The Citadel does not use ampersands unless it is part of a formal name.


apostrophes and class years

When using an apostrophe before a class year, make sure that it’s an apostrophe (the tail points left: ’ ), not a beginning single quote ( ‘ ).

Sam Evans, ’73

When talking about a specific class, always capitalize “class.”

Class of 1918

Apostrophes also indicate possession. They are not to be used for plural nouns except in the case of grades.

A’s and B’s

collective nouns

Nouns that denote a unit take singular verbs and pronouns: class, committee, crowd, family, group, herd, jury, orchestra, team.

The committee is meeting to set its agenda.

The committee reached its decision.

The football team was seen celebrating its win.

Team names and musical group names that are plural take plural verbs.

The Atlanta Braves are in first place.

The Avett Brothers are popular amongst cadets.

Team or group names with no plural forms also take plural verbs.

The Miami Heat are battling for third place.

Many singular names take singular verbs.

Coldplay is on tour.

Charlotte is favored in the playoffs.

The Citadel is in the Medal of Honor Bowl.

But some proper names that are plural in form take a singular verb.

Brooks Brothers is holding a sale.

Plural in form: some words that are plural in form become collective nouns and take singular verbs when the group or quantity is regarded as a unit.

A thousand bushels is a good yield. (A unit.)

A thousand bushels were created. (Individual items.)

The data is sound. (A unit.)

The data have been carefully collected. (Individual items.)


The em dash (—) is used for abrupt changes of thought or to set off a phrase at the end of a sentence. There should not be any spaces on either side of the em dash. An em dash is automatically created in Microsoft Word when two hyphens are typed directly after a word and followed directly by a word and a space. They can also be inserted by using the keyboard command Ctrl + Alt + -. The hyphen on the number pad must be used in this command—it will not work with the hyphen key at the top of the keyboard.

The core values—Honor, Duty, Respect—support The Citadel’s vision to achieve excellence in the education and development of principled leaders.

Charleston was named the No. 1 city in the U.S. again—a fact that helps recruiting for The Citadel.

The en dash (–) is used to show the passage of time or continuation of numbers. They can be inserted on a PC by using the keyboard command Ctrl + -. (The hyphen on the number pad must be used in this command—it will not work with the hyphen key at the top of the keyboard.)

January 12–16


Pages 234–450

Do not use an en dash when the word “from” is actually used.

“1945–52” or “from 1945 to 1952,” never “from 1945–52”

quotation marks

Quotation marks should not be used for emphasis. Instead use italics.


When indicating position or rank, use the abbreviation for number (No.) rather than the full word or symbol (#).

The Citadel was named No. 1 public school in the South for the fourth consecutive year by U.S. News and World Report.


Capitalize these words when they designate regions. Lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc., when they indicate compass direction.

The South is known for its barbecue.

The hurricane is moving north.