S

School, the

Capitalize school in isolation only when referring specifically to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (EXAMPLE: The dean mentioned that the School has won again.)

School, Official name of the

The first time that the School is referred to in running copy, it should be the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Second reference is the Bloomberg School (the the is not capitalized unless it starts a sentence).

BUT:
In press releases, on second reference, use the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
In the  School's Magazine, use Bloomberg School on both first and second references.

School's address, the

So that the School's address is consistent across publications, it should be written with “North” abbreviated and “Street” spelled out.

615 N. Wolfe Street
Baltimore, MD 21205

Seasons, the

Do not capitalize the names of the seasons.

Secondhand smoke

No hyphens, two words. Secondhand is one word. Commonly abbreviated as SHS.

Semi- (prefix)

As a general rule, we try to eliminate use of the hyphen after the prefix semi-.

semiannual
semiautomatic weapon
semicivilized
semidetached house
semifinal
semimonthly

But sometimes there must be exceptions.

semi-independent

Use your best judgment and, if you are uncertain, check an American language dictionary.

Sexually transmitted infection (STI)

Once upon a time, it was VD (venereal disease). Then it became STD (sexually transmitted disease). Now we use STI (sexually transmitted infection).

Please note, however, that some faculty still use the term/acronym STD. For some, it's a matter of habit; for others, it's a decision. As a certain PFRH professor said, "You can try to de-stigmatize it by calling it an infection all you want; it's still a disease."

Since vs. because

Do not use the word "since" as a substitution for the word "because." They do not mean the same thing. "Since" refers to the passage of time.

CORRECT
Since planting milkweed, she noticed a surge of monarch butterflies.

CORRECT
Because she loves monarch butterflies, she planted milkweed.

INCORRECT
Since she loves monarch butterflies, she planted milkweed.

Space after colons, periods

When typing text, insert only one space after periods and colons. This is preferred by typesetters and publishers.

Spelling

Judgment calls we’ve made (sometimes with the help of Webster's) for consistency:

bed net
birth weight
breastfed, breastfeed, breastfeeding
bushmeat 
casework
cellphone
classwork
coursework
data set
database
daycare
desktop publishing
disk — hard disk, floppy disk (exceptions: compact disc, disc jockey)
distance education, distance learning (without a hyphen in all uses)
email
emergency department (not emergency room )
fax, faxing, faxed (all lower-case letters unless at start of a sentence)
field trip
fieldwork
fundraising  
ground water (BUT: wastewater)
hard copy
health care
historic (when preceded by an article, use a: a historic day).
homepage
hotlink
in-depth, in-service (hyphenate when compound adjective is before the noun)
information superhighway
Internet (always capitalize)
lifestyle
login
logon
mosquitoes (not mosquitos)
online
policymakers
postdoctoral
predoctoral
resumé (the original French word has another accent over the first e, but English pronunciation does not reflect that accent)
Schoolwide
time frame
voicemail
wastewater (BUT: ground water)
Web, the
webcast
webmaster
web page
website
wellbeing
World Wide Web
WWW
zip code

State names

When to spell out
Spell out the names of any of the 50 United States when they stand alone.

They journeyed to Kentucky.

Abbreviate in running text
In running text, use the following abbreviations (not the U.S. Postal Service’s two-letter abbreviations) for state names that follow names of cities or towns:

Ala., Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Conn., D.C., Del., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Kan., Ky., La., Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Mont., Neb., Nev., N.C., N.D., N.H., N.J., N.M., N.Y., Okla., Ore., Pa., R.I., S.C., S.D., Tenn., Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Wyo.

Silver Spring, Md.
Sacramento, Calif.
Nashville, Tenn.

Exceptions: Don't abbreviate these state names
Never abbreviate the names of these states: 

Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, and Utah

Postal abbreviations
When publishing an entire address that includes a zip code, use the two-letter postal abbreviation for states, which are in all-caps.

When inserting a state name into a proper noun, such as the South Bend Tribune, put the state name in parentheses.

the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune

Statistically significant

Statistically significant means likely real (as opposed to chance variation), whereas significant on its own means important. Many statistically significant findings are really not that important, and some important findings are not statistically significant.

Suffixes

See also Prefixes.
Compounds formed with suffixes, such as the ones listed below, are closed up whenever possible.

-borne, -maker, -wide

Symposium, symposia

The plural of symposium is symposia.