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 – 15th 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 2008.
b)
I went to Mich. in Oct. 2008.
c)
I went to Mi. in October 2008.
d)
I went to Mi. in Oct. 2008.
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.