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Welcome! Today is Monday, May 28, 2012
Ask the Editor provides answers, clarification and guidance on style issues that go beyond the pages of the AP Stylebook. Before posing a question to AP editor David Minthorn, search the accompanying style archives for your topic. With thousands of questions and answers on file, your topic has very likely been covered. For typical style questions and responses, visit Ask the Editor FAQ.
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Ask the Editor questions from the past week:
| Q. How do you render games in sports series or finals? Would it be Game 1 or game one or game 1? – from huntington beach, Calif. on Mon, May 28, 2012 A. It's Game 1, Game 7, etc., in the Stanley Cup, World Series, NBA playoffs, etc. |
| Q. Cost-effective and cost-effectiveness are hyphenated. How about cost effectively (hyphenated or not)? – from Eagan, Minn. on Mon, May 28, 2012 A. Hyphenate. |
| Q. Semi-colon goes inside or outside?
Miami Greek church in 'dire financial straits;' priest stepping down – from Miami on Mon, May 28, 2012 A. Place semicolons outside quotation marks, per guidance in the "semicolon" entry. |
| Q. The Los Angeles entry says LA is acceptable on second reference. If periods aren't used with LA, then what about KC and NY, etc.? If the rules aren't consistent for two-letter abbreviations of cities and states, why not? – from Chicago on Sun, May 27, 2012 A. AP stories use both LA and L.A. (with periods) on second reference. In headlines, LA predominates. In headlines, KC for Kansas City, though spelled out within stories. However, sports stories about the Chiefs use K.C. in follow-ups. Similarly, NY or NYC in headlines and stories about New York City, though N.Y. is the preference. Common usage allows these variations. |
| Q. Is there an adjective form of New Zealand? – from Chicago on Fri, May 25, 2012 A. Not aware of any. Webster's doesn't show one. |
| Q. Would it be a "pro-West government" or a "pro-Western government"? – from Austin, Texas on Fri, May 25, 2012 A. In AP stories, invariably written pro-Western government. |
| Q. When writing about "holy grail breakthrough," is "holy grail" capitalized? And is it hyphenated, as in
"holy-grail breakthrough"? – from Ames, Iowa on Fri, May 25, 2012 A. Lowercase, no hyphen. |
| Q. After reading your guidance on time periods in history, I still wasn't exactly sure about this one: Do I capitalize "classical" when talking about the period (as in "classical antiquity" or "classical civilization")? Thanks! – from Lynchburg, Va. on Fri, May 25, 2012 A. It's generally lowercase for classical antiquity, classical civilization and terms like classical music. However, Classical Greece (capped) of the 4th and 5th centuries B.C. is a recognized era, as is the Classical (cap-C) era of European composers (1730 to 1820). |
| Q. I reviewed the archive for the phrase "high net worth" and found previous answers saying not to use hyphens, although the "jury is still out" on the term. However, a search for the same phrase at ap.org shows the AP writes the phrase with hyphens and without, with bias for the hyphens.
Reference link: https://www.google.com/search?q=associated press&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe=#q=site:ap.org high-net-worth&hl=en&fp=3dd23ef96082cc36
Is the jury still out? Has AP made a decision? – from Atlanta on Fri, May 25, 2012 A. Continue to treat it as a noun phrase without hyphens, as in high net worth individuals. |
| Q. How should Indian American -- an American who descended from the people of India -- be written? – from Minneapolis on Thu, May 24, 2012 A. Indian-American. |
| Q. Should it be this years' or this year's in a sentence. For example: Thank you for inviting me to this
year's national event. Which one should I use? – from New York on Thu, May 24, 2012 A. As you have it: this year's national event. |
| Q. On-time in all uses? Such as The plane was on-time or The airline does well in arriving on-time. Or only when an adjective, such as on-time arrivals or on-time rate? – from Chicago on Thu, May 24, 2012 A. In AP stories, on-time arrivals, or the plane arrived on time. |
| Q. Which is correct, "administrate" or "adminsiter"? Is "administrate" a word? Example sentence: The program is adminstrated by the Department of the Interior. – from Indianapolis on Thu, May 24, 2012 A. The program is administered by ... |
| Q. Is it a going-away party, or a going away party? – from New York on Thu, May 24, 2012 A. Often written with the hyphen. |
| Q. From my review of Ask the Editor, it looks like names of summits should be capped, but not placed in quotation marks. Is this correct? What if the name doesn't include the word "summit"? Would quotations marks be helpful then? Thanks for your help. – from Richmond, Va. on Thu, May 24, 2012 A. The term summit (lowercase) has come to mean virtually any meeting of high-ranking officials. The formal designator, such as NATO, European Union or G-8, is capped but summit is normally lowercase and not enclosed in quotes. |
| Q. How does AP suggest handling a dateline from the Demilitarized Zone in Korea? – from Washington, D.C. on Thu, May 24, 2012 A. AP generally uses PANMUNJOM, Korea, or other nearby town, and explains the DMZ location in the story. |
| Q. Which is correct? Drive safe or drive safely. – from Johnston, Iowa on Thu, May 24, 2012 A. Use the adverb safely to modify the verb. |
| Q. Does AP use a space between the numeral and the abbreviation in all instances of "mm," or only in references to film widths--is it a 25mm or a 25 mm wheel? (Under "metric, ABBREVIATIONS") How about in other metric measurements, such as cubic centimeters--is it 2000cc or 2000 cc? Thank you for your guidance. – from Chicago, Illinois on Thu, May 24, 2012 A. Use a space between the figure and the metric measure. |
| Q. Good morning!
