Do not capitalize names of seasons unless part of a formal title.
- The lecture series launched last fall.
- The band performed at Spring Weekend.
Editorial Style Guide
seasons
self-identify
semicolon
A semicolon is used to join complete sentences when a period would create too much of a pause in the train of thought.
- He wanted to give his aunt something special; he wanted to surprise her.
Use the semicolon to set off a series of commas in a long, complex series.
- The main offices are in Mercer County, New Jersey; Marion County, Indiana; and Broward County, Florida.
smartphone
state names
Per updated AP style, the names of the 50 U.S. states should be spelled out when used in the body of a story, whether standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town. If using state abbreviations to reduce redundancy (e.g., R.I. for Rhode Island in a story that repeatedly references the state), do not use the ZIP code abbreviations, but rather the abbreviations shows here (the ZIP code abbreviations appear in parentheses, only for use in mailing addresses):
| Ala. (AL) | Kan. (KS) | N.H. (NH) | S.C. (SC) |
| Ariz. (AZ) | Ky. (KY) | N.J. (NJ) | S.D. (SD) |
| Ark. (AR) | La. (LA) | N.Y. (NY) | Tenn. (TN) |
| Calif. (CA) | Md. (MD) | N.M. (NM) | Vt. (VT) |
| Colo. (CO) | Mass. (MA) | Nev. (NV) | Va. (VA) |
| Conn. (CT) | Mich. (MI) | N.C. (NC) | Wash. (WA) |
| Del. (DE) | Minn. (MN) | N.D. (ND) | W. Va (WV) |
| Fla. (FL) | Miss. (MS) | Okla. (OK) | Wis. (WI) |
| Ga. (GA) | Mo. (MO) | Ore. (OR) | Wyo. (WY) |
| Ill. (IL) | Mont. (MT) | Pa. (PA) | |
| Ind. (IN) | Neb. (NE) | R.I. (RI) |
Place a comma between the city and the state name and after the state name.
- He was traveling from Nashville, Tennessee, to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In formal invitations, always spell out the name of the state.
- The Hope Club, Providence, Rhode Island
STEM
an acronym for science, technology, engineering and math, acceptable to use on first reference. The alternative STEAM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, arts and math.