Capitalize city, county, state and federal when part of a formal name. Sep 21, 2016 reportedly, one editor of a georgia newspaper said hed never capitalize the n because it might lead to social equality. Capitalize common nouns such as party, river and street when they are part of a proper name for place, person or thing. But it also depends on what type of writing piece this is and your personal beliefs. Ap style also aims to avoid stereotypes and unintentionally offensive language. The word epicenter refers to the point on earths surface above the underground center, or focus, of an earthquake. When a conjunction joins the last two elements in a series, use a comma. Instead, there are a number of style guidesfor example, the chicago manual of style cmos and the mla handbookwhich each have individual rules for the capitalization of titles.
Capitalize common nouns and their distinguishing modifiers in names of associations, societies, companies, streets, etc. The indian ocean is deeper than the atlantic ocean. The ap stylebook holds that capitalization, in general, should be confined to formal titles that are used directly before an individuals name. Ap compiles us elections style guide associated press. These rules are the exact same for apa style, the only difference being that ap style does not recommend the use of title case for newspaper headlines, but rather sentence case. Finally, on march 7, 1930, the new york times agreed to change their policy and wrote in a stirring editorial, in our style book negro is now added to the list of words to be capitalized.
Capitalize general nouns such as ocean, mountain, and lake, when writing proper names for individual geographic features. Names of most websites and apps are capitalized without quotes. Proper ap use of road in an address road proper use of 21 year old student 21yearold student proper use of thirties 30s proper ap style for books italics proper ap style for songs paparazzi or italics proper ap style for 3301978 march 30, 1978 proper ap style for the1990s 90s proper ap style for height 5foot3 proper ap style for names. Capitalize only when referring explicitly to the planet, e.
When you are talking about the ground or soil as a surface or stratum, then you must lowercase the word. These selected rules have been reprinted with the permission of the associated press. Capitalize sun when referring to our sun but not to other suns. The uaf style guide is based primarily on the associated press stylebook. When the noun earth refers to our planet, it is capitalized only when its a proper noun meaning it acts like a name and is not preceded by thefor example, everything on earth. Our amended style is website one word, lowercase w, along with other compounds. When earth is a proper noun, the is usually omitted. Apr 02, 2009 apparently because the associated press ap stylebook says so.
The word epicenter refers to the point on earth s surface above the underground center, or focus, of an earthquake. Dec 15, 2011 the associated press unleashed software thursday that proofreads content using ap stylebooks guidelines on spelling, language, punctuation, usage and journalistic style the new plugin. The associated press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. The associated press stylebook provides an az guide to issues such as capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals and many other questions of language usage. However, computer game apps such as farmville are in quotes. When it comes to writing, this common english word confuses many native speakers who arent sure whether to use earth or earth.
It takes six to eight months to travel from earth to mars. Universe is capitalized as we capitalize earth, and its not. Welcome to ask the editor, a forum on writing, style and phrasing issues that go beyond the pages of the ap stylebook. Capitalize earth when used as the proper name of our planet. The ap stylebook and briefing on media law is an essential handbook for all writers and editors. Down to earth, what on earth, and move heaven and earth do not capitalize the planet, and four corners of the earth or salt of the earth take the definite article. Visit the poynter institute 801 third street south st. In a series of three or more elements, separate the elements with commas. Jun 18, 2012 capitalization of words in titles and headings. In english, proper nouns nouns which signify a particular person, place, or thing are capitalized. When should you capitalize oceans, mountains, lakes, and. All you need to know about titles in ap style gatehouse. This being said, however, the ap stylebook does go on to list some more specific guidelines that are to be followed when using various titles in your text.
Down to earth, what on earth, and move heaven and earth do not capitalize the planet, and four corners of the. Several readers have asked why kinship names, such as names of brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, etc. Capitalize earth only when using it in association with the names of other astronomical bodies that are capitalized. Apr 03, 2016 in your sentence, the world is also a proper noun, but you didnt capitalize it for reasons of style, like the sun or the moon. However, there is a consensus about the basic rules. So, people will often capitalize certain words and phrases to show emphasis. No one can be truly happy without a little earth under her fingernails. Earth, when used as the name of the planet, is not preceded by the. Jupiter, mars, mercury, neptune, saturn, uranus, venus. Rules from the ap stylebook i recently conducted a workshop for employees in the development office at my university, and since they use associated press ap style, i was asked to include a unit on avoiding common ap errors. Were glad you like the blog, but this isnt a mistake. To quote the ap style guide, ap capitalizes the proper names of planets, including earth, stars, constellations, etc. If there is no relevant listing in this book for a particular word or phrase, consult websters new world college dictionary.
I know that earth is lowercase when preceded by the. Capitalize a kinship name when it immediately precedes a personal name or is used alone, in place of a personal name. Interestingly, the ap stylebook says to capitalize the earth but not the sun and moon. Capitalize the principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters. Although the ap stylebook doesnt specify whether the universe is capitalized. The lieutenant governor, gavin newsom, was serving in the. The planets are mercury, venus, earth, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus.
The guidance encompasses the democratic and republican conventions to nominate presidential candidates. Capitalize an article the, a, an or words of fewer than four letters if it is the first or last word in a title. Associated press style essentials this ap short guide is. Like adjectives, the decision to capitalize or lowercase geographic populations in the united states will depend on your style guide. The archaeologists excavated the earth at the site. For a complete guide to ap style, writers should consult the most recent edition of the associated press stylebook or visit the ap stylebook website. Why do so many editors insist upon this obnoxious practice. Thus not knowing what they base their nocaps decision on, we turned instead to wikipedia to investigate naming conventions in botany and found some interesting things. The chicago manual of style cmos is the industry standard for us book publishers. When im uncertain about whether to capitalize or not to capitalize, i plan to stick to lowercase earth. The ap stylebook adds an apostrophe to the holiday and to the exclamation. Some organizations, like nasa, have the letter capitalized in their style guides. Capitalize bible, without quotations marks, when referring to the scriptures of the old testament or the new testament. The same rule applies to words of fewer than four letters.
