The following list includes easily confused words as well as the preferred spelling and capitalization for words that are commonly used in CU听Boulder writing. For words not included here, consult听Webster鈥檚 New World College Dictionary. Typically, the preferred, U.S. (as opposed to British Commonwealth) spelling is listed first when there is more than one correct spelling.

  • advisor |听Use this spelling in all instances.
  • alum |听Abbreviation for alumnus or alumna. Avoid this abbreviation in formal copy.
  • alumna |听Singular for female graduate; alumnae is the plural when referring to only female graduates.
  • alumni |听Plural for combination of male and female graduates or male graduates.
  • alumnus |听Singular for male graduate. Also used as generic reference for male or female graduate.
  • bachelor鈥檚, baccalaureate |听Lowercase, as in听bachelor's degree, but Bachelor of Arts,听etc., is capitalized.
  • Board of Regents |听Use the full name for first reference. Subsequent references may be styled as听the regents听辞谤听the board. Board of Regents is singular; regents takes a plural verb. No possessive apostrophe for the听regents meeting. See also: regents entry.
  • Buffalo |听Preferred plural is Buffaloes (rather than Buffalos). Plural possessive is Buffaloes鈥�. Capitalized because 颈迟鈥檚 the proper name of CU鈥檚 sports teams.
  • Buff OneCard
  • campus | Possessive is campus鈥檚, even if the next word begins with an 鈥渟,鈥� a new rule from AP.
  • campuswide
  • cancel, canceling, canceled, cancellation
  • check-in, check in |听Hyphenated as a noun, two words as a verb.
  • checkout, check out |听Spell it as one word as a noun, two words as a verb.
  • city of Boulder |听尝辞飞别谤肠补蝉别听city.
  • co- |听Use a hyphen when forming nouns, adjectives and verbs that indicate occupation or status; do not hyphenate in other combinations: co-author, co-worker, coeducational, cocurricular, cooperate.
  • college, the
  • Coloradan |听Not Coloradoan.
  • commencement |听Capitalized only when referring to a specific one.
  • compose/comprise/constitute |听Compose听means to create or put together. Comprise means to be made up of. Comprised of听is redundant.听Constitute听means to be the elements of and may work best when neither听compose听nor听comprise听seem to fit.
  • coursework听
  • credit hours
  • CU NightRide
  • cum laude |听Translates as 鈥渨ith distinction.鈥� No italics for this and other commonly used Latin terms. (If 颈迟鈥檚 in Webster鈥檚 or another standard dictionary, 颈迟鈥檚 considered common enough to not require italics.)
  • data |听Both a plural noun and a collective noun鈥攊.e., it represents a unit鈥攖hat can take a singular verb.
  • decision making |听No hyphen when used as a noun. Hyphenate only when used as an adjective immediately before a noun.
  • department, the
  • distinguished professors
  • division, the
  • doctoral/doctorate |听Doctoral is an adjective; doctorate is a noun.
  • email |听Capitalize the e only when the term appears at the beginning of a sentence, in a heading, or on a form where other entries (such as Address, Phone) are capitalized. Do not hyphenate as e-mail.听Email听as a plural is a collective noun and does not take an听s. Use听email messages.
  • emeritus, emerita, emeriti |听Honorary title for retired professor:听emeritus听for a male professor,听emerita听for a female professor.听Emeriti听is plural for both male and female professors.
  • every day/everyday |听The single word everyday is an adjective.
  • faculty |听A collective noun referring to an institution鈥檚 entire teaching staff. It can take听a singular or plural verb, depending on the context.听To refer to an individual who is part of a faculty, faculty member is preferred for clarity.
  • federal |听No capital except when the term refers to an architectural style or is part of a formal name: the federal government, Federal Express, the Federal Housing Administration.
  • female/woman |听Female can be an adjective or a noun; woman is a noun only. For clarity, careful writers use female as an adjective only and woman as a noun only.
  • full time |听Hyphenate only when used as an adjective immediately before a noun.
  • fundraising |听One word, no hyphen, along with fundraise and fundraiser.
  • GPA |听Need not be spelled out on first use.
  • gray |听Rather than grey, which is the British Commonwealth preference. (Unless, of course, Grey is part of a proper noun.)
  • homepage
  • Honors Program
  • IdentiKey
  • interdisciplinary
  • internet |听The worldwide research network of computers communicating in a common language鈥擳CP/IP鈥攐ver telephone or fiber-optic lines. No longer capitalized, per AP Style.
