Cardigan Style Guide

Style Guide

cardigan mountain school

Revised 2011

A Guide for Students, Faculty, Staff, and Volunteers In an effort to demonstrate consistency in the use, spelling, and capitalization of certain words and phrases, as well as consistency in matters of punctuation, key points of grammar, numerical style, and Cardigan-specific terminology, we provide the following guidelines for your reference.

In addition, publication guidelines for logos, fonts, and the like, are included in this document.

It is our hope that all Cardigan communications pieces (any printed piece of communication to our external constituents) conform to these guidelines. Please feel free to bring your questions or suggestions to our Communications Office.

Table of Contents Capitalization

I. Regarding the word “school�

2 II. Grades, class years, and such 2 III. Names of courses 3 IV. Seasons/terms, and such 3 V. Departments, offices, and committees 3 VI. Professional titles 4 VII. Terms specific to Cardigan 5 VIII. Computer references 7 IX. Publications 8 X. Academic credentials 8 XI. Postal abbreviations, geography, and such 9

Numbers I. In text 10 II. As numerals 10 III. Commas in 10 IV. Phone numbers 10 V. Times 10 VI. Dates 11 VII. Years 11 VIII. Fractions 11 IX. Percents 11

Punctuation I. Commas 12 II. Apostrophes 12 III. Semicolons 13 IV. Periods 13 V. Ellipses 14 VI. Quotation marks 14 VII. Following bold or italic text 14 VIII. Hyphenation 15

Other random things to watch out for Commonly misused words/terms to watch out for Cardigan publications

16 17

I. Images to use II. Colors to use III. Text to use

21 21 21

1 / Students

Cardigan Mountain School

Capitalization

I. Regarding the word “school” • Cardigan Mountain School • the School (when Cardigan Mountain School is implicit), BUT: our school • the Cardigan Mountain School faculty, students, parents • the Cardigan Mountain School campus • the Cardigan Mountain School Parents’ Association • “Our Parents’ Association supports the School”, but: “The school year started in August.”

II. Grades, class years, and such • In a written piece (text): “The School provides an education for boys in grades six through nine.” In an ad, it might make more sense to save space: “…provides an education for boys in grades 6–9.”

• A sixth grader is a unique being. (n. = no hyphen) • The sixth grade goes to Cape Cod. (n. = no hyphen) • The sixth-grade math students are studying fractions. (adj. = hyphenated) • John is a member of the Class of 1994 (or) Class of ’94.

• Johnny loves his English class.

• Alex Gray, who teaches an eighth-grade English class, said he was happy with his students. (i.e., the class is an eighth-grade class. But we wouldn’t want to think Alex was IN the eighth-grade by saying “Alex Gray, an eighth-grade English teacher…” so he can instead be listed as a Grade Eight English teacher!)

• Likewise: Mark Holt, our Grade Six lead teacher, adores his 12 students; Jamie Funnell, a Grade Nine advisor, spoke to students about next year’s plans.

2 / Capitalization

Cardigan Mountain School

III. Names of courses (Use upper case for course titles on the subject line of a comment form; use lower case in text of comment form or in the body of an article, etc. Also, the general subject can be lower case in text, but a specific course title should be upper case.)

• art (but: Art for Credit), athletics, biology, drama, English, French, Life Skills, PEAKS, BCE, shop, math (but: Algebra II), Spanish, Latin, history (but: American History or World History), music (but: History of Jazz), religion (but: World Religions)…

IV. Seasons/terms, and such • I have winter term blues; I cannot wait for some sunshine.

• I made high honor roll in the fall term.

• I hope you do better in the winter trimester than you did in the fall.

• Hooray! We are so excited that spring has arrived! (season) V. Departments, offices, and committees (generally capitalized) • She is a member of the Arts Department; he works in the Business Office (a reference to our Cardigan Business Office). BUT: He works in a business office of some sort in New London.

• She teaches art. (the general subject) He works in business. (the field) • James Scott, head of the Arts Department, directed a play. OR: James Scott, Art Department head, directed a play.

• My mother is part of the Auction Committee.

