty are divided.
fall
See seasons.
Family Law Clinic
Law School clinic.
Family Law Project
Clinical program in the Law School's Remington Center.
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
To refer to a specific rule in text, use Federal Rule of Civil Procedure xx. For short references, use rule xx. (Note: do not use italics.)
Field House
Official name of the gymnasium at the corner of Randall Avenue and Monroe Street. For external publications, use UW Field House to clarify its connection with campus. Formerly the home court for UW basketball games, the Field House is used for volleyball, wrestling, and other campus events.
14th Amendment
Fourth Amendment
Frank J. Remington Center
Full name is Frank J. Remington Center for Education, Research, and Services in Criminal Justice. Houses the following clinical programs at UW Law School: Legal Assistance to Institutionalized Persons Project (LAIP), Criminal Appeals Project, Family Law Project, Wisconsin Innocence Project, Restorative Justice Project, Neighborhood Law Project, Prosecution Project, Public Defender Project.
G
Gargoyle
Capitalize and italicize for name of Law School alumni magazine. Although we say "the Gargoyle" when referring to this magazine, the word "The" is not part of its title. When referring to the sculpted figure standing near the 2nd floor entrance, use lowercase: We gave the speaker a gargoyle.
graduate
As an adjective, lowercase except as part of an official formal title.
graduate school
Capitalize reference to the official Graduate School; lowercase informal references to post-undergraduate education: The Graduate School released transcripts. She attended graduate school at UW-Madison.
grant-in-aid
Plural is grants-in-aid.
H
Hemsley Theatre
This theater is in Vilas Hall, along with the Mitchell Theatre. University Theatre productions are often staged here.
Hmong
Preferred name for descendants of the Hmong population in Southeast Asia. Wisconsin has one of the largest populations of Hmong people in the United States; most Hmong populations came to the United States as refugees from Laos and Thailand during the Vietnam War. Best used as an adjective, not a noun: Hmong customs; students of Hmong descent; She is Hmong. Not The Hmong have lived A Hmong enrolled
Ho-Chunk
Preferred name of the Native American tribe also known as the Winnebago tribe: a Ho-Chunk student; She is Ho-Chunk. Use Ho-Chunk nation when referring to the tribe as a whole.
Homecoming
Capitalize when referring to the annual event.
Honorable
Only use "the Honorable" in a direct quote, or in a list of individuals with honorifics, such as in a conference program. In the latter case, the abbreviation Hon. is traditionally used before a full name when the does not precede the title (Hon. Jane Doe). With the, such titles should be spelled out (the Honorable Jane Doe).
honors
Capitalize only if used as part of an official name: the College of Letters and Science Honors Program; but an honors student. In general, UW-Madison does not use Latin terms (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude) for academic distinction. The Law School, however, does use these terms. Use cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude without italics when referring to terms of distinction earned for UW law degrees or other non-UW degrees.
I
in pari delicto
Use italics.
Indian
In general, use Indian for people who are native to India. Use Native American for people of tribes indigenous to the United States; Indian in this context should only be used in official titles and certain terms of art, such as Indian gaming and Indian law. When possible, be precise and use the name of the tribe: Native American students; She is Navajo. But Indigenous Law Students Association; Great Lakes Indian Law Center. See also Native American.
Indigenous Law Students Association (ILSA)
Innocence Project
See Wisconsin Innocence Project.
instructor
A non-tenure-track faculty rank.
J
journals
Italicize the names of journals.
Judicial Commission
Capitalize.
Judicial Intern Program
Law School intern program.
Jr., Sr.
Do not precede with a comma (Joe Johnson Jr.) except in business correspondence. Roman numerals never take comma: Joe Johnson III. Exception: Kenneth B. Davis, Jr.
junior
See student classifications.
K
L
L&S
Acceptable on second reference for the College of Letters and Science.
La Follette School of Public Affairs
Space after La. Used to be La Follette Institute.
Labor Law Clinical Program
Law School intern program.
