Lists
- Bullets should be used in all cases where the ordering of material is not important. When the ordering of material is important (e.g., instructions), use numbers.
- If the introductory sentence preceding the list is a complete sentence, use a colon or a period at the end of that sentence. If the sentence is incomplete, do NOT use any punctuation before starting the list.
- When the individual items on a list are complete sentences, use standard sentence rules. Capitalize the beginning word and end each item with a period. If the items are incomplete sentences, do NOT capitalize the beginning word of each item, and close the list with a period after the final item.
- List items should be constructed in parallel form when possible
Month abbreviations
Jan., Feb., March, April, May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.
- Always abbreviate the month if the day is present. Example: Aug. 15 or Aug. 15, 2017.
- Do NOT abbreviate the month if only the year is present. Example: August 2017 or August.
Names and titles
Individuals—Capitalize a title immediately preceding a name, but lowercase the title if it follows the name or stands by itself. For example:
- President Dennis Assanis OR Dennis Assanis, president of the University
- Interim Vice President Jason Cash OR Jason Cash, interim vice president, Information Technologies
IT unit names—The following table displays the proper usage and abbreviations of the titles of IT units.
| Full Unit Name | Unit’s Abbreviation |
| Information Technologies | IT |
| IT Academic Technology Services | IT-ATS |
| IT Client Support & Services | IT-CS&S |
| IT Communication Group | ITCG |
| IT Management Information Services | IT-MIS |
| IT Network and Systems Services | IT-NSS |
| IT Network and Systems Services Infrastructure Group | IT-NSS Infrastructure |
| IT Research Computing | ITRC |
| IT Support Center | ITSC |
| IT University Media Services | IT-UMS |
| IT Web Development | IT-WD |
University—The official title is the “University of Delaware.” On second reference and in headlines, “UD” is preferred. Constructions such as “U of D,” UofD,” and “the U of D” are NOT used. Do not use periods in “UD.” Capitalize “University” standing alone when referring to the University of Delaware.
When referring to the University as “UD” do not use “the” unless “UD is a modifier. For example:
- “Officials at UD confirmed…”
- “The UD sophomore has won two awards.”
Punctuation
- At the end of a sentence, there is only one space after the punctuation mark.
- The period at the end of a sentence is placed inside the closing quotation mark. For example, “You can search for that information using Google.”
- Use a comma before the “and” in a sentence that contains a series of items (the “Oxford comma”). For example, “He wanted to know how to use Firefox, Thunderbird, and Internet Explorer.”
Phone number format
University style is (xxx) xxx-xxxx. For example, the Support Center’s phone number should be listed as (302) 831-6000.
When omitting the area code, do not refer to the numbers as an “extension” number (e.g., “x6000”), always include the full seven-digit phone number (e.g., 831-6000, 573-4417).
Phrases (University-specific)
Follow the main University Brand Style Guide documentation for phrases used to refer to the University.
Seasons, sessions, and semesters
The names of seasons (i.e., summer, fall, winter, and spring) are all lowercase except when used as the first word of a sentence. Note that UD has spring and fall semesters and summer and winter sessions.
Time Format
8 a.m. or 5 p.m. (lowercase letters with periods); use noon for 12 p.m. If you need to refer to a midnight deadline, use 11:59 p.m. to avoid confusion.
URLs
When referencing a URL, if the address begins with www, omit the http:// as follows:
- www.it.udel.edu
- www.udel.edu
- www.udel.edu/udjobs
If the address does NOT begin with www, include the http:// as follows:
- http://udeploy.udel.edu
- http://copland.udel.edu
- http://highered.net
- http://www1.udel.edu/it/help/2fa
When referring to the IT home page, use this URL: www.it.udel.edu. Even though the actual page may be hosted elsewhere, that URL will always redirect to the correct location (currently http://www1.udel.edu/it).
