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campus — The University of Houston has several instructional sites, such as UH at Sugar Land and UH at Katy; however, it should not be referred to as the Sugar Land campus — they are instructional sites. Do not refer to the University of Houston as the “main campus.”

campuswide — One word

canceled — Not cancelled. Also use canceling (one “l”). Only cancellation has double “l.”

capitalization — Avoid the overuse of capitalization. Do capitalize the word university when using it to mean the University of Houston.

The University of Houston serves more than 47,000 students. The University also offers programs for the community.

capitalization, titles of works — Apply these guidelines to the titles of books, journal articles, movies, plays, poems, albums, songs, operas, radio and television programs, lectures, speeches, and works of art:

Capitalize the first letter of each word in a title. Articles (“a,” “an,” “the”), conjunctions (“and,” “but,” “for,” “nor,” “yet,” “so”) and prepositions (“at,” “in,” “to”) are not capitalized unless they are the first word in the title or if they have four or more letters. Capitalize both parts of a phrasal verb and when using “to” infinitives: “What I Want To Be When I Grow Up.” Put quotation marks around the names of all such works except the Bible, the Quran and other holy books, and books and journals that are primarily catalogs of reference material.

century — Spell out numbers less than 10 (in lowercase letters).

Yes: the first century Yes: the 21st century

For proper names, follow the organization’s practice.

Yes:20th Century Studios Yes:The Century Foundation

chair, chairperson, chairman, chairwoman — In general use terms such as chair or chairperson, councilperson, unless the -man or -woman terms are specified by an organization. 

Capitalize as a formal title before a name:

company Chair Henry Khan committee Chairwoman Margaret Chase Smith Jackson Fender, chair, Department of Physics

Do not capitalize as a casual, temporary position: chair Dara Jackson. Chair is acceptable as a verb: She chaired the meeting; he chairs the committee.

city — Capitalize when it is part of a proper name, an integral part of an official name or part of a formal title before a name. Lowercase in all city of phrases.

Yes:Texas City, New York City, a Texas city Yes:city of Houston Yes:City Manager Chanda Loke Yes:city Director of Plant Operations Caleb Srour No:City of Houston see state

coed — The preferred term as a noun is female student, but coed is acceptable as an adjective to describe coeducational institutions. No hyphen.

collegessee academic colleges, schools, departments, centers and institutes

colonssee Punctuation Primer

commasee Punctuation Primer

company, companies — Abbreviate as Co. or Cos. when it appears at the end of the name. Spell out when it appears elsewhere in the name. When the words company or companies appear alone in a second reference, spell out and lowercase.

compose, compriseCompose means to create or put together. Comprise means to contain, to include all or embrace.

Yes: The UH System is composed of four universities. Yes: The UH System comprises four universities. No: The UH System is comprised of four universities.

composition titles — Put quotation marks around the titles of books, journal articles, movies, plays, poems, albums, songs, operas, lectures, speeches, works of art, and radio and television programs. Exceptions: holy books and books that are primarily catalogs of reference materials.

Do not use quotation marks around software titles or apps; or around names of video, online or analog versions of games: FarmVille, Pokemon Go, The Legend of Zelda, Monopoly. Do not use quotation marks for sculptures: The Thinker, Michelangelo’s Pieta.

corporation, corporations  — Abbreviate as Corp. or Corps. when it appears at the end of the name. Spell out corporation(s) when it appears elsewhere in the name.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Corporation for Public Broadcasting When the words corporation or corporations appear alone in a second reference, spell out and lowercase. Usually, Limited (Ltd.) and Incorporated (Inc.) are dropped.

Coog — The UH abbreviation for Cougar, the UH mascot. Generally, avoid use of the Coog abbreviation in external publications. It is likely most appropriate for social media and select internal or alumni communications. Popular social media hashtags using the abbreviation are #ForeverCoog, referring to a UH alumnus or alumni, and #GoCoogs.

Julia Hodges is a proud Coog! Go Coogs! No: The coogs rallied to win the big game. No: Go Cougs!

Cougar — The University mascot is the Cougar. The UH mascot is a cougar named Shasta. The mascot has a pal named Sasha. UH Cougars are also informally called Coogs. Between 1947 and 1989, five live cougars served as mascots; since Shasta V’s death in 1989, costumed students have carried on the tradition. see Our History and Traditions

Cougar Red Friday — The UH community wears red on Fridays to show pride and passion for the University. Capitalize Cougar Red Friday. The social media hashtag is #CougarRedFriday.

Cougar sign — Cougar fans show their support by making the Cougar sign, made by folding the ring finger of the right hand toward the palm. The tradition dates back to 1953, when Shasta I, the presiding cougar mascot, lost a toe in a cage door on the way to a game. The opposing team, the University of Texas, mocked UH by imitating the cougar's injury. The Cougars soon adopted that gesture as a symbol of pride.

When using an icon of the Cougar hand sign, include the TM symbol.

course names — Capitalize proper noun elements, numbered courses and specific course names: American history, English, Algebra I, world history

I am taking English 101 this semester. My favorite course is Fundamentals of Speech. He is always late to his speech class.

currency — Spell out and lowercase the word “cents,” using figures for all amounts less than a dollar; drop the decimal and zeros if there are no cents. Do not use the cents symbol in running text, although it is acceptable to use it in tables or charts.

Always lowercase dollar. Unlike the cents rule, use figures and the dollar symbol except in casual references or amounts without a figure.

The book cost $4. Laurie, give me a dollar.

Use the dollar sign and numbers up to two decimal places for amounts more than $1 million.

The college received a $24 million grant. The building cost $4.34 million.

curriculum (n.) curricula (plural)


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