Web Writing Tips

Our goal is to communicate clearly, informatively, and consistently via our website. 

Institutional Voice

When publishing on Bryn Mawr's website, please use a voice consistent with the institution overall.

• Bi-Co/Tri-Co
• College, The
• Mawrter
• Names and Degrees (Students, Alumnae/i, Faculty, etc.)
• Exclamation Points: Avoid
• Underline: Avoid

AP Style

Bryn Mawr uses AP guidelines, including the commonly used guidelines below.

• Academic Departments (Capitalization)
• Headings/Headlines
• Serial/Oxford Comma
• Spacing
• Calendar References and Abbreviations (Days/Months)
• Time of Day
• Titles (Composition)

Website Formatting

When publishing on Bryn Mawr's website, please use formatting styles consistent with the overall site.

• Heading Styles
• All Caps: Avoid
• Contact Information
• Linking Within Text
• Avoid Underline

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Academic Departments (Capitalization)

Academic department names are capitalized when referring specifically to the department, not to the subject matter. 

Department of Geology. But: The geology department is highly regarded.

She is a geology major.

All Caps: Avoid

Don't use all caps, for emphasis or as header text. It tends to be more challenging to read, and screen readers tend to interpret all caps as an acronym. Use heading styles, bold text, or italics for emphasis if needed.

Building Names: Update

Note that beginning in 2017-2018, building name references have changed in a couple of cases:

New: Old Library
Old: College Hall

New: Great Hall
Previous: Thomas Great Hall

Bi-Co/Tri-Co

The Bi-College Consortium, commonly known as the Bi-Co, has been a close collaborative relationship between Bryn Mawr College and nearby Haverford College for decades. Students at the two institutions can cross-register for classes and majors and use facilities at both schools. Bi-Co offices are also available for campus safety, dining, and transportation between the two campuses via the iconic Blue Bus.  

The Tri-College relationship includes Swarthmore College. Under the Tri-Co, the three schools share an academic calendar and wide cross-registration.

Calendar References and Abbreviations (Days/Months)

In accordance with AP Style, when referencing a specific date, such as Jan. 20, 2017, abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. Spell out March, April, May, June, and July.

Spell out the days of the week.

The College

When referring to Bryn Mawr College, the word "College" is capitalized when referring specifically to Bryn Mawr (e.g., the College, College libraries).

Contact Information

Avoid using shorthand, such as question marks or question marks identifying contact information. Make sure this information is clearly conveyed. Use full phone numbers whenever possible rather than just an extension.

Examples:
Contact: Matt Gray at mgray@brynmawr.edu.
For more information, contact Matt Gray.
Questions? Contact Matt Gray at mgray@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-6528.

Avoid:
? Matt Gray at mgray@brynmawr.edu.
?? Matt Gray at mgray@brynmawr.edu.

Exclamation Points: Avoid

In general, while using the occasional exclamation point isn't the end of the world, try to avoid using them for emphasis, particularly multiple times in a paragraph or item (and never use more than one at a time).

Headings/Headlines

In an article headline, use single quotation marks. Don't use all caps for emphasis. Use long dashes, not double short dashes. Keep headlines short. Use title case (capitalize the first letter of each word other than those less than four letters that are not nouns, verbs, or other important parts of speech).

These rules generally apply to page headings as well.

Page title example:
Campus and Emergency Phone Map

Article headline example:
'Art and China After 1989: Theater of the World' is Centerpiece of Student Trip to Guggenheim

Heading Styles

Use these as subheadings to establish an order of importance for the page's content (the most commonly used are Heading 2/H2 and Heading 3/H3). This is a more accessible way of establishing a page hierarchy than just using bold text for a header or other means of emphasis.

Linking Within Text

Build your link within the text of a sentence, rather than just copying and pasting the URL or document path:

Example:
For more information, visit the Dean's Office Sophomore Plan page.

Not recommended:
For more information, click https://www.brynmawr.edu/deans/sophomore-plan.

Same thing when linking to a document: link within the text.

Example:
To learn more, read the Faculty Guide for Helping Students in Need (Word doc).

Not recommended:
To learn more, read https://www.brynmawr.edu/sites/default/files/media/documents/2022-04/Haverford-BiCo-Math-Colloquium-Michael-Dougherty_04.25.22%20%28r%29.pdf

Note: For accessibility and other reasons, information on a webpage is generally preferable to using PDFs or other uploaded documents on the site.

Mawrter

The spelling Mawrter is preferred when using the informal term for a member of the Bryn Mawr College community (usually students or alumnae/i), rather than Mawrtyr.

Names (Students, Alumnae/i, Faculty, etc.)

Current student example:
Diamond Ray '18

Undergraduate alumna example:
Molly Reese '67

The A.B. undergraduate degree is generally not used unless accompanied by the M.A. (see example below).

Graduate alumnae examples:
Jaclyn Lang, A.B./M.A. '09
JoAnne Fischer, M.S.S. '73
Dana Becker ’69, M.S.S. ’82, Ph.D. ’91

Haverford example:
Dave Barry (HC '69)

Faculty example:
Professor of Geology Arlo Weil
Professor Arlo Weil, chair of the Department of Geology
Arlo Weil, professor and chair of the Department of Geology

Serial/Oxford Comma

We generally use serial commas (the last comma in "We went to the store, the mall, and the park" is a serial comma).

Spacing

Use one space after periods.

Time of Day

In accordance with AP Style, it's:

8 a.m. (Not 8:00.)
7:30 p.m.
Noon.
Midnight. (Not 12 noon or 12 midnight, or 12 a.m. or 12 p.m.)

Titles (Composition)

Italicize titles of books, publications, plays, etc. (This is a departure from AP Style, which uses quotation marks.)

Note: Since italics don't render in page headings or article headlines, use single quotes for composition titles in these uses.

Underline: Avoid

Underlining for emphasis and links is an outdated practice. Use bold or italics for emphasis instead.