AP STYLE

Question 1

a.m. / p.m.

Answer 1

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 2

California

Answer 2

The abbreviation is Calif.; When the name of the city is included. Otherwise, always spell it out.

Wrong: Northridge, CA
Correct: Northridge, Calif.

Question 3

Died

Answer 3

Use the word died, not passed away

Question 4

It’s / Its

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Months

Answer 5

When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Aug., Sept., etc. Spell out the months with five letters or less: March, April, May, etc. spell out all months when using alone or with a year alone: The class ended in December. He was born in August 1980 (no, between the month and year if a specific date isn’t used)

Question 6

Who / Whom

Answer 6

Who is a 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 proposition: the woman to whom the apartment was rented moved out without notifying the owner. Whom do you wish to see?

Question 7

Academic Departments

Answer 7

Use lowercase except for words that are proper nouns or adjective: 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.

Question 8

Avenue, Boulevard, and Street

Answer 8

Use the abbreviation Ave., Blvd., and St. Only with a number and address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Spell them out and capitalize one part of the formal street name without the number: Pennsylvania Avenue. Lowercase and spell out when use alone or with more than one street name: Massachusetts and Pennsylvania avenues

Question 9

Alley, Drive, Road, Terrace, etc.

Answer 9

These words are always spelled out. Capitalize the one part of a formal name without a number; lowercase when used alone or with two or more names. Always use figures for an address number: 9 Morningside Circle. Spell out and capitalize first through ninth when used as street names; use figures with two letters for 10th and above; 7 Fifth Ave., 100 21st St.

Question 10

Academic Degrees

Answer 10

• when establishing someone’s credentials say: John Jones, who has a doctorate in psychology
• use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree, but there is no possessive in Associate in Science, Bachelor of Arts, etc.
• use such abbreviations as A.A., A.S., B.A., M.A., LL.D., and Ph.D.

Question 11

Affect

Answer 11

Affect as a verb means to influence: the game will affect the standings. Affect as a noun is best avoided

Question 12

Effect

Answer 12

Effect as a verb means to cause: he will effect many changes in the company. Effect as a noun means result: the EFax was overwhelming. He miscalculated the effect of his actions.

Question 13

Apostrophes

Answer 13

In general, apostrophes are used to show possession. It’s the word ends with an ass put the apostrophe after the S. Do not use an apostrophe if it’s simply a plural and not a possessive

Wrong: She gave the CD’s to me.
Correct: He has too many CDs to count.

Question 14

Held vs. Hold

Answer 14

Use held only in the literal sense: he held the pencil. She wants to hold the baby. Do not use held one referring to events, concerts, conventions, etc. In most cases, the word held can simply be removed with no impact. For rare occasions, the word 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 15

Numerals

Answer 15

• Spell out one through nine: 10 and higher use numerals. Since graduating high school three years ago, Susan has had 12 jobs.
• Use numerals for sports scores, percentages, court decisions, ratios, weights, and with million or billion.
• Avoid starting a sentence with a since it will need to be spelled out. If possible rewrite the sentence.

Question 16

Over

Answer 16

It generally refers to spatial relationships but it is now acceptable when referring to a quantity.

Ex: Their salaries increased over $20 a week.

Question 17

More than

Answer 17

Their salaries increase more than $20 a week.

Question 18

Quote Marks

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

Seasons

Answer 19

Lowercase spring, summer, fall, winter and derivative such as springtime unless part of a formal name: Winter Olympics or Summer Olympics. Capitalize seasons when the exact year is included Fall 2014 semester.

Question 20

Series of three or more

Answer 20

Do you not use a comma before the word “and” when listing a series of three or more things: the flag was red, white and blue.

Question 21

Spacing

Answer 21

Use only one space between sentences

Question 22

To

Answer 22

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

Question 23

That vs. Which

Answer 23

Use that and which in referring to inanimate objects into animals without a name.use that for a central clauses, important to the meaning of the sentence and without, is: 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 24

Ages

Answer 24

Always use figures for people and animals (but not for inanimates); use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before amount or as substitutes for a noun

EX: A 5-year-old boy; The law is eight years old; the woman is in her 30s (no apostrophe)