Associated Press Style Guide
All press releases should abide by Associated Press style guidelines. This includes hometowners. Here you will find a summary of some AP guidelines that relate directly to hometown news. Because your hometowners are comprised of text from both a template and spreadsheet, you will want to make sure both abide by the rules below. Degrees
Deans and Professors Semesters and Seasons Courses Offices and Departments Names Titles School Names Years States Street Addresses Dates Times Degrees Use lowercase when referencing generic degrees, majors and minors.
bachelor’s degree
master’s doctorate When listing a major or degree program, capitalize only the official diploma title, not the program or concentration (unless it includes a proper name).
He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism
He earned a bachelor’s degree in English He received a Master of Science degree in chemistry He received his Doctor of Psychology degree from PR University. John Smith is a history major at PR University He majored in education He is enrolled in PR University’s chemistry program Deans and Professors Capitalize when used as a formal title before a name. Lowercase in other uses.
Dean John Smith
the dean addressed the senior class… John Smith, dean of PR University The dean’s office The Office of the Dean Professor John Smith teaches… John Smith is an English professor… Lowercase all use of dean’s list.
John Smith was named to the dean’s list
He is a dean’s list student Semesters and Seasons Lowercase spring, summer, winter, and fall, unless part of a formal name or a publication. girls’ summer softball
spring dean’s list winter formal Summer Olympics The Summer issue of Inside PR Lowercase all references to semesters.
The spring 2009 semester.
The fall semester Courses The full title of an academic course should be capitalized. Don’t use quotation marks.
He will begin teaching a new class in March, Public Relations Vs. Advertising
He teaches ethics at PR University He is a public relations professor at PR University Offices and Departments Capitalize office, department, division, program, etc., when they are part of official titles. Otherwise, use lowercase.
the science department
the English department PR University’s history department the PR University Department of History Names Use Jr., II, Sr., etc. only on first reference with the individual’s full name. The abbreviations are not set off with commas. John Smith Jr.
Use middle initials in full name reference only if the person uses it regularly.
John M. Smith
On second and subsequent references to an individual, refer to the person by last name only.
Smith graduated with degree in Chemistry.
Titles Professional titles should be capitalized when they immediately precede an individual’s name. Use lower case when they are used after a name.
Director of Public Relations John Smith
John Smith, director of Communications and Marketing… Use abbreviated academic titles after full names only when they are important to the text. Use a comma between the person’s name and degree.
Ph.D.
B.A. M.A. M.S. M.B.A. Jane Smith, LL.D. John Smith, Ph.D. In general do not use the courtesy titles Mr., Mrs., Miss, or Ms. Only use Mr. if it is combined with Mrs. John Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Smith Book titles, television shows, movies, magazines, and publications should be capitalized and in quotations.
Students are reading “A History of Public Relations”
He was featured in the June issue of “Education Illustrated” School Names Capitalize the name of a school or college when it’s used as part of a proper name.
He went to high school in Albany
He graduated from Jones High School The college offers courses in… He is a senior at Massachusetts College of Medicine The university prides itself… Winchester University is a private… Years Do not abbreviate freshman, sophomore, junior or senior unless they are starting a sentence.
He is a junior
John Smith is a senior majoring in biology Use figures without commas when referencing a specific year. Use an apostrophe when referencing a class year. Insert commas when it is used with an individual’s name.
He graduated from PR University in 1998
A member of the class of ‘98 John, Smith, ‘98, is … States Spell out the names of the 50 states when they stand alone in text.
PR University is located in New York state…
He went to high school in Massachusetts When part of an address, use an abbreviated state name. Place one comma between the city and state. Here’s a list of abbreviations for all 50 states:
Ala.
Alaska Ariz. Ark. Calif. Colo. Conn. Del. Fla. Ga. Hawaii Idaho Ill. Ind. Iowa Kan. Ky. La. Maine Md. Mass. Mich. Minn. Miss. Mo. Mont. Neb. Nev. N.H. N.J. N.M. N.Y. N.C. N.D. Ohio Okla. Ore. Pa. R.I. S.C. S.D. Tenn. Texas Utah Vt. Va. Wash. W. Va. Wis. Wyo. Street Addresses Abbreviate St., Blvd., and Ave. only with numbered addresses.
10 Elm St., Albany,
16 Miller Road, Albany He lives on Albany Street Spell out and capitalize first through ninth when used as a street name. Use figures with two letters for 10th and above.
13 Fourth St.
4 13th St. Dates Capitalize all days of the week. Do not abbreviate them. Capitalize the names of months in all uses, and abbreviate when used with a specific date. Separate days and dates with commas.
The senior class will graduate on June 15
Students will graduate on Dec. 5 Students will graduate on Thursday, Dec. 5 Students will graduate in December Abbreviated months are:
Jan.
Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Times Use lowercase a.m. and p.m. Events starting on the hour do not need extra zeroes.
Graduation will be held at 2 p.m. on….
The specialized biology course will begin at 9:15 a.m. Use noon or midnight. Do not use 12 a.m. or 12 p.m. |
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