The associated press stylebook and briefing on media law official style guide. See appendix d for a list of abbreviations, initialisms, and acronyms common to mla publications. Mm and m are usually used in date formats like mmddyy. Writing center quick reference associate press style guide. Apply the following guidelines to the titles of books, computer games, movies, operas, plays, poems, albums, songs, radio and television programs, lectures, speeches and works of art. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only jan. Ap style is designed to address the challenges of the organizations large size and readership. A recent ap stylebook says, when a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only jan. 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. Oct 31, 2019 if you know you will be using ap style frequently, its definitely worth it to invest in a copy of the associated press stylebook 2019. Per ap style, spell out month names that stand alone.
Barcelona to ban burqa, 2010 alternatively, you can integrate the citation into the sentence by means of narrative. The thumb rule for the basic ap style state abbreviations is that one should never abbreviate the term if the readers will face difficulty in figuring out what the actual term is. There are quite a few rules in the ap stylebook for state names and ap style state abbreviations. Now in its sixth edition, the stylebook is the standard style. One of the first things a student in a beginning journalism course learns about is associated press style or ap style for short. Month abbreviations ap style when a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only jan. With brands acting as media properties and marketers emulating journalists, knowing the correct ahem, commonlyaccepted ways to share written content is becoming increasingly important. 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.
Use only an initial cap and then lowercase for acronyms of more than six letters, unless listed otherwise in this stylebook or websters new world college dictionary. Ap style state abbreviations for press release dateline follow these associated press guidelines for the u. Ap style is simply a standardized way of writing everything from dates to street addresses to job titles. What is the proper way to abbreviate the word month. Dates writing style guide western michigan university. Top 10 ap style guide 2016edits university blog service. And unless you want your publication to sound like a 16yearolds diary, never write six month anniversary, two month anniversary, and especially twoweek anniversary. The basics of ap style the visual communication guy. Abbreviations abbreviate junior or senior after a name, but dont use a comma. For all month abbreviations, see months in ap stylebook. The ap therefore strives to keep its writing style easy to read, concise and free of bias. All states are spelled out in the body of the text.
Abbreviating months and days editing and writing services. When used with a date, abbreviate only the following months. Ap itself along with gi and eu are exceptions to this rule. You must register and have a current subscription to access ap stylebook online register now. Ap style was developed and is maintained by the associated press, the worlds oldest news service.
This section can be used as a primer and a quick reference, not a replacement to the gpo or ap style books. Titles of movies, books and tv shows go in quotation marks. Ap style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as. It says that in tabular material, use threeletter forms without a period the first three letters of each month. Commas are not necessary if only a year and month are given, but commas should be used to set off a year if the date, month and year are given. 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. As ap has added entries over the years, the stylebook has grown more useful and comprehensive, but also more daunting. Jul 21, 2016 when youre writing in ap style, you should abbreviate titles that precede names and suffixes that fall afterward. Do not use the word of between the month and the year. For months and a specific date, abbreviate the month. For people who didnt go to journalism school, these tips arent likely to be on the radar.
Register to view your products, order status, shipment trackings and manage your account settings. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free download. Many newspapers, magazines, websites, and public relations offices across the united states use ap style. If youre new to news writing or switching from one to another, youll want to keep this ap cheat sheet handy and. Most examples here are taken and condensed from these style books. You also can abbreviate words such as company and corporation when they appear after the name of a business entity. 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. Feb 01, 2018 when a work has no identified author, cite in text the first few words of the article title using double quotation marks, headline style capitalization, and the year. 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. If only the month and year are used, do not use commas. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage. Formatting dates, days, months, times, and years in ap style. What follows are summaries of some of the most common style rules.
The ap style as its known in the trade is quite different from the new york times style or chicago manual of style. Abbreviate the month when the date is included, except for march, april, may, june and july. Do not use periods in abbreviations that are in headlines, unless they are needed for clarity. Use twoletter postal abbreviations only in mailing addresses which include a zip code. When a work has no identified author, cite in text the first few words of the article title using double quotation marks, headline style capitalization, and the year. States should not be abbreviated when used in the text of a story. To subscribe to the associated press stylebook online, or to find out about purchasing hard.
Consult the ap stylebook for a list of these cities. In ap style you should capitalize the names of months in all of their uses. While acronyms are highly efficient, care needs to be taken when using them. It had to be easy for reporters and editors to use and also produce. Mostly just for journalists, but increasingly relevant to anyone who produces content online. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free. Road and other related causeways such as court, drive, lane, way, etc. Generally ap style omits periods in acronyms, unless doing so would spell an unrelated word. Some abbreviations of trade names, organizations, or innovations function as initialisms or acronyms e.
