Thursday, November 27, 2014
Monday, November 24, 2014
Updated AP Tips/FALL 2104
Quotations: When using direct quotation, periods and commas are always placed INSIDE the closing quotation marks. Question marks can go inside the end quotation marks or outside, depending upon the example: "What?" she asked him.
Colons and semi-colons go outside the end quotation marks.
Capitalization
Numbers
Time
Miscellaneous
Colons and semi-colons go outside the end quotation marks.
Capitalization
- Don't capitalize job titles, unless they come directly before the job holder's name.
- Capitalize names of campus and other officially named buildings. For example: She walked to the Mullins Center and passed the library.
Numbers
- In general -- but there are many exceptions -- spell out numbers zero through nine, use numerals for 10 and above. Use figures for sports scores.
- Percentages are always expressed as numeral followed by the word "percent." Example:The unemployment rate has risen by 12 percent.
Time
- Use figures, except for noon and midnight ; use colon to separate hours from minutes (4 p.m., 4:15 p.m.) Five o'clock is acceptable but time listings with a.m. or p.m. are preferred.
- Do not use -st, -nd, -rd or -th with the numbers. It's Oct. 1 through Oct. 15 -- not Oct. 1st through Oct. 15th.
- Spell out months if they stand alone. Abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. when used with a specific date. My birthday is in the middle of September. My niece's birthday is Sept. 2. If you are just saying a month and a year, don't put a comma between them: October 2014.
- Use quotation marks -- not underlining or italics -- for books, songs, television shows, computer games, oems, lectures, speeches and works of art. Leave magazines, newspapers, the Bible and reference catalogues as-is.
- United States is spelled out when used as a noun but often abbreviated when used as an adjective" The United States is a country. I travel with my U.S. documents.
- Spell out the official name of something the first time you mention it; use the abbreviation after that. It's University of Massachusetts the first time you mention it and UMass after that.
- States are no longer abbreviated when they come after a city/town, thanks to an AP style change. Some cities do not need to be followed by a state name, such as Boston, New Orleans and San Francisco.
- When writing addresses, abbreviate avenue, boulevard and street when used with a numbered address. For example: He lives on North Pleasant Street. She lives at 500 Main St.
Miscellaneous
- Miles - Use figures for ALL distances. (This was a 2013 AP style change). "My flight covered 1,113 miles." "The airport runway is 5 miles long."
- Only use one space after a period, in between sentences. (In the days of typewriters, we used two.)
- When writing about the digital currency Bitcoin, capitalize Bitcoin when you're talking about the concept, but use lower case when you're talking about individual bitcoins. For example: He is a firm believer in the Bitcoin system and he has amassed over 500,000 bitcoins in a short time.
- Smartphone applications. You can abbreviate using app on second reference.
- Farther and further. Farther refers to physical distance. He lives farther away than I do. Further refers to an extension of time or degree. She has found further cause for alarm.
- Toward, forward, backward, upward, downward do NOT end with an s.
- email is written without a hypen, but other e-words, such as e-commerce and e-book do have hyphens
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Links to stories by Channel 40 reporter and anchor
Agawam Couple Catches Alleged Thief On Camera
Colleges Struggle To Meet Demand For Skilled Graduates
Multiple Homes, Cars Damaged In Colrain Following Storm
Meet Thing 3: Local Hospitals' Ebola-Killing Robot
Wheels Stolen From Elderly Man's Car...Twice
Friday, November 14, 2014
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)