AP Rules
Updated July 12, 2017
1. Use a person’s full name and title the first time you mention him or her in an article. For example, write Don Swanson, professor of communication, not Prof. Swanson. Once people have been fully identified, refer to them by last name only. There are exceptions, so always check the AP stylebook.
2. Spell out abbreviations or acronyms on first reference. For example, use Collins Academy High School the first time you refer to the school in a story. You may use CAHS on any references made after that. Another example would be to use DAR only after you have spelled out Daughters of the American Revolution on first reference. Only use an acronym if it is standard for the organization. Do not create one. Always check on the organization’s website.
3. Abbreviate months when used with days, and use numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) not ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, etc.). Exceptions are March, April, May, June and July — write them out, do not abbreviate. For example, write Sept. 2, 2016, not September 2, 2016. But, when using only the month and year, spell out the month. September 2016.
4. Generally, spell out the numbers zero through nine and use numerals for 10 and higher. Note, however, that numbers used at the beginning of a sentence are spelled out. Example: Five hundred twenty-four students attended. It is better, however, to rewrite the sentence so that it does not begin with a number. Example: Attending the event were 524 students from local colleges. Years are one of the exceptions. For example: 2008 was a bad year for investors.
5. But use numerals even for ages younger than 10. This is another exception to the aforementioned number rule. When used like an adjective, say X-year-old, including the hyphens. Otherwise, do not use the hyphens. For example: the 5-year-old girl kicked her brother, who is 8 years old.
6. Spell out the word “percent” but use numerals for the actual number. Examples: Participation increased 5 percent. Nearly 28 percent of all students do not like algebra. Exception: you may use the % sign in headlines.
7. To indicate time, use figures and lowercase letters (9:15 a.m., 6 p.m.). Put a space between the figure and the letters. Exceptions are noon and midnight. Do not say 12 noon or 12 midnight — it is redundant. Always add the time-zone when writing the time the first instance, unless the time zone changes within the story.
8. Capitalize formal titles used before a name. For example, write former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Very long titles may be shortened or summarized unless they are essential to the story, but the shortened form should not be capitalized (for example, you may use spokesperson instead of Vice President for Public Affairs and Communications). Use lowercase when formal titles follow a name (e.g., Hillary Clinton, secretary of state). General titles, such as astronaut Neil Armstrong and actor Matt Damon, are lowercase.
9. Capitalize names of people, places or things to set them apart from a general group. These include proper nouns such as Mike, Canada, Hudson River, and St. John’s Church. But use lowercase for common nouns (i.e. nouns not coupled with a proper name), such as the river or the church. Also, put a word in lowercase when you have more than one proper noun sharing the word. Example: Ocean and Monmouth counties. Capitalize the first word in a sentence. Refer to the dictionary or AP Stylebook, if needed.
10. Do not use courtesy titles such as Mr., Miss, Mrs., or Ms., except in direct quotes or where needed to distinguish between people of the same name. Using courtesy titles may be polite. And the New York Times uses them in its articles. But it is not AP style.
11. AP Style rules for writing states. The names of eight states are never abbreviated in text: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah.
Abbreviations shown in bold are used with cities and after a Congressman’s name (R-Wyo.) or (D-Wyo.) The two letter abbreviation, aka, Postal Code, is only used when writing an entire address.
Ala. (AL) Md. (MD) N.D. (ND)
Ariz. (AZ) Mass. (MA) Okla. (OK)
Ark. (AR) Mich. (MI) Ore. (OR)
Calif. (CA) Minn. (MN) Pa. (PA)
Colo. (CO) Miss. (MS) R.I. (RI)
Conn. (CT) Mo. (MO) S.C. (SC)
Del. (DE) Mont. (MT) S.D. (SD)
Fla. (FL) Neb. (NE) Tenn. (TN)
Ga. (GA) Nev. (NV) Vt. (VT)
Ill. (IL) N.H. (NH) Va. (VA)
Ind. (IN) N.J. (NJ) Wash. (WA)
Kan. (KS) N.M. (NM) W.Va. (WV)
Ky. (KY) N.Y. (NY) Wis. (WI)
La. (LA) N.C. (NC) Wyo. (WY)
12a: Punctuation
All punctuation must butt up against the word it is modifying.
INCORRECT: That said , she wanted to more.
CORRECT: That said, she wanted more.
When punctuating a quote any forms of punctuation MUST be INSIDE the quotation marks.
INCORRECT: She said, “I want more”.
CORRECT: She said, “I want more.”
12b: Spacing issues when writing with punctuation
There must a be a space between the punctuation and the next word.
INCORRECT: That said,she wanted more.
CORRECT: That said, she wanted more.
12c: Punctuation rule for quotes
After introducing a quote that has more than one sentence or a wordy sentence use a colon instead of a comma.
Example of a wordy sentence quote. Notice the colon.
According to Stuff: “While Tesla is promising to increase its network of stores and service centres by 30 per cent this year, it began 2017 with just 250 service centres worldwide. That leaves many potential owners miles from a service centre.”
NOTE: if the above quote was written with the citation last then the proper punctuation would be a comma.