Associated press style the majority of journalists and public relations practitioners use ap style, based on the associated press stylebook. Refer to aps datelines entry for use of certain wellknown city names alone. Those are alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas and utah. Following is the breakdown between ap style and chicago style. The latest edition of the ap stylebook calls for the names of eight states never to be abbreviated in datelines or text.
This section can be used as a primer and a quick reference, not a replacement to the gpo or ap style books. Those states are alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas, and utah. This is intended as a quick rundown or cheat sheet. Alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, and utah. It focuses on clear and concise writing, with each paragraph only being about two or three sentences long. Use ap style to abbreviate the names of states in datelines, lists, photo captions, etc.
Postal service has used me or the uppercase me as its official maine abbreviation since 1963. Crash course on ap style writing visual storytelling. This can be particularly tricky with the titles of major works, so heres a few. Ap style recommends spelling out state names in the body of stories effective may 1, 2014 and using abbreviations in datelines. For the style and spelling of words not found in ap or gpo, see websters new world college dictionary. Most examples here are taken and condensed from these style books. Always capitalize ceo or any corporate suite abbreviation before or after a name. The 2016 associated press stylebook and briefing on media. Texas is probably not a good one to use as an example. You must register and have a current subscription to access ap stylebook online register now. For words that you cannot find in our ap style list, use the firstlisted abbreviation in websters new world dictionary.
Websters abbreviation is rn, though registered nurse should be spelled on first reference in ap stories. The associated press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Ap style for states abbreviations march 14, 2015 a. Ap stylebook online is a searchable, customizable resource for writers and editors.
Associated press ap style checklist associated press style is a form of writing used primarily by journalists and public relations professionals. The editorial style standards are a guide to the proper style and usage of university terminology, including department names, programs, buildings, initiatives and more, and will continue to evolve over time. In almost all cases, the office of public affairs follows ap style. Ap stylebook adds ebook edition to digital product suite. To complain about ap style, write to the associated press, 450 w. 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 aps prior written approval. To make navigating these specialty chapters even easier, the stylebook includes a comprehensive index. Jack gillespie, rowan university, purdue university writing lab and ap stylebook page 2. It wouldnt be ap style without an exception or two. Generally ap style omits periods in acronyms, unless doing so would spell an unrelated word. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free download. Twelve common mistakes of ap style apr 19, 2011 admin.
The 2016 associated press stylebook and briefing on media law. Neither means that the usual headlinestyle or titlestyle caps still apply, but the titlename is naked as far as quotes and italics are concerned. 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. I remember when i filed one of my first bylines for a newspaper only to get my inbox slammed with emails from my editor in chief. The names of eight states are never abbreviated in datelines or text.
The associated press stylebook and briefing on media law is available for the first time as an interactive ebook, making the nations leading resource for newsroom style easier to use. Dont abbreviate if there isnt a city name before the state. Sometimes its difficult to remember which rules are ap and which rules are remnants from years of college courses. These can be names of organizations nato, nations usa, and phrases faq. Ap style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language. 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. Remember back in college when you had to keep track of all the different ap rules for your student newspaper on top of the chicago manual of style for your academic classes. Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook. Alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas, and utah.
Associated press style essentials this ap short guide is. Although it is sold as a guide for reporters, it has become the leading reference for most forms of publicfacing. Register to view your products, order status, shipment trackings and manage your account settings. Abbreviations are often desired in tabulations and certain types of technical writings. If a states name is standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town in your text, spell out the entire states name. What follows are summaries of some of the most common style rules. My ap stylebook always lists examples in italics, so its difficult to see if italics are. Publishers locations for apa referencing when you write an apastyle reference list, you need to provide the publishing details publishers name and location when writing reference entries for books, reports, brochures, and.
The ap stylebook, the buzzfeed style guide, the economist style guide, and the chicago manual of style all recommend hyphenating ebook, as well as most other e words such as ereader and ecommerce its conceivable that over time, ebook may lose its hyphen. Louisiana unless its a widely known section, as in southern california or south florida. Ap style state abbreviations differ from their corresponding united states postal service abbreviations, provided in parentheses. In a news story, can you start a sentence with an acronym. Here is a sampling of frequently asked questions, with examples of ap style used in answers. To help them out, ive pulled together some of the most essential rules.
Ap editor david minthorn fields questions of widest interest posed by subscribers to the online ap stylebook. Road and other related causeways such as court, drive, lane, way, etc. Reference books bible, websters dictionary, ap stylebook. Use twoletter postal abbreviations only in mailing addresses which include a zip code. After each bullet, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each item. Belmokhtar, mokhtar a top figure in alqaida in the islamic maghreb. Capitalization avoid unnecessary capital letters avoid alphabet soup tons of abbreviations. Idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas, and utah five letters or fewer plus alaska and hawaii as a general rule, do not use postal abbreviations. It wasnt about my prose, reporting, or lede, but that i neglected to abbreviate september. Acronyms are words formed from the initial letters of a multiword term.
Iowa, maine, ohio, texas or utah use only the following state abbreviations not two letter postal abbreviations, except in. All you need to know about titles in ap style gatehouse. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per ap style. Ap style lists a number of acronyms and abbreviations that can be used on first reference without definition. The ap stylebook will help you master the ap s rules on grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviation, word and numeral usage, and when to use more than instead of over. Too many, the ap style guide warns, produces alphabet soup. Before we begin to enlist the abbreviations, it is mandatory for one to learn and garner information about what ap is, with a brief, supplementary note on the history of the same. Ap stylebook has provided a list indicating exactly how the states should be shortened.
The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as. When an abbreviation is two letter initials, do not separate with a space s. Ap style place acronyms in parentheses after the full term on first use in the text. Capitalize common nouns and their distinguishing modifiers in names of associations, societies, companies, streets, etc. Associated press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. Ap is not done rocking the journalism world with style changes. Colon capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. Unlike academic writing, ap style does not require a reference list or in text citations. Ap is releasing the 2015 ap stylebook ebook with basic books, a division of the perseus books group, which also publishes the perfectbound print ap. Welcome to ask the editor, a forum on writing, style and phrasing issues that go beyond the pages of the ap stylebook. You might want to check the ap style for abbreviating state names, though. Follow these associated press guidelines for the u. The associated press stylebook and briefing on media law official style. Abbreviate months with six or more letters if they are used with a specific date.
Let me know what important rules ive missed, or if you see a mistake. If you want to know all about the ap style state abbreviations, you have been a wise soul to click on this article. While acronyms are highly efficient, care needs to be taken when using them. Spell out the name of a month when it is used without a specific date. Founded in 1846, ap today is the most trusted source of independent. The two letter postal state abbreviations mi should only be used in full addresses. In this post, we will summarize all of the ap stylebook state abbreviations rules. There are quite a few rules in the ap stylebook for state names and ap style state abbreviations.
Associated press stylebook associated press stylebook and. There are eight states that should never be abbreviated in text or datelines. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage. Datelines appear at the beginning of stories and include the name of the city in all capital letters, usually followed the state or territory in which the city is located. Ap style isnt keen on using state abbreviations in titles, so spell them out. Both the ap stylebook and the buzzfeed style guide already recommend spelling email without the. As the foundation for journalistic writing, this style focuses on achieving the best possible accuracy and consistency to make content easily read and understood by readers. There is indeed a science and art behind writing a press release. Street, avenue and boulevard are only abbreviated when with numbered addresses. Most of these examples were taken from the ap stylebook. 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. Daily caller trolls new york times over style guide observer. Office of public affairs university of southern maine.
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