Date, Day, Time

 

<-- back to style guide index


Days and dates

Our date format is "Tuesday, Feb. 13." See details below.

Days

In most cases, spell out names of days fully, e.g. "Monday, July 1."

(In exceptional cases when abbreviating days of the week, use the first three letters of the day name, except for Tues. and Thurs.)

Months

When used in dates:

  • Short month names (e.g. May) are always spelled out fully.
    Example: "June 30."
  • For these longer month names, abbreviate as follows: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.
    Example: "Dec. 24."

When month is not used in a date, spell out full month name. Example: "In February, the University will celebrate Black History Month."

Use of year

For dates occurring in the current year, omit the year unless clarification seems necessary. Include the year if the date is in the next or later year. Examples:

  • If event occurs this current year:
    "President Jones will speak at the McNichols Campus on Oct. 12."
  • If event occurs in a coming year (e.g. 20xx):
    "An immersion trip to Kuala Lampur is planned for Jan. 10-15, 20xx."

When including the year, set it off with commas, such as, "Volunteers are needed at Detroit Mercy's Day of Service, Jan. 20, 2024, to clean up the McNichols Campus."

Sometimes the year is part of an event's name. That is more reason to omit the year:

  • Incorrect: "Join us for Homecoming 2023 on Sept. 29-30, 2023."
  • Correct: "Join us for Homecoming 2023 on Sept. 29-30."

Time

When providing a specific time, the proper style is 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. (Note space between numbers and letters.) For 12 p.m./a.m., use "noon" and "midnight." When giving specific times, do not add phrases like "in the morning" or "at night."


Dates and places (for events)

When indicating the time and location of an upcoming event, give the information in this order: day, date, time, location. For example: "The president will hold a meeting Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 10 a.m. in the President's Dining Room." When the year is omitted, no second comma is used after the date. See above for more on day, date and year usage.