• Chip Audett, who heads up the Admissions Office, will be attending.

• This communication came from the Headmaster’s Office. (the department) I left my umbrella in the headmaster’s office. (the location) 3 / Capitalization

Cardigan Mountain School

VI. Professional titles (Use lower case unless immediately preceding the name—even with the president!)

• We spoke to the headmaster, and he said it was fine.

• David McCusker, Jr. ’80, Cardigan’s headmaster, is thrilled to be back.

• Headmaster David McCusker, Jr. ’80 loves the School.

• Joy Michelson, our director of communications, will be referring to this manual daily. BUT: Director of Communications Joy Michelson is also relying on Lizzie Gray and Stephanie McCusker for proofreading.

• Jim Scott, the Arts Department head, will join us. BUT: Art Department Head Jim Scott will be there.

• Chip Audett, our director of admissions, plays an important role. BUT: Director of Admissions Chip Audett looks exhausted.

• Barack Obama, who successfully became the president, worked tirelessly on his campaign. George W. Bush, who was the previous president of the United States, is from Texas. BUT: President Bush stepped down in 2008.

• Maureen Gilbert, chair of the Auction Committee, was here a lot this fall. AND: Our Auction Committee chair for next year will remain the same. BUT: Auction Committee Chair Maureen Gilbert oversaw many donation items.

4 / Capitalization

Cardigan Mountain School

VII. Terms specific to Cardigan • The faculty is an important constituency at any private school. (singular) Members of the faculty are planning to arrive at 5:00 p.m.; the students will arrive at 6:00 p.m.

• I am an advisor and I have five students in my advisor group. They are my advisees.

• Several things point us to “The Cardigan Way” when we consider the issues.

• Cardigan Mountain School Parents’ Association or simply the Parents’ Association (if referring to Cardigan’s).

• Board of Trustees; Cardigan Mountain School’s Board of Trustees, Cardigan’s Board of Trustees. But, when alone: the trustees, the board. SO: The Board of Trustees will meet in April. BUT: The board will meet in April, with most trustees attending. (Both are right.)

• members of the Corporation; our incorporators.

• Parents’ Weekend had a tremendous turnout. The Parents’ Auction raises a lot of much-needed money for the School.

• All-School Meetings take place in Humann Theatre.

• He covers all of the evening study halls. Supervised Study (SSS) is something that can put a real damper on your weekend, as can Saturday Evening Detention (SED).

• Once again, he made the honor roll and the effort honor roll. Also: the high honor roll.

• Are you coming to the Christmas Pageant? The pageant [by itself ] won’t be the same without you.

• Five seniors will not be with us at Commencement [official title of the graduation ceremony]. If you went through the graduation [general] process at one school, going through it again here might seem different.

5 / Capitalization

Cardigan Mountain School

• Dormitories: Stowell House, French I and II, Hinman I and II, Hayward, Clark-Morgan II and III (or CM II and CM III), Brewster I and II, Franklin House, Banks House, Greenwood House, Dewar, and North. (Let’s stick to roman numerals for French, Hinman, ClarkMorgan, and Brewster.)

• The chapel (lower case when referring to the building itself ) is in the center of campus. We attend Chapel on Thursdays. (Capitalize when it’s a reference to name of the special service.)

• Hamilton Family Foundation Student Health Center; the Faculty Room; the BhiromBhakdi Computer Lab; Gates Lab; Humann Theatre; Kirk Library; Kenerson Social Center; Wakely Center; Turner Arena, Bronfman, Hopkins Hall, Stoddard Center, Gillette Room, Williams Wood Shop, the School Bank, the headmaster’s office (or just: meet me at… the computer lab, the health center, Humann, the theatre, the library, Kenerson, Wakely, Turner, the shop, the gym, the bank, the rink, etc.).

• Annual Fund (when referring to Cardigan’s), annual fund (general). The full title is The Annual Fund for Cardigan.

