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Learn to reference people, times, dates, and places accurately in AP style. Includes tips on proper formatting, addressing, titles, and numbers.
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AP Style is… • A standardized way of referencing people, places, dates and things. • All news organizations recognize AP style. • Bring your AP Stylebooks to class, from now on.
Referencing people • On first reference, list the person’s full name. • On second reference, just list their last name. Do not include Mr., Ms. or titles, like Dr. • For instance: Jane Kim said she enjoys skating…Kim also stated that skating could be dangerous.
Referencing people • Always put the person’s name before the word “said.” It is more important to identify the person’s name first. • Only put “said” first if the person’s job title is long. • For instance: “This place is incredible,” said John Jackson, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Referencing times • Strike this from your vocabulary: “at about.” • Something either happened specifically at some time or about some time. • No: “At about 5 a.m., the 7-11 was robbed.” • Yes: “At 5 a.m., the 7-11 was robbed.”
Referencing times • Always make sure the time is listed with a single number, followed by a.m. or p.m. • No: At 9:00 a.m., the store will open. • Yes: At 9 a.m. the store will open.
Referencing dates • Abbreviate the following months in dates: • Jan. • Feb. • Aug. • Sept. • Oct. • Nov. • Dec.
For example… • No: “A burglar robbed the store on September 11, 2008.” • Yes: “A burglar robbed the store on Sept. 11, 2008.”
When not part of a date… • Use the whole month name when it is not part of a date: • “In January 2008, we celebrated New Years’ Day.”
Other notes: • No first person in a hard news story! • No editorializing. • Use inverted pyramid structure.
Addresses • If you have a full, numbered address to print, then abbreviate the street. • i.e. He robbed the house at 314 E. 22ndSt. • If you only have the street name though, spell out the street. • i.e. The robbery was at East 33rdStreet and Greenmount Avenue.
Titles are always abbreviated • In the first reference, and onward, you may abbreviate titles. • Gov. (Governor) • Lt. Gov. (Lieutenant Governor) • Rep. (Representative) • The Rev. (Reverend) • Sen. (The Senator)
You also need to note political affiliations • If you are writing about a Senator or a member of the House of Representatives, note their political affiliation. • You can note it using party and state abbreviations. • Or you can note it within the sentence. • i.e. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., said she hates Republican Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.
Numbers • Spell out all numbers less than ten. Use Arabic numerals for values greater than 10. • i.e. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has two daughters, but he was not prepared for the mob of nearly 200 screaming 14-year-olds.