Ask the Editor
Last Seven DaysQuestion from Washington, District of Columbia, on Sept. 16, 2021
Hi - Could you clarify a phrase in your "Parliament, parliament" entry: "the legislative body in Great Britain or other countries." Is "other countries" limited to those that formally use the name "Parliament"? (For ex: the Dutch House of Representatives self-identifies as "Parliament" on their English website, but AP appears to have lowercased.) Thanks
Answer
In countries that call their legislative body Parliament, it should be capitalized.
Question from on Sept. 16, 2021
When writing captions and stories do we put the word "on" before a date?
The wedding happened Sept. 9, 2021.
or
The wedding happened on Sept. 9, 2021.
Thank you.
The wedding happened Sept. 9, 2021.
or
The wedding happened on Sept. 9, 2021.
Thank you.
Answer
No need for on in this instance, since its absence does not lead to confusion. See details in the on entry.
Question from Mc Lean, Virginia, on Sept. 16, 2021
Hello! When inserting "of course" into a sentence, would we offset with commas before and after? What if "of course" appears after "and"? Here is a generic example (my workplace observes the Oxford comma):
To improve his health, he gave up drugs, alcohol, and, of course, smoking.
Thank you!
To improve his health, he gave up drugs, alcohol, and, of course, smoking.
Thank you!
Answer
When of course is used as an interjection, as it is in your example, it should be offset by commas.
Question from Washington, District of Columbia, on Sept. 16, 2021
Because "historically Black colleges and universities" is lowercase except for "Black," should "Hispanic-serving institution" also capitalize just "Hispanic"?
Answer
I would capitalize just Hispanic because it's a proper adjective, not because of any parallels with the phrase "historically Black colleges and universities."
Question from on Sept. 16, 2021
Is it appropriate to use an ellipsis in a headline? Not to shorten a quote but a style choice, like, "Flying is awful now...we are the worst."
Answer
The use of an ellipsis could indicate to readers that material was excised from the quote, which is not the case, so I'd use a dash or just a period for the effect you're trying to achieve: Flying is awful now — we are the worst. Flying is awful now. We are the worst.
Answer
The province is Balkh, and the preferred spelling is Mazar-e-Sharif.
Question from on Sept. 15, 2021
when writing a headline, do you abbreviate or spell out military titles?
Answer
Chances are, we wouldn't use a military title before a name in a headline. And if it is not before a name -- say, Panel questions top general on air strike -- we would not capitalize it.
Question from Bangalore, on Sept. 15, 2021
shelf-life settings/shelf life settings
Which is correct here?
Which is correct here?
Answer
Most likely, we would hyphenate in this case for clarity.
Question from Lakeland, Florida, on Sept. 15, 2021
As a copy editor at a large company, I use the online AP Stylebook multiple times each day. I often find what I need in the Ask the Editor section. Thank you; I'm a big fan.
Would I keep the quotation marks in the following sentence or would you use different punctuation? To be environmentally friendly across our company, “don’t waste product” will be added to the list of requirements for our associates beginning Jan. 1, 2022.
Would I keep the quotation marks in the following sentence or would you use different punctuation? To be environmentally friendly across our company, “don’t waste product” will be added to the list of requirements for our associates beginning Jan. 1, 2022.
Answer
That would work -- no other punctuation would seem appropriate.
Question from OMaha, Nebraska, on Sept. 15, 2021
I have a question about the use of hyphenated adjectives in a capitalized header. Which one of the following is correct: High-risk specialists or High-Risk Specialists? Thanks
Answer
If your publication's style is to capitalize all words in a header, it would be High-Risk Specialists. But AP would make it High-risk specialists.
Question from Appleton, Wisconsin, on Sept. 15, 2021
How would you handle Railroad Retirement Tax in terms of capitalization?
Answer
It appears that unlike the Railroad Retirement Tax Act, railroad retirement tax is not a proper name. So we would not capitalize it.
Question from Austin, Texas, on Sept. 15, 2021
When listing a month and year only (no day), is "of" acceptable, or should "of" be omitted?
In August 2021 ...
In August of 2021 ...
Thanks!
In August 2021 ...
In August of 2021 ...
Thanks!
Answer
Either is acceptable; in the interest of brevity, we might come down on the side of omitting of.
Question from Doha, on Sept. 15, 2021
Hi guys, I'm looking for guidance please on 'bail out' vs 'bale out' when written as two words. Many thanks.
Answer
Bail out is the correct phrase, as per Webster's New World College Dictionary.
Question from Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 14, 2021
When writing an item about a festival with a children's area, should it be kids zone or kids' zone.
Answer
Kids zone would be correct.
Answer
According to AP guidance on the Roman Catholic Church, yes, the title Most Rev. is used correctly here.
