Two guidelines for the use of metric measurements in a story. How do i write dates, times, numbers, and measurements. When multiple modifiers have a common base, the base can be omitted in all except the last modifier, but the hyphens should be retained. 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. How do i write dates, times, numbers, and measurements using ap style. You can argue my compoundmodifier hyphenation, i suppose, but the machine isnt a. Ap stylebook changes hyphen guidance, ushering in total chaos. The weatherman said, a 4 12 to 8inch accumulation is expected for later this evening.
Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook. If you dont need a hyphen, theres no need to put one in. Colleen is the product manager for the associated press overseeing stylebook. Ap style is designed to address the challenges of the organizations large size. 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. Associated press ap style is most often used by news and journalism writers to present consistent and clear writing to the consumer. Ap would spell out numerals under 10, even for grade levels.
The ap style as its known in the trade is quite different from the new york times style or chicago manual of style. Ap style indicates that metric terms should be included when relevant, although it provides no strict rules for what defines relevance. If youre new to news writing or switching from one to another, youll want to keep this ap cheat sheet handy and refer to it when in doubt. H the chief virtue that language can have is clearness, and nothing detracts from it so much as the use of unfamiliar. I know a hyphen or two is supposed to go in there somewhere. This entry was posted in punctuation, style and tagged punctuation, using dashes, using hyphens, writing tips on 01. The program is installed within microsoft and will update on its own when the ap stylebook changes so users dont have to find new versions.
Mar, 2015 its conceivable that over time, ebook may lose its hyphen. Three and a half years no hyphens unless its an adjectivea threeanda half year ordeal. To subscribe to the associated press stylebook online, or to find out about purchasing hard copies of the book, start here. A lot of stylebook entries do work this way, but the authors of the stylebook are giving us a little credit and figuring that we can tell which y theyre discouraging. An ellipsis consists of three periods, with a space before and after.
In the past we discussed how to correctly use ap style title case, and now were here to tackle the often confused topic of ap style numbers. 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 best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free download. When expressing time in words instead of numerals, you should use a hyphen, as in fivefifteen. In most cases, the apa style dictates that there is no hyphen after the prefix. Im trying to write 3 and a half year old, as in, he is a 3 and a half year old dog. Hyphen in compound adjective with numbers grammarly. Such combinations are generally not hyphenated if they occur after a noun. For most writers, the hyphen s primary function is the formation of certain compound terms. Chip minemyer aps evolving style guide still impacts. The clock is ticking how to write about time in ap style.
The 2019 edition of the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law includes more than 200 new or revised entries, with chapters covering data journalism, business, fashion, food, religion and sports terms, as well as media law, news values, punctuation, social media, polls and surveys and a new chapter on health and science. How to format numbers in associated press style pen and the pad. This is done to group the words together to show they are all part of the same adjective. The second considers punctuation, including proper typography for titles of books, music, films, etc. Compound terms that start with half daily writing tips. Mar 24, 2017 its where we first heard in 2011 that the associated press would no longer use a hyphen in email and in 2016 that the associate press would lowercase internet.
You dont need hyphens when you are describing someones height, but you do need them in the adjectival forms, like mentioned above. She smiled, youll want to read this gatehouse newsroom post about how to properly use quotation marks in ap style stories then. Both the ap stylebook and the buzzfeed style guide already recommend spelling email without the hyphen. Sure, summer vacation is great, but communications students have something else to look forward to. Feb 26, 20 associated press style question discussion in word mechanics started by dillseed, dec 23, 2014. Names use a persons full name in the first reference. For example, this recipe calls for twothirds of a cup. Get your the smart writers simple ap style cheat sheet guide now. Mar 20, 2014 do these appear to be correct per ap style.
The sentence would read he was holding a halffull glass. Another common but in my view unjustifiable form of punctuation in unedited manuscripts is, for example, threeandahalfyear old, where the author omits the final hyphen as though old were a standalone noun in the context of the given age. In general you should spell out numbers one through nine in ap style. Both cms and ap say if its not in the dictionary, make it two words. Ap stylebook rules for height, feet, inches gatehouse. New to progressions this year are ap style and prssa style guide quizzes. What is the correct way to write a fractional number in a. Seven hardtoremember associated press style rules nov 15, 20 admin there are many rules that writers must understand and practice to perfectly punctuate their prose. Rowling, catch22 by joseph heller, the curious incident of the dog in the ni. Ap compiles us elections style guide associated press. Use a hyphen whenever ambiguity would result if it were omitted. The associated press is reversing some of its march 2019 guidance on how we use of the. Ive just finished reading a dash of style the art and mastery of punctuation and i have to tell any budding author reading this, its a great book.
