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AP Style: Learn it, live it, love itHighlights of the most important style rules
Style guides
A brief history
First published in 1953 (62 pages)
Presentation of the printed word should be accurate, consistent, pleasing to the eye and should conform to grammatical rules
In 1977, morphed into more of a reference work (400 pages)
2000 edition included a new section on “Internet Guidelines,” defining terms such as byte, chat room
2011 (480 pages)
More than two million copies have been sold
Abbreviations & acronymsUse only if the reader would quickly recognize.
If an abbreviation or acronym is common enough to be used publicly, the abbreviation or acronym can be used on second reference. Do not put an unfamiliar abbreviation or acronym in parentheses after the first reference. If an abbreviation or acronym would not be clear on second reference without this arrangement, do not use it.
Many specific abbreviations/acronyms are entries.
Abbreviations Abbreviate titles when used before a full name Abbreviate junior/senior after a name (no comma) Abbreviate months if used with a specific date Abbreviate degrees only if listing credentials after a name (use a comma) Abbreviate states if used with a city (use stylebook abbreviations, not
Postal Service) Abbreviate company, corporation, incorporated and limited when used
after the name of a corporate entity
Addresses
Always use figures for an address number
Ave., Blvd., St. Abbreviate only with a numbered address Spell out and capitalize when part of a street name without a number
All similar words (alley, drive, road, terrace, etc.) Always are spelled out. Capitalize when part of a formal name without a number Lowercase when used alone or with two or more names.
First through Ninth Spell out and capitalize when used as street names Use figures with two letters for 10th and above
Abbreviate compass points used to indicate directional ends of a street
Use periods in the abbreviation P.O. for P.O. Box numbers.
Apostrophes indicate omission
Omitted letters It’s February ‘Tis the season to be jolly
Omitted figures I graduated in ’98
Apostrophes indicate possession
Singular nouns Add ‘s unless the next word begins with S (the witness’s answer, the witness’ story) Plural nouns Ending in S: Add only an apostrophe (the girls’ toys) Not ending in S: Add ‘s (the boy’s snacks) Joint possession If possession is joint: Use a possessive form after only the last word (Ben and Dan’s house) If objects are individually owned: Use a possessive form after both words (Ben’s and Dan’s books) Singular proper names ending in S: For those that end in S, use only an apostrophe (Kansas’ schools) Nouns the same in singular and plural Treat them as plurals (two deer’s tracks) Compound words Add an apostrophe or ‘s to the word closest to the object possessed (the attorney general’s request) Special expressions For appearance’ sake For conscience’ sake For goodness’ sake Use ‘s otherwise (my conscience’s voice)
Dashes
Made with two hyphens.Put a space on both sides of a dash.
Uses To denote an abrupt change in thought
or a pause To set off a series within a phrase Before an author’s name at the end of a
quotation In datelines To introduce individual sections of a list
The first word following the dash should be capitalized
Use periods at the end of each section
Days, months, years
Days Capitalize Abbreviate only in tabular form
Months Capitalize When used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug.,
Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Spell out when using alone or with a year (no comma) In tabular material, use three-letter forms without a period for all
months
Years Use figures, without commas To indicate spans of decades or centuries, use “s” without an
apostrophe (ex: the 1990s, the 1900s) Use a numeral even to start a sentence
Essential & nonessential clauses
Both provide information about a word/phrase in the sentence. Essential clauses Cannot be eliminated without changing the meaning of the sentence Essential clauses are not set off by commas. Ex: The man who saved my life is a retired teacher. “That” is the preferred pronoun to introduce essential clauses (for
inanimate objects) Nonessential clauses Can be eliminated without altering the basic meaning of the
sentence Nonessential clauses are set off by commas. Ex: The tree, which was old, fell down during the storm. “Which” is the appropriate pronoun (for inanimate objects)
Tip: If you can drop the clause and not lose the meaning of the sentence, use which; otherwise, use that. A which clause is surrounded by commas; no commas are used with that clauses.
Hyphens
Join words.Made with no space on either side.The fewer the better.
Uses Compound modifiers (before a noun) Two-thought compounds Compound proper nouns & adjectives To avoid duplicated vowels With numerals (odds, ratios, scores, fractions) Suspensive hyphenation
Important distinctions
Accept, except Affect, effect Among, between Fewer, less People, persons Principal, principle Good, well In, into Like, as
Numbers
Generally spell out numbers below 10 and use numerals for 10 and above.
Spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence (years are an exception).
Ages Always use numerals when referring to people Hyphenate when used as an adjective or a noun
Money Use numerals most of the time Use the $ with dollars, but spell out cents with amounts less than $1 Spell out dollar or dollars in a casual reference With amounts larger than $999,999, use a figure and the words million, billion,
trillion: $4.38 billion, $1 trillion.
Numbers between 1,000 and 999,999 Use commas
Numbers of a million or more Most of the time, use only the first few digits (rarely more than two decimal
places) followed by million, billion or trillion
Quotation marks
Mostly used for direct quotations. Running quotations If a quotation continues through a new paragraph, do not put close-quote
marks at the end of the first paragraph. Do, however, put open-quote marks at the start of the second paragraph. Use close-quote marks only at the end of the quoted material.
Unfamiliar terms Words being introduced may be placed in quotation marks on first
reference only. Quotes within quotes Alternate between double quotation marks (“or”) and single quotation
marks (‘or’). Placement with other punctuation The period and comma always go within quotation marks The dash, semicolon, question mark and exclamation point go within the
question marks when they apply to the quoted matter only. Put outside when applied to the whole sentence.
Social media & online
Check in (v.), check-in (n.) E-book, e-reader, email Friend, follow, like Google, Googling, Googled IM Internet Retweet Smartphone Text messaging/instant messaging Unfollow, unfriend Website, the Web
Time
Times Use figures except for noon and midnight Use a colon to separate hours from minutes Avoid redundancies (10 a.m. this morning)
Time of day The exact time of day an event happened is generally not necessary
Time zones Use the clock time in force where the event happened or will take
place Spell out in references not accompanied by a clock reading Only include if the story is nationwide or involves travel or broadcast
programs Abbreviations are acceptable on first reference within the
continental United States if linked to a clock reading
Titles
In general, confine capitalization to formal titles used directly before an individual’s name.
Lowercase and spell out titles not used with an individual’s name, and when titles are set off from a name by commas.
Formal titles vs. occupational titles: Formal titles denote authority, academic degree
(capitalize before a name) Other titles are occupational descriptions (do not
capitalize before a name)
If there is doubt about the status of a title, use a construction that sets the name or the title off with commas.
Who, whom
Who: Human beings Animals with a name The subject of a sentence—not
object The woman who rented the room…
Whom: When someone is the object The woman to whom the room was
rented…
What if it’s not covered?
The first reference for spelling, style, usage and foreign geographic names is Webster's New World College Dictionary
www.yourdictionary.com
