1. An Introduction to Journalistic Writing
AP Style Writing
An Introduction to
Journalistic Writing

2. Table of Contents What is AP Style? Why use AP Style?
The Basics of AP Style
Common AP Style Mistakes

3. What is AP Style?
AP style is a form of writing that most United States journalists and public relations professionals use
All of the guidelines are published in the Associated Press Stylebook, which is updated regularly

4. Why use AP Style?
A working knowledge of writing in AP Style is usually a requirement for working in print journalism.
Following AP Style provides consistency throughout news media
It is considered the golden standard for news writing

5. The Basics of AP Style
An alphabetical listing of AP Style writing standards for student journalists

6. Ages Always use numerals when writing ages
If the age is used as an adjective or in the place of a noun, it is hyphenated
Examples:
An 18-year-old student
The student is 18 years old
The teacher is in his 40s

7. Composition Titles
Do not italicize magazine or newspaper titles –just capitalize them
Use quotation marks for the titles of books, video games, movies, TV shows, works of art, speeches, and song titles.
Examples:
My favorite book is “Fahrenheit 451.”
Before going to work, his father always reads The New York Times.
“Friends” was a very popular show in the 1990s.

8. Dates Dates are written as numerals. “th” is not used
Some months are abbreviated
Months without dates are not abbreviated.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.

9. Dates Continued Examples: The board meeting took place on Nov. 14.
It is usually cold in January.
Her birthday is April 16.

10. Days of the Week Capitalize, but do not abbreviate, days of the week
Examples:
The concert is on Friday, Nov. 18
Students can sign-up for the ACT on Tuesday

11. Monetary Units Greater than $1
Always written as numerals with the “$” sign used beforehand.
Examples: $3
$30
$300
$300,000
$3 million
$3 billion

12. Monetary Units Less than $1
Spell out the word “cents” in all lowercase letters
Example: She has 14 cents.

13. Names
When mentioning a person for the first time, use their first and last name
Use the person’s last name for all subsequent references
Do not use courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., etc.)
UNLESS if it is part of a quote or the title is needed to differentiate between two or more people mentioned in the story with the same last name.

14. Numbers Numbers one through nine and spelled out
Numbers 10 and above are written as numerals
Example: The three girls applied at 12 stores.

15. Numbers Continued Never start a sentence with a numeral
EXCEPT if the sentence starts with a year
Examples:
Three baseball players were drafted
Four hundred incoming freshmen enrolled this year
Ordinal numbers are okay when describing the order in time or location. Spell out first through ninth, and write 10th and higher as a numeral.
She came in second place
They sat in the 12th row

16. Percentages
Always written as numerals with the word “percent” written afterward.
Example: Enrollment at West Coast High School increased 3 percent.

17. Punctuation Commas and periods go inside quotation marks
Example: The witness said, “I saw the accident.”
Example: “I saw the accident,” the witness said.
In a simple series, do not use a comma before a conjunction
Example: She likes sushi, pizza and tamales.
Use a single space after a period

18. States
If you are writing about a state and not mentioning a city, it should be spelled out
When you include the city name and state together, the state needs to be abbreviated.
Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, and Utah are not abbreviated.

19. State Abbreviations
Ala.
Ariz.
Ark.
Calif.
Colo.
Conn.
Del.
Fla.
Ga.
Ill.
Ind.
Kan.
Ky.
La.
Md.
Mass.
Mich.
Minn.
Miss.
Mo.
Mont.
Neb.
Nev.
N.H.
N.J.
N.M.
N.Y.
N.C.
N.D.
Okla.
Ore.
Pa.
R.I.
S.C.
S.D.
Tenn.
Vt.
Va.
Wash.
W. Va.
Wis.
Wyo.
Example: She came from Anaheim, Calif. The treaty was signed in Honolulu, Hawaii. The earthquake was in California.

20. Time
When adding the time of day is critical for your story (for example, the time of an upcoming performance), write the time as a number.
Use a colon to distinguish the hour from the minutes. Do not use :00
Spell out noon and midnight
Examples: 3 p.m. 1:35 a.m.

21. Common AP Style Mistakes
Double check your writing for these commonly made mistakes

22. Common AP Style Mistakes
There is no S in toward (and the same applies to upward, downward, forward, backward)
Avoid the use of the word “here.” Instead, provide detailed location information
When referring to numbers, use “more than” instead of “over”

23. Test your AP Style Knowledge
Check to see if you can find the AP style errors in the following sentences

24. Classroom Practice
On Sat., May 14th, the team celebrated its 2nd place win in the tournament. .

25. Classroom Practice
On Sat., May 14th, the team celebrated its 2nd place win in the tournament. .

26. Answer
On Saturday, May 14, the team celebrated its second place win in the tournament.

27. Classroom Practice
The plane will arrive at the Albany, New York airport at 3:00 pm.

28. Classroom Practice
The plane will arrive at the Albany, New York airport at 3:00 pm.

29. Answer
The plane will arrive at the Albany, N.Y. airport at 3 p.m.

30. Classroom Practice
The theater department will perform Pride and Prejudice at two thirty in the afternoon on Friday, October 21st. Tickets are five dollars at the door.

31. Classroom Practice
The theater department will perform Pride and Prejudice at two thirty in the afternoon on Friday, October 21st. Tickets are five dollars at the door.

32. Answer
The theater department will perform “Pride and Prejudice” at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21. Tickets are $5 at the door.

33. Classroom Practice
He is thirty-one years old. The 17 year old girl won 1st place in the event. Only three % of students like beets. In the 1980’s, big hair was in.

34. Classroom Practice
He is thirty-one years old. The 17 year old girl won 1st place in the event. Only three % of students like beets. In the 1980’s, big hair was in.

35. Answer
He is 31 years old. The 17-year-old girl won first place in the event. Only 3 percent of students like beets. In the 1980s, big hair was in.

36. Classroom Practice
The football coach said, “the team gave it their all”. Practice for the debate team is held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

37. Classroom Practice
The football coach said, “the team gave it their all”. Practice for the debate team is held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

38. Answer
The football coach said, “the team gave it their all.” Practice for the debate team is held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.