Our site uses a modified version of ap style, which is why the example reads 8yearold instead of eightyearold. Jul 21, 2015 in chicago style, as opposed to ap style, we would write four hundred, eight thousand, and twenty million with no numeralsbut like ap, chicago style would require numerals for 401. Aug 17, 2017 hyphens join words together and should be used to help form a single idea from two words or avoid ambiguity in your writing. When multiple modifiers have a common base, the base can be omitted in all except the last modifier, but the hyphens should be retained. Ap style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language. A grammar expert explains when to use hyphens with ages and when to.
Dear ap style, how can i possibly take anything you say seriously when you don t. Consider the following examples of ap style numbers, the chicago white sox finished second. May 18, 2015 ages should be expressed using figures and be used when relevant, generally for profiles, obituaries, career milestones and when the achievement is unusual for the age. Ap editor david minthorn fields questions of widest interest posed by subscribers to the online ap stylebook. Welcome to ask the editor, a forum on writing, style and phrasing issues that go beyond the pages of the ap stylebook. Dear ap style, how can i possibly take anything you say seriously when you dont. The guidelines below illustrate ways to use these marks effectively, both alone and in combination. Use hyphens to link all the words in a compound adjective. The associated press was founded more than 150 years ago and now has thousands of employees working in more than a hundred countries for a readership that numbers in the millions. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per ap style. In your example, it appears to be an adverbial phrase, in which case, i believe hyphens are not warranted. What follows are summaries of some of the most common style rules. For line breaks, divide alreadyhyphenated words only at the hyphen. Hyphens are often used to tell the ages of people and things.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The associated press style is the goto style for journalism and news writing. Authors were treated badly in the recent e book dispute. Colon capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. The hyphen, en dash, and forward slash are three punctuation marks used to indicate a relationship between words or phrases. Em dashes use an em dash to signal a sudden break in sentence structure like this. Instead, ap style uses the en dash for this use, and puts one space before and after it. Cms the test was openbook ap with a hyphenated compound.
A compound adjective comprises two or more adjectives strung together to modify a noun, such as lightblue sky or hardhearted person. The associated press stylebook and the chicago manual of style. How to use commas in associated press style pen and the pad. This months workout, hyphens, part 1, centers on cmos 16, paragraph 7. Jul 27, 2010 ap does not even acknowledge that the en dash exists.
Americas two most influential style and usage guides have different approaches. Again, if you keep in mind that ap style embraces brevity, this will be easy to remember. The ap stylebook says to make reference of age when it is deemed relevant to the. Spacing after periods use a single space after a period at the end of a sentence not two spaces. Following an introduction of nine general principles, cmos then lists out. To insert dashes into text, use the symbols or custom character menu in word processing software such as word or html wysiwyg editor for online writing. Spell out the word percent but use numerals for the. Ap style aims to be totally accurate, clear to anyone with a high school education and inoffensive curse words are generally avoided, for example all while being as succinct as possible. In ap style, ly words mostly adverbs and very dont get hyphens as compound modifiers. You should use figures for 10 or above and whenever preceding a unit of measure or referring to ages of people, animals, events or things. Using hyphens in apa style in academic writing enago academy. Associated press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. Use a hyphen to divide words at the end of a line if necessary, and make the break only between syllables. The guidelines help writers present clear and concise information with consistent structure to keep readers focused.
Here are a few simple rules to follow when using hyphens. This is another exception to the aforementioned number rule. If you have a question what book that is laying around the news lab should you use to find answers to ap style questions. Use hyphens when ages are used as adjectives before a noun 5yearold boy use hyphens when ages are used as substitutes for a noun the race is for 5yearolds. May 07, 2009 the associated press was founded more than 150 years ago and now has thousands of employees working in more than a hundred countries for a readership that numbers in the millions. Lifesucking, momand applepiehating, mimeloving, nerdfightinciting daggers of the damned. Crash course on ap style writing visual storytelling. Use hyphens following the area code and the city prefix changed to ap style in june. To subscribe to the associated press stylebook online, or to find out about purchasing hard copies of the book, start here. Editorial style guide communications lafayette college. Ap style guidelines for hyphen usage gatehouse newsroom. While the ap stylebook admits that there is not necessarily a standard way to use them, and that most instances come own to personal style or taste, it does say the fewer hyphens the better. This includes book titles, magazine titles, movie titles, poem titles, song titles, etc.