Lakefront Cafeteria
land grant
UW-Madison was designated a land-grant institution in 1866 by the Wisconsin Legislature, making it one of the oldest land-grant institutions in the nation. The Morrill Land Grant College Act of 1862 was designed to encourage states to establish agricultural and mechanical arts universities. Since then, the definition of land grant has broadened to mean a philosophy of education that provides research-based education, extension services, and teaching devoted to helping people solve problems. Hyphenate when used as a compound adjective, but not as part of the official name of the Morrill Act.
Latin words
Many Latin words and phrases, such as alumnus, cum laude, emeritus, and curriculum vitae, are common to academic life and do not need to be translated for audiences familiar with academia. Similarly, Latin legal words and phrases are familiar to the law school community and thus need not be translated. Do not use italics for these familiar words and phrases.
Consult a dictionary when using the plural form of Latin words. In general, for words that end in -us, substitute -i to form the plural (alumnus, alumni); for words ending in -um, substitute -a (colloquium, colloquia); and for words ending in -a, substitute -ae (alumna, alumnae). Exceptions to this are formulas (not formulae), forums (not fora), and syllabuses (not syllabi).
Many Latin words, such as alumnus and emeritus, have female senses: alumna, alumnae; emerita, emeritae.
See foreign words for further guidance. See also honors for use of Latin terms of academic distinction, such as cum laude.
Latino Law Students Association (LLSA)
law firms
Do not include business types in firm names (i.e., use Smith & Jones, not Smith & Jones, LLC).
law in action
Style is Law in Action (capitalized and no hyphens).
When used as adjective, add hyphens: law-in-action tradition.
Law School
Capitalize when referring specifically to the UW Law School: He graduated from the Law School in 1996 (He graduated from UW Law School in 1996). But use lowercase for more general references: She decided to attend law school; Our law school is nationally ranked. Generally, do not capitalize "School' when used alone: The school is participating in a survey. See also University of Wisconsin Law School.
Law School Student Bar Association (SBA)
lectures
If using the full citation of an officially titled lecture, enclose the title in quotes and capitalize key words: the professor's lecture, "How to Get Ahead in Business." In most cases, using the exact title of a lecture should be avoided in favor of a general reference: a lecture on how to get ahead in business. Some lectures carry honorific titles that should be capitalized: She delivered the William Noll Lecture in Bacteriology.
See also composition titles.
Legal Assistance to Institutionalized Persons Project (LAIP)
Clinical program in the Law School's Remington Center.
Legal Defense Program (LDP)
Law School clinical program.
Legal Education Opportunity (LEO) Program
legislature
Use legislature on second reference to refer to the Wisconsin State Legislature.
lower campus
Refers to the east end of campus at the foot of Bascom Hill. Lower campus is bounded by Lake Street on the east, Lake Mendota on the north, Dayton Street on the south, and Park Street on the west. Do not capitalize except as part of an organization's name.
LSAT
Acceptable in all references for the Law School Admissions Test. See also ACT; SAT.
M
Madison
Use Madison to refer to the city, not the UW-Madison campus. The Madison campus is acceptable when it is clear that the UW System is at issue. See cities for rules regarding use of state names with cities.
majors
Do not capitalize majors, programs, specializations, or concentrations of study when they are not part of an official department name or title: She received a bachelor's degree in history. She majored in economics. See academic degrees; academic departments.
master's degree
Use instead of abbreviations for most references. See academic degrees.
Memorial Union
Memorial Union is the building that houses dining rooms, theaters, lounges, and student organization offices. Memorial Union houses the Porter Butts, Class of 1925, and Theater Galleries. To avoid confusion with Wisconsin Union or Union South, do not use Union as a substitute. See Wisconsin Union for more rules concerning the student unions and their activities.
Mitchell Theatre
This theater is in Vilas Hall, along with the Hemsley Theatre. University Theatre productions are often staged here.
Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center
Monona Terrace is acceptable on second reference.
