However, when referring to a city and the state in which it is located, although chicago recommends retaining the spelledout version of the state name san diego, california, ap style calls for abbreviating the state name san diego, calif. The ap stylebook says state abbreviations are used in both datelines and in text. A primer on the ap style rule for acronyms bka content. For your reference, weve also included a link to the official government website, the old style state abbreviation and the capital. Apr 23, 2014 ap is not done rocking the journalism world with style changes. Ap style holds to the general rule of lowercasing compass directions and capitalizing regions. Also, be sure to use a lowercase state in both of these instances to avoid any confusion.
Only if the section of an individual state is wellknown do you capitalize it. The state abbreviations did not compute with their knowledge and they would not use them and instead used the zip code abbreviation. The associated press style is the goto style for journalism and news writing. If you want to know all about the ap style state abbreviations, you have been a wise soul to click on this article. But many organizations now favor these state abbreviations because they are short, consistent, and familiar to americans, even if me makes little sense to foreigners.
The postal code for arizona, where amendola communications is headquartered, is az whereas the ap style abbreviation is ariz. Top 10 ap style guide 2016edits university of texas at. It is the indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the editorial canon with sound, definitive advice. See datelines for guidelines on when a city name may stand alone in the body of a story. As you can see, there are many guidelines for writing proper ap style state abbreviations in your text. However, there are a few other grammar rules to be aware of when it comes to writing the names of states. Ap style guide quick reference the difference between academic writing and ap style most, if not all, of the documents created by the department are shared with the public, the education community and the media. For example, they can be used in writing after a city like in miami, fla. For example, the western united states is full of open land.
In order to uphold the integrity and image of the department, it is. There are quite a few rules in the ap stylebook for state names and ap style state abbreviations. What follows are summaries of some of the most common style rules. Iso adopted the existing canada post abbreviations. Here is how each state is abbreviated in ap style with the postal code. Those states are alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas, and utah. The names of eight states are never abbreviated in datelines or text. An interactive geography lesson about abbreviations of states. The following guidance went out on the ap wire wednesday. State abbreviations are all two letters, and these two letters are always capitalized without any periods. Please note the order of polytechnic and state when referring to pomona and san luis obispo. Ap stylebook type search query into the search bar below. Abbreviations for states and provinces traditional abbreviations for states and provinces begin with a capital letter and end with a period. Currently, most state names are abbreviated in stories.
This article explains the capitalization of state names. California state university, office of the chancellor please note channel islands, maritime and san marcos do not have a comma in their formal names. Also use state abbreviations in conjunction with the name of a city, county, town, village or military base in. For example, the hurricane move north towards the gulf coast. The biggest differences between chicago style and the u. The ap style as its known in the trade is quite different from the new york times style or chicago manual of style. The aps standard reference for spelling is websters new. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage.
Founded in 1846, ap today is the most trusted source of independent news and information. Choose from 196 different sets of state abbreviations ap style flashcards on quizlet. These abbreviations allow automated sorting iso 31662. Ap style rulesstate abbreviations quiz by elsieviste. The university of arkansas for medical sciences uams has adopted the associated press ap guidelines for grammar, punctuation and writing style. Professional journalists and business communicators in the united states commonly write in associated press ap style.
Before we begin to enlist the abbreviations, it is mandatory for one to learn and garner information about what ap is, with. Jun 30, 2019 although the ap style rule for acronyms is fairly straightforward next to other ap style conventions, using acronyms correctly in professional writing can still take some practice. Abbreviations abbreviate junior or senior after a name, but dont use a comma. Use abbreviations for degrees only when you need to include a list. This page has a form you can use to see what city a us or canadian postal code refers to. The postal code for california is ca, but the ap style abbreviation is calif. The associated press stylebook states that in contexts other than mailing addresses, the traditional state abbreviations should be used. Before we begin to enlist the abbreviations, it is mandatory for one to learn and garner information about what ap is, with a brief, supplementary note on the history of the same. In this post, we will summarize all of the ap stylebook state abbreviations rules. Aug 05, 2015 heres a refresher course what the ap stylebook says for datelines and cities that stand alone in datelines the domestic list of cities that stand alone is on page 79 of the 2010 ap stylebook, and it is a good idea to mark this page with a sticky note of some sort so it is easy to find and you never list the state, country or territory unnecessarily.
However, writers of most newspapers use the ap style state name abbreviations in their articles ex. Ap style recommends spelling out state names in the body of stories effective may 1, 2014 and using abbreviations in datelines. Capitalize common nouns and their distinguishing modifiers in names of associations, societies, companies, streets, etc. The ap style abbreviations arbitrarily range in length from two to six letters, and all twoword names are abbreviated with the initials, such as n. Aug 15, 2019 our company uses ap style and i receive info from an educator on a weekly basis. Ap style state abbreviations differ from their corresponding us postal service abbreviations, are in parentheses. The associated press stylebook and briefing on media law official style guide of the associated press, a notforprofit news agency thats been around since 1846. States should also be abbreviated when used as part of a shortform political affiliation. Spell out the names of the 50 states when they stand alone in. Learn state abbreviations ap style with free interactive flashcards. Editorialthe previous uc santa cruz guide to editorial style input from uc santa cruz editorial staff ur, admissions, registrar. Spell out all state names in sentences when they arent preceded by a city, county or a military base name. Ca identifiers second elements are all the same as these.
