Missouris communities section n the missouri cities of st. Test your knowledge on this miscellaneous quiz to see how you do and compare your score to others. Spell out all state names in sentences when they arent preceded by a city, county or a military base name. Use the postalcode abbreviation for states in an address mo instead of mo. The associated press stylebook provides a uniform presentation of the printed word to make copy written anywhere understandable everywhere. Most of these examples were taken from the ap stylebook. Ap style guide for state abbreviations makes no sense by matt maldre on august 21, 2006 in design im a newspaper designer that has to adhere to the ap style guide. Before we begin to enlist the abbreviations, it is mandatory for one to learn and garner information about what ap is, with. Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook. Heres a refresher course what the ap stylebook says for datelines and cities that stand alone in datelines. Some writers and editors still prefer to use the older forms of state abbreviations see traditional abbreviations in the table below, though this is rare. Perhaps your house style will say spell them out everywhere. The most important objective of any form of writing is to help human beings recognize what you are attempting to say and give an explanation for.
Alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas and utah. Ap style guide for state abbreviations makes no sense. State abbreviations according to ap style gatehouse newsroom. Abbreviations for states and provinces traditional abbreviations for states and provinces begin with a capital letter and end with a period. Some of them are the same as the twoletter postal abbreviations. The associated press stylebook states that in contexts other than mailing addresses, the traditional state abbreviations should be used. There is indeed a science and art behind writing a press release. Ap subject minimum score required missouri state course equivalent semester hours remarks. The aps standard reference for spelling is websters new. The associated press stylebook and websters new world online provides a comprehensive guide to associated press usage and accepted style, with chapters on religion, fashion, food, broadcast, business, sports and social media. Columbia missourian stylebook university of missouri. In 1987, the secretary of commerce switched to the more commonly used twoletter postal code abbreviations. If necessary, follow it with the state abbreviation not the u. Ap style can be both about the long and the short of things, but a good general rule to keep in mind is this.
Generally ap style omits periods in acronyms, unless doing so would spell an unrelated word. Ap is not done rocking the journalism world with style changes. The associated press stylebook is the main reference guide for missouri state university communications. Old style and old fashioned us state abbreviations.
For all other abbreviations, ap uses its own state abbreviations and chicago prefers postal abbreviations but has its own state abbreviations should that style be more. In line with this, use state of washington or washington state to differentiate the state from the district of columbia. Capitalization avoid unnecessary capital letters avoid alphabet soup tons of abbreviations. Ap style state abbreviations for press release dateline follow these associated press guidelines for the u. To help them out, ive pulled together some of the most essential rules. 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. In headlines, dont use periods for state abbreviated with two capital letters. I strongly prefer the spelledout style because it eliminates confusion about the name of the state. For headlines, the new rule says to avoid abbreviating states whenever.
Look beyond the main rule to other portions of the style. The following guidance went out on the ap wire wednesday. This table includes abbreviations for three independent nations related to the united states. Ap stylebook type search query into the search bar below.
The thumb rule for the fundamental ap style state abbreviations is that one has to in no way abbreviate the term if the readers will face the issue in identifying what the actual term is. These official state abbreviations have all been standardized by the united states postal service. Take this ap style quiz over state abbreviations and see how much you really know about the stars and stripes. If a states name is standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town in your text, spell out the entire states name.
For instance, ap says, no state name is necessary if it is the same as the dateline. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage. Ap still is calling for abbreviates in photo captions, datelines and tabular material. Crash course on ap style writing visual storytelling. Use the twoletter postal service abbreviations only with full addresses, including zip code. The ap stylebook is a guide for capitalization, abbreviation, spelling, numerals and usage. The following guidelines for grammar and usage are intended to address questions of style that are frequently encountered in university communications. Now includes 185,000 definitions from websters new world college dictionary. Use united states postal service style for addresses, which means abbreviation of directional n.
