7
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W R I T I N G 1 2 .1 8
AP Style — Abbreviations
OBJECTIVES
STEP 1 | L E A R N
Students will learn the Associated Press (AP) Style for abbreviations in the AP Style —
Abbreviations handout.
STEP 2 | P R A C T I C E
Students will utilize the AP Style for abbreviations in the AP Style — Abbreviations exit ticket.
STEP 3 | U S E
Students will edit existing spreads for AP Style abbreviations as well as use AP Style abbreviations on
subsequent work.
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
The Associated Press Style Guide is an industry standard for the grammatical and stylistic
presentation of print media. Students in this lesson are exposed to the style guide and will communicate
with it in their own publication.
COMMON CORE
STATE STANDARDS
ELA-Literacy.L.9-12.1, CCRA.L.1
Demonstrate command of grammar and
usage when speaking or writing.
ELA-Literacy.L.9-12.2, CCRA.L.2
Demonstrate command of capitalization,
punctuation and spelling.
ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.2c (11-12.2b)
Spell correctly.
ELA-Literacy.W.9-12.5, CCRA.W.5
Plan, revise, edit, rewrite or try a
new approach.
ISTE
ISTE STANDARDS
1C: Use models and simulations to explore
complex systems.
2A: Publish, employing a variety of digital
environments and media.
5C: Demonstrate personal responsibility for
lifelong learning.
6D: Transfer current knowledge to learning of
new technologies.
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AP Style — Abbreviations
Rule of thumb: When in doubt, spell
it out.
Business firms: Abbreviate Bros., Co.,
Corp., Inc., Ltd. Do not place a comma
before Inc. or Ltd.: Luco Manufacturing
Inc., Coca Cola Bottling Co.
Christmas: Never Xmas.
Colleges: When abbreviating the
names of colleges and universities, do
not use periods: KSU, KU, ESU.
Course titles: Do not abbreviate
except when used as an adjective:
physical education (not “P.E.” or “phys.
ed.”; but “P.E. classes”); Journalism II
(not J-II); English (not Eng. or eng.).
Days of the week: Always spell out
days of the week: Monday (not Mon.).
Foreign countries: Do not abbreviate.
Measurements: Use figures and spell
out words such as inches, feet, yards,
etc., to indicate depth, height, length
and width: He is 5 feet 6 inches tall.
» Use a generic apostrophe to
indicate feet and generic quote
marks to indicate inches (5’6”) only
in very technical contexts.
Money: Use the $ and decimal system
for amounts larger than one dollar;
$1.01, $2.50.
» Omit zeros and decimal point when
sums are whole: $1, $5, $200.
» Spell out the word cents, using
numerals for amounts less than a
dollar: 45 cents (not $.45, 45 cts.,
45¢ or forty-five cents).
Months: Abbreviate names of months
of more than five letters only when
followed by the date. Never abbreviate
March, April, May, June or July: Jan. 1,
Feb. 14, May 1, July 4, Dec. 25.
» Adding the year after the month
and date does not change this rule:
Feb. 2, 2003; April 10-12, 1987.
» The date is always given in figures
(1,2,3…) because it is a unit of
measurement.
Ordinal Numbers: Spell out and
capitalize First through Ninth when used
as street names; use figures with two
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letters for 10th and above: 800 Third
Ave., 10th and Elm.
Organizations: The proper name of
an organization is always written out
on first reference. The title of such an
organization may be abbreviated —
without periods — on second reference
and thereafter if it will be clearly
understood by readers. Do no follow
an organization’s full name with an
abbreviation or acronym in parentheses
or set off by dashes. Abbreviate —
without periods — if clearly understood:
NHS, FBLA, TSA.
» All words in an organization’s
name will be capitalized except
the articles a, an, and the and
prepositions of less than five letters.
Percent: One word spelled out: 45
percent (never 45 per cent or 45%).
Personal names: Spell out William
(not Wm.); Charles (not Chas.); George
(not Geo.)