  • its/颈迟鈥檚 |听Its听is the possessive pronoun (remember: his, hers, its);听颈迟鈥檚听is the contraction of 鈥渋t is.鈥�
  • JILA |听This is no longer an acronym and should be used as the name.
  • login/log in, log off听|听This is one word when used as a noun or adjective, and two words when used as a verb. Log in is preferred over log on.
  • magna cum laude |听Translates as 鈥渨ith great distinction.鈥� No italics. See also:听cum laude entry.
  • master's | Lowercase, as in master's degree, but Master of Science, Master of Arts, etc., are capitalized.
  • media |听A plural noun.
  • midsemester
  • midterm
  • more than/over |听Over听generally refers to spatial relationships.听More than听is preferred with numerals.
  • multicultural
  • MyCUBoulder
  • MyCUInfo
  • Nobel Prize |听Both听Nobel听and听Prize听should be capitalized, and the area in which the prize was won should be lowercased.听David Wineland won the Nobel Prize in physics in 2012. Five faculty have been named Nobel laureates at CU听Boulder. She is a Nobel Prize-winning author.
  • non- |听Most words beginning with听non听do not use a hyphen:听noncredit,听nondegree, nonmajor,听nonprofit,听nonrefundable, nonresident. Exceptions include cases where the following word is a proper noun and when the resulting word would be unclear or confusing: e.g., non-tenure track.
  • off campus |听(preposition plus noun)
  • off-campus |听(adjective; hyphenated when it immediately precedes a noun)
  • on campus |听(preposition plus noun)
  • on-campus |听(adjective; hyphenated when it immediately precedes a noun)
  • online |听(adjective, adverb)
  • onscreen |听(adjective)
  • on screen |听(adverb)
  • orientation
  • Pac-12 |听Needs the hyphen whether it stands alone or as part of 鈥淧ac-12 Conference.鈥�
  • part time |听Hyphenate only when used as an adjective immediately before a noun.
  • post- |听Most words formed with the post prefix are styled without a hyphen, unless the word begins with a capital or unless confusion would result: postdoctoral, postbaccalaureate, postgraduate, post-World War II.
  • pre- |听Most words formed with the pre prefix are styled without a hyphen; do not hyphenate听preadmission, precollegiate, prelaw, premedicine, prepharmacy, preprofessional, prequalify, preregister, prerequisite.
  • premier, premiere | Premier means first in importance or rank.听A premiere is a first performance.
  • Presidents Leadership Class
  • President鈥檚 Teaching Scholars
  • problem solving |听No hyphen when used as a noun. Hyphenate only when used as an adjective before a noun.
  • program, the
  • re- |听In general, use a hyphen in compounds beginning with听re听only if the word following the听re听prefix begins with an听e听or if confusion would result: re-elect, re-establish, redo, rewrite, recover/re-cover.
  • regents |听Lowercase when referring to individual members of the Board of Regents, unless used as part of a publication or personal title. See also: Board of Regents entry.
  • residence halls |听Preferred term (rather than dorms).
  • Rhodes scholar |听尝辞飞别谤肠补蝉别听scholar.
  • SAT |听Never spell out or use periods. It no longer is an acronym. It does not refer to anything except itself.
  • school, the
  • smartphone
  • spring, summer, fall, winter
  • spring break
  • state of Colorado, the
  • statewide
  • student-athlete,听student-employee |听Always hyphenate, whether used as a noun or adjective.
  • summa cum laude |听Translates as 鈥渨ith highest distinction.鈥� No italics. See also: cum laude entry.
  • system | As in CU system,听always lowercase.
  • theater |听Use this spelling except when it is spelled 鈥淭heatre鈥� in a proper name (e.g., Mary Rippon Theatre, Department of Theatre and Dance).
  • toward |听Not听towards, which is the British Commonwealth form.
  • underway |听One word in all uses.
  • university, the | Do not capitalize when it refers generically to the University of Colorado or to one of its campuses.
  • wait list, wait-list |听Two words as a noun, hyphenated as a verb or adjective.
  • web |听Shortened form of World Wide Web. Spell it lowercase in all instances.
  • webpage
  • website
  • Wi-Fi
  • workload
  • work-study |听Always hyphenate, whether used as a noun or adjective.
  • World Wide Web