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Accepted Word Styles

The following word styles apply to William & Mary websites. A broader editorial guide for all communication platforms is available in the university brand guidelines.

When Referencing William & Mary

Acceptable

• William & Mary (required first reference)
• the university (preferred second reference)
• W&M (use as second reference)

Do Not Use

• WM
• the College
• William and Mary
• College of William and Mary
• College of William & Mary
• The College of William and Mary
• The College of William & Mary

Other W&M Word Styles

Class Year

Include a student’s or alumnus’ class year after their name on first reference.

• Jon Stewart ’84
• Ginger Ambler ’88, Ph.D. ’06

Departments

Capitalize departments when their proper names are used; do not capitalize when they are referred to informally.

• example: Department of History, but history department
• example: Office of Undergraduate Admission, but admission office
• example: W&M Police, but police department

Historic Campus

Refers to the section of campus that includes the Wren Building, President’s House and Brafferton. Some refer to this area as Ancient Campus, but Historic Campus is preferred.

Public Ivy

Capitalized and in quotes on first reference (“Public Ivy”); lowercase, not in quotes on second references (public ivy).

Schools

• Arts & Sciences
  • capitalize with the ampersand when referring to the group of academic units (formally known as the Faculty of Arts & Sciences)
  • A&S is acceptable on second reference
• Raymond A. Mason School of Business 
  • use the full name on first reference
  • business school or school of business are acceptable on second reference
  • do not use Mason School
  • housed primarily in Alan B. Miller Hall (or Miller Hall on second reference)
• William & Mary’s Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS
  • use the full name if only one reference
  • when multiple references:
    • use William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS on first reference
    • use the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS on second reference
    • use the Batten School & VIMS on subsequent references
  • exceptions:
    • when referencing where a degree is earned, reference only the Batten School
    • when referencing a service, etc. that pertains only to VIMS the state agency, reference only VIMS
• William & Mary Law School
  • the law school is acceptable on second reference
• William & Mary School of Education, the
  • the school of education is acceptable on second reference

Sunken Garden

Never plural

William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science

VIMS is acceptable on second reference

Wren Building, the

Appropriate first-reference form used for all but the most formal references to the Sir Christopher Wren Building. The Wren is the oldest college building still standing in the United States.

General Styles

Avoid the Serial (or Oxford) Comma

The serial comma is not used unless preceded by a compound construct, or clarity demands it.

• Example: red, white and blue
• Example: pastrami, peanut butter and jelly, and turkey

Italicized Items

• book titles
• journal names
• titles of movies
• titles of television shows

Phone Numbers

When writing phone numbers, use the following style: 757-555-5555.

State vs. Commonwealth

The word state can be used when referring to Virginia (even though Virginia is a commonwealth).

Web Terminology

The words website, webpage and homepage are each one word, no capital (unless they are the first word in a sentence).