Associated Press Stylebook

Newswriting Style and Format

Style Rules have two purposes:

To make newswriting clear and easy to read
To make sure all the writing in a paper follows the same style

Associated Press (AP) Stylebook Rules

Numbers	Percentages	Money	Time	Titles	Dates
Apostrophe	Quotes	Capitalization	Addresses	Spelling	Suffixes & Prefixes

Numbers	a. Use numerals for 10 and over. Spell out numbers under 10.	Each team must win three games within the next 30 days. It was the third inning. The 212th domino fell.
	b. Spell out all numbers used in certain common and casual expressions.	a million-to-one chance a thousand and one uses sweet sixteen
	c. use numerals for ages, temperatures, dimensions, heights, times, sports scores, and all numbers that contain decimals, even if under 10.	A 9-year-old boy was injured. His brother, 14, was no hurt. A 5-by-10-foot box fell out. The procession started at 6 p.m. Monday, moving at about 3 miles per hour. The Mariners won by a score of 5 to 3.
	d. If a numeral begins a sentence it must be spelled out. It is often preferable to rewrite the sentence for the sake of brevity.	Seven hundred and seventy-six years ago, the Moors lost this decisive battle to the Christians. The Moors lost this decisive battle to the Christians 776 years ago.
	e. However, if a calendar year starts the sentence it need not be spelled out.	1212 was a bad year for the Moors in Spain.
Percentages	a. Percent is always written as one word. Always spell it out; never use the % symbol (except in headlines). b. Always use figures in percentages, even if the number is less than 10. If the figure is not a whole number use decimals, not fractions.	His popularity dropped by 2 percent. Tuition will increase 5.5 percent next year. Tuition rise of 5.5% predicted (headline)
Money	a. The $ sign is permitted but the ¢ sign is not. Never spell out the word dollar or dollars, unless used without figures, or with rounded-off or indefinite large amounts.	The fee is $2 per person. It's simply a matter of dollars and cents. A cool quarter of a million dollars
	b. In large amounts over $1 million, use a decimal after the million, then round off with one or two figures, deleting all the zeros.	The deficit is forecast at $2.25 million, rather than the originally estimated $2.3 million.
	c. For amounts under $1, use figures and spell out the word cents. Never use the ¢ symbol.	The booklet cost 50 cents, with an additional 5 cents for wrapping.
Time	a. Use lower cae and periods in a.m. and p.m. and always use figures, except for noon and midnight. Avoid unnecessary zeros or words.	The session started at 10 a.m. (not ten am. or 10:00 a.m.) recessed at noon (not 12:00 noon) and resumed at 1:15 p.m.
Time	b. Avoid o'clock. If you do use it, it's better not to use a.m. or p.m. with it, but to refer to morning, afternoon or evening.	It was still burning at 4 o'clock this morning.
Titles	Courtesy Titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms. etc) a. Never use Mr. in a news story, except with Mrs.	Mr. and Mrs. James Wheeler received the award, after which Wheeler gave an acceptance speech.
	b. On first reference for women, use the title and last name, thereafter use just her last name with no title.	Janice Brown's latest book received mixed reviews. It's all the same to Brown - she's hard at work on her next book.
	Real Titles c. Abbreviate and capitalize most formal titles when they precede the name, but not when used without the name.	Before Gov. Cuomo appeared the lieutenant governor spoke briefly, then introduced the governor. The captain saluted the admiral. Gen. Eisenhower's term as president preceded the troubled '60s. Dr. Jonas Salk is remembered for his role in the battle against polio.
	d. Do not abbreviate president when used preceeding a name and always capitalize when referring to the incumbent president of the U.S.	He said President Lincoln was more widely quoted than any other president.
Months, Dates, Days of the Week	a. Abbreviate the month only if it is followed by the date, but always spell out March, April, May, June and July	Work-study students should submit time sheets between Feb. 25 and March 1 in order to be paid for work done in February.
	b. In dates, always use numerals without suffixes (th, nd, st, rd)	The nation was born on July 4, 1776 (but the Fourth of July)
	c. Never abbreviate days of the week	The play will open Wednesday, Oct. 22.
Apostrophe	a. Use the apostrophe in contractions to show deletion of a letter or letters.	It's too early to say when the playground will be opened. "I don't agree!" he shot back.
	b. Use the apostrophe to show deletion of figures.	a movie about the '50s the class of '89
	c. Use it with s for possessives of nouns and proper names	Snarkey's son took on the city's best fighters Women's volleyball starts next week.
	d. If a common noun ends with s in the singular, you still add 's to make it possessive.	the bus's exhaust the shepherdess's flock
	e. If a proper name ends in s in the singular, add only the apostrophe to make it possessive	Tom Ross' house Dr. Stevens' remarks James' dog
	f. Never use the apostrophe in possessive pronouns	The dog chased its tail. She said the ring was hers. Whose was the fault, if not yours?
Quotes	a. The comma and the period always go inside end quotes.	"The staff should serve the students, she said. The drama department will present "Julius Caesar." "Were it not for the money," Rorum said, "I would quit this job."
	b. Other punctuation marks go inside quotes when they apply to the quoted matter only. They go outside if they apply to the whole sentence.	Did he ask, "Is it time?" or did he say, "It is time"? The chairman was asked, "Will it be business as usual?" "What a day for a parade!" the mayor said.
	c. Use quotation marks around titles of books, plays, movies, poems, songs, musical works, TV program titles and speech titles, but not newspapers or magazines.	The Los Angeles Times printed the schedule of performances, including "The Fantasticks" and Leonard Bernstein's "Mass."
	d. Quoted material inside a quote is set off by single quotation marks.	Jameson said, "As I understand the term 'private enterprise,' it permits no governmental intervention of this nature."
	e. Use single quotes in headlines	Farber calls verdict 'unacceptable'
Capitalization	a. Do not capitalize names of courses or classes, except languages.	The curriculum includes algebra, biology, English, nursing and French.
	b. Do not capitalize seasons.	He will resign after spring quarter and will be replaced by fall.
	c. Do not capitalize titles when used without the name, and do not capitalize titles that are really descriptive or occupational designations.	Harry Sawyer, chief engineer on the project, could not be reached. Efforts to reach engineer Harry Sawyer were futile.
Addresses	a. Abbreviate street, avenue and boulevard only when used with the street number, and always use figures for the street numbers	He works at 666 Maidenvale Blvd. The crime occurred at 73 Ames St., near Cedar Avenue.
	b. Spell out numbered street names, through nine; for higher numbers use figures	721 First Ave. 900 12th St.
	c. Spell out other address designations: Terrace, Place, Circle, Drive, Road with or without street numbers	51 Sunset Terrace, the corner of Carlton Place and Columbus Circle, 41 East Drive, on Mountain View Road
	d. Abbreviate East, West, South and North when used as part of the street name, when the street number is used. Otherwise spell out.	The fire was at 711 S. Main St. It was on South Main Street.
Spelling	There is no excuse for a misspelled word. You should ALWAYS use the spellchecker, but if in doubt, use the dictionary.
Suffixes, prefixes	a. Most suffixes are written solid, without a hyphen	threefold, operagoer, statewide
	b. So are most prefixes, but there are many exceptions. When in doubt, follow the general rule not to hyphenate unless the prefix ends in the same vowel that the following word begins with	antifreeze, coexist, interstate, overpower, sublet BUT pre-existing, re-educate, anti-inflationary
	c. Exceptions to the above rule: No hyphen in cooperate or coordinate. Certain words take co with the hyphen to show occupation or status, as in co-author, co-pilot. Ex, when meaning former, takes a hyphen, as in ex-president.