When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with commas. Formatting dates, days, months, times, and years in ap style dates and times have a number of formatting considerations. 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. Here are a few answers to common style issues, based on the ap stylebook.
Never abbreviate the short months march, april, may, june, july. In some cases, an academic degree may be abbreviated after an individuals name see academic degrees. Never abbreviate march, april, may, june or july tip. See our full page on abbreviations and acronyms for a more in depth discussion on their differences. Abbreviate months with six or more letters if they are used with a specific date such as sept.
After each bullet, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each item. The ap stylebook, published primarily for journalists, also says to capitalize the days of the week, and to not abbreviate them except when needed to facilitate tabular composition. This module aims to meet most of these requirements. This page is about the various possible meanings of the acronym, abbreviation, shorthand or slang term.
Ap style datelines datelines on stories should contain a city name, entirely in capital letters, followed in most cases by the name. Five letters or fewer spell out all months when used alone or with only a year do not abbreviate days of the week except in a tabular format. Abbreviations abbreviate junior or senior after a name, but dont use a comma. You should abbreviate titles when they are used before a full name. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage.
Even though the question of how to abbreviate the united states seems straightforward, as it happens, theres more than one preferred way to write it. Always use figures before the measurement 8 inches, 10 feet, 2 ounces, 200 pounds, etc. Ap style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language. This listing is a just a few highlights for ap style, but you need to make sure you have the most current version for quick reference. 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. Abbreviate junior or senior after an individuals name. 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. These are the rules wed like you to follow for the contests. The associated press stylebook it can be overwhelming at first, but please see below for the essentials. Ap is not done rocking the journalism world with style changes. Ap stylebook rules for height, feet, inches gatehouse newsroom. Jul 21, 2016 im a huge fan of abbreviations because they make communication easier and spare me from unnecessary typing. According to the ap style book, dates should be formatted as such dates always use numerical figures, without st, nd, rd, or th. Also, all months should be spelled out when they stand alone or are alone with a year.
In general, newspaper style guides in the united states in particular, the associated press stylebook ap and the new york times manual of style and usage recommend u. Abbreviate the words street, avenue, boulevard only when there is a street address number. Referring to the ap style guide again, were told to use figures except for noon and midnight. Always spell out measurements inches, feet, yards gallons, ounces, pounds etc. When documenting sources using mla style, the months with four or fewer letters, e. The website of appalachian state university, for example, conforms to ap style. Use last name without titles on the second and any other references unless requested by the subject. 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. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per ap style.
These resources provide an overview of journalistic writing with explanations of the most important and most often used elements of journalism and the associated press style. You can find the list of preferred abbreviations under months in the ap stylebook. Do abbreviate states when they follow towns or cities in datelines the line at the top of a news story that shows the date and place of writing, or when they show political party affiliation dmass. Ap style does use periods in most twoletter abbreviations. Mar 14, 2015 ap style for states abbreviations march 14, 2015 a. The local style guide is up to you and your staff to create.
For slide presentations of ap style basics, go here. Spell out names of months when not used to indicate a specific date. All states are spelled out in the body of the text. Use a hyphen for the adjectival forms before nouns.
As the ap style book writes, names not commonly before the public should not be reduced to acronyms solely to save a few words. Ap style summary chapter 2 workbook flashcards quizlet. Jun 25, 2018 when writing about money in apa style, clarity and precision are key. An articles established era style should not be changed without reasons specific to its content. This is the style guide that professional media use. The ap therefore strives to keep its writing style easy to read, concise and free of bias. Effective may 1, the ap will spell out state names in the body of. Follow these associated press guidelines for the u. As ap has added entries over the years, the stylebook has grown more useful and comprehensive but also more daunting. March, april, may, june and july are never abbreviated in text, but the remaining months are when they are followed by a date jan. If used as part of a political affiliation, see ap stylebook for correct abbreviations. The equivalent resource for the older apa 6 style can be found here. Spell out one through nine, then go to figures for 10 and up.
In the past we discussed how to correctly use ap style title case, and now were here to tackle the often confused topic of ap style numbers. Do not put the abbreviation in parentheses after the name, do not abbreviate an organization on second and future reference unless the ap style book says so and if the organization if not wellknown and cant be abbreviated on subsequent references, use alternate wordings or common nouns such as, the organization or the group rather than repeating the full name. May 07, 2009 the associated press was founded more than 150 years ago and now has thousands of employees working in more than a hundred countries for a readership that numbers in the millions. Do not abbreviate months or days of the week within regular text. A primer on ap style t he ap stylebook is the second most important book you will use as a journalist, after a dictionary. Your style of writing can make or break your career if news release are deleted in journalists email inboxes. If you dont see it on this poster, consult the ap stylebook. Sp 17 ap style guide university of texas at austin. In other kinds of writing, where a more formal style is appropriate, use abbreviations sparingly. Ap style state abbreviations for press release dateline follow these associated press guidelines for the u.
In this post, we will summarize all of the ap stylebook state abbreviations rules. Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook. When documenting sources using apa style, no abbreviations are used, all months should be spelled out in full. Many newspapers, magazines, websites, and public relations offices across the united states use ap style. The ap style as its known in the trade is quite different from the new york times style or chicago manual of style. Ap style is simply a standardized way of writing everything from dates to street addresses to job titles. 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. Spell out months with 5 letters or fewer within regular text. If a states name is standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town in your text, spell out the entire states name. The ap stylebook is available as a book, website or smartphone app. Month abbreviations ap style when a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only jan. May, june, and july are not abbreviated, the remaining months jan. Mastering the ap style rules for abbreviations bka content.
