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  1. CAMPUS LIFE
  2. Editorial Style Guide
  3. R

R

races

  • The names of racial, linguistic, tribal, religious and other groups are capitalized but not hyphenated: Egyptian American, Arab American, African American, Caucasian, Hispanic.
  • See Nondiscriminatory Language.

radio

  • Capitalize names of official stations: Radio Free Europe, Nile FM.

RAM

  • Random-access memory of a computer. RAM is acceptable in all references.

Ramadan

  • Reference to the month in which Muslims fast from dawn until sunset every day. Capitalize in all instances, and do not italicize.

range

  • For constructions indicating a range, use an en dash (See Punctuation), leaving a space on both sides: 9 – 11 pm.
  • In a construction such as 7 – 9 pm, it is not necessary to use pm twice.
  • In running text, preferably use the from/to construction: The play lasted from 7 to 9 pm.
  • If you use from, you must use to; don’t combine two forms:
    • Incorrect: from 1998 – 2003.
    • Correct: from 1998 to 2003.
  • If you are listing more than one time, give the minutes for all of them if you are going to use it for any:
    • Incorrect: 2:30 am, 4 pm and 8 pm.
    • Correct: 2:30 am, 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm.

rarely  

  • Rarely ever is redundant.

ratios

  • Use figures and hyphens, and always use the word 'ratio': the ratio was 2-to-1, a ratio of 2-to-1, a 2-1 ratio.
  • As illustrated, the word to should be omitted when the numbers precede the word ratio.

reapplication

  • One word.

reason why

  • Use reason.

re-

  • Use a hyphen only with words that begin with an e: re-enter, re-elect; or need clarity: re-creation.

recreation, re-creation

  • Recreation (one word, no hyphen) refers to entertainment.
  • Use a hyphen when meaning to create again.

reference works

  • Capitalize but do not italicize or put in quotation marks. This includes almanacs, directories, dictionaries, encyclopedias, gazetteers, handbooks, school yearbooks and similar publications.

regions

  • Capitalize names of regions: Middle East, Far East, the Orient.

renaissance, Renaissance

  • Lowercase when meaning a birth or revival: She wanted a renaissance in her country.
  • Capitalize when referring to the 14th to 16th century revival of classical art, architecture and literature.

Renaissance man (or woman)

  • A man (or woman) who has broad intellectual interests and is accomplished in both arts and sciences. Always capitalize.

résumé

  • Distinguished from resume (meaning to continue) by using diacritical marks. To put the marks:
    • Type out resume, then highlight the first e.
    • Go to Insert in the program menu and choose Symbol.
    • Highlight é.
    • Click Insert.
    • Repeat the same steps for the second é or copy and paste the first é.

résumé, resume

  • Résumé (with the accent marks) is your CV. To resume means to continue. See CV, curriculum vitae.

revolution

  • Capitalize when correlated with the year or date: the January 25 Revolution, the 2010-2011 Tunisian Revolution. Lowercase in other uses: a revolution, the revolution, the Egyptian revolution, the Tunisian revolution.

reunion

  • Capitalize Class of 1960, but lowercase 45th reunion, 20th reunion.

Rhodes scholar

  • Lowercase scholar and scholarship.

Roman

  • Use Roman numerals for wars and to show sequence for people: World War II, King George VI.

room names and numbers

  • In running text, do not capitalize room when it is followed by a number unless it is the first word in a sentence: We will meet in room P073 in the Administration Building.
  • When listing contact information (not in running text), capitalize room: School of Sciences and Engineering, Room C135.
  • Capitalize room when it is part of the official name of the room: Board of Trustees Room, Blue Room.
  • Do not use the abbreviation Rm in running text; use only in tabular format where space is limited and capitalize.

roundtable

  • One word: roundtable discussion.

RSVP

  • Means répondez s’il vous plaît (please reply).
  • Use this abbreviation (capitalize and do not put periods) with a telephone number or email address and a deadline for responding.
  • When in doubt about whether or not your audience will understand RSVP, use please respond.
  • Avoid using RSVP in running text (use mainly in invitations).

runner-up, runners-up