However, italicized type could not be sent over associated press teletypes and isnt supported by the computer programs in use today. Do not drop the word million or billion in the first figure of a range. Associated press style essentials this ap short guide is modeled on one made available in the past by. With this essential guide in hand, any writer can learn to communicate with the clarity and professionalism for which the associated press is famous. The ap stylebook is used broadly by other universities for communication and news writing.
For book titles, computer games, movies, operas, poems, etc, capitalize all the principal. Use abbreviations for degrees only when you need to include a list of credentials after a. The lieutenant governor, gavin newsom, was serving in the. These can be names of organizations nato, nations usa, and phrases faq. Abbreviations are often desired in tabulations and certain types of technical writings. Apparently, there is simply too little agreement on their meaning. Too many, the ap style guide warns, produces alphabet soup. The associated press stylebook and briefing on media law.
Use quotation marks around the titles of books, songs, television shows. We use the associated press stylebook for our published content. Top 10 ap style guide 2016edits university blog service. Mastering the ap style rules for abbreviations bka content. The style of the associated press is the gold standard for news writing. Ap style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language. Associated press ap style is most often used by news and journalism writers to present consistent and clear writing to the consumer. Books and magazines often italicize newspaper names as well as book titles and magazine names as part of their inhouse style.
When a title stands alone or is offset from a name by commas, it should be lowercase. Ap style is designed to address the challenges of the organizations large. Jun 15, 2009 acronyms are words formed from the initial letters of a multiword term. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage. If the writer of your example sentence is following ap style, then 10 years later would be correct. With the ap stylebook in hand, you can learn how to write and edit with.
Use decimals up to two places for amounts in the millions and billions that do not. The 2019 edition of the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law includes more than 200 new or revised entries, with chapters covering data journalism, business, fashion, food, religion and sports terms, as well as media law, news values, punctuation, social media, polls and surveys and a new chapter on health and science. Ap style is simply a standardized way of writing everything from dates to street addresses to job titles. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free download. For the style and spelling of words not found in ap or gpo, see websters new world college dictionary. Formal titles in ap style should be capitalized when they immediately precede one or more names. Generally ap style omits periods in acronyms, unless doing so would spell an unrelated word. Oct 30, 2015 the rules below apply for the following works. Instead, simply use the abbreviation the second time that you refer to the organization. Welcome to ask the editor, a forum on writing, style and phrasing issues that go beyond the pages of the ap stylebook.
While acronyms are highly efficient, care needs to be taken when using them. She read the new york times before she turned on the television to watch survivor. Some others are acceptable depending on the context. Use numerals for days without st, nd, rd or th and abbreviate the.
Note hyphens if used before the noun, but the girl was 5 years old. Princeton editorial style guide office of communications. Associated press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. If a states name is standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town in your text, spell out the entire states name. Always use figures and spell out the words million and billion. Ap style does use periods in most twoletter abbreviations.
Before you start in on a writing project for a client, be sure to ask them what style guide they use. Ap stylebook rules for height, feet, inches gatehouse. In most instances, our style is based on the associated press ap stylebook online, strunk and. When searching for height in the ap stylebook, it refers readers to the dimensions entry. See the lists that follow to determine whether the title should be spelled out or abbreviated in regular text. For words that you cannot find in our ap style list, use the firstlisted abbreviation in websters new world dictionary. Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook.
There are quite a few rules in the ap stylebook for state names and ap style state abbreviations. The associated press stylebook provides a uniform presentation of the printed. Ap style quick reference guide basic knowledge 101. Its updated throughout the year and valuable onlineonly resources, including ask the editor, topical guides and pronunciation guide, expand on the print books guidance. The term is acceptable on first reference, but should be explained later in the story. Chapter sixteen brights, followups, roundups, sidebars and obituaries. To make navigating these specialty chapters even easier, the stylebook includes a comprehensive index.
English is a tricky languageand how you write it can be even trickier. To subscribe to the associated press stylebook online, or to find out about purchasing hard copies of the book, start here. Of the style guides that address spacing in this context, most ap stylebook, chicago manual of style, canadian style, the economist style guide say to leave no space 100bn, for example, although it is also common in books and newspaper articles to see the abbreviation preceded by a space. Ap style was developed and is maintained by the associated press, the worlds oldest news service. Jul 19, 2006 checking my usual main resourcesmicrosoft manual of style for technical publications, the associated press stylebook, the chicago manual of style, and the gregg reference manuali found that none of them recommends any abbreviations for thousand, million, or billion.
Click a question below to jump straight to its answer. The abbreviation mpg is acceptable on all references for miles per gallon. Here is a sampling of frequently asked questions, with examples of ap style used in answers. On first reference, use the appropriate title before the full name of a member of the military.
