AP Style Flashcards
Academic Degrees
avoid abbreviation, and use full phrase. ie “John Jones, who has a doctorate in psychology”
Affect vs Effect
Affect, as a verb, means to influence.
Affect as a noun is best avoided.
Effect as a verb means to cause.
Effect as a noun means to result.
States
always spell out the states, do not abbreviate.
Died
use “died”, not “passed away”
Held, Hold
Use only in the literal sense. In other cases use “hosted” or “sponsored”. ie “the club held a meeting” (wrong)
Quote Marks
Use for word-for-word comments an end with a comma inside the quotation marks.
Seasons
lowercase unless part of a formal name.
Series of three or more
do not use a comma before “and” when listing.
Spacing
Use only one space between sentences.
Titles
capitalize formal titles used directly before a persons name. ie “Mr., Mrs., etc” On second reference do not include title again.
To
use “to” between two dates, times, or numerals. ie “open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.”
That, which (pronouns)
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.
Who, whom
Who is the pronoun used for references to human beings and to animals with a name. Whom is used when someone is the object of the verb or preposition.
Academic departments
Use lowercase except for words that are proper nouns, adjectives or apart of a formal name.
Addresses
Use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd. and St. only with a numbered address.
