AP style

1. AP style A handy distillation

2. Numbers • Spell out whole numbers below 10, use figures for 10 and above. Typical examples: They had three sons and two daughters. They had a fleet of 10 station wagons and two buses." Now, having mastered the rule of thumb, read the exceptions to the rule.

3. More numbers • Spell out numerals that start a sentence; if the result is awkward, recast the sentence: Twenty-seven detainees were released yesterday. Yesterday, 993 freshmen entered the college. • The one exception to this rule is in a sentence that begins with a calendar year: 1961 was a great year to have a baby. • Use Roman numerals for wars, monarchs and Popes: World War II, King George VI, Pope John XXIII

4. Even more numbers • For large numbers: use a hyphen to connect a word ending in y to another word: twenty-one, one hundred forty-three, seventy-six thousand five hundred eighty-seven • Do not use commas between other separate words that are part of one number: one thousand one hundred fifty-five • Spell out casual expressions: A thousand times no! • Proper names: use words or numerals according to an organization’s practice: 3M, Twentieth Century Fund, Big Ten

5. Still even more numbers • Try to avoid long numbers with lots of zeroes, as in 7,000,000,000. Instead, say 7 billion. Also remember how to tell the difference between 1 million and 1 billion when you're looking at such a number. 1 million has seven digits, just as the word "million" has seven letters. 1 billion has 10 digits, which I remember by comparing it to a 10-dollar "bill."

6. And yet more numbers! • Ages are always numerals (Santi was 2 years old when he started talking; Santi was 2 when he started talking). • Hyphenate ages when used as adjectives: The 2-year-old girlbit my hand.

7. Percentages • Use figures for percent and percentages: 1 percent, 2.5 percent (use decimals, not fractions), 10 percent. • For a range: 12 to 15 percent, or between 12 and 15 percent. • For amounts less than 1 percent, precede the decimal with a zero: The cost of living rose 0.6 percent.

8. Academic degrees • Put an apostrophe in bachelor's degree and master's degree. This is to show possession. The degree belongs to the bachelor or master (that's you). Even when shortened to bachelor's and master's (no "degree" afterward), you keep the apostrophe.

9. More academic degrees • There is no apostrophe in Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science.

10. More academic degrees • The preferred form is to avoid the abbreviation (Ph.D. or M.A., etc.) and use instead a phrase such as “Elizabeth Marsh, who has a doctorate in mathematics." Or “Elizabeth Marsh, who holds a master’s in physics."

11. Apostrophes • The main AP exception to Strunk and White's Elements of Style involves forming the possessive of a singular proper noun that ends in "s." AP says merely add an apostrophe. Examples: Otis' cookies, Amos' ice cream, Charles' chips. • Do not use 's for plurals of numbers, or multiple letter combinations: the 1980s, RBIs

12. Serial comma • There is none in AP style • John, Jane and Sally went to the fair.

13. Capitalization • If an element of a compound word is capitalized in the singular it is not capitalized in the plural. • Hurricane Rita disrupted life in South Florida. • Widespread power outages disrupted life in South Florida following hurricanes Rita and Wilma. • This is the same for "counties," which is also NOT capitalized in the plural. "Many people live in Miami-Dade and Brevard counties."When in doubt, consult your AP style guide. (Not during the grammar test, of course.)

14. Capitalization • The Bible – as the black book in the hotel room drawer • The bible – an authoritative source • Elements of Style is my bible.

15. Capitalization • Don’t capitalize majors. Languages are the exception. • I majored in sociology. Lauren majored in French literature. I studied English in Harvard.

16. Seasons • Lowercase “spring,”“summer,”“fall” and “winter” and derivatives such as “wintertime” unless part of a formal name: • I love Paris in the springtime; the Winter Olympics. Correction! I love Paris in the springtime; the Winter Olympics has never been presented there.

17. Years • To indicate a decade, add an "s." to the first year in the decade. Example: In the 1970s, I did a lot of things I don't remember. • If you abbreviate this, do it this way: In the ‘70s, I did a lot of . . . Remember that years are never spelled out. Even at the beginning of a sentence, use a figure: 1979 was a good year, I'm told.

18. Dates • Always use Arabic figures, without st, nd, rd or th. • Capitalize months. • Do not abbreviate March, April, May, June ,July • (5 letters just like states) • Abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. • When a phrase lists only a month and year, do not separate the month and the year with commas. (e.g. February 1980 was his best month.) • When a phrase refers to a month, day and year, set off the year with commas. (e.g. Aug. 20, 1964, was the day they had all been waiting for.)

19. Time • Use figures except for noon and midnight • Use a colon to separate hours from minutes (e.g. 2:30 a.m.) • 4 o’clock is acceptable, but time listings with a.m. or p.m. are preferred

20. Addresses • Abbreviate the words street, avenue and boulevard (think S-A-B), but only if they appear after a numbered address. • Use ordinal indicators (-nd, -st, -rd) and numerals for addresses greater than 10 (South 16th Street, 6539 NW 28th Terrace). • Abbreviate compass directions, but only if they appear with a numbered address. So, you'd write 50 S. Court St., but if you leave off the house number, you'd write South Court Street. • Never abbreviate drive, highway, place, or any of the other words that might follow an actual street name such as Court, Union, Ventura, Lombard, Pennsylvania or whatever. • Let's use this system for Miami addresses: 1160 E. 100 Flagler St.

21. States’ names • Spell out all names of states in sentences unless they are preceded by a city, county or military base name in a dateline. You abbreviate all state names EXCEPT the two states outside the Lower 48 and all continental states that have five or fewer letters in their names. (Just like months.) • Examples: I lived in Oklahoma. I lived in Tulsa, Okla. I lived in Iowa. I lived in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

22. State’s abbreviations Ala. Ga. Mich. N.J. R.I. Wis. Ariz. Ill. Minn. N.M. S.C. Wyo. Ark. Ind. Miss. N.Y. S.D. Calif. Kan. Mo. N.C. Tenn. Colo. Ky. Mont. N. D. Vt. Conn. La. Neb. Okla. Va. Del. Md. Nev. Ore. Wash. Fla. Mass. N.H. Pa. W.Va.

23. United States • as a noun, United States: The prime minister left for the United States yesterday. • as an adjective, U.S. (no spaces): A U.S. soldier was killed in Baghdad yesterday. • as part of organization names (see the AP Stylebook under “U.S.”)

24. Titles • Use quotation marks (““) for poems, songs, short stories, plays, novels and collections. AP style doesn’t acknowledge italics. • Use nothing for newspapers (The Miami Herald) and magazines (Newsweek).

25. More titles • Capitalize titles ONLY when they PRECEDE a proper name (Speak to Vice President of Student Affairs Larry Lunsford). • When the title comes after a proper name, write it in lower case (I spoke to Larry Lunsford, vice president of student affairs). • Capitalize departments when they’re used as proper names (Go to Human Resources) but not when the name is generic (I used to work for a human resources department).

26. More Titles • I dined with Cousin Tina last night. • Turner said he saw your cousin Tina last night.