Voice and Tone

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Last Updated: Mar 17, 2026, 01:06 PM

It's not just what we say, it's how we say it.

The way we talk about SIU is how we tell the world who we are, the unique combination of qualities that distinguish SIU from other universities in our region and in our peer group. It's how we tell our story—as individual Salukis, and as a united but diverse community. It's our voice.

We speak directly to students, their families, and our community. We favor direct language and efficient communication. We don't use jargon, and we are mindful of inclusive language.

When we talk about our university, some of what we say is similar to what might be said of other universities. What's important, though, are the qualities that make Salukis stand out, stand up, and dig in.

Our Voice

Point of view is all about perspective. Who is talking, and who are we talking to? This guide uses a first-person point of view—the voice is “I” talking to you about how “we” will talk about our university. You can use this point of view when you are talking about SIU, your program, your academic unit, your service unit, or your area.

When we are talking to prospective students we use the second-person point of view. In other words, we speak directly to the student. It's not “Students will have opportunities for on-campus internships;” it's “You'll have opportunities for on-campus internships.” This should be the point of view you use most often.

Think of it as a conversation. That brings us to our next consideration. Our tone is always conversational. Sometimes casual. And when it's casual, we sometimes use sentence fragments, because we are punctuating more along the lines of a conversation than strictly according to grammatical rules. The tone we use depends on our audience—by which we mean, “to whom we are speaking/writing.” So, we can be conversational, but also somewhat formal when the situation calls for it.

Our Message

We love the pursuit of the impossible. Solving a water crisis. Reversing climate change. Inventing a better way to eat ice cream. Tackling challenges like these is just another day at SIU. Because in our hands, what can't be morphs into what could be and transforms into what is.

So every day, we discover.
Create. Experiment.
Find what doesn’t work. Start again.

We’re driven by the chance to make our mark in the world, our obligation to make it more livable, more interesting, and more human — and the excitement of doing it all on our own terms.

We’re never more proud than when we accomplish things that nobody else expected, nobody else thought of, and nobody else believed we could do. We don’t care how it’s always been done, because we defy convention to find a better way. We’re not interested in what’s already been done, because the boundaries we’re pushing defy belief.

And when people say it can’t be done — that’s when we defy the odds and do it anyway.

 

  • Free to be you.

    This is direct-to-the-student language encouraging our prospective to come to SIU for discovery—to gain the experiences that build confidence, and to face the challenges that help them discover strengths they never knew they had. It's our way of expressing our certitude in our students' success.

  • Defy the odds.

    Salukis past and present have the confidence that comes from knowing we are part of a supportive community. Salukis try—and try again until we succeed. Our history is full of only and first. And we're never more proud than when we accomplish things that nobody else expected, thought of, or did before. We're here to make our mark on the world.

  • Salukis don't stop.

    We're the ones standing out, standing up, digging in. When the odds seem against us, that's when we shine. That's when we come together. When we win national collegiate competitions. When we grow a better grape or a stronger soybean. When we explore a microscopic tool to reduce plastic waste. We maximize momentum when we join forces.

  • Imagine.

    It's imagination that makes us reach outside our comfort zones. It's the vision that makes us see a better future. And it's grit that makes us put in the work to make it happen. We know that before we can chase down our goals and build our exceptional lives, we need a place with the people, the resources, and the opportunities to shift dreams into reality. That place is SIU.

A Note about our Mascot

There is no other university or college that claims a Saluki mascot.

We are unique—and we are proud of our individuality. Our mascots are represented by Salukis who make appearances at games and other public events. And they are personified in Grey Dawg, and young Brown Dawg. Our Dawgs may change their apparel based on their duties, but they never talk! We don't write recruiting or marketing communications in their voice.

AP Style Guide

Associated Press Stylebook

Let’s talk for a minute about grammar—punctuation especially. Our default position is to follow standard grammatical rules.  More specifically, we follow Associated Press (AP), as defined by the Associated Press Stylebook. This is a standard style followed by most news outlets and many universities.

