Kansas State University

Style, Q-R-S

racial or ethnic identification — The Kansas State University Style Guide recommends no hyphenation of racial or ethnic identities. African American, Asian American, Native American. Check with the individual regarding how he or she would like to be identified. Do not use racial or ethnic identifiers unless relevant to the topic. See also the Inclusive Language section.

ranges — Use “to” in a range of values: 10 to 20 days. Also see hyphens and dashes in the Numbers section.

recipe guidelines — Break out recipes in list and instruction format. Do not write as regular text. Use figures for all quantities in recipes. Do not use abbreviations. Spell out teaspoon, tablespoon, etc.

List number of servings, then ingredients in the order used, followed by instructions. Note the oven temperature (when baking is required) at the beginning of instructions. List nutrition facts at the end.

For nutrition information, leave a space between the number and the unit of measurement (28 g) and write it before the nutrient. Do not capitalize nutrients (28 g fat).

Example: Strawberry Pineapple Salsa
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1    Roma tomato, diced
½   pound strawberries, hulled and diced
1    cup diced pineapple
¼   cup diced red onion
1    tablespoon seeded and chopped jalapeno pepper
2    tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1    lime, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.   Combine ingredients.
2.   Keep in refrigerator up to 3 days.

Nutrition Information per serving: 50 calories; 0 g fat; 13 g carbohydrates; 1 g protein; 3 g fiber; 0 mg sodium.
(Walk Kansas 2014, week 4 newsletter)

Common Culinary Conversions

1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
2 tablespoons = 1 fluid ounce
1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 8 fluid ounces
1 pint = 2 cups = 16 fluid ounces
1 quart = 4 cups = 32 fluid ounces
1 pound = 16 ounces
1 stick butter = ½ cup = 8 tablespoons = 4 ounces

See Ingredient Substitutions, L730, for common substitutions.

right side out — Not hyphenated. Turn the pants right side out before washing.

riverbank — One word.

roll, role — Rollis a verb describing a way of moving an object by turning over and over. It’s also a noun for a small piece of bread or a quantity of material wrapped around a tube or cylinder. I will roll the tire to the back alley. She served homemade rolls with the dinner. Roleis a noun describing the part one plays in a play or in an organization. He played the role of Hamlet. His role at work is to keep everyone on schedule.

runoff — One word in all instances (AP style, which is an exception to Webster’s New World Dictionary).

scientific names — Italicize genus, species, and botanical variety in scientific names. Do not italicize cultivar names. Botanical varieties are preceded by var. and are not capitalized. Cultivar names are capitalized and enclosed in single quote marks unless preceded by the word cultivar or included in tables. Varieties occur in nature. A cultivar is a “cultivated variety” developed by humans.
Examples:
Festuca arundinacea ‘Kentucky 31’
Zea mays L.
Cercis canadensis var. alba
Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis ‘Sunburst’
Escherichia coli O157:H7; E. coli O157:H7 — Use O not zero. Because the term is common, some scientists use E. coli O157 without the :H7. BUT . . . In the agricultural seed trade, named cultivars are usually referred to as varieties. For example, the term “variety” is used in the Kansas Crop Performance Tests (Kansas Performance Tests with Winter Wheat Varieties).

sign up, sign-up — You sign up for something (verb), but put your name on a sign-up sheet or pay a sign-up fee (modifier).

state names — Spell out state names in text. I am from Kansas. Kansas State University is in Manhattan, Kansas.
When a publication or article relates specifically to Kansas research or is for a mostly Kansas audience, it's not necessary to use the state name with a Kansas town, but you should use the state name when mentioning places outside of Kansas. Research results from the Hays field are different from those in fields near Minden, Nebraska.
Abbreviation is permissible in lists, tabular material, and credit lines. In those cases follow the Associated Press style for state name abbreviations: Never abbreviate Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, and Utah (unless part of an address). Use the following abbreviations for the other states:

Use the U.S. Postal Service two-letter abbreviations only in full addresses. 301 Umberger Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506.

statewide — One word, no hyphen.

STEM — Acceptable on first reference for science, technology, engineering, and math, but spell out the full phrase shortly thereafter.

streambank — One word.

Substitute — the verb substitute means to put something or someone in place of another and usually is followed by the preposition for. It is confusing to follow substitute with the preposition with. Mary substituted turkey for ham on her sandwich. Sam substituted a baked potato for French fries.