do not use to refer to a disability: use accessible parking (without the word handicapped), accessible restrooms, accessible building
headlines, subheads
See the lists below as guides to using lowercase or uppercase when these words appear in headlines and subheads. CMS 8.59 is recapped below; CMS 8.160 gives examples; CMS 8.161 discusses hyphenated compounds in headline-style titles. The cover of On Wisconsin follows sentence-style capitalization rather than headline style. For headlines in news releases and Inside UW–Madison, capitalize only the first word, proper names, and proper nouns.
Lowercase
articles (a, an, the)
prepositions, regardless of length, except when they’re used adverbially or adjectivally, when they’re stressed, or when they make up part of a Latin expression used adverbially or adjectivally: De Facto, In Vitro, etc.
the coordinating conjunctions for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
to and as
the part of a proper name that would be lowercased in text: de, von
the second part of a species name, even if it’s the last word
Uppercase
the first and last words in headlines and subheads, regardless of length
all other major words: nouns, pronouns, verbs (including Is, Are), adverbs, adjectives
In males, a sexual orientation that describes attraction to females, and vice versa. Straight is acceptable. Transgender people can be heterosexual.
Avoid identifying gay people as homosexuals, an outdated term considered derogatory and offensive to many lesbian and gay people.
(Source: AP Stylebook, GLAAD Media Reference Guide)
home page
two words
Homecoming
uppercase the UW event’s name; lowercase in generic usages
Homecoming parade
but UW Homecoming Parade
Homecoming Weekend
capitalize both words
homosexual, homosexuality
Avoid identifying gay people as homosexuals, an outdated term considered derogatory and offensive to many lesbian and gay people.
Gay or lesbian is preferred as an adjective (for example: a gay man); homosexuality is acceptable when an umbrella term is needed. Avoid homosexual as a noun.
(Source: GLAAD Media Reference Guide, AP Stylebook)
honors
honors program, honors credit, Honors in the Major (when referring to the official designation), College of Letters & Science Honors Program
In general, hyphens are joiners. Use them to avoid confusion or to form a single idea from two or more words: much-needed clothing (clothing is badly needed) versus much needed clothing (the clothing is abundant and needed). Do not use them in pairs to create an em dash.
Hyphenate compound modifiers preceding a noun: well-run establishment, ill-fitting garment, full-time job, smoke-free restaurant. A compound modifier following the noun it describes does not require a hyphen, but it is not incorrect to use one: The restaurant is smoke free. When a modifier that would be hyphenated before a noun occurs instead after a form of the verb to be, the hyphen is usually retained to avoid confusion: The man is well-known, The woman is quick-witted.
Compounds formed by an adverb ending in -ly plus an adjective or participle are not hyphenated before or after a noun: fashionably dressed. See also em dashes, en dashes, and CMS 6.76–6.77.
