Most state names are abbreviated following the name of a city. There are quite a few rules in the ap stylebook for state names and ap style state abbreviations. Ap style guide state abbreviations here are some commonly used state abbreviations you could refer to. In the body of your release, spell out the entire name. 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. The first part of the state names entry says they should be spelled out when used in the body of a story, whether standing alone or in conjunction with a city, town, village or military base.
Jul, 2019 one of the first things a student in a beginning journalism course learns about is associated press style or ap style for short. Ap style is designed to address the challenges of the organizations large size and readership. Apr 15, 2020 okay, so new is stretching it a bit, but some writers may be unaware that in 2014 ap changed the rule regarding how state names should be written. The exceptions are alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas, and utah. Of course, use state abbreviations in conjunction with the name. A great way to remember this exception is to realize that alaska and hawaii are not in the contiguous united states and the other exempted states contain five letters or fewer in their. Ap state name switch is a good time to address clarity issues. Abbreviated rank is used in the narrative with the name of the member. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per ap style.
Associated press style basics journalists resource. Spelled out fully in the identification line using all capital letters. Ap style does not require the name of a state to accompany the names of the following 30 cities. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free. Ap style military ranks capitalize a military rank when used as a formal title before an individuals name. States writing style guide western michigan university. Ap style considers spelling out state names again and other issues after being kind of smacked down last year by anxious copy desks when it came close to issuing a fiat that all state names would be spelled out instead of being abbreviated, ap is edging toward that precipice again. When abbreviating the state names, dont make the mistake of using the postal code abbreviations. Ap style state abbreviations differ from their corresponding united states postal service abbreviations, provided in parentheses. It had to be easy for reporters and editors to use and also produce.
Generally ap style omits periods in acronyms, unless doing so would spell an unrelated word. The change is being made to be consistent in our style for domestic and international. Note that ap style omits state names for a specified list of cities. The 2015 ap stylebook makes the distinction between state names in running text body of the story and state names in datelines. Use the state abbreviations not the postal abbreviations indicated below in lists, tabular material, and shortform listings of. Ap uses different state abbreviations than the usps does. Those states are alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas, and utah. You also can abbreviate words such as company and corporation when they appear after the name of a business entity. States should also be abbreviated when used as part of a shortform political affiliation. The associated press stylebook it can be overwhelming at first, but please see below for the essentials. Starting on may 1, the ap will change from abbreviating most states names in. Also use state abbreviations in conjunction with the name of a city, county, town, village or military base in. For singular proper names ending in s sounds such as x, ce, and z, use s for plurals of a single letter, add s do not use s for plurals of numbers or multiple letter combinations bullets associated press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. May 07, 2009 the associated press was founded more than 150 years ago and now has thousands of employees working in more than a hundred countries for a readership that numbers in the millions.
Spell out the names of the two states that are not part of the contiguous united states and of the continental states that are five letters or fewer. State names like california are always spelled out when they are in news. That is the one of the few instances when state names are abbreviated in ap style. Ap style was developed and is maintained by the associated press, the worlds oldest news service. When the name of a city and state are used together, the name of the state should be abbreviated except for alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas and utah. Spell out the names of the states whether standing alone or with a place name. In running text, spell out the names of states whether standing alone or in conjunction with a city, town, village, or military base. One of the first things a student in a beginning journalism course learns about is associated press style or ap style for short. Except in mailing addresses with a zip code, or with other punctuation. Here is a sampling of frequently asked questions, with examples of ap style used in answers.
Ap style is simply a standardized way of writing everything from dates to street addresses to job titles. Ap style guidance for official biographies cont rank. Oct 31, 2019 ap uses different state abbreviations than the usps does. Ap style state abbreviations differ from their corresponding us postal service abbreviations, are in parentheses. If youre new to news writing or switching from one to another, youll want to keep this ap cheat sheet handy and.
Apr 09, 2020 state names in the previous example, nebraska was abbreviated to neb. Of course, use state abbreviations in conjunction with the name of a city, town, village or military base in most datelines. So, i am providing a reference for those who may be interested. When the name of a state name appears in the body of a text, spell it out. Any state name may be condensed, however, to fit typographical requirements for tabular material. The associated press stylebook ap style recommends lowercasing any roadrelated term in combined names if the term is the same for both names. The ap stylebook says state abbreviations are used in both datelines and in text.
Political titles should be abbreviated before full names outside of direct quotes. The names of eight states are never abbreviated in datelines or text. 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. Abbreviate months with six or more letters if they are used with a specific date. Abbreviate the states when they are coupled with the name of a city, town or village. Which cities dont need a state abbreviation in ap style. In the past, states were generally abbreviated in domestic articles and news stories, but they were always spelled out in international content. Those are alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas and utah.
