Journalism AP Style Quiz

use of names

full name on first reference, last name thereafter

if two people with the same last name are quoted in a story

use first and last name for both the entire time

formal title capitalization

formal titles capitalized if they appear immediately before a name (make sure it's a formal title not just a job description)

capitalizing grades (freshman, senior, etc.)

no capitalizing

capitalization of departments or classes

not capitalized unless a language

numbers (word or number)

spell out numbers under 10 UNLESS: address, age, money, measurements, temperature, percentages, etc.

age

15-year-old

numbers in millions/billions

don't use all numbers (3,000,000), use number and word million/billion (3 million)

percentages

number then word "percent" (4 percent)

numbers at the beginning of a sentence

spell out the number unless it's a year

monetary values

no extra zeros ($6 not $6.00 or six dollars) but $2.30 is okay

capitalizing names of sports, levels, or positions

no capitalization (varsity basketball; center)

gender-specific sport

apostrophe at the end of girls' or boys'

referring to the team by school name, team, or mascot

team and school name are singular (Trinity)

mascot is plural (Saints)

numbers in records/score and points

numerals for records/scores (51-48 in the third quarter)

normal number rules apply for points (six points; 15 points)

rankings

No. 1 not numer one

apostrophes (not posessive)

referring to years, acronyms, etc. don't use apostrophe (1970s, ABCs, etc.)

Use apostrophe if a single letter grade (she received six A's)

cities with state names

not all cities need state names

if they have them use abbreviations not postal code (Portland, Ore. NOT Portland, OR)

name of composition titles

quotations unless reference, newspaper, or magazine then don't put anything around it

first letter of a quote

capitalize if it is a full sentence quote

full sentence quote followed by attribution

use a comma unless it's a question ("We were excited," Jones said. "Were we excited?" Jones asked.)

sentence fragment quote in a sentence

no quotations and no capitalization

specific dates

abbreviate months with 6+ letters, spell out months with five or less letters

months without a specific date

spell out completely

days of the month

number only, don't use th, st, nd, etc. (Aug. 2 NOT Aug. 2nd)

days of the week

don't abbreviate days of the week

usually don't need both day of week and a date

morning/night times

numerals, a space, lowercase letters, and periods (7 p.m.)

no extra zeros

12 versus noon

use noon and midnight instead of 12 a.m. or 12 p.m.

unfamiliar abbreviations

don't put unfamiliar abbreviations in parentheses after the first reference

either repeat full name or use generic references later

NEVER ABBREVIATE

days of the week, percent as %, cents as c, and as & (unless an official part of a name)

job description capitalization

never capitalize job descriptions (shortstop, attorney, etc.) only formal job titles

commas in a simple series

just don't use Oxford Commas unless it would be confusing without it

hyphens

use to combine adjectives that go together (five-volume report)

don't use w/ very or -ly adverbs

the word "web"

by itself it's capitalized (Web)

part of another word it's lowercase (website, webcam, etc.)

clubs

capitalize clubs (the Forensics Club)

departments

capitalize departments (the Math Department)

don't abbreviate "department"

classes (grade-level classes)

capitalize (Senior Class)

lowercase when referring to a member of the class (Alex Rick, a junior)

class periods

ordinal numbers (4th period)

referencing students

identify class level (junior, Cecelia Miller or Cecelia Miller, a junior)

using the year

don't state the year if you are referencing the current year

only use year if talking about past or future years

TV show title

in quotes

album title

in italics

song title

in quotes