Mosse Humanities Building
Use Mosse Humanities for the Humanities Building, 455 North Park Street, which was renamed to honor George Mosse.
N
named professorships
Capitalize formal titles of named professorships on all references: Jan Smith has been named the Bascom Professor of Law. Jan Smith, Bascom Professor of Law, received the award. Some emeritus professors may retain named professorships.
Neighborhood Law Project
Clinical program in the Law School's Remington Center.
notice-of-motion
As adjective. Hyphenate.
O
on campus, on-campus
On-campus is an adjective: Students live in on-campus housing. On campus (no hyphen) is an adverb: She has a job on campus.
P
Patient Advocacy Project
See Center for Patient Partnerships.
Ph.D.
Use doctorate for most references. See academic degree.
plaintiff
In referring to a plaintiff, use masculine or feminine pronouns, as appropriate, rather than it or its, unless it's clear that the plaintiff is an entity.
pleaded
Past tense. Not pled or plead. [Garner]
postconviction
postgraduate
Also postdoctoral.
postjudgment
post-trial
We hyphenate post-trial to avoid the double t.
Praxis
Law School literary magazine, published by a student organization of the same name.
preelection
prelaw
One word.
premed, premedical
One word.
preprofessional
One word. But pre-pharmacy.
Pres House
One s. (Origin is from Presbyterian.) Address is 731 State Street, for use in event announcements.
president
Title for both the administrative head of the UW System and the leader of the governor-appointed UW System Board of Regents: Katharine Lyall is president of the UW System. San Orr is president of the UW System Board of Regents. Use system president and regent president on second reference.
pretrial
professor
Capitalize only before a name. Do not capitalize a subject, however, unless it is a proper noun. Do not abbreviate: He studied under history Professor Bob Jones. Bob Jones is a professor of history. See also named professorships for exception regarding formal named professor titles.
programs
Capitalize only when referring to the formal name of the program. See academic departments; majors.
Prosecution Project
Clinical externship in the Law School's Remington Center.
Public Defender Project
Clinical externship in the Law School's Remington Center.
public interest law
No hyphens
public sector
As adjective, no hyphen.
Q
R
radio stations
UW-Extension operates WHA-AM, a public radio station serving the state. WSUM-FM is a student-run radio station that has operations on the Internet, but it has not yet begun broadcasting on the airwaves. See WHA-AM; WSUM-FM.
Rathskeller
In Memorial Union.
Red Gym
Acceptable on all references for the Armory and Gymnasium, the campus building constructed in 1894 that now houses student-services offices, the Student Organizations Office, and the visitors center.
regents
See Board of Regents.
regent president
Acceptable on second reference for the president of the UW System Board of Regents.
registrar
Use Office of the Registrar or the registrar's office when not referring specifically to the university registrar.
residence halls
Preferred to dormitories. Student housing also acceptable for general reference to on- and off-campus housing. Residence halls are managed by University Housing.
respondeat superior
No italics. See Latin words.
Restorative Justice Project
Clinical program in the Law School's Remington Center.
room
Capitalize in such uses as Union South Room 214, although in most cases Room can be omitted and the number placed in front of the building name: 214 Union South.
ROTC
Acceptable on first reference for Reserve Officer Training Corps.
rules of evidence
Use lowercase in general references. But Wisconsin Rules of Evidence.
Rules of Professional Conduct
S
school
Capitalize only as part of a formal title on first reference. See academic departments.
SCR xx.xx
Format for references to Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules, in text (or citations).
seasons
Lowercase for fall, winter, spring, and summer, and all derived words such as springtime: fall semester, spring 1998. Capitalize only when part of a formal name: Winter Olympics.
semester
Lowercase in general: fall semester; spring semester. Use uppercase for official name of semester when a course was given: Fall 2002.
senate
Use senate on second reference to refer to the Faculty Senate or the Wisconsin Senate. If there may be confusion, use state senate for the state legislative body. Use Senate on second reference to refer to the U.S. Senate.
senator
Use senator or member of the senate to refer to members of the Faculty Senate. Use uppercase as formal titles for members of the state senate and U.S. Senate; lowercase when used without a name or in apposition to a name: Senator Herb Kohl; Senator Chuck Chvala; Chuck Chvala, a state senator.
spring
See seasons.
state
Do not capitalize state unless part of a formal title: Wisconsin State Senate; but in state courts.
