ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INCORPORATED ®
Carolyn House Stewart, Esq.
Supreme Basileus
AKA Style Manual
A Quick Reference For Sorority Publications
Compiled by
Connie Lynne Cochran
Editor-in-Chief, Ivy Leaf Magazine
Melody M. McDowell
Chief Information Officer
Earnestine Green McNealey, PhD
Alpha Kappa Alpha Historian
ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INCORPORATED ®
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AKA Style Manual: A Quick Reference for Sorority Publications
First Release: July 2011
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®
5656 South Stony Island Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INCORPORATED ®
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Table of Contents
Perspective
4
Introduction
5
Alpha Kappa Alpha Conventions
6
Diplomacy/Courtesy
Capitalization
Trademarks
General Conventions
7
Abbreviations
Academic Degrees
Acronyms
Articles
Capitalization
General Conventions
8
General Conventions
9
Composition Titles
Clarity
Dates and time
Homophones
Numbers
Pronouns
General Conventions
10
General Conventions
12
Punctuation
Subjects and Verbs
Timeless History Conventions
13
Timeless History Bibliographic Entries
13
Writing Resources (Automated Aids)
14
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Perspective
If employing a rule makes your writing sound
awkward, rewind: reword, rewrite, restructure,
and/or recast your construction.
—AKA Style Manual Team
Abandon a rule if it renders writing useless or
incorrect.
—Chicago Manual of Style
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Introduction
Sets of standards governing the writing/editing of general and specialized documents abound.
Writers of Alpha Kappa Alpha documents have embraced varied forms within and across modes.
As part of the “Timeless History” initiative, the Directorate approved the Chicago Manual of Style
(CMOS) as the style standard for AKA publications. This manual, based on AKA conventions and
CMOS guidelines, is designed to achieve usage and formatting across print mediums utilized to
tell the Alpha Kappa Alpha story.
Based on the most common missteps and discrepancies the team has confronted in writing and
editing documents, it has produced this ready reference to place solutions at writers’ fingertips.
Highlighted are remedies for recurring deviations from Alpha Kappa Alpha conventions, as well
as solutions for common errors in usage, punctuation, and spelling. Also included are
bibliographic entries for formatting Timeless History publications, along with automated
resources that address style, grammar, and source citation. For comprehensive guidelines on,
consult CMOS (See Writing Resources (p. 14).
The AKA Style Manual will be particularly beneficial to writers of the following AKA publications:
Brochures
News Releases and Newsletters
Printed Programs and Guides (Meetings, Events, Conferences)
Minutes and Reports
Ivy Leaf
Timeless Histories
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Alpha Kappa Alpha Conventions
•
•
•
Diplomacy, Courtesy
Position Alpha Kappa Alpha as the parent {Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®
Alpha Chapter}.
Reserve “founder” for the 16 women AKA recognizes as founders; use “charter” to
designate individuals instrumental in establishing chapters.
Use “soror” as a title only in publications restricted to members. To reference
membership, identify the affiliation or an office held {Jan Smith, Kappa Chapter; Dorothy
Buckhanan Wilson, First Supreme Anti-Basileus}. Capitalize “soror” when it is used with a
name {Soror Ethel Hedgeman Lyle}, and lowercase “soror” when it stands alone {A soror
will be chosen}.
Spelling
Use the standard spelling “boule” (pronounced |boōˈlā; ˈboōlē) for both the legislative body and
the meeting. ORIGIN: from Greek boulē ‘senate.’
Place the apostrophe in “Founders’ Day” after the (s’) to denote the plural.
Capitalization
Capitalize specialized AKA terminology:
Titles: Founder, Directorate, and chief staff officer {Supreme Basileus, Executive Director}.
Note that “founders” is not a title and should be lowercased. Once a title has been given, it
need not be repeated each time a person’s name is mentioned, or the title can be used
alone {Supreme Basileus Carolyn House Stewart, the Supreme Basileus}; {Deborah
Dangerfield, Executive Director; the Executive Director}.
Official Designations: {Boule (the legislative body), Directorate, Corporate Office}
Divisions: Region, cluster, and chapter when used with a name {North Atlantic Region, Eta
Xi Omega Chapter, Cluster I}
Names of committees {Archives Committee}
Special Events {Founders’ Day, Leadership Seminar, Boule (the meeting)}
Capitalize “sorority” and “chapter” only when they are used as part of a proper noun {Alpha
Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Alpha Beta Chapter}.
Trademarks
Use the symbol ® to accompany Alpha Kappa Alpha’s registered trademarks, including the name
of the organization when it is spelled out in full {Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®}.
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General Conventions
Abbreviations
Months: Use the following system when space restrictions require that the names of months be
abbreviated: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.
