NUMERALS
·
Any number below
10 is spelled out
o 8=>eight
·
Any number above 10 is written as a numeric
·
Exception: dates
o Jan. 9,
2014
·
Ages: always use numerals
o She is a
9-year-old girl
o The girl
was 9 years old
·
Measurements , distances, and money always use
numerals
o 5 inches
o 20 miles
o $5.60, 5
cents
ABBREVIATIONS
•
Do not
treat states like postal abbreviations, many are different
• The following are the state
abbreviations in AP Style:
Alabama-Ala.
Arizona-Ariz.
Arkansas-Ark.
California-Calif.
Colorado-Colo.
Connecticut-Conn.
Delaware-Del.
Florida-Fla.
Georgia-Ga.
Illinois-Ill.
Indiana-Ind.
Kansas-Kan.
Kentucky-Ky.
Louisiana-La.
Maryland-Md.
Massachusetts-Mass.
Michigan-Mich.
Minnesota-Minn.
Mississippi-Miss.
Missouri-Mo.
Montana-Mont.
Nebraska-Neb.
Nevada-Nev.
New Hampshire-N.H.
New Jersey-N.J.
New Mexico-N.M.
New York-N.Y.
North Carolina-N.C.
North Dakota-N.D.
Oklahoma-Okla.
Oregon-Ore.
Pennsylvania-Pa.
Rhode Island-R.I.
South Carolina-S.C.
South Dakota-S.D.
Tennessee-Tenn.
Vermont-Vt.
Virginia-Va.
Washington-Wash.
West Virginia-W.Va.
Wisconsin-Wis.
Wyoming-Wyo.
• Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine,
Ohio, Texas, Utah, District of Columbia are not abbreviated
• Using states: I live in Savannah, Ga.
• In datelines: Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
MONTHS
January- Jan.
February- Feb.
March- March
April- April
May- May
June- June
July-July
August- Aug.
September- Sept.
October- Oct.
November- Nov.
December- Dec.
•
The party is in January
•
The party is Jan. 2
GRAMMAR/OTHER
TIPS
•
AP Style does not use the Oxford comma
o NO: I like
books, food, and cats
o YES: I like
books, food and cats
•
In quotations, commas, periods, and other
punctuation go INSIDE the quotations
• Lay v. Lie
o Lay, laid, laid (to put/place an
object)
o Lie, lay, lain (to rest or recline-no
object)
•
Most organizations do not use acronyms on first
mention, so they should be spelled out then abbreviated if they are commonly
recognized
o 1st
mention: National Institutes of Health
o 2nd
mention: NIH
•
Composition titles
o Magazines
and newspaper titles do not have quotation marks. Capitalize the articles a,
an, the.
o Books, TV
shows, movies all have quotation marks. See style book for exceptions.
•
When in
doubt, look it up!
•
If you are a journalism or public relations
concentration you should invest in an AP Style Guide
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