Style and Structure (wip)

Introduction

TBD

AP Style Highlights

TBD

Numbers

Rule	Example
Spell out one through nine	three studies
Use numerals for 10 and above	12 participants
Spell out numbers at sentence start	Twenty people attended
Use numerals for ages	5 years old; a 10-year-old child
Use numerals for money	$5; $12.50
Use numerals for percentages	5% (not “five percent”)
Use numerals for measurements	6 feet tall; 3 miles
Use numerals with million/billion	2 million people

Dates and Times

Rule	Example
Abbreviate months with specific dates (except March–July)	Jan. 3; Sept. 12
Spell out months without dates	January 2025
Use numerals for dates (no “st,” “nd,” etc.)	April 4
Do not abbreviate days of the week	Monday
Use lowercase with periods for time	3 p.m.; 11 a.m.
Do not use :00 for exact hours	7 p.m. (not 7:00 p.m.)
Use “noon” and “midnight”	The meeting is at noon

Names and Titles

Rule	Example
Use full name on first reference	Jane Smith
Use last name on second reference	Smith said
Capitalize formal titles before a name	President Joe Biden
Lowercase titles after a name	Joe Biden, president
Do not capitalize job descriptions	teacher, coach
Lowercase class years unless starting a sentence	sophomore, junior

Punctuation and Formatting

Rule	Example
Use quotation marks for most composition titles	“American Idol”
Do not use quotes for books, magazines, newspapers	Time magazine
Use commas with attribution	“We agree,” she said.
Capitalize the first word of a full-sentence quote	She said, “We are ready.
Do not capitalize fragment quotes	He called it “a major step forward.”
Avoid apostrophes for plurals	1970s, ABCs

AP Style Principles

Principle	Description
Concise	Short, direct sentences
Clear	Familiar, everyday wording
Front-loaded	Key information comes first
Consistent	Standardized formatting rules
Readable	Easy to scan and understand quickly

Custom Style Guide

TBD

Avoiding Speciesist Language

Referring to Animals

Word Forms

TBD

Tone and Vocabulary

TBD

Patterns for Organizing Text

TBD