State Bar of Wisconsin Minority Clerkship Program
State Historical Society of Wisconsin
Old name, as of 2001, for the Wisconsin Historical Society.
states
Spell out state names when they stand alone in textual material. In mailing addresses or closely set matter as lists or tables, use the standard two-letter postal abbreviations for the state names.
When included with city names, offset state names by commas and use the following abbreviations (with the exception of Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, and Utah, which are not abbreviated in datelines or text):
| Ala. Ariz. Ark. Calif. Colo. Conn. Del. Fla. Ga. Ill. |
Ind. Kan. Ky. La. Md. Mass. Mich. Minn. Miss. Mo. |
Mont. Neb. Nev. N.C. N.D. N.H. N.J. N.M. N.Y. Okla. Ore. |
Pa. R.I. S.C. S.D. Tenn. Va. Vt. Wash. W.Va. Wis. Wyo. |
See cities for more information about when to include state names with city names; see also addresses.
statute of limitation
Not statute of limitations. Use hyphens for the adjectival form: a statute-of-limitation case.
street addresses
See addresses.
student classifications
Do not capitalize freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior when referring to a single student. (Plural of freshman is freshmen.) Similarly, do not capitalize when referring to the class as a whole or collective group: He is a senior communications major. The senior class sponsored the lecture.
Supreme Court Rules, Wisconsin
When referring to the rules as a unit, use Supreme Court Rules. When referring generically to a rule, use the supreme court rule. See also SCR xx.xx for references to specific rules in text.
System
Acceptable on second reference for UW System. Capitalize at all times. See UW System.
System president
Acceptable on second reference for the president of the UW System. See also president.
T
telephone numbers
If a publication is strictly for on-campus use, omit the area code: 262-0186. If the publication may or will be sent off campus use 608-262-0186. If including more than one extension, use a slash between the numbers: 608-262-0186/0188. Do not use five-digit on-campus extensions, such as 2-0186, for any publication. When listing toll-free numbers, do not list the initial 1-: 800-222-4000.
temperature
Spell out or use numerals according to the rules governing numbers. See numbers. Spell out degrees when referring to specific temperatures. Use the word minus instead of a minus sign for temperatures below zero. Use Fahrenheit or Celsius if scale is not made clear otherwise: 90 degrees Fahrenheit; zero degrees Celsius; a low of minus nine degrees. [Chi. 8.12]
Terrace
Use Union Terrace or Memorial Union Terrace to avoid confusion with Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center.
times
Use figures except for noon and midnight. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes and a.m. or p.m. (always lowercase with no space). Do not include a colon or minutes if the time is exactly on the hour: 11 a.m.; 3:30 p.m. Avoid such redundancies as 10 a.m. this morning. When expressing a range of times use from to introduce the range and an en dash between the times, with no spaces separating the characters from the en dash. If both times are a.m. or p.m., include a.m. or p.m. only with the later time: The concert lasts from 9 a.m.-noon. The course will meet Tuesdays from 1-5 p.m.
titles
In general, capitalize only formal titles directly before an individual's name. Do not separate the name from the title with a comma. For rules regarding use of formal job titles, see academic titles; see also courtesy titles and composition titles.
transfer
When referring to students who have transferred from other institutions, use transfer students, not transfers.
U
Unemployment Appeals Clinic
Law School intern program.
Union
Acceptable on second use for Wisconsin Union. Do not use as a substitute for Memorial Union or Union South to prevent confusion between the two. See Wisconsin Union.
university
Capitalize only as part of a formal title on first reference. Always lowercase on second reference: a discussion of university matters. See academic departments.
