i.e.
id est or “that is.” Do NOT use as “for example.” See e.g.
List of Terms: I-N
ICBR
Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research. ICBR acceptable on all references for internal publications.
ICBR
Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research. ICBR acceptable on all references for internal publications.
illicit
See elicit.
Inc
See incorporated.
incomplete grade
Or grade of Incomplete.
incorporated
Abbreviate and capitalize as Inc. when used as part of a corporate name. It usually is not needed, but when it is used, do NOT set off with commas: J.C. Penney Co. Inc. announced . . .
inferior
Persons and things are said to be inferior “to” others not inferior “than.”
infirmary
inside
As a preposition, inside is capable of functioning without a following “of”: remained inside the house.
Institute of Black Culture
Institute (lowercase) on second reference. Established in 1971.
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
UF/IFAS on second reference for internal publications. An integrated system headquartered in Gainesville with statewide programs. Includes the Florida Cooperative Extension Service with offices in all 67 counties, the Florida Agricultural Experiment station with 16 Research and Education Centers located around the state, and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, which includes the School of Forest Resources and Conservation. UF/IFAS also includes elements of the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee
UF’s 10-member committee responsible for ensuring humane treatment of laboratory animals. The University Veterinarian is responsible for all animal research conducted at UF.
instructor
A non-tenure track faculty rank.
insure, ensure
Insure means to establish a contract for insurance of some type; ensure means to guarantee.
Inter-Residence Hall Association
Use association or IRHA on second reference for internal publications.
Interfraternity Council
Governing body for the 35 UF fraternities. Use council on second reference.
interim
Don’t capitalize when preceding a name: said interim President Charles Young.
intermural
Competitive teams from different universities.
intra-office
Several areas within one office or area.
intramural
Competitive units within the confines of a single community or institution.
ISIS (Integrated Student Information System)
Web-based system used for registration and for accessing students’ record.
it’s, its
It’s is a contraction for it is or it has: It’s your choice. It’s been a long day. Its is the possessive form of the neuter pronoun: The company has earned its reputation.
Jr., Sr.
Do NOT precede with a comma: Joe Johnson Jr. except in business correspondence. Numerals never take comma: Joe Johnson III.
junior
land grant
UF is a land grant institution and a member of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC). The Morrill Land Grant College Act of 1862 was a law designed to encourage states to establish agricultural and mechanical arts universities. Since then, the definition of land grant has broadened to mean a philosophy of education that provides research-based education, extension services and teaching devoted to helping people solve problems.
Law, Fredric G. Levin College of
Second reference: law school or college, NOT Levin Law College, Holland Law Center or School of Law. Formerly College of Law. Note uncommon spelling of “Fredric.”
lectures
Capitalize and use quotation marks for their formal titles, as described in compositions titles.
legislative titles
Use Rep., Reps., Sen. and Sens. as formal titles before one or more names in regular text. When necessary for clarification, use: Sen. Sue Atkins or U.S. Rep. Tom Lee. Spell out and capitalize these titles before one or more names in a direct quotation. Spell out and lowercase representative and senator in other uses. Spell out other legislative titles in all uses. Capitalize formal titles such as assemblyman, assemblywoman, city councilor, delegate, etc. when they are used before a name. Lowercase in other uses. For more details, see the AP Stylebook.
legislature
Capitalize when preceded by the name of a state: the Florida Legislature. Retain capitalization when the state name is dropped but the reference is specifically to that state’s legislature.
less
See fewer.
libel, slander
Libel refers to injury through written, printed or pictorial statements, and slander to similar injury through utterance of defamatory statements.
libraries
The UF library system is comprised of the Health Science Center Library, the Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center and the George A. Smathers Libraries, which includes:
- Library West
- Marston Science Library
- Smathers Library East
- Education Library
- Music Library
- Allen H. Neuharth Journalism and Communications Library
like, as
Use like as a preposition to compare nouns and pronouns. It requires an object: Jim blocks like a pro. The conjunction as is the correct word to introduce clauses: Jim blocks the linebacker as he should.
like, such as
Like means similar to but not including. While like is used in every day speech to list examples, such as is preferred: Vegetables such as carrots, lettuce, and cucumbers are part of a healthy diet.
long term, long-term
Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier: We will win in the long term. He has a long-term assignment.
