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Editing Tips: Punctuation in AP Style

Editing Tips: Punctuation in AP Style

Jun 07, 2020
9 min read

AP style – as set out in The Associated Press Stylebook – provides advice on many elements of writing, including punctuation. But what do you need to know about punctuation in AP style to work as a freelance proofreader? In this post, we set out a few of the basics.

AP Style on Full Stops and Abbreviations

In most respects, AP style uses periods in the conventional fashion. However, it does have some stylistic requirements related to abbreviations. One is a preference for using full stops between letters in two-word abbreviations:

The U.S. has hardened its stance towards U.N. policy.

It does not do this for longer abbreviations, though.

The other is that AP style suggests not spacing initials:

E.M. Forster wrote frequently about class and hypocrisy.

Keep an eye out for these issues when your client is using AP style in a document.

AP Style on Commas

As above, AP style follows most standard conventions on comma usage, but it does have rules for when to use a serial comma (also known as an Oxford comma). This is a comma placed before the conjunction at the end of a list of three or more things.

AP style says not to use a serial comma when listing a simple series of items:

Breakfast included an apple, a croissant and orange juice.

However, you should use one if at least one of the listed items contains a conjunction. For instance, AP style would recommend using a serial comma in the following:

For lunch, I had a salad, a bagel, and a gin and tonic.

Here, the comma before “and” makes it clear that “a gin and tonic” is a single item.

AP Style on Possessive Apostrophes

AP style also has rules for how to use possessive apostrophes when a word ends in “s.” This ultimately comes down to the type of noun and whether it is singular or plural:

Singular Common Nouns – For singular common nouns, AP style suggests adding an apostrophe followed by a final “s” (e.g., The cutlass’s blade was sharp).
Singular Proper Nouns – When a singular proper noun, such as a person’s name, ends in “s,” AP style suggests just adding the apostrophe (e.g., James’ shoes are messy).
All Plural Nouns – For both common and proper plural nouns, AP style only adds an apostrophe (e.g., The Joneses’ kids or The players’ kits).

In other words, if following AP style punctuation rules, you will only need the extra “s” after a possessive apostrophe when something belongs to a singular common noun.

AP Style on Quotation Marks

Another key aspect of punctuation in AP style is how to use punctuation marks.

At a general level, AP style follows American English conventions. It therefore suggests:

Using “double quote marks” for quotations.
Only using ‘inverted commas’ for quotations within quotations.
Always placing full stops and commas inside closing quote marks, even when they are not part of the text being quoted.

However, since these rules are mostly associated with American English, some publications or organizations may adapt AP conventions for their own region. And if your client has asked to use AP style with a dialect other than American English, you should ask whether they have preferences for how to use this type of punctuation (e.g., single or double quote marks).

For more information on some of the punctuation differences between British and American English, moreover, you can always give our Becoming A Proofreader course a try!