A


A.D.


Means “in the year of our Lord” and comes before date: A.D. 1900; B.C. comes after the date: 1900 B.C.

a.m.; p.m.; noon; midnight


You don’t need to put 12:00 with these; it’s redundant.

abbreviations


When abbreviating, “Chicago now recommends omitting (periods) unless they are required for tradition or consistency” (15th Chicago 15.21). The BYU style is to delete all periods unless they’re needed for clarity, which would be an exception.

academic degrees


When academic degrees are referred to in general terms, they are not capitalized (see 15th Chicago 8.32).
associate degree, associate’s degree
baccalaureate, baccalaureate degree, bachelor’s degree
doctoral degree, doctorate, doctor’s degree
juris doctor
master of science
master’s degree
master of education degree
PhD degree

Academic Information Management (AIM)


Academic Standards Committee


Academy, Brigham Young; the Academy; Academy building; Academy buildings


addresses


Student Academic and Advisement Services
Brigham Young University
A-153 ASB
Provo UT 84602

Admissions Office
J. Reuben Clark Law School
Brigham Young University
340 JRCB
Provo UT 84602

Note: PO BOX—or PO Box when not on an envelope (no periods)

Admission and Scholarship Application, BYU; admission application; admission process


admissions advisors


Advanced Placement Program; Advanced Placement teachers


advisor; adviser (Church Style Guide)


ages


three years old; three-year-old child; a three-year-old (AP always uses numerals for ages. The BYU style is to spell out the ages one through nine.)

AIM (Academic Information Management); AIM System


Aims of a BYU Education, The


Capitalize but don’t italicize or enclose in quotation marks the full title or its abbreviated title, Aims; the third aim of a BYU Education

Alcuin fellow


All rights reserved.


All-American


all-state (generic use); All-State Academic Tournament (capped in official names)


Alumni Association, BYU; Alumni Association


alumnus/alumni (male singular/male plural); alumna/alumnae (female singular/female plural); alum (used informally for either male or female)


ampersand


Avoid using the symbol & instead of the word and except in copying official titles. However, with publisher’s names in a bibliography, “either and or & may be used . . . , regardless of how it is rendered on the title page,” provided consistency is observed (15th Chicago 17.106).

and


Insert a comma before and in a series (see commas).

Annual University Conference, BYU 2009; annual university conference


apostle Paul; Apostle Paul (Church Style Guide)


apostrophes


  • plurals: So far as can be done without confusion, “Words or hyphenated phrases that are not nouns but are used as nouns form the plural by adding s or es. . . . Capital letters used as words, abbreviations that contain no interior periods, and numerals used as nouns form the plural by adding s,” e.g., ifs and buts; dos and don’ts; the three Rs; all SOSs; the early 1920s; in twos and threes; CODs and IOUs (see 15th Chicago 7.14–16). In some proverbial expressions the plural is formed by adding an apostrophe and s, e.g., Mind your p’s and q’s. Dot your i’s and cross your t’s.

  • possessives: For singular proper nouns ending in s, use only an apostrophe: Elder Oaks’ talk (AP). For common nouns ending in s, add both the apostrophe and the s: the witness’s story.

applications


Application for Admission to Graduate Studies
Application for Admission to the J. Reuben Clark Law School
Application for Graduation
Application, LDS Missionary Enrollment and Scholarship Deferment
Application to Resume Graduate Study

archive(s)


Can be either singular or plural, depending on context.

area code punctuation


801-422-1234; also 801.422.1234

Asian studies minor


associate degree; associate’s degree


Athlete Building, Student


Athletic Complex (comprises the Student Athlete Building and the Indoor Practice Facility)


athletic conferences


Western Athletic Conference (WAC); BYU a member 1962–99
Mountain West Conference (MWC); BYU a member 1999–2010
West Coast Conference (WCC); BYU a member 2011– (all sports but football, track and field, swimming, and softball)

audiovisual


awards


Names of awards and prizes are capitalized, but some generic terms used with the names are not (descriptive words and phrases that are not actually part of the award’s name). Examples: Guggenheim Fellowship (but a Guggenheim grant) (see 15th Chicago 8.89). See also scholar and scholarship.

Academy Award

BYU Awards:
Abraham O. Smoot Citizenship Award
Alcuin fellow
Alumni Professorship Award
Alumni Service to Family Award
Ben E. Lewis Management Award
BYU-Sponsored Research Award
Creative Works Award
David O. McKay Fellowship
Distinguished Service Award
Eliza R. Snow Fellowship
Excellence in Teaching Award
Fred A. Schwendiman Performance Award
Honorary Alumni Award
J. Reuben Clark Jr. Fellowship
John A. Widtsoe Fellowship
Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecturer
Karl G. Maeser Excellence in Research and Creative Arts Award
Karl G. Maeser Excellence in Teaching Award
Karl G. Maeser General Education Professorship
Karl G. Maeser Professional Faculty Excellence Award
Phi Kappa Phi Award
President’s Appreciation Award
Sponsored Research Recognition Award
Student Award for Excellence in Teaching
Technology Transfer Award
University Professorship Award
Wesley P. Lloyd Award for Distinction in Graduate Education
Young Scholar Award

Emmy
New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award
Nobel Peace Prize; Nobel Prize; Nobel Prize in medicine; Nobel Prize winner; Nobel Prize–winning (use an en dash, not a hyphen, between Prize and winning in this instance) statesman; Nobel laureate
Pulitzer Prize–winning author (use an en dash, not a hyphen, between Prize and winning in this instance also)
Rhodes Scholarship (but Rhodes scholar)