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Possessive

Form the possessive singular of nouns with 's. The rule applies regardless of whether the noun ends in s or z and regardless of how many syllables in the word.

Examples:

Charles's friend

Burns's poem

(See Strunk & White, rule 1.)

Compound Words

General Rule

Closed compounds (spelled as a single word, e.g., henhouse) are preferred to open or hyphenated compounds, as long as acceptance warrants the closed form. Consideration, however, should be given to the author's preference and to the form of the word as used in the course's textbook. If such preference is ambiguous or use by the author is inconsistent, use the closed form.

Examples:

taxpayer

Treatment of Compound Modifiers If Not Closed

For compound adjectives that are not closed, the words should typically be hyphenated when placed before the noun. If placed following the noun, no hyphen is needed.

Exceptions may be made, judiciously. If the compound precedes the noun and there is absolutely no possibility for misreading the phrase, the hyphen may be dropped; likewise, if the compound follows the noun and there is a chance of misreading the phrase, the hyphen may be used to avoid ambiguity.

Examples:

real-world situation

situation in the real world

higher-level thinking

thinking at a higher level

long-term goals

goals that are long term.

Do not use a hyphen for compounds beginning with an adverb ending in ly.

Example:

closely guarded secret

(See The Chicago Manual of Style, sections 7.86–7.89 for further details.)

Distinctive Treatment: Italics vs. Underline

Do not underline. Underlining is a substitute for italics when writing longhand or using a typewriter. Since italics are available to us, do not use underlining.

General Uses of Italics

Italics are used for titles, foreign words, emphasis, words used as words, letters used as letters, etc. (See The Chicago Manual of Style, sections 7.49–7.57 for specifics.) Note: italic rather than boldface is used for emphasis; a word meant as a new term, Key Term, or glossary entry may be set in boldface, but be consistent throughout the ms.

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