The University of Southern Maine follows the Associated Press Stylebook for web writing, with the institutional exceptions outlined below. Our writing standards support accessibility best practices.
- Departments may continue to follow discipline-specific or regulatory style requirements for academic and administrative documentation.
- Where no discipline-specific style is required, AP Style with USM exceptions is recommended for clarity and consistency.
USM house-style exceptions to AP Style:
- Use of the Oxford (serial) comma
- Capitalization of titles and headers
- Document and webpage titles use “Title Case” capitalization
- Headers and calls to action (CTAs) use “Sentence case”
Applications for our writing standards
- Website content
- Recruitment and admissions materials
- Marketing and advancement materials
- Including print, emails, and newsletters
- Printed publications
- Brochures, postcards, viewbooks, flyers
- Digital publications
- PDFs, one-pagers, reports for external audiences
- News and feature stories
- Social media content
- Event promotion materials
- Including print, emails, and newsletters
Excluded from our writing standards
- Academic catalogs
- Course syllabi
- Faculty scholarship or research publications
- Accreditation or compliance documentation
- Governance or policy materials
- Grant proposals or technical reports
Abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms
While these shortened forms are common in internal communications, public-facing materials should spell out the full, formal names of departments, colleges, programs, and units whenever possible. Minimize their use for clarity and accessibility.
If departmental abbreviations, acronyms, or initialisms must be used publicly, spell out the full name on first reference, followed by the shortened form in parentheses:
| First reference | Subsequent references |
|---|---|
| Office of Student Engagement & Belonging (SEAB) | SEAB |
| College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHS) | CAHS |
Avoid overusing acronyms or initialisms within a single paragraph, as screen readers will read them letter by letter, which can reduce comprehension.
Job titles
Modifiers such as department remain lowercase when used with titles. Certain titles are abbreviated and capitalized when placed before a name, including Dr., Gov., Lt., Rep., and Sen. All other formal titles should be written out in full.
Capitalize a formal title when it appears directly before a person’s name. When the title follows the name, it should be lowercase. Titles used without a person’s name should also be lowercase and spelled out.
| Correct use | Incorrect use |
|---|---|
| department chair, Lisa Patel | Department Chair, Lisa Patel |
| Dr. Sally Sparrow | doctor Sally Sparrow |
| Professor of Biology Michael Rivera | professor of biology Michael Rivera |
| Michael Rivera, professor of biology | Michael Rivera, Professor of Biology |
| The president issued a statement. The chancellor responded. | The President issued a statement. The Chancellor responded. |
Alt text for images (for web and digital)
Alt text (alternative text) is a brief written description of an image that is not generally visible to users viewing the front end of a website or social media post. Many adaptive technologies use alt text to improve user experiences. Screen readers use alt text to describe visual content to users who are blind or have low vision. Another example would be if someone experiences an image that will not load — alt text can help describe the image they are not able to see.
Alt text should be used for all meaningful images — including photos, charts, graphs, and infographics — that convey information about the image that is not otherwise available in the immediate page content.
- Describe images, charts, and graphs succinctly and meaningfully.
- Always use alt tags on every photo you upload. Write new text, avoiding repetition of text already present on the page.
Do not embed text over images that convey essential information (for example, an event time, date, etc). Screen readers cannot read text within images, and it may not display correctly on all devices.
- If text must appear visually in an image (e.g., infographic headline), replicate it in the page content so all users can access the information, or in the alt tag if it is short enough to be added there.
- For decorative graphics or logos, text in the image is acceptable, but it should not carry essential content.
Ampersands
Do not use ampersands (&) in digital materials such as body text, titles, or headers. This supports accessibility and improves screen reader interpretation.
Bulleted and numbered lists
Bulleted lists support accessibility and allow users to move quickly through information. Avoid long, complex bullets and nested lists that create an additional tier of content.
For complete sentences, end each bullet with a period. Omit the period for sentence fragments and phrases, or if bullets complete a lead-in sentence.
| Correct use | Incorrect use |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Students must submit:
| Students must submit:
|
Capitalization
Departments and programs
Capitalize official names of departments, offices, schools, colleges, and programs. Use lowercase for informal or general references to areas of study.
| First reference | Subsequent references |
|---|---|
| Department of History | department of history |
| the history department | the History Department |
| our history majors | our History majors |
Titles and headers
We retain USM house-style rules for webpage titles and headers over AP style.
Do not use ampersands (&) in page titles or headers. This supports accessibility and improves screen reader interpretation. For digital document titles and webpage titles, use the h1 tag.
Titles use “title case”
| Correct use | Incorrect use |
|---|---|
| Editorial Style for Web Content | Editorial style for web content |
| Writing Standards | Writing standards |
Headers and calls to action use “sentence case”
This is required for accessibility compliance. For digital documents, webpages, and emails, header tags include h2, h3, h4, and h5. Calls to action (CTAs) include hyperlinks and buttons, which should be brief and descriptive.
| Correct use | Incorrect use |
|---|---|
| Our approach | Our Approach |
| Apply to USM now | Apply Now |
Commas
We retain the USM house style rule for the use of the Oxford (serial) comma. The comma should always be used before the conjunction in a list of three or more items — to prevent ambiguity and ensure clarity.