States: Spell out the names of states, territories, and possessions of the United States when the
names stand alone {Illinois}.
Use conventional abbreviations when the names appear with a city {Atlanta, Ga.}
Use two-letter postal codes for bibliographies, tabular matter, lists, and mailing addresses
(Chicago, IL).
Academic Degrees:
Place academic titles such as Professor (Prof.) and Doctor (Dr.) before a name when used in text.
Place academic titles after the name for listings, tables, tabulations, and other graphics.
Omit periods in abbreviations of academic degrees (BA, PhD, DDS) and other professional
designations).
Lowercase terms that denote student status {freshman, first-year}.
Lower case generic references to degrees {a bachelor’s degree; a doctorate}.
Acronyms:
Spell out acronyms on first use and place the acronym in parenthesis—United Negro College
Fund (UNCF).
Use the all-capital form for acronyms {AIDS}.
Articles:
A; an. Use the indefinite article “a” before words that begin with a consonant sound {a sorority
girl}. Use “an” before any word beginning with a vowel sound {an AKA}. The word “historical”
and its variations cause missteps, but since the “h” in these words is pronounced, it takes “an” {an
hour-long talk at a historical society}.
Capitalization
For AKA-related items, apply the specialized rules.
Start every sentence with a capital letter, even if the first word is not normally capitalized {EBooks,
not eBooks are becoming more popular}.
Capitalize the first and last words in titles and subtitles and all other major words.
Lowercase articles (the, a, and an) and conjunctions (and, but, for, or, and nor).
Lowercase prepositions, regardless of length, except when they are used adverbially or
adjectivally {Step Up, Come To}.
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Composition Titles
Use italics for names of books, movies, and TV titles; newspaper names; and magazine names
{The PEARLS of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Ivy Leaf}
Use quotation marks for names of articles, chapters, and songs {“Founders’ Day Hymn”}
Clarity:
Dangling Modifier. Omitting words can give a phrase or clause a different meaning from what is
intended.
Incorrect: While driving on Greenwood Avenue, a tree fell toward Judy’s car.
Correct: While Judy was driving on Greenwood Avenue, a tree fell toward her car.
Misplaced modifier: Separating a phrase, clause, or word from what it modifies can create a
different meaning from what is intended.
Incorrect: As a little tot, my mom taught me about AKA.
Correct: When I was a little tot, my mom taught me about AKA.
Illogical tense shift: Avoid switching tenses without a good reason.
Incorrect: A few sorors did all the work, but everyone gets a reward.
Correct: A few sorors did all the work, but everyone got a reward.
Dates and Time:
Use commas to set off the year in the month-day-year style of dates {January 15, 2008, at Howard}
Use no commas in the month-year style {January 1908 at Howard}.
Express years in numerals unless they stand at the beginning of a sentence {AKA was founded in
1908}.
Spell out times of day in even, half, and quarter hours. Always spell out the number when used
with o’clock {The session began at five o’clock this morning, but it was a quarter of four before it
recessed}.
Use numerals (with zeros for even hours) to emphasize exact times. Use lowercase a.m. (ante
meridiem) and p.m. (post meridiem), though these sometimes appear in small capitals, with or
without periods. The first plane leaves at 5:22 a.m. and the last at 11:00 p.m.
Homophones
Your, you’re:
“Your” is a possessive pronoun {your service hours or your dues}.
You’re a contraction for “you are” (You’re required to become certified before they can run
for an office).
It’s, its:
“It’s” is a contraction for “it is” or “it has” {It’s up to the chapter}, while “its” is a possessive
pronoun that means belonging to {The chapter gave its share of the proceeds to charity}.
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Rein; reign.
A rein controls {Stewart was elected to take the reins as basileus}.
A reign is a state of or term of dominion {Alpha Kappa Alpha reigns supreme}.
There, they’re, their:
“Their” is the possessive of they {All of the honorees donated their time to the event}.
“There” means “in that place” or “in that way” {We have always wanted to go there for a
conference}.
“They’re” is a contraction for “they are” {They’re all here to learn}.
Numbers:
In general, spell out single-digit numbers, and use numerals for all others, except when
• the sentence begins with a number; and
• the number is followed by hundred, thousand, or hundred thousand.
Use plain style (no superscript) for letters in ordinal numbers { 23rd, not 23rd)}. Some auto
formatting programs do the latter, so beware.
Use figures for percentages, and spell out percent {The chapter spent 20 percent of its budget
on supplies}
Pronouns:
Number agreement. A pronoun should agree with its antecedent.
Incorrect: Every soror needs to bring their own laptop.
Correct: Every soror needs to bring her own laptop.