Last week I attended a communications workshop where the instructor told us that AP dropped the use of www. when listing a website address within a story. I can't find anything on your website to support that statement. Please advise.
Thank you! – from Spartanburg, S.C. on Thu, May 24, 2012 A. See INTERNET ADDRESSES section of the "Internet" entry, which includes www. |
| Q. "A set of associated products are displayed." Should that be "is displayed"? – from Half Moon Bay, Calif. on Thu, May 24, 2012 A. As a collective noun, a set takes a singular verb. |
| Q. Good afternoon,
Does this verdict%uFFFD"Q. Which spelling is correct AP style -- kebab, kebob, kabob, kabab? A. AP preference is 'kabob.' 2007-02-19"%uFFFDby extension imply the spelling "shish kabob"?
Thank you! – from Walla Walla, Wash. on Wed, May 23, 2012 A. Correct. |
| Q. When referencing megabytes, is a figure used (2MB) or is the number spelled out, two MB, or are both terms spelled out as in two megabytes? – from Portland, Ore. on Wed, May 23, 2012 A. See guidance in "kilobyte" and "megabyte" entries. |
| Q. Do you capitalize positions? For example "executive director" and "registered dietitian" in the examples below. Also, is the comma before "and" appropriate in the below examples?
"Dr. Victoria Maizes is executive director of the
Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, and
Professor of Medicine, Family and Community
Medicine, and Public Health at the University of
Arizona."
And:
"Keri Gans is a registered dietitian and media spokesperson with a private practice in New York City." – from San Francisco on Wed, May 23, 2012 A. Lowercase executive director and registered dietitian. No commas. Lowercase professor and the field. |
| Q. When used as a noun, is "outdoors" singular or plural? "The great outdoors is ..." or "The great outdoors are ..."? – from Rockaway Beach, Ore. on Wed, May 23, 2012 A. Singular. |
| Q. I know that high school and middle school are never hyphenated, even as modifiers. Does that same idea apply to prep school and boarding school and any other school when used as modifiers? – from Farmington, Maine on Wed, May 23, 2012 A. Yes. |
| Q. Is it the Grammys or the Grammy's? Their own website uses the apostrophe in one place, but then gets around the issue everywhere else by writing it GRAMMYs. How should we refer to it in an email newsletter headline? e.g. "...Win Big at the Grammys"
Thanks!
-Anita Keene – from Elkton, MD on Wed, May 23, 2012 A. The Grammys. |
| Q. Do you need "from" when you use the word "range" in the following sentence?
