AP STYLE BASICS You should know these

Addresses What do you abbreviate with a specific address? a) Drive, Avenue, and Street b) Avenue, Boulevard and Street c) Avenue, Street and Road d) Avenue, Street and Court

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

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

Ages Which is correct? a) The boy is three years old b) The boy is 3 years old

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.

Titles & capitalization Which is correct? a) After the game, Gov. David Heineman congratulated the team. b) After the game, governor David Heineman congratulated the team. c) After the game, Governor David Heineman congratulated the team. d) After the game, gov. David Heineman congratulated the team.

More titles & capitalization Which is correct? a) Harvey Perlman, chancellor of UNL, was in China. b) Harvey Perlman, Chancellor of UNL, was in China.

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

City names - datelines Which city needs the state with it in a dateline? a) SAN ANTONIO b) ATLANTA c) AUSTIN d) DETROIT

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.

Commas How do you use commas in a simple series? a) The flag is red, white and blue b) The flag is red, white, and blue

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

Commas with state names Which is correct? a) She drove from Lincoln, Neb., to Omaha, Neb. b) She drove from Lincoln, Neb. to Omaha, Neb. c) She drove from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Omaha, Nebraska d) She drove from Lincoln, Ne., to Omaha, Ne.?

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

Which are never abbreviated? a) March, April, May, June and July b) March, May, June, July and September c) March, April, May, June, July and August d) January, May, June, July

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

Which is right? a) I went to Michigan in October b) I went to Mich. in Oct c) I went to Mi. in October d) I went to Mi. in Oct

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

Hyphens Which is right? a) He ran a poorly financed campaign. b) He ran a poorly-financed campaign.

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.

Money Which is right? a) He had only 3 cents in his pocket. b) He had only three cents in his pocket.

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

Numbers Which is right? a) She had four friends from Alaska. b) She had 4 friends from Alaska.

More numbers Which is correct? a) He drove 70 miles per hour. b) He drove seventy miles per hour. c) He drove 70 mph. d) He drove seventy mph.

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.

State names Which states are never abbreviated? a) Texas, Utah, Ohio, New Jersey, Maine, Georgia b) Texas, Utah, Ohio, Maine, Georgia, Idaho c) Texas, Utah, Ohio, Maine, Idaho, Iowa d) Texas, Utah, Ohio, Idaho, Iowa, Georgia

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

Time Which is right? a) Lunch begins at noon. b) Lunch begins at 12. c) Lunch begins at 12 a.m. d) Lunch begins at 12 p.m.

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.

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

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

Essential clauses Which is right? a) Students who read daily become better writers. b) Students, who read daily, become better writers.

More clauses Which is right? a) My car, which is in the driveway, needs an oil change. b) My car, that is in the driveway, needs an oil change. c) My car which is in the driveway needs an oil change.

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.