• Seasons and terms generally lower case: winter term, the winter term, the winter trimester [unless these are headings at the top of grades and comments: Winter Term Grades and Comments]. BUT: I think we’ll cover that in the winter term. The fields should be pretty muddy this spring. Leaves fall in the fall (or autumn). He’s been working hard since the midterm; the fall midterm has come and gone. We are going on spring vacation soon, and we hope the students all return safely!

• the School Store (Get your books at the School Store.)

6 / Capitalization

Cardigan Mountain School

• Marrion Field, the lower fields, the Back 40 fields, Cotting Rock, the football field, the soccer fields, the Quad, Williams Field, the Cave.

• Use the “Visitor Parking” spots in front of the Admissions Office.

• Ask Housekeeping for a pail when a student is sick.

See Tim Jennings in Maintenance (referring to the department) if you have an issue. Our maintenance staff (could be general term) works overtime on snowy days.

• Teams: Varsity, Junior Varsity or JV, Thirds, Reserve.

VIII. Computer references • email, internet, website, webpage, World Wide Web, the Web, online [adj., adv.], log in (v.), log-in (n., adj.).

• I love to send emails late at night, and often I use the internet.

• The Cardigan website is always evolving.

• I learned to design a webpage over vacation.

• The best place to find information is on the World Wide Web. • I often refer to the Web when I need to know something.

• We can find great deals online [adv.] all the time; the online [adj.] information updates are the most accurate.

• When I log in, I have trouble seeing the icons; maybe my log-in procedure needs to be looked at.

7 / Capitalization

Cardigan Mountain School

IX. Publications (Note italics for many publication titles or titles of works) • Cardigan Chronicle (official). When mentioned in shortened form in text: “This will appear in the next issue of the Chronicle…” When making a reference to the official (longer) title in text, be sure to keep the “the” roman (not italicized) and lower case: “That picture you took is worthy of an appearance in the Cardigan Chronicle, I think!”

• The Family–Student Directory, the Student Handbook, the Blaze [etc.].

• General titles of larger or serial publications (newspapers, magazines, books, etc.) are in italics. Specific article or chapter titles in those publications are in quotes: His article, “Reading for Fun,” in the last issue of Newsweek was terrific.

• Names of TV series, movies, plays, CDs (a.k.a. albums) appear in italics. Song titles, play scenes, episodes, and so on, would be in quotes: The upbeat song “Mary’s Place,” on one of Springsteen’s more recent CDs, The Rising, is an all-time favorite. I wasn’t fond of the Law & Order (tv series) episode titled “Never Again.” Tom Cruise is the star of the film Risky Business.

X. Academic Credentials • She has her master’s degree in elementary education.

• He has a Master of Science in Chemistry [official title].

(BUT: He has a master’s in chemistry.)

• Abbreviations: BA (or AB), PhD, MS, MAT, MBA, MEd

8 / Capitalization

Cardigan Mountain School

XI. Postal abbreviations, geography, and such • In all text, spell out names of states completely, or use NON–two-letter state abbreviations, such as Mass., N.H., Conn., Vt. (vs. MA, NH, CT, VT, which should only be used when addressing envelopes or writing inside mailing addresses).

• He comes to us from Dorchester, Mass., where he spent many years.

• She hails from Dorset, Vermont, where the maple syrup is incredible.

• BUT: Mail your auction donation agreements to: Cardigan Mountain School 62 Alumni Drive Canaan, NH 03741 AK

Alaska

KS

Kans.

OH

Ohio

AL

Ala.

KY

Ky.

OK

Okla.

AR

Ark.

LA

La.

OR

Ore.or Oreg.

AZ

Ariz.

MA

Mass.

SC

S.C.

CA

Calif.

MD

Md.

SD

S.Dak.

CO

Colo.

ME

Maine

TN

Tenn.

CT

Conn.

MI

Mich.

TX

Tex.

DC

D.C.

MN

Minn.

UT

Utah

DE

Del.

MO

Mo.

VA

Va.

FL

Fla.

MS

Miss.

VI

V.I. or Virgin Islands

GA

Ga.

MT

Mont.

VT

Vt.

GA

Ga.

NC

N.C.

WA

Wash.

GU

Guam

NE

Neb. or Nebr.