"Estimates range 5-10 years." Or is this better: "Estimates range from 5 to 10 years"? – from Chicago, Illinois on Wed, May 23, 2012 A. Estimates range from five to 10 years. |
| Q. What is the proper abbreviation of the word management? Is it MGMT or MGT? This is for data purposes, such as spreadsheets and company listings. – from Cincinnati, Ohio on Tue, May 22, 2012 A. Either, lowercase in Webster's. |
| Q. Do I spell out the number of hours and years in this bio or do I use figures? "I was here on a job-hunting trip and managed to land a temporary, entry-level position about 4 hours before my flight home. I%uFFFDve spent 8 years in the compensation profession ..." Thank you for clarifying. – from Portland, Ore. on Tue, May 22, 2012 A. Make it four hours, eight years. |
| Q. Content management system -- Does it need a hyphen? – from Minneapolis on Tue, May 22, 2012 A. It's clear without a hyphen. |
| Q. 10 to 15 or 10-15? It appears that it differs whether there is a "to" or hyphen depending on what the numbers refer to? Could you please list out an answer that includes the different instances and which use is correct? Thank you. – from San Diego on Tue, May 22, 2012 A. See SOME PUNCTUATION AND USAGE EXAMPLES in "numerals" section. Also, separate entries listed above that section. |
| Q. I'm still a little confused on how to write web addresses. Should I start out with http://? Should I include www? Can you please clarify? I'd like to be consistent. Thank you! – from Dallas on Tue, May 22, 2012 A. Yes, we generally use http:// in listing Web addresses. See INTERNET ADDRESSES in the "Internet" entry for models. |
| Q. I have seen different examples of the use of "energy efficient" with and without hyphenation. For example: I've seen "energy-efficient projects," so would it be the same be for "energy-efficient blueprint"? – from Irving, Texas on Tue, May 22, 2012 A. Possibly, but it would be clearer written as blueprint for energy efficiency. |
| Q. When a company name is lower case, do you capitalize the name when it begins a sentence? td telecom is a company with a lower case name. Should the sentence have started Td telecom? – from Whippany, N.J. on Tue, May 22, 2012 A. Yes, capitalize the first letter of a sentence. |
| Q. Does AP style hyphenate the term "secretary-general" when it refers to the NATO office? The Ask the Editor entry for the term says to use a hyphen, but it refers specifically to the U.N., and AP stories appear to use the
term without a hyphen for NATO. – from Washington on Tue, May 22, 2012 A. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen |
| Q. Which is correct: fewer than one in ten children or fewer than one in 10 children?
I see a 2006 reference saying one in 10 is correct but my 2009 Stylebook says it should be 1 in 10. – from Dallas, Texas on Tue, May 22, 2012 A. Use the more recent Stylebook example. |
| Q. Would you capitalize "hurricane season"? – from Kansas City, Mo. on Tue, May 22, 2012 A. It's lowercase and not enclosed unless part of a direct quote. |
| Q. I proofread an author who says the following, "She has won great praise from critics' for her show-stopping performances." I say that "critics" is not possessive and there should be no apostrophe. He says "" CRITICS' " - spelled with the apostrophe AFTER the word is NOT "possessive." It refers to many or more than
one. BOTH are acceptable - with or without an apostrophe." He says he's written hundreds of press releases and no one has corrected that. He says he asked, and received the answer I quote. I've looked all over the place and can't find any justification for his stand. Yet he's the "professional" and I'm not, so I paid $25 for the privilege of asking the editor. Is he correct? – from Brooklyn, N.Y. on Tue, May 22, 2012 A. An apostrophe indicates possession, which isn't correct in this situation. The correct spelling is critics, a simple plural. |
| Q. Can you clarify a spelling of an Egyptian candidate? Previous AP spelling was Abdel-Moneim Aboul-Fotouh, but almost all the most recent AP stories spell it Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh. Is Abolfotoh preferred? Thanks! – from Chicago, Ill. on Mon, May 21, 2012 A. Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh in AP stories of recent weeks. |
| Q. Marine Corps. Commandant and Four-Star General James F. Amos – from Miami on Mon, May 21, 2012 A. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos ... (four-star unneeded because it's understood from the rank). |
| Q. Which one is correct AP Style: "re-send" or "resend" – from San Francisco on Mon, May 21, 2012 A. No hyphen in resend. |
| Q. Which use is correct: "I felt so welcome." "I felt so welcomed." – from Sacramento, Calif. on Mon, May 21, 2012 A. It's welcome for the adjective form. |
| Q. Is the word "to" capitalized in movie or
composition titles, such as "What to Expect When You're Expecting"? – from , Kansas City, Mo. on Mon, May 21, 2012 A. It's lowercase in the film title, so AP stories use that spelling. |
| Q. Another who/whom question... In this sentence, I believe it should be "the majority of who" but in a Google search, many more instances of "the majority of whom" arose: Committees should have at least three members, the majority of whom should be independent. Thanks much! – from Orlando, Fla. on Mon, May 21, 2012 A. Use whom as the object of the preposition. |
| Q. Which of these headlines is correct? "Up to 50% of purchases support our school" or "Up to 50% of purchases supports our school." Thank you. – from Auburn Hills, MI on Mon, May 21, 2012 A. The sense is plural. Also, AP doesn't use the percent symbol. When space is tight, pct. may used. |
| Q. Are ship names, such as USS George H.W. Bush (CVN
77) displayed in italics? I've seen the name of ships displayed both with and without italics, and want to confirm what is appropriate. Thank you! – from Washington on Mon, May 21, 2012 A. AP doesn't use italics in news stories. In rare uses the CVN number is the same type in parentheses. |
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