Serving as an authority for ferment journalists on grammar , capitalization , abbreviations , spelling and so much more , theAP Stylebookcan be found in almost every newsroom in the land . Although some publications ( such asThe New York Times ) stray from the guide , it ’s become almost like a Holy Writ since its beginnings in 1953 . update are formally made every twelvemonth as each Modern edition is published , and to stick around culturally relevant , new formula are added . The citizens committee of editor program who set up style are n’t messing around : They ’ve set what makes a boat a boat and a ship a ship , the spelling of " Daylight Saving Time , " and that numbers above 10 must utilise numerals . Here are nine rules from theAP Stylebookthat you might never bonk unless you take care them up .
1. OK
None of thisokaybusiness . It’sOK , OK’d , OK’ing , andOKs . ( Yeah , it ’s go bad to front like you ’re shouting . It ’s okay . ) This spelling may take up from theoriginsof the idiom .
2. Health Care
Although many in the industriousness write ithealthcare(one word ) , the AP endure in spell it as two words — wellness aid , although it ’s ahotly debateditem that could deepen shortly .
3. Toward
MBD ansto the end of this word , and prepare for the wrath of every American copy editor ’s red penitentiary . ( Ditto onforward . )
4. Co-working vs. coworking
The multitude you see every twenty-four hour period in the part ( or the mass on your squad , even if they ’re halfway around the world ) are yourco - actor . But if you rent a shared employment space , those are yourcoworkers , without a hyphen . And yes , that means it ’s call acoworkingspace .
5. Champagne
catch the bottle and check the recording label . If it ’s from the Champagne region of France , always capitalise . If made elsewhere , call it " sparkling wine-coloured . "
6. Percentages
For a long sentence , theAP Stylebooksaid to never use the short symbolic representation for percent and always spell it out . For example , " About 80 per centum ofAP Stylebookusers actually know this rule . " ( We just made that statistic up . ) As of 2019 , however , theAP Stylebooksays the percent sign is acceptable when paired with a numeric in most cases .
7. No Hyphenation on Dual Heritage Terms
In a new change for 2019 , theStylebooksays not to hyphenate term likeAfrican American , Asian American , andFilipino American .
8. No Italics
The Associated Press does n’t use italics . Instead , writer who follow theAP Stylebookput quotation mark around the title of book , moving-picture show , plays , and the like .
9. Trademarks
It ’s OK to use stain name if you ’re actually blab out about the brand name . But if you ’re diffident of whether it ’s the good poppycock or generic , use plebeian terms like " facial tissue " forKleenexand " flying disc " forFrisbee .
A version of this list first ran in 2013 .
