In AP (Associated Press) style, the rule for state names depends on how they are used. When a state stands alone in text, it is always spelled out in full for example, “She moved to California.” When a state appears alongside a city, AP uses its own traditional abbreviations (which differ from postal codes) for […]

In AP (Associated Press) style, the rule for writing months depends on whether a specific date is included. When a month is used with a specific date, you abbreviate the longer months: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. for example, “The event is on Jan. 5.” However, the five short months March, April, […]

In AP (Associated Press) style, a dateline appears at the very start of a news story to tell readers where and, traditionally, when the story originated. It is written with the city name in all capital letters, followed by the state or country (when needed), and then an em dash leading into the first sentence […]

In AP (Associated Press) style, dates are written using figures without ordinal suffixes so you write “July 4” rather than “July 4th” or “the fourth of July.” When a specific date is given, the longer months are abbreviated (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.), while March, April, May, June, and July are always spelled […]

In AP (Associated Press) style, the general, informal reference to a degree uses an apostrophe and a lowercase letter: write “bachelor’s degree” and “master’s degree,” not “Bachelor’s Degree” or “bachelors degree.” Note the possessive apostrophe is required (bachelor’s, not bachelors). When referring to a degree in a specific field, AP style keeps it lowercase too […]