AP STYLE BASICS

1. AP STYLE BASICS You should know these

2. Addresses • What do you abbreviate with a specific address? • Drive, Avenue, and Street • Avenue, Boulevard and Street • Avenue, Street and Road • Avenue, Street and Court

3. Abbreviate ABS • Ave., Blvd., St. are abbreviated with a specific address. • Example: 1435 Husker Blvd.

4. AP & addresses • Don’t abbreviate without a specific address. • Example – 15th Street and Michigan Avenue • Never abbreviate road, drive, court, alley, terrace.

5. Ages • Which is correct? • The boy is three years old • The boy is 3 years old

6. AP & ages • Always use figures for ages. Examples: She turned 21 Thursday. The boy is 3 years old. • Use hyphens when age is an adjective. Example: The 3-year-old boy fell down.

7. Titles & capitalization Which is correct? • After the game, Gov. David Heineman congratulated the team. • After the game, governor David Heineman congratulated the team. • After the game, Governor David Heineman congratulated the team. • After the game, gov. David Heineman congratulated the team.

8. More titles & capitalization • Which is correct? • Harvey Perlman, chancellor of UNL, was in China. • Harvey Perlman, Chancellor of UNL, was in China.

9. AP & titles • Generally, capitalize formal titles before a name. • Lowercase formal titles after the name. • Examples: Gov. Dave Heineman Harvey Perlman, chancellor of UNL, …

10. City names - datelines • Which city needs the state with it in a dateline? • SAN ANTONIO • ATLANTA • AUSTIN • DETROIT

11. AP & datelines • In most cases, datelines use city names in all capital letters, followed by the state name. • Under datelines, AP lists which city names stand alone. They are generally larger cities. • Example: Austin needs a state name.

12. Commas • How do you use commas in a simple series? • The flag is red, white and blue • The flag is red, white, and blue

13. AP & serial commas • AP says no comma is needed before a conjunction in a simple series.

14. Commas with state names • Which is correct? • She drove from Lincoln, Neb., to Omaha, Neb. • She drove from Lincoln, Neb. to Omaha, Neb. • She drove from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Omaha, Nebraska • She drove from Lincoln, Ne., to Omaha, Ne.?

15. Commas & state names • Use commas to separate city names from state names. Use a second comma after the state name if the sentence continues.

16. Which are never abbreviated? • March, April, May, June and July • March, May, June, July and September • March, April, May, June, July and August • January, May, June, July

17. AP & months • Never abbreviate these: March, April, May, June and July • Abbreviate the longer months only when used with a specific date.

18. Which is right? • I went to Michigan in October 2008. • I went to Mich. in Oct. 2008. • I went to Mi. in October 2008. • I went to Mi. in Oct. 2008.

19. Months and year • When using months alone (without a specific date), spell them out. • Always spell out days of the week.

20. Hyphens Which is right? • He ran a poorly financed campaign. • He ran a poorly-financed campaign.

21. AP & hyphens • Never use a hyphen with an “ly” word. • Hyphenate a compound adjective before a noun. • Examples: She has a part-time job. She works part time.

22. Money • Which is right? • He had only 3 cents in his pocket. • He had only three cents in his pocket.

23. AP & money • Use $ with dollars. • Spell out cents with amounts under $1. • Use numerals most of the time.

24. Numbers Which is right? • She had four friends from Alaska. • She had 4 friends from Alaska.

25. More numbers Which is correct? • He drove 70 miles per hour. • He drove seventy miles per hour. • He drove 70 mph. • He drove seventy mph.

26. AP & numbers • Generally, spell out numbers under 10. • Study AP’s numerals section as a guide. There are many exceptions. • Examples: Use numerals with ages. Use numerals with millions, billions.

27. State names • Which states are never abbreviated? • Texas, Utah, Ohio, New Jersey, Maine, Georgia • Texas, Utah, Ohio, Maine, Georgia, Idaho • Texas, Utah, Ohio, Maine, Idaho, Iowa • Texas, Utah, Ohio, Idaho, Iowa, Georgia

28. Eight states • Never abbreviate: Texas, Ohio, Maine, Idaho, Utah, Iowa, Alaska, Hawaii

29. Time • Which is right? • Lunch begins at noon. • Lunch begins at 12. • Lunch begins at 12 a.m. • Lunch begins at 12 p.m.

30. AP & time • Use numerals and lowercase a.m. or p.m. Class starts at 11 a.m. Her favorite show is on at 11 p.m. • Always say noon or midnight.

31. Quotation marks • Which is right? a) “I’m tired of this class,” he said. b) “I’m tired of this class”, he said.

32. AP & quotes • Always put periods and commas inside the quotation marks.

33. Essential clauses • Which is right? • Students who read daily become better writers. • Students, who read daily, become better writers.

34. More clauses • Which is right? • My car, which is in the driveway, needs an oil change. • My car, that is in the driveway, needs an oil change. • My car which is in the driveway needs an oil change.

35. AP & essential clauses • If a phrase or clause isn’t essential to the meaning of the sentence, set it off by commas. • “That” never takes a comma. “Which” almost always does. • Examples: Students who read daily become better writers. My car, which is in the driveway, needs an oil change.