The associated press stylebook at uams the university of arkansas for medical sciences uams has adopted the associated press ap guidelines for grammar, punctuation and writing style. If a states name is standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town in your text, spell out the entire states name. These abbreviations short names were used in mailing addresses before the introduction of twoletter u. In order to create a playlist on sporcle, you need to verify the email address you used during registration. States in the us are often abbreviated to twoletter words alaska ak. But many organizations now favor these state abbreviations because they are short, consistent, and familiar to. If you have any advice for working with acronyms or any lingering questions, please let us know in the comments section. State abbreviations according to ap style gatehouse newsroom. Effective may 1, the ap will spell out state names in the body of. The associated press stylebook provides a uniform presentation of the printed word to make copy written anywhere understandable everywhere.
Ap style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language. For example, washington state is a university in the state of washington. Can you name the ap style rulesstate abbreviations test your knowledge on this geography quiz to see how you do and compare your score to others. The ucop style guide university of california brand guidelines. In conjunction with the name of a city, town, village or military base in text. Ap is not done rocking the journalism world with style changes. In fact, the sheer number of conflicting guidelines can make you feel like youve driven right off the grammar map. On any given day, more than half the worlds population sees news from ap.
If a state s name is standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town in your text, spell out the entire state s name. Much of this confusion stems from differences between the primary style manuals, as demonstrated below. Note that ap style omits state names for a specified list of cities. For headlines, the new rule says to avoid abbreviating states whenever. Ap style state abbreviations for press release dateline follow these associated press guidelines for the u. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The associated press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. In this quick guide to state abbreviations, i will cover the differences between ap style and chicago style andjust to prolong your state of confusionwhen to use the common twoletter abbreviations created by the united states postal service if youre writing a research paper or dashing off a blog post, you can probably ignore all the exceptions and special cases and just lean on. Unfortunately, we dont have such fixed boundaries for how to abbreviate united states. In ap or chicago style, the postal abbreviation is only used for representing actual postal addresses, or in lists and tables where space is at a premium.
All states are spelled out in the body of the text. Military titles can usually be shortened see ap stylebook 2010military titles pg. However, there are exceptions for large cities that stand alone in datelines. Diversity style guide csu california state university. These official state abbreviations have all been standardized by the united states postal service. Follow these associated press guidelines for the u. Canadian provincial and territorial postal abbreviations are used by canada post in a code system consisting of two capital letters, to represent the provinces and territories on addressed mail. Mar 14, 2015 ap style for states abbreviations march 14, 2015 a. Here are a few more common errors that journalists make when copy editing for ap style.
The worlds most comprehensive professionally edited abbreviations and acronyms database all trademarksservice marks referenced on this site are properties of their respective owners. Use the state abbreviations listed at the end of this section. Plase one comma between the city and the state name, and another comma after the state name, unless ending a sentence or indicating a dateline. These resources provide an overview of journalistic writing with explanations of the most important and most often used elements of journalism and the associated press style.
This style guide for the uc santa cruz campus is based on. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free. To subscribe to the associated press stylebook online, or to find out about purchasing hard copies of the book, start here. The table below shows the us postal service usps abbreviation for each of the united states, districts, territories, and possessions. Sep 19, 2012 professional journalists and business communicators in the united states commonly write in associated press ap style. There is also a list of old style abbreviations used to refer to us states before the us postal service switched to twoletter state abbreviations. Government printing office are 1 chicago style allows for abbreviation even if the name of another country appears in the sentence 3 and 2 chicago style recommends us unless the document uses periods to abbreviate state names, in which case u. Founded in 1846, ap today is the most trusted source of independent.
Abbreviate months with six or more letters if they are used with a specific date. The traditional abbreviations are still commonly used in other ways besides mailing addresses. I stopped trying to educate the educator and just edited their stuff each time to the the ap style of state abbreviations. Of course, use state abbreviations in conjunction with the name of a city, town, village or military base in most datelines. Any state name may be condensed, however, to fit typographical requirements for tabular material. Only if the section of an individual state is wellknown do you. The associated press stylebook, the usage guide for most united states newspapers, counsels the use of abbreviations for most state names, when appended. Oct 03, 2019 the state of california is beginning to collect data on gender identity, and on cal state apply the platform all students use to apply to the csu, students are able to choose other options when selfidentifying on their application. So, i am providing a reference for those who may be interested.
Quiz by elsieviste ap style rulesstate abbreviations quiz. Its often used by news organizations, magazines, and web publications, but brands often use it to form the basis of their own style guides, too. The names of each state represent specific places and must be capitalized. This resource, revised according to the associated press stylebook 2012, offers examples for the general format of ap style. The chicago manual of style online is the venerable, timetested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format.
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