Communication Guidelines
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi communicates with audiences through its publications and websites. The use of a clear, consistent writing style for all materials produced by and for the Island University helps present our campus in a cohesive and professional manner.
Staff in Marketing and Communications craft web stories, news releases, e-communications, magazine stories, and more to showcase creativity and impact to students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and the broader community.
In general, we follow the Associated Press Stylebook, though we take note of certain exceptions and additions to ensure our communications acknowledge certain preferences in this university community. In cases of conflict, this writing guide supersedes the AP Stylebook. Please note that this style guide is not comprehensive and is also not intended to replace other writing style guides used in the academic arena, such as scholarly journals.
Our stories are typically told in the past tense. For some feature stories and other projects, the present tense may be appropriate. Stories are told in the third person.
Some stories are best told using a narrative, scene-setting, or anecdotal lead paragraph, but we always attempt to identify the university early in the story, whether in the first or second paragraph.
To suggest a story topic to our writers, complete the suggest a story form.
To learn more about the AP Stylebook, visit apstylebook.com.
Writing Guide
In general, the university follows the Associated Press Stylebook (i.e., the AP Style Guide), but we take note of certain exceptions and additions to ensure our communications acknowledge certain preferences in this university community. This supplemental guide is for university-specific instances which may overrule the AP guide.