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AP Style Checklist

The document provides a checklist of Associated Press (AP) Style guidelines for journalists and public relations professionals, emphasizing clear and concise writing. Key topics include the proper use of academic degrees, titles, ages, and formatting rules for lists, dates, and numerals. It serves as a quick reference for common AP Style questions and mistakes.

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24 views3 pages

AP Style Checklist

The document provides a checklist of Associated Press (AP) Style guidelines for journalists and public relations professionals, emphasizing clear and concise writing. Key topics include the proper use of academic degrees, titles, ages, and formatting rules for lists, dates, and numerals. It serves as a quick reference for common AP Style questions and mistakes.

Uploaded by

zcaroline51
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Associated Press (AP) Style Checklist

Associated Press Style is a form of writing used primarily by journalists and public relations
professionals. Unlike academic writing, AP Style does not require a reference list or in text citations.
It focuses on clear and concise writing, with each paragraph only being about two or three
sentences long. AP Stylebooks list information alphabetically for writers to look up various rules.
This is a brief checklist of common AP Style questions or mistakes.

Academic Degrees
 If the mention of degrees is necessary to establish someone’s credentials, the preferred form is to
avoid an abbreviation and use a phrase instead, such as: Daniel Robinson, who has a doctorate in
psychology, called me.
 Use abbreviations B.A., M.A., LL.D. and Ph.D. only when the preferred way is cumbersome
 When using an abbreviation after a name, it is set off by commas
Daniel Robinson, Ph.D., spoke at the conference.
 Do not use an abbreviation if it is essentially the same as the courtesy title
Wrong: Dr. Walter Ford, Ph.D.
Right: Dr. Walter Ford, a chemist.
 Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree, master’s, etc.

Academic Departments
 Lowercase EXCEPT for words that proper nouns or adjectives: the department of history, the
history department, the department of English, the English department

Academic Titles
 Capitalize and spell out formal titles when they are before a name. Lowercase elsewhere.
I spoke to Chairman James Matthews. James Matthews is the chairman.
 Lowercase modifiers such as “department” in “department Chairman Kyle Whitaker.”

Ages
 Always use figures
 Use hyphens when expressed as an adjective or as a substitute for a noun
He is a 9-year-old boy. The boy is 9 years old.
 No apostrophes when expressing an age range
The woman is in her 30s.

Alumni
 “Alumnus” is masculine singular, but is often used in referring to either male or female
 “Alumna” is feminine singular
 “Alumni” is masculine plural
 “Alumnae” is feminine plural
Commas
 When you have a simple list, do NOT put a comma before the conjunction
Wrong: first, second, and third
Right: first, second and third
 Use a comma in a list ONLY when used for clarification (e.g. if an item’s name has a conjunction)
Sally brought chips, peanut butter and jelly, and cookies.

Composition Titles
 Capitalize important words, including prepositions and conjunctions of at least four letters
 Capitalize an article if it is the first or last word in the title
 Put quotation marks around everything except the Bible and books of reference

Dimensions
 Always use figures
 Spell out inches, feet, yards, etc.
 Hyphenate adjectival forms before nouns
The 5-foot-10-inch man walked down the street.
 Use an apostrophe to indicate feet and quotation marks to indicate inches (only in technical
contexts), such as 5’10”

Dates
 Always use figures ALONE — do not use st, nd, rd or th.

Days of the Week


 Always capitalize them
 Spell them out EXCEPT when needed in a tabular format (tables, graphs, charts)

Distance
 Spell out whole numbers below 10, use figures for 10 and above
 Hint: if it’s only one digit, spell it out

Fractions
 Spell out all amounts less than one, using hyphens between the words
Three-fourths, one-fifth

Money
 Cents — always spell it out and lowercase, and use numerals for amounts than one dollar
Example:
 Dollars — always lowercase; always use figures and the $ sign EXCEPT for casual references or
amounts without a figure
Months
 Always capitalize the names of months
 Spell out the month name when used alone or only with a year
 When using a month with a specific date, abbreviate ONLY Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and
Dec.