Top 5 tips to edit and write in chicago or ap style proedit. Notice that dates take cardinal numbers, not ordinal numbers dont use 4th. Chicago style is to use the word for ages 100 and lower, and ap style is to always use the numeral for ages. Use a comma to set off a persons town of residence, age and other such. Is the age of an inanimate object expressed in numerals or spelled out.
For addresses what should you abbreviate for street names. Generally, you should use ages in for profiles, obituaries, significant career milestones, and achievements unusual for the age. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free download. I read four books with more than 400 pages, sixty books with more than 100 pages, and a hundred articles with fewer than 4 pages.
The ap stylebook, the buzzfeed style guide, the economist style guide, and the chicago manual of style all recommend hyphenating ebook, as well as most other e words such as ereader and ecommerce its conceivable that over time, ebook may lose its hyphen. Use hyphens for ages that are expressed as adjectives before a noun or as. An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun, such as a tall tree or blue sky. The associated press stylebook recommends spelling out the numbers zero through nine and using numerals thereafteruntil one million is reached. A hyphen is usually used in apa style when two or more words modify a common noun and that noun comes after the modifiers, for example, 7point scale or clientcentered counseling. In general you should spell out numbers one through nine in ap style. Use hyphens in numbers from twentyone through ninetynine. If youre new to news writing or switching from one to another, youll want to keep this ap cheat sheet handy and. It is the indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the editorial canon with sound, definitive advice. So to conform, we are returning the hyphen to the quarter phrases. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free.
The topic of when to write numbers out and when to use numerals concerns and confounds a lot of people. Jan 06, 2015 in chicago style, it is used for ranges of things such as years, ages, months, numbers, etc. Writing style guide communications and marketing suny. Hyphens are used to tell the ages of people and things. When a date includes the month, day and year, include a comma after the year. Hyphens get nine full pages of coverage in the chicago manual of style cmos. When it comes to hyphens, en and em dashes, commas, parentheses, colons and semicolons, can there be too much of a good thing. On first usage of a persons name with academic degree, spell out the full name, followed by a comma and the academic degree, e. These adjectival forms are usually hyphenated as well. The bill was signed on may 5, 20, two days before the session ended. Begin the new yearyour best one yetwith positive, fresh energy. Repeated hyphens in a phrase by chelsea lee a hyphen is usually used in apa style when two or more words modify a common noun and that noun comes after the modifiers, for example, 7point scale or clientcentered counseling.
The associated press stylebook and briefing on media law official style guide of the associated press, a notforprofit news agency thats been around since 1846. To maintain consistency in writing and editing, delaware state university communications should adhere to style guidelines that employ the rules for english grammar, punctuation and spelling. Note that ap style differs significantly from style guides typically used in english classes, such as the apa and oxford style guides. Ap style is designed to address the challenges of the organizations large size and readership.
Notice that ap style does not include a period and two zeroes when referring to an even dollar figure. When the context does not require years or years old, the figure is presumed to be years. Here is a sampling of frequently asked questions, with examples of ap style used in answers. After each bullet, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each item. Ap does not even acknowledge that the en dash exists. It is a standardized way of writing created and maintained by the associated press, a long standing authority within the news world. According to both the associated presss guide to punctuation online and the elements of style which serves as a sort of writers bible, yes and yes. Both the ap stylebook and the buzzfeed style guide already recommend spelling email without the hyphen.
