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M
macrobiology
macrocosm
MANOVA = Multivariate analysis of variance
mark up / markup / marked-up
1. mark up is a verb: The conferees met to mark up the legislation.
Our dealership does not mark up the price of new automobiles.
2. The noun form is markup: The conferees have completed their markup
of the legislation. The dealership tried to convince customers that their
pricing of new automobiles contained no hidden markup.
3. The hyphenated form marked-up is correct for an adjective preceding
the noun it modifies. The marked-up legislation will be introduced on the
floor of the House. The marked-up prices were advertised as dealer costs.
marketplace/Marketplace (see Online
Marketplace)
Bill Martin Jr
(Note: no period after Jr, except at the end of sentence or in
reference list; no comma between Martin and Jr)
Master of Science (MS)
master’s degree
MasterCard (According to EEI, we should not be using the ®.)
MBD = minimal brain dysfunction
megabyte
member of the Board, Board member
member of Congress
meta tag
meta-
Compounds with the prefix meta- are usually closed (CMS 6.1):
metacognition metadiscourse metacognitive metaphysics
but meta-analysis (not metanalysis)
metaphor
A figure of speech in which one object or activity is defined as if it were
another. Common examples: ideas as seeds, planted in the fertile soil of a
child’s imagination; skills as tools that need to be honed or kept sharp;
reading as a journey into new territory, and so on. See mixed metaphor.
Mexican American (no hyphen)
microbiology
microcosm
microworlds
mid-1970s
midcentury (but mid–19th century)
midday (Closed as adj. or noun. We didn’t believe this one, but our
dictionaries were agreed.)
middle class
middle school
This phrase, like high school and elementary school, should not
be hyphenated, even when used as an adjective. Thus, She is a teacher of high
school English and middle school language arts.
midterm
midway
midyear
milieus (preferred plural form of milieu)
millennia
millennial
millennium
mind-set (noun)
mini-
Compounds formed with the prefix mini- are normally closed (CMS 6.1):
miniconference minilesson minicourse minisession minigrant
but mini-unit
mixed metaphor
An error in coherence that occurs when illogical, inconsistent, or
inappropriate metaphorical characteristics are ascribed to an object or
action. Example:
- This groundbreaking study
covers only the tip of the iceberg, but it gives us all something to
build on. By leaving no stone unturned, the author sheds light on a
slippery topic, giving us plenty of food for thought along the way.
- Sometimes, even a single
metaphor can be used in an incoherent or illogical manner. Consider the
following title, for example: “Unlocking the Keys to Success.”
modeled
modeling
moneys / monies Both forms are acceptable.
MOO = MUD, Object Oriented
more than / over
A distinction was formerly made between more than and over, in
which more than was used with countable items and over with
noncountable amounts. But according to NYPL (p. 82), most dictionaries,
commentators, and writers now consider the two interchangeable. Use whichever
you prefer.
MS degree
MUD = multi-user domain
multi-
Compounds beginning with the prefix multi- are normally closed (CMS 6.1):
multicultural multilevel multiethnic multimedia multifaceted multiphase
multilingual
multiple intelligences (MI)
multipurpose
multivariate
must-have
myself
1. Of all the reflexive pronouns, myself is the most commonly misused.
As a reflexive pronoun, myself cannot be used as the subject of a
clause or a sentence (although it can be used as an appositive of the
subject). Use “I” instead:
incorrect: The other investigators and myself visited the classroom
frequently.
correct: The other investigators and I visited . . . .
correct: As lead investigator, I, myself, rarely visited . . . .
2. Myself and other reflexive pronouns cannot be used as direct
objects, indirect objects, or objects of prepositions, unless the subject
refers to the same person. Use “me” instead:
incorrect: The university honored my coworkers and myself for our
achievement.
correct: The university honored my coworkers and me . . . .
correct: I surprised even myself with that accomplishment.
incorrect: No one will know your score but myself.
correct: No one will know your score but me.