Indefinite pronoun agreement:
An indefinite pronoun usually takes a singular verb {everyone is enjoying the banquet}
{everybody takes notes during the first week}.
An indefinite pronoun takes a plural verb when it carries a plural sense {nobody could
describe the music; they hadn’t been listening to it}
Vague Reference: A pronoun should clearly refer to an antecedent somewhere in the sentence.
Incorrect: AKA abolished pledging, which many sorors resented.
Correct: AKA abolished pledging, a policy which many soror resented
Pronoun Shift: A pronoun should be consistent.
Incorrect: When one studies Alpha Kappa Alpha’s history, you are impressed by the
groundbreaking achievements.
Correct: When one studies Alpha Kappa Alpha’s history, one is impressed by the
groundbreaking achievements.
Case error: The function (nominative, objective) controls the pronoun:
Nominative: {Doris and I have a strong sisterly bond.}
Objective: {There is a strong sisterly bond between Doris and me.}
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Punctuation:
Bullets: In a bulleted or numbered vertical list that completes a sentence begun in an
introductory element and that consists of phrases or sentences with internal punctuation, begin
each item with a lowercase letter, use semicolons between the items, and end with a period. A
conjunction (“and” or “or”) before the final item is optional.
Reporting to the Boule, the Standards Committee said evaluations will have.
1. a “Timeless History” element that will assess progress against established time lines;
2. an expanded reporting period; and
3. improved on-line reporting forms that will encourage more completions.
In a bulleted or numbered vertical list that does not complete a sentence begun in an introductory
element, use a colon to set off the sentences or phrases. Use periods between sentences, but
omit punctuation between the items.
The Archives Committee has identified three criteria for its preservation award:
• Committee designation commensurate with AKA Bylaws
• A dedicated archivist
• An agreement with a repository
Colon:
When a colon is used within a sentence, lowercase the first word following the colon unless
it is a proper name {Registration fees were based on three options: early bird, regular, and
on-site}.
When a colon introduces two or more sentences, introduces a speech in dialogue or an
extract, or introduces a direct question, capitalize the first word following it {We weighed
three possibilities: We could reappoint the sitting committee. We could appoint a new
committee. Or we could discontinue the committee}.
Commas:
Comma splice: Separate independent clauses with a period, semicolon, or conjunction.
Incorrect: I voted for her, she was the best candidate.
Correct: I voted her because she was the best candidate.
Missing comma after an introductory element: Separate the introductory words from the main
part of the sentence with a comma {In honor of its tenth anniversary, the chapter hosted a party for
the homeless veterans}.
Missing comma with nonrestrictive element: Use a comma to set off clauses not essential to the
meaning of the sentence (Anna, who is the new chapter basileus, will tutor students for her
service project).
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Missing comma in a compound sentence: Use a comma before the conjunction to indicate a
pause between the two thoughts {The seminar will be held next week, and every member is
expected to attend}.
Commas in a series: Use the final comma before the “and” in a series; the typeface should be the
same as the word the comma follows.
Dashes:
Use the em (—) dash to set off text or indicate a missing word.
Close em dashes that set off text from the rest of the sentence.
{Alpha Kappa Alpha—from the beginning—has stressed sisterhood and service}.
Close em dashes that are used for a missing word or anonymous person.
{President D—and First Lady M—joined the receiving line.
Use the en (-) dash to indicate number ranges.
Close en dashes that connect numbers.
{Her tenure (1908-1934) marked the beginning of successive terms.
Use “to” instead of the dash if the word “from” precedes the first element {She served from
1908 to 1934}.
Ellipses:
Create ellipses (used to indicate the omission of a word, phrase, line, paragraph, or more from a
quoted passage) with the single-glyph three-dot ellipsis character on a word processor or with
three spaced dots {. . .}.
Keep the ellipsis and any punctuation on the same line, and use a space on both sides
{Oh, my … this day is finally here}.
Quotations
Use double quotation marks to enclose quoted words, phrases, and sentences in surrounding text.
Use single quotation marks to enclose quotations within quotations.
Use a comma preceding the quotation to identify the speaker {Smith countered, “Those facts do
not apply to this case”}.
Use block quotations for quotes that contain 100 words or more.
Start a new line
Use no quotation marks
Distinguish quotes from the surrounding text with indentations or with a different font.
Use block quotations for quoted material with more than one paragraph (even if the word count is
less than 100).
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Use the paragraph breaks of the original for multi-paragraph block quotations.
Place periods and commas within closing quotation marks, whether double or single, but avoid
mistaking an apostrophe for a single closing mark {Because undergraduate chapters are
sponsored by graduate chapters, their monitoring is more stringent than the graduates’.}
Subjects and Verbs:
“A number of” versus “the number of”:
A number of equates to the word they and takes a plural verb {A number of sorors are
going to the conference}.
