Ap style holds that a few universally recognized abbreviations are required in some instances and some other abbreviations are acceptable depending on the context, but in general, as a writer, you should avoid having your writing appear as if its alphabet soup. Sp 17 ap style guide university of texas at austin. He is 6 feet 2 inches tall, but he doesnt play basketball. Only use the apostrophe to indicate feet and quote marks to indicate inches 56. 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. Although it doesnt directly say, the examples online show no.
For slide presentations of ap style basics, go here. Crucial to accurately using ap style on measurements is appropriate use of numbers, as most units of measurement are attached to a numeral. Fully revised and updated, this new edition contains more than 3,000 a to z entriesincluding more than 200 new onesdetailing the aps. The party affiliation entry lists various shortforms. The tool shed is 20 feet long, 10 feet wide and 8 feet high. Most style guides do recommend writing out units of measure e. Ap editor david minthorn fields questions of widest interest posed by subscribers to the online ap stylebook. 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. On first reference, use the appropriate title before the full name of a member of the military. Ap stylebook rules for height, feet, inches gatehouse newsroom. Ap style recommends spelling out state names in the body of stories effective may 1, 2014 and using abbreviations in datelines. If an abbreviation not listed in this book or in the dictionary achieves widespread acceptance, use capital letters. For words not in this book, use the firstlisted abbreviation in websters new world dictionary.
In subsequent references, do not continue ising the. Agricultural terms, definitions, equivalencies, and guide to use. In this post, we will summarize all of the ap stylebook state abbreviations rules. Omit periods unless the result would spell an unrelated word. Annually, the associated press releases an updated stylebook to standardize basic writing style. Occasionally you will see an s after the abbreviation for pounds, lbs. Use an apostrophe to indicate feet and quotation marks to indicate inches 65 only in very technical senses. Agricultural style guide for journalists college of. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free. Hyphenation with numbers and units of measure grammar. Abbreviations from the table of contents of the chicago manual of style online. Squarefeet is a defined principle of measurement which does not depend on. 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 stylebook rules for height, feet, inches gatehouse. The most common, such as nasa, fbi and cia, can be used on all references. See the lists that follow to determine whether the title should be spelled out or abbreviated in regular text. 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 numbers. If you want to know all about the ap style state abbreviations, you have been a wise soul to click on this article. According to the guinness book of world records, the largest horse in the. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The basic ap style rule on numbers is that numerals less than 10 are spelled out, while 10 and greater are represented numerically. Capitalize a military rank when used as a formal title before an individuals name. Ap stylebook online is a searchable, customizable resource for writers and editors. Abbreviate compass points when giving an address, but spell out if it is the name of a street, 123 n.
Ap style cheat sheet for content marketers usgbc studio. Note that if youre only going to use an unfamiliar acronym once, its best just to spell out the original term completely and forgo the abbreviated form. The associated press, the ap copy book, and ap writing handbook. The style of the associated press is the gold standard for news writing. There is indeed a science and art behind writing a press release. Its mobile optimized so you can use it on your desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet. What follows are summaries of some of the most common style rules. In a news story, can you start a sentence with an acronym.
Use an apostrophe to indicate feet and quote marks to indicate inches only in very technical contexts. This is the style guide that professional media use. In bre, square foot is often abbreviation to sf, so i might see this is a 1,000sf room. Since its initial publication in 1953, the stylebook has been the goto authority in the. When searching for height in the ap stylebook, it refers readers to the. Both the ap stylebook and the buzzfeed style guide already recommend spelling email without the.
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. The section on measures is ambiguous on the question of square feet. Find out what is the most common shorthand of square footage on. When introducing width and length to the equation, then commas are needed. How to edit a book 7 tips for new authors duration. The measure was passed to replace money lost in the collapse of the economy, rather than to stimulate demand. The book was written in the 21st century, not the second century. There are quite a few rules in the ap stylebook for state names and ap style state abbreviations.
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. Its updated throughout the year and valuable onlineonly resources, including ask the editor, topical guides and pronunciation guide, expand on the print books guidance. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage. Dimensions a 5by5 square are always represented numerically, as are dollars and cents, millions and billions 7 billion, time and speed measurements and percentages. Ap style state abbreviations differ from their corresponding united states postal service abbreviations, provided in parentheses. The associated press stylebook and briefing on media law is the writing. Examples include the ap stylebook aka ap style, the chicago manual of style aka cmos or. The associated press, a guide for foreign correspondents. Such usage is standard in mathematical, statistical, technical, or scientific text, where physical quantities and units of time are expressed in numerals, whether whole numbers or fractions, and almost always. In ap style, the antecedent and its pronoun must agree in gender and number. The former is used in news articles, newspapers, magazines, and other reporting areas. As the ap style book writes, names not commonly before the public should not be reduced to acronyms solely to save a.
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. Find out what is the most common shorthand of square foot on. Here is a sampling of frequently asked questions, with examples of ap style used in answers. In physics, you would not write 450lbft to describe torque, you would write 450 lbft, since this is how torque is measured in poundfeet. There are many others, all preferred in one field or another, but the most common are ap associated press and cms chicago manual of style. Id favor the former, because a traditional measure should have a traditional abbreviation. Do not refer to the coronavirus aid, relief and economic security ac.
Associated press style cheat sheet compiled with assistance from online resources, including scribd, purdue university and towson university abbreviations and acronyms as a general rule, use only commonly recognized abbreviations. 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. Associated press style guidelines summarized by prof. The ap stylebook uses websters new world college dictionary, fifth. Imperial system because ap style is primarily an american style standard, use of the imperial system of measurement is favored, although ap style does make allowances for the growing popularity of the metric system. The equivalent resource for the older apa 6 style can be found here. The building has a 6,000 square feet of floor space. 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 use of a hyphen is a stylistic choice but due to the nature of sq. Use figures and spell out words like inches, feet, yards, etc. The associated press style guide has a section on dimensions. All you need to know about titles in ap style gatehouse. The office of communications uses the below writing style guide along with the associated press ap stylebook and websters dictionary as the standard for writing web content, employee communications, news releases, broadcast information, articles and other materials.
In other words, do not use abbreviations or acronyms that your readers will. The clock is ticking how to write about time in ap style. Abbreviate the month if youre including a specific date. With the ap stylebook in hand, you can learn how to write and edit with the clarity and professionalism for which they are famous. According to cmos, if an abbreviation or a symbol is used for the unit of measure, the quantity is always expressed by a numeral.
On first reference, dont put an abbreviation or acronym in parentheses after an organization or government agencys name. Ap style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language. This faq webpage from the ap is a great source of information on current issues of grammar, style, punctuation, abbreviations, and other style questions. Welcome to ask the editor, a forum on writing, style and phrasing issues that go beyond the pages of the ap stylebook. Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook. The webs largest and most authoritative acronyms and abbreviations resource. The first publicly available edition of ap stylebook was published in 1953. 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. 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 stylebook legislative titles entry says use rep. 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 avoided through abbreviation. On subsequent references, congressman or congresswoman lowercase may be used for members of the u. Always use figures before the measurement 8 inches, 10 feet, 2 ounces.
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