Is AP Style Still Relevant?
A friend sent me a message asking “is AP style still relevant in corporate communications?”
She explained that an intern wrote some articles using Modern Language Association (MLA) format and wasn’t familiar with Associated Press (AP) style. My friend wondered whether she might be a dinosaur.
“Of course AP style is still relevant!” roared this former AP reporter.
The AP is where I learned to only use one space instead of two after a period and make titles lowercase if they come after a name — just like most newspapers would do. (I’ve had bosses in my post-AP life push back on both of those concepts. But they were business people, not PR people. I ignored them for the sake of ease and clarity.) Of course, AP style covers much, much more than that.
But WHY is AP style still relevant?
AP style is prevalent in American newsrooms.
Remember that a main goal of PR is to make less — not more — work for journalists. You want them to use your stuff. So use the format that journalists use. In most cases in the United States, that format is going to be AP style, as spelled out in The Associated Press Stylebook.
If you’re writing a piece of content that will be used only internally, AP style may not matter so much. But often content can be repurposed. Why make yourself work harder by having to convert from one style format to another and keep track of which is which? Keep things simple.
Following The AP’s well-accepted guidelines will help make your writing clear, concise and credible.
Even small mistakes (or typos, if we want to be kind) in your writing will affect how your audience views your content. Don’t let grammar and punctuation errors make people question whether you know what you’re talking about.
Not sure how to make “Jones” plural or where to put the apostrophe in a possessive? The AP Stylebook is your go-to source for getting these things right.
Language evolves. So does The AP Stylebook.
The AