Alphabetical Entries: F
federal Per the AP Stylebook, use a capital letter for the architectural style and for corporate or governmental agencies that use the word as part of their formal names: Federal Trade Commission, Federal Express. Lowercase when used as an adjective to distinguish something from state, county, city, town or private entities: federal assistance, federal court, the federal government, a federal judge. See the government agencies entry; also see AP Stylebook's federal, government and governmental bodies entries.
fellow, fellowship When used alone, lowercase, but capitalize in combination with the name of a granting organization: an AAEA Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellowship; but a fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association, she was one of four fellows selected from New York universities. See Fulbright and Guggenheim entries.
foreign words and phrases Some foreign words and abbreviations have been accepted universally into the English language: bon voyage; versus, vs.; et cetera, etc. They may be used without explanation if they are clear in the context. Many foreign words and their abbreviations are not understood universally, although they may be used in special applications such as medical or legal terminology. If such a word or phrase is needed in a story, place it in quotation marks and provide an explanation: "ad astra per aspera," a Latin phrase meaning "to the stars through difficulty."
fractions For fractions and percentages, the verb agrees with the noun following the "of:" Three-quarters of the apple was eaten. Three-quarters of the employees are at a seminar today. Spell out percent, but always use numerals: 30 percent, 3 percent. See AP Stylebook.
freshman/first-year First-year is preferable over freshman. In certain contexts, such as admission material, freshman is acceptable.
Fulbright Capitalize as shown: Fulbright Scholar Award(s), Fulbright Scholar Program, Fulbright Scholar(s), Fulbright Scholar Grant, Fulbright Distinguished Fellow(s); but lowercase the following as shown: a Fulbright grant, a Fulbright fellowship, Fulbright award(s). The Fulbright Scholar Program was established in 1946 under Congressional legislation introduced by Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas and authorized by the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (the Fulbright-Hays Act). Grants are awarded to Americans to lecture and/or conduct research abroad, and to foreign scholars to visit the United States. The Fulbright Scholar Program is funded and administered by the U.S. Information Agency through the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, which is affiliated with the American Council on Education. Fulbright Scholars are selected by the Board of Foreign Scholarships, whose members are appointed by the president. (Compare with Guggenheim entry; also see the fellow, fellowship entry.)
fundraising, fundraiser One word in all instances, per AP. Fundraising is difficult. They planned a fundraising campaign. A fundraiser was hired.