If this structure makes the connection between the entity and the abbreviation unclear, its best to just skip using the abbreviation. Ap stylebook cannot be made available in any printed form to any other person, third party or affiliate, or used for cdrom publishing, fax on demand, audiotext, email, or any other electronic delivery service or forany other purpose than the posting of the ap stylebook on your internal computer system, without ap s prior written approval. When following ap style, numbers zero through nine are typically written in word form, while numbers 10 and above are written as cardinal numbers. Mar, 2015 e books currently make up two percent of my book sales. Select the sentence free of errors in ap style for abbreviations for print publications. Always spell out measurements inches, feet, yards gallons, ounces, pounds etc.
A style guide for the 2020 elections, based on the ap stylebook and common usage in ap stories. This section can be used as a primer and a quick reference, not a replacement to the gpo or ap style books. In a news story, can you start a sentence with an acronym. Ap stylebook, also known by its full name the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law, is an english grammar style and usage guide created by american journalists working for or connected with the associated press to standardize mass communication. Wellknown acronyms and common abbreviations of names should be formed without. Associated press style essentials this ap short guide is. Aug 01, 2018 the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law official style guide of the associated press, a notforprofit news agency thats been around since 1846. How to format numbers in associated press style pen and the pad. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per ap style. Use a hyphen for the adjectival forms before nouns.
Brand names, such as ipad, sometimes use camel case an internal capital letter, but in standard english such style is unacceptable for anything other than names. Capitalize a military rank when used as a formal title before an individuals name. Shorthand for the formal title of the health care overhaul that former president barack obama signed into law in 2010. May 21, 2009 for words not in this book use the firstlisted abbreviation in websters new world college dictionary. Jul 21, 2016 in ap style, you shouldnt follow the name of an organization with the abbreviation offset by parentheses or dashes. You can find abbreviations discussed in the publication manual in section 4. In larger numbers less than 1 million, use commas after each three digits. The choice between ebook and ebook could be considered a style choice, but ebook is simply wrong. Always use figures before the measurement 8 inches, 10 feet, 2 ounces, 200 pounds, etc.
In general you should spell out numbers one through nine in ap style. A few universally recognized abbreviations are required in some circumstances. More people write for the associated press than for any newspaper in the world, and writers have bought more copies of the ap stylebook than of any other journalism reference. Ap editor david minthorn fields questions of widest interest posed by subscribers to the online ap stylebook. You should use figures for 10 or above and whenever preceding a unit of measure or referring to ages of people, animals, events or things. When talking about length of time in ap style, use a numeral for 10 and above. All you need to know about titles in ap style gatehouse. Do not use periods in abbreviations that are in headlines, unless they are needed for clarity. Abbreviations abbreviate junior or senior after a name, but dont use a comma.
Clearness is secured by using words that are current and ordinary. Associated press style basics journalists resource. On wednesday, professor james currier, who has a doctorate in biology and a masters in economics, will argue that improving automobile fuel efficiency from an average of 17 to 22 miles per gallon would save billions of dollars and protect endangered. These three terms are the only ones that can be abbreviated. Colon capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. What follows are summaries of some of the most common style rules.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Jul, 2019 one of the first things a student in a beginning journalism course learns about is associated press style or ap style for short. Ap style millions, billions, trillions writing explained. Ap stylebook type search query into the search bar below. The ap stylebook will help you master the aps rules on grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviation, word and numeral usage, and when to use more than instead of over. Consider the following examples of ap style numbers, the chicago white sox finished second. Some widely known abbreviations are required in certain situations, while others are. Do not capitalize prepositions, conjunctions, or articles in titles of books. Ap stylebook online is a searchable, customizable resource for writers and editors.
After each bullet, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each item. In subsequent references, do not continue ising the. Proper ap use of road in an address road proper use of 21 year old student 21yearold student proper use of thirties 30s proper ap style for books italics proper ap style for songs paparazzi or italics proper ap style for 3301978 march 30, 1978 proper ap style for the1990s 90s proper ap style for height 5foot3 proper ap style for names. Ap itself along with gi and eu are exceptions to this rule. With the ap stylebook in hand, you can learn how to write and edit with the clarity and professionalism for which they are famous. Its often used by news organizations, magazines, and web publications, but brands often use it to form the basis of their own style guides, too. Put quotation marks around the names except the bible and catalogs of reference material. Most examples here are taken and condensed from these style books. Oxford university press usa publishes scholarly works in all academic disciplines, bibles, music, childrens books, business books, dictionaries, reference books, journals, text books and more. In this post, we will summarize all of the ap stylebook state abbreviations rules. Although it is sold as a guide for reporters, it has become the leading reference.
651 848 250 401 1094 1509 247 1319 1120 1464 230 1156 713 1360 132 318 921 775 1037 109 384 1070 816 1194 1365 1314 66 1343 1380 477 699 476 827 549 463 1145 643 1199 163 1323 1187 322 997 368 242 234