Em dashes, in contrast, are frequently used to signal an abrupt change, suggest a pause, or set off a clause within a sentence. While sometimes used in other styles to indicate a range of time, AP Style does not use en dashes. Use hyphens to connect words in compound adjectives (e.g., The larger-than-life performer juggled seven swords.).Ĭompound verbs also require hyphens (e.g., She spoon-fed the baby.). How can you use hyphens correctly with AP Style? “It’s a real ‘sticky situation’ on I-94.” Use single quotations for quotes within quotes.Įxample: “The candy truck spilled all over the highway,” said the driver.Periods and commas always go within quotation marks.How should you format quotes in AP Style? However, if omitting that final comma could lead to confusion, then include it for clarity. Use commas to separate items in a list, but do not place a comma before the conjunction in most simple series (e.g., I need to buy milk, cheese, and bread). Use a single space after a period (i.e., no double-spacing between sentences). You learned everything you needed to know about punctuation in high school English class, right? Well, maybe or maybe not, but this style has its own quirks. Here’s a short list of folks who might need to get familiar with it: Journalists generally use the Associated Press style but aren’t alone in using it. NOTE: It’s important not to confuse AP style with APA style. It’s available in both digital and hard copies. If following this style is vital to your situation, consider buying the official version. Detractors say the guide is excessively detailed, beyond the point of being necessary or even helpful. The official Associated Press style guide gets updated year to year.Īrguably, these changes have led to bloat. News organizations, magazines, and web publications often use these guidelines, but brands also form the basis of their individual style guides from this structure. The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law is the official style guide of the Associated Press, a not-for-profit news agency that’s been around since 1846. Here is a cheat sheet based on the updated 2022-2024 version of the Associated Press Stylebook. But everything you can do to enforce consistency and clarity will help your cause. There’s a reason why your daily paper sounds how it does it’s designed that way to be effective.ĭoes your content need to be perfect to be effective? Not nearly, no. Concise writing and consistent style go a long way toward achieving this goal. If this sounds hyperbolic, consider this: newspapers are written to be effortless to read. The results leave your blog or website looking at the Wild West of basic grammatical conventions. Without guidelines to enforce consistency, it’s easy to allow your content to become a formatting free-for-all where commas roam free, and nothing follows a clear logic. While not necessarily a fatal mistake by any means, it does often lead to content that looks sloppy. Unfortunately, many brands forego style guides and choose to wing it instead. When your writing is crisp, clear, and easy to understand, audiences will likely leave your site with a positive impression. Clarity and consistency are the building blocks of great content.
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