AP Style Flashcards
Titles
Titles that come BEFORE a name are capitalized
Ex. Apple Chairman and CEO Steve Jobs
Titles that come AFTER a name are lowercase
Ex. Steve Jobs, Apple chairman and CEO (look at the c in chairman)
Capitalize titles used directly before a person’s name
Ex. Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss
Addresses
If you use a full address, abbreviate the “street destination” such as street, avenue, or boulevard.
Ex. The bank is located at 5501 Los Angeles Ave. (pay attention to the abbreviation of avenue)
If you say that something happened on Los Angeles Avenue, then you spell out the destination.
Ex. The bank on Los Angeles Avenue was robbed
Affect vs. Effect
Affect - as a verb, means to influence
Ex. The game will affect the standings.
When used as a noun, affect, is best avoided.
Effect - as a verb, means to cause
Ex. He will effect many changes in the company
When used as a noun, effect, means result
Ex. The effect was overwhelming. He miscalculated the effect of his actions.
Age
For people and animals, use digits to represent age
Ex. The girl is 15 years old OR the dog is 2 years old
However, for in-animates, spell out the age
Ex. The law is eight years old
Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as a substitute for a noun
Ex. A 5-year-old boy, but the boy is 5 years old.
- The woman is in her 30s (NO apostrophe)*
Am., p.m.
Lowercase, with periods.
Ex. 10 a.m.
Don’t use 12 noon or 12 a.m.
it should just be noon or midnight
Apostrophe (‘)
In general, it’s used to show possession
Ex. The alumni’s contribution OR Ashley’s books and notebooks OR women’s rights
Do not use an apostrophe to show plural
Wrong: She gave the CD’s to me
RIGHT: She gave the CDs to me
Spelling and use of states
Spell out the name of all states (for large cities like Los Angeles, don’t include the state)
Wrong: Northridge, CA
Wrong: Northridge, Calif.
RIGHT: Northridge, California
In cases of death…
Use died, NOT passed away
Numbers
Spell out numbers 1-9 and use digits for number 10 and greater
Ex. Nine and 50
EXCEPTIONS: weights and measurements (including age)
Ex. She is 7 years old OR I live on a 2-acre farm
Held and Hold
Use held ONLY in a literal sense**
Ex. He held the pencil OR she wants to hold the baby
Do not use held when referring to events, concerts, conventions, etc.
Wrong: the club held a 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.
It’s vs Its
It’s is a contraction for it is
Ex. It’s up to you
Its is the possessive form of the neuter pronoun
Ex. The dog chased its tail
Months
Always capitalize
When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. ALL other months have less than five or less letters therefore you must spell them out fully.
Ex. March, April, May, June, and July
Spell out all months fully when just using it along or when accompanied by a year
Ex. August and July 2016
No comma is used between the month and year if the specific date isn’t used
Ex. December 2016
Spacing
Only use one space between sentences
Numerals
Spell out one through nine and 10 and higher use numerals
Ex. Since graduating high school three years ago, Susan has had 12 jobs. (Pay attention to the numbers)
Use numerals for sports scores
Ex. 4-3 win
Use numerals for percentages
Ex. A 5 percent pay increase
Use numerals for court decisions
Ex. A 5-4 decision
Use numerals for ratios
Ex. A 2-to-1 ratio
Use numerals for weight
Ex. The baby weighed in a 9 pounds, 7 ounces
Use numerals with million and billion
Ex. The nation has 1 million citizens OR Bill Gates is worth more than 7 billion dollars.
AVOID starting a sentence with numerals
Wrong: 993 freshman entered college last year
RIGHT: Last year 993 freshman entered college
The use of the word over
Can be used to refer to spatial relationships and quantity
Ex. The plane flew over the city AND their salaries increased over $20 a week
Percent
Use numerals
Ex. I got a 50 percent on my test
Never use fractions, always use decimals
Ex. The quiz was less than 5.5 percent of my grade
Repeat percent with each individual figure
Ex. He said 10 percent to 30 percent of the electorate may not vote
Seasons
Lowercase spring, summer, fall, winter UNLESS part of a formal name such as Dartmouth Winter Carnival
Quote marks
Use quote marks for exact, word-for-word comments AND put a common on the inside of the quote
Ex. “CSUN is a great place to learn,” said Stephanie Bluestein, journalism professor.
Series of three or more
Do not use a comma before the word “and” when listing a series of three or more things
Ex. The flag was red, white and blue.
She has lived in many communities, including Sherman Oaks, Studio City, and Canoga Park
Use of to
Use to between two dates, times or numerals
Ex. The museum, which has a mummy display from June to July, is open from 10 a.m. To 6 p.m. Daily
That vs Which (pronouns)
Use that and which in referring to inanimate objects and to animals without a name
Use that for essentials causes
Ex. I remember the day that we met.
Use which for nonessential clauses
Ex. The dog, which had strong legs, was a natural jumper.
Who vs Whom
Who is the pronoun used for references to human beings and to animals with a name
Ex. Who is there?
Whom is used when someone is the object of the verb or preposition
Ex. Whom do you wish to see?