WI

Wis. or Wisc.

HI

Hawaii

NH

N.H.

WV

W.Va.

IA

Iowa

NJ

N.J.

WY

Wyo.

ID

Idaho

NM

N.Mex.

WI

Wis. or Wisc.

IL

Ill.

NV

Nev.

WV

W.Va.

IN

Ind.

NY

N.Y.

WY

Wyo.

• the East (cap. region), but eastern (l.c.); the Midwest (cap.), but midwestern (l.c.).

• A city followed by its state in text needs two commas: “His trip to Houston, Texas, was an enjoyable one.”

9 / Capitalization

Cardigan Mountain School

Numbers

I. In text • In text (generally), spell out numbers under 10: one, two, three…nine. (There were four students who made it to the final round of the geography bee.) Use arabic numerals (generally) for numbers 10 and above. (There are 49 desks available for use in the Gillette Room.)

• In a list of items, if one requires a numeral (because it is 10 or more), then others in the same category (same noun) should be numerals regardless (I have 12 orange blouses, 4 red blouses, and six black sweaters.) Note here that “sweater” is a different noun than “blouse,” so the “six” is spelled out thanks to the regular “under 10” rule.

II. As numerals • Express numbers with numerals when they are years, addresses, dates, measurements, decimal values, and other numbers-as-identifiers. He lives at 278 Delaware Avenue.

III. Commas in • Use a comma with figures in thousands, except for years, addresses, and page numbers. (I counted 1,497 jelly beans in 2007. On page 4876 of the Guinness Book of World Records, there are some incredible pictures of the world’s tallest man, who lives at 1285 Delaware Avenue, Washington, D.C.) IV. Phone numbers • Phone numbers for CMS—use periods when possible: 603.523.4321 If there is an extension listed, follow phone number with a comma and “ext.”: 617.867.5309, ext. 2 V. Times • Regarding times: 4–6 p.m. (Use en dash (–), rather than a hyphen (-) or em dash (—) if possible, showing range; lower case and periods for a.m. and p.m.; and only one a.m. or p.m. needed if the same is implied for the first number in range. Otherwise: 10 a.m.–9 p.m.)

10 / Numbers

Cardigan Mountain School

VI. Dates • Use a comma in dates containing month, day, and year (July 4, 1992, was a beautiful day), but not in a date with a month and year only (December 1992 was a good month). Note the comma after the year in the first example; this is necessary when a day is included and the sentence continues after the year.

• Registration is on September 6, 2008. OR: It will take place on the 6th of September. But NOT: September 6th, 2008.

• On an invitation:

Please join us for dinner and dancing at Frieze House Wednesday, June 4 OR: Please join us for dinner and dancingat Frieze House on Wednesday, the fourth of June (OR: the 4th of June) But NOT: Wednesday, June 4th

VII. Years • The 1990s (or the ’90s—watch apostrophe direction), BUT: in the Roaring Twenties) VIII. Fractions • Spell out fractions (use hyphen: three-fourths), centuries (twentieth century) unless part of an organization’s official name (20th Century Fox), and numbers that begin a sentence (Fourteen of those teenagers were participating in the Walk for Hunger.).

IX. Percents • Spell out the word percent in text (He was 90 percent accurate about the eight percent tuition hike), rather than using a percent symbol (%). In a table, however, the symbol is appropriate.

11 / Numbers

Cardigan Mountain School

Punctuation

I. Commas • John L. Hall II (no comma); Mr. John Q. Public, Jr. • Tim Fleming ’70; David J. McCusker, Jr. ’80 (comma before “Jr.” or “Sr.,” but no comma before an alumnus’s class year; be sure the apostrophe faces the correct way).

• Use a comma with figures in thousands, except for years, addresses, and page numbers. (I counted 1,497 jelly beans in 2007. On page 4876 of the Guinness Book of World Records, there are some incredible pictures of the world’s tallest man, who lives at 1285 Delaware Avenue, Washington, D.C.) • Use a comma in dates containing month, day, and year (July 4, 1992, was a beautiful day), but not in a date with a month and year only (December 1992 was a good month). Note the comma after the year in the first example; this is necessary when a day is included and the sentence continues after the year.

