AP style

abbreviations

numerals

Businesses Abbreviate Bros., Co.,

Corp., Inc., Ltd. Do not place a
comma before Inc. or Ltd.: Warner
Bros., Brown Implement Co., Leather
Ltd., Smith & Co. Inc.

In general, spell out numbers one

through nine and use figures for 10
and higher. nine students, 10 football
players, three tests, 1,200 people,
ninth place, 11th place.

Colleges When abbreviating the

names of colleges and universities,
do not use periods: UT, OSU, UNT.

Spell out numerals when they begin

sentences. Eight hundred students
attended Fall Fiesta Oct. 15-18 in
San Antonio.
Exception: When the sentence starts
with a year. 1980 was a great year.

Course titles Do not abbreviate

except when used as an adjective:
physical education (not P.E. but
P.E. classes)
Days of the week Always spell out
days of the week: Monday (not Mon.)

Use Roman numerals for wars and to

show personal sequence for animals,
people and acts of plays. World War I,
King Henry VIII, Act II.

Months Only abbreviate names of

the month when followed by a date.
However, never abbreviate months
with five letters or less: Jan. 10, May
2; Thanksgiving falls on the last
Thursday of November.

Use No. 1, No. 2, not number one or

number 1.

Organizations Write out full name

on first reference. Abbreviate on
second reference and thereafter,
without periods. Never follow
an organizations full name with
an abbreviation or acronym in
parentheses.

Dates Give the date in figures, but do

not use ordinal numbers: April 1, not
April 1st.

States Abbreviate names of states

only when used after names of
cities and town. Do not use postal
abbreviations to identify states. Use
these abbreviations:
Ala.
Ariz.
Ark.
Calif.
Colo.
Conn.
Del.
D.C.
Fla.
Ga.
Ill.

Ind.
Kan.
Ky.
La.
Md.
Mass.
Mich.
Minn.
Miss.
Mo.
Mont.

Neb.
Nev.
N.C.
N.H.
N.J.
N.M.
N.Y.
N.D.
Okla.
Ore.
Pa.

R.I.
S.C.
S.D.
Tenn.
Vt.
Va.
Wash.
W.Va.
Wis.
Wyo.

Do not abbreviate Alaska, Hawaii,

Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas or
Utah.
Street Addresses Abbreviate Ave.,
Blvd., St. only when used with a
numbered address: 23 Carpet St.,
Carpet Street. All similar words are
always spelled out: Drive, Lane, Road,
Terrace, etc. Abbreviate compass
points (E. N.W., etc.) in addresses
with specific street numbers.

Ages Use figures in reporting ages

of people: Timothy is 5 years old;
8-year-old Sarah.

Percentages Percents (one word) are

always given in figures: 1 percent, 2.5
percent, 10 percent to 15 percent.
Ratios Use figures and a hyphen. The
word to should be omitted when the
numbers come before the word ratio,
and a colon should be substituted:
a ratio of 4-to-1, a 5:1 ratio.
Speeds Use figures exclusively.
Avoid extensive hyphenation such as
5-mile-per-hour winds: The posted
speed was 55 mph; Winds of 7 to 9
knots expected.
Time Use figures for time of day
except for noon and midnight. Omit
unnecessary zeroes. 4 p.m., 6:15
a.m., 20 minutes.
Spell out numbers less than 10
standing alone and in modifiers.
Im only four minutes late. The
one-minute warning bell.

other common style

mistakes...
adviser Not advisor.

Decades Use figures to indicate a

decade, an apostrophe in place of
numerals that are left out, and add
the letter s to form a plural:
the 1980s, the 20s, the mid-1970s.

affect, effect Affect is a verb and

means to influence. Effect is a noun
and means a result. The break-up
affected his game. The effect was
total silence.

Distances Use figures exclusively.

Hyphenate compound adjectives
when they come before the noun: He
ran 5 miles, she ran the 3-mile loop.

class titles Dont capitalize

freshman, sophomore, junior or
senior. Use before the name on first
reference. junior Kayla Brown.

Measurements Use figures and spell

out the words inches, feet, yards,
etc. Hyphenate compound adjectives
when they come directly before a
noun: She is 6 feet 4 inches tall, the
6-foot 4-inch woman, the 6-foot-4
woman, the rug is 9 feet by 12 feet,
the 9-by-12 rug.

coach Do not capitalize. We had an

incredible season, an amazing year,
varsity coach Josh Mann said.

Money Use figures for sums of

money, except casual references.
When money is in the millions, use
the dollar sign, figures and decimals
as necessary, spelling out the word
million. Omit zeroes and decimal
point when sums are even.
$4, $6.85, $39.5 million. She is
worth exactly $2,431,985. She is
worth $2.4 million.
Pages Use figures and capitalize
page when used with a figure:
Page 2, Page 22A.