Political titles should be abbreviated before full names outside of direct quotes. And, as always, count on proofreadingpal to catch and correct any style, usage, grammar, or other errors you may make to ensure your finished writing is in great shape. Use all caps, but no periods, in longer abbreviations and acronyms when the individual letters are pronounced. All other months should always be completely spelled out. Founded in 1846, ap today is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information. When a month is used with a specific date, you may abbreviate jan. When a month is used with a specific date, you may. Associated press style essentials this ap short guide is modeled on one made available in the past by. Abbreviate months with six or more letters if they are used with a specific date. These can be names of organizations nato, nations usa, and phrases faq.
Abbreviations of months of the year, days of the week, and. 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. Colon capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. To complain about ap style, write to the associated press, 450 w.
When a month is used with a specific date, only abbreviate. May 21, 2009 use all caps, but no periods, in longer abbreviations and acronyms when the individual letters are pronounced. 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. Send contributions to relief fund, box 185, pasadena, ca 91030. Specific entries in the associated press stylebook or this guide supersede those in other reference books, such as the chicago manual of style. Ap style indicates that you should write out the word percent instead of using %. Spell out the names of the 50 states when they stand alone in. The associated press style provides guidelines for journalistic writing. Spell out the name of a month when it is used without a specific date. The main objective of any type of writing is to help people understand what you are trying to say and explain.
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. Ap style, or associated press style, is the writing style guide used by the associated press. Acronyms are words formed from the initial letters of a multiword term. Appositives and phrases introduced by a comma must always be closed by a comma or period at the end of a sentence. The associated press stylebook, first published in 1977, clarified the news organizations rules on grammar, spelling, punctuation and usage. It is a standardized way of writing created and maintained by the associated press, a long standing authority within the news world.
Commas are not necessary if only a year and month are given, but commas should be used to set off a year if the date, month. These arent always the same abbreviations the mail carrier uses. Each year the associated press publishes an updated version of the associated press stylebook. This is the style guide that professional media use. You can find the list of preferred abbreviations under months in the ap stylebook. Postal service abbreviations for states unless you are providing a full address including zip code. For titles of books, video games, movies, operas, poems, etc. Jun 15, 2009 acronyms are words formed from the initial letters of a multiword term. After each bullet, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each item. Abbreviations used on this page denote common usage unrelated to documenting sources. A primer on ap style t he ap stylebook is the second most important book you will use as a journalist, after a dictionary. Per ap style, spell out street names without a number and abbreviate street names in a complete address.
Associated press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. For titles of movies, books, magazines, tv shows and newspapers, do not use italics. Abbreviate months with six or more letters if they are used. 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. If a states name is standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town in your text, spell out the entire states name. When a phrase uses only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas. Follow these associated press guidelines for the u. In this post, we will summarize all of the ap stylebook state abbreviations rules.
The associated press style is the goto style for journalism and news writing. Mastering the ap style rules for abbreviations bka content. If you know you will be using ap style frequently, its definitely worth it to invest in a copy of the associated press stylebook 2019. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per ap style. Dont abbreviate if there isnt a city name before the state. Abbreviate month names when used with a specific date. Too many, the ap style guide warns, produces alphabet soup. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Ap style does use periods in most twoletter abbreviations.
In a dateline at the beginning of a news story, abbreviate the state name after the city according to the list found under state names in the index of the associated press stylebook. Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate jan. Here are a few answers to common style issues, based on the ap stylebook. Jack gillespie, rowan university, purdue university writing lab and ap stylebook page 2. That said, do spell them out whenever theyre standing alone, or with a year alone. In other kinds of writing, where a more formal style is appropriate, use abbreviations sparingly. For the style and spelling of words not found in ap or gpo, see websters new world college dictionary. Refer to aps datelines entry for use of certain wellknown city names alone. 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. Although it is sold as a guide for reporters, it has become the leading reference for most forms of publicfacing. You must register and have a current subscription to access ap stylebook online. Also, all months should be spelled out when they stand alone or are alone with a year.
This is one of the rules that tends to change based on the publication, so be sure to take a look at the editorial guidelines before finding and replacing all those instances of % in your post. Associated press style basics journalists resource. In this quick guide to state abbreviations, i will cover the differences between ap style and chicago style andjust to prolong your state of confusionwhen to use the common twoletter abbreviations created by the united states postal service if youre writing a research paper or dashing off a blog post, you can probably ignore all the exceptions and special cases and just. Street, avenue and boulevard are only abbreviated when with numbered addresses. When a phrase lists only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas. 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.
1275 782 230 770 793 602 1558 692 390 991 743 1382 162 258 683 1568 1376 732 835 606 20 591 272 1476 986 45 422 1414 500 67 717 515 1385 323 612 1443 1430 1206 357 556 1051 85 1427 510 1290 473 314