M

magazine names

Italicize the title. If the word magazine is not part of the publication's official title, lowercase it and put it in roman type; consult the publication or its website for the proper spelling: the Economist, Harper's Magazine, Time magazine, Newsweek, US News & World Report, Emory Magazine

> See also: newspaper names | titles of works

makeup (noun), make up (verb), make-up (adj.) man, mankind

To avoid sexist language, use humanity or humankind instead.

> See also: sexism

marketplace (noun)

MasterCard

may, can

These words have a subtle but important distinction as Theodore M. Bernstein notes in The Careful Writer can is used to denote the "ability or power to do something, may for permission to do it."

MBA vs. M.B.A.

> See: academic degrees (Emory Specifics)

memorandum

The plural is memorandums.

midterm (adj., noun)

money

Isolated references to US currency are spelled out or expressed in numerals in accord with the general rules discussed under numbers. If the number is spelled out, so is the unit of currency, and if numerals are involved, the dollar sign ($) is used. Always write out cents. Unless it's financial text, spell out million and billion. Note: the abbreviation M stands for thousand, MM for millions, and B for billions.

On my 70th birthday, I was thrilled to receive one dollar from each of my aunts.
I generously gave my little sister 10 cents that had been languishing in my sock drawer.
The application fee is $20.

Sums of money that are cumbersome to express in numerals or to spell out in full may be expressed in units of millions or billions, accompanied by numerals and a dollar sign:

The university received a donation of $1 million.
a $4.5 billion endowment

> See also: numbers

month

Spell out the month and use numerals on dates within running copy.

January 4, 2008

In tabular materials and date-heavy materials such as classnotes, use three-letter abbreviations with a period for the following months (no period for May): Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Jun., Jul., Aug., Sep., Oct., Nov., Dec.

The class started on August 25, 2019, and ended in mid-December.

> See also: dates

more than vs. over

When you are describing a comparative amount, use more than:

We have more than 50 full-time faculty members.
She saved more than $1,000 for her college expenses.

In the case of ages, use over instead:

He is over 40.

movie titles

> See: titles of works

myself

Correctly used as an intensifier (I want to eat the entire cake myself), as a reflective (I hurt myself), or sometimes as an object of a preposition (Because I was by myself, I took all the guilt upon myself, and soon I was beside myself). Helpful hint: You can use myself—or himself, herself, or yourself—only if there is a matching pronoun earlier in the sentence to which it refers. In the examples above, myself refers to I. Never use myself as a substitute for me.

Feel free to contact the president, the chancellor, or me at any time.
NOT Feel free to contact the president, the chancellor, or myself at any time.