It's best to avoid using acronyms whenever possible. They are often "in-house" jargon when used on campus. Consider audience.

If you must use acronyms, write the full name and then the acronym, such as the Society for Really Cute Puppies, or SRCP. NEVER put in parentheses after the name of the organization, such as Society for Really Cute Puppies (SRCP). If an abbreviation or acronym is not clear on the second reference, do not use it.

With all punctuation, clarity is the biggest rule.

Serial commas:
If a comma does not help make clear what is being said, it should not be there. If omitting a comma could lead to confusion or misinterpretation, then use the comma. Do not use serial commas, otherwise known as Oxford commas, in a list unless it adds clarity due to multiple complex list items.

Examples:
Study what you love, connect it to a career and empower yourself to become the best version of you.

The center supports faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows through competitive award programs.

Commas in phrases, dates and places:

Phrases
Nonessential clauses, or clauses that can be eliminated without changing the meaning of the sentence, are set off by commas.

Examples:
The program, which is the best in the state, offers bachelor's and master's degrees.
The program offers bachelor's and master's degrees.

NOTE: "Which" clauses should always be surrounded by commas.

Dates
If you use the day with the date, you need to use a comma after the date.

Examples:
The event will take place Thursday, Nov. 10, in the Bluemont Room, 239 K-State Student Union.

The award will be presented Saturday, Feb. 18, in Town Hall, 114 Leadership Studies Building.

The meeting will be at 2 p.m. on Aug. 20 on the K-State Salina campus.

If you list day, month and year, you also need a comma after the year.

Examples:
The presentation is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Monday, September 16, 2026, in Regnier Forum, 1118 Regnier Hall.

NOTE: Only include the year with a future date if it is not the current year.

Places
If you list a city and state — or city and country — use a comma after the city and after the state/country.

Examples:
The conference will take place in Manhattan, Kansas, in February 2026.

Students will travel to Orvieto, Italy, with the Education Abroad program.

Whether Bachelor of, Master of or Doctor of, the next word/words until the "in" should be capitalized; once you get to the in, all words should be lowercase.

The degree name is Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Music Education, Master of Arts, Master of Business Administration, Doctor of Philosophy; the field is what starts with the "in," so it's Bachelor of Science in chemistry or Master of Science in agronomy.

Avoid using the word degree after the formal degree name, if possible. For example, Bachelor of Science should suffice instead of Bachelor of Science degree.

It also is correct to shorten: master's in chemistry, master's degree in chemistry or doctorate in philosophy — but is should not be Ph.D. in philosophy. In AP style, Ph.D. is only used after a name, Jane Smith, Ph.D.

Examples:
Willie Wildcat earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration and a Master of Business Administration from K-State.

Wildcat earned a bachelor's degree in mass communication from Mascot University, a master's in speech communication from Eastern Mascot University and a doctorate in interpersonal and intercultural communication from the University of Mascots.

Willie Wildcat earned bachelor's degrees in psychology and English and a master's degree in marriage and family therapy, all from K-State, and a doctorate in marriage and family therapy from Mascot University.

In general, department names should be lowercase unless they contain a proper noun. On second reference: the department.

Capitalize only in formal cases on first reference when used with full university name. Consider the audience when referring to Kansas State University departments. See academic departments in the AP Stylebook.

Examples:
the department of history or the history department
the department of English or the English department
the Kansas State University Department of Agronomy
the agronomy department

Named departments:
On first reference, use the full name with capitalization: Tim Taylor Department of Chemical Engineering. On second reference, the department, the department of chemical engineering or the chemical engineering department.

K-State on second reference. Never Kansas State or KSU unless it’s in the formal name, such as the KSU Foundation.

Use full formal name on first reference, shorten on second reference.

Colleges:
On first reference, use the full name: Carl R. Ice College of Engineering. On second reference, College of Engineering or the college.

Departments:
On first reference, use the full name: Tim Taylor Department of Chemical Engineering. On second reference, the department, the department of chemical engineering or the chemical engineering department.

Positions:
Capitalize if preceding a name: Edgerley Family Dean of the College of Business Administration Kevin Gwinner. Capitalize only proper nouns when following a name: Kevin Gwinner, Edgerley family dean of the College of Business Administration (preferred).

Examples:
Ernie Minton, Eldon Gideon dean of the College of Agriculture and director of K-State Research and Extension,

Walter McNeil, Steve Hsu keystone research scholar and associate professor in the Alan Levin Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering,

Amir Bahadori, recipient of the Hal and Mary Siegele professorship in engineering and associate professor,

Bonnie Rush, Hodes family dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine,

Spaces:
On first reference, use the full name: Tracz Family Band Hall, the Sunderland Foundation Innovation Lab, the Dan and Beth Bird Archway.

On second reference, shorten: the band hall, the innovation lab, the archway.

PLURAL NOUNS ENDING IN S:

Add only an apostrophe: the churches' needs, the girls' toys, the horses' food, the ships' wake, states' rights, the VIPs' entrance, students' classes

NOUNS PLURAL IN FORM, SINGULAR IN MEANING:

Add only an apostrophe: mathematics' rules, measles' effects. (But see INANIMATE OBJECTS below.)

Apply the same principle when a plural word occurs in the formal name of a singular entity: General Motors' profits, the United States' wealth.

NOUNS THE SAME IN SINGULAR AND PLURAL:

Treat them the same as plurals, even if the meaning is singular: one corps' location, the two deer's tracks, the lone moose's antlers.

SINGULAR COMMON NOUNS ENDING IN S:

Add 's: the campus's trees; the virus's reach, the virus's spread; the witness's answer, the witness’s story. (A change from previous guidance calling for just an apostrophe if the next word begins with s.)

