The Cheater’s Guide

1. The Cheater’s Guide To AP Style

2. What is AP Style? • Associate Press Stylebook is most commonly used manual for writers and communicators across the world. • Contains definitions and references on the correct usage of words, as well as punctuation, abbreviations, and capitalization. • Very different from commonly-known MLA Style.

3. Purpose- why do we need AP style? • The content of newspapers and other mass media is typically the result of many different writers and editors working together. AP style provides consistent guidelines for such publications in terms of grammar, spelling, punctuation and language usage. Some guiding principles behind AP style are: • Consistency • Clarity • Accuracy • Brevity • AP style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language.

4. Why have a stylebook? • It comes down to consistency. • There often are two or more generally accepted ways to refer to words • al-Qaida vs. al Qaida, al-Qaeda, etc. • When a Great Recession happens, folks look to AP. • AP, and those who buy the AP Stylebook, value having someone make those calls.

5. How many opportunities for inconsistent presentation in this sentence? President Obama, speaking yesterday at a ball game in the Mideast, told thirty-seven 7th graders that United States policies enforced by his cabinet are okay if handled by Web masters, emails, and the internet.

6. See next PPT for activity

7. So, how do I use AP Style? • The Associated Press Stylebook provides an A-Z guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage. • Look up words, phrases, titles, punctuation, etc. in alphabetical order. • Punctuation guide located in rear of book. • Use to reference states, titles, sports and slang.

9. Where do I find this stuff? • AP has a searchable stylebook on the Internet • http://www.apstylebook.com/ • Students and professionals can subscribe.

10. Capitals • Proper nouns Ex: John Gross, Harrison High School, Kennesaw

11. Capitals • Proper nouns • “Real” titles directly before names Ex. Principal William Griggers

12. Capitals • Proper nouns • “Real” titles directly before namesd • Legislative bodies: Council, Assembly Ex: Cobb County School District Board, Kennesaw City Council

13. Capitals • Names of holidays, but not seasons • Labor Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas • fall, spring, winter, summer, spring break

14. Capitals • Capitalize the names of books, movies, songs, TV shows, etc. when the full name is used • “Cather in the Rye” • “Born This Way” • “The Simpsons”

15. Capitals • Well-Known regions ARE capitalized • Southern California • The Eastern Seaboard • The Deep South • General compass directions are NOT • southeastern Oregon • western Canada

16. More Capital Don’ts • Plurals: the departments of Labor and Justice; the Tennessee and Ohio rivers • Compass directions • Shorthand names on second reference, or generic references Ex: teacher, volunteer, student

17. Numbers • Figures or words? -Spell out numbers 1-9 (one through nine) and use figures for 10 and higher -Use commas in numbers with four or more digits, except for addresses and years

18. Numbers • Figures or words? -Billion and million can be used with round numbers Ex: 3 billion, 59 million -Numbers more than a million can be rounded off Ex: 2.75 million instead of 2,754,123

19. Numbers: exceptions • Ages are always figures • Dimensions (inches, feet, yards) • Percentages -Percentages are always followed by the word “percent” and not the symbol (%)

20. Abbreviations • To abbreviate or not to abbreviate, that is the question.

21. Abbreviations • To abbreviate or not to abbreviate, that is the question. • Some things are always abbreviated: FBI, CNN.

22. Abbreviations • To abbreviate or not to abbreviate, that is the question… • Spell out names of organizations, firms, agencies, universities and colleges, groups, clubs or governmental bodies the first time the name is used. • Abbreviate these names on second reference like • Associated Student Body (ASB) • National Organization for Women (NOW) • Commonly known acronyms are always abbreviated • FBI, CNN, AP • Some are abbreviated in specific usages • doctor vs. Dr. Jones; Wis. vs. Wisconsin.

23. Abbreviations • Do not use an abbreviation on acronym in parentheses after the first reference of a full name. • WRONG: The Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO) meets tonight. • RIGHT The Parent Teacher Student Organization meet tonight. • Don’t use unfamiliar acronyms without context. • WRONG:The PTSO was formed in 2010.

24. Abbreviations • In street addresses abbreviate these: • Street=St. 1234 Goober St. • Avenue=Ave. 3506 Loblolly Ave. • Boulevard=Blvd. 80 Crabtree Blvd. • But the words road, alley, circle, drive, lane, etc. are never abbreviated. • 205 Patriot Lane • 856 Cheddar Circle • 1256 Glen Ridge Road

25. Abbreviations and Titles • “Coach” is considered a job description, not a formal title • Football coach Mike Sovacool also teaches history. • Professor is not a proper noun and NEVER abbreviated before a name • Mrs. Sellors favorite instructor in college was professor Jennifer Dail. • Assistant Principal is a specific title, so it IS caps • The student punched Assistant Principal Penny Parker in the face.

