Editorial style helps editors and writers maintain consistency across publications. In essence, style refers to a set of guidelines, which assists editors and writers in determining what should be capitalized, how to punctuate a particular phrase or sentence, how to use numbers, or what to italicize, among other items. Without such guidelines, publications would be forever changing, editors would be constantly correcting one another, readers could become confused, and overall credibility could be compromised.
With this in mind, Wittenberg's Office of University Communications, in consultation with staff members in Admission, Athletics, Information Technology, Human Resources, and the School of Graduate & Professional Studies, and utilizing the Associated Press Stylebook, has produced the following style guide for use on university publications with textual emphasis, including brochures, magazines, newsletters, journals, etc. Posters, postcards, book covers, titles, headlines, invitations, labels, business cards, stationery and similar materials may be treated differently. Overall, this guide will enable the University to present a unified presentation to both its internal and external audiences, and will ensure that the University maintains its positive image.
It should be noted, however, that this style guide does not contain the only "correct" method for achieving consistency; it is merely a collection of suggestions made on the basis of this institution's preferences and an understanding of the University's varied audiences. In general, the University follows the Associated Press Stylebook for all printed materials, except in a few instances outlined in the following style guide. We hope this style guide proves a useful tool.
Staff members in the Office of University Communications are available to answer questions via email at ucomm@hzdl.net.