• Use series comma. This means that in a list or series, you should include the final comma: We had chicken, rice, and salad for lunch. Pick one, two, or more.

II. Apostrophes • Possessive apostrophes: Henry’s shoe; Charles’s book; the people’s gathering (people is already plural); the members’ rules (referring to the rules of more than one member); Parents’ Weekend; the puppies’ tails; the Joneses’ cat (yes, it’s true!). With joint possession: my aunt and uncle’s house (both own same house); my daughter’s and son’s friends (each has a separate group of friends).

• Plurals (some with apostrophes, most without): CDs; DVDs; SSATs; SOCs; How many SEDs was he put in this year?; 1990s; the ’90s; He earned A’s and B’s last term; Mind your p’s and q’s! I’m tired of all of his “maybe’s”!

12 / Punctuation

Cardigan Mountain School

III. Semicolons • Semicolons can be used when two sentences are very closely related—like cause and effect, for example. The semicolon should take the place of a period and capital or a comma and an “and” (or similar conjunction). For example: Darryl didn’t want any more ice cream; he was too full. Connie wasn’t too happy; however, she decided to move forward with the plan just like her friends were going to.

• Semicolons may also take the place of commas when a list is full of complicated items that already have commas within them. For example: Johnny thought about all the things he had to do: take out the garbage; empty the sink of plates, cups, and silverware; scrub the floors; and do the laundry.

IV. Periods • Lists (bulleted lists, for example) should have each item begin with a capital letter and end in a period (even if the item is not a complete sentence), unless all list items have fewer than four words each (in which case no end punctuation is necessary). Example: We need to take these steps before leaving: -Tie our shoes -Start our cars -Thank our parents BUT: We need to take these steps before leaving: -Tie our shoes.

-Start our cars.

-Say thank you to our parents.

• RSVP (not R.S.V.P.). Also, it’s redundant to say “Please RSVP”; use “Kindly RSVP” or “RSVP by March 21”

13 / Punctuation

Cardigan Mountain School

V. Ellipses • Ellipses: When using . . . to indicate a lapse or break in quotation (or someone’s speech trailing off midsentence), use three dots and four spaces—or four dots to indicate a period at the end of the sentence. . . .

VI. Quotation marks • (If words inside parentheses form a complete sentence, put the period inside the closing parenthesis.)

• With quotations, commas and periods always fall inside the closing quotation mark, regardless of context. With other punctuation, it depends on whether the punctuation is part of the quote or not: His final instructions included making sure “all books are put away before leaving.”

If you like jelly beans, “whoopie pies,” and apples, this is the picnic for you!

He said “Darn it!” before she could stop him.

(Note the exclamation point inside quotation mark in this case, but:) I will not tolerate your so-called “words of frustration”! (Note the exclamation point outside the quotation mark.)

Here are the questions we are considering regarding “The Cardigan Way”: Where does our program fall short? [etc.] (Note the colon outside the quotation marks.)

VII. Following bold or italic text • All punctuation following an italic or bold word or phrase is also italic or bold. He used the term variable, and then explained its meaning. (Note that the comma following “variable” is italicized.)

14 / Punctuation

Cardigan Mountain School

VIII. Hyphenation • Do not hyphenate words beginning with prefixes such as non, pre, co, re, over, post, semi, sub, super, and multi (multilateral, nonathlete, prereading, etc.). Exceptions: if the word looks awkward without one (co-worker, non-nuclear, co-owner) or if the word that follows is capitalized (trans-Atlantic, non-English-speaking) or is a numeral (pre-1990).

• Always hyphenate words beginning with self (self-evident, self-confidence).

• Do not hyphenate words ending in wide or hood (nationwide, schoolwide, motherhood).

• Do not precede like with a hyphen unless the letter l will be tripled (businesslike, but doll-like).

• Do not hyphenate care words as either adjectives or nouns (day care, health care, child care).

