AP Flashcards
Age # VS. Written
ALWAYS use figures for people and animals.
Ex. The girl is 15 years old
The law is eight years old
The man is in his 30s (not 30’s)
Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun.
Spelling states
Pick the correct one.
R:Northridge,California
Wrong: Northridge, CA
Wrong: Northridge, Calif.
For large cities like Los Angeles don’t include the state.
Apostrophe (‘)
When do you use an apostrophe?
’ shows possession
Ex. The alumni’s contribution.
If the word ends with an S put an ‘ after the S
Ex: campus’ the reporters’
Wrong: She gave the CD’s to me
Right: She gave the CDs to me.
He has too many CDs to count
Died VS passed away
ALWAYS USE died
Don’t use passed away
Held VS Hold
DO NOT use held when referring to events.
Right: the club had had its meeting on Tuesday.
Right: the convention will take place at a hotel in Los Angeles Hotel.
Wrong: the convention will be held at a hotel in Los Angeles Hotel.
Titles
(Ms. Mrs. Ms. Miss.)
Use Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss only in direct quotations.
capitalize formal titles used directly before a person’s name.
If not use the person’s first and last name on first reference. On second reference, use only their last name.
Wrong: Mrs. Sally Smith is a Beatles fan. (on first reference)
Right: Sally Smith is a Beatles fan. (on first reference)
Affect VS. Effect
Affect: (verb) to influence
Effect: (verb) to cause
(noun) the result
Seasons
Which is correct and why?
Fall vs. fall
Lowercase
spring, summer, fall, winter
Ex. When I met you in the summer.
Capitalize seasons when the EXACT year is included
Ex. Fall 2014 Dartmouth Winter Carnival, Winter Olympics, Summer Olympics.
Quote mark ( “ “ )
How do you use quote marks?
Use quote marks for exact, word-for-word comments. Put a comma inside the ending quote marks.
Ex. “Rocio ate all my food” exclaimed Elizabeth.
“CSUN is a great place to learn,” said Stephanie Bluestein, journalism professor.
That vs which?
When do you use that?
When do you use which?
Use that and which in referring to inanimate objects and to animals without a name.
That: I recall the morning that we met.
Use which for nonessential clauses, where the pronoun is less necessary and use commas
Which: The dog, which had strong legs, was a natural jumper.
Who VS Whom?
When do you use who?
When do you use which?
Who is the pronoun used for references to human beings and to animals with a name.
It is grammatically the subject (never the object) of a sentence, clause or phrase. Who is there?
Whom is used when someone is the object of the verb or preposition.
The woman to whom the apartment was rented moved out without notifying the owner. Whom do you wish to see?
Percent
When do you use %?
When do you use percent?
It takes a singular verb when standing alone or when a singular word follows an of construction: The teacher said 60 percent was a failing grade.
It takes a plural verb when a plural word follows an of construction.
Use figures: 1 percent, 2.5 percent (use decimals, not fractions), 10 percent.
For amounts less than 1 percent, precede the decimal with a zero: The cost of living rose .06 percent.
Repeat percent with each individual figure: He said 10 percent to 30 percent of the electorate may not vote.
Series of three or more
List or run on?
Do not use the word “and” when listing
Academic degrees
When to use abbreviations? When do you use a gull degree title name?
If mention of a degree is necessary to establish someone’s credentials, the preferred form is to avoid an abbreviation and use instead a phrase such as: John Jones, who has a doctorate in psychology.
Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree, a master’s, etc., but there is no possessive in Associate in Science, Associate in Arts, Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science. (Also: an associate degree (no possessive).
Use such abbreviations as A.A., A.S., B.A., M.A., LL.D. and Ph.D. only when the need to identify many individuals by degree on first reference would make the preferred form cumbersome. Use these abbreviations only after a full name—never after just a last name.
When used after a name, an academic abbreviation is set off by commas: Daniel Moynihan, Ph.D., spoke.
Do not precede a name with a courtesy title for an academic degree and follow it with the abbreviation for the degree in the same reference:
Wrong: Dr. Pam Jones, Ph.D. Right: Dr. Pam Jones, a chemist.
Academic departments
When do you use the persons full title name? When do you use the abbreviation?
Use lowercase except for words that are proper nouns or adjectives: the department of history, the history department, the department of English, the English department, or when department is part of the official and formal name: University of Connecticut Department of Medicine. Do not abbreviate department.
