What follows are summaries of some of the most common style rules. They omit the apostrophe, unless there are periods in the abbreviation. Otherswhich spelling to use, whether to use acronyms or capitalize certain. Ap style for first time allows use of they as singular pronoun. Add an s but no apostrophe to a number to make it plural. Jack gillespie, rowan university, purdue university writing lab and ap stylebook page 2.
This is covered more in the lesson apostrophe errors with plurals. Tarp stands for troubled asset relief program, so writing the tarp program was controversial is redundant. Apostrophes to show the plural of abbreviations and awkward. For my money, ill keep the s in charless book, both for consistency and because i say it. Ap editor david minthorn fields questions of widest interest posed by subscribers to the online ap stylebook. The ap style as its known in the trade is quite different from the new york times style or chicago manual of style.
The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals. Here is a place where its useful to have a copy of your disciplines style book. Ap stylebook entry on collective nouns says band names take plural verbs. Guard against following an acronym with a word that appears in the acronym itself. This guide aims to clarify our style choices in order to ensure consistency among all publications, print and digital, across the bloomberg school. Connolly, can still be bought online and in some bookstores. See appendix d for a list of abbreviations, initialisms, and acronyms common to mla publications. Do not use an apostrophe before the s unless the apostrophe significantly helps the readers. The chicago manual of style online is the venerable, timetested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format.
May 21, 2009 for words not in this book use the firstlisted abbreviation in websters new world college dictionary. Apa style discourages the use of frequent abbreviations and acronyms in a paper. The timess stylebook allows data with either a plural or a singular. While an apostrophe is used to indicate possession and contractions, it is not generally necessary to use an apostrophe to show the plural form of most acronyms, initialisms, or abbreviations, except where clarity and sense demand such inclusion. I laylied the book on the nightstand before layinglying down to take a nap. In subsequent references, do not continue using the title before a name. Most examples here are taken and condensed from these style books. For the plural, alumni may be used either for an allmale group or for a mixed group. Using an apostrophe to form a plural is usually a grammatical howler.
Since i prefer the disambiguous use of apostrophes for groups of letters and numbers, i also use it for acronyms and abbreviations. A primer on the ap style rule for acronyms bka content. Using apostrophes to show the plurals of abbreviations and awkward plurals the first thing to make clear before we start this lesson is that apostrophes are not normally used for forming plurals. Sep 15, 2016 if possession is ninetenths of the law, just imagine how important correctly signifying it in your writing is. As a quick reminder, acronyms are a specific type of abbreviation. Per jhu and ap stylebook, omit the possessive s when following a sibilant in a. Each entry starts with a simple explanation and basic examples before moving to reallife, entertaining examples. A bit of an exception to the plurals rule, apostrophes should be used to make a single letter plural. If possession is ninetenths of the law, just imagine how important correctly signifying it in your writing is. In a news story, can you start a sentence with an acronym. Spell out the name of a month when it is used without a specific date. Ap style uses the plural, alumni, for allmale groups and for groups of men and women. If youre new to news writing or switching from one to another, youll want to keep this ap cheat sheet handy and.
Apostrophes to show the plural of abbreviations and. Usually a plural noun taking plural verbs and pronouns. To subscribe to the associated press stylebook online, or to find out about purchasing hard copies of the book, start. What you need to know before you write a bio statement. The plural of an abbreviation or acronym is shown by adding s to the end. Some abbreviations of trade names, organizations, or innovations function as initialisms or acronyms e. Empire state college uses alumni as the plural for all graduates. Best of ap style and grammarpunctuationspelling gps 1. Dotted abbreviations look oldfashioned and are probably being phased out anyway.
Here is a sampling of frequently asked questions, with examples of ap style used in answers. Apostrophes are generally used in contractions and to indicate the possessive case, but they are not used to form plurals of numbers and abbreviations in apa style. For instance, writing the 1960s when referring to that entire decade is. The bill was signed on may 5, 20, two days before the session ended.