Example: Students study biology, chemistry, and physics.
Common words usage
Write for clarity. Use short paragraphs and active voice.
Use the following wording:
- website
- webpage
- internet
- health care (noun)
- healthcare (adjective)
Degree abbreviations
For degree abbreviations in all marketing content, do NOT use periods (BA, BS, MS, MFA, MSEd, MPPM, PhD, PsyD).
Always use apostrophes when referring to individual degrees.
- Correct: master’s
- Correct: bachelor’s
If referring to a student’s year in their title, abbreviate as such:
- Correct use for one degree:
- Sam Jones, ’22 BS
- Sam Jones, ’22
- Correct use for two degrees: Sam Jones, ’22 BS, ’25 MS
Hyphens and dashes
Hyphen (-)
Use hyphens to connect words that function together as a single modifier.
Correct:
- well-known author
- 10-year-old student
- decision-making process
Also use hyphens in spelled-out numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine.
Correct: sixty-five
En dash (–)
Use en dashes (with no spaces on either side) to indicate ranges or relationships between separate elements.
Exception: In AP-style, use a hyphen instead of an en dash for time ranges.
| Correct use | Incorrect use |
|---|---|
| 2019–2024 | 2019 – 2014 |
| pages 15–27 | pages 15 to 27 |
| New York–London flight | New York – London flight |
| 9-11 a.m. | 9–11 a.m. |
Em dash (—)
Use em dashes — with a space before and after the dash — sparingly to set off explanatory or parenthetical phrases.
Avoid using multiple sets of em dashes in the same sentence.
| Correct use | Incorrect use |
|---|---|
| Students — from diverse backgrounds — complete internships. | Students—from diverse backgrounds—complete internships. |
Numerals
Spell out numbers one through nine. Use numerals for 10 and above.
Examples:
- three students
- 12 credits
Exceptions:
- Money: $5
- Percentages: 5%
- Ages and dimensions: 6-foot table
- Spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence. This supports accessibility and improves screen reader interpretation:
- Example: Twenty years ago, the University expanded its programs.
Dates
Write out a date fully whenever used, including month, day, and year.
- Always include the year for clarity
- Exception: The date is evergreen, meaning the year is irrelevant. Such as an application deadline that is on the same day each year
- Include a comma between the day and the year
- Do NOT add extra letters (e.g., “th” or “nd”)
- Abbreviations of the month are fine if needed for limited space reasons, but use sparingly, keeping in mind people whose first language is not English
| Correct use | Incorrect use |
|---|---|
| March 3, 2026 | March 3rd, 2026 |
| Deadline to apply is April 1 | Deadline to apply is April 1st |
| Nov 6, 2026 | Nov 6th, 2026 |
| Jan 15 | Jan 15th |
Times
Use the following rules when referring to time:
- Use numerals for times: 6 p.m., 9:30 a.m.
- Use lowercase a.m. and p.m. with periods.
- Do not include :00 for exact hours.
- The period in a.m./p.m. doubles as the sentence period.
- For ranges, use a hyphen with no spaces: 9-11 a.m.
- “4 o’clock” is acceptable, but 4 p.m. is preferred.
- If stand-alone, use noon and midnight instead of 12 p.m. / 12 a.m.
| Correct use | Incorrect use |
|---|---|
| 6 p.m. | 6:00 p.m. |
| 9:30 a.m. | 9:30 AM |
| 9-11 a.m. | 9 – 11 a.m. |
Link text
Use descriptive link text that doesn’t rely on context. Screen reader users may tab through only the links on a page, and if the text for buttons and hyperlinks is too generic, it’s not enough information for them to know which link they need.
| Correct use | Incorrect use |
|---|---|
| Learn more about the Chemistry program | Learn more |
| View the 2026 Academic Calendar | Click here |
| Download the Financial Aid Application (PDF) | Read more |
Website addresses (URLs)
Websites and emails
For web, use the following rules when referring to URLs :
- When including a text link (or hyperlink), avoid including the entire URL. Screen readers will read each character aloud, which takes extra time.
- Hide URLs behind descriptive text with action words (CTAs) that describe the link’s destination
- If a URL must be noted, use a short URL if one is available, and do NOT include ‘https://’ at the start, and remove any ‘/’ at the end.
- Example: usm.maine.edu/admissions
| Correct use | Incorrect use |
|---|---|
| Visit the Photo Library | Click here for the Photo Library |
| Learn more about the Photo Library | https://usmaine.canto.com |
| Schedule a campus visit to get a feel for our university. | Schedule a campus visit to get a feel for our university. |
Printed materials
In print, use the following rules when referring to web URLs :
- Do NOT include “https://” or “www.”
- Remove any ‘/’ at the end
- Use lowercase letters
- If a URL falls at the end of a sentence, add a period at the end
- Use a short URL whenever you can
- Submit a Website Service Request to ask for a new short URL
| Correct use | Incorrect use |
|---|---|
| usm.maine.edu | https://usm.maine.edu |
| usm.maine.edu/admissions | https://www.usm.maine.edu/admissions |
| foundation.usm.maine.edu | www.foundation.usm.maine.edu |
Alt text for images
The University of Maine System has a comprehensive guide for digital accessibility that covers definitions and best practices for alternative text (or alt text).