The document provides guidelines for abbreviations, capitalization, numerals and other conventions in writing. It addresses rules for abbreviating organizations, names of places and titles; capitalizing titles and names; using numerals vs. spelling out numbers; and other formatting tips. Key points covered include abbreviating Jr. and Sr., capitalizing colors and committees that are part of a school name, using Roman numerals, and capitalizing words used with figures like precinct and room numbers.
COMMONLY USED ASSOCIATED PRESS STYLE RULESThere is no substi.docxmonicafrancis71118
COMMONLY USED ASSOCIATED PRESS STYLE RULES
There is no substitute for the Associated Press’s style manual. It is dynamic and comprehensive. Every professional journalist should own one. What follows merely are some of the commonly used Associated Press style rules for print journalists that you may need to succeed in your assignments for this course. Complete copies of The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law can be ordered from most bookstores and from the Associated Press. The information here is grouped according to how students typically might use a word, to make it easier for you to find the rules you’ll need for many of the assignments in this class:
Abbreviations
Addresses
Capitalization
Numerals
Punctuation
Preferred Spellings / Usage
Time
Titles
ABBREVIATIONS/ACRONYMS
IN GENERAL:Use only the most commonly recognized abbreviations on first reference, i.e., AAA, AARP, AFL-CIO, AMVETS, CIA, FBI, NASA, UNICEF and YMCA. Also, ABC, CBS and NBC for the broadcasting networks, ABM for anti-ballistic missile, AIDs for acquired immune deficiency syndrome, IBM for the company, ICBM for intercontinental ballistic missile, ID foridentification as in ID card, NPR for National Public Radio, OB-GYN for the medical specialty obstetrics and gynecology, PTA for Parent Teacher Association (note that there is no hyphen in this name), UFO for unidentified flying object. Less well-known but still common abbreviations, such as NATO and OSHA, may be used after they have been spelled out in full on first reference. In most cases, however, the stylebook suggests using a generic reference such as the agency or the organization or the medical practice for all references after the first, to avoid alphabet soup.
Use capital letters and periods according to the listings in the stylebook. For words not listed, use the first-listed abbreviation in Webster’s New World College Dictionary.
Generally, omit periods in acronyms in the body of a news story unless the result would spell an unrelated word. But always use periods in two-letter abbreviations used in the body of a news story: U.K., U.N., U.S., B.A., B.S. However, it’s GI, ID, EU. Use UN and US in headlines only. Use all caps, no periods, in longer abbreviations when the individuals letters are pronounced: ABC, CIA, FBI.
Don’t put abbreviations in parentheses after the first reference (for example, the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) … ). Instead, either repeat the full name on subsequent references or use a generic reference, such as the society.
Use the traditional abbreviations for state names (see the state abbreviations rule) and not the U.S. Postal Service abbreviations for states unless you are providing a full address including ZIP code, i.e., Send contributions to The Relief Fund, Box 555, Harkensville, MD, 12121. Spell out Fort in city names. Use periods in the abbreviation P.O. for P.O. Box numbers.
Avoid these common errors by never abbreviating the following in.
COMMONLY USED ASSOCIATED PRESS STYLE RULESThere is no substi.docxmonicafrancis71118
COMMONLY USED ASSOCIATED PRESS STYLE RULES
There is no substitute for the Associated Press’s style manual. It is dynamic and comprehensive. Every professional journalist should own one. What follows merely are some of the commonly used Associated Press style rules for print journalists that you may need to succeed in your assignments for this course. Complete copies of The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law can be ordered from most bookstores and from the Associated Press. The information here is grouped according to how students typically might use a word, to make it easier for you to find the rules you’ll need for many of the assignments in this class:
Abbreviations
Addresses
Capitalization
Numerals
Punctuation
Preferred Spellings / Usage
Time
Titles
ABBREVIATIONS/ACRONYMS
IN GENERAL:Use only the most commonly recognized abbreviations on first reference, i.e., AAA, AARP, AFL-CIO, AMVETS, CIA, FBI, NASA, UNICEF and YMCA. Also, ABC, CBS and NBC for the broadcasting networks, ABM for anti-ballistic missile, AIDs for acquired immune deficiency syndrome, IBM for the company, ICBM for intercontinental ballistic missile, ID foridentification as in ID card, NPR for National Public Radio, OB-GYN for the medical specialty obstetrics and gynecology, PTA for Parent Teacher Association (note that there is no hyphen in this name), UFO for unidentified flying object. Less well-known but still common abbreviations, such as NATO and OSHA, may be used after they have been spelled out in full on first reference. In most cases, however, the stylebook suggests using a generic reference such as the agency or the organization or the medical practice for all references after the first, to avoid alphabet soup.