The content of newspapers and other mass media is typically the result of many different writers and editors working together. Bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, master of arts, master of social work, etc. Oct 30, 2015 if an article the, a, an is the first or last word in a title, capitalize it. If youre writing about the next 12 months will bring, lowercase the phrase. And capitalised when saying does mars, like earth, have an. Twelve common mistakes of ap style apr 19, 2011 admin. Ap style holds to the general rule of lowercasing compass directions and capitalizing regions. What follows are summaries of some of the most common style rules. Following this rule, when earth is discussed as a specific planet or. Ap editor david minthorn fields questions of widest interest posed by subscribers to the online ap stylebook. For example, in a work of fiction in which the characters travel to hell like in the show supernatural, hell would be ca. Ap capitalizes the proper names of planets, including earth, stars, constellations, etc.
General guidelines for capitalization can be found in the chicago style book and similar references. The associated press stylebook ap style suggests capitalizing terms like midwesterner, northerner, southerner, and westerner. In general, capitalize formal titles or names but lowercase general uses of a noun. The blue ridge mountains are part of the appalachian mountains. Aug, 2012 the associated press has compiled a list of u. On first usage of a persons name with academic degree, spell out the full name, followed by a comma and the academic degree, e. If an article the, a, an is the first or last word in a title, capitalize it. I just worked on a project following ap style and they required lowercase though i dont know if the client was following current forum earth and capitalising. Formal titles in ap style should be capitalized when they immediately precede one or more names. When a date includes the month, day and year, include a comma after the year. For classical compositions, use quotation marks around the compositions nicknames but not compositions identified by its sequence. Coach told me, but coach john doe will miss the season. Reportedly, one editor of a georgia newspaper said hed never capitalize the n because it might lead to social equality. But lowercase these common nouns when they stand alone or in.
But in the following cases, i am sure it should be lowercase because uppercase looks odd to me. In general, midwesterners are friendly and down to earth. Apparently because the associated press ap stylebook says so. The ap stylebook has a number of different rules and guidelines to follow when referring to the bible in your text. There is an enduring debate over capitalizing the m in earths moon. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Note that bachelors and masters are possessive, as they are equivalent to saying, the experts degree, and, therefore, require an apostrophe. Jul 29, 2012 several readers have asked why kinship names, such as names of brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, etc.
The word is not capitalized when it is a common noun meaning it does not act like a name and is preceded by the e. Capitalize titles preceding and attached to a name, but use lower case if the title follows. The associated press unleashed software thursday that proofreads content using ap stylebooks guidelines on spelling, language, punctuation, usage and journalistic style the new plugin. The 2019 edition of the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law includes more than 200 new or revised entries, with chapters covering data journalism, business, fashion, food, religion and sports terms, as well as media law, news values, punctuation, social media, polls and surveys and a new chapter on health and science. Most americans probably capitalize founding fathers but not founders. Nov 07, 2016 we usually lowercase sun, moon, and earth, but, following the chicago manual of style, when the does not precede the name of the planet, when earth is not part of an idiomatic expression, or when other planets are mentioned, we capitalize earth. When should you capitalize geographic regions in the. Preferred over homosexual except in clinical contexts or references to sexual.
If you require access to the ap stylebook for your work at the bloomberg school, have. Ap style title case has a few easy rules that will help showcase your title. Founded in 1846, ap today is the most trusted source of independent news and information. Contents hide 1 how to capitalize composition titles. While this may be okay to do in a personal text or email, it doesnt work for a book or professional publication. On any given day, more than half the worlds population sees news from ap. The four planets closest to the sunmercury, venus, earth, and marscompose the inner solar system. Title case converter a smart title capitalization tool. My guess is that some classically educated nitpicker who. Used to describe men and women attracted to the same sex, though lesbian is the more common term for women. It wasnt about my prose, reporting, or lede, but that i neglected to abbreviate september. In your sentence, the world is also a proper noun, but you didnt capitalize it for reasons of style, like the sun or the moon. When a title stands alone or is offset from a name by commas, it should be lowercase.
But, see consult your style guide before combining. Entires that are capitalized without further comment should be capitalized in all uses. You should also always capitalize related terms such as the gospels. Following this rule, when earth is discussed as a specific planet or celestial body, it is capitalized. We usually lowercase sun, moon, and earth, but, following the chicago manual of style, when the does not precede the name of the planet, when earth is not part of an idiomatic expression, or when other planets are mentioned, we capitalize earth. The following pages summarize the most commonly used rules in the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law. When to capitalize earth ruthless editor kathleen watson. Ap style is email changed from email, but other e words are hyphenated. When should you capitalize geographic regions in the united. Earth can be either a proper noun or a common noun.
The associated press stylebook ap is the industry standard for journalisticstyle publications. During the civil war, northerners and southerners battled in twentythree states. I remember when i filed one of my first bylines for a newspaper only to get my inbox slammed with emails from my editor in chief. Ap stylebooks new tool automatically edits your writing. And capitalised when saying does mars, like earth, have an atmosphere. Many words and phrases, including special cases, are listed separately in this book.
Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook. We usually lowercase sun, moon, and earth, but, following the chicago manual of style, when the does not precede the name of the planet. There is an enduring debate over capitalizing the m in earth s moon. When the noun earth refers to our planet, it is capitalized only when its a proper noun meaning it acts like a name and is not preceded by thefor example.
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