I-R

IIT

Not I.I.T. Use Illinois Institute of Technology in the first reference, IIT in subsequent references. IIT is never preceded by “the.” IIT should precede the individual schools of the university, e.g., He attended IIT Stuart School of Business (note absence of possessive). Illinois Institute of Technology and its logo should be used prominently on covers of brochures and in advertising headlines.

IIT College of Psychology

If making more than one reference, use IIT College of Psychology in the first, and College of Psychology thereafter.

IIT Research Institute

Not Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute. In first reference use IIT Research Institute (IITRI) and IITRI thereafter. The name of the main IITRI facility is The Tower, not IITRI Tower, as it was previously called.

Illinois Institute of Technology

Never preceded by “the.”

[see IIT]

in-laws

Always hyphenate in all uses, e.g., brother-in-law, mother-in-law. Plural is brothers-in-law.

institute

Illinois Institute of Technology should always be referred to as a university, or as an institution, never as an institute. Lowercase institute and center when generally referring to IIT’s research groups or as a second reference.

Institute for Science, Law, and Technology

If making more than one reference, use Institute for Science, Law, and Technology in the first, and ISLAT thereafter. There is no ampersand.

Institute of Design

If making more than one reference, use IIT Institute of Design in the first, and ID thereafter. ID is located downtown (River North Campus), though it is administratively part of IIT.

International Center

Not International Cultural Center.

Internet

Always capitalize; similarly the Web.

IPRO

Noted as Interprofessional Projects (IPRO) Program; IPRO on second reference. The word interprofessional is used to describe the academic aims of IIT, although not all academic projects are officially IPRO projects.

Jr. and Sr.

Do not use a comma to offset this suffix, e.g., Bob Smith Jr. The same rule applies to II, III, etc., but not to M.D. or Ph.D.

landmark

Use the word to describe only buildings or sites that have been officially declared landmarks. S. R. Crown Hall has been designated a landmark; the official designation should be capitalized, e.g., National Historic Landmark.

lecture series

Capitalize the name of a lecture series. Use quotations only for titles of individual lectures, e.g., At the Ralph Peck Lecture, the speaker delivered the lecture “Toward a Greener Planet.”

line breaks

In printed publications, avoid more than two subsequent lines that end (break) with hyphens. When two lines break at an en dash or em dash, the dashes should appear on the previous line. Avoid auto-hyphenation in narrow columns.

Main Campus

Always capitalize. Not the Main Campus.

marketplace

master plan

Lowercase in all uses unless part of a proper name, e.g., Main Campus Master Plan.

McCormick Student Village

One of IIT’s residence hall complexes.

McCormick Tribune Campus Center, The

Capitalize the formal name. Lowercase general references to the campus center, as in Rem Koolhaas designed IIT’s campus center. Note the use of “The” with a capital in the formal title. Do not use “The” when the formal name is preceded by an adjective, e.g., the new McCormick Tribune Campus Center. MTCC on subsequent references is acceptable.

M.D. and Ph.D.

Avoid using in running copy [see doctor, Dr.]. Generally, Ph.D. is only used when designating a degree as part of alumni affiliation. When used, however, commas should precede both M.D. and Ph.D., e.g., Fred Smith, Ph.D. is the department chair.

midnight

Do not put a 12 in front of it or use 12 a.m. [see time of day]

Midwest

Mid-South

Mies van der Rohe

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is the full and preferred name in a first reference, though Mies van der Rohe is also acceptable. Use Mies for subsequent references. Possessive is Mies’.

Modernist, Modernism

Always capitalize. Lowercase modern.

Moffett Campus

Always capitalize.

movies

Italicize names of movies. Do not place in quotations.

names

Use a person’s first and last name in the first use. In subsequent uses, use last name only, e.g., Martin Jischke is president emeritus of Purdue University; Jischke is an IIT alumnus. When two individuals with the same last name appear in articles of most publications, use the first names on second references or for clarity. In some publications or advertisements, students’ first names may be used where appropriate or to evoke emotion, although last names are preferred.

For individuals whose last names begin with a lowercase van (e.g., van der Meer), capitalize the v on the second reference unless the individual specifies otherwise.

nicknames

Appear in quotations within the birth name, e.g., M. A. “Al” Self. In some cases, primarily in lists of names, parentheses can be used in place of quotations for visual clarity.

nonprofit, not-for-profit

Do not put a 12 in front of it or use 12 p.m. [see time of day]

numerals

Spell out whole numbers below 10. Use figures for 10 and above. Place a comma in four-digit numbers such as 1,243 (exception: SAT scores). Use numerals but not zeroes for large numbers, e.g., 4 trillion. In a series containing numbers of 10 or above, use numerals for all amounts, e.g., There were 4 students, 10 faculty, and 3 staff. Use numerals with percent for all numbers, e.g., 8 percent, unless the figure is technical data, in which case the % symbol should be used, e.g., 8%. For uses not covered by these guidelines, follow The Chicago Manual of Style.

Office of Admission

No “s” on the official title of this office. More specifically, one can use the Undergraduate Office of Admission.

online

Do not hyphenate.

papers

Research papers and the like should be capitalized and placed in quotations.

part-time, full-time

Hyphenate when used as an adjective.

percent

Spell out in copy. In charts, graphs, and tables, and when referring to scientific data, the % sign is acceptable.

periodicals

Italicize names of periodicals. Do not place in quotations.

Ph.D.

Plural is Ph.D.s. Generally, Ph.D. is not used unless designating a degree as part of alumni affiliation. When referring to a medical doctor, use only Dr.; see the doctor entry for usage. Do not use Dr. to indicate a Ph.D. who is not a physician.

phone numbers, punctuation

Preferred IIT style for phone numbers follows the example 312.567.3104.

postal abbreviations

Use two-letter postal abbreviations only for mailing addresses on postal correspondence. In all body copy follow the state abbreviations as designation by AP style. (Exception: formal invitations, in which case all abbreviations should be avoided.)

[see state abbreviations]

postscript

In IIT Magazine, postscript copy (generally, Web urls, contact information, etc.) should be italicized.

possessives

Use the possessive’s for words ending in s, e.g., James’s, not James’. (Exception: Mies’)

premier, premiere

Premier is an adjective to describe something of importance or size, or a noun for the head of a government. Premiere is a noun to describe something first in order.

professional societies

Capitalize in all uses.

professor

Capitalize when used as a formal title before a full name. Lowercase when used after a name. Do not abbreviate. Avoid using the title on second references. Note the importance of using the accurate professorial rank, e.g., associate professor should be used over the more general professor.

quotation marks

Closing double and single quotation marks always follow a comma and period (even though that may seem counterintuitive). They precede a colon and semicolon. Do not confuse a single quote with a final apostrophe, which always precedes the period or comma. Television and radio shows are capitalized and placed in quotations, as are book chapters, individual lecture titles, journal articles, papers, dissertations, and theses. Make sure that the quotation marks are in fact quotations and not the symbol for inches. See smart/“curly” quotes for proper keying.

residence halls

Never refer to residence halls as dormitories.

Rice Campus

Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Campus in formal references, Rice Campus in casual and subsequent references.

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