University of Wisconsin Colleges
Use UW Colleges on all collective references to these 13 two-year campuses. To avoid confusion with UW-Madison's colleges, do not use Colleges. For references to specific campuses, use UW College-[campus location]: UW College-Marathon County.
University of Wisconsin Law School
Avoid using "the" in front of University of Wisconsin Law School or UW Law.
Use UW Law School, UW Law or Law School on second reference.
Our law school on the Madison campus is the only one in the Universities of Wisconsin System (aka the UW System).
Do not use UW-Madison in references to the law school.
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Note use of the en dash (rather than a hyphen). See the main campus style guide.
URLs
When appearing in the Gargoyle magazine, they should be blue and underlined to reflect the way they appear on the web.
UW-Madison
Note use of the en dash (rather than a hyphen). Acceptable on second reference for external publications and all references for internal communication for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In most cases, the is unnecessary when using UW-Madison: research at UW-Madison; a faculty member at UW-Madison. To prevent confusion with other UW System units, do not use UW in place of UW-Madison, except in cases where the unit is officially named University of Wisconsin instead of University of Wisconsin-Madison: UW Hospital and Clinics; UW Credit Union; UW Athletics.
V
W
Wisconsin
Spell out in running text, including with city names that require a state name. In closely set matter, such as tables or lists, abbreviate as WI. See cities for additional rules.
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF)
Use full name on first reference to the foundation itself. WARF is acceptable on first reference to the building that houses the foundation and other university offices. Use WARF building to prevent confusion with the organization.
Wisconsin District Attorneys Association (WDAA)
No apostrophe in Attorneys.
Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC)
Acronym reference should be to the WERC.
Wisconsin Historical Society
New name, as of 2001, of the former State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Hoofers
Outdoor sports club made up primarily of UW-Madison students. As part of the Wisconsin Union, the club is open to anyone and offers activities in sailing, skiing, climbing, and horseback riding. There are seven individual Hoofer clubs, which collectively form the Hoofers. Hoofer (or Hoofers if the reference is to the whole organization) is acceptable on second reference or in event listings where abbreviated form is used to save space. Hoofer is acceptable for use as an adjective, but do not use Hoofer's: Hoofer activities; a Hoofer expedition; a meeting of the Hoofer club. Seven individual clubs make up the overall Hoofer Council. The seven are scuba, sailing, outing, gliding, riding, ski and snowboard, mountaineering, and youth instruction program.
Wisconsin Idea
Use capital letters and no quotation marks when referring to the tradition of university outreach elucidated during the administration of President Charles Van Hise: in the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea.
Wisconsin Innocence Project
Clinical program in the Law School's Remington Center.
Wisconsin International Law Journal
Wisconsin Law Review
Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television
See WHA-AM; WHA-TV.
Wisconsin Rules of Evidence
Wisconsin State Public Defender
Wisconsin Union
Use Wisconsin Union to refer to the organization that manages Memorial Union, Union South, and other Union activities. Use Memorial Union or Union South when referring to these physical locations. Union is acceptable only when referring in general to activities sponsored by the Wisconsin Union, not to specific locations. Wisconsin Union is a private entity organized separately from UW-Madison; do not use UW-Madison Union or UW Union.
Wisconsin Union Theater
Do not confuse this theater, which hosts plays, films, and dance companies, with groups that produce plays on campus. Also do not confuse with Memorial Union's March Play Circle.
Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society
Y
years
Use figures, without a comma following the thousands place: 1986. Use a year only when referring to a year other than the present one. For academic years, use four digits, an en dash, then two digits: 1998-99; 2000-01. But 1999-2000. If a sentence begins with a year reference, spell out the year or, better yet, recast the sentence: The year 1976 was memorable for fashion. In some alumni publications, graduation years may be abbreviated by replacing 19 with an apostrophe (the Class of '85). Most references are clearer without this arrangement, but if it is used, do not abbreviate graduation years from any but the 20th century. For guidance on decades, centuries, and other year-related issues, see days, months, years.
