Here is the presentation that accompanied the lecture on AP Style.

1. COM 140 – AP Style
The Associated Press
provides language and
usage guidelines for digital,
newspaper and broadcast
journalism.
It presents stories as
cohesive, coherent and
consistent across the full
spectrum of coverage.

2. AP Style
News Writing Values:
Consistency
Clarity
Accuracy
Brevity

3. AP History
Founded in 1846, when
five New York
newspapers funded a
Pony Express route to
carry battlefield news
from the Mexican-
American War.
The Post Office wasn’t
fast enough.

4. AP Sole News Outlet When Gandhi Released

5. AP Evolution
In its 175 years, AP has
advanced the writing,
reporting and distribution
of news amid massive
technological and
linguistic evolutions.

6. AP Today
The AP and its members
publish 2,000 stories a day
and take one million
photographs a year for
15,000 news organizations
.
That’s why it is the gold
standard of journalism.

7. COM 140 - AP
Style
• The writing of 2,000
stories a day is guided
by the principles and
practices embodied in
the AP Stylebook,
whether on paper or
online.

8. AP Stylebook and Libel Manual
The AP Stylebook adapts to changing usage and definitions.
The organization understands that language is fluid and guidance in
usage is critical to accurate reporting.
For example, as protests and a virus raged in the Summer of 2020,
the AP published guidance on usage of key words.

9. AP Style Changes

10. Check the Stylebook
The following is a
summary of key AP Style
guidelines.
Always check your AP
Stylebook when writing
stories.

11. Elements of AP Style
Spelling
Punctuation
Capitalization
Addresses
Numbers
Titles

12. Key AP Style Points
Use the % symbol -- not the word for percent.
Use $, don’t spell dollar.
No italics in AP stories for newspapers, websites or
magazines.
Spell full name of a state, except in datelines.
Major cities don’t require the state name,
but towns and cities do.
Quinnipiac uses its as a pronoun.
“The Bobcats” takes their as a pronoun.

13. More AP Style Points
When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only
Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec.
Spell out each month when using alone or with a year.
•

14. Key AP Style Points
In general, spell out one through nine:
The Yankees finished second. He had nine months to go.
Use figures for 10 or above -- whenever preceding a unit of
measure or referring to ages of people, animals, events or things.
See the entry for numerals as this usage is complicated.

15. Key AP Style Points
Use Dr. in first reference as a formal title only before the
name of an individual who holds a doctor of dental surgery, doctor
of medicine, doctor of optometry, doctor of osteopathic medicine,
doctor of podiatric medicine, or doctor of veterinary medicine.
Do not use Dr. for a professor. Instead, when necessary,
use this form: Cassandra Karoub, who has a doctorate in
mathematics, was lead researcher.

16. Key AP Style
Please note: the AP Stylebook is comprehensive but includes
specialty chapters that make for efficient finding aids.
For example, students who are pursuing sports
journalism should study the chapter on sports guidelines.

17. AP Style for COM140
Spell out first name and last name
of students
Hometowns if not major city require
Home state
Class year (i.e., first-year,
sophomore, etc.)
Age
Major

18. Key AP Style Rules
In stories, the attribution must include all of the information on
the previous slide:
- “…,” said Mimi Rochelle, 20, a sophomore
journalism major from New Haven, Connecticut.
After first reference, use surname only.

19. Key AP Style Rules
Residents
Spelling of first name and last name
Address, including street, town and state composed per AP
Style
Age
Title (if applicable)
“…,” said Mimi Rochelle, 40, of 380 Whitney Ave. in New
Haven, Connecticut.

20. Key AP Style Rules
People acting in official capacity(i.e., police officer)
Spelling of first name and last name
Name of department or agency
Title (i.e., police officer. See AP Stylebook for specific usage
as titles used after names do not use initial caps)
“The parking lots will be plowed soon,” said Shannon Grasso,
Quinnipiac’s parking director. “We will work to get it done.”

21. Key AP Style Rules
Quote Format:
Always use said. Do not use says. Other words may be
used only if the context requires it.
Do not open a quote with the person’s name. Use it after the
first sentence of the quote. If the person’s full name appears in a
transition to the quote, use only surname on second and
subsequent references.

22. Key AP Style Rules
Quote Format
Install complete quotes in fresh paragraphs, with the person
identified after the first sentence.
Patrick Cockburn, a 20-year-old sophomore nursing major
from Valley Stream, New York, said he is shocked by the cold
after months of warm days and nights.
“The winter is crazy now,” said Cockburn. “I need the sun.”

23. Make AP Style Yours
Learn AP Style by reading
AP stories. Internalize some
of the basic guidelines.
Follow @APStylebook on
Twitter.

24. Pitfall: Fewer vs Less
In general, use fewer for individual items, less for bulk or quantity.
Wrong: The trend is toward more machines and less people. (People
in this sense refers to individuals.)
Wrong: She was fewer than 60 years old. (Years in this sense refers
to a period of time, not individual years.)
Right: Fewer than 10 applicants called. (Individuals.)
Right: I had less than $50 in my pocket. (An amount.) But: I had fewer
than 50 $1 bills in my pocket. (Individual items.)

25. Pitfall: Killing vs Murder
No victim was murdered until someone has been convicted in court. Instead, say that a victim was
killed or slain.
Be specific about method, etc.: Jones was charged with murder in the shooting of his girlfriend.
Homicide is a legal term for slaying or killing.
• Murder is malicious, premeditated homicide.
• Generally speaking, manslaughter is homicide without malice or premeditation.
Examples:
• An officer pulled over 29-year-old John White, who was arrested and charged with murder,
according to Andrew Johnson, the county sheriff's spokesman.
• The killings occurred between 1977 and 1979. Prosecutors say Adams raped, tortured and
robbed some of them before killing them.
• Cook County Sheriff James Jones says a shooting that left a man and a woman dead appears
to be a murder-suicide.

26. Pitfall: Disability
Do not describe an individual as having a disability unless it is clearly
pertinent to the story.
• Merritt, who is blind and walks with the help of a guide dog, said she
is pleased with the city’s walkway improvements.
• Not: Zhang, who has paraplegia, is a fan of the Philadelphia
Phillies.
Avoid the term handicap for a disability or handicapped for a person.
Avoid calling a person or an idea demented, psychotic, blind,
catatonic, moronic, retarded, on the spectrum, etc.; saying a plan falls
on deaf ears or he turned a blind eye or the awards show
is schizophrenic.

27. More Fun You Can Have with AP Style
Grammar Help
It’s vs its
Proper Spelling
Jell-O
Punctuation
The sign was 28 years old.
The 28-year-old sign …
Word Choice
Jail is for someone awaiting trial,
sentencing or for serving time for
misdemeanors.
Prisons are for people convicted of
felonies. They can be maximum
security like penitentiaries or
medium security correctional
institutions.