Nyt is the same as ap except that dotted abbreviations take the apostrophe. In the past, some publications used apostrophes to make acronyms and abbreviations plural, so until a few years ago, it was common to see something like rbis or cds in the new york times. The associated press stylebook and websters new world college. Some style sheets suggest that an apostrophe be added to plural abbreviations like m. Abbreviations, initialisms and acronyms baltimore sun. Do not add s to pluralize units of measurement 12 m not 12 ms. In short expressions, however, the abbreviation vs. An acronym is a word formed from the first letter or letters of a series of words.
We took at look at the ap stylebooks section on possessions possessives and exorcised some demons coming up with these guidelines. Since this pattern violates the rule that apostrophes are not used before an s indicating a plural, many people object to it. Writing style guide communications and marketing suny. See our full page on abbreviations and acronyms for a more in depth discussion on their differences. Here are a few answers to common style issues, based on the ap stylebook.
A common mistake people make is to include apostrophes when pluralizing a number or an abbreviation. Only acronyms ending in the letter s take an apostrophe. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Capitalize a military rank when used as a formal title before an individuals name. Make sure to read through past editions of our ap stylebook recaps. This page has examples of plurals of abbreviations and an interactive exercise worksheet. The usgpo doesnt cover numerals or literal letters at all as, bs, ps, and qs are not acronyms, initialisms, or abbreviations. Per ap style, use figures for ages, events, percentages, money.
The associated press style is the goto style for journalism and news writing. Chicago manual prefers the s, but indicates that it is acceptable especially in journalism to omit it. Associated press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. Ap style holds that acronyms are formed from the first letters or letters of a series of words. The package was sent to smithson, virginia, by mistake. Agencies are welcome to adopt these standards for their written products. Ap style is email changed from email, but other e words are hyphenated. Ap updates its stylebook to accommodate changes in conventions and usage.
To form the plural of abbreviations, add s alone without apostrophe or italicization. Ap style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language. Some others are acceptable depending on the context. Ap stylebook type search query into the search bar below. Standard style guides, including the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law and the chicago manual of style. For questions not covered by this book, use the plural that websters new world college dictionary lists as most common for a particular sense of a word. May 16, 2016 one unusual use of the apostrophe is in plural acronyms, like icbms ngos and cds. Rules by ap stylebook, bad grammargood punctuation. Dec 23, 2015 abbreviations and acronyms do not use full points in abbreviations, or spaces between initials, including those in proper names. The department of administrative services adheres to the following editorial conventions for all written communications, including the website. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms that the reader would not quickly recognize. Capital letters used as words, numerals used as nouns, and abbreviations usually form the plural by. Add apostrophe s unless the next word begins with s.
Register to view your products, order status, shipment trackings and manage your account settings. As the ap style book writes, names not commonly before the public should not be reduced to acronyms solely to save a few words. Identify a graduate of empire state college as either an alumnus male or an alumna female. Ap style is what the general public is accustomed to seeing because it is the official stylebook of the newspaper industry.
Our amended style is website one word, lowercase w, along with other compounds. For example, radar if formed from radio detecting and ranging. Justice souter seems to prefer the recommendations of the chicago manual of style, which says to add the apostrophes to almost all singular nouns and names that end with s. Today, all major publications and style guides im aware of recommend simply adding an s without an apostrophe. Today, all major publications and style guides im aware of. Note also the guidelines that the dictionary provides under its plural entry. As it says in the chicago manual of style, a singular verb emphasizes the group.
Abbreviate months with six or more letters if they are used with a specific date. Colleen newvine, product manager for the ap stylebook, said people dont have to use they as singular but if you find it best, its allowed. The main reason for using either is that it will save space and be easier for your reader to process the information through an acronym than if you were to write out an entire phrase each time you used it. To accomplish that, the agency endorses two editorial styles. By maeve maddox british and american style guides tend to agree that collective nouns like audience, committee, and data can be construed as either singular or plural, according to whether the word is perceived as a unit or as individual items. Ap stylebook embraces they as singular, genderneutral. An abbreviation like pc can be made plural as either pcs or pcs. Add apostrophe s if singular, and add an apostrophe if plural.
