This guide empowers NEHS student members to craft compelling content for NEHS publications. Rooted in the Modern Language Association (MLA) Handbook and tailored to organizational preferences, they guarantee stylistic uniformity. Whenever clarity is needed, student members can rely on the latest MLA guidelines.
Dive into this quick guide for preferred styles and find illustrative examples and suggestions for common challenges!
Abbreviations
As a general rule, abbreviations made up of lowercase letters should have a period after each letter, without spaces between letters: e.g., i.e. For abbreviations made up of predominantly capital letters, use neither periods after letters nor spaces between letters: BC, NJ, US, DVD, PhD.
Degrees
Abbreviate whenever possible: MA, BA, MFA, MBA, PhD.
Capitalize all majors and minors; use lowercase for general reference.
Examples:
- She wants to study a BA in English with minors in Creative Writing and Secondary Education.
- The job requires an undergraduate degree.
Schools
Spell out the names of schools, colleges, and universities.
Example:
- He is studying at Newtown High School.
States
Use the two-letter ZIP Code style to abbreviate states when used with a city or town.
Note: Use two commas to set off the name of a state when it follows the name of a city.
Example:
- David Rodriguez, a junior at DeKalb High School in DeKalb, IL, wants to study a BA in English.
Time
Use a.m. and p.m. (with periods) to designate time.
Example:
- The program is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Capitalization
Awards
Capitalize the full official name. Do not capitalize “award” when plural or standing alone.
Examples:
- He won the Student Leadership Award.
- The award recognizes outstanding service at the local level.
Chapter
Capitalize chapter when part of an NEHS chapter’s name.
Examples:
- She is a member of the Shakespeare Chapter at Houston High School.
- She is a member of the chapter at Houston High School.
Class
Do not capitalize freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, undergraduate, or graduate.
Common Reader
Capitalize all references to a specific common reader once it has been selected.
Examples:
- The Botanist’s Daughter, by Kayte Nunn, is the Common Reader for 2024.
- Next year’s common reader will be announced in the spring.
Convention
Capitalize when immediately preceded by Sigma Tau Delta, a date, or city.
(Note: Only the international event is referred to as a convention; regional events are referred to as conferences.)
Examples:
- The theme of the Atlanta Convention was Action.
- The 2025 Annual Convention will be in Pittsburgh.
- Consider submitting a paper for the convention in Pittsburgh.
Degrees/Programs
Capitalize all degree and program names.
Examples:
- She is an English Education Major at Minot State University.
- She also wants to pursue a Minor in Women’s Studies.
Departments
Capitalize department names.
Examples:
- The Department of English is located in the Arts & Sciences Building.
- NEHS applications are available in the English Department.
Regions
Capitalize region when part of an NEHS region’s name (i.e., Eastern Region, Far Western Region, High Plains Region, Midwestern Region, Southern Region, and Southwestern Region).
Examples:
- The Southwestern Region includes Texas.
- Each region is encouraged to hold a conference.
Scholarships
Capitalize the full official name. Do not capitalize scholarship when plural or standing alone.
Examples:
- He won the NEHS Scholarship.
- They announced the winners of the scholarships.
- NEHS offers a variety of scholarship opportunities.
Seasons
Do not capitalize unless part of a title.
Examples:
- Chapter Officer elections take place during the spring semester.
- The fall chapter meetings will be held on Tuesdays.
Society
Capitalize when used in place of NEHS; do not capitalize a general reference that does not replace the title of our organization.
Examples:
- The official motto of the Society is Gelast Sceal Mid Are.
- The Society strongly encourages local chapters to plan and participate in social service activities.
- We have developed into a society that increasingly interacts with the wider academic community.
Titles/General
When titles precede a name, use capitalization.
Example:
- The discussion will be led by Professor Carl White.
When titles follow a name or stand alone, use lowercase.
Example:
- Carl White, professor of English history, will lead the discussion.
