In this quick guide to state abbreviations, i will cover the differences between ap style and chicago style andjust to prolong your state of confusionwhen to use the common twoletter abbreviations created by the united states postal service if youre writing a research paper or dashing off a blog post, you can probably ignore all the exceptions and special cases and just lean on. I made a failing grade on a united states map when i was a sixthgrader 1964 because i used an informational document from the post office to label the states. Below are some guidelines on how to work with formal titles in ap style. One of the first things a student in a beginning journalism course learns about is associated press style or ap style for short. May 01, 2014 making compound words possessive, such as the attorney generals report. But capitalize the first letter if it begins a sentence. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as. Effective may 1, the ap will spell out state names in the body of. To subscribe to the associated press stylebook online, or to find out about purchasing hard copies of the book. Ap style state abbreviations differ from their corresponding united states postal service abbreviations, provided in parentheses.
I remember when i filed one of my first bylines for a newspaper only to get my inbox slammed with emails from my editor in chief. For slide presentations of ap style basics, go here. However, the titles of works, such as television shows, are written in specific ways in ap style text. The chicago manual of style and the associated press stylebook agree on one thing. I recently wrote a blog post about the future of journalism and how astonished i was to learn that my undergraduate journalism students were never made to even purchase their own copy of the ap stylebook, let alone use it. It wasnt about my prose, reporting, or lede, but that i neglected to abbreviate september. We are discussing a possible change to our guidance on the possessive form of singular proper names ending in s. Updated regularly since its initial publication in 1953, the ap stylebook provides fundamental guidelines for spelling, language, punctuation, usage and journalistic style. Ap stylebook type search query into the search bar below. Books and magazines often italicize newspaper names as well as book titles and magazine names as part of their inhouse style.
This can be particularly tricky with the titles of major works, so heres a few rules to brush up on. In this post, we will summarize all of the ap stylebook state abbreviations rules. The associated press stylebook and briefing on media law official. The pr professionals ap style cheat sheet communique pr. The first publicly available edition of ap stylebook was published in 1953 under the title the associated press style book. Apa style has two capitalization methods that are used in different contexts throughout a paper. Oct 30, 2015 remember back in college when you had to keep track of all the different ap rules for your student newspaper on top of the chicago manual of style for your academic classes. Chapter sixteen brights, followups, roundups, sidebars and obituaries. The associated press stylebook and briefing on media law official style guide of the associated press, a notforprofit news agency thats been around since 1846. In general, newspaper style guides in the united states in particular, the associated press stylebook ap and the new york times manual of style and usage recommend u. This being said, however, the ap stylebook does go on to list some more specific guidelines that are to be followed when using various titles in your text. Ap style datelines datelines on stories should contain a city name, entirely in capital letters, followed in most cases by the name.
Its updated throughout the year and valuable onlineonly resources, including ask the editor, topical guides and pronunciation guide, expand on the print books guidance. Using correct ap style for book, movie, and song titles. There is indeed a science and art behind writing a press release. Many newspapers, magazines and public relations offices across the united states use ap style. Use the aps state abbreviations with place names only in lists and tabular material, or shortform listings of party affiliation.
The guidelines help writers present clear and concise information with consistent structure to keep readers focused. Generally, follow the spelling and capitalization preferred by the company. How do you make names that end in s possessive and would you welcome a change to ap style. Associated press website faq this faq webpage from the ap is a great source of information on current issues of grammar, style, punctuation, abbreviations, and other style questions. How to cite titles of a song in ap style our pastimes. Ap style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language. Associated press style basics journalists resource. Alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas and utah. Ap style is simply a standardized way of writing everything from dates to street addresses to job titles.
Ap stylebook online is a searchable, customizable resource for writers and editors. Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook. In this post, we will summarize all of the ap stylebook state. Associated press style provides guidelines for news writing. What follows are summaries of some of the most common style rules. Home ap style ap style composition titles the following guidelines are rules set out in the ap stylebook for ap style book titles, computer game titles, ap style movie titles, opera titles, play titles, poem titles, album titles, ap style song titles, radio and television titles, and the titles of lectures, speeches, and work of art. Hiroshima on aug, 6, 1945, this japanese city and military base were the targets of the first atomic bomb dropped as a weapon. If you are going to write for a newspaper even some magazines you need to have your ap style guide handy. The associated press style is the goto style for journalism and news writing. Its mobile optimized so you can use it on your desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free. The 2015 ap stylebook makes the distinction between state names in running text body of the story and state names in datelines. This faq webpage from the ap is a great source of information on current issues of grammar, style, punctuation, abbreviations, and other style questions.
