By Dave Feldman, The San Diego Union-Tribune and Stan Ketterer, Oklahoma State University

This stylebook is a summary of the most commonly used items in the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual. It includes helpful reminders, but it is not a substitute for it. When in doubt, look it up in the AP Stylebook

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Dates

When SPECIFIC DATES are used, abbreviate the month. Put commas after the day of the week, the month and the year. If you only have the month and day, no commas are required.

	Joe Anders died Monday, Jan. 6, 1997, of cancer.
	The banquet will be Oct. 10 in the Student Union.

With NO SPECIFIC DATE, spell out the month. When you have the month and the year, DO NOT use a comma between them:

	February is chilly.
	She received her last letter from him in December 1994.

EXCEPTION: The "shorter" five months of spring and summer are not abbreviated: March, April, May, June, July. MEMORY TIP: 5 months and 5 letters or fewer.

She changed the wedding date from May 10 to June 14.

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Capitalization

(a) Capitalize River or Dam as part of a proper name:

	Red River
	Hoover Dam

BUT, in plurals, DO NOT capitalize the river or dam:

Arkansas and Mississippi rivers

(That same lower-case for plurals applies to counties, streets, etc.)

	First and 12th streets
	Payne and Pawnee counties

(b) Capitalize the specific regions: Midwest, East, West Coast, South, etc.

But NOT compass directions:

	Oklahoma is part of the Southwest.
	They were headed east on Interstate 70.

(c) Capitalize official names , including City Commission, Commerce Committee, Congress, Senate, House, General Assembly, Republican Party, and Democratic Party. Capitalize words derived from official names, such as Republicans and Democrats.

	The City Commission approved the ordinance.
	The Democrats control the Commerce Committee.

BUT LOWERCASE when when not using the official name, often on second and subsequent references.

	The commission passed the measure by a 4-3 vote.
	Despite Democratic opposition, the committee approved the bill.

(d) Capitalize: Branches of the US (not foreign) military -- Army, Navy, Marines, etc.

	She served in the Army
	The Mexican navy picked the survivors.

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Abbreviations

(a) Do not use acronyms unless they are familiar to your readers. Spell out governmental agencies on first reference, and abbreviate on second reference. DO NOT use brackets or periods.

Federal Communications Commission. The FCC issued the ruling.

FBI and CIA can stand alone anytime. But try to avoid alphabet soup.

	WRONG: Oklahoma State University (OSU). The OSU ...
	RIGHT: Oklahoma State University. The OSU ....

(c) As a noun, United States is spelled out. As an adjective, it is abbreviated US:

The United States opposed the treaty because US companies would pay higher tariffs.

(d) SPELL OUT the names of all of the states when they stand ALONE.

She went on a ski trip in Colorado.

BUT abbreviate the state names when they are used with a city: EXCEPTION: There are eight states that are not abbreviated: The two that are disconnected _ Alaska and Hawaii _ ) and the six with five letters or fewer: Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah.

We landed in Waco, Texas.

DO NOT USE POSTAL ABBREVIATIONS, except for addresses for memorials in obituaries.

WRONG: They traced the car to Sand Springs, OK. RIGHT: They traced the car to Sand Springs, Okla.

(e) No periods are used with mph, as in 35 mph, nor with mm, as in 35mm.

After chasing the car at speeds exceeding 100 mph, officers found a 9mm handgun when the searched the vehicle, police said.

(f) Abbreviate company, corporation, limited and incorporated at the end of a company's name. In most cases the Inc. is unnecessary, but use it when it is an important part of the name, such as Time Inc.

The Phillips Petroleum Co. increased its market share.

(g) Do not use courtesy titles, except on second and other references in an obituary.

(H) Abbreviate junior and senior with names, and do not use a comma to separate them..

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Numbers

(a) In general, SPELL OUT one through nine, use figures for 10 above.

He invited 12 guests to the party but only nine showed up.

EXCEPTIONS: Always use figures for these:
(b) Ages:

	John, 7, ran away. John is 7 years old.
	Jenny, a 9-year-old girl, ran away, too.

(c) Dimensions:

	The 7-foot-2 center weighed 230 pounds.
	The waves were 6 feet high.

(d) Percentages:

	4 percent (NOTE that percent is ONE word.)
	1 percent to 5 percent (USE the word "percent" every time.)

(e) Time:

	6 p.m. (NOT 6:00 p.m.; p.m. has periods and is and lowercased.)
	8 tonight (p.m. would be redundant)

(f) Street numbers:

9 Quinton Court BUT 88 Ninth Street

(g) Day of the month:

Jan. 9, 1997, (not 9th)

(h)Do not start a sentence with a figure.

	WRONG: 70 runners straggled in.
	RIGHT: Seventy runners straggled in.

EXCEPTION: AP allows you to start a sentence with a year:

1996 was a watershed.

But it's best to avoid even this.

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Money

(a) Use the dollar sign ... $ $ $ $

$10, $1,000, $90,000 (NOT $90 thousand or 90 thousand dollars)

(b) Use exact figures up to $1 million. On figures more than $1 million, use:

$1 million, $2.7 million, $6.28 billion

(c) Round off, unless an exact figure is required.

$9,853,159 can usually become $9.85 million.

(d) Repeat the word with ranges:

	WRONG: $8 to $10 million
	RIGHT: $8 million to $10 million

(e) For amounts less than a dollar, use a number and SPELL OUT cents:

A Coke costs 25 cents during finals week.

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Miscellaneous

(a) Nicknames are enclosed in quotes, NOT parentheses:

	WRONG: Jesse (The Body) Ventura
	RIGHT: Jesse "The Body" Ventura or "The Gov"

(b) Put quotation marks around the titles of movies, plays, books (but not the Bible or reference works), operas, songs, TV programs, speeches and works of art. But NOT around the names of newspapers or magazines.

	The editorial in the Daily Oklahoman supported the bond issue.
	He loved to watch "Saturday Night Live."

(c) When using two initials instead of a first name, do not put a space between them:

B.J. Thomas

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This page was created by Assistant Professor Stan Ketterer on May 8, 2000, and last updated Jan. 19.