Editorial guidelines have been developed for Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in order to lend consistency and clarity to text and web communications.

Punctuation, Hyphenation, and More

The primary purpose of the Rutgers Editorial Style Guide [PDF] is to address topics specific to Rutgers that may not be adequately covered in the standard published style guides, such as the Chicago Manual of Style or the Associated Press Stylebook. In addition, the guide summarizes some of the most frequently raised questions of style, topics that are dealt with in greater detail in these manuals, in order to offer a quick, but more comprehensive, reference tool. A quick reference sheet [PDF] is also available.

Questions of style, unlike many questions of grammar, usually do not have a “right” or “wrong” answer. Instead, establishing a “preferred” style is helpful so that a consistent presentation can be maintained throughout an array of materials that may be produced by many different individuals. Having a set of predetermined guidelines can also save those individuals the time and energy required to develop their own guidelines.

The Rutgers Editorial Style Guide and quick reference are updated periodically to keep them current. These are the most recent versions, dated November 1, 2018:

• Download the Rutgers Editorial Style Guide [PDF].
• Download the Rutgers Editorial Style Guide Quick Reference [PDF].