Editorial style guide brand missouri state university. Louis, springfield and kansas city but include the state name with kansas city, kansas n once a state dateline is used, cities in the story from the same state do not need to be followed by a state name. There are quite a few rules in the ap stylebook for state names and ap style state abbreviations. Postal and traditional state abbreviations reference guide. If you follow the older practice, be consistent in your use of the traditional abbreviations, and remember that eight states. The change is being made to be consistent in our style for domestic and international. Let me know what important rules ive missed, or if you see a mistake. States should also be abbreviated when used as part of a shortform political affiliation. 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. Major differences between academic writing and ap style no reference list or in text citations.
It wouldnt be ap style without an exception or two. As it is necessary, use new york state to differentiate the state of new york from new york city. Ap style rulesstate abbreviations quiz by elsieviste. Ap style state abbreviations differ from their corresponding united states postal service abbreviations, provided in parentheses. Currently, most state names are abbreviated in stories. Became the 24th state in 1821 august 10th and was formerly the missouri territory people from there are referred to as missourians. In this post, we will summarize all of the ap stylebook state abbreviations rules. The names of eight states are never abbreviated in datelines or text. What follows are summaries of some of the most common style rules. Ap itself along with gi and eu are exceptions to this rule. Spell out the names of the 50 states when they stand alone in. Except in mailing addresses with a zip code, or with other.
Ap state name switch is a good time to address clarity. The traditional abbreviations are still commonly used in other ways besides mailing addresses. Also, be sure to use a lowercase state in both of these instances to avoid any confusion. Select the sentence free of errors in ap style for abbreviations for print publications. Those states are alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas, and utah. Ap style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language. 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. If you want to know all about the ap style state abbreviations, you have been a wise soul to click on this article. Do not use periods in abbreviations that are in headlines, unless they are needed for clarity.
Ap suggests spelling out the names of alaska, hawaii, and all states with five or fewer. 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. Ap stylebook rules for datelines, cities that stand alone. Ap style state abbreviations differ from their corresponding us postal service abbreviations, are in parentheses. For example, they can be used in writing after a city like in miami, fla. Datelines the abbreviation is followed by the city, town, military base, etc. Ap style quiz over state abbreviations proprofs quiz. Quiz by elsieviste ap style rulesstate abbreviations quiz.
Chicago and ap differ on some traditional abbreviations. 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. Ap style recommends spelling out state names in the body of stories effective may 1, 2014 and using abbreviations in datelines. How to format a press release dateline with ap style newswire. However, the chicago manual of style now recommends use of the uppercase twoletter abbreviations, with the traditional forms as an option. Missouri state will grant credit for college board advanced placement examinations as indicated below. So, you may know the fifty states like the back of your hand by now, but do you know what letters are used for their abbreviations. The table below shows the us postal service usps abbreviation for each of the united states, districts, territories, and possessions. These abbreviations short names were used in mailing addresses before the introduction of twoletter u.
The following list are us domestic cities that stand alone, with no state abbreviation. Any state name may be condensed, however, to fit typographical requirements for tabular material. 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. The national rifle association announced on monday it will move its state headquarters to the erickson building. However, if you are a journalist or business writer who follows the associated press stylebook ap, you will abbreviate the state using the traditional state abbreviations below. When in doubt, spell the whole thing out unless of course youre talking about numbers, which are their own animal altogether. If they do require a state, it is important to use the correct ap style state abbreviation.
The two letter abbreviations came into use in 1963. Enclose state in commas, even if used as an adjective. Effective may 1, the ap will spell out state names in the body of. Only use twoletter postal codes in full mailing address with zip. However, writing styles for higher education differ from journalism. Follow these associated press guidelines for the u. For your reference, weve also included a link to the official government website, the old style state abbreviation and the capital. Here is how each state is abbreviated in ap style with the postal code.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Ap style does use periods in most twoletter abbreviations. So, i am providing a reference for those who may be interested. 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. State abbreviations are all two letters, and these two letters are always capitalized without any periods.
Those are alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas and utah. Al for alabama alaska ak this state is not abbreviated in text ariz. A part of the united states and located in the midwest. Ap style isnt keen on using state abbreviations in titles, so spell them out. That said, ap does have many abbreviations for things that it has deemed acceptable to use in all references. There are eight states that should never be abbreviated in text or datelines. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free. Advanced placement exams missouri state university. 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.
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