26. Titles and Names • Use full identification in first reference but in second reference use last name only • Ali Gonzalez (first reference) • Gonzalez (second reference) • Karina Carnley (first reference) • Carnley (second reference) • UNLESS there are two people with the same last name in your story (siblings or family members, usually). Then you use their first initial and last name • H. Smith and M. Smith • While proper titles are capitalized when placed before a persons name (except for the word president), titles that follow a persons name are not capitalized. • Penny Parker, assistant principal, set the gym on fire. • VilmaEverette, high school counselor, is a good story-teller.

27. Titles • Do not use courtesy titles -- Mr. Mrs. Miss etc. -- unless not using them would cause confusion. • For example, you might want to use them when both members of a married couple are quoted in the news article. • Mr. Sovacool, Mrs. Sovacool • Mr. Hartman, Mrs. Hartman

28. Time references • Use days of the week within seven days of an event. Otherwise specify the date. • Time in newspaper usage is always a.m. or p.m. • Don’t use tonight with a.m. or this morning with a.m. because it is redundant. • Don’t use the terms yesterday and tomorrow to describe when an event occurred.

29. There is neither a 12 a.m. or a 12 p.m. Time references • Use noon or midnight. • In describing when an event happens use the day of the week if the event occurs in the last week or the next week. • Use the calendar date if the event is longer than a week ago or farther than a week off.

30. Time References • Generally its more readable to put the time before the date when an event will occur. • RIGHT: The train arrives at 3 p.m. Jan. 3. • WRONG: The train arrives on Jan. 3 at 3 p.m. • Never put both the day of the week and the date that an event will occur. • RIGHT: The firemans’ ball will be on Jan. 3. • WRONG: The firemans’ ball will be on Monday Jan. 3.

31. Word usage • If you do not recognize a word, look it up.

32. Word usage • If you do not recognize a word, look it up. • Be sensitive to distinctions: burglary, larceny, robbery, theft; homicide, murder, manslaughter; pedal, peddle.

33. Word usage • If you do not recognize a word, look it up. • Be sensitive to distinctions: burglary, larceny, robbery, theft; homicide, murder, manslaughter; pedal, peddle. • Trademarks: photocopy vs. Xerox, Kleenex vs. tissues

34. Punctuation • A colon is used in clock time • 8:15 a.m., 9:15 p.m., 10 a.m. • NOT 1000 a.m. • The hyphen is used in phrasal adjectives • a 7-year-old boy an off-the-cuff opinion • a little-known man • But the hyphen is not used in sequences in which the adverb has an -ly suffix. • a relatively weird student • In combinations of a number, plus a unit of measurement • 3-inch bug, a 6-foot man

35. Punctuation • A hyphen is always used with the prefix “ex” • ex-president ex-chairman • The comma is omitted before Roman numerals and before Jr. and Sr. in names. • Adlai Stevenson III, John Elliot Jr.

36. Hyphens • Hyphens—use sparingly. • Distinguish between compound adjectives (hyphenated) and adverb-adjective combos (no hyphens).

37. Hyphens • Hyphen is not the same as a dash, which can work like a comma or parenthesis to emphasize or set apart. • - • —

38. Quotation marks • Commas and periods always, always, always inside (in U.S. usage).

39. Quotation marks • Commas and periods always, always always inside (in U.S. usage). • Question marks, exclamation points depend on the sense of the sentence.

40. Apostrophes • Special rules for possessives: plural nouns not ending in s, plural nouns ending in s, nouns plural in form singular in meaning, nouns the same in singular and plural, etc.

41. Apostrophes • The ’20s. • Not the 20’s. • Four A’s and two B’s. • ABCs, VIPs.

42. Colons & semicolons • Which is which? ; versus :

43. Colons • He promised this: The company will make good on all the losses. • There were three considerations: expense, time and feasibility.

44. Semicolons • He was survived by a son, John Smith, of Chicago; three daughters, Jane Smith of Wichita, Kan., Mary Smith, of Denver, and Susan of Boston; and a sister, Martha, of Omaha, Neb. • Can be used to link independent clauses but may signal complexity.

45. Prefixes • Generally do not use a hyphen with a word starting with a consonant.

46. Prefixes • Generally do not use a hyphen with a word starting with a consonant. • Nonprofit, but non-nuclear.

47. Prefixes • Generally do not use a hyphen with a word starting with a consonant. • Nonprofit, but non-nuclear. • Cooperate and coordinate, otherwise hyphenate: re-elect.

48. Prefixes • Generally do not use a hyphen with a word starting with a consonant. • Cooperate and coordinate, otherwise hyphenate: re-elect.

49. When in doubt… LOOK IT UP!!!