N
n and N
According to APA 3.58, an italic capital N is used to indicate the
total number of subjects in an experiment. The lowercase italic n refers
to the number of subjects in a limited portion of the sample. Thus, “The
entire class (N = 33) participated in the study. Nearly twice as many
students passed the test (n = 21) as failed it (n = 12).
NAA = Newspaper Association of America
NAEP = National Assessment of Educational Progress
NAESP = National Association of Elementary School Principals <www.naesp.org>
NAEYC = National Association for the Education of Young Children
naive
NALS = National Adult Literacy Survey (1992)
NAS = National Academy of Sciences <www.nas.edu>
national affiliate
Native Americans (see indigenous
peoples)
NCAL = National Center on Adult Literacy
NCATE = National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education
NCES = National Center for Education Statistics <http://nces.ed.gov>
NCLB = No Child Left Behind
NCTE = National Council of Teachers of English <www.ncte.org>
n.d. = no date of publication given (be sure to include the periods)
NEA = National Education Association
the Netherlands (preferred over The Netherlands)
netiquette
Newbery Medal / Honor / award
The Newbery Medal is awarded annually to “the author of the most
distinguished contribution to American literature for children” by the
Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the
American Library Association. Newbery Honor Books are runners-up in that
competition. Authors and editors are advised to use the terms “Newbery Medal”
and “Newbery Honor” accurately in referring to particular books, and to avoid
the term “Newbery award” whenever possible. A list of Medal- and Honor-winning
titles may be found at the ALA Web site, www.ala.org/alsc/newbery.html.
See also Caldecott Medal.
newspapers, titles
From “Copy Editor’s Guide to Major U.S. Daily Newspapers,” (n.d.).
When in doubt, follow the style presented on the newspaper’s masthead.
The Atlanta Constitution
The Atlanta Journal
The Boston Globe
Boston Herald
The Charlotte Observer
Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Tribune
Christian Science Monitor
Daily News (New York)
The Denver Post
Le Monde (Paris)
Los Angeles Times
The Miami Herald
The New York Times
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The News Journal (Wilmington, Del.)
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The Sun (Baltimore)
The Times (London)
USA Today
The Wall Street Journal
The Washington Post
New York
New York City (n.)
New York state (n.)
NGO = nongovernmental organization
NICHD = National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development
NIE = National Institute of Education (of U.S. Dept. of Education)
NIEW = Newspapers in Education Week
NIH = National Institutes of Health
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
Signed into law by U.S. President
George W. Bush in January 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
sets U.S. federal policy on education. The reading component of this law is
called Reading First.
non-
Compounds formed with the prefix non- are usually closed (CMS 6.1):
nonessential, nonphonetic, nonformal, nonreader,
noninstructional, nonsequential, nonliterate, nonsignificant,
nonnative, nonstandard, nonprofit
but
non-Czech (hyphenate if second part of the compound begins with a capital
letter)
non–English proficient (use en-dash to connect non- to an
already-existing compound)
non-European
non–Indo-European (first mark is an en-dash; second is a hyphen)
non sequitur
north / North, northern / Northern (see directional terms)
not only. . . but also. . .
The word group not only... but also... is a correlative conjunction,
used to join two sentence elements of equal grammatical weight: a word to a
word, a phrase to a phrase, a clause to a clause, etc. (See correlative
conjunctions.)
note (i.e., using the word note in tables)
IRA policy here follows APA:
• If the note that follows a table is a general note (i.e., it refers to the entire table or to several sections), insert the word Note. (italic, with period, not hyphen) at the beginning of the note.
• If the note refers only to a particular column, row, cell, or cells within the table, it is a specific note. In these cases, do not include the word note. Instead, begin with the superscript lowercase letter a, b, c, or other symbol ( &, °) that denotes its referent in the table.
• The probability note is a variety of specific note. It usually begins with an asterisk followed by an italic p (*p).
note-taking (noun and adj.)
NRC = National Reading Conference
NRC = National Research Council (an arm of the National Academy of Sciences)
NRRC = National Reading Research Center
no. / #
If it is ever necessary to abbreviate the word number in running text,
the preferred abbreviation is no., not #.
numbers (spelled out) and numerals (APA 3.42–3.49, pp. 99–105; CMS chap. 8)
Follow APA style wherever possible. Follow CMS style when APA is silent.