Do not abbreviate months of the year when they appear by themselves or with a year december 2012. When a month is used with a specific date, you may abbreviate jan. Months datestimes abbreviate months with six or more letters if they are used. Abbreviate company, corporation, incorporated and limited when used after the name of a corporate entity. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only jan.
Ap style was developed and is maintained by the associated press, the worlds oldest news service. The associated press stylebook, first published in 1977, clarified the news organizations rules on grammar, spelling, punctuation and usage. Spell out months when used alone or with either a date or year but abbreviate them to the following. To achieve these goals, the associated press stylebook is intentionally compact and direct, giving up comprehensiveness in exchange for brevity. Ap style cheat sheet for wjeas writeoff contests and beyond student journalists should have at least these two sources available to answer basic style questions.
Abbreviations of months of the year, days of the week, and. Days of the week days of the week should be capitalized and not abbreviated. Jun 15, 2009 note that if youre only going to use an unfamiliar acronym once, its best just to spell out the original term completely and forgo the abbreviated form. Associated press style basics journalists resource. Spell out the name of a month when it is used without a specific date. The latest ap stylebook says, when a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only jan. Spell out the names of the 50 states when they stand alone in. In ap style, the antecedent and its pronoun must agree.
In ap style, the antecedent and its pronoun must agree in gender and number. Sep 19, 2012 professional journalists and business communicators in the united states commonly write in associated press ap style. But even for many of us who have used the stylebook for. All other months should always be completely spelled out. Please follow ap styleand its companion websters new world college dictionaryfor any topics and words not addressed by university of hartford editorial style. Jul 06, 2017 when searching for height in the ap stylebook, it refers readers to the dimensions entry. The associated press, the ap copy book, and ap writing handbook. 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. Ap style is designed to address the challenges of the organizations large size and readership. Generally, omit periods in acronyms unless the result would spell an unrelated word. Some abbreviations of trade names, organizations, or innovations function as initialisms or acronyms e.
An abbreviation, lets take gb from above, is not an acronym. Colon capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. Dates writing style guide western michigan university. Associated press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. In apa, abbreviations should be limited to instances when a the abbreviation is standard and will not interfere with the readers understanding and b if space and repetition can be greatly avoided through abbreviation. Abbreviate months with six or more letters if they are used with a specific date. A recent ap stylebook says, when a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only jan. Always spell out the month when it is used without a specific date. Writing center quick reference associate press style guide.
When used with a date, abbreviate only the following months. The first publicly available edition of ap stylebook was published in 1953 under the title the associated press style book. Abbreviations for months and days in regular, running text. See appendix d for a list of abbreviations, initialisms, and acronyms common to mla publications. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free.
Ap style also calls specifically for lowercase abbreviations for a. It had to be easy for reporters and editors to use and also produce stories that are clear and concise. What follows are summaries of some of the most common style rules. This resource, revised according to the associated press stylebook 2012, offers examples for the general format of ap style. If youre new to news writing or switching from one to another, youll want to keep this ap cheat sheet handy and refer to it when in doubt. Ap style is the standard for writing news release and other content for media in the united states. The ap stylebook is widely used as a writing and editing reference tool in newsrooms, classrooms, and offices worldwide. For days of the month, use only numerals, not nd, rd or th.
Associated press style quick reference guide to subscribe to the associated press stylebook online, or to find out about purchasing hard copies of the book, start here. To make navigating these specialty chapters even easier, the stylebook includes a comprehensive index. Ap style recommends spelling out state names in the body of stories effective may 1, 2014 and using abbreviations in datelines. When a phrase lists only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas. General ap style abbreviation guidelines before a name. Note that state abbreviations in ap style are not in allcapital letters, as are postal state abbreviations. Abbreviating months and days editing and writing services. Use first and last name and titles when appropriate on the first reference. Do not use periods in abbreviations that are in headlines. Datelines datelines on stories should contain a city name, entirely in capital letters, followed. In general you should spell out numbers one through nine in ap style. When a phrase uses only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas. The following guidance went out on the ap wire wednesday. The associated press, a guide for foreign correspondents.
Generally ap style omits periods in acronyms, unless doing so would spell an unrelated word. In ap style you should capitalize the names of months in all of their uses. Consider the following examples of ap style numbers, the chicago white sox finished second. The american psychological association apa publication manual, which is used for writing academic papers, agrees about using the periods. Ap itself along with gi and eu are exceptions to this rule. One of the first things a student in a beginning journalism course learns about is associated press style or ap style for short. May 21, 2009 for words not in this book use the firstlisted abbreviation in websters new world college dictionary. How do i write dates, times, numbers, and measurements using. But before getting into that, lets get it out of the way first to note that if your usage of the country name is a noun, spell it out rather than abbreviating it. It says that in tabular material, use threeletter forms without a period the first three letters of each month. The office of communications uses the below writing style guide along with the associated press ap stylebook and websters dictionary as the standard for writing web content, employee communications, news releases, broadcast information, articles and other materials. There are quite a few rules in the ap stylebook for state names and ap style state abbreviations.
Send contributions to relief fund, box 185, pasadena, ca 91030. Postal service abbreviations for states unless you are providing a full address including zip code. Now in its sixth edition, the stylebook is the standard style. Associated press style essentials this ap short guide is modeled on one made available in the past by. Always use arabic figures, without st, nd, rd or th. Associated press stylebook abbreviations and acronyms.
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