SINGULAR PROPER NAMES ENDING IN S:

Use only an apostrophe: Achilles' heel, Agnes' book, Ceres' rites, Descartes' theories, Dickens' novels, Euripides' dramas, Hercules' labors, Jesus' life, Jules' seat, Kansas' schools, Moses' law, Socrates' life, Tennessee Williams' plays, Xerxes' armies.

SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS:

The following exceptions to the general rule for words not ending in s apply to words that end in an s sound and are followed by a word that begins with s: for appearance' sake, for conscience' sake, for goodness' sake. Use 's otherwise: the appearance's cost, my conscience's voice.

PRONOUNS:

Personal interrogative and relative pronouns have separate forms for the possessive. None involve an apostrophe: mine, ours, your, yours, his, hers, theirs, its, whose.

Caution: If you are using an apostrophe with a pronoun, always double-check to be sure that the meaning calls for a contraction: you're, it's, there's, who's.

Follow the rules listed above in forming the possessives of other pronouns: another's idea, others' plans, someone's guess.

COMPOUND WORDS:

Applying the rules above, add an apostrophe or 's to the word closest to the object possessed: the major general's decision, the major generals' decisions, the attorney general's request, the attorneys general's request. See the plurals entry for guidelines on forming the plurals of these words.

Also: anyone else's attitude, John Adams Jr.'s father, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania's motion. Whenever practical, however, recast the phrase to avoid ambiguity: the motion by Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania.

JOINT POSSESSION, INDIVIDUAL POSSESSION:

Use a possessive form after only the last word if ownership is joint: Desmond and Molly's apartment, Desmond and Molly's stocks.

Use a possessive form after both words if the objects are individually owned: Desmond's and Molly's books.

DESCRIPTIVE PHRASES:

Do not add an apostrophe to a word ending in s when it is used primarily in a descriptive sense: citizens band radio, a Cincinnati Reds infielder, a teachers college, a Teamsters request, a writers guide.

Memory aid: The apostrophe usually is not used if for or by rather than of would be appropriate in the longer form: a radio band for citizens, a college for teachers, a guide for writers, a request by the Teamsters.

An 's is required, however, when a term involves a plural word that does not end in s: a children's hospital, a people's republic, the Young Men's Christian Association.

DESCRIPTIVE NAMES:

Some governmental, corporate and institutional organizations with a descriptive word in their names use an apostrophe; some do not. Follow the user's practice: Actors' Equity, Diners Club, Ladies' Home Journal, the National Governors Association.

QUASI POSSESSIVES:

Follow the rules above in composing the possessive form of words that occur in such phrases as a day's pay, two weeks' vacation, three months' work, five years' probation. The apostrophe is used with a measurement followed by a noun (a quantity of whatever the noun is). The examples could be rephrased as a day of pay, two weeks of vacation, three months of work, five years of probation.

No apostrophe when the quantity precedes an adjective: six months pregnant, three weeks overdue, 11 years old.

DOUBLE POSSESSIVE:

Two conditions must apply for a double possessive — a phrase such as a friend of John's — to occur: 1. The word after of must refer to an animate object, and 2. The word before of must involve only a portion of the animate object's possessions.

Otherwise, do not use the possessive form of the word after of: The friends of John Adams mourned his death. (All the friends were involved.) He is a friend of the college. (Not college's, because college is inanimate.)

Memory aid: This construction occurs most often, and quite naturally, with the possessive forms of personal pronouns: He is a friend of mine.

INANIMATE OBJECTS:

There is no blanket rule against creating a possessive form for an inanimate object, particularly if the object is treated in a personified sense. See some of the earlier examples, and note these: death's call, the wind's murmur.

In general, however, avoid excessive personalization of inanimate objects, and give preference to an of construction when it fits the makeup of the sentence. For example, the earlier references to mathematics' rules and measles' effects would better be phrased: the rules of mathematics, the effects of measles.

Use that and which in referring to inanimate objects and to animals without a name.

Use that for essential clauses, important to the meaning of a sentence, and without commas: I remember the day that we met.

Use which for nonessential clauses, where the clause is less necessary, and use commas: The team, which finished last a year ago, is in first place.

Tip: If you can drop the clause and not lose the meaning of the sentence, use which; otherwise, use that. A which clause is surrounded by commas; no commas are used with that clauses.

When listing event information, use this order: event name, time, date, location. University style is to put the room number first when possible.

Examples:
The psychology department's lecture series will kick off at 2 p.m. Friday, February 1, in 215 Bluemont Hall.

The presentation is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Monday, September 16, 2026, in Regnier Forum, Room 1117 of Regnier Hall.

The event will take place Thursday, Nov. 10, in the Bluemont Room, 239 K-State Student Union.

Capitalize titles before a name, lowercase when used after a name — and treat all consistently. In AP style, Dean, Professor, Assistant Professor, etc., are capitalized when used before a name.

Examples:
Jane Smith, assistant professor of physics, is a laser expert.

Assistant Professor Jane Smith conducts laser research in the physics department.

"When attributing quotes, always use name first and title second," said Joe Smith, dean of the College of Business Administration.

"This makes it easier for the audience to immediately recognize who is speaking," said Jane Smith, university distinguished professor and head of the marketing department.

Joe Smith, Kansas State University distinguished professor of psychological sciences, has received a $2.5 million R01 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health.

The appointment was made by K-State Provost and Executive Vice President Jesse Perez Mendez following a national search.

Jesse Perez Mendez, K-State provost and executive vice president, has announced the appointment of Jane Smith as vice provost of AP style following a national search.

The progress in the College of Health and Human Sciences is a result of Dean Jane Smith's research advancement initiative.