• Hyphenated adjectives: John is staying at school this afternoon because he has after-school sports. BUT: He has sports after school. That student is the most-loved boy on the floor. BUT: That boy is the one on the floor who is most loved.

• Do not hyphenate an -ly word: The barely felt tremor only registered 1.5 on the Richter scale.

• To indicate a range, use an en dash (– ), which is smaller than an em dash (—), but bigger than a hyphen (-): 30–40 feet in length. A hyphen will suffice if an en dash doesn’t exist in your computer program.

• When indicating a range, use an en dash (or hyphen) alone, OR the words from and to, but don’t mix the two options. These are OK: The program runs from 10:15 a.m. to about 4 p.m.

They allow children ages 6–12.

BUT NOT: It runs from 40–50 feet in length. (should be EITHER “from 40 to 50” OR “40–50”) 15 / Punctuation

Cardigan Mountain School

• Remember to close up the spaces before and after the em and en dashes*.

They allow children ages 6–12.

BUT NOT: They allow children ages 6 – 12. *Em and en dashes are found (in Word) in the Symbols palette found within the Insert tab. (en–) (em—)

Other random things to watch out for

• Type all Latin and foreign phrases in italic (magna cum laude).

• The l is not doubled in canceled, traveled, scheduled, totaled, and so on.

• When an acronym is used in text, give the full form at first use in the text, followed by the acronym in parentheses.

From then on, it would be appropriate to use the acronym alone: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) will take over the case. The CIA has a somewhat-controversial reputation in these matters.

16 / Other random things to watch out for Cardigan Mountain School

Commonly misused words/terms to watch out for • The changes may affect (v.) you, or they may have a minimal effect. (n.)

• It’s is short for it is; its is actually possessive. (It’s raining out. The sign was large, and its message was clear.)

• None is singular. We hope none of the boys gets in trouble this winter.

• Further/farther: Farther means physical, measurable distance. (Boston is farther from here than Lebanon is.)

Further is more figurative. (He is curious and would like to pursue the matter further.)

• Less/fewer: Fewer refers to numbers. (Fewer than nine inches of snow. Less snow than usual.)

• Between/among: Between is usually used when there are just two things/people in question; among for more than two.

That’s between you and him. The secrets among the five of them were well maintained.

• That/which: That defines or restricts: The shovel that is broken is in the garage, but there’s another one downstairs. (That tells which one.) Which is nondefining, nonrestricting, and it is used for clauses requiring commas.

Our shovel, which is broken, is in the garage. (Which adds a fact about the only shovel in question.)

Quick lesson on clauses using that, which, and who If the clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence, it should begin with “that” and have no comma: 1. The book that we were reading in the fall challenged the students tremendously.

[Without the “that” clause, the sentence lacks context and doesn’t make a lot of sense: The book challenged the students tremendously. The “that” clause is essential to its meaning.]

17 / Commonly misused words Cardigan Mountain School

2. The assignment that he is missing is a lengthy one.

3. The only game that they lost was to Holderness. If the clause is “nonessential” (you could remove it and the sentence would still make sense), a “which” would be appropriate. Always use a comma before “which” (and if the sentence continues beyond the “which” clause, another comma will be required to indicate the end of the clause): 1. Justin’s English book, which had fallen out of his backpack earlier in the fall, has finally been located.

[With this clause removed, the sentence becomes: Justin’s English book has finally been located.]

2. His midterm grade, which has dropped due to lack of participation, is now a B. 3. I finally received his apology note, which didn’t seem sincere.

Always use “who” when referring to a person. Whether a comma is used will depend on whether the “who” clause is essential [no commas] or nonessential [commas]: 1. The boy who rooms with him is a great listener. [essential] 2. His roommate, who is a great listener, will be returning in the fall. [nonessential] 3. The dog who bit him earlier this year has been banished from the campus. [essential] 4. The Thurston family’s dog, who was beloved by all, ultimately became the School’s mascot. [nonessential] • Lie/lay: Please lie (rest) down on the training table. I will lay my coffee mug (put or set down) on the counter in the Faculty Room. Tenses: lie, lay, lain (I lie down; I lay down yesterday; I have lain here before.) lay, laid, laid (I lay things on the counter every day; I laid the keys there yesterday; I have laid them there before.)

