This guideline covers the use of abbreviationsincluding acronyms and initialisms, contractions, and other shorteningsas used in the english wikipedia maintaining a consistent abbreviation style will allow wikipedia to be read, written, edited, and navigated more easily by readers and editors alike. The sba is committed to simplifying our message by using a standard style without jargon and unidentifiable acronyms. Apa style discourages the use of frequent abbreviations and acronyms in a paper. Abbreviations are words or phrases that have been shortened. For words not in this book, use the firstlisted abbreviation in websters new world college dictionary. Ap stylebook online is a searchable, customizable resource for writers and editors. The most common, such as nasa, fbi and cia, can be used on all references. For example, radar if formed from radio detecting and ranging. Avoid using abbreviations and acronyms when the reader would not quickly identify what it stands for. Ap style does use periods in most two letter abbreviations.
This entry updated march 2010 to reflect a change in ap style. Ah, yes, the familiar panic of poring over your article to make sure hyphens are correctly placed and quotes are wellattributed. Other references, including the chicago manual of style and the gregg reference manual, were consulted in creating the uws house style guidelines. The ap stylebooks guidelines for the use of a and an follow the traditional rule. A few universally recognized abbreviations are required in some circumstances. Ap style place acronyms in parentheses after the full term on first use in the text. Note that if youre only going to use an unfamiliar acronym once, its best just to spell out the original term completely and forgo the abbreviated form. Neil reisner from the associated press stylebook2012 edition concise ap style guide for sjmc students abbreviationsacronyms.
Associated press style quick reference guide to subscribe to the associated press stylebook online, or to find out about purchasing hard copies of the book, start here. A primer on the ap style rule for acronyms bka content. Ap compiles editorial style guide for summer games. The 2009 ap stylebook s plurals entry has no section on acronyms, but mentions vips, i cant find anything addressing how to specifically pluralize acronyms. Jun 15, 2009 note that if youre only going to use an unfamiliar acronym once, its best just to spell out the original term completely and forgo the abbreviated form.
Governor, governors office an exception to ap style state department of administrative services legislator, legislative state agency, agency, department, division, program, section, unit legislature lowercase in generic uses, but capitalize when referring to the oregon legislature. Mastering the ap style rules for abbreviations bka content. The abbreviations and acronyms section is also of no help. Other references, including the chicago manual of style and the gregg reference manual, were. Plase one comma between the city and the state name, and another comma after the state name, unless ending a sentence or indicating a dateline. Difference between ap stylebook and chicago manual of style. Generally, omit periods in acronyms unless the result would spell an unrelated word.
However, in general, avoid alphabet soup whenever possible, especially in cases where the use would confuse the. The ap stylebook s guidelines for the use of a and an follow the traditional rule. If youre writing in ap style, you are never explicitly required to use acronyms. Wellknown acronyms and common abbreviations of names should be. This is the style guide that professional media use.
There are summer olympics and winter olympics, or summer games and winter games. Olympic gold medal, olympic organizers, olympic host city, olympic flame, etc. 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. For slide presentations of ap style basics, go here. Many people get confused with the different citation styles. As a quick reminder, acronyms are a specific type of. It never hurts to check the ap stylebook or a direct source, such as the.
The manual has come to be widely recognized by writers and editors both within and outside the federal government as an important editorial. Styleguard offers recommendations on datelines, abbreviations and acronyms, among many other common style needs, along with items you might not have realized are covered by ap style. Some others are acceptable depending on the context. There is indeed a science and art behind writing a press release. Since associated press style is one of the more widely used writing standards, learning the ap style rule for acronyms is an essential starting point for most freelance writers. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free download. This section can be used as a primer and a quick reference, not a replacement to the gpo or ap style books.
If you choose to utilize one, you should usually begin by writing out the full phrase that makes up the acronym. An initialism is pronounced as a series of letters. Using correct ap style for book, movie, and song titles. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage. As noted earlier, epa has an online subscription to the ap book on our intranet. The chicago manual of style has an interesting way to address this.
