#95456
02/13/2003 2:55 PM
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Please, only tight-laced editorial types respond (as if):
What is the hard and fast--if often broken and ignored--rule about titles in the address of a business letter, specifically the title of 'principal'?
Let me show an address in a business letter:
Mr. John Doe, principal
Wavering Heights High School
Rack-Driven Slip, VA 23838
Dear Mr. Doe:
...and so on.
OK. What is the most tightly-laced rule you know about the title of principal there? Is the hard/fast rule that principal should or should NOT be capitalized. I think most people nowadays always capitalize such titles, but I have this little itch of an instinct that tells me I wasn't taught to capitalize a title in such a case, oh, way back in about 1967. I sure would like to know the rule.
Many thanks,
WW
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#95457
02/13/2003 3:00 PM
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 555
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 555 |
Don't know about any tightly laced rules, WW, but here's my two cents:
I was taught to capitalise Principal and also told to write all titles beneath the name
As in,
Mr. John Doe
Principal
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#95458
02/13/2003 3:31 PM
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679 |
Mr. John Doe, principal
I was taught that if the above were written as Principal John Doe then the opposite woudl also appply and it should be written as:
Mr. John Doe, Principal
It is a title, after all.
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#95459
02/13/2003 3:42 PM
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Thanks, both of you. I suppose "Principal" it will be.
WW
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#95460
02/13/2003 3:53 PM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
now that you've made up your mind, here's one style guide:
academic titles - Confine capitalization to formal titles used directly before an individual’s name. Lowercase in all other uses.
According to Vice President for Finance and Administration Bobby Jones
According to Bobby Jones, vice president for finance and administration
On first reference to an individual with an academic title, use the academic title after the name. Do not refer to him/her as Dr. in subsequent references. Use his/her name only.
Jane E. Doe, Ph.D., is giving the commencement speech this year. Doe was selected from among the tenured faculty.
Names and titles in a listing, not in a paragraph, are capitalized.
Dr. Charles D. Dunn, President
Mr. Paul Hankins, Vice President for Student Services
Dr. Bob Houston, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dr. Gary Linn, Dean of School of Business
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#95461
02/15/2003 5:32 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439 |
tsuwm! Gladdens my ol' heart to see you carry the torch while I was bussy elsewhere.
For a copy of the Associated Press Stylebook write to them 50 Rockefeller Plaza,
New York, NY 10020
In 2000 the price for the stylebook was $16 for general public. Takes 2-4 weeks for delivery. EVERYTHING you want to know about style in writing. Handy for PR people and publicists for groups as it guides you into writing in a style that is acceptable by Editors. The less they have to edit the copy, the better your chance of getting your piece into the paper or on the radio.
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#95462
02/18/2003 12:25 AM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508 |
Just an FYI - No need to order by mail - the AP Stylebook is readily available at Borders, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers.
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#95463
02/18/2003 1:08 AM
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742 |
>the Associated Press Stylebook
Pish-tosh! Preachy prescriptivist proganda.
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#95464
02/18/2003 4:10 AM
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636 |
Is that a cross between an orangutan and a panda?
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#95465
02/18/2003 8:44 AM
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Pish-tosh...
Never heard that phrase around here. I have heard, however, pish-posh.
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#95466
02/18/2003 9:59 AM
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742 |
>Is that a cross between an orangutan and a panda?
Nope, just admitting that I discriminate against female poultry.
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