Although it is sold as a guide for reporters, it has become the leading reference. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate jan. Chicago manual of style 16 books and ap stylebook 2015 media agree unless noted. Ap stylebook online is a searchable, customizable resource for writers and editors. Abbreviating months and days editing and writing services. This page reflects the latest version of the apa publication manual i. Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook. Wonder how to abbreviate days of the week and months.
Many people get confused with the different citation styles. Youll need to be familiar with associated press ap style. When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with commas. Both months and days of the week should start with capital letters and end with a period. Nasa is planning to launch 5 unmanned probes to jupiter, which is 482,564,600 miles from the sun. Select the sentence free of errors in ap style for addresses, abbreviations, capitalization and numerals in broadcast copy. Use the twoletter postal service abbreviations only with full addresses, including zip code. Ap style state abbreviations for press release dateline follow these associated press guidelines for the u. A recent ap stylebook says, when a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only jan. Difference between ap stylebook and chicago manual of style. When a phrase uses only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas. For even more rule clarifications, check out past editions of our ap stylebook. When a phrase lists only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas.
If you want to follow the writing style used by magazines, newspapers, editors and journalists, then you need to study up on associated press style, or ap style. These are a few of the announcements that stood out. You can find abbreviations discussed in the publication manual in section 4. 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. Our company uses ap style and i receive info from an educator on a weekly basis. Plase one comma between the city and the state name, and another comma after the state name, unless ending a sentence or indicating a dateline. Ap style states that the time zone abbreviations est, cdt, pst, etc. Spell out the names of the 50 states when they stand alone in. When documenting sources using mla style, the months with four or fewer letters, e.
When searching for height in the ap stylebook, it refers readers to the dimensions entry. Commas are not necessary if only a year and month are given, but commas should be. Its mobile optimized so you can use it on your desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet. The equivalent resource for the older apa 6 style can be found here. Lets take three excellent style guides and see what they offer. Also, all months should be spelled out when they stand alone or are alone with a year. When documenting sources using apa style, no abbreviations are used, all months should be spelled out in full. Generally, omit periods in acronyms unless the result would spell an unrelated word. Ap uses dashes, not bullets, for lists in news stories that follow a colon. Its updated throughout the year and valuable onlineonly resources, including ask the editor, topical guides and pronunciation guide, expand on the print book s guidance.
Ap style cheat sheet for wjeas writeoff contests and beyond student journalists should have at least these two sources available to answer basic style questions. Use a hyphen for the adjectival forms before nouns. If a states name is standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town in your text, spell out the entire states name. The concert will be february 10, 2016, at carson music hall. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free download. All other months should always be completely spelled out. The state abbreviations did not compute with their knowledge and they would not use them and instead used the zip code abbreviation. These resources provide an overview of journalistic writing with explanations of the most important and most often used elements of journalism and the associated press style. You can find the list of preferred abbreviations under months in the ap stylebook. In football, only walter camps selections through 1924, and the ap selections after that, are recognized. This article explains some of the differences between ap or associated press style and the chicago manual of style. With the ap stylebook in hand, you can learn how to write and edit with the clarity and professionalism for. Find out what is the most common shorthand of month on abbreviations.
The gregg reference manual, tenth edition 502 says, days of the week, names of the months should be abbreviated only on business forms, in expedient documents, and in tables, lists, and narrow columns of text. Associated press style provides guidelines for news writing. Ap style for states abbreviations march 14, 2015 a. Ap stylebook rules for height, feet, inches gatehouse. Oxford university press usa publishes scholarly works in all academic disciplines, bibles, music, childrens books, business books, dictionaries, reference books, journals, text books and more. Month abbreviations ap style when a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only jan. Welcome to ask the editor, a forum on writing, style and phrasing issues that go. This section can be used as a primer and a quick reference, not a replacement to the gpo or ap style books. The sba is committed to simplifying our message by using a standard style without jargon and unidentifiable acronyms. Capitalize chapter when used with a numeral in reference to a section of a book or legal code. If youre referencing time zones in the united states, no periods are required and the zones can go in all caps. Ap style is designed to address the challenges of the organizations large size and readership. The style of the associated press is the gold standard for news writing. Use quotation marks around the titles of books, songs, television shows, computer games.
May, june, and july are not abbreviated, the remaining months jan. Most examples here are taken and condensed from these style books. Get your the smart writers simple ap style cheat sheet guide now. When your writing is crisp, clear, and easy to understand, audiences are. Ap style recommends spelling out state names in the body of stories effective may 1, 2014 and using abbreviations in datelines. Associated press style basics journalists resource. Follow these associated press guidelines for the u.
These are the rules for common abbreviations following ap style. Ap style also calls specifically for lowercase abbreviations for a. After each dash, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each section. This resource, revised according to the associated press stylebook 2012, offers examples for the general format of ap style. We took at look at the ap stylebooks section on possessions possessives and exorcised some demons coming up with these guidelines. Improve your writing with this cheat sheet for the associated press ap style. Is there a standard ap style for bulleted areas of text. Always use figures before the measurement 8 inches, 10 feet, 2 ounces, 200 pounds, etc. Always spell out measurements inches, feet, yards gallons, ounces, pounds etc. Chicago and ap agree, do not use st, nd, rd, or th on date, even though you pronounce it. In other kinds of writing, where a more formal style is appropriate, use abbreviations sparingly. 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. Ap itself along with gi and eu are exceptions to this rule.
For words not in this book use the firstlisted abbreviation in websters new world college dictionary. Italicized words are still iffy for wire transmission ap stories, so book titles are enclosed in quote marks. Ap style does use periods in most twoletter abbreviations. If possession is ninetenths of the law, just imagine how important correctly signifying it in your writing is. 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. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free. Do not use quotations around the names of magazine, newspapers, the bible or books that are catalogues of reference materials. There are quite a few rules in the ap stylebook for state names and ap style state abbreviations. According to the ap style book, dates should be formatted as such. In ap style you should capitalize the names of months in all of their uses.
For slide presentations of ap style basics, go here. In apa, abbreviations should be limited to instances when a the abbreviation is standard and will not interfere with the readers understanding and b if space and repetition can be greatly. Less wellknown, but still common onessuch as osha and natocan be used after you spell out the full name on the first mention. This is the style guide that professional media use.
In this post, we will summarize all of the ap stylebook state abbreviations rules. Combined with the aces 2019 conference in march, there have been several important ap style rule changes and reminders in recent weeks. I dont know if this will help, but for chapter style, ap says. Do not use periods in abbreviations that are in headlines, unless they are needed for clarity. Use only the most commonly recognized abbreviations. The webs largest and most authoritative acronyms and abbreviations resource. In the past we discussed how to correctly use ap style title case, and now were here to tackle the often confused topic of ap style. When a month is used with a specific date, you may abbreviate jan. The most common, such as nasa, fbi, and ciacan be used on all references.
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. Before we begin to enlist the abbreviations, it is mandatory for one to learn and garner information about what ap is, with. 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. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only jan. 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. Formatting dates, days, months, times, and years in ap style dates and times have a number of formatting considerations. Select the sentence free of errors in ap style for addresses and abbreviations in broadcast copy. Abbreviations of months of the year, days of the week, and.
1610 24 699 332 1390 516 1565 914 1454 1633 1129 14 2 1375 200 961 1245 265 1178 1636 329 906 1188 510 1506 148 1019 27 159 519 1012 1155 866 1277 334 250 101 1433 1264 999 461 1333 672 874