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AP STYLE JOURNALISM GUIDELINES

Consistency is a key factor to good yearbook writing. Your staff can achieve consistency in the books

copy by following an established style. TheAP Stylebook, produced by The Associated Press, providesguidelines on spelling, usage, grammar and punctuation, and is widely used for journalisticpublications. This quick reference shares AP guidelines for some of the common style consistencyissues that impact high school yearbook staffs.

Capitalization

Do Capitalize

Athletic team names: Hawks, Jaguars. Geographic regions: Storms hit the Midwest. Official course titles: Biology I, Algebra II. Specific event titles: the State Basketball Tournament, the Homecoming Dance, Twin Cities

Regional Science Fair.

Dont Capitalize

Class names: freshman, sophomore. Seasons: summer, winter. Names of school subjects: math, science. The abbreviations a.m. and p.m., c.o.d. and mph. Compass directions: Turn north at the light.Abbreviations

Do Abbreviate

College names previously mentioned in a story. After first mention, abbreviate in all caps with noperiods: UCLA, MSU.

Well-known abbreviations, such as PTA and NFL. Abbreviate in all caps with no periods. States when preceded by a city name, except Alaska, Hawaii and states with five or fewer letters.

Abbreviations found in theAP Stylebookshould be used as opposed to U.S. Postal Serviceabbreviations.

United States, when used as an adjective (for example, U.S. exports). Spell out when used as anoun.

Dont Abbreviate

State names that stand alone. Organizations that are not commonly known.

Days of the week. The words percent (except in a list) and cents. Spell out and unless & is part of a name.Names On first mention of a person in a story, use his/her first and last name and appropriate

identification: sophomore Shari Perkins. After first mention, refer to students by their last names in all stories. Short titles should precede the name and be capitalized: Principal Joe Jones. Long titles should be placed behind the name, set off by a comma and should not be capitalized:

Mary Smith, director of student involvement.

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AP STYLE JOURNALISM GUIDELINES, CONT.

Numbers

Use Numerals

When referring to numbers 10 and above. When referring to age, weight, size, dimensions, prices and degrees. In addresses. In dates. Do not use ordinals: July 4, not July 4th. In scores. Use a hyphen: The Cardinals edged the Hawks, 25-22.Spell Out

Numbers one through nine are generally written out. Grades: ninth, tenth. Percents and hours of the day. Spell out a number when it starts a sentence unless the number is a specific year.Other Number Rules

For money and time, eliminate unnecessary zeros: $10, 7 p.m. Use noon and midnight instead of 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. When writing out a date span, use a hyphen instead of the word to: April 11-30.Punctuation

Apostrophe

For plural nouns that do not end in s and all singular nouns, use an apostrophe followed by s toindicate possession: boys shorts, Cheries book, Franciss telephone, groups agenda.

For plural nouns ending in s, indicate possession by using an apostrophe without an s:cheerleaders routine, classes responses.

Use an apostrophe to indicate omitted letters or numbers: 06-07 school year. Single letters must be followed by an apostrophe s. Multiple letters require the s but no

apostrophe: Ms, ABCs. In team names, an apostrophe is not needed behind boys and girls: boys soccer, girls basketball.General Punctuation Guidelines

In a simple series, dont use commas before and: Red, white and blue. Avoid exclamation points. Use a period instead. Use a hyphen to link two or more words that modify a single word: Full-color printing.

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