Transcript Associated Press Style 1 KEY - Copley

Associated Press (AP)
Style
Here are some important AP guidelines for you
to follow when writing for the The Drumbeat:
A-D
A, An
• You use the article “an” in front of
words that sound as if they begin
with a vowel, regardless of how they
are spelled.
Example: A, An
• Would you use a or an in this
sentence: It is __ honor to be here.
an
Academic Degrees
• Put an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree and
master’s degree. This is to show
possession. Even when shortened to
bachelor’s or master’s, with no “degree”
afterwards, you keep the apostrophe.
Only capitalize if you’re naming a specific
degree. Ex: She received a Bachelor of
Arts in history.
Example: Academic
Degrees
• Which one of these sentences is correct?
The teacher has his masters degree.
-orThe teacher has his master’s degree.
• Which one of these sentences is correct?
Mr. Smith recently received his Master’s degree in
English.
-orMr. Smith recently received his master’s degree in
English.
Addresses
• Abbreviate the words street, avenue,
etc., but only if they appear after a
numbered address. Also abbreviate
compass directions, but only if they
appear with a numbered address.
Example: Addresses
• Is this the correct way to write this
address?
50 South Court Street.
No. It would be 50 S. Court St.
Affect, Effect
• If the word you use is a verb, spell it
with an “a,” and if it is a noun, spell it
with an “e.” Affect means to
influence and effect means the
result of an action.
Example: affect, effect
• Which affect, effect belongs in the
following sentence:
• How will this __________ my grade?
affect
• I don’t know what the ________ will be.
effect
A lot
• Never alot
Example:
• Which one of these sentences are
correct:
• We have a lot of homework tonight.
• We have alot of homework tonight.
All right
• Never alright
Example:
• Is this sentence written correctly?
• The football players are feeling
alright about their performance.
No.
Alumnus, alumni, alumna,
alumnae
• An alumnus is a man who has
attended a school. An Alumna
(alumnae in the plural) is the
corresponding reference to a woman
(or women). Alumni are groups of men
and women. Do not refer to them as
alum.
Example: alumnus, alumni,
alumna, alumnae
• Is this sentence written correctly?
Copley alumni gathered at the
football game.
Yes.
a.m., p.m.
• Recognize that 8 p.m. tonight is
redundant.
• So, write 8 tonight, or 8 p.m. and the
date. These abbreviations are always
lowercase following the numeral.
Example: a.m./p.m.
• Which of the following sentences is
written correctly?
School board members will meet at 8
p.m. Tuesday.
-orSchool board members will meet at
8:00 PM tonight.
Between and Among
• Use “between” to show the
relationship between 2 entities.
• Use “among” to show the relationship
between 3 or more.
Example: Between and
Among
Which sentence is written correctly?
A compromise was reached among
Susie and Sally.
-orA compromise was reached between
Susie and Sally.
Capitalization
• AFTER A COLON: If the information introduced
by a colon is a complete sentence, quotation, or a
speech, a capital letter should be used.
• If the information is a series or phrase, use a
lowercase letter.
• SUBJECTS AND DISCIPLINES: In general , do
not capitalize academic subjects or medical
specialties. DO capitalize subjects based on
proper nouns (ex: languages). Ex: She studied
for her English final.
Example: Capitalization
• Which of the following sentences are
written correctly?
• I wish to make the following
announcement: All employees must sign
out before leaving for lunch.
• The following classes were listed:
Mathematics, History and Music.
• She majored in Philosophy.
• She studied for her English final.
Coach
• Capitalize only when used without a
qualifying term before the name of
the person who directs an athletic
team.
Example: coach
• How would coach be capitalized in the following
sentences?
• “It will be a tough game,” said ______ Murry
Bartow.
Coach
• “ “ said head ________ Murry Bartow.
coach
• “ “said the ____________ of the basketball
team.
coach
Collective nouns
• Nouns such as team, Congress,
committee and group take singular
verbs, such as “is.”
• These collective nouns also take the
pronoun “it” instead of “they,” and
“is” instead of “are.”
Example: collective nouns
• Would you use “is” or “are” and “it” or
“they” in the following sentence?
The team ______ playing well.
is
_______ may win the rivalry game.
It
Days of the week
• Do not abbreviate the days of the
week unless they are tables or lists
where space is limited: Sun., Mon.,
Tue., Wed., Thur., Fri., Sat.
Example: Days of the
week
• Is the following sentence written
correctly?
The meeting will be held on Sun. Oct.
4.
No.
Directions and Regions
• Capitalize words such as North and
South if they refer to places you can
stand.
• When referring to compass
directions, lowercase them.
Example: directions and
regions
Which of the following sentences is
written correctly?
I live in the Midwest.
We need to walk to the East.
Dollars
• Always lowercase!! Use numerical
figures and the $ sign in all except
casual references.
• Use either the dollar sign or the
word “dollar,” never both!
Example: Dollars
• Which of the following sentences is
written correctly?
• The book cost four dollars.
• He says $500,000 dollars is what
they want.
• He is worth $4.35 million.
• Please give me a dollar.