The number of equates to it and takes a singular verb {The number of sorors attending
meetings is steadily increasing}.
Singular vs. plural for “none”: None is a contraction for not one and requires a singular verb
{None of the sorors is contesting the suspension}.
Singular or plural for collective nouns:
If the group behaves as a unit, use a singular verb {The chapter invites you to attend its
open house}.
If the group behaves as multiple individuals, use a plural verb {The majority are confused
about their assignment}.
Confusion with preposition: The verb should agree with the subject, not the object of the
preposition {Each of these sorors deserves the award}.
Sentence Fragment: A sentence must have a subject and a predicate (may be understood as in
the command Go home).
Incorrect: Because undergraduates are required to attend convocation.
Correct: Because undergraduates are required to attend convocation, they cannot come to
the festival.
Past Participle. Use the past participle when helping verbs like “has” and “have” are part of the
construction.
Incorrect: We had drove five miles before we realized that we were on the wrong road.
Correct: We had driven five miles before we realized that we were on the wrong road.
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Timeless History Conventions
1. Develop ideas fully with credible evidence.
2. Present information chronologically.
3. Write in the third person.
4. Write in the past tense.
5. Use the active voice, but not at the expense of clarity (agent of the action is not named)
and/or perspective (a particular point of view is being communicated).
6. Comply with the condition of certainty (two independent witnesses to the same detailed
fact).
7. Remember the rule of proportion: Allocate space to topics on the basis of importance.
8. Don’t be afraid to break the rules when necessary.
Timeless History Bibliographic Entries
All chapter and regional “Timeless History” products must include a bibliography. Software
such as “Endnote” will automatically format bibliographies according to the style selected. The
Directorate approved The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) for Timeless History publications.
Guidelines
• Place the bibliography at the end, preceding the index.
• Title the page Bibliography, and center the title at the top of the page.
• Begin the first line of each entry at the left margin; indent all other lines by a single tab.
• Separate each item in the entry with a period followed by one space.
• Arrange entries in a single alphabetical list by the last names of the authors (or, if no
author, use the key word readers are most likely to seek).
• Double the spacing between the title and the first entry.
• List all entries in alphabetical order by last name of the author; alphabetize by the first
important word in the entry for sources with no author.
• If there is more than one author, use regular order (first name first) for the remaining
author(s).
• List the author’s name only in the first entry when citing more than one work by the same
author. Alphabetize the works according to the title. In place of the name of the author in all
but the first entry, type three hyphens and a period, skip two spaces, and state title.
• Italicize titles of independently published works: books, periodicals, etc.
• Use quotation marks around titles of short works such as a poem, article, or short story.
• Use single-spacing for entries and double the spacing between them.
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Basic Form
Book with Single Author or Editor
Author(s). Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.
McNealey, Earnestine Green. The PEARLS of Alpha Kappa Alpha: A History of America’s First Black
Sorority. Chicago: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, 2010.
For editor, include the abbreviation ed.; for more than one editor, use eds.)
Hine, Darlene Clark, ed. Black Women in America. Brooklyn: Carlson Publishing, Inc., 1993.
Chapter in a Book
Author. “Chapter title.” Editor. In. Title of Book. Edited by (Editor), page range.
Green, James. “Leadership.” In Community Building, edited by Brent McCauley, 308–11. New
York: Images Publishing, 1984.
An article in a periodical (journal, newspaper or magazine)
Author. "Title of Article." Title of Source Day/No Month (Year): pages
Puryear, Pauline S. “The Role of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Woman.” Ivy Leaf 2, May (1926): 21.
An article in an online journal or magazine
Author. "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume. Issue (Year): Pages/Paragraphs. Web. Date of
Access.
A webpage
Author. Title of Page. Date of Posting/Revision. Name of institution/organization affiliated with
site. Web. Date of Access.
Email. Author. Email to the author. Date.
Non-Print Media (video, filmstrip, CD-ROM, etc.) Author. "Title." Format. Place: Distributor, Date.
Writing Resources (Automated Aids)
Streamline and refine style, grammar, and citation issues with software applications:
The Chicago Manual of Style Online: “state-of-the-art recommendations on editorial style”
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org
Grammarly: “an automated proofreader and personal grammar coach. Check your writing for
grammar, punctuation, style, plagiarism, and much more.”
www.grammarly.com
Endnote: “Millions of researchers, scholarly writers, students, and librarians use EndNote to
search online bibliographic databases, organize their references, images and PDFs in any
language, and create bibliographies and figure lists instantly.”
www.endnote.com