When using age as an adjective using their age to describe an individual, then use hyphens. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. If it were two halfton, the noun following would be the plural noun units. The hyphen is also used for word division, which is briefly explained here. However, if we put the words half full before the word glass so that they are acting as a compound modifier, then it makes sense to use a hyphen. Ap style is designed to address the challenges of the organizations large size and readership. If you look at these marks with style in mind, the ellipsis is most similar to the em dash. 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. Do not use a hyphen if the construction includes very or an adverb ending in ly. Spell out amounts less than 1 in stories, using hyphens between the words.
April 26, 2017 ap style dates measurements numbers times write. Ap style reminds us that half mast can only happen on a ship. Key voting group encompassing about 42 percent of u. Noah has written this book specifically for fiction writers, because lets face it, we can get away with more shall we say creative license than other forms of writing. A general rule is that hyphens link items and dashes separate items. Use a hyphen if a compound modifier precedes a noun, except with the adverb very or for adverbs that end in ly. Prattler s posted how do i write dates, times, numbers, and measurements using ap style. If you want your writing to have professional polish, resist the urge to hyphenate prefixes. The associated press stylebook and the chicago manual of style. Other time expressions could include half past five and twenty to. Ap compiles super bowl style guide associated press. If youre writing about a sculpture, should you italicize the title, or put it in quotation marks. Jun 27, 2016 june has finally rolled around, and for many students that means summer vacation.
Do not use a hyphen with a compound modifier after the noun. Ap sparks linguistic pandemonium with hyphen guidance update. That word can be a compound noun, verb or adjective. Where some ambiguity arises without a hyphen, then theres a need to use one. Never use a hyphen in place of an en dash or an em dash. Modern usage omits most hyphens after prefixes even when it results in a doubled letter misspell, posttrial, preemption, reelection.
The ap stylebook advises that a compound thats hyphenated before a noun is also hyphenated following a form of the verb to be. Using correct ap style for book, movie, and song titles. Use them to avoid ambiguity or to form a single idea from two or more words. On average, a garden snail moves 50 yards per hour.
These questions are designed to test knowledge of the chicago manual of style, which prefers merriamwebsters collegiate dictionary, 11th edition. In this post, i will discuss compound terms ending with a preposition or adverb e. The associated press style for the em dash uses a space on either side to set it off. The dash that is usually typed as two hyphens is typeset as an em dash. Associated press style basics journalists resource. Using hyphens in apa style in academic writing enago academy. But what do you do when your client has no clear preference. Ap style doesnt suggest hyphenating percentages and, in fact, suggests keeping hyphenation to a minimum. We agree that, for instance, firsthalf run should be hyphenated. It is ap style to use only the number for whole hours, i. A quickanddirty guide to hyphens speedy delivery medium. And the ap stylebook kept wording it has used previously that says use of the hyphen is far from standardized and, as in the past, note that it can be a matter of taste, judgment and. I bet a lot of people, however, have changed half an hour to a half hour because ap mentions the latter but not the former.
In addition, see individual entries in this book and in websters new world college dictionary. There is no need for hyphens if youre using the phrase as a noun. Instead, writers who follow the ap stylebook put quotation marks around the titles of books, movies, plays, and the like. 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. Although it is sold as a guide for reporters, it has become the leading reference for most forms of publicfacing corporate.
We find your use of both an en dash and hyphens to be creative and acceptable to us. A hyphen joins words to form compound adjectives or is used to attach certain prefixes or suffixes to words. In most cases, style choices like this can vary from client to client. The reason we hyphenate is for clarity, and this is an overriding factor. Terms like oneanda half should be hyphenated expressions like threeanda half as in threeanda half ounces are classified as compound adjectives and should be hyphenated. A short line used to connect the parts of compound words or the parts of a word divided for any purpose.
Its time for spring cleaning, but you can spruce up your writing, as well as your office, with updated ap style rules. To help with spellings and usage in coverage of the super bowl on feb. Ap style guidelines for hyphen usage gatehouse newsroom. Per ways to write 2000 year old, i suspect it should be 3anda half yearold, but that reads like deathby hyphen, even if it is correct. May 26, 2010 according to ap style, should it be half price or half price. E books currently make up two percent of my book sales. Other references consulted in the preparation of the ap style book. In american english, words with prefixes are generally made solid codefendant, nonstatutory, pretrial. If you are using a phrase like that as a modifier, however, youll need hyphens to hold it all together. According to ap style, should it be half price or half price. Half an hour sounds infinitely better, and the ap entry is simply illustrating that halfhour, if.
I was just curious if you ever use the gregg reference manual. Yesterday, the chicago manual of style announced it would adopt these two styles as well, and now today, the ap is leading the charge again with these changes. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the podcast awards. Things such as books, movies, paintings and so on get titlestyle capitalization and. Hold to these rules when using ap style fractions in your writing.
Hyphens join words together and should be used to help form a single idea from two words or avoid ambiguity in your writing. Ive noticed that you advise people that it is ap style to write full hours like this. Always use a hyphen in any situation in compounds beginning with all, self, half. Jan 06, 2015 in chicago style, it is used for ranges of things such as years, ages, months, numbers, etc. Consider the following examples of ap style numbers, the chicago white sox finished second. Dec 23, 2015 the guardian and observer style guide guardian and observer style guide. Also note no hyphen linking numerals and the word million, billion, or trillion.
If you love lists, im sharing one compiled in a sofarsuccessful bid to avoid organ herniation from hoisting those. This is the basic difference in how ellipses are rendered in ap style and chicago style. Hyphens with numbers grammar blog blue book of grammar. Associated press style thread just for questions on ap. Hyphenation with numbers and units of measure grammar. When following ap style, numbers zero through nine are typically written in word form, while numbers 10 and above are written as cardinal numbers.
However, we are unable to find this sort of usage in any of our usual reference books such as the chicago manual of style or the associated press style book. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free. A manual of style, grammar, usage, and formatting by william a. The associated press stylebook, certainly a reputable resource, uses a hyphen under its. What is the correct way to write a fractional number in a formal letter. Ap stylebooks 2019 edition includes guidance on suicide. That is the reaction to a small change in associated press style that. See also ap style times, ap style time sequences, and is noon am or pm. Apr 04, 2018 the usual need for a hyphen is in forming a compound word. The ap stylebook has a few simple rules for using quotation marks in ap style stories. The ap stylebook, the buzzfeed style guide, the economist style guide, and the chicago manual of style all recommend hyphenating e book, as well as most other e words such as ereader and ecommerce its conceivable that over time, e book may lose its hyphen. Note that wind chill factor is three separate words with no hyphens even when its bitterly cold outside, they dont huddle together. The chicago manual of style online is the venerable, timetested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. But when a hyphen is necessary in the expression of minutes, only hyphenate the minutes, as in five fortyfive.
In chicago style, it is used for ranges of things such as years, ages, months, numbers, etc. Communicators of all stripes should refer to the style guide to sharpen their writing. Other style guides may follow a different dictionary. Half an hour sounds infinitely better, and the ap entry is simply illustrating that half hour, if it comes up, gets a hyphen. To create an em dash on an apple computer, hold down the option and shift while striking the hyphen. I dont know if its different when used with and a half, but ap style for numbers is you spell out one through nine and use. Boneheaded editors see x in the stylebook and decide that means they must never, ever use y. The most common form of stylebook abuse is the use of an affirmative entry as a negative entry. The 2019 edition of the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law. Authors were treated badly in the recent ebook dispute. Whats the cleanest way to write threeandahalf years.
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. Compound terms are those that consist of more than one word but represent a single item or idea. Use a hyphen to separate figures in odds, ratios, scores some fractions and some vote tabulations. They do, however, answer the questions of who, what, when, where and why of the issue.
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. I first want to say i love your posts and learn something new on a daily basis. Editorial style guide communications lafayette college. Use figures for time of day except for noon and midnight. Associated press style question creative writing forums. If you locate anything further on this topic, please send it along to us. If a word has the same spelling but different meanings, it might be prudent to use a hyphen after the prefix to differentiate them. Use a hyphen for the adjectival forms before nouns. But hyphenate if youre using it as an adjective before a noun.
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