» Abbreviate Junior and Senior: John
Doe Jr.
Political parties: Abbreviate when
used parenthetically or in election
statistics: Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.,
said Republicans were…
Religious titles: In general, spell out
titles. The first reference to members
of the clergy and nuns should include
a capitalized title before the individual’s
name.
» Use the Rev. before a minister’s
name on first reference. “The”
should precede the title and name
on first reference: Baccalaureate
will be led by the Rev. Pat Ireland.
Spell Out: association, department,
detective, fort, mount, point or port:
Journalism Education Association,
history department.
States: Abbreviate names of states only
when used after the names of cities and
towns. Do not use postal abbreviation
to identify states. The state name is
needed when the city has the same
name as another city (such as Kansas
City, Kan. and Pella, Iowa) or when
referring to unfamiliar cities outside the
home state. Use the abbreviations:
Ala.
Ariz.
Ark.
Calif. Colo.
Conn. Del.
D.C.
Fla.
Ga.
Ill.
Ind.
Kan.
Ky.
La.
Md.
Mass. Mich. Minn. Miss.
Mo.
Mont. Neb.
Nev.
N.C.
N.H.
N.J.
N.M.
N.Y.
N.M.
Okla. Ore.
Pa.
R.I.
S.C.
S.D.
Tenn. Tex.
Wash. Wis.
W.Va. Wyo. Vt.
Va.
» Do not abbreviate Alaska, Hawaii,
Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio or Utah.
Street addresses: Abbreviate Ave.,
Blvd., St. only when used with a
numbered address. All similar words are
always spelled out: Drive, Land, Road,
Terrace, etc.
» Abbreviate compass points (E.,
N.W., etc.) in addresses only when
used with specific street numbers.
Time of day: Abbreviate ante meridiem
(a.m.) and post meridiem (p.m.) using
lowercase letters and periods. Eliminate
unnecessary figures and redundancies:
7 a.m., not 7:00 a.m.; 10 at night, not
10p.m. at night; Thursday night at 10
o’clock, not Thursday night at 10 p.m.;
preferably Thursday at 10 p.m.
Titles: Abbreviate only the titles
senator, representative, governor,
doctor, the reverend and certain military
designations listed under “military
titles” in the AP Stylebook before a full
name: Sen. Jerry Moran, Rep. Mike
Pompeo, Gov. Sam Brownback, Dr.
Joel Hornung, the Rev. Pat Ireland.
» Do not abbreviate or capitalize titles
which follow names: Pat Roberts,
senator; Kelly Hannigan, editor;
John Ireland, principal.
United Nations: Spell it out when used
as a noun. Use U.N. with periods when
used as an adjective.
United States: Spell it out when used
as a noun. Use U.S. when used as an
adjective.
WRITING 12.18 | H A N D O U T
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EXIT TICKET
AP Style — Abbreviations
Using the handout, correct the following paragraph to follow AP Style.
For Xmas, Johnathan went to Eugene, OR to see his grandmother. He left on Thurs. and, because the weather was unusually
bad for Dec., he didn’t have a chance to charge his phone through the entire trip. When he arrived to his grandmother’s
house Thursday night at 10PM, he had 45-percent battery life remaining. As soon as he walked into the house, his
grandfather, Harold Deen Junior greeted him, handing him a cup of coffee and five dollars that he owed him for guessing
the World Series results correctly in the family bet.
I used the following 21st Century Skills in class today:
(Check as many as apply.)
Creativity and Innovation
Technology Operations and Concepts
Personal Productivity
Communication and Collaboration
Leadership
Personal Responsibility
Research and Information Fluency
Ethics
People Skills
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and
Decision Making
Accountability
Self Direction
Adaptability
Social Responsibility
Digital Citizenship
Explanation of task or situation where a 21st Century Skill was used:
7
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WRITING 12.18 | E X I T T I C K E T
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14-0612