Source: Associated Press Stylebook, 2010.

due to, because of Its preferred to

use because of
farther, further Farther refers to
physical distance. Further refers to
an extension of time or degree. She
ran farther than every before. I will
look into the matter further.
fewer, less than Use fewer for
individual items, less for bulk or
quantity: Fewer than 10 students
applied. I had less than $50.

more than, over They arent

interchangeable. Use more than for
references to figures, amounts. Over
is for spatial relationships: More than
2,000 students attended the first
day. The girl jumped over the puddle.
off of The of is unnecessary. He fell off
the couch not He fell off of the couch.
principle, principal A guiding rule
or basic truth is a principle. The
first, dominant or leading thing is
a principal. Its the principle of the
matter. Principal Daniel Garcia met
with the senior class Tuesday.
say, said Let a person say something,
rather than declare, admit or point.
And never let him/her grin, smile,
frown or giggle something.
that, which That tends to restrict
the readers thought and direct it
the way you want it to go; which is
non-restrictive, introducing a bit
of subsidiary information. Which
clauses use commas, signaling they
are not essential to the meaning
of the sentence. The workroom,
which is in H hall, needs cleaning.
The workroom that is in H hall needs
cleaning.
toward Not towards.
who, whom Use whom to refer to
someone who has been the object
of an action. Who is the word when
the somebody has been the actor.
A 19-year-old woman, to whom the
room was rented, left the window
open. A 19-year-old woman, who
rented the room, left the window
open.
whos, whose Whos is a contraction
and not a possessive. Whose is the
possessive. I dont know whose coat
it is. Find out whos here.
titles Use quotes for titles of poems,
speeches, songs, subjects of lectures
and articles. The Sweater Song,
The Road Not Taken. Varsity
football wins district championship.

fundraiser Not fund-raiser or fund

raiser

Italicize titles of books, plays,

albums, movies, TV shows, operas
or works of art. Leonardo da Vincis
Mona Lisa. Snow Patrols A Hundred
Million Suns album. The Hunger
Games.

its, its Its is the possessive, its is

the contraction of it is.

Do not use quotes or italicize band

names.

AP style sports
In general
boys and girls Use boys and girls to designate
teams. Do not use an apostrophe; the team
does not belong to the boys or to the girls, but
to the school. In most cases, boys or girls is
used as part of a noun phrase: The girls soccer
team placed third in district. The boys cross
country team finished first at regionals.
Boys and girls designations are not needed for
sports that only one gender plays, i.e. softball,
baseball.
coach Do not capitalize. We just didnt play to
the best of our ability, varsity girls basketball
coach Angie Hermesmeyer said.
compound adjectives The hyphen is used to
form compound adjectives that precede the
noun. 60-yard dash, 23-foot jump, 6-foot-5
center, first-round loss.
cross country Two words, no hyphen.
district Not districts. Same for state.
event titles Capitalize official titles of districts
and meets, but lowercase shortened titles.
District 26-4A, Big XII Conference, The team
advanced to state. The varsity football team
won the district championship.
freshman vs. freshmen When referring to the
team, it should be singular. If you are taking
about several players, it should be freshmen.
The freshman football team were undefeated.
Six varsity players are freshmen.
junior varsity Capitalize and do not use periods
when abbreviated. Always abbreviate when
used as a modifier. Otherwise, spell it out. JV
baseball, the junior varsity team.
Numerals Spell out one through nine and use
figures for 10 and above. The same goes for
ordinal numbers (first through ninth, 10th and
higher). Note the exceptions when used as a
compound adjective. 8-point lead, first quarter,
second-quarter lead, third place, 12th place,
No. 2 player, 7-yard gain.
Pounds For wrestling stories, do not spell out
pounds: Michael Page, 126 lbs division
Teams Do not capitalize team designations.
Also, note the team designation goes before
the gender designation. The varsity boys
basketball team, junior varsity girls basketball,
the freshman football team.

Source: Associated Press Stylebook, 2010.

other sports words, phrases

In general
berth
co-captain
defender
halftime
play off (v.)
playoff (n., adj.)

baseball
ballpark
ballplayer
baseline
bullpen
center field
center fielder
designated hitter
doubleheader
double play
fair ball
fastball
first baseman
foul ball line
foul tip
ground-rule double
home plate
home run
left-hander
line drive
line up (v.)
lineup (n.)

basketball
backcourt
baseline
downcourt
field goal
foul line
foul show
free throw
free-throw line
frontcourt

listing scores

preseason
runner-up
semifinal
teammate
timeout

outfielder
passed ball
pinch hit (v.)
pinch-hit (n., adj.)
pinch hitter (n.)
pitchout
RBI
RBIs
rundown
sacrifice
sacrifice fly
sacrifice hit
shortstop
shut out (v.)
shutout (n., adj.)
slugger
squeeze play
strike
strike zone
triple play
wild pitch

full-court press
goaltending
half-court pass
hook shot
jump ball
jump shot
layup
man-to-man
midcourt
zone

Put the winning score first, regardless if

your team won or not. Adding a W or L will
indicate if it was a win or a loss.
Ex.
Hendrickson 55-54 L
Vista Ridge 66-61 W

football
ball carrier
ballclub
blitz (n., v.)
end line
end zone
fair catch
field goal
fourth-and-one
fullback
goal line
goal-line stand
halfback
handoff
kick off (v.)
kickoff (adj.)
left guard

golf
birdie, birdies
bogey, bogeys
bogeyed
caddie
eagle

soccer
forward
goalie
goalkeeper
midfielder

tennis
deuce
double fault
love
match
match point

linebacker
lineman
line of scrimmage
out of bounds (adv.)
out-of-bounds (adj.)
pitchout (n.)
place kick
place-kicker
quarterback
running back
split end
tailback
tight end
touchback
touchdown
wide receiver

fairway
hole-in-one
tee (n.)
tee off (v.)

offside
penalty box
sideline

points
serve
set
tiebreaker

writing scores in a story

Still put the winning score first.

Ex.
In a 55-54 loss to Hendrickson...
The Cougars bounced back with a 66-61
win over Vista Ridge...