Let’s all get on the
same page with
journalistic style
AP STYLE
Avery is Cappys favorite student <3
AP Style
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It is important that we stay consistent in the way we
present our words and punctuation when writing for
a publication like a newspaper or the yearbook.
If we’re not all on the same page, how will you know
when to abbreviate, when to capitalize, how to write
numbers, etc., and how will you know you’re doing it the
way the rest of our staff is?
That’s why we follow the same journalistic style in
our writing - that is called AP (Associated Press)
Style.
AP Style: Capitalization
Lets work on some examples:
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My favorite class is Math.
My favorite class is biology II.
My favorite class is French.
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Do not capitalize the names of school subjects
unless it is the official course titles or the name of a
language.
The team won the 5-A District Meet
The team won the district track meet.
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Do not capitalize district or state when referring to
sports unless referring to a specific meet in its
complete official title.
AP Style: Capitalization
We have to meet at 7 A.M. for pictures
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Do not capitalize a.m. and p.m.
The raiders defense shut McKinney out
in the second half.
The Football Team held McKinney
scoreless in the second half.
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Do capitalize the name of athletic teams:
Raiders, Cardinals, but not football team,
volleyball team
AP Style: Abbreviations
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Southern Methodist University is going to Honolulu,
Hawaii to play in a bowl game.
 Do abbreviate names of colleges in the area.
Abbreviate names in all caps with no periods (UT,
SMU, TCU)
 Do abbreviate states when preceded by the name of
a city
The HPMS turkey drive was on Nov. 11, 2012.
 Do abbreviate months when they are followed by a
date. Months with no abbreviated form are March,
April, May, June, July
In the second game, it was the Raiders vs. McKinney
Evans.
 Do abbreviate versus as vs. (with a period)
AP Style: Abbreviations
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It was another lazy Wed. afternoon in TX.
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Don’t abbreviate state names that stand alone
Don’t abbreviate days of the week
Eighth grade Highland Park Middle School
students returned at Noon from their field trip.
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Abbreviate and use all caps without periods of
accepted and well known abbreviations: PTA,
HPMS, MIS
Avoid referring to an organization by
abbreviations when it is not commonly known
AP Style: Names
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“I was so happy with how well the band performed,” said
seventh grader Jody Smith.
“I didn’t think we would all nail our parts,” said Smith.
 On first mention of a person in a story, use his/her first and
last name and appropriate identification (said English
teacher Carolyn Brown).
 After first mention, refer to students by their last names in all
stories. Refer to adults with an appropriate courtesy title
(Mr., Mrs., Dr.). If you don’t know if they’re a Ms. or Mrs.,
ask! (said Mrs. Brown).
Eighth grader Alex Emery or Alex Emery, eighth grader.
 Short titles should precede the name and be capitalized. If
long, place behind the name and do not capitalize. Principal
Laurie Hitzelberger. Mary Smith, director of student
involvement.
 When identification follows the name, it is set off by
commas and is not capitalized: Sue Smith, eighth grader;
Mr. Bohac, assistant principal.
AP Style: Numbers
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All 8th grade students were called to the auditorium at 12 p.m.
 With the exceptions noted below, numbers one through nine
are written out and numbers 10 and up are numerals.
 This is true even in a sequence: 10 boys, 11 girls and three
teachers.
 Spell out seventh, eighth, etc. when referring to grades
 Use Noon and Midnight rather than 12 a.m and 12 p.m.
It’s hard to believe that Mr. Capp is only 22 years old. He is a
looming figure standing at six foot two inches tall.
He showed up at 7:00 p.m. and paid his ten dollars.
 Use figures when referring to ages, weights, sizes,
dimensions, scores, prices, degrees, percents, time ratings
and hours of the day.
 For even amounts of money or times, eliminate the extra
zeros. $10, 7 p.m.
AP Style: Numbers
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The Raiders’ won 25 to 22.
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Applications are being accepted April 11th
through April 30th.
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Use a hyphen in scores. The Raiders edged the
Hawks, 25-22. Note: Raiders has NO
apostrophe!
When writing out a date span, use a hyphen
instead of the word to: April 11-30.
5 8th graders were caught skipping school on
Monday.
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When starting a sentence with a number, spell it
out.
AP Style: Punctuation
Apostrophe ‘
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Use an apostrophe to indicate possession in singular and plural nouns that do not
end in s. (boy’s shorts, Margie’s books, Francis’s telephone).
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Use an apostrophe to indicate omitted letters or numbers: ’12-13 school year.
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Do not use an apostrophe behind a year unless you are showing possession.
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The possessive form of personal pronouns such as its and yours do not need an
apostrophe.
Comma ,
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In a series, don’t use them before an “and”
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Use one in a sentence after a conjunction IF the part of the sentence following the
comma would be a complete sentence (it must have its own subject).
Exclamation point !
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Don’t use exclamation points. Use a period instead.
Period .
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Rather than building a complicated sentence, consider a period.
Semicolon ;
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Use the semicolon to separate phrases containing commas, statements of
contrast and statements too closely related.
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Do not use a semicolon when a period would work just as well.
AP Style: Other Rules
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Use the word “said” instead of commented, related,
stated etc. when attributing a quote.
Place the attribution at the end of quotes.
Always place the period or comma before last quotation
mark.
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“I had a headache,” said Mr. Cappotelli.
“I had a headache,” said Mr. Cappotelli, “it hurt really
bad.”
Make sure you qualify your attribution with a grade or
title.
 “I love school,” yearbook adviser Mr. Cappotelli said.
Proper titles are set in quotation marks, not underlined
 “To Kill a Mockingbird”
 Don’t underline websites
AP Style: The bottom line
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Stick to the rules and stay consistent!
For spelling questions, refer to Google or a
dictionary!
If you don’t know, ask. Don’t just assume or do
it your way or the way you were taught in LA.
Writing as a journalist is different