Often-Used or Confused Terms

Acronyms

Spell out the term on first mention (if mentioned more than once), with the acronym following in parentheses.  

• "The Center for Multicultural Advancement and Student Success (CMASS) is a student-centered learning agency within the Division of the Center for Student Development."

Other terms

• Back up (verb); backup (noun and adjective)
  • "You’ll need to back up to avoid the traffic backup caused by the overturned truck carrying backup equipment."
• Catalog
• Child care
• Commonwealth of Massachusetts; the commonwealth
• Comprise; compose
  • To comprise is “to be made up of, to include” (the whole comprises the parts).
  • To compose is “to make up, to form the substance of something” (the parts compose the whole).
  • The phrase comprised of, though increasingly common, is poor usage. Instead, use composed of, consisting of, or made up of.
• Coursework
• COVID (for the coronavirus disease that first appeared in late 2019)
• Day care (noun); day-care (adjective)
• Decision maker (noun); decision making (noun); decision-making (adjective)
• Dorms; dormitories (use residence hall or residence halls instead)
• DVD; DVDs
• Ensure; insure
  • "Ensure" means to make certain. "Insure" means to guarantee against loss (hence, an "insurance policy").
• First-rate (adjective)
  • "This is a first-rate institution." But: "Our faculty is first rate."
• First-year student
  • Use this term instead of the outdated word "freshman"
• Follow-up (adjective preceding a noun); follow up (verb)
• Full-time (adjective preceding a noun); full time (after a verb)
• Fundraising
• Health care (noun); health-care (adjective)
• In-depth (adjective) use “in depth” when not an adjective
  • Use “in depth” when not an adjective.
• Insure; ensure
  • Insure means to guarantee against loss (as in to issue an insurance policy). Ensure means to make certain.
• Jr., Sr., II
  • No punctuation precedes these unless presented last name first.
  • John W. Jones Sr. and Anthony P. Swasey II
  • But: Jones, John W., Sr., and Swasey, Anthony P., II
• Judgment
• Land-grant
  • Hyphenated and lowercased as an adjective, the term refers to the colleges and universities, among them the institutional predecessor of UMass Amherst, founded as a result of the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862.  
    • The university must never forget its responsibilities as a land-grant institution.
• Lifestyle
• Nonprofit
• Residence hall (instead of dormitory)
• Sign up (verb); sign-up (adjective)
• Startup (both noun and adjective)
• Statewide
• Theater (but check official venue or company names in case “theatre” spelling is used)
  • The Vivian Beaumont Theater is located within the Lincoln Center complex.
  • The Pan Asian Repertory Theatre is a group that produces work exploring the Asian American experience.
• Under way (adverb); underway (adjective)
• Work study (noun); work-study (adjective)