Select the sentence free of errors in ap style for addresses, abbreviations, capitalization, numerals, punctuation and spelling and time in print copy. Ap style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language. The ap style as its known in the trade is quite different from the new york times style or chicago manual of style. Use the state abbreviations listed at the end of this section. Select time references as if the story were being written today for publication tomorrow morning. Note that with the traditional state abbreviations, the first letter is capitalized, subsequent letters are lowercase unless theyre abbreviating a new word, and each abbreviation. Colon capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. Now in its sixth edition, the stylebook is the standard style. Styleguard offers recommendations on datelines, abbreviations and acronyms, among many other common style needs, along with items you might not have realized are covered by ap style. If a state s name is standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town in your text, spell out the entire state s name. Ap editor david minthorn fields questions of widest interest posed by subscribers to the online ap stylebook.
States in the us are often abbreviated to twoletter words alaska ak. Of course, use state abbreviations in conjunction with the name of a city, town, village or military base in most datelines. Ap style for states abbreviations march 14, 2015 a. The state abbreviations did not compute with their knowledge and they would not use them and instead used the zip code abbreviation. The names of eight states are never abbreviated in. Italicized words are still iffy for wire transmission ap stories, so book titles are enclosed in quote marks. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free. However, there are exceptions for large cities that stand alone in datelines. The associated press stylebook, first published in 1977, clarified the news organizations rules on grammar, spelling, punctuation and usage. Welcome to ask the editor, a forum on writing, style and phrasing issues that go beyond the pages of the ap stylebook. Follow these associated press guidelines for the u. 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.
In football, only walter camps selections through 1924, and the ap selections after that, are recognized. Postal and traditional state abbreviations reference guide. Spell out the names of the 50 states when they stand alone in. The first publicly available edition of ap stylebook was published in 1953 under the title the associated press style book. On a regional level, additional cities may stand alone should the newspaper staff decide so. Neither means that the usual headlinestyle or title style caps still apply, but the title name is naked as far as quotes and italics are concerned. The associated press stylebook, the usage guide for most united states newspapers, counsels the use of abbreviations for most state names, when appended to a city name for example, santa ana, calif. You will still use abbreviations in datelines, photo. Ap style military ranks capitalize a military rank when used as a formal title before an individuals name. Do not capitalize federal, state, department, division, board. In apa, abbreviations should be limited to instances when a the abbreviation is standard and will not interfere with the readers understanding and b if space and repetition can be greatly. Some writers and editors still prefer to use the older forms of state abbreviations see traditional abbreviations in the table below, though this is rare. The associated press, a guide for foreign correspondents. Do not add s to pluralize units of measurement 12 m not 12 ms.
Instead, simply use the abbreviation the second time that you refer to the organization. This is intended as a quick rundown or cheat sheet. Styleguard offers recommendations on datelines, abbreviations and acronyms, among many other common style needs, along with items you. For words that you cannot find in our ap style list, use the firstlisted abbreviation in websters new world dictionary. 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. In this post, we will summarize all of the ap stylebook state. Political titles should be abbreviated before full names outside of direct quotes. It isnt necessary to spell out the most common abbreviations on first reference, like nba, nfl, mlb allamerica, allamerican. The ap therefore strives to keep its writing style easy to read, concise and free of bias. Use abbreviations for degrees only when you need to include a list. Note that ap style omits state names for a specified list of cities. You can find abbreviations discussed in the publication manual in section 4. Ap style state abbreviations for press release dateline follow these associated press guidelines for the u.
Ap style state abbreviations differ from their corresponding united states postal service abbreviations, provided in parentheses. If a comma comes between the title and the name, or the title comes after the name, the title is not capitalized. Jan 24, 2020 in bibliographies, lists, charts where space is at a premium, reference lists, footnotes and endnotes, and in mailing addresses, state names are usually shortened using the postal abbreviation. If youre new to news writing or switching from one to another, youll want to keep this ap cheat sheet handy and. This applies to chicago manual of style and the american psychological association style apa. However, writers of most newspapers use the ap style state name abbreviations in their articles ex. Mar 17, 2008 the chicago manual of style says, use no periods with abbreviations that appear in full capitals, whether two letters or more and even if lowercase letters appear within the abbreviation. The traditional abbreviations are still commonly used in other ways besides mailing addresses. State abbreviations random miscellaneous or united states quiz can you name the ap style u. 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.
Spell out the name of a month when it is used without a specific date. There are eight states that should never be abbreviated in text or datelines. Mastering the ap style rules for abbreviations bka content. Associated press ap citation and style guides libguides. To subscribe to the associated press stylebook online, or to find out about purchasing hard copies of the book, start here. Those are alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas and utah. Lowercase formal titles that appear on their own or follow a name. Abbreviate months with six or more letters if they are used with a specific date. Jul 21, 2016 in ap style, you shouldnt follow the name of an organization with the abbreviation offset by parentheses or dashes. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free download. I stopped trying to educate the educator and just edited their stuff each time to the the ap style of state abbreviations.
In running text, ap and chicago both spell out state names. Before we begin to enlist the abbreviations, it is mandatory for one to learn and garner information about what ap is, with. Ap suggests spelling out the names of alaska, hawaii, and all states with five or fewer letters. In ap style, magazines names and titles are governed. Books and magazines often italicize newspaper names as well as book titles and magazine names as part of their inhouse style. 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. Youre used to twoletter abbreviations for letter writing, but with ap style, states are a different beast i. Spell out the names of the two states that are not part of the contiguous united states and of the continental states that are five letters or fewer. The chicago manual of style says, use no periods with abbreviations that appear in full capitals, whether two letters or more and even if lowercase letters appear within the abbreviation. Oct 30, 2015 the rules below apply for the following works. The same rule applies to words of fewer than four letters. Citations should be as condensed as possible, so you should know the basic rules of abbreviation endorsed by the apa to. 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.
