4 Style Snapshots to ponder
Here are a few style reminders, courtesy of Tony Durham:
Semicolons – The semicolon is used to separate items in a series when commas are included in the items. When a series of semicolons is used, end the series with a semicolon, not a comma: Jane Doe of 1616 Elm St.; Dick Jones of 1414 Hall St.; Becky Smith of 1313 Duke St. Use it to separate parts of a sentence when a more definitive break than the comma is called for.
In headlines that contain more than one verb separate the verbs by commas if they have the same subject, by semicolons if they have different subjects.
Examples:
Troops move through Sudan, put dissidents under arrest
Storms kill 303; floods maroon 200
racial, national designations – Avoid designating a person’s race or nationality unless it is pertinent to the story. A naturalized citizen of the United States is an American regardless of birthplace. The hyphenated form, such as African-American or Mexican-American, may be used if pertinent.
Religious titles
Roman Catholic uses –
Do not use the name of or the abbreviation for a religious order after a member’s name. The Rev. John Jones on first reference, Father Jones on second reference. Do not refer to a Catholic priest as Mr.
A monsignor is Mgsr. John Jones on first reference. On subsequent references, it should be Monsignor Jones.
Bishop John Jones on first reference, Bishop Jones on second.
Archbishop John Jones on first reference, Archbishop Jones on second unless he is a cardinal.
A cardinal is Cardinal John Jones on first reference, Cardinal Jones on second. The title cardinal takes precedence over archbishop: Cardinal Terence Cooke, archbishop of New York.
A Roman Catholic nun is usually Sister Mary Magdalene Jones on first reference, Sister Mary or Sister Mary Magdalene on second reference.
mid as prefix – Not hyphenated unless the second part of the word begins with a capital letter.
Example: midterm elections
Democrat, Democratic – Democrat is the proper noun referring to a member of the political party. Democratic is its adjective. See capitalization.