COM3562/3/15

Super-quick AP styleguide—things you should always do in a blog post or a comment that show you have a journalism background.

• addresses: Abbreviate Street, Avenue and Boulevard only in complete addresses (1212 Main St.). Note these have six or more letters (but newer ones such as Terrace are not abbreviated). Spell out street names under 10 (8 Fourth St. but 12310th St.) Uppercase, don’t abbreviate when referring to Main Street, but lowercase the corner of Main and River streets. Q: Why?Abbreviate N,S,E,W. (1212 N. Main St.)

• ages: Always use figures, even for an object (the law was 8 years old). Hyphenate for adjectival forms before a noun or when used as a noun (they acted like a bunch of 2-year-olds; a 3-year-old car). Begin compiling a list of exceptions to the general rule that numbers less than 10 are to be spelled out (you could add, e.g., 8 Main St.)

• brand names (legally called trademarks). Capitalize and follow their spellings. Companies check these (e.g. DuPont’s Lycra). Strictly, they are adjectives not nouns.I bought that Styrofoam cup at Kmart. Watch odd spellings: Dunkin’ Donuts, Tastykake, Jell-O.

• capitalization: Proper nouns, titles before a name, (President Obama, but Barack Obama is the president) composition titles (Gone With the Wind), first word after a colon if what follows is a sentence (Remember this: Punctuation matters.); don’t use for derivatives (french fries, but French food). Big subject — get to know under additional entries.

• dimensions: Add to the list. Use figures even if below 10 for depth, height, length, width; The snake was 5 feet long. Also distance and weight; He walked 4 miles; That weighs 7 pounds, which means it’s a 7-pound hammer.

• dollars and cents: Use the $ symbol without the word (not $22 dollars; Q: Why?) and (again) use figures if <10 (That costs about $4 but I only have 4 cents.) Watch ranges: It cost between $5 million and $6 million. (not It cost between $5 and $6 million.Q: Why?)

  • his: AP used to say it’s OK to use as an indefinite pronoun. But better to write around it (put it in the plural) use his or her if not awkward, or perhaps the singular “their.”
  • its, it’s: You should know this one.The former is the possessive, the latter is a contraction. Remember, it’s hers, not her’s, his, not hi’s, yours not your’s (possessives, no apostrophe).
  • legislative titles: Use abbreviated forms before word: Sen. Pat Toomey. None on second reference. With party affiliation, it’s: Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said …
  • military and police titles: Caps, abbreviate before names: Adm. John Perry; Sgt. Eric Gripp
  • millions, billions: Use numbers:The population is less than 5 million. (But “about a billion.”)
  • months: Caps, abbreviate longer ones if a date given, even if no year: Jan.9; Sept. 23, 1996. But January 1999; That happened in December. Don’t abbreviate if fewer than six letters.
  • numerals: A big one. Recall exceptions to the rule that you spell out those below 10 (or 10th, i.e. for ordinals). Spell out if number begins a sentence (Sixteen months ago … ). Use No. 2 for the phrase “number two.” Hyphens after y in forty-three (as you would write a check). Phone number style is now 800-555-1212. See telephone numbers entry.
  • percentage: Use figures, even if less than 10. Q: If interest rates went from 6 percent to 8 percent they went up two percentage points, but 33 percent (Recall the formula change/original so (8-6)/6 = 2/6 = 1/3 = 33%). Don’t use the symbol “%” unless in a chart or graphic.
  • president: Cap only before a name: That was former President Jimmy Carter; President Barack Obama. Second reference use last name: President Carter.
  • quotations: AP says never correct even for minor errors in usage. Most media do that to give people the benefit of the doubt (did they say gonna or going to?). Don’t make one person seem less “educated” through use of quotes incorporating clipped speech, etc. (gonna, wanna, eatin’). Avoid partial quotes.
  • states: This just changed in 2014. No longer abbreviate with city in a story (used to be: He lives in Allentown, Pa., which is in the Lehigh Valley.). Abbreviations (note Calif., Conn., Pa., Wis., La., Okla.). used now in dateline entries that stand alone, and with legislative titles. Not abbreviated: Those with fewer than six letters, plus Hawaii, Alaska (notice a pattern?).It’s Washington state (not State, used for the university). If it’s an address or ZIP code, use that style: PA, CA, etc.
  • weights: Use figures (as with dimensions): a 7-pound baby.
  • years: No apostrophe for periods of time: The 1900s; but the ’60s (note the apostrophe and its direction). Don’t spell out at start of sentence (this is the only exception to the rule: He was tall. Seven feet tall. 1999 was the year).