AP Style Guide - 57th Edition Cheat Sheet by PsychCommunicator

Datelines are the line at the beginning of a press release that indicates the city and state where the news originated and the date it was issued.

Format: CITY, State (or Country).
The city is in all caps, followed by the state.
Example: CAMBRIDGE, Massac­husetts

The Standa­lones: Major cities (e.g., NEW YORK, CHICAGO, LOS ANGELES, ATLANTA) do not need the state name.

Abbrev­iat­ions: Per the latest edition, use the full state name in the dateline (e.g., SEATTLE, Washington – not WA or Wash.).

Use the Oxford Comma: AP Style does not use the serial comma unless it is necessary for clarity. (Red, white and blue.)

Quotat­ions: Commas and periods always go INSIDE the quotation marks.

Attrib­ution: Use "­sai­d" for profes­sional attrib­ution (e.g., "We are thrill­ed,­" Smith said.).
Avoid using "­exc­lai­med­" or "­sta­ted."
Save the word "­sta­ted­" for academic writing (such as literature reviews and research papers).

Times: Use figures and lowercase periods. (7 a.m. or 8:30 p.m.—never 7:00 or AM/PM).
Use "­noo­n" and "­mid­nig­ht" instead of 12 p.m. or 12 a.m.

Months: Abbreviate months with more than five letters only when used with a specific date (Aug. 20, 2026). Spell them out when used alone (August 2026).

Months to always spell out: March, April, May, June, July.

Percent: Always use the symbol % when paired with a number (e.g., 15%). Do not spell out "­per­cen­t."

Addresses: Abbreviate Ave., St., and Blvd. only with a numbered address (123 Main St.). Spell them out if the number is missing (Main Street).

Toward: There is no "­s" at the end of toward, forward, backward, or upward.

Formal Titles: Capitalize formal titles only when they appear immedi­ately before a name.
(President Jane Doe vs. Jane Doe, the president of the company.)

Job Descri­ptions: Lowercase job descri­ptions or "­occ­upa­tio­nal­" titles.
(coach Jim Harbaugh, astronaut Buzz Aldrin).

Compos­ition Titles: Put "­quo­tation marks" around book titles, movie titles, and song titles.
Do not use italics.

0 through 9: Spell out the word (one, two, three...).
10 and above: Use figures (10, 11, 50, 1,000).

Except­ions: Always use figures for ages (The 5-year-old child), money ($5 million), percen­tages (7%), and addresses (9 Main St.).

Start of Sentence: Never start a sentence with a figure unless it is a year (e.g., "­Twenty students attend­ed..." vs. "2026 was a great year").

Inform­ation constr­ucted with the assistance of Google Gemini on 1-4-2025.