Chicago and ap differ on some traditional abbreviations. Mar 14, 2015 below is a list of ap style state abbreviations. Before we begin to enlist the abbreviations, it is mandatory for one to learn and garner information about what ap is, with. State names in the previous example, nebraska was abbreviated to neb. Follow these associated press guidelines for the u. Ap style state abbreviations for press release dateline follow these associated press guidelines for the u.
Some state names are not abbreviated because they have six or fewer letters. Abbreviations abbreviate junior or senior after a name, but dont use a comma. Abbreviations for states and provinces traditional abbreviations for states and provinces begin with a capital letter and end with a period. Ap style isnt keen on using state abbreviations in titles, so spell them out. Ap style considers spelling out state names again and. States should not be abbreviated when used in the text of a story. No state name is necessary if it is the same as the dateline. State names like california are always spelled out when they are in news stories. The trial took place on march 8 in riverside, california. Ap itself along with gi and eu are exceptions to this rule. Aug 01, 2018 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. However, there are exceptions for large cities that stand alone in datelines.
Ap suggests spelling out the names of alaska, hawaii, and all states with five or fewer letters. Apr 23, 2014 effective may 1, the ap will spell out state names in the body of stories. Jul 21, 2016 when youre writing in ap style, you should abbreviate titles that precede names and suffixes that fall afterward. In this post, we will summarize all of the ap stylebook state abbreviations rules. 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. Ap state name switch is a good time to address clarity. Alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas and utah. This listing is a just a few highlights for ap style, but you need to make sure you have the most current version for quick reference. Do not use periods in abbreviations that are in headlines, unless they are needed for clarity.
Ap style does use periods in most twoletter abbreviations. Currently, most state names are abbreviated in stories. Ap sticks to the usps abbreviations when the full address is provided in the text. It wouldnt be ap style without an exception or two. Senator and representative are abbreviated and capitalized before a name but lower case and spelled out when theyre not a part of a title. Making local editors happy with ap style nebraska community. The associated press was founded more than 150 years ago and now has thousands of employees working in more than a hundred countries for a readership that numbers in the millions. Hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas, utah, and alaska. Ap editor david minthorn fields questions of widest interest posed by subscribers to the online ap stylebook.
Here is how each state is abbreviated in ap style with the postal code abbreviations. The month march should never be abbreviated, even with a date. The associated press stylebook, the usage guide for most united states newspapers, counsels the use of abbreviations for most state names, when appended to a city name for example, santa ana, calif. Here are all the ap abbreviations and their usps counterparts.
Spell out the names of the 50 states when they stand alone in. Funding was provided by the state of michigan meaning the government. Top 5 tips to edit and write in chicago or ap style proedit. If a states name is standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town in your text, spell out the entire states name. Alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas and.
State names are spelled out following city names, unless abbreviating is required military, politicians, etc. If you want to know all about the ap style state abbreviations, you have been a wise soul to click on this article. A good way to remember these eight is to always spell out the names of the two states outside the contiguous united states hawaii and alaska and the states inside the contiguous united states with five letters or less. Consult the ap stylebook for a list of these cities. Remember to spell the state in entirety when it appears solo in a sentence or a statement. See the lists that follow to determine whether the title should be spelled out or abbreviated in regular text. Use the aps state abbreviations with place names only in lists and tabular material, or shortform listings of party affiliation. Remember that, in datelines, the city name is in all capital letters.
All states are spelled out in the body of the text. Sep 19, 2012 ap style recommends spelling out state names in the body of stories effective may 1, 2014 and using abbreviations in datelines. Spacing around the em dash usually more abbreviated. Mastering the ap style rules for abbreviations bka content.
Spell out other legislative titles in all uses and capitalize formal titles when theyre used before a name. Percentages as of 2019, ap style now recommends using the percent sign. The best ap style cheat sheet every writer needs free download. You will notice that eight states are missing from this list. Geographic regions and states editorial style guide. Ap stylebook says state abbreviations are used in both datelines and in text. The associated press stylebook, the usage guide for most united states newspapers, counsels the use of abbreviations for most state names, when appended.
Effective may 1, the ap will spell out state names in the body of stories. 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. Spell out one through nine, then go to figures for 10 and up. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The ap style as its known in the trade is quite different from the new york times style or chicago manual of style.
Starting on may 1, the ap will change from abbreviating most states names in the body of stories to spelling those names out. There are eight states that should never be abbreviated in text or datelines. Enclose state in commas, even if used as an adjective. 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. 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. 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.
How to write names of highways, streets, and other roadways. The associated press style is the goto style for journalism and news writing. 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. Welcome to ask the editor, a forum on writing, style and phrasing issues that go beyond the pages of the ap stylebook. Use the state abbreviations not the postal abbreviations indicated below in lists, tabular material, and shortform listings of party affiliation. That is because alaska, hawaii, idaho, iowa, maine, ohio, texas and utah are never abbreviated. Ap style recommends spelling out state names in the body of stories effective may 1, 2014 and using abbreviations in datelines.