ON FORMS
For consistency and identity, external university forms must include the T-and-state logo with the wordmark or the T-and-state by itself.

ON PUBLICATIONS
The wordmark and T-and-state logo must appear prominently on all university publications, although not necessarily as the predominant design element. The wordmark and the T-and-state logo may be used as additional graphic elements in publication.

ON WRITING STYLE
Consistency of writing style is as important to Tech's identity as consistency of design. This section is not a comprehensive text but is designed to address some of the diversity of writing style at Tech.

The Marketing and Public Relations team uses and recommends The Associated Press Stylebook. There are always some exceptions to the rules; such exceptions are included in this guide as recommended style for use at Tech.

ABBREVIATION
Use abbreviations sparingly in correspondence or in text material; in all cases, spell out any word whose meaning may be clouded by abbreviation.

In first reference, spell out the name of an organization that may be abbreviated in subsequent references. Also in first reference, identify in parentheses the abbreviation to be used later. Examples: Louisiana Tech Concert Association (LTCA), Student Government Association (SGA), Bulldog Online Student System (BOSS).

Do not have the initials "LTU"; or "LA TECH" stand alone in the text of publications. Instead, use "Louisiana Tech University" on first reference and "Louisiana Tech" or "Tech" in subsequent references.

ACADEMIC DEGREES
Spell out when possible. Examples: bachelor's degree, master's degree, doctorate or doctoral degree. Abbreviate specific degrees with periods and without spaces between the letters and periods. Examples: B.A.; M.S.; Ph.D.; M.B.A.; J.D.; M.D. Set off an abbreviated degree with commas after a full name. Example: Mary Jones, Ph.D., spoke.

ADDRESS
In the inside address of a letter, spell out such words as street, road, or drive, as well as North, East, South, or West. Also spell out the names of states. Note that Tech post office boxes are unique to Ruston, therefore the use of "Tech Station" or "T.S." is superfluous.

Address Example:

Louisiana Tech University
P.O. Box 3178
Ruston, Louisiana 71272-0001

AGES
Always use numerical figures.

ALUMNAE/I
Use alumna when referring to one female graduate and (alumnae in the plural), and alumnus for one male graduate (alumni in the plural). Use alumni when referring to a group of men and women.

AMPERSAND / AND
Use the ampersand (&) for "and" only as part of an official corporate name. Example: Deloitte & Touche.

ANNUAL
Do not use the term "first annual." Technically, an event cannot be described as annual until it has been held in at least two successive years.

APOSTROPHE
Do not use an apostrophe when referring to a decade as a single period of time. Do not use an apostrophe if the decade is abbreviated. Ex: He taught in the 1920s. John attended college in the '50s.

CAPITALIZATION
Use uppercase for the proper names of Tech's academic colleges, schools, departments and offices. Use uppercase to specify programs. Ex: Tech's Professional Aviation program. Use lowercase when non-specific. Use lowercase for seasons of the year, except when referring to Tech's academic quarters. Ex: The program was held in the spring. The Fall quarter begins in September. Use lowercase for first-year students (or freshmen), sophomores, juniors or seniors when referring to individuals. But, do capitalize names of organized entities. Ex: Class of 1920, the Senior Class. Use lowercase for majors and degrees, including graduate degrees. She is earning a master's degree in physics. She is a biomedical engineering major. Capitalize specific course titles only; do not use quotation marks. Ex: History of European Political Theory; a course in psychology.

COMPOSITION TITLES
Italicize the names of books, newspapers, journals, films, full-length plays, symphonies, operas, ships and airplanes. Use quotation marks around articles, poems, songs, one-act plays, television programs, and sculptures.

COMPUTER TERMS
CD-ROM, database, download, E-mail or e-mail, home page, web site, the Internet, online (no dash), World Wide Web or Web, not WWW.

CONTINUAL/CONTINUOUS
Continual means a steady repetition, over and over again: The merger has been the source of continual litigation. Continuous means uninterrupted, steady, unbroken: All she saw ahead was a continuous stretch of road to Shreveport.

DATES
For days of the month, omit "rd," "th," "st," "nd." Ex: The event is scheduled for August 6.

EMERITAE/I
Use emerita when referring to one female retired professor or trustee, and emeritus for one male retired professor or trustee. Use the plural forms: emeriti when referring to males; emeritae (pron. E-meri-tee) when referring to females; and emeritae/i when referring to males and females.

HYPHENS
Hyphenate part time and full time only when used as adjectives. Ex: He is a part-time instructor in the English department. She works full time in the music department.

Do not hyphenate vice president (or any other compound titles) in any reference.

LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITY
In first reference always: Louisiana Tech University. Subsequent references: Louisiana Tech or Tech. (see abbreviations)

MORE THAN/OVER
When referring to something that can be counted, use more than rather than over. The word over generally refers to spatial relationships. Ex: More than 50 attended. The plane flew over Ruston.

NUMBERS/NUMERALS
Spell out from one to nine; use numerals for 10 and above. Use numerals even for numbers below 10, when indicating: age, course credit hours, statistics, ratios, percentages and amounts of money. Use a comma after digits signifying thousands except when referring to temperature, year or SAT scores. Ex: Tech enrolls more than 11,000 students.

PERCENT
Spell out percent in text, and always use numerals. Ex: Our retention rate is 85 percent.

PREFERRED SPELLINGS AND TERMS
advisor, not adviser
catalog, not catalogue or bulletin
coeducational, not co-educational
ensure, not insure (except for insurance)
health care (two words)

QUOTATION MARKS
The period and the comma go within the quotation marks.

SPACING
Avoid double spaces between sentences or after colons for documents that are to be published. In printed material, only one space is inserted between sentences.

TELEPHONE NUMBERS
(318) 257-1234
1-800-LATECH-1

TIME
Morning and afternoon designations are in lowercase letters with periods, with no spaces between them. Ex: 8 a.m., 2 p.m.

TITLES
Capitalize titles when they appear before a name. Do not capitalize them if they follow a name. Do not capitalize unofficial titles preceding a name. Ex: The exhibit featured artist Mary Smith. Do not capitalize titles used without the name. Ex: For information, see the registrar. A professor of history will be in attendance.