AP Style 5 Quiz

Vaping

Lowercase. Use to describe e-cigarette use

Avoid “smoking” -> instead say “vaping an e-cigarette”

-up, up-

Hyphenate when used as adjective
No hyphen when used as verb
Solid in common compounds (makeup)

Ultra

Generally solid as a prefix
Hyphenate if followed by a capitalized word (ultra-Orthodox)

Planets

Capitalize planet names
Lower case sun, moon, earth unless listed with other planets

Phishing

Lowercase
Fraudulent attempt to get personal info by email/text

people, persons

People - preferred plural for humans
Persons - use in legal/technical contexts only

-over, over-

Follow dictionary, if not listed hyphenate

-out, out-

Hyphenate when used as a prefix if not commonly used as one word

organizations and institutions

Capitalize full proper names (Harvard University)
Lowercase in generic use (the university)

Internet

Always lowercase

his/her/he/she

Avoid awkward constructions like his/her or he/she
Rewrite in plural when possible “They”
Singular they is acceptable in most cases

Her/it

Using her for nations/ships is outdated
Use it for any objects/animals

Headlines

Capitalize first word and proper nouns only
Use numerals for all numbers
Single quotes for quoted material

figuratively, literally

Literally - an actual fact, not exaggeration
Figuratively - metaphorical

disabled, handicapped, impaired

Use disabled - acceptable in describing person with a disability
Avoid “handicapped”
Impaired is acceptable when describing a specific condition (hearing-impaired)

Dean’s list

Always lowercase

academic degrees

Avoid abbreviations unless absolutely necessary (Ph.D., M.D., LL.D. are exceptions)
Preferred to say “John Jones, who has a doctorate in psychology” instead of “Ph.D.”
Use an apostrophe for bachelors’ degree and master’s degree only
Capitalize Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science, etc
Lowercase in general use

accused, alleged, arrest, charge

Never suggest someone is guilty
Say victim instead of alleged victim
A person is accused of, not “with”
Arrested on suspicion of/in connection with (not “for”)
Use charged with a crime

Alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae

Alumnus - man
Alumni - men (plural) or mixed group
Alumna - woman (singular)
Alumnae - women (plural)
Informal alum/alums are acceptable in limited space

Awards and decorations

Capitalize official names: “Nobel Peace Prize”
Lowercase in general use: “He won the prize”

Composition titles

Capitalize principal words
Put in quotation marks
Exceptions (no quotes): Bible, almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, software, apps, and newspapers/magazines

in-laws

Plural form: add s to the main noun, not “in-law”
Ex. Brothers-in-law