Common AP Style Mistakes

As writers and editors at University Communications and Marketing, we follow the Associated Press Stylebook to keep our materials consistent. However, we see the same style issues in a majority of documents submitted for our approval before they are printed.

If you are creating content for SIU and sending it in for approval, here are some style guidelines:

Academic degrees

Abbreviate with periods: B.A., M.S., Ph.D.

Written out: bachelor’s degree, master’s degree

When in doubt, consult the SIU undergraduate or graduate catalog.

NOTE: Doctoral is an adjective: doctoral program. Doctorate is a noun: She earned a doctorate in Physics. The two terms are often used interchangeably, and the rule on this is not strictly enforced.

Academic Departments and Programs

We deviate from AP style.

  • We capitalize our program names. We don’t capitalize careers. An Accounting major seeks a career in accounting.
  • We capitalize our academic support units when we need to stress that we mean our office, even if we are using a shortened form of the office, like Financial Aid rather than Office of Financial Aid. Ex: Talk to Admissions about specific deadlines.

Acronyms

  • Some institutions and governmental agencies are better known by their acronym than their spelled-out names: FBI, MBA, YMCA,. It’s acceptable to use the acronym on first reference in these cases.
  • Use periods for two letter acronyms: U.S., U.N., Washington, D.C. Don’t use periods for three or more letters: USDA, DCFS.
  • University acronyms should follow the full name on first reference only if and always if you are going to use the acronym in copy. Like this: New Student Orientation (NSO) is required for new freshmen. Register for NSO online. However, if your copy is simply Register for New Student Orientation by Deadline, do not write Register for New Student Orientation (NSO) by Deadline.

Advisor

We deviate from AP on this. Advisor not adviser.

Ages

Use numerals, even under 10. A 21-year-old student, 8-year-old fan.

Ampersands

  • We avoid using these in copy unless they are part of the official name.
  • For advertising and marketing, ampersands are acceptable in commonly linked pairs: peanut butter & jelly, rest & relaxation. Ampersands necessarily render a phrase casual, so we do not use them when the message is serious: stress and trauma, not stress & trauma.
  • In headlines on printed materials and on web in space-prohibitive uses, ampersands are acceptable. Use sparingly.

Annual

The first year of an event is not an annual.

  • Spell out numbers under 10. Third annual, 13th annual. In copy, the letters are not superscript.

Bulleted list format

  • Left-justify your bulleted list, even when using columns. Do not center the list.
  • If your bullets are full sentences, use periods. If they are fragments, do not use periods. Be consistent within your list.

Common Abbreviations

  • You can use common higher education abbreviations on first reference.

Examples:

  • GPA
  • SAT / ACT / GRE / CLEP / TOEFL / MCAT / LSAT / GMAT
  • FAFSA

Dates and Times

In copy, use standard AP style.

  • Use simple numerals for dates. It’s October 31, not October 31st.
  • Comma use: March 25, 2023 and March 2023.
  • Use month abbreviations with a date, but not if using only a year: Dec. 12, 2025 and December 2025.
  • Write the academic year this way: 2025-26. If your designation crosses a century mark, use the full year: 1999-2000.
  • Use this order: date, time, place.
  • Proper use in copy is a.m. and p.m. We allow deviations from this in flyers and marketing material.
  • In time ranges, use hyphens. Examples:
    8-10 a.m.
    5-7:30 p.m.
    11 a.m.-2 p.m.
    8 a.m.-noon
    8 p.m.-midnight
  • Write specific dates like this: Saturday, May 9 or Monday, Aug. 17.

In headlines and on flyers, we make allowances for design integrity. Maintain consistency within the individual piece.

Dollar Amounts

  • It is acceptable to use M for million and B for billion with a dollar sign. Like this: $5M grant.

