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As an institution of higher education, it is critical that all written materials produced and utilized by Eastern Oregon University be professionally executed and presented. Writing for the general public is different than writing for collegiate publications or research journals.
EOU follows the Associated Press Stylebook. Media, marketing, web and publication writing should be oriented toward a general audience and follow the guidelines listed below.
Click this link to view institutional guidelines for logos, colors, fonts and other graphic elements: EOU Graphic Standards Guide
Refer to Eastern Oregon University by its full name on first reference.
On subsequent references, use EOU, not EO or E.O.U. Avoid referring to Eastern Oregon University as Eastern.
Capitalize University when in direct reference to Eastern Oregon University and addressing internal audiences.
Do not use “the campus” and instead use “the University” when referring to Eastern Oregon University.
College of Education
College of Business
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
College of Science, Technology, Math and Health Science
Use official building names in all titles, photo descriptions and upon first reference in stories, releases and letters: Ackerman Hall, Alikut Hall, Badgley Hall, Community Stadium, Daugherty Hall, Eocene Courts, Gilbert Event Center, Hoke Union Building, Inlow Hall, KEOL Podcast Studio, The Fieldhouse, Loso Hall, McKenzie Theatre, North Hall, EOU Library, Quinn Coliseum, Student Health/Counseling Center, Zabel Hall.
Name of an individual is followed with complete appropriate title upon first reference: Tom Insko, president of Eastern Oregon University.
Use name, title format whenever possible. Capitalize titles when they occur before a name: David Allen, assistant professor of mathematics; Assistant Professor of Mathematics David Allen.
Political titles: Sen. Hubert Humphrey (D-Minn.)
For students, include class status at time of publication: Joe Student, a junior from Burns…
For alumni, include a comma and the abbreviated year after name: Joe Graduate, ’82.
Capitalization of degrees should match the registrar’s on-campus degree list and online degree list.
Capitalize official degree titles: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.
When the discipline listed with the degree is not part of the official degree name, it is not capitalized: Bachelor of Arts in mass communication, Master of Arts in counseling.
Do not capitalize in general reference: master’s degree, bachelor’s degree, associate degree, doctoral degree or doctorate.
Use “master’s degree” or “bachelor’s degree” over abbreviations in general reference. When necessary, abbreviate degrees with periods: Ph.D., M.A., B.A.
The word “degree” is never capitalized when referring to academic degrees.
Format e-mail addresses as name@host.domain: yourname@eou.edu or yourname@hotmail.com.
Delete http:// and www. before URLs and web addresses: Visit eou.edu/marketing for more information.
internet, not Internet
email, not e-mail
website, online
Spell out the month if used alone or with year: last September, January 1993.
Abbreviate if followed by the date: Jan. 12, 1993 or Oct. 28. Do not use the -st, -nd, -rd, or -th endings on numerals.
Note that not all months are abbreviated: Jan., Feb., March, April, May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.
Drop the extra zeros on the hour and include a.m. or p.m.: 1 p.m. or 3:30 p.m.
Include time zone when needed for clarity and for audiences outside of Pacific Standard Time: 9 a.m. PST.
Use Associated Press abbreviations when listed with a city: St. Paul, Minn.; Boulder, Colo.
Always spell out Iowa, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Ohio, Texas and Utah.Do not include the state for Oregon cities: The choir toured high schools in Prineville during winter break. Theatre students went to Thousand Oaks, Calif., to perform.
Commas introduce quotations of a sentence or a phrase. Colons introduce quotes of more than one sentence.
Punctuation marks always go inside quotation marks.
Speakers introduce quotes in the past tense (said, not says): “We held the Spring Symposium in Loso Hall at EOU,” said Tom Insko, EOU president.
Commas separate series of simple items and no comma precedes the final item of a simple series: scholarships, financial aid and loans.
A comma may separate the final items of a complex series in order to avoid confusion: apply for scholarships by Feb. 1, visit the Financial Aid Office regularly, and arrange for any necessary loans.
Use semicolons to separate individual items with comma separations: Dallas, Texas; Seattle, Wash.; and Miami, Fla.
Student-athlete, not student/athlete
There are no “Lady Mountaineers.”
Teams are plural and possessive: men’s basketball, women’s wrestling
Reference position, name, year and hometown when identifying student-athletes: Right tackle Jason Follett (Sr., Hermiston)
Spell out numbers below 10 and when they occur at the beginning of a sentence. Exceptions to this rule include dates, ages, times and currency: $5, 8 years old, seven miles, 45 students, three days, Nov. 6, nine years, 10th grade, Fourth Street, 3414 Adams Avenue.
Use dots or hyphens for telephone numbers: 800-541-3475 or 541.962.3740.
Use quotation marks around titles of books, plays, movies and other publications. Capitalize reference book titles: “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Encyclopedia Britannica, “Pippin.”
Avoid using gender pronouns, especially when you do not know an individual’s preferred terms. Use the individual’s last name whenever possible, and rework the sentence as needed.
Percent, not %; unless in graph or chart
Advisor, not adviser
Updated October 2017