These styles did not change in the 17th edition, although their section numbers may have changed. In most instances, our style is based on the associated press ap stylebook online. The associated press stylebook and briefing on media law official style. Use the letter s but not an apostrophe after the figures when expressing decades or centuries. Use abbreviations and acronyms only when they are familiar to your readers. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free. Acronyms are formed by the first letter of each word in a phrase.
Most examples here are taken and condensed from these style books. Standard style guides, including the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law and the chicago manual of style, require. In a news story, can you start a sentence with an acronym. Neil reisner from the associated press stylebook 2012 edition concise ap style guide for sjmc students abbreviations acronyms a few universally recognized abbreviations are required in some circumstances. This page on the north carolina state university website references ap s rule as being to always use an apostrophe.
Mar 17, 2008 the chicago manual of style says, use no periods with abbreviations that appear in full capitals, whether two letters or more and even if lowercase letters appear within the abbreviation. Use the two letter postal service abbreviations only with full addresses, including zip code. If you have a specific question that isnt addressed in the usagov platform style guide, consult the united states government publishing office style manual. Jul 21, 2016 im a huge fan of abbreviations because they make communication easier and spare me from unnecessary typing. To subscribe to the associated press stylebook online, or to find out about purchasing hard copies of. Acronyms are words formed from the initial letters of a multiword term. Other acronyms and abbreviations are acceptable but not required i. After each bullet, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of. The ap stylebook states to not follow an organizations full name with an. Ap updates its stylebook to accommodate changes in conventions and usage. Acronyms are pronounced as words, rather than as series of letters.
For reference books, newspapers, and magazine names, they should not be placed in quotations. The top 6 ap style errors on resumes journalism career. Concise ap style guide for sjmc students school of. Jun 30, 2019 given the ubiquity of acronyms, knowing the relevant grammar and style rules is crucial. Associated press style cheat sheet compiled with assistance from online resources, including scribd, purdue university and towson university abbreviations and acronyms as a general rule, use only commonly recognized abbreviations. Generally, omit period in acronyms unless the result would spell an unrelated word.
What follows are summaries of some of the most common style rules. Its updated throughout the year and valuable onlineonly resources, including ask the editor, topical guides and pronunciation guide, expand on the print book s guidance. They omit the apostrophe, unless there are periods in the abbreviation. A numeraland letter combination may start a sentence. The main references for all university of washington communications are the current editions of the associated press stylebook and websters new world college dictionary. Do not use periods in abbreviations that are in headlines, unless they are needed for clarity. Style and punctuation uw brand university of washington. Do not capitalize federal, state, department, division, board, program, section, unit, etc. Styleguard offers recommendations on datelines, abbreviations and acronyms, among many other common style needs, along with items you. Generally ap style omits periods in acronyms, unless doing so would spell an unrelated word. For all titles in ap style, there is no underlining or italicizing. Generally, we follow the united states government publishing office style manual spelling guidance, but we do use some exceptions. Use abbreviations and acronyms sparingly, only when nothing else works.
For words not in this book use the firstlisted abbreviation in websters new world college dictionary. Also on first mention, spell out abbreviations or acronyms. See our full page on abbreviations and acronyms for a more in depth discussion on their differences. When first referencing someones name, use their full name.
We capitalize the first letter of trademarks but otherwise follow our style rules in determining the capitalization of other letters. As the ap style book writes, names not commonly before the public. Some acronyms and initialisms are so well known for example, fbi, cia, nato, ceo that such uses are acceptable on first reference. Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook.