The ap stylebook says to make reference of age when it is deemed relevant to the situation. When referring to a time span, i never know when to use a dash to separate the. Were calling this workout part 1 because hyphens are a vast topic, destined to confound us in many ways and certainly worth a series of workouts. The ap style as its known in the trade is quite different from the new york times style or chicago manual of style. For example, use one number style for items in one category and another style for another category. An em dash, like an ellipsis, has a space before and after, except when used to introduce items in a vertical list. Each year the associated press publishes an updated version of the associated press stylebook. Avoid constructions in which an age follows a class year in a sentence. At the american copy editors society national conference in providence, rhode island, froke said the ap is adding a new umbrella entry for racerelated coverage.
Punctuation use a comma to separate a year used with a date. Chicago style is to use the word for ages 100 and lower, and ap style is to. Associated press style basics journalists resource. For line breaks in words ending in ing, if a single final consonant in the root word is doubled before the suffix, hyphenate between the consonants. The chief virtue that language can have is clearness, and nothing detracts from it so much as the use. Although it is sold as a guide for reporters, it has become the leading reference for most forms of publicfacing corporate. Jun, 2019 chicago style is to use the word for ages 100 and lower, and ap style is to always use the numeral for ages. The ellipsis consists of three periods with spaces before and after each one. An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun, such as a tall. The associated press stylebook and briefing on media law official style guide. Mar, 2015 its conceivable that over time, e book may lose its hyphen. In a march stylebook update, froke said, the ap noted the difference between. Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun.
Aug 01, 2018 the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law official style guide of the associated press, a notforprofit news agency thats been around since 1846. Answers to questions about hyphens in references to age. The associated press stylebook provides a uniform presentation of the printed word to. Ap style, or associated press style, is the writing style guide used by the associated press. Respectively, each mark indicates an increasing level of connection between words.
Use hyphens for ages that are used as adjectives before a noun or that substitute a noun. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage. In preparing the 11th edition of the blue book of grammar and punctuation, we thought long and hard about hyphens vs. Use hyphens when the compound adjective comes before the noun. This is the basic difference in how em dashes are rendered in ap style and chicago style. A handy rule, whether writing about years or months, or any other period of time, is to use hyphens unless the periods of time are written in plural form. The associated press has a stylebook with rules and standards used primarily in journalistic and news writing. Colleen is the product manager for the associated press overseeing stylebook. Now that the basics of number style have been laid out, i bet that you can smell the exceptions 1. Hyphens, en dashes, em dashes the chicago manual of style. Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before nouns and as. There are only a handful of rules for writing numbers that virtually everyone agrees on. An em dash, like an ellipsis, has a space before and after, except when used to introduce items in.
This is an example of where mcgeorge style departs from ap style. Hyphens join words together and should be used to help form a single idea from two words or avoid ambiguity in your writing. The ellipsis has a space before and after the three period marks. Its often used by news organizations, magazines, and web publications, but brands often use it to form the basis of their own style guides, too. If someone is quoted as saying, im too old to go back to school, the age is relevant.
Ages should be expressed using figures and be used when relevant, generally for profiles, obituaries, career milestones and when the achievement is unusual for the age. Best of ap style and grammarpunctuationspelling gps 1. The associated press ap stylebook editor paula froke revealed on friday, march 29, several changes to the annually updated journalism handbook. A handy rule, whether writing about years, months, or any other period of time, is to use hyphens unless the period of time years, months, weeks, days is written in plural form. The chicago manual of style online is the venerable, timetested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. Ebooks currently make up two percent of my book sales. It had to be easy for reporters and editors to use and also produce. Ap stylebook, also known by its full name the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law, is an english grammar style and usage guide created by american journalists working for or connected with the associated press to standardize mass communication. Ap style says numerals should always be used with ages. When used like an adjective, say xyearold, including the hyphens. Because readers expect ly words or very to modify the word that follows, no hyphen is required. Quick rules for using hyphens and dashes almost an author.
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