Geography

Cardinal directions

Lowercase north, south, east, and west when referring to directions.

• "UMass Amherst is in western Massachusetts."
• "Austria is east of France."
• "She is traveling to the northern part of Vermont."

However, capitalize north, south, east, and west when referring to specific regions or cultures, such as East Coast, the Midwest, West Coast, or the South (of the U.S.).

• "He is originally from the West Coast."
• "They are studying Eastern philosophy."
• "We love Southern comfort foods like shrimp and grits and biscuits and gravy."

Popular American regions use capitalized cardinal directions, such as Southern California, Lower East Side and West Side (of Manhattan), South Chicago or South Side of Chicago.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the commonwealth 

Capitalized when using formal name of "Commonwealth of Massachusetts." Lowercase "commonwealth" in running text.

• "The university is not only a top-tier research institution in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts but also throughout New England."
• "UMass Amherst is a university for the commonwealth."

Pioneer Valley (region, reference name alternatives)

UMass Amherst acknowledges that it was founded and built on the unceded homelands of the Pocumtuc Nation on the land of the Norrwutuck community. In consideration of this, the following are recommended geographical alternatives to the “Pioneer Valley” place-name when referring the geographic area of Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties.  

This does not include official/legal names of businesses, nonprofit organizations, named buildings, or state/municipal public spaces such as parks or event venues.

Recommended alternate location names:

• Connecticut River Valley or the River Valley or simply The Valley
• Western Massachusetts* (lowercase “western” when not beginning a sentence in running text)
• The Five College area (when referencing a smaller area, specifically Amherst/Northampton); use when wishing to emphasize this condensed area of higher ed
• Reference a specific county in lieu of the wider geographic area (e.g, “Hampshire County” instead of “Connecticut River Valley,” “River Valley,” or “western Massachusetts”)

*Regional name of “western Massachusetts” has long been associated with the Connecticut River Valley counties of Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden in Massachusetts. Informally, these counties are most often referred to as “western Massachusetts” while the far western portion of the state is referred to as “Berkshire County” or “the Berkshires.”

U.S. state names

In running text, use the full name for states when they appear with a city or town (however, the state does not need to accompany well-known cities such as London or Paris); spell the state in full when mentioned without a corresponding city or town.

• "He went to school in Gainesville, Florida, and now lives in Massachusetts."
• "To request membership, write to PO Box 555, Knoxville, TN 37950"

Use the two-letter postal code for U.S. state where space is limited (e.g., tables, graphs, poster, postcard, flyers event details) and for address labels, envelopes, and contact information.

Cities and Towns

Well-known American and international cities do not require accompanying state or country.

• "Professor Quinn is attending a conference in Paris this year." 
  (Not "... a conference in Paris, France, this year.")
• "All scholarship recipients will have an opportunity to study abroad in London." 
  (Not "... to study abroad in London, England.")
• "The art exhibit is transferring from Los Angeles to New Orleans."

Less-widely known cities or towns include accompanying U.S. state or country.

• "The bulk of his research took place in Burlington, Vermont, during the summer."
• "Furano, Japan, is famous for its lavender fields."

United States/U.S.

"United States" no longer needs to be spelled out in its first mention when it is clearly implied that "U.S." refers to the United States of America. Use "U.S." as an adjective.

• "... China's involvement with the U.S."
• "U.S. involvement in overseas diplomacy ..."
• "She paid in U.S. dollars despite the unfavorable rate exchange."