Titles/NEHS
Always capitalize NEHS Central Office (CO) positions: Director of the National English Honor Society, Director of Marketing & Communication, Director of Technology, Program Coordinator, Office Manager.
Always capitalize the singular and plural forms of NEHS chapter positions: Chapter Advisor and chapter officer positions.
Examples:
- Jean Smith, Chapter Advisor of the William Shakespeare Chapter, was recognized for 15 years of service.
- Include a recommendation letter signed by the Chapter Advisor (or sent from the Sponsor’s email address).
- She is very involved in NEHS as President of her local William Shakespeare Chapter.
Commas
In a series
MLA style includes the use of the serial/Oxford comma before the conjunction. Use commas to separate words, phrases, and clauses in a series.
Example:
- Members are eligible for a variety of Scholarships including the William C. Johnson, Sigma Tau Delta, and NEHS Scholarships.
Publications
Use a comma after the title, followed by the author.
Example:
- This year’s Common Reader is The Botanist’s Daughter, by Kayte Nunn.
Computer and Internet terms
One word: online, email, website, webpage (lowercase).
Dates
Punctuation
Use two commas to set off the year when it follows the month and day.
Example
The meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 9, 2024, has been cancelled.
Do not use a comma between month and year or season and year.
Examples:
- The January 2024 meeting has been postponed.
- He graduated in spring 2024.
Sequence
Use month-day-year format.
Example:
- Submissions must be completed by November 11, 2022.
Graphics
NEHS identity
Graphic standards, including logo formats and guidelines, are posted on the website. As the need arises to update chapter materials in print and on websites, we ask chapters to adopt and incorporate these graphic elements. Images are available in many formats. Instructions on appropriate typography and colors are also included.
Numbers
Figure Style
Spell out numbers that can be written in one or two words and represent other numbers by numerals. Always spell out numbers that begin a sentence.
Examples:
- One, thirty-six, one hundred, fifteen hundred, 2 1/2, 101, 137, 1,275.
- Twenty-two students were awarded scholarships this year.
Plurals
Do not use an apostrophe to form the plural of a number (1990s; temperatures in the 90s).
Principles of inclusive language
Pronouns
Use singular they to refer to a specific person whose gender is unknown or not relevant to the context.
Always follow the personal pronoun of individuals when an individual’s pronouns are known.
Identity
Make references to identity relevant. Consider whether terms that specify a subject’s ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, or economic or social status are meaningful to the context.
Reword gender-specific terms for gender neutrality. Avoid using man to mean human beings, humankind, humanity, or people.
Avoid negatively judging other’s experiences. When writing about a person who has a disability or health condition or who has experienced trauma, avoid descriptions like suffers from, afflicted with, prisoner of, or victim of.
Publication titles
Italics
talicize the names of books, plays, poems published as books, pamphlets, newsletters, and periodicals (newspapers, magazines, and journals).
NEHS Publications should be written as follows:
- NEHSXpress
- NEHS Museletter
- The NEHS Triangle / The Triangle
Quotation marks
Use quotation marks for the titles of articles, essays, stories, and poems published within larger works.
Sentence Spacing
Use one space after the punctuation at the end of a sentence.
Word preferences
Alum
A Gender-neutral graduate from a particular school.
Example:
- Alex Miller is an alum of NEHS.
Alumni
The plural of alum.
Example:
- Jane Smith and Bill Jones are NEHS alumni.
Nonfiction
Always write nonfiction as one word with no hyphen.
Example:
- This I Believe is a popular creative nonfiction anthology.
Theatre
Preferred variant of theater when referring to a live production unless the preferred spelling of a specific venue is theater.
Examples:
- There was a Broadway production playing at the local theatre.
- The Harris Theater for Music and Dance is located at the north end of Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.
T-shirt
Always capitalize the ‘T’.
Example:
- There are several T-shirts available for purchase at the event.
