Writing About People

Student Body & Community:

Don’t capitalize “student body” or “community” unless it’s grammatically necessary.

Alumnae and an Alumna

Singular: Alumna Plural: alumnae NDB graduates are never "alumni. " An NDB graduate is not an alumnus.

Parents & Guardians

When referring to parents, always say "parents and guardians, " never just "parents. "

Age

Don’t reference a person’s age unless it’s relevant to what you’re writing. If it is relevant, include the person’s specific age, offset by commas. • The CEO, 16, just got her driver’s license. Don’t refer to people using age-related descriptors like “young, ” “old, ” or “elderly. ”

Disability

Avoid disability-related idioms like “lame” or “falling on deaf ears. ” Don’t refer to a person’s disability unless it’s relevant to what you’re writing. If you need to mention it, ask whether your subject prefers person-first language (“they have a disability”) or identity-first language (“they are disabled”). When writing about a person with disabilities, don’t use the words “suffer, ” “victim, ” or “handicapped. ” “Handicapped parking” is okay.

Hearing

Use “deaf” as an adjective to describe a person with significant hearing loss. You can also use “partially deaf” or “hard of hearing.

Vision

Use the adjective “blind” to describe a person who is unable to see. Use “low vision” to describe a person with limited vision.

Gender and sexuality

Don’t call groups of people “guys.

” Don’t call women “girls. ” Avoid gendered terms in favor of neutral alternatives, like “server” instead of “waitress” and “businessperson” instead of “businessman. ” Say "students" instead of "ladies" or "girls. " When writing about people, use their communicated pronouns. When in doubt, just ask or use their name.

Use the following words as modifiers, but never as nouns: •Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (never “transgendered”), trans, queer, LGBT

Don’t use these words in reference to LGBT people or communities: • Homosexual, lifestyle, preference