Your favorite author, director, or musician isnt likely to write you an angry letter over incorrect style usage when it comes to their art. Those states are alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas, and utah. Ap style does not require the name of a state to accompany the names of the. Do not call anyone an allamerica selection unless he is. Ap style dictates specific comma placement in a series and with dialogue, dates, numbers.
Ap style isnt keen on using state abbreviations in titles, so spell them. The ap uses a definitive style in punctuation and grammar for these stories, and produces a stylebook that has been adopted by most members of the organization. Sp 17 ap style guide university of texas at austin. As ap has added entries over the years, the stylebook has grown more useful and comprehensive, but also more daunting. The associated press stylebook ap style doesnt recommend italicizing any words, including the names of boats or ships. Associated press style quick reference guide to subscribe to the associated press stylebook online, or to find out about purchasing hard copies of the book, start here. A primer on ap style t he ap stylebook is the second most important book you will use as a journalist, after a dictionary. If you have a question what book that is laying around the news lab should you use to find answers to ap style. If a state s name is standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town in your text, spell out the entire state s name. The names of eight states are never abbreviated in datelines or text. Before we begin to enlist the abbreviations, it is mandatory for one to learn and garner information about what ap is, with a brief, supplementary note on the history of the same.
Ap stylebook rules for datelines, cities that stand alone. It destroyed more than four square miles and killed or injured 140,000 people, according to an official count taken between august and december 1945. The 2019 edition of the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law includes more than 200 new or revised entries, with chapters covering data journalism, business, fashion, food, religion and sports terms, as well as media law, news values, punctuation, social media, polls and surveys and a new chapter on health and science. Ap style is designed to address the challenges of the organizations large size and readership. That includes newspaper names and magazine references. Associated press is a writing style used for news and editorial writing. Do not call anyone an allamerica selection unless he is listed on either the camp or ap roster. Since ap is not an academic writing format, it does not require intext or reference page citations. Spell out the names of the states whether standing alone or with a place name. Brand names, such as ipad, sometimes use camel case an internal capital letter, but in standard english such style is unacceptable for anything other than names. The associated press recognizes only one allamerica football and basketball team each year. Mar, 2015 ebooks currently make up two percent of my book sales. Sep 19, 2012 professional journalists and business communicators in the united states commonly write in associated press ap style. Navy style guide, which follows most ap style recommendations, doesnt recommend italicizing the names of ships or boats, either.
Abbreviations for states use postal service style, rather than ap style. Send contributions to relief fund, box 185, pasadena, ca 91030. All you need to know about titles in ap style gatehouse. The first part of the state names entry says they should be spelled out when used in the body of a story, whether standing alone or in conjunction with a city, town, village or military base. Remember back in college when you had to keep track of all the different ap rules for your student newspaper on top of the chicago manual of style for your academic classes. In ap style, the names of newspapers and magazines are not italicized or set off in quotation marks. Associated press ap citation and style guides libguides. If you want to know all about the ap style state abbreviations, you have been a wise soul to click on this article. Spell out the names of the 50 states when they stand alone in.
The ap stylebook is widely used as a writing and editing reference in newsrooms, classrooms and corporate offices worldwide. Ap style was developed and is maintained by the associated press, the worlds oldest news service. The explosion had the forse of 20,000 tons 20 kilotons of tnt. Ap style recommends spelling out state names in the body of stories effective may 1, 2014 and using abbreviations in datelines. Spell out the names of all states when used alone and in body text. Twelve common mistakes of ap style apr 19, 2011 admin. How to use commas in associated press style pen and the pad. Apas title case refers to a capitalization style in which most words are capitalized, and sentence case refers to a capitalization style in which most words are lowercased. The following guidance went out on the ap wire wednesday. In those cases, just let them know that youre adhering to the associated press stylebook. Ap stylebook, also known by its full name the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law, is an english grammar style and usage guide created by american journalists working for or connected with the associated press to standardize mass communication. For street names that are numbers, spell out and capitalize first through ninth. There are quite a few rules in the ap stylebook for state names and ap style state abbreviations.
