Grammar Usage Guide

IV.  Addresses and Places

Addresses

Street names

• When providing addresses in standard block form (i.e., mailing or return address envelopes), use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd., St., Bldg., Pkwy., etc.
• When writing addresses in standard text, spell out the full word (e.g., We met him on Montgomery Street.).

Cities

Use a comma to set off an individual’s hometown when it is placed in apposition to a name (e.g., Mary Jones, Reading, and Steve Smith, Hoboken, were there.).

States

• Spell out the names of the 50 U.S. states when they stand alone in textual material whenever possible.
• All states may be condensed, except Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah, which are never abbreviated in text.
• Lowercase the word “state” in text (e.g., the state of Maine.).
• When writing the United States in text
  • Spell out when used as a noun (e.g., I live in the United States.).
  • Abbreviate only as an adjective (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service).
• In full address blocks, you can use U.S. Postal code abbreviations.
• When a state is listed without a city in text, it typically should be spelled out in full (e.g., I think California is a great place to live.).
• In text, states are abbreviated differently than the U.S. postal abbreviations, and are abbreviated as follows:

e.g., I live in Boston, Mass., where I grew up.

Around Campus

Academic Departments

• General references may be lowercased (e.g., the department of marketing and communications).
• Capitalize formal names of departments and offices (e.g., English Department, Financial Aid Office).
• Typically, you may lowercase indirect references to offices and departments (e.g., in athletic departments across the country, or when thinking about financial aid, the first thing to remember is…).

Course Titles
In general, do not capitalize major areas of study, unless referring to a language (e.g., She is studying economics and French.).

Class titles may appear in quotes, but need not be italicized (e.g., “I am taking ‘Religion in South America’ this semester.).

Latin honors
Latin honors should be written in lowercase and italicized, (e.g., cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude).

Terms:

campus
Lower case is preferred (i.e., The Jersey City campus). 

campuswide
One word, not hyphenated. 

College

• Capitalize when part of the proper name, or when used alone to mean Saint Peter’s College (i.e., Saint Peter’s College; or The College is located in New Jersey.).
• Lowercase when used generally (e.g., I am going to college in the fall.).

dean’s list
Lowercase in all cases. 

residence hall
Preferred over the term dorm or other variations and written in lowercase.

St. Aedan's: The Saint Peter's College Church
Use the proper, full name in all references.