On the page On this page A - H Words I - P Words Q - Z Words On this page A - H Words I - P Words Q - Z Words Communications & Marketing Maintaining A Consistent Tone NWP’s institutional ‘voice’ is in every official piece of writing we share with the public. That ‘voice’ is as much a part of the Polytechnic’s brand as its logo and colours, and is achieved by following a standard set of rules and guidelines for how we write. Consistency in written voice is critical in maintaining a credible brand. This guide will provide an overview of the writing conventions, rules, and guidelines used in NWP’s official written communications. When in doubt, use the resources below as a guide for spelling, grammar, and other writing conventions.Oxford Canadian Dictionary Canadian Press Style Guide A - H Academic Degrees Use an apostrophe (’s) when referring to a master’s or bachelor’s degree. Do not capitalize “master” or “bachelor” unless using an official degree title. Never capitalize “degree”. Correct: “She is pursuing a Bachelor of Education degree at NWP.” Correct: “She holds a bachelor’s degree in education.” Acronyms and Initialisms Unless the acronym is well known and commonly used (e.g. CEO), spell out the acronym on the first reference with the abbreviated version in parentheses. Use the abbreviated version in subsequent mentions. Correct: The Circle of Indigenous Students (CIS) offers student support in the form of cultural, social and recreational activities. Do not use periods or spaces to separate letters in an acronym or initialism. (e.g. CEO and PhD, not C.E.O. or Ph.D.) Advisor Not “adviser.” Alumni An alumnus/alumna is an individual who has either graduated from an NWP or GPRC program or successfully completed a significant amount of credit coursework in an NWP or GPRC program. Alumni = masculine or gender neutral, plural Alumnus = masculine, singular Alumna = feminine, singular Alumnae = feminine, plural To be considered alumni, an individual must have done one of the following: Received an NWP or GPRC credential Completed University Transfer Studies Completed a minimum of one period of an apprenticeship program Completed a minimum of 30 credit hours or the equivalent of one year full time studies Where an individual has attended NWP or GPRC in the past but does not meet the criteria for being considered alumni, you may use the term “former student.” Individuals who have completed NWP Continuing Education programs are not considered alumni. Alumni/Foundation The NWP Alumni/Foundation has been renamed and is now know as The Northwestern Polytechnic Foundation. It is the polytechnic’s department responsible for Alumni Services and Fundraising. And vs. & Always use “and” rather than the ampersand (“&”) unless the ampersand is part of an official Organization. Ampersand is also acceptable when a character limit inhibits the display of a page title or menu item. Incorrect: President & CEO Correct: President and CEO Bookstore One word. Campuses Refer to NWP Fairview campus or NWP Grande Prairie campus (not “Cardinal building”); “campus” should not be capitalized. NWP Fairview and NWP Grande Prairie are also acceptable. Comma Use Always use the Oxford comma, the comma separating the final two items in a list: Correct: She studied biology, physics, and mathematics at NWP. Incorrect: She studied biology, physics and mathematics at NWP. Use semi-colons instead of commas to separate items in a list when the items are long or complex: Correct: The nominees for the staff award were John Powell, Director of Student Services; Anna Shaughnessy, recruitment coordinator; and Paul McIntyre, Director of Finance. When making an introductory or identifying statement, use a comma only when the person or thing you are identifying is unique, i.e. there is only one. Correct: The recipient of the award was NWP’s longest-serving visual arts instructor, Dr. Henry Williams. (The comma is needed here because NWP has only one “longest-serving visual arts instructor.”) Correct: The recipient of the award was NWP visual arts instructor Dr. Henry Williams. (No comma is needed because NWP has more than one visual arts instructor.) Use commas when introducing employees by their job titles only when the job title follows the name: Correct: Questions can be directed to Jenna Peterson, director of finance. Correct: Questions can be directed to the Director of Finance Jenna Peterson. Convocation vs. Graduation Convocation refers to the ceremony at which graduates from post-secondary programs are recognized and celebrated. Graduation refers to the act of completing all necessary coursework and meeting all requirements to receive a post-secondary credential. We refer to NWP graduates, not convocants, but we refer to the convocation ceremony, not the graduation ceremony. Courtesy Titles In general, avoid courtesy titles like Mr., Mrs., or Ms. You may use the title “Dr.” when appropriate; normally, this title is applied on the first reference, and the individual is referred to by a surname afterward. An alternative to using “Dr.” is to indicate the professional