Question from OMaha, Nebraska, on Sept. 14, 2021
When using a compound modifier in a header which is capitalized, should all the words be capitalized or just the first word? Example: Unit-to-Unit Differential or Unit-to-unit Differential?
Thanks
Thanks
Answer
Joining modifiers with hyphens doesn't transform them into a new, single word, so you would capitalize all the words (save for prepositions of three or fewer letters and conjunctions of three or fewer letters): Unit-to-Unit Differential.
Question from Washington DC, on Sept. 14, 2021
Good morning colleagues.
AP classifies Crimea Black Sea peninsula 'seized from Ukraine by Russia and annexed in March 2014'. Also, is stories about the Ukraine AP specifies that fighting in eastern Ukraine is between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces.
So, does AP use 'occupied territory' for Donetsk and Lugansk regions?
Thank you
AP classifies Crimea Black Sea peninsula 'seized from Ukraine by Russia and annexed in March 2014'. Also, is stories about the Ukraine AP specifies that fighting in eastern Ukraine is between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces.
So, does AP use 'occupied territory' for Donetsk and Lugansk regions?
Thank you
Answer
AP stories have generally not described the regions as occupied territory unless in quotations.
Question from New York, New York, on Sept. 14, 2021
I see that AP doesn't hyphenate "non-fungible." So is it "non fungible" or "nonfungible"?
Answer
It would generally be nonfungible, according to guidance on non-.
Question from Bangalore, on Sept. 14, 2021
The "Try it" feature in/on the API Developer portal has multiple uses.
Which is correct here, in/on?
Which is correct here, in/on?
Answer
I'd go with "in," but either is fine.
Question from DALLAS, Texas, on Sept. 13, 2021
Dear Editor:
In the following sentence, I'm thinking that either "you" or "yourself" is correct. Could you weigh in? Many thanks in advance!
"Do it for you(yourself) and your family"
In the following sentence, I'm thinking that either "you" or "yourself" is correct. Could you weigh in? Many thanks in advance!
"Do it for you(yourself) and your family"
Answer
"Do it for you and your family" will do it. No reflexive needed here.
Question from Tampa, Florida, on Sept. 13, 2021
Has the fullness of time yet give us perspective to capitalize the Global Financial Crisis? I believe you last visited this topic in 2015. If not, any attempt at an explanation that we might share would be much appreciated.
Answer
If you want to use the term global financial crisis, I’d keep it lowercase and, if needed for clarity, pair it with a time frame: the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. That is a more specific way to refer to this particular financial crisis, several of which have occurred throughout history. But as more time passes and perspective is gained, don’t rule out further updates to this guidance.
Question from on Sept. 13, 2021
Is it science based or science-based?
Answer
As per Webster's New World College Dictionary, it's hyphenated when preceding a noun.
Question from Kansas City, Missouri, on Sept. 13, 2021
I must take issue with the response to this question about "then" as a conjunction:
https://www.apstylebook.com/ask_the_editors/121
Saying that a comma can take the place of "and" is the very definition of a comma splice and is never correct. "Then" is not listed as a conjunction in any reputable dictionary; it is usually an adverb, sometimes an adjective, sometimes a noun, but never a conjunction.
The correct construction is "and then."
https://www.apstylebook.com/ask_the_editors/121
Saying that a comma can take the place of "and" is the very definition of a comma splice and is never correct. "Then" is not listed as a conjunction in any reputable dictionary; it is usually an adverb, sometimes an adjective, sometimes a noun, but never a conjunction.
The correct construction is "and then."
Answer
You are correct that "then" is not a conjunction. The grammatically pure approach would be "He cooked the crow and then ate it." But comprehension would not suffer if the sentence were "He cooked the crow, then ate it," in which "then" performs the duty of a conjunction.
Question from Dubuque, Iowa, on Sept. 13, 2021
Do you ever use a colon when referencing numeric ratios/comparisons in financial data? Example: xxx requires the coverage ratio to be in excess of 2.3 : 4.00? Thank you.
Answer
That might be useful if you're writing in specialized or technical publications, but it would not work for the more general readership of the AP.
Question from TULSA, Oklahoma, on Sept. 13, 2021
When researching "homebuying" vs "home buying" vs "home-buying", I noticed a few contradictory Ask the Editor entries. I am specifically wondering how you would list the term regarding a "home buying process". An answer from 10/17 says to use "homebuying", but an answer from 3/08 says "home-buying process" is alright. Please advise if one is preferred over the other.
Answer
The AP Stylebook advises homebuyer as one word, so by extension, it would be homebuying process. However, there may be contexts in which home-buying or home buying would be clearer, such as a small-home buying process (in the spirit of the example; in real life, I'd recast it altogether).
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