See our full page on abbreviations and acronyms for a more in depth discussion on their differences. Mastering the ap style rules for abbreviations bka content. Both are necessary for any writer to have and to know, in depth. 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.
Although the rules seem to change as often as i eat a shameful amount of candy read. Sometimes its difficult to remember which rules are ap and which rules are remnants from years of college courses. Quiz by elsieviste ap style rulesstate abbreviations quiz by elsieviste. Associated press stylebook study guide associated press. Can you name the ap style rulesstate abbreviations test your knowledge on this geography quiz to see how you do and compare your score to others. Editorial style university marketing and communications at nmu. They are the accepted reference sources for material not covered by the stylebook. Search for abbreviation meaning, word to abbreviate, or lists of abbreviations. Founded in 1846, ap today is the most trusted source of independent. Colon capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. In ap style writing, many different words are abbreviated in an effort to conserve space. If a states name is standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town in your text, spell out the entire states name.
Refer to aps datelines entry for use of certain wellknown city names alone. Do not precede a name with a courtesy title for an academic degree and follow it with the abbreviation for the degree in the same reference. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms that the reader would not quickly recognize. City names should be in capital letters and in most cases followed by the appropriate ap style abbreviation for the state. Fully revised and updated, this new edition contains more than 3,000 a to z entries including more than 200 new ones detailing the ap s rules. To complain about ap style, write to the associated press, 450 w. Books, magazines, newspapers, journals and online publications should be italicized. Its updated throughout the year and valuable onlineonly resources, including ask the editor, topical guides and pronunciation guide, expand on the print books guidance. Associated press stylebook 2015 and briefing on media law.
Ap style holds that a few universally recognized abbreviations are required in some instances and some other abbreviations are acceptable depending on the context, but in general, as a writer, you should avoid having your writing appear as if its alphabet soup. Ap stylebook online is a searchable, customizable resource for writers and editors. Twelve common mistakes of ap style apr 19, 2011 admin. Associated press stylebook study guide 1 a abbreviations and acronyms a few universally recognized abbreviations are required in some circumstances. You must register and have a current subscription to access ap stylebook online. First reference for spelling, style, usage and foreign geographic names. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per ap style. 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. 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. Too many, the ap style guide warns, produces alphabet soup. Use an apostrophe in bachelors degree, a masters, etc. Spell out the name of a month when it is used without a specific date. Use the abbreviations when a militarystyle title is used before the name of a firefighter or police officer outside a quotation.
We use the associated press stylebook for our published content, with very. On any given day, more than half the worlds population sees news from ap. The webs largest and most authoritative acronyms and abbreviations resource. Before we begin to enlist the abbreviations, it is mandatory for one to learn and garner information about what ap is, with. Mar 14, 2015 ap style for states abbreviations march 14, 2015 a.
Ba, bs, bachelor of arts, bachelor of science ma, ms, master of arts, master of science edd, phd, doctor of education, doctor of philosophy mba, master of business administration do not add the word degree after an abbreviation of the degree or after the full name of the degree. Ap style rulesstate abbreviations quiz by elsieviste. Mar, 2015 e books currently make up two percent of my book sales. Dec 11, 2012 here are a few more common errors that journalists make when copy editing for ap style. 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. Ap style for states abbreviations march 14, 2015 a. 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. See ap abbreviations and acronyms for further guidance including style for.
The plural abbreviation of supervisor is formed by simply adding an s. Founded in 1846, ap today is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information. Sep 19, 2012 ap style recommends spelling out state names in the body of stories effective may 1, 2014 and using abbreviations in datelines. If using the abbreviation of degree type, use periods in all degrees except. Join a live hosted trivia game for your favorite pub trivia experience done virtually. 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. Add police or fire before the title if its needed for clarity. Following are reference books used in the preparation of the associated press stylebook.
Books and magazines often italicize newspaper names as well as book titles and magazine names as part of their inhouse style. Select the sentence free of errors in ap style for abbreviations for print publications. Associated press website faq this faq webpage from the ap is a great source of information on current issues of grammar, style, punctuation, abbreviations, and other style questions. Ap itself along with gi and eu are exceptions to this rule. To subscribe to the associated press stylebook online, or to find out about purchasing. Military titles can usually be shortened see ap stylebook 2010military titles pg. Ap style recommends spelling out state names in the body of stories effective may 1, 2014 and using abbreviations in datelines. Anytime a caption mentions a usa state location i have to use the ap style to abbreviate the state name.
How to write an associated press style press release. Spell out the names of the 50 states when they stand alone in. Jack gillespie, rowan university, purdue university writing lab and ap stylebook page 2. Associated press style the majority of journalists and public relations practitioners use ap style, based on the associated press stylebook. Associated press stylebook associated press stylebook and. 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. 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. 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. Acronyms are words formed from the initial letters of a multiword term. Ba, bs, bachelor of arts, bachelor of science ma, ms, master of arts, master of science edd, phd, doctor of education, doctor of philosophy mba, master of business administration do not add the word degree after an abbreviation of the degree or. Unlike academic writing, ap style does not require a reference list or in text citations.
If you write for other venues, such as the book publishing industry, you will need the chicago style manual, as that is the other style manual used by writers. The associated press is a notforprofit cooperative american news agency owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the united states. Boldface indicates keywords for entries in this style guide or the ap stylebook. Ap stylebook online takes everything you love about the stylebook az guide to usage, spelling and punctuation and makes it an even more convenient tool. Instead, simply use the abbreviation the second time that you refer to the organization. Capitalize common nouns and their distinguishing modifiers in names of associations, societies, companies, streets, etc. Apr 15, 2020 the writers of most content creation companies usually write using a popular style guide ap, apa, chicago, mla mixed with a house style.