18 / Commonly misused words Cardigan Mountain School

• “I” and “me”: It was a happy evening for Mary and me. (objects of preposition “for”) That is between him and me! (objects of preposition “between”) Joe and I will attend that function. (subjects) The people who should handle it are Dave and I. (linking verb requires subject forms to follow) • Comprise (should only be used when its subject is bigger than the parts composing it; the “of ” is implied): The student body comprises (is composed of ) boys from many different states and countries. It would be incorrect to say: Nine boys comprise the English class. Instead you could say: Nine boys make up that English class.

• e.g./i.e./etc.: Both e.g. and i.e. should have commas following them. The abbreviation etc. should have a comma preceding it. They should generally be used parenthetically, with e.g. translating roughly to mean “for example,” i.e. translating roughly to mean “in other words,” and etc. translating roughly to mean “and so on.”

Remains from a variety of large animals (e.g., horses, cows, buffalo, and so forth) were found in the yard.

He told me he was no longer happy (i.e., he wanted out of the relationship).

Avoid using etc. in the same parenthetical phrase or clause in which e.g. or i.e. was used; “and so forth” makes a nice substitute (see the animal sentence above).

Also, avoid using etc. in text as much as possible. (In a parenthetical sentence like this, it is more acceptable, etc.) Note that it is preceded by a comma.

• Cannot (one word): I cannot make it to your party.

• alumnus (singular, male); alumnus’s (singular, male, possessive); alumni (plural male); alumna (singular female), alumnae (plural female).

19 / Commonly misused words Cardigan Mountain School

Quick lesson on the use of “however” in a sentence (Note: The punctuation can be tricky!)

INCORRECT: --“Nathan did well, however, he needs to try even harder.”

CORRECT: --“Nathan did well; however, he needs to try even harder.” [note semicolon} ALSO CORRECT: --“Nathan did well. However, he needs to try even harder.”

INCORRECT: --“Cory struggles with writing however. The story he wrote in this half of the term contained all the elements we’d gone over in class.”

CORRECT: --“Cory struggles with writing. However, the story he wrote in this half of the term contained all the elements we’d gone over in class.”

ALSO CORRECT: --“Cory struggles with writing; however, the story he wrote …”

INCORRECT: --“Amos loves French. He hesitates to speak it however.”

CORRECT: --“Amos loves French. He hesitates to speak it, however.”

ALSO CORRECT: --“Amos loves French; however, he hesitates to speak it.”

ALSO CORRECT: --“Although Amos loves French, he hesitates to speak it.” [completely reworded]

20 / Commonly misused words Cardigan Mountain School

Cardigan publications I. Images to use

Cardigan Seal

Cardigan Cougar

Cardigan Mountain

Alumni Logo

School

Cardigan Logo

Cardigan Cougar & Cardigan “C”

II. Colors to use • Green: Pantone 350 • Gray: Pantone 2 • Yellow: Pantone 7401 • Black: Pantone 6 III. Text to use • Font: Garamond (Adobe Garamond if you have it!)

• Description: Junior boarding school for boys in grades six through nine.

• Signature block in email: Name Title Cardigan Mountain School 62 Alumni Drive Canaan, New Hampshire 03741 603.523.XXXX phone number 605.523.XXXX fax number www.cardigan.org Cardigan Mountain School offers a close-knit community that prepares middle school boys—in mind, body, and spirit—for responsible and meaningful lives in a global society.

21 / Cardigan publications

Cardigan Mountain School

Cardigan Mountain School Style Guide Compiled by: Kimberley Holt Steff McCusker Free Safety Revised by: Joy Michelson Director of Communications Reference Works Used: Chicago Manual of Style University of Chicago Press, 1993 The Elements of Style Strunk and White MacMillan Publishing Co., 1979 Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1999 Some in-house style sheets from Richard D. Irwin, Inc., from The Park School, Brookline, Mass., and from UMass Amherst’s Communications Department