General Rules:
1. Use numerals to express numbers 10 and above. Spell out numbers
below 10.
- spell out numbers below 10 that appear with
units of time. (This is a departure from earlier IRA style). Examples:
two months, four years, three hours, 64 years, 21 months. Also, ninth
century, 14th century, ninth grade, 11th grade.
Special Cases /
Exceptions:
2. Use numerals
- for numbers under 10 that are grouped or
compared with numbers over 10 (and appear in
the same paragraph): members receive 9 to 12 new publications
each year; a list of 7 nouns and 14 verbs; of 26 students in the sample,
only 3 failed to qualify.
- for specific quantities and precise
measurements: a score of 6 out of a possible 9;
multiply by 2; a factor of 4; x = 7.03; 5.61 grams; a gain of less than
1 grade level
- for dates: April 18, 1775
- Use numerals to denote ages, even those
below 10. Theresa is 8 years old; Bonnie is 18. She taught a class of
4-year-olds.
- for numbers that denote a place
in a numbered series: steps 1 through 4; group 2;
page 8; Table 1; grade 7, grades 1–3; Part 4, Vol. 2. (See APA 3.42f, p.
101;
CMS 8.32). NOTE: Chapter 7 (capital “c” is a departure from earlier
IRA style—see book parts or sections).
3. Spell out numbers
- at the beginning of a sentence: Ninety-one
publications appear on the censors’ list, including 24 that have won
major prizes for literature.
- for common fractions: one
eighth of the population; over half the class; a two-thirds majority
(use hyphen if fraction is an adjective preceding the noun it modifies).
4. Combine numerals
and spelled out forms
- in broad approximations (1 million or more):
expected sales of over 2 million copies;
a state budget of $2.8 billion; the U.S. population will surpass 265
million
- for back-to-back modifiers:
a class of 21 six-year-olds (APA 3.44, p. 103)
numerals and numbers, forming plurals
Do not use apostrophes to form plurals of numbers and numerals. Simply add
s or es:
twos and threes; fifties and hundreds; 1980s and 1990s; Gay ’90s, Roaring
’20s
O
OCIRA= Ohio Council of the International Reading Association
OCLC = Online Computer Library Center (information/cataloging system)
occur, occurred, occurring, occurrence
ODBC = Open Database Connectivity. A standard method of sharing data between
databases and other programs.
OERI = Office of Educational Research and Improvement (of U.S. Dept. of
Education)
offline
OISE = Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
OK (preferred over okay in WNWD)
one-on-one (hyphenate as adjective preceding its noun; otherwise open)
ongoing
online (preferred over the hyphenated form on-line)
APA, WNWD, CMS, and RH 1 specify on-line as the proper form of an
adjective preceding its noun. However, RH and NCTE journals use the closed
form, online. IRA writers and editors should use online for the
sake of consistency with our electronic journal, Reading Online. This
position is defended by Copy Editor, 4/5 1997, p. 6.
online bookstore
Note this change in IRA style: "online bookstore" will no longer routinely
be capitalized.
online directory
Added
09-05-03:
Online Marketplace
1. The term Online Marketplace constitutes the name of IRA's
e-commerce site and should therefore be capitalized in most applications. The
phrase is lowercased only when used explicitly as a generic term: IRA's
Online Marketplace, like any other online marketplace, invites users to
choose among a wide variety of products.
2. The term Marketplace, when used as a shortened form of Online
Marketplace, should also be capitalized.
on-screen (adj. preceding noun)
on site / on-site
This term is hyphenated as an adjective preceding the noun it modifies (an
on-site inspection, on-site services). In other uses it is left open (the
services are delivered on site). Thus, “Attendees who fail to preregister by
March 3 must register on site. On-site registration will begin at 8:00 a.m.
Thursday, April 30, 1999.”
ORA = Oklahoma Reading Association or Oregon Reading Association
OSI = Open Society Institute (Soros)
outsource
overachiever
overactive
overaggressive
overstimulated
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