The ap stylebook, the buzzfeed style guide, the economist style guide, and the chicago manual of style all recommend hyphenating ebook, as well as most other e words such as ereader and ecommerce its conceivable that over time, ebook may lose its hyphen. The media organization associated press is a major provider of news stories to various media outlets. The ap style as its known in the trade is quite different from the new york times style or chicago manual of style. The american psychological association apa publication manual, which is used for writing academic papers, agrees about using the periods. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage. Film, book, and song titles are capitalized and places in quotations. In football, only walter camps selections through 1924, and the ap selections after that, are recognized. If a states name is standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town in your text, spell out the entire states name. Professional journalists and business communicators in the united states commonly write in associated press ap style. Distributed by satellite and the internet to more than 120 nations, ap services daily reach more than one billion people. Stylebook key this updated and revised version of the associated press stylebook has been organized like a dictionary.
Ap style state abbreviations for press release dateline follow these associated press guidelines for the u. In 1977, according to the ap style guide i still occasionally refer to, using the acronym tv as a noun when writing about television was not advised. Italicized words are still iffy for wire transmission ap stories, so book titles are enclosed in quote marks. The associated press, a guide for foreign correspondents. Follow these associated press guidelines for the u.
The ap stylebooks rule regarding book titles, computer game titles, movie titles, opera titles, play titles, poem titles, album and song titles, radio and television program titles, and the titles of lectures, speeches, and works of art states, put quotation marks around the names of all such works except the bible and books that are. Because nothing can ever truly be simple, abbreviated state names will. Both the ap stylebook and the buzzfeed style guide already recommend spelling email without the hyphen. Aug 05, 2015 heres a refresher course what the ap stylebook says for datelines and cities that stand alone in datelines the domestic list of cities that stand alone is on page 79 of the 2010 ap stylebook, and it is a good idea to mark this page with a sticky note of some sort so it is easy to find and you never list the state, country or territory unnecessarily. Sometimes its difficult to remember which rules are ap and which rules are remnants from years of college courses. The choice between e book and ebook could be considered a style choice, but ebook is simply wrong. How to write book names, movie names, and song titles in ap style. The associated press, the ap copy book, and ap writing handbook. Formal titles in ap style should be capitalized when they immediately precede one or more names. Improve your writing with this cheat sheet for the associated press ap style. But mastering the 500page book, which is updated every year, can be. Aug 15, 2019 if youd like a more visually appealing way to reference ap style state name abbreviations, save this map weve created with all the names you need. Although some publications such as the new york times have developed their own style guidelines, a basic knowledge of ap style is considered essential to those who want to work in print.
For reference books, newspapers, and magazine names, they should not be placed in quotations. Mcdonalds profits not mcdonalds profits so, to answer the question posed in the beginning carlos stylebook or carloss stylebook. Capitalize chapter when used with a numeral in reference to a section of a book or legal code. May 25, 2009 consult the company or standard and poors register of corporations if in doubt about a formal name. Apr 23, 2014 ap is not done rocking the journalism world with style changes.
My ap stylebook always lists examples in italics, so its difficult to see if italics. The ap style as its known in the trade is quite different. Abbreviate state names of seven or more letters when used with a city name, with. State abbreviations will continue to be used in lists, agate, tabular.
Before we begin to enlist the abbreviations, it is mandatory for one to learn and garner information about what ap is, with. The associated press was founded more than 150 years ago and now has thousands of employees working in more than a hundred countries for a readership that numbers in the millions. Ap style datelines home ap style ap style datelines datelines on stories should contain a city name, entirely in capital letters, followed in most cases by the name of the state, county, or territory where the city is located. I hate the post offices twoletter state abbreviations. Any state name may be condensed, however, to fit typographical requirements for tabular material. Do not capitalize federal, state, department, division, board. State abbreviations ap doesnt follow standard zip code abbreviations. A good way to remember these eight is to always spell out the names of the two states. Get your the smart writers simple ap style cheat sheet guide now. Mar 14, 2015 ap style for states abbreviations march 14, 2015 a.
For sums in the million and billion range, consider using decimals you may not do this for some annual and quarterly report uses. Its often used by news organizations, magazines, and web publications, but brands often use it to form the basis of their own style guides, too. The book was written in the 21st century, not the second century. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free download. Use quotation marks around the titles of books, songs, television shows. The form depends on which style guide you adhere to and why the state is being referenced. When abbreviating the state names, dont make the mistake of using the postal code abbreviations. May 07, 2009 the associated press was founded more than 150 years ago and now has thousands of employees working in more than a hundred countries for a readership that numbers in the millions. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Version 174 march 22, 2017 page 1 navy editors and writers should follow the most recent edition of the associated press stylebook except. Although some publications such as the new york times have developed their own style guidelines, a basic knowledge of ap style is considered essential to those who want to work in print journalism. Home ap style ap style titles the ap stylebook holds that capitalization, in general, should be confined to formal titles that are used directly before an individuals name.