Numerals
 Spell out whole numbers below 10, use figures for 10 and above
 Spell out first through ninth when they indicate sequence in time or location (first base, he was
first in line); use figures starting with 10th

Percent
 Always spell out “percent” — never use “%”

State Names
 Spell out the names of states when they stand alone
 NEVER abbreviate Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah UNLESS using the
postal code abbreviation
 Hint: this applies to the two states that aren’t part of the contiguous United States or states
that have five or fewer letters
 Abbreviate state names when used with the name of a city, town or village
She lives in Illinois. She goes to school in Romeoville, Ill.
 Postal code abbreviations (two letters) are used only with the full address, including the zip code
 When listing a city and state in the middle of the sentence, put a comma after both
She goes to school in Romeoville, Ill., and loves it.

Time
 Always use figures EXCEPT for “noon” and “midnight”
 Use a colon to separate the hour from the minutes
 Avoid redundancies
Wrong: At 8 a.m. this morning
Right: At 8 a.m. OR at 8 this morning

Titles
 Capitalize titles if used directly before a person’s name (President Obama)
 Lowercase and spell out titles when not before a person’s name (the president)

Source: Purdue Owl, AP Stylebook

Common questions

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Figures are used to express time except for "noon" and "midnight" in AP Style. Colons separate hours from minutes, such as "8:30 a.m." Redundant expressions like "at 8 a.m. this morning" should be avoided—correct alternatives are "at 8 a.m." or "at 8 this morning" .

AP Style requires spelling out numbers below 10 and using figures for 10 and above. For sequences in time or location, spell out first through ninth (e.g., "first base"), and use figures from 10th onward. "Percent" is always spelled out and the symbol (%) is never used .

AP Style recommends avoiding abbreviations when mentioning academic degrees unless the preferred form becomes cumbersome. For instance, instead of abbreviations, a phrase should be used like "Daniel Robinson, who has a doctorate in psychology." However, abbreviations like B.A., M.A., LL.D., and Ph.D. can be used when necessary but must be set off by commas such as "Daniel Robinson, Ph.D." Abbreviations should not be used with courtesy titles that indicate the same credential, such as "Dr. Walter Ford, a chemist," instead of "Dr. Walter Ford, Ph.D."

In AP Style, for simple lists, a comma before the conjunction is not used—for example, "first, second and third." A comma is included only when it aids clarification, such as in lists where an item name may cause confusion—e.g., "chips, peanut butter and jelly, and cookies" .

Dates in AP Style are expressed using figures without ordinal indicators like st, nd, rd, or th. Month names are always capitalized, spelled out when used alone or with a year, and abbreviated only when used with a specific date for certain months (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.).

AP Style dictates that ages should always be expressed using figures. When ages function as adjectives before nouns or as substitutes for nouns, hyphens are used, such as "9-year-old boy." When indicating an age range, no apostrophes are used—"in her 30s" .

State names are spelled out when they stand alone and are never abbreviated in the case of Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, and Utah unless using postal codes. When paired with city names, states can be abbreviated (e.g., "Romeoville, Ill."). Postal abbreviations (e.g., IL for Illinois) are used only with full addresses including the ZIP code .

Cents are always spelled out and expressed in lowercase while using numerals for amounts less than one dollar, such as "75 cents." The dollar amounts use figures and a dollar sign except in casual references or a case without a figure (e.g., "thousands of dollars").

In AP Style, important words in composition titles are capitalized, including prepositions and conjunctions of at least four letters. An article is capitalized if it is the first or last word in the title. Quotation marks are used around titles except for religious texts like the Bible or books of reference .

In AP Style, dimensions should always be presented using figures, and measurement terms like inches, feet, and yards must be spelled out. When used in adjective forms before nouns, they should be hyphenated, such as "5-foot-10-inch man." In technical contexts, an apostrophe is used to indicate feet, and quotation marks to indicate inches, such as 5’10” .

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