Cities

The city of...

Always lowercase the word city in constructions such as, "the city of Kalamazoo." In general, the construction the "city of" is unnecessary, except as a nonspecific reference to the government of a city.

Use: Funding was provided by the city of Kalamazoo (meaning the government).
Use: He was born in Kalamazoo (not the city of Kalamazoo).
See similar style under states.

Do not abbreviate names of cities

Use: Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Los Angeles
Not: Chi., Det., NYC, L.A.

Use: Mount Pleasant, Fort Wayne
Not: Mt. Pleasant, Ft. Wayne (except in addresses)

Exception: Use the abbreviation for "Saint" in city names such as St. Louis and St. Paul. Note: Sault Ste. Marie is abbreviated "Ste." because the full spelling is "Sainte."

Which cities need to be identified by state

Certain cities do not need to be identified by state in most contexts. Because WMU is based in Kalamazoo, you may always assume that readers of our University's communications will know you mean Kalamazoo, Michigan. Similarly, you do not need to identify by state, cities of international prominence. It is not necessary, and may be unintentionally patronizing, to explain that Chicago is in Illinois.

U.S. cities that generally do not need to be identified by state

Atlanta
Baltimore
Boston
Chicago
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Kalamazoo
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
New Orleans
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Pittsburgh
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Antonio
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle

When writing news stories, no state name is necessary in the body of the story if it is the same as the dateline. So, for example, if your dateline reads "KALAMAZOO, Mich.," then every city you list is presumed to be in Michigan. If a city is located in another state, you need to spell out that state name fully.

In general text, cities not listed above must be identified by state, at least in the first reference. That includes Kalamazoo-area communities such as Battle Creek, Portage, Galesburg, Vicksburg, Richland, and Paw Paw, Michigan.

The scope and perspective of Western Michigan University is national and international, and so are the audiences to which we write. If you believe omitting a state name will cause any confusion, include it.