Use capital letters and periods according to the listings in the stylebook. For words not listed, use the first-listed abbreviation in Webster’s New World College Dictionary.
Generally, omit periods in acronyms in the body of a news story unless the result would spell an unrelated word. But always use periods in two-letter abbreviations used in the body of a news story: U.K., U.N., U.S., B.A., B.S. However, it’s GI, ID, EU. Use UN and US in headlines only. Use all caps, no periods, in longer abbreviations when the individuals letters are pronounced: ABC, CIA, FBI.
Don’t put abbreviations in parentheses after the first reference (for example, the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) … ). Instead, either repeat the full name on subsequent references or use a generic reference, such as the society.
Use the traditional abbreviations for state names (see the state abbreviations rule) and not the U.S. Postal Service abbreviations for states unless you are providing a full address including ZIP code, i.e., Send contributions to The Relief Fund, Box 555, Harkensville, MD, 12121. Spell out Fort in city names. Use periods in the abbreviation P.O. for P.O. Box numbers.
Avoid these common errors by never abbreviating the following in.
9. Do not abbreviate course
titles except when used as
an adjective.
Physical Education
P.E. class
10. Abbreviate degrees only
when used in a listing. Do
not place space between
letters: bachelor of arts
degree (B.A.), bachelor of
science degree (B.S.)
11. RULE OF THE THUMB: if
the letters without
periods, periods are
needed: c.o.d., a.m., p.m.
12. RULE OF THE THUMB: if
the letters without
periods, periods are
needed: c.o.d., a.m., p.m.
(Lowercase abbreviations)
13. Periods are not needed
when used with a numeral
in references to film,
weapons, or miles per
hour: 35 mm, 55 mph
14. 11:53 p.m. but not 11:00
p.m.
Thursday night at 10 p.m.
xx – use o’clock
18. Use the Peso sign and
decimal system for
amounts larger than one
peso: ₱1.01 not ₱1.00
19. Spell out the word cents
using numerals for
amounts less than a peso:
45 cents
20. Abbreviate names of the
months of more than five
letters only when followed
by a date: Feb. 14. Never
abbreviate March, April,
May, June or July.
21. Adding the year after the
month and date does not
change the previous rule.
Always write the date in
figures. Never use ordinal
numbers: Oct. 31st XX
22. Spell out and capitalize First
through Ninth when used as
a street name: use figures
with two letters for 10th and
above: 2125 Second Ave.,
102nd and Division
23. The proper name of an organization is
always written out on first reference.
Abbreviate—without periods—on second
reference. Do not follow an organization’s
full name with an abbreviation or acronym
in parentheses.
Capitalize all words in an organization’s
name except the articles a, an, and the and
prepositions of less than five letters
30. Capitalize party, river, street, north and
room when they are an integral part of the
full name for a person, place, or a thing:
Democratic Party, Columbia River, Wall
Street, North Bend, Room 220. BUT: lakes
Erie and Ontario, the Democratic and
Republican parties.
32. Colors should be capitalized when to stand
for the name of the school: the Blue and
Orange tennis team won
Committees should be capitalized:
Graduation Committee.