Editorial Style Guide

The UNC Charlotte Editorial Style Guide offers a set of “rules” for creating consistent and high-quality content published by The University of North Carolina at Charlotte — and in doing so helps the University establish and maintain credibility among its various audiences. Its purpose is to simplify and expedite the writing, editing and proofreading of blogs, brochures, catalogs, fliers, marquee images, magazines, newsletters, posters, press releases, websites and other communication pieces, and resolve questions that often arise during their development.

This style guide conforms to best practices of today’s academic, public relations and news authorities, following conventions outlined in the Associated Press Stylebook (with some institutional customization) and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Academic publications produced by UNC Charlotte faculty and staff members such as monographs, scholarly research, journal articles, books or dissertations should follow accepted editorial style preferences of academia and/or UNC Charlotte’s Office of Academic Affairs.

To make their intended impact, these rules should be followed most of the time; occasionally, however, bending a rule may make more sense than following it. In all matters concerning editorial style, consistency, clarity and accessibility are priority considerations.

For information about branding and design guidelines, see the Design Toolkit.