State abbreviations according to ap style gatehouse newsroom. Ap style isnt keen on using state abbreviations in titles, so spell them out. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per ap style. Add police or fire before the title if needed for clarity. If a states name is standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town in your text, spell out the entire states name. If an article the, a, an is the first or last word in a title, capitalize it. The associated press style is the goto style for journalism and news writing. If you want to know all about the ap style state abbreviations, you have been a wise soul to click on this article. All you need to know about titles in ap style gatehouse. See the lists that follow to determine whether the title should be spelled out or abbreviated in regular text. Abbreviations are often desired in tabulations and certain types of technical writings. Ap is not done rocking the journalism world with style changes.
This being said, however, the ap stylebook does go on to list some more specific guidelines that are to be followed when using various titles in your text. Ap style recommends spelling out state names in the body of stories effective may 1, 2014 and using abbreviations in datelines. Use quotation marks around the titles of books, songs, television shows, computer. Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook. Since when do you not capitalize both letters of a state. Capitalize chapter when used with a numeral in reference to a section of a book or legal code. Chapter sixteen brights, followups, roundups, sidebars and obituaries. 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. If youre writing a research paper or dashing off a blog post, you can probably ignore all the exceptions and special cases. Here is how each state is abbreviated in ap style with the postal code. The thumb rule for the fundamental ap style state abbreviations is that one has to in no way abbreviate the term if the readers will face the issue in identifying what the actual term is. Mar 14, 2015 ap style for states abbreviations march 14, 2015 a.
In 1987, the secretary of commerce switched to the more commonly used twoletter postal code abbreviations. In a news story, can you start a sentence with an acronym. In order to create a playlist on sporcle, you need to verify the email address you used during registration. After each bullet, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each item. The following guidance went out on the ap wire wednesday.
To form the plural of abbreviations, add s alone without apostrophe or italicization. United states postal abbreviations for states, military, commonwealths, and territories. Writing center quick reference associate press style guide. Associated press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. 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. Oxford university press usa publishes scholarly works in all academic disciplines, bibles, music, childrens books, business books, dictionaries, reference books, journals, text books and more. Ap style, or chicago manual of style for additional rules and guidelines for writing about states and other locations. Generally ap style omits periods in acronyms, unless doing so would spell an unrelated word. See datelines for guidelines on when a city name may stand alone in the body of a story.
In conjunction with the name of a city, town, village or military base in text. In 1987, the secretary of commerce switched to the twoletter state alpha code for state abbreviations. In this post, we will summarize all of the ap stylebook state abbreviations rules. Use the abbreviations listed here when a militarystyle title is used before the name of a firefighter or police officer outside a direct quotation. I dont know if this will help, but for chapter style, ap says. Currently, most state names are abbreviated in stories. Aps automated stylechecking tools speed up the editing process by reducing the need to manually refer to the ap stylebook. The associated press, the ap copy book, and ap writing handbook. Effective may 1, the ap will spell out state names in the body of stories. In ap style, the names of newspapers and magazines are not italicized or set off in quotation marks. The ap stylebook says state abbreviations are used in both datelines and in text. What follows are summaries of some of the most common style rules.
Click a question below to jump straight to its answer. Aug 15, 2019 our company uses ap style and i receive info from an educator on a weekly basis. For all other abbreviations, ap uses its own state abbreviations and chicago prefers postal abbreviations but has its own state abbreviations should that style be more appropriate for your publication. Following is the breakdown between ap style and chicago style. Which cities dont need a state abbreviation in ap style. These abbreviations short names were used in mailing addresses before the introduction of twoletter u. The most important objective of any form of writing is to help human beings recognize what you are attempting to say and give an explanation for.
This page reflects the latest version of the apa publication manual i. If you follow the older practice, be consistent in your use of the traditional abbreviations, and remember that eight states. Although it is sold as a guide for reporters, it has become the leading reference for most forms of publicfacing corporate. Apr 23, 2014 the following guidance went out on the ap wire wednesday. The associated press recognizes only one allamerica football and basketball team each year. Put quotation marks around the names except the bible and catalogs of reference material.
The equivalent resource for the older apa 6 style can be found here. All you need to know about titles in ap style tiffany mendoza 20151030. It wouldnt be ap style without an exception or two. Here is a sampling of frequently asked questions, with examples of ap style used in answers. According to the stylebook, use periods to abbreviate state names, and place one comma between the city and the state name, and another comma after the state name. 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. Also use state abbreviations in conjunction with the name of a city, county, town, village or military base in.
For example, they can be used in writing after a city like in miami, fla. Jack gillespie, rowan university, purdue university writing lab and ap stylebook page 2. There are quite a few rules in the ap stylebook for state names and ap style state abbreviations. If this structure makes the connection between the entity and the abbreviation unclear, its best to just skip using the abbreviation. Rate 5 stars rate 4 stars rate 3 stars rate 2 stars rate 1 star popular quizzes today. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The ap style abbreviations arbitrarily range in length from two to six letters, and all twoword names are abbreviated with the initials, such as n. Since when do you not capitalize both letters of a state abbreviation. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage. Home ap style ap style titles the ap stylebook holds that capitalization, in general, should be confined to formal titles that are used directly before an individuals name.
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