In other uses:

  • With an even dollar amount, don’t add the decimal and zeroes. Like this: $18 NOT $18.00 BUT $18.69
  • For an amount less than a dollar, the formal usage is this: $0.05. For flyers and design-dominant materials, 5 cents is acceptable.

Email

Avoid ending your sentence with an email address. In digital copy, use a hyperlink.

Emeritus / emerita / emeriti

Faculty

  • When referring to the entire group of professors and instructors as one unit, use a singular verb and pronoun. Like this: The faculty is meeting today. The faculty is known for its research.
  • When referring to individuals within the collective group, use faculty members. Like this: Several faculty members earned national grants this year. Or: A faculty member from the College of Liberal Arts earned a grant for her research.
  • Use the plural faculties if you are referring to multiple academic divisions. Like this: The faculties of SIU and Harvard University met on the volleyball court. Or: The faculties of two SIU colleges traveled to Springfield this summer.

Fiscal year

FY2025

Fundraising / fundraiser

Always one word

Inclusive Language

  • Be mindful to use inclusive language. Avoid ableist or sexist language.
  • Avoid awkward grammatical constructions to accomplish this. Like this: Students should do their homework. Not: A student should do his or her homework.
  • Indigenous is capitalized
  • African American is not hyphenated. This is true for all such designations.

Location

General to specific.

Example:

Building, Room
City, state
Organization, department

Like this:
Morris Library, Guyon Auditorium

Phone numbers
(xxx) xxx-xxxx

Professional Titles and Honorifics

  • Do not use Mr., Miss, Ms. Mrs.
  • We prefer to use professor ranks as qualifiers, like this: Viktor Frankenstein, associate professor of Biology. Or this construction: Viktor Frankenstein, NSF-grant-holder, is teaching a new graduate course on the origins of life next semester.
  • This is how we use professorial rank as a title: Associate Professor Viktor Frankenstein is attending a conference at Lake Geneva.
  • We follow standard grammar rules and AP style with administrative titles.Katherine Watson is the Dean of the College of Arts and Media. The dean will discuss new curriculum requirements.

Professor / Instructor / Faculty

  • When referring to those who teach our students at this university, we generally use the term faculty or faculty members.
  • Remember that “professor” has a specific meaning in academics. So does “instructor.”

Registered Student Organizations

We capitalize this. It’s institutional useage and a break from AP style. In copy, spell out the words and use the acronym in parenthesis after to clarify, like this: Registered Student Organizations (RSO). When using the acronym only, use it this way: Join an RSO. However, SIU has about 200 RSOs. (No apostrophe.)

Semester names / Seasons

Capitalize the semester season only if using with a specific year. Like this: Spring 2026. However, spring semester.

Serial comma / Oxford comma

  • Avoid using serial commas unless you need a comma for clarity: I respect my parents, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson.
  • Do not use a comma before “and more.” Like this: tacos, burritos, enchiladas and more.
  • Avoid using a serial comma to separate short words. Like this: books, pencils and pens.
  • You may use a comma between phrases: running a mile, swimming across the lake, and biking the mountain trail.

Saluki

We capitalize Saluki whenever we use it, whether we are referring to our mascot or to the breed of dog.

Southern Illinois

In a break from standard AP style, we capitalize Southern Illinois to refer to our specific, distinct geographic region of the state.

State Abbreviations

  • In a paragraph, use the AP format. In flyers and other materials, you can use the postal abbreviation, AP style, or write out the word. In giving an address, use the postal abbreviation.

Exceptions to AP Style

The sometimes exceptions being when our tone is very casual, as in advertising or event promotion. We use shorter paragraphs, and we vary our sentence length. We avoid complex sentence structure—we use em dashes instead of semi-colons.

In advertising and in some other promotional writing, we capitalize names of majors when we are talking specifically about SIU programs. In other words, “SIU’s Accounting program,” but also “careers in accounting.”