1. AP Style Highlights of the most important style rules

2. When to capitalize titles Capitalize formal titles before the name, lowercase after the name. I asked Principal Amy Ethridge-Conti Mayor Larry Brown favored the idea. Remember: only formal titles, not descriptions or job positions. i.e. the principal from the school was unavailable. Vs. I asked Principal Ethridge-Conti if she would be there.

3. After a name, don’t capitalize a title and spell it out Larry Brown, the mayor, cut the ribbon. The bill was vetoed by Frank Keating, the governor. When the title stands alone, spell out the title and DO NOT capitalize it. Example: The pope will visit next week.

4. Abbreviate in addresses only with an exact, numbered address 901 Ninth St. BUT: The gym is on Ninth Street. On exact addresses, also abbreviate the direction: 555 N. Garth Ave. 333 W. Broadway

5. Abbreviate BAS in addresses CAPITALIZE the name of the street but only ABBREVIATE the following in EXACT addresses: Blvd. Ave. St. This can be remembered as BAS, which is part of a word…..that I will let you figure out. 999 Stadium Blvd. 767 Milestone Ave. 545 Hitt St. All the rest are spelled out and capitalized

6. Dates When SPECIFIC DATES are used, abbreviate the month. Joe Anders died Monday, Jan. 6, 1997. With NO SPECIFIC DATE, spell out the month Joe Anders died in January.

7. Don’t abbreviate the ‘short’ months The "shorter" five months of spring and summer are not abbreviated: March, April, May, June, July. Memory tip: 5 months and 5 letters or fewer.

8. Capitalization Capitalize official names, including Battlefield Bobcats, Student Council Association, Congress, Senate, House, General Assembly, Republican Party, and Democratic Party. The Student Council Association approved the spirit week plans. BUT if incomplete, it is lower case: The council passed the measure

9. Numbers In general, spell out one through nine, use figures for 10 above. Example: He invited 12 guests to the party but only nine showed up.

10. Use figures for these exceptions: Ages: John, 7, ran away. John is 7 years old. Dimensions: The 7-foot-2 center weighed 230 pounds. Percentages: 4 percent (note that percent is ONE word.) Time: 6 p.m. (not 6:00 p.m.; p.m. has periods and is and lowercased.) Street numbers: 9 Quinton Court Day of the month: Jan. 9, 1997, (not 9th) Do not start a sentence with a figure.

11. Money Use the dollar sign: $10, $1,000, $90,000 (NOT $90 thousand or 90 thousand dollars) Repeat the word with ranges: WRONG: $8 to $10 million RIGHT: $8 million to $10 million

12. 12 How to cite research sources If you're getting information from, say, the University of Michigan's law school, or whatever, just say, "According to the University of Michigan's law school..." In general, only.edu,.gov,.org, etc. sites are acceptable in news stories. If you're dealing with a.com, make sure it is a vetted website (news paper, official organization etc, and not just a blog posted by Random Guy living in mom’s basement). 12

13. 13 Citing research, Cont. If you're researching information on, say, public health and are getting info from theCDC, it's perfectly fine to say, "According to the CDC, X number of people died of complications with the flu last year." You don't need to say, "According to cdc.gov/blahblah_swine_flu..." If you want to direct your readers to the full and exact site, you would include a note at the end of the story in italics. It would say something like, "For more information, visit www.whatever.org/thing." www.whatever.org/thing 13

14. 14 Citing research, cont. If you're getting information from an online- only source, just say the name. "According to Sitename, a Web site with tips on X, Y and Z..." Typing out full URLs is hard on the eyes, it breaks up the text and it's annoying. 14

15. 15 Finally, ideally, you should be getting your information from an actual person, not a Web site. If you find valuable information on a site that you want to use, you should get into personal contact with whoever runs/operates it. That way you can cite an actual person and not just a Web site. 15

16. Abbreviating states SPELL OUT the names of all of the states when they stand ALONE. She went on a ski trip in Colorado. Abbreviate the state names when they are used with a city – except the short states. She went to Ladysmith, Wis.

17. How to remember which states to abbreviate There are eight states that are not abbreviated: The two that are disconnected - Alaska and Hawaii - and the six with five letters or fewer: Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. Do not use postal abbreviations. (It’s Wis., not WI.)

18. Except on tests… When in doubt, look it up.

19. What's wrong here? Buffalo State College is at 1300 Elmwood Avenue.

20. What's wrong here? The Gov. did not pardon the Dr.

21. What's wrong here? The project is slated to cost $4 to $6 million.

22. What's wrong here? The play will be held November 30th.

23. What's wrong here? Performances begin at 9 in the evening.

24. What's wrong here? He took the test 2 times before he passed it.

25. What's wrong here? Florida Governor Charlie Crist is running for the Senate.

26. What's wrong here? My ten-year-old car is now worth about ten dollars.

27. What's wrong here? Florida Atlantic University's downtown tower is located at 111 East Las Olas Boulevard, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

28. What's wrong here? At the conference, I met the Author Dave Barry and Carlos Alvarez, Mayor of Miami.

29. What's wrong here? This exhibition opens August 23, 2010, and ends in Jan. 2011

30. What's wrong here? The only places I really want to go are Ladysmith, Wis., and Round Lake, Oh.

31. What's wrong here? The two-year-old boy couldn't lift the four- pound pumpkin, so his ten-year-old sister helped him.