10 of the most annoying AP style quirks
Ah, the AP Stylebook: The holy grail for writers and the bane of many an editor’s existence.
Orsi Korman is an account director, content, at HAVAS Red.
While the AP Stylebook is a widely used guide for ensuring clarity and consistency in writing, it’s not without its quirks and contradictions that can drive even the most seasoned communicator up the wall. Here are 10 such inconsistencies:
- Oxford comma
Also known as a serial comma, the Oxford comma is placed immediately before the conjunction — usually “and,” “or” or “nor” — in a series of three or more terms. While AP Style does not use the Oxford comma, as with all punctuation, clarity is its biggest rule. “If a comma does not help make clear what is being said, it should not be there. If omitting a comma could lead to confusion or misinterpretation, then use the comma,” the stylebook reads. Many followers of AP style choose to omit the Oxford comma at all times, but omitting it can indeed lead to ambiguity in some situations. For example, “I have invited my parents, Zach and Judy,” leaves it unclear whether the parents are named Zach and Judy or whether two people are invited in addition to the unnamed parents.
- Hyphenation
The AP Stylebook itself admits that use of the hyphen is far from standardized. “It can be a matter of taste, judgment and style sense. Think of hyphens as an aid to readers’ comprehension. If a hyphen makes the meaning clearer, use it. If it just adds clutter and distraction, don’t use it.” AP style is especially unclear with compound modifiers. For example, “first-quarter earnings” is hyphenated, but “third grade teacher” is not.
- Numerals
According to AP style, numbers one through nine are spelled out, 10 and above are not. However, there are several exceptions to this rule, such as ages, dates, percentages, decimals, paired numbers or beginning a sentence with a number. In addition, having more than one number appear in the same sentence where one is spelled out and the next one isn’t looks confusing to the non-AP-trained eye. For example, “I have two dogs, three cats and 10 chickens.”
- Time of day
The AP Stylebook uses lowercase a.m. and p.m. with periods, which can clash with the commonly used uppercase AM and PM that have no periods. AP Style also uses figures for all times of day (except for noon and midnight), adding a colon to separate hours from minutes, but omitting the commonly used double zeroes when talking about a full hour (for example, 10 a.m. and 10:01 a.m.)
- State abbreviations
AP style dictates that the names of all 50 U.S. states should be spelled out when used in the body of a story. However, abbreviations are required for datelines — and the AP Stylebook has its own unique abbreviations (for example, Conn. for Connecticut), which differ from the standard two-letter postal abbreviations (such as CT for Connecticut), which AP style only uses in addresses. Additionally, the names of eight states are never abbreviated in datelines or text: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah (easily remembered as the two states that are not part of the contiguous U.S. and the continental states that are five letters or fewer.)
- Titles
According to AP style, titles are capitalized before names (Chief Engineer Henry Ford) but lowercase after names (Henry Ford, chief engineer). Many followers of the AP Stylebook choose to override this rule in the name of consistency and/or to meet their readers’ (and executives’) expectations.
- Courtesy titles
AP style generally avoids the use of courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms.), except in special cases like obituaries. Additionally, only last names are supposed to be used on second reference. This can also be inconsistent with readers’ (and executives’) expectations, especially in formal writing.
- Academic degrees
The AP Stylebook prefers spelling out academic degrees (for example, “bachelor’s degree” and “master’s degree”) rather than using abbreviations (such as B.A. and M.A.), but it makes some exceptions (such as “Ph.D.”)
- Punctuation with quotes
AP style dictates that periods and commas always go inside quotation marks, even if they are not part of the quoted material. For example, “I’m going to the store,” she said. This can be confusing and counterintuitive for those who prefer a more logical approach to punctuation placement.
- Internet terms
The AP Stylebook’s rules for internet terms can also feel inconsistent. For example, “webmaster” is one word but “web address” is two words, and while “email” has no hyphen, “e-book” does.
Despite its idiosyncrasies, AP Style continues to evolve and remain popular. In its 57th edition, the 2024 AP Stylebook includes new chapters on artificial intelligence and criminal justice, plus a detailed checklist for self-editing. Because even the most fastidious writers among us need a little help from time to time. So, here’s to the AP Stylebook: Gratifying, maddening, indispensable and forever keeping us on our toes.
Here’s how I personally think of titles. Titles go before a name and would be used to address that person, for example Captain James Kirk. The title is part of a name. The use of the word “captain” after his name indicates his position.
I would never use Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue since few people would go around the hallways of Cupertino calling him Senior Vice President Cue. In text I would use Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president.
Now, I would use middle school Principal Lauren Smith since someone at a board of education meeting might call her Principal Smith.
Someone at a congressional hearing might say “Chief Engineer Ford, thank you for coming.” So I would use it as a title.
Just my personal interpretation of AP guidance.