UVA Today is the University’s most visible and successful communications vehicle. It is delivered to 150,000 subscribers who open our stories more than 5 million times a year.
Our goal is to provide readers clear, concise and compelling content that tells the remarkable story of the University. To achieve the consistency our stakeholders expect, UVA Today adheres to a familiar, predictable set of writing rules, known as a style guide.
UVA Today follows Associated Press Style. That guide, in the AP’s own words, is “the definitive resource for journalists and a must-have reference for writers, editors, students and professionals. It provides fundamental guidelines for spelling, language, punctuation, usage and journalistic style.” For circumstances not covered in the AP Stylebook, we rely on the Merriam-Webster dictionary. In cases where there are two accepted spellings for a word, we use the first entry.
However, because the University of Virginia is a storied place with a unique and rich history, there are times when we deviate from AP Style guidance for items specific to UVA. Those special cases are outlined in the UVA Today Style Guide.
As a communicator, you are not required to use either AP Style or our UVA Today Style when writing for external audiences, although we would argue it is a best practice that promotes consistency across University publications. When providing material to UVA Today for consideration, adherence to AP and local style is appreciated.
As with all style guides, this local guide is subject to change.