AP Style Quiz Flashcards
Dr. Pam Jones, Ph.D
Dr. Pam Jones, a chemist
no possessive
Associate in Science, Associate in Arts, Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science.
Associate degree.
academic departments
the department of history, the history department, the department of English, the English department,
If mention of a degree is necessary to establish someone’s credentials, the preferred form is to avoid an abbreviation
John Jones, who has a doctorate in psychology
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.
- A.A., A.S., B.A., M.A., LL.D. and Ph.D.
When used after a name, an academic abbreviation is set off by commas:
Daniel Moynihan, Ph.D., spoke.
bachelors degree, a masters, etc.
bachelor’s degree, a master’s, etc.,
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
1600 Pennsylvania Ave
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
When department is part of the official and
formal name
University of Connecticut Department of Medicine
dpt
department
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
Spell out and capitalize First through Ninth when used as street names
7 Fifth Ave
use figures with two letters for 10th and above
100 21st St.
Abbreviate compass points used to indicate directional ends of a street or quadrants of a city in a numbered address
222 E. 42nd St., 562 W. 43rd St., 600 K
St. N.W.
Do not abbreviate if the number is omitted
East 42nd Street, West 43rd
Street.
as a verb, means to influence.
as a noun, is best avoided.
Affect
v. The game will affect the standings.
as a verb, means to cause
as a noun, means result
Effect
v. He will effect many changes in the company.
n. The effect was overwhelming. He miscalculated
the effect of his actions.
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).
Use to show possession
the alumni’s contributions,
women’s rights, Northridge’s reputation.
12 noon or 12 a.m.
Noon or midnight.
If the word ends with an S put the apostrophe after the S
the campus’ appearance, the reporters’ deadlines.
She gave the CD’s to me.
He has too many CDs to count.
Northridge, CA
Northridge, Calif.
passed away
died
The club held its meeting on Thursday.
The club had its meeting on Thursday.
The convention will be held at a hotel in Los Angeles Hotel.
The convention will take place at a hotel in Los Angeles Hotel.
Spell out the months with five letters or less
March, April, May, June and July.
Spell out all months when using alone or with a year alone. (No comma between the month and year if a specific date isn’t used.)
The class ended in December. He was born in August 1980.
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
a 4-3 win
Use numerals for percentages
a 3 percent pay increase
Use numerals for court decisions
a 5-4 decision
ratios
a 2-to-1 ratio
weights
The baby weighed 9 pounds, 7 ounces
million or billion
The nation has 1 million citizens. Rupert Murdoch is worth more than $5 billion.
993 freshmen entered the college last year.
Last year 993 freshmen entered the college.
Generally refers to spatial relationships
Over.
Example: the plane flew over the city.
Acceptable when referring to a quantity.
Over.
Example: Their salaries increased over $20 a week.
Their salaries increased more than $20 a week.
More than.
One word. It takes a singular verb when standing alone or when a singular word follows an of construction
Example: The teacher said 60 percent was a failing grade.
Example 2: He said 50 percent of the membership was there.
It takes a plural verb when a plural word follows an of construction
Example: He said 50 percent of the members were there.
Use figures
For example: 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.
for exact, word-for-word comments.
quote marks
Put a comma inside the ending quote marks.
“CSUN is a great place to learn,” said Stephanie
Bluestein, journalism professor.
spring, summer, fall, winter
seasons: Lowercase
springtime
derivatives: Lowercase
Dartmouth Winter Carnival, Winter
Olympics, Summer Olympics.
Formal names: capitalize
Fall 2014 semester
Capitalize seasons when the exact year is included:
The flag was red, white and blue.
She has lived in many communities, including Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Canoga Park and Reseda.
Series of three or more
Do not use a comma before the word “and” when listing
a series of three or more things:
Spacing
Use only one space between sentences.
In general, capitalize formal titles used directly before a person’s name. Use courtesy titles only in direct quotations.
(Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss)
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.
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.
The pronoun used for references to human beings and to animals with a name.
Who
Who 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?
Use an apostrophe in
bachelor’s degree, a master’s, etc.,
