Capitalization guidelines for historical time periods are influenced by tradition and whether they are named after a proper noun. Capitalization is the writing of a word with its first letter in uppercase and the remaining letters in lowercase. 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. The associated press stylebook, first published in 1977. Ap style holds to the general rule of lowercasing compass directions and capitalizing regions. Ap style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language.
The associated press stylebook ap style recommends lowercasing any roadrelated term in combined names if the term is the same for both names. For instance, in the apa manual or style guide, the directions state on a references page, only the first word in a title or the first significant word and its preceding definite article or prepositio. Ap style usage tips central oregon community college cocc. All similar wordsalley, drive, road, terraceare always spelled out. The district in district of columbia can now be capitalized on second reference, ap said in a stylebook update in march. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per ap style. Top 10 ap style guide 2016edits university blog service. The office of communications uses the associated press stylebook as the preferred. Associated press ap citation and style guides libguides. Use an apostrophe in bachelors degree and masters degree, but theres no apostrophe when referring to an associate degree. Capitalize proper nounsand adjectives derived from proper. Women should receive the same treatment as men in all areas of coverage. Apa style has special formatting rules for the titles of the sources you use in your paper, such as the titles of books, articles, book chapters, reports, and webpages.
When writing for an internet audience, using a standardized title case can help you avoid criticism and confusion. He said, life is just one damned thing after another. This is the style guide that professional media use. Ap style title case has a few easy rules that will help. You can often, but not always, do this by looking to see if there is an article a, an, or the in front of the word in question. If youre unsure, check a dictionary or style guide. Jul, 2019 the important thing is to get into the habit of using it whenever you write a news story to make sure your article follows proper ap style. Here are three guidelines that will help you determine when to capitalize historical time periods. Spell out the names of the states in text when they appear alone. In most instances, our style is based on the associated press ap stylebook online. As with all things influenced by tradition, these guidelines can change according to where you liveor in this case. Generally, capitalize formal titles when they appear before a persons name, but.
When should you capitalize historical time periods. Jul 09, 2015 generally, use a persons age in profiles, obituaries, significant c. If you are unsure whether a word should be capitalized, you can consult a dictionary. A bachelors degree or bachelors can be used, but not capitalized. Hilite pinnacle newspaper photojournalism yearbook 20152016. Today, with over 3,700 employees in 121 countries, the ap is the worlds single largest news organization. I dont know if this will help, but for chapter style, ap says. To subscribe to the associated press stylebook online, or to find out about purchasing hard. You should always capitalize proper nouns and words formed from them. This can be particularly tricky with the titles of major works, so heres a few rules to brush up on. Dont bother including the formal name of a company in the first reference if it is commonly known ex. Apr 27, 2017 capitalize bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, master of science, etc.
The different formats that might be applied are capitalization see publication manual, section 4. Sep 23, 2016 the united nations style guide refers to capitalization of the major region of a continent as using caps, and cites central africa as an example. Below we have compiled a list of some common ap style rules that may be helpful when. Italicized words are still iffy for wire transmission ap stories, so book titles are enclosed in quote marks. The following are types of words that you should usually capitalize. Colon capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. Abbreviations abbreviate junior or senior after a name, but dont use a comma. Capitalize the first word of a document and the first word after a period. If you re new to news writing or switching from one to another, you ll want to keep this ap cheat sheet handy and. Capitalize chapter when used with a numeral in reference to a section of a book or legal code. Physical descriptions, sexist references, demeaning stereotypes and condescending phrases should not be used. Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook. With this new addition to the ap stylebook, the associated press is proud to bring clarity to the writing that. Eventually, you wont have to refer to the stylebook nearly as much.
When you are not sure, look at your sentence and decide if you are, in essence, just giving someone directions to a location or if you are talking about a specific place. Jun 18, 2012 capitalization of words in titles and headings. North, south, west, east capitalizing can be a beast. The more you use the book, the more youll start to memorize certain points of ap style.
Never capitalize job descriptions regardless of whether they are. All you need to know about titles in ap style gatehouse. Click here if youd like to freshen up on some more ap style rules. They are not capitalized when used after the name, except for endowed. Every day, more than a billion people read, hear or see ap news. Associated press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. Ap stylebook quiz answers compare your responses to the 20 questions in the quiz on the ap stylebook 2015 edition with those offered by associated press editors david minthorn, sally jacobsen. In a news story, can you start a sentence with an acronym. Capitalize when used as a formal title before a name. The ap style as its known in the trade is quite different from the new york times style or chicago manual of style. Titles that are occupational descriptions should not be capitalized and do not need commas.
The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage. How to write names of highways, streets, and other roadways. After each bullet, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each item. Associated press style is used for the listing of locations. 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. Rules from the ap stylebook i recently conducted a workshop for employees in the development office at my university, and since they use associated press ap style, i was asked to include a unit on avoiding common ap errors. Find a copy of the most recent ap style guide at the circulation desk. If you re unsure, check a dictionary or style guide.
Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a. Ap changes style on district of columbia references poynter. The following quick reference is taken from the associated press stylebook. Ap compiles us elections style guide associated press. The associated press stylebook and briefing on media law. But we can offer some direction on directions specifically, whether. So, in this post, well introduce the basic rule and go though a number of different examples of putting it to use. Cocc college relations follows the associated press stylebook guidelines. The associated press style is the goto style for journalism and news writing. Get immediate access to our most uptodate and comprehensive. Jun 29, 2017 for example, the chicago manual of style wants southerner to be lowercase, and the associated press wants southerner to be capitalized. Do not capitalize articles a, an and the or conjunctions or. The associated press was founded in 1848 as a cooperative effort among six new york newspapers that wished to pool resources for gathering international news.
I didnt notice it until ap reporter ben nuckols tweeted. Guidelines for capitalizing and punctuating quotations. Its a webbased tool so theres nothing to download or install. Otherwise, use a persons age only if the age is relevant to the comments e. The first word in a quotation that is a complete sentence is capitalized, but the first word in a partial quotation is not. Do not use s for plurals of numbers or multiple letter combinations bullets associated press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. Ap style terms for academic degrees gatehouse newsroom. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. After spending time and energy coming up with the perfect title for your article or blog post, do you really want to take even more time debating how to format it correctly. Ap stylebook has new food guidelines section poynter. Sometimes its difficult to remember which rules are ap and which rules are remnants from years of college courses. Spell them out and capitalize when part of a formal street name without a number.
Only if the section of an individual state is wellknown do you capitalize it. Let us know by commenting below, and dont forget to check out our blog on how to use courtesy title in ap style. To sum it up, if a directional term is the name of a region, capitalize it. 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. For example, the hurricane move north towards the gulf coast. Writing center quick reference associate press style guide. Do not use commas between other separate words that are part of one number. Bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, master of arts, master of social work, etc. What follows are summaries of some of the most common style rules. The general rule to follow is to use lowercase when referring to compass directions. There is a general rule on when to capitalize directions and regions, but it can get a little confusing when you actually put it into practice. For example, the chicago manual of style wants southerner to be lowercase, and the associated press wants southerner to be capitalized.
Basic rules of grammar ap ply in the newspaper world just as they do in english class. Some guidelines, however, may differ from those taught in the english department, but that is because the english teachers are wrong, and this book is right. If you do most of your writing online, you may prefer the webbased ap stylebook, which provides searchable, instant access, with constant updates. Do you still have questions about how to use formal titles in ap style.
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