designation (e.g. PhD) following the person’s name. These two forms should not be combined. Correct: Dr. James Jones or James Jones, PhD. Incorrect: Dr. James Jones, PhD Degree-Granting Hyphenate “degree-granting” when it is followed by a noun, but omit the hyphen when it is not. Correct: “NWP is a degree-granting institution” or “NWP is degree granting.” Douglas J. Cardinal Performing Arts Centre Not “NWP Theatre” or “Douglas J. Cardinal Theatre.” Sometimes abbreviated to DJC Performing Arts Centre. The term “theatre concourse” is used to describe the bar and seating area just outside the theatre’s interior doors. Enrol Not “enroll”; use “enrol,” “enrolment,” and “enrolled.” Faculties, Schools, and Departments The names of faculties, schools and departments should be capitalized when referring to a specific academic or administrative area of the Polytechnic: Correct: She was interested in applying to the NWP School of Health. Correct: He wasn’t sure which school would be the best fit for his skills. Correct: The Facilities, Maintenance, and Operations Department is hard at work with renovations. Graduation vs. Convocation Convocation refers to the ceremony at which graduates from post-secondary programs are recognized and celebrated. Graduation refers to the act of completing all necessary coursework and meeting all requirements to receive a post-secondary credential. We refer to NWP graduates, not convocants, but we refer to the Convocation ceremony, not the graduation ceremony. Harley-Davidson® Hyphenated and always followed (no space) by the “registered” ® symbol (auto-generated by enclosing a lower- or uppercase letter “R” in parentheses). NWP is home to the only authorized technician training centre in Canada for Harley-Davidson® motorcycles. Healthcare vs. Health Care Use two words when health care is written, referring to it as a service. Use one word when referring to the institution and its members. Correct: The healthcare system in Alberta is administered by Alberta Health Services. Correct: Daniel received the best health care from a registered nurse. Correct: Learning how to talk to your healthcare team is an important skill. Howlers Lounge Not Howler’s Lounge or Howlers’ Lounge. I - P In-Person Hyphenate “in-person” when it describes a noun. Correct: “Amanda registered for an in-person class this semester.” Correct: “Students are required to attend the seminar in person.” Indigenization Spelled with a capital “I”. Indigenization is a commitment to a forward moving process that is led by Indigenous people which acknowledges Indigenous worldviews, knowledge and perceptions while actively seeking out opportunities to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing and doing. The goal of Indigenization is to ensure Indigenous cultures are shared and incorporated into education systems. Indigenous Not “Native” or “Aboriginal.” Indigenous should be capitalized. Indigenous acts as an inclusive term that includes First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people in Canada. Instructor Use “instructor” over “professor” or “teacher.” Instructor does not need to be capitalized when used as an introduction or identifier: “NWP biology instructor Robbie Robson will publish his research next fall.” Job Titles As a general rule, capitalize job titles that appear before an individual’s name; leave them lowercase in all other circumstances. Correct: Direct all questions to Academic Advisor Jenny Jones. Correct: He worked with Jenny Jones, academic advisor, to create his course schedule. Note that exceptions to the capitalization rule are sometimes made for some senior Polytechnic official titles. Acceptable: Please direct all questions to Erica Smith, President and CEO. Land Acknowledgement It is generally appropriate to begin public addresses with an acknowledgement of the land on which we are situated (e.g.: “We acknowledge the homeland of the many diverse First Nations and Métis people whose ancestors have walked this land since time immemorial. We are grateful to work, live and learn on the traditional territory of Treaty 8.”). For more information about appropriate and correct land acknowledgement, please contact NWP’s Indigenous initiatives coordinator or the communications office. Learning Community The NWP Learning Community consists of staff, students and faculty. We use it to describe our collective identity. Lists For vertical lists of at least three items, use bullet points or dashes instead of numerals unless the order of the items is important (e.g. in a step-by-step guide). All items in a list must be parallel; for example, if the first item in your list begins with a verb, the second cannot begin with a noun. Lists should be introduced by a complete sentence followed by a colon. Incorrect: Taking yoga fitness classes at the Polytechnic has many benefits: Feel more energized Increase your muscle strength Better concentration Correct: Taking yoga fitness classes at the Polytechnic has many benefits: Feel more energized Increase your muscle strength Improve your concentration Micro-credentials