Ask the Editor
Last Seven DaysQuestion from on March 25, 2019
If you are referring to "top ten" or "top twenty" of graduates and creating a poster with it being used, is it OK to use the words rather than the numerals?
Answer
AP style would be to use numerals, but no other rule would prevent you from using the words.
Question from Lenexa, KS on March 25, 2019
Which would be better: We offer our assisted living residents caring support and wellness services that enhance their daily life. OR We offer our assisted living residents caring support and wellness services that enhance their daily lives. Thanks!
Answer
We'd stick with the plural -- lives.
Question from Orysia McCabe, Middletown, NY on March 25, 2019
I know I asked this question before but I can't find it in "My Questions" section. When reporting a recall and we have a list of the products do we write them out like they are on the package—NORTH COUNTRY SMOKEHOUSE ORIGINAL OLD FASHIONED POLISH STYLE KIELBASA—or do we just write it out like this—North Country Smokehouse original old fashion Polish-style kielbasa?
Answer
We certainly wouldn't use all caps. If that is the full name of the brand, we would capitalize the first letter of each word.
Answer
Our guidance is to use hyphens when needed to avoid ambiguity. It would seem that there is no ambiguity in either of these examples -- it is clear that "small" and "large" modify "renovations," and that there are between 40 and 50 projects. So there's no need to hyphenate.
Question from Reston, VA on March 22, 2019
Should this be "experience" or "experiences" or would both be correct?
Three radiology residents look back on their experience with the ACR Foundation’s Goldberg-Reeder Travel Grant.
Three radiology residents look back on their experience with the ACR Foundation’s Goldberg-Reeder Travel Grant.
Answer
If they experienced it together, we'd probably use the singular; if they did it separately, the plural.
Question from Minneapolis on March 22, 2019
Disney's latest style is Disney•Pixar. How should we treat this in stories? Replace the bullet with a hyphen, perhaps?
Answer
While some corporate references to the subsidiary on Twitter and Instagram are styled Disney•Pixar, the company's website uses Pixar Animation Studios. For now, we'd stick with that. If you need to quote directly, a hyphen would do.
Question from Evanston, IL on March 22, 2019
There is disagreement among our staff - is the UK a country or a region? Some say the UK is the country and it is made up of regions including Scotland, etc. Others say the UK is the region that is made up of countries including Scotland, etc.
Answer
The United Kingdom is a country; Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland are parts or divisions of the United Kingdom.
Question from on March 22, 2019
Is it the Golan Heights are or the Golan Heights is?
Answer
It's singular -- is. The name for the area is often shortened to the Golan.
Question from Boston, MA on March 22, 2019
Hi,
When you refer to the bomb dropped on Nagasake during WWII, do you lowercase or capitalize the word?
When you refer to the bomb dropped on Nagasake during WWII, do you lowercase or capitalize the word?
Answer
Assuming you're referring to bomb, we would use lowercase.
Question from Lakeland, FL on March 22, 2019
One of our law-enforcement agencies frequently announces a string of arrests in connection to a sting operation. They come up with a name for each one — most recently, Operation KARMA. Should we stick with the all-caps KARMA as named, or would we just capitalize the O and K and make it Operation Karma?
Answer
We would just capitalize the first letters, regardless of whether Karma is an acronym.
Question from Farmington, ME on March 22, 2019
The dog breed German shorthaired pointer - is that correct as written, or should it be capped?
Answer
It's correct, just as retriever in Labrador retriever is lowercase.
Question from MANASSAS, VA on March 22, 2019
What is the proper abbreviation of Medal of Honor? The military often uses MoH but it would seem MOH is appropriate.
Answer
There does not seem to be an official abbreviation; the Department of Defense appears to use MOH. The AP wouldn't abbreviate it.
Answer
You're equating "by" and "before," but not all readers would follow you. So for clarity, we'd say that that something was happening by the end of June, and that the plant will be built by the end of 2019.
Question from WASHINTON, DC on March 21, 2019
I work for a military publication and just ran across "... cadets 1/c Doe, 1/c Smith, and 1/c Jones." Knowing that 1/c is first class, is acceptable to write this as "cadets first class Doe, Smith, and Jones?"
Answer
That's what we'd do, though of course we'd want to use their first names, too.
Question from Provo, UT on March 20, 2019
wild west or Wild West?
Answer
Wild West, as per Webster's New World.
Question from CLEVELAND, OH on March 20, 2019
Is it entree or entrée?
The Stylebook guideline would indicate no accent aigu. But the Ask the Editor entry detailing sauté seems to indicate to use the accent where possible.
The Stylebook guideline would indicate no accent aigu. But the Ask the Editor entry detailing sauté seems to indicate to use the accent where possible.
Answer
Webster's New World gives us entree without an accent as the first option; we'd stick with that.
Question from College Station, Texas on March 20, 2019
Is it "rain checks", "rainchecks", "Rainchecks" or "Rain Checks" in AP Style when speaking about having to postpone an event and compensating attendees with a voucher for a future event?
Answer
We'd go with rain checks, two words, not capitalized.
Question from North Easton, MA on March 20, 2019
Does AP has a rule on the use/acceptance of the word actioning?
Answer
No rule, but it's not a word we have used or are likely to use. It's not in the dictionary, and has more than a whiff of jargon.
Question from Allentown, PA on March 20, 2019
When writing about a diamond set in a white gold necklace in the same sentence, is it proper to use both karat (for the gold) and carat (for the stone)? "A 14-karat white gold necklace with a diamond weighing half a carat..."
Answer
Yes, though we suspect it may confuse some readers who are not knowledgeable about such things.
Question from Bronx , NY on March 19, 2019
My new editor insists that AP Style requires a comma to follow an abbreviation (such as in "The store at 123 W. Elm St., has closed.) After a decade in newspapers, I've never seen this. Can you clarify?
Answer
As reluctant as we are to contradict an editor, we can find no rule that abbreviations should be followed by commas.
Answer
Yes, this is a series, containing "material that also must be set off by commas," so yes, we would use semicolons. That said, the sentence carries the burden of a very long opening clause, and we'd seriously consider breaking it into two sentences.
Question from on March 19, 2019
Hi,
Speechwriter, a noun, is one word. What about as a verb - speechwriting or speech writing? Thanks!
Speechwriter, a noun, is one word. What about as a verb - speechwriting or speech writing? Thanks!
Answer
Two words for speech writing.
Question from Jackson, WY on March 19, 2019
Should I put a comma after "Jones Design" in the following sentence?
"The largest design showroom in town, Jones Design occupies a red building with striped awnings and cheerful window boxes."
I wasn't sure if "The largest design showroom in town" should be treated technically as a participial phrase, even though there's no participle.
"The largest design showroom in town, Jones Design occupies a red building with striped awnings and cheerful window boxes."
I wasn't sure if "The largest design showroom in town" should be treated technically as a participial phrase, even though there's no participle.
Answer
It could be done either way. Adding the second comma makes the largest design showroom in town the subject of the sentence and thus the most prominent element.
The way you now have it written now makes Jones Design the subject. That's probably the intent, right?
The way you now have it written now makes Jones Design the subject. That's probably the intent, right?
Question from on March 19, 2019
Do you declare someone persona non grata or A persona non grata?
Answer
It's typically used without the article.
Answer
I'm not aware of anything along those lines, and I've worked for the AP for three decades. It indeed could be good advice; and it well could have been passed along informally among some in the AP. But we don't have anything formal.
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