Another useful resource for alaskaspecific questions is the ap stylebook for alaska. 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. With the ap stylebook in hand, you can learn how to write and edit with. It should be used only in corporate titles when that is their style. Register to view your products, order status, shipment trackings and manage your account settings. Although it is sold as a guide for reporters, it has become the leading reference for most forms of publicfacing corporate. Users group each other into circles so they can control, on a casebycase basis, who can see their posts. This abbreviated style guide covers items not mentioned in the ap stylebook. 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. This can be particularly tricky with the titles of major works, so heres a few rules to brush up on. Both the ap stylebook and the buzzfeed style guide already recommend spelling email without the hyphen. Associated press ap style is a specific form of writing that is used in magazines, newspapers, certain websites and other journalistic publications. 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 lean on. If a virtual private party is more your thing, go here for details.
Ap style is simply a standardized way of writing everything from dates to street addresses to job titles. Its so that you have to constantly pull out the ap style guide and check it. This is intended as a quick rundown or cheat sheet. Most people who are familiar with ap style know the common rules such as which months are abbreviated, how datelines are used and when to spell out numbers. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage. It focuses on clear and concise writing, with each paragraph only being about two or three sentences long. The choice between ebook and ebook could be considered a style choice, but ebook is simply wrong. These can be names of organizations nato, nations usa, and phrases faq.
For example, radar if formed from radio detecting and ranging. However, italicized type could not be sent over associated press teletypes and isnt supported by the computer programs in use today. While acronyms are highly efficient, care needs to be taken when using them. Although it is sold as a guide for reporters, it has become the leading reference. Use abbreviations for degrees only when you need to include a list. Ap style state abbreviations differ from their corresponding united states postal service abbreviations, provided in parentheses.
Ap style guide for state abbreviations makes no sense. There are quite a few rules in the ap stylebook for state names and ap style state abbreviations. Following is the breakdown between ap style and chicago style. 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. Withthe ap stylebook in hand, you can learn how to write and edit with the clarity and professionalism for which they are famous. Generally ap style omits periods in acronyms, unless doing so would spell an unrelated word. Most of the book is the actual stylebook, which reads like a dictionary.
The ap stylebook is a writing style guide used when writing for news media outlets. Abbreviation for identification, written without periods. Home ap style ap style composition titles the following guidelines are rules set out in the ap stylebook for ap style book titles, computer game titles, ap style movie titles, opera titles, play titles, poem titles, album titles, ap style song titles, radio and television titles, and the titles of lectures, speeches, and work of art. Ap style holds that acronyms are formed from the first letters or letters of a series of words. Sending a press release is a great way to get that coverage, but only if you draft it correctly.
What follows are summaries of some of the most common style rules. Do not use periods in abbreviations that are in headlines, unless they are needed for clarity. Oct 30, 2015 the rules below apply for the following works. Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook. 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. 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. In this post, we will summarize all of the ap stylebook state abbreviations rules. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals. Stevens institute of technology uses the associated press ap stylebook and the. Founded in 1846, ap today is the most trusted source of independent news and information. 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. Use twoletter postal abbreviations only in mailing addresses which include a zip code.
Play sporcle s virtual live trivia to have fun, connect with people, and get your trivia on. The ap stylebook and libel manual was written specifically for newspaper journalists. Aug 21, 2006 heres why the ap does this random abbreviation style. At bka, we prefer ap style, which is a standard in journalism. Associated press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. Im a newspaper designer that has to adhere to the ap style guide. How to use the ap stylebook theres a handy table of contents at the beginning of your book. The style of the associated press is the gold standard for news writing. It wasnt about my prose, reporting, or lede, but that i neglected to abbreviate september.
Neither means that the usual headlinestyle or titlestyle caps still apply, but the titlename is naked as far as quotes and italics are concerned. Some others are acceptable depending on the context. The agency is responsible for making the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law or the ap stylebook, a style and usage guide used by the news industry and newspapers in. If you want to know all about the ap style state abbreviations, you have been a wise soul to click on this article. Ap stylebook adds ebook edition to digital product suite. Sep 20, 2015 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. Use abbreviation only after full name has been used at least once. Put quotation marks around the names except the bible and catalogs of reference material. This way it ensures you always remember that the ap style guide is the ruler.
All you need to know about titles in ap style gatehouse. Ap stylebook highlights this will tell you 90 percent not % or per cent ap stylebook highlights. Download a pdf of the editorial style guide stevens institute of. Abbreviate months with six or more letters if they are used with a specific date. 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.
Ap style does use periods in most twoletter abbreviations. Here are a few more common errors that journalists make when copy editing for ap style. An abbreviation, lets take gb from above, is not an acronym. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free. Ap style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language. There are a few common ways to abbreviate supervisor. The associated press stylebook app offers current style guidance as you write or edit in word.
Follow these associated press guidelines for the u. 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 guide for state abbreviations makes no sense spudart. If mention of degress is necessary to establish someones credentials, the preffered form is avoid an abbreviation and use instead a phrase. 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. Associated press ap citation and style guides libguides. 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. Ap style was developed and is maintained by the associated press, the worlds oldest news service. Ap style requires consistency in spelling, capitalization, punctuation and. If this structure makes the connection between the entity and the abbreviation unclear, its best to just skip using the abbreviation.
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