Always hyphenated with a lowercase "c" Correct: Micro-credentials are short-term learning opportunities that help students upskill or re-skill. Correct: Janet earned her first micro-credential in just under 8 weeks. We offer micro-credentials through the Department of Continuing Education. Northwestern Alberta Cardinal directions (north, east, south and west) are lowercase unless part of a proper name (e.g. South Edmonton, Northwest Territories). The phrase “northwestern Alberta” is sometimes used to describe NWP’s service area and is preferable to “northwest Alberta.” Numbers As a general rule, spell out all numbers from one to nine and use numerals for 10 and above. Correct: Johnston received three academic awards at convocation. His 12-year-old nephew was able to attend the ceremony. Deviate from the rule where following it would result in confusion or awkwardness. Acceptable: The summer camp is open to kids aged 8-14. Avoid beginning a sentence with a numeral. Acceptable: Fifteen per cent of the proceeds will go to Grande Prairie Regional Hospital. Use commas in numbers with four or more digits. Spell out “million,” “billion,” etc. for large numbers. Correct: There were 4,200 students enrolled in the Fall Semester. Correct: NWP received $6 million in funding to renovate the Grande Prairie campus. NWP Use the abbreviation over the spelled out version whenever possible. Depending on the audience, it may be appropriate to use “Northwestern Polytechnic (NWP)” upon first mention and switch to NWP for each subsequent mention, but for community and internal audiences, use NWP. There is no need to use “the” before NWP: i.e. never refer to “the NWP” or “the Northwestern Polytechnic.” It may be convenient to say “the Polytechnic” or “the institution” in place of “NWP” to avoid repetition. When referring specifically to NWP, it is appropriate to capitalize “Polytechnic.” Correct: Celebrating Dreams marked the Polytechnic’s 50th Anniversary. You should not capitalize “polytechnic” if the word does not directly refer to NWP. Incorrect: NWP students immerse themselves in polytechnic life. On-Campus Hyphenate “on-campus” when it describes a noun. Correct: “NWP will increase its on-campus lunch options.” Correct: “There will soon be more lunch options on campus.” Per Cent Two words. Avoid using the “%” symbol. (e.g., a 40 per cent increase). Post-secondary Not post secondary. Hyphenated and lowercase "s". Program/program Capitalized when used as part of an official program name; use a lowercase “p” when used as a descriptive noun. Refer to the website program descriptions to determine whether “program” is part of an official name. If conflicting usages appear on the website, contact the program coordinator for more information and notify the appropriate web content editor of the inconsistency. Correct: She applied for the Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP). Correct: He always knew he wanted to attend NWP’s Harley-Davidson® Technician Certificate program. Q - Z Quotation Marks Quotation marks are most commonly used to indicate that a word or phrase was taken verbatim from another source. Use quotation marks to indicate someone speaking or to include written information from an outside source (but make sure you cite properly). Never place a period or comma outside of quotation marks. Correct: She said she was “utterly honoured to have been chosen for this award.” Incorrect: His greatest ambition was “to change people’s lives”, which is why he became a personal trainer. Question marks can be placed outside of quotes if they are not part of the original quote. Correct: Who will receive what Wilson called “the College’s most prestigious award”? Use double quotation marks to indicate the beginning of a quote; use single quotation marks to indicate when someone is being quoted within a quote. Correct: He explained, “I’ve always believed in Lao Tzu’s words: ‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’” Room Numbers Do not use punctuation or spaces between the letters and numbers in a room number (e.g., A103, not A-103; FAC1002, not FAC 1002) Semesters/Seasons Do not capitalize the names of the seasons (fall, winter, spring, summer). Semester names are capitalized. Correct: John submitted his application to NWP in the summer and hopes to attend in the Fall Semester. Service Area The NWP service area includes the municipalities and regions where our campuses, and research facilities are located: Grande Prairie, Fairview, and Beaverlodge. Spacing Use a single space after a period or any other punctuation. Student-Athletes Not student athletes. Refers to any student who is registered on an athletics team. Students’ Association of NWP Can be abbreviated to Students’ Association or NWPSA. Not Students Association or Student’s Association. Time and Date 2:00 a.m. not 2am Vice-President Hyphenated and not normally capitalized, unless used as part of someone’s title in conjunction with their name (see Courtesy Titles). Wolfpack We are all Wolves and therefore part of the Wolfpack. Not Wolf Pack or Wolf pack.