Aug 12, 2019 in ap style, you use a lone apostrophe to make singular nouns and names that end with s possessive, and in chicago style, most of the time you add an apostrophe and an s, with a few rare exceptions. Buy our book smashing grammar 2019 written by the founder of grammar monster, smashing grammar includes a glossary of grammar essentials from apostrophes to zeugma and a chapter on easily confused words from affecteffect to whetherif. The sba is committed to simplifying our message by using a standard style without jargon and unidentifiable acronyms. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage. On first reference, use the appropriate title before the full name of a member of the military. With very few exceptions, apostrophes do not make nouns plural. However, some longer acronyms, such as unesco, appear fully capitalized by convention. This section can be used as a primer and a quick reference, not a replacement to the gpo or ap style books. Jun 02, 2016 in the past, some publications used apostrophes to make acronyms and abbreviations plural, so until a few years ago, it was common to see something like rbis or cds in the new york times. As noted earlier, epa has an online subscription to the ap book on our intranet.
After each bullet, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each item. Using an unnecessary apostrophe to form the plural of a noun is a very common mistake. Jun 30, 2019 since associated press style is one of the more widely used writing standards, learning the ap style rule for acronyms is an essential starting point for most freelance writers. The print edition of the new york times manual of style and usage, written by two esteemed former colleagues, allan m. The chicago manual of style has an interesting way to address this.
Generally, omit periods in acronyms unless the result would spell an unrelated word. Spell out and lower a title when it is substituted for a name. Abbreviations and most acronyms should be avoided in headlines. Following a particular style allows a person to be consistent within a given document, but it really doesnt matter which style you choose. You must register and have a current subscription to access ap stylebook online. One unusual use of the apostrophe is in plural acronyms, like icbms ngos and cds. British and american style guides tend to agree that collective nouns like audience, committee, and data can be construed as either singular or plural, according to whether the word is perceived as a unit or as individual items. Justice thomas, whose name ends with an s, seems to favor ap style, which recommends leaving off the extra s. Use apostrophes for plurals of abbreviations that have capital letters and. It never hurts to check the ap stylebook or a direct. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per ap style. Our amended style is website one word, lowercase w. Dont put acronyms in parentheses after the first reference for.
The associated press stylebook and the chicago manual of style. The plural forms of abbreviations do not use apostrophes. For external communication we use the associated press stylebook 2017 for all public documents and materials, excluding correspondence from the administrator and. If the goal is to be clear, the key is to be consistent. Ap style is kansas chicago manual of style apostrophe rules. Abbreviations and acronyms that appear as main entries in the dictionary can generally be used without first spelling them out e. Others are adamant in insisting that the apostrophe is wrong that it indicates a possessive and should not be used in a plural like this. Editorial guide brand and style guidelines university of arkansas. A few universally recognized abbreviations are required in some circumstances. I oversee an online version that includes many changes and updates since the book s publication in 1999. Otherswhich spelling to use, whether to use acronyms or capitalize certain termsare a matter of style. Welcome to ask the editor, a forum on writing, style and phrasing issues that go beyond the pages of the ap stylebook. Colon capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence.
So our first tough issuehow to make words that end with s possessivedoesnt actually have an answer. An abbreviation, lets take gb from above, is not an acronym. Citations should be as condensed as possible, so you should know the basic rules of abbreviation endorsed by the apa to. Sometimes, its called the grocers apostrophe because of how frequently it is spotted in grocery store advertisements 3 oranges for a dollar. Punctuation use a comma to separate a year used with a date. It is the indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the editorial canon with sound, definitive advice. Nov 20, 2005 following a particular style allows a person to be consistent within a given document, but it really doesnt matter which style you choose. Generally introduce the acronym no more than two sentences from the first spelling out. The style entry notes that when they is singular it takes a plural verb. Apr, 2010 the print edition of the new york times manual of style and usage, written by two esteemed former colleagues, allan m. Jun 15, 2009 as the ap style book writes, names not commonly before the public should not be reduced to acronyms solely to save a few words. The names of poems, articles, and book chapters are set off by quotation marks.