Writing

“You can fix anything but a blank page.” — Nora Roberts

Table of contents

  1. Abbreviation in parentheses
  2. Delimiter symbols
    1. Construction
    2. Space around delimiter
  3. Header letter
  4. Punctuation
    1. Emphasize punctuation
    2. Parentheses
    3. Punctuate list item
    4. Serial comma
  5. Spell number
  6. Time and date
    1. Time format
    2. Date format

Abbreviation in parentheses

AP X status: Don’t follow the full name of an organization

Use abbreviations only on second and subsequent references.

BeforeAfter
The topic for today is Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is a rapidly growing field. The topic for today is artificial intelligence. AI is a rapidly growing field.

Delimiter symbols

AP X status: Use slash

Construction

Use a slash to separate two or more words that are closely related.

BeforeAfter
The cat-dog was chasing the mouse. The cat/dog was chasing the mouse.

Space around delimiter

Do not put whitespace between delimiters.

BeforeAfter
Join us from 9 - 11 a.m. Join us from 9-11 a.m.

Header letter

AP Stylebook: Capitalization

Use sentence case for headers, capitalize only the first letter of the first word.

BeforeAfter

Man Bites Dog

News flash, a man bites a dog.

Man bites dog

News flash, a man bites a dog.

Punctuation

AP Stylebook: Punctuation

Emphasize punctuation

When highlighting a word or phrase with adjacent punctuations, also highlight the punctuations.

BeforeAfter
There was a quick brown fox, it jumps over the lazy dog. There was a quick brown fox, it jumps over the lazy dog.

Parentheses

Use period only if the content inside parentheses is a complete sentence.

BeforeAfter
The best video game of 2017 was Horizon Zero Dawn. (Arguably)

The best video game of 2017 was Horizon Zero Dawn (though others might say Breath of the Wild).		 The best video game of 2017 was Horizon Zero Dawn (arguably).

The best video game of 2017 was Horizon Zero Dawn. (Though others might say Breath of the Wild.)

Punctuate list item

Punctuate list items only if they are more than one sentence.

BeforeAfter
  • Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old
  1. Foo.
  2. Bar.
  • Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old.
  1. Foo
  2. Bar

Serial comma

Serial comma is not placed after the penultimate term. Exceptionally, comma can be placed when combining two separate contexts.

BeforeAfter

Science, math, and reading, and writing.

I was breastfed but my family members were fed formula.

Science, math, and reading and writing.

I was breastfed, but my family members were fed formula.

Spell number

AP Stylebook: Numbers

Spell out number one to nine and use numerals for 10 and above.

BeforeAfter
The 2 cats were chasing at least fifteen mice. The two cats were chasing at least 15 mice.

Time and date

AP Ask the Editor: Dates, times, eras

Time format

Use the following format when mentioning a time:

  • Hour only: 6
  • Hour and minute: 6:30
  • Hour, minute and period: 6:30 a.m.
BeforeAfter
The event will begin with a social hour and cash bar, followed by dinner at six o'clock PM. The event will begin with a social hour and cash bar, followed by dinner at 6 p.m.

Date format

Use the following format when mentioning a date:

  • Month only: January
  • Month and year: January 2020
  • Month and day: Jan. 1
  • Month, day and year: Jan. 1, 2020
BeforeAfter
Jan. 2016 was a cold month. January 2 was the coldest day of the month. January 2016 was a cold month. Jan. 2 was the coldest day of the month.