Style, N-O-P

No. —Abbreviation of number. The team is ranked No. 1 in the league standings.

non — (prefix) Consult a reference, but usually not hyphenated when the meaning is not.

nondegree — One word.

nonfat — One word.

nonprofit — One word.

Numbers

numbers — Spell out one through nine and first through ninth when used alone, and spell out all numbers used as figures of speech: five cars, first place, hundreds of people. Use numerals for all numbers 10 or greater and for numbers followed by a unit of measure: five plants, 5 g, 3 ft, first place, 20th century, 150 acres. Write ages as numerals. He is 8 years old. My father is 80. Write numbers less than 10 as numerals when they are in a series with other numbers greater than 10: 5, 10, and 15 pots. Spell out all numbers (cardinal and ordinal) and their associated units at the beginning of a sentence. Ten grams of leaf tissue. Write numbers less than one with a preceding zero: 0.05. Use a comma in numbers greater than 999: 1,000. telephone numbers — Use dashes to separate parts of the phone number. Parentheses around the area code are also acceptable. Be consistent within a publication: 555-555-5555 or (555) 555-5555. punctuation for units of measure — In tables and scientific writing, do not use periods after abbreviations for units except for those that can be confused with other words: 2 mL, 10 lb, 5 in., 10:00 a.m. (See also measurements, units and the punctuation section.)

Nutrition Facts label — Appears on food packaging.

online — One word.

organizations — Spell out organizational names on first reference. (See the list of abbreviations for
organizations within or related to K-State Research and Extension.)

opm — ounces per minute

over, more than — AP style now considers these words interchangeable — both can be used to indicate greater numerical value. For greater precision, over is generally used to describe spatial relationships and passage of time. Over the past 10 years, participation has increased. Use more than for numerals, figures, and amounts. More than half of the students passed the test.

overfertilize — One word.

part time, part-time — Hyphenate when used as a modifier. He works part time. I’m looking for a part-time job.

PDF — The acronym for Portable Document Format, an open standard for document exchange. I will send
you a PDF of the document.

percent — Use the symbol (%) with a number, no space between (AP): 50%, 3%. Spell out the word in casual uses. For example: He has a zero percent chance of dating my sister.

plurals — Most plurals are formed by adding the letter “s” and no apostrophe: dogs, horses, 4-H’ers.
For words ending in “s,” “ch,” “sh,” “ss,” “tch,” “x” or “zz,” add “es”: buses, couches, axes, dishes, watches, buzzes.
Many words that end in “y” form the plural by changing the “y” to “ies”: Try becomes tries, kitty becomes kitties.
When a vowel precedes the “y,” add “s”: trays, days.
This also applies to proper nouns when a consonant precedes the “y”: Kelly becomes Kellys.
Some words ending in “o” add “es”: potatoes, tornadoes.
Others simply add an “s”: pianos, radios.
Form the plural of multiple letters or single- or multiple-digit numbers by adding “s” (and no apostrophe): ABCs, PDFs, 1970s, 1s. Form the plural of individual letters by adding “ ’s.” A’s, B’s, C’s. This is to avoid confusion with common words. Consult a usage guide or dictionary if you’re uncertain.

possessives — Most possessives are formed by adding “ ’s”: the cat’s pajamas, the boy’s cap. For plural
nouns ending in “s,” add only the apostrophe: the girls’ dresses. Show the possessive of Kansas by adding only the apostrophe: Kansas’ citizens. Consider whether use is possessive (property tax collections from Kansas’ citizens ...) or descriptive (Kansas farmers produced a record wheat crop ...). Consult a usage guide or dictionary if you’re uncertain.

postemergent — After plant emerges. One word.

preemergent — Before plant emerges. One word.

preplant — Before planting. One word.

program focus team — Lowercase program focus team when the term is used in a general fashion, but capitalize when the full name of a specific program focus team is used. For example: Family and Child Development Program Focus Team, Crops Program Focus Team. She is a member of the Family and Child Development Program Focus Team. General use example: Family and consumer sciences agents use programming developed by the program focus teams for their subject areas.

psi — pounds per square inch

Punctuation