ly, (-ly)
Do NOT use a hyphen between adverbs ending in -ly and adjectives they modify: an easily remembered rule, a badly damaged island, a fully informed woman. See the compound modifiers section of the hyphen entry in the AP Stylebook.
magazine names
Capitalize the name but do NOT place it in quotes. Don’t italicize. Lowercase magazine unless it is part of the publication’s formal title: Harper’s Magazine, Newsweek magazine, Time magazine. Check the masthead if in doubt.
majors, programs
Do NOT capitalize majors, programs, specializations or concentrations of study in news releases when they are not part of a designated degree: She received a Bachelor of Arts in History. She majored in economics. See academic degrees.
master of arts, master of science
A master’s degree or a master’s is acceptable in any reference. See academic degrees.
may, might
Might is the past tense of may. In modern usage, however, both verb forms are treated as subjunctives capable of expressing present and future time. In both senses, may is stronger than might: He may go. He might go. The example with “may” suggests greater likelihood.
McKnight Brain Institute, (Evelyn F. and William L.)
On first reference, The Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida. McKnight Brain Institute or the institute on second reference.
meantime, meanwhile
Each of these is a noun and an adverb, but in usage meantime is more often a noun: In the meantime, he waited. Meanwhile is the more common as an adverb: She went inside; meanwhile, he waited.
media
(Singular form - medium.) When used as a subject, media (plural) always takes a plural verb: The news media are often the target of public criticism. NEVER medias. See news media.
might
See may.
military titles
Capitalize a military rank when used as a formal title before an individual’s name. For more details, see the AP Stylebook.
millions, billions
Use figures with million or billion in all except casual uses: I’d like to make a billion dollars. But The nation has 1 million citizens. I need $7 billion. Do NOT go beyond two decimals: 7.51 million persons, $2.56 billion, 7,542,500 persons, $2,565,750,000. Decimals are preferred where practical: 1.5 million NOT 1 1/2 million. Do NOT mix millions and billions in the same figure: 2.6 billion, NOT 2 billion 600 million. Do NOT drop the word million or billion in the first figure of a range: He is worth from $2 million to $4 million, NOT $2 to $4 million, unless you really mean $2. Note that a hyphen is not used to join the figures and the word “million” or “billion,” even in this type of phrase: The president submitted a $300 billion budget.
months
Capitalize the names of months in all uses. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Spell out when using alone, or with a year alone. When a phrase lists only a month and a year, do NOT separate the year with commas: January 1972 was a cold month. When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with commas: Feb. 14, 1989, was the target date.
more than
See over.
multi
The rules in prefixes apply, but in general, no hyphen. Some examples:
- multicolored
- multimillion
- multilateral
- multimillionaire
multidisciplinary
NAPA
News & Public Affairs, now known as UF News Bureau, part of University Relations in Tigert Hall.
National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA on second reference.
National Education Association
NEA or the association on second reference.
National Merit Scholarship
Official title
near
See close.
news media
Use instead of media when referring to news organizations.
newspaper names
Don’t use quote marks around the name. Capitalize “the” in a newspaper’s name if that is the way the publication prefers to be known. Lowercase “the” before newspaper names if a news release mentions several papers, some of which use “the” as part of the name and some of which do not. Where location is needed but is not part of the official name, use parentheses: The Huntsville (Ala.) Times. Consult the International Year Book published by Editor & Publisher to determine whether a two-name combination is hyphenated.
non-
The rules of prefixes apply, but in general no hyphen when forming a compound that does not have special meaning and can understand if not is used before the base word. Use a hyphen, however, before proper nouns or in awkward combinations: non-nuclear. Follow Webster’s New World Dictionary.
noon, midnight
Use without numeral 12 before. To avoid confusion, do NOT use 12 a.m. or 12 p.m. in reference to either noon or midnight.
Northeast Regional Data Center
NERDC or the center on second reference for internal publications.
numbers
Spell out a number at the beginning of a sentence, with one exception: a numeral that identifies a calendar year: 1968 marked a turning point in the Vietnam War. Spell out whole numbers below 10. Use figures for 10 and above: They had 10 dogs and four cats. When large numbers must be spelled out, use a hyphen to connect a word ending in ‘y’ to another word; do NOT use commas between other separate words that are part of one number: twenty, twenty-one, one hundred forty-five.
numerals
In general, spell out one through nine and first through ninth, use numerals for 10 and 10th and above. For more details, see the AP Stylebook.