AP Style

Highlights of the most

important style rules
When to capitalize titles

Capitalize formal titles before the name,

lowercase after the name.
I voted for President George W. Bush.
Mayor Larry Brown favored the idea.
Remember: only formal titles, not
descriptions or job positions.
Abbreviate SOME titles

Gov., Sen., Rev., Dr. - abbreviated when

they come BEFORE the name.
Few other titles are abbreviated. Don't
abbreviate detective, prosecuting
attorney, president, professor.
Use "the Rev." before ministers on first
reference.
After a name, dont capitalize a
title and spell it out
Larry Brown, the mayor, cut the ribbon.
The bill was vetoed by Frank Keating,
the governor.
When the title stands alone, spell out
the title and DO NOT capitalize it.
Example: The pope will visit next week.
Abbreviate in addresses only
with an exact, numbered address
901 Ninth St.
BUT: The gym is on Ninth Street.
On exact addresses, also abbreviate
the direction:
555 N. Garth Ave.
333 W. Broadway
Abbreviate BAS in addresses
CAPITALIZE the name of the street but only
ABBREVIATE the following in EXACT
addresses: Blvd. Ave. St.
This can be remembered as BAS, which is
part of a word..that I will let you figure out.
999 Stadium Blvd.
767 Milestone Ave.
545 Hitt St.
All the rest are spelled out and capitalized
Dates

When SPECIFIC DATES are used,

abbreviate the month.
Joe Anders died Monday, Jan. 6, 1997.
With NO SPECIFIC DATE, spell out the
month
Joe Anders died in January.
Dont abbreviate the short
months
The "shorter" five months of spring and
summer are not abbreviated: March,
April, May, June, July.
Memory tip: 5 months and 5 letters or
fewer.
Capitalization

Capitalize official names , including City

Commission, Commerce Committee,
Congress, Senate, House, General Assembly,
Republican Party, and Democratic Party.
The City Commission approved the
ordinance.
BUT if incomplete, it is lower case: The
commission passed the measure
Abbreviating states

SPELL OUT the names of all of the

states when they stand ALONE.
She went on a ski trip in Colorado.
Abbreviate the state names when they
are used with a city except the short
states.
She went to Ladysmith, Wis.
How to remember which states to
abbreviate
There are eight states that are not
abbreviated: The two that are
disconnected - Alaska and Hawaii - and
the six with five letters or fewer: Idaho,
Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah.
Do not use postal abbreviations. (Its
Wis., not WI.)
Numbers

In general, spell out one through nine,

use figures for 10 above.

Example: He invited 12 guests to the

party but only nine showed up.
Use figures for these exceptions:
Ages: John, 7, ran away. John is 7 years old.
Dimensions: The 7-foot-2 center weighed 230
pounds.
Percentages: 4 percent (note that percent is
ONE word.)
Time: 6 p.m. (not 6:00 p.m.; p.m. has periods
and is and lowercased.)
Street numbers: 9 Quinton Court
Day of the month: Jan. 9, 1997, (not 9th)
Do not start a sentence with a figure.
Money

Use the dollar sign: $10, $1,000,

$90,000 (NOT $90 thousand or 90
thousand dollars)
Repeat the word with ranges:
WRONG: $8 to $10 million
RIGHT: $8 million to $10 million
Except on tests

When in doubt, look it up.

What's wrong here?

Buffalo State College is at 1300 Elmwood

Avenue.
What's wrong here?

The Gov. did not pardon the Dr.

What's wrong here?

The project is slated to cost $4 to $6

million.
What's wrong here?

The play will be held November 30th.

What's wrong here?

Performances begin at 9 in the evening.

What's wrong here?

He took the test 2 times before he passed

it.
What's wrong here?

Florida Governor Charlie Crist is running

for the Senate.
What's wrong here?

My ten-year-old car is now worth about ten

dollars.
What's wrong here?

Florida Atlantic University's downtown

tower is located at 111 East Las Olas
Boulevard, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
What's wrong here?

At the conference, I met the Author Dave

Barry and Carlos Alvarez, Mayor of Miami.
What's wrong here?

This exhibition opens August 23, 2010,

and ends in Jan. 2011
What's wrong here?

The only places I really want to go are

Ladysmith, Wis., and Round Lake, Oh.
What's wrong here?

The two-year-old boy couldn't lift the four-

pound pumpkin, so his ten-year-old sister
helped him.