AP guide

Question 1

academic degrees

Answer 1

If mention of a degree is necessary to establish someone’s credentials, the preferred form is to avoid an abbreviation.
Ex: John Jones, who has a doctorate in psychology.

Question 2

academic degrees

Answer 2

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.

When used after a name, an academic abbreviation is set off by commas: Daniel Moynihan, Ph.D., spoke.

Question 3

addresses

Answer 3

Abbreviations Ave., Blvd. and St. only with a numbered address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Spell them out and capitalize when part of a formal street name without a number: Pennsylvania Avenue. Lowercase and spell out when used alone or with more than one street name: Massachusetts and Pennsylvania avenues.

Question 4

affect vs effect

Answer 4

1. Affect, as a verb, means to influence: The game will affect the standings. Affect, as a noun, is best avoided.
2. Effect, as a verb, means to cause: He will effect many changes in the company. Effect, as a noun, means result: The effect was overwhelming. He miscalculated the effect of his actions.

Question 5

ages

Answer 5

Always use figures for people and animals (but not for inanimates): The girl is 15 years old; the law is eight years old. Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun. Examples: A 5-year-old boy, but the boy is 5 years old. The woman is in her 30s (no apostrophe).

Question 6

a.m., p.m.

Answer 6

Lowercase, with periods. Avoid the redundant 10 a.m. this morning. Noon and midnight stand alone. Don’t use 12 noon or 12 a.m.

Question 7

apostrophe (‘):

Answer 7

In general, use to show possession: the alumni’ s contributions, women’ s rights, Northridge’ s reputation. If the word ends with an S put the apostrophe after the S: the campus’ appearance, the reporters’ deadlines. Do not use an apostrophe if it’s simply a plural and NOT a possessive.
Wrong: She gave the CD’s to me. Right: He has too many CDs to count.

Question 8

California

Answer 8

The abbreviation is Calif. when the name of the city is included. Otherwise, always spell it out.
Wrong: Northridge, CA Right: Northridge, Calif.

Question 9

died

Answer 9

Use died, not passed away

Question 10

held, hold:

Answer 10

Use held only in the literal sense: He held the pencil. She wants to hold the baby. Do not use held when referring to events, concerts, conventions, etc. In most cases, the word held can simply be removed with no impact. For rare occasions, the words hosted or sponsored suffices.
Wrong: The club held its meeting on Thursday.
Right: The club had its meeting on Thursday.
Wrong: The convention will be held at a hotel in Los Angeles Hotel. Right: The convention will take place at a hotel in Los Angeles Hotel.

Question 11

it’s, its

Answer 11

It’s is a contraction for it is or it has: It’s up to you. It’s been a long time. Its is the possessive form of the neuter pronoun: The dog chased its tail.

Question 12

months

Answer 12

1. Capitalize the names in all uses. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec.
2. Spell out the months with five letters or less: March, April, May, June and July.
3. Spell out all months when using alone or with a year alone: The class ended in December. He was born in August 1980. (No comma between the month and year if a specific date isn’t used.)

Question 13

numerals

Answer 13

1. Spell out one through nine; 10 and higher use numerals. Since graduating high school three years ago, Susan has had 12 jobs.
2. Use numerals for sports scores (a 4-3 win), percentages (a 3 percent pay increase), court decisions (a 5-4 decision), ratios (a 2-to-1 ratio), weights (The baby weighed 9 pounds, 7 ounces.) and with million or billion (The nation has 1 million citizens. Rupert Murdoch is worth more than $5 billion.)
3. Avoid starting a sentence with a numeral since it will need to be spelled out. If possible, rewrite the sentence.
   Wrong: 993 freshmen entered the college last year.
   Right: Last year 993 freshmen entered the college.

Question 14

over

Answer 14

It generally refers to spatial relationships: The plane flew over the city. More than is preferred with numerals: Their salaries went up more than
$20 a week.

Question 15

percent

Answer 15

One word. 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. He said 50 percent of the membership was there.
It takes a plural verb when a plural word follows an of construction: He said 50 percent of the members were there.
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.

Question 16

quote marks

Answer 16

Use quote marks for exact, word-for-word comments. Put a comma inside the ending quote marks. “CSUN is a great place to learn,” said Stephanie Bluestein, journalism professor.

Question 17

seasons

Answer 17

Lowercase spring, summer, fall, winter and derivatives such as springtime unless part of a formal name: Dartmouth Winter Carnival, Winter Olympics, Summer Olympics. Capitalize seasons when the exact year is included: Fall 2013 semester

Question 18

series of three or more

Answer 18

Do not use a comma before the word “and” when listing a series of three or more things: The flag was red, white and blue. She has lived in many communities, including Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Canoga Park and Reseda.

Question 19

titles

Answer 19

In general, capitalize formal titles used directly before a person’s name. Use courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss) only in direct quotations. Otherwise, simply use the person’s first and last name

Question 20

to

Answer 20

Use to between two dates, times or numerals: The museum, which has a mummy display from June to August, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. (Do not use a hyphen to separate dates, times or numerals.)

Question 21

that, which (pronouns)

Answer 21

Use that and which in referring to inanimate objects and to animals without a name. Use that for essential clauses, important to the meaning of the sentence and without commas: I remember the day that we met. Use which for nonessential clauses, where the pronoun is less necessary and use commas: The dog, which had strong legs, was a natural jumper.

Question 22

who, whom

Answer 22

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: The woman who rented the apartment moved out without notifying the owner. 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?