The worlds most comprehensive professionally edited abbreviations and acronyms database all trademarksservice marks referenced on this site are properties of their respective owners. After each dash, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each section. Tarp stands for troubled asset relief program, so writing the tarp program was controversial is redundant. Similarly, in our style, nasa and aclu are all caps, but the california public employees retirement system is. What you need to know before you write a bio statement. An acronym is a word formed from the first letter or letters of a series of words. The associated press style is the goto style for journalism and news writing. Abbreviations and acronyms ap style abbreviations writing. This guide aims to clarify our style choices in order to ensure consistency among all publications, print and digital, across the bloomberg school. Degrees that are abbreviated with two letters take a period after each letter, and both letters are capitalized. The associated press stylebook states that in contexts other than mailing addresses, the traditional state abbreviations should be used.
The associated press, the ap copy book, and ap writing handbook. Ap style cheat sheet for wjeas writeoff contests and beyond student journalists should have at least these two sources available to answer basic style questions. Writing principles usagov platform style guide usagov. What you need to know before you write a bio statement main source. Ap style is what the general public is accustomed to seeing because it is the official stylebook of the newspaper industry. Mar 14, 2015 ap style for states abbreviations march 14, 2015 a. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as. An example of an initialism with more than three letters is naacp. Ap style holds that acronyms are formed from the first letters or letters of a series of. These guidelines draw from current editions of the ap stylebook and from guidelines compiled by editors. Since 1894, the gpo style manual has served as a guide to the style and form of federal government printing and publishing.
The 2016 edition of the gpo style manual is the first revision to be issued under gpos new name, u. While the healthcare industry loves it some acronyms, ap style is not as much of a fan. Aps automated stylechecking tools speed up the editing process by reducing the need to manually refer to the ap stylebook. This resource, revised according to the associated press stylebook 2012, offers examples for the general format of ap style. An acronym is formed from the first letters of the words that make up a phrase. Olympic adjective without s and always capitalized. 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. 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.
The ap style as its known in the trade is quite different from the new york times style or chicago manual of style. However, the chicago manual of style now recommends use of the uppercase two letter abbreviations, with the traditional forms as an option. If an acronym is more than five letters long, the general ap style rule is. You can find the list of preferred abbreviations under months in the ap stylebook. Dont put acronyms in parentheses after the first reference for. Ap itself along with gi and eu are exceptions to this rule.
Guard against following an acronym with a word that appears in the acronym itself. The ap style as its known in the trade is quite different. In this discussion, as in the manual, the word abbreviation may also refer to initialisms, acronyms, and contractions. Essay writing service of the highest quality, our essay writing service provides custom papers written from, we are a cheap, fast, and reliable essay writing service. Ap style has a funny little way of sneaking into your ear and whispering sweet nothings like, didnt i teach you better than to leave street designations unabbreviated. Use the letter s but not an apostrophe after the figures when expressing. In all cases, we trust that the good judgment and common sense of authors and editors will prevail. Capitalize common nouns such as party, river and street when they are part of a proper name. Campus authors and editors creating news releases are encouraged to use the most current edition of the ap stylebook and briefing on media law. May 21, 2009 for words not in this book use the firstlisted abbreviation in websters new world college dictionary. 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. But our general style rule on acronyms would call for lego. The first publicly available edition of ap stylebook was published in 1953 under the title the associated press style book. Ap style lists a number of acronyms and abbreviations that.
The associated press, a guide for foreign correspondents. Its mobile optimized so you can use it on your desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet. As the ap style book writes, names not commonly before the public should not be reduced to acronyms solely to save a few words. Jun 12, 2015 ap style has a funny little way of sneaking into your ear and whispering sweet nothings like, didnt i teach you better than to leave street designations unabbreviated. Concise ap style guide for sjmc students school of journalism. So while you may believe everyone youre communicating with knows ehr stands for electronic health record, ap style still demands that you spell it out anyway. Do, however, use an apostrophe before figures expressing a decade if numerals are left out. An abbreviation, lets take gb from above, is not an acronym. This article explains some of the differences between ap or associated press style and the chicago manual of style. The main reason for using either is that it will save space and be easier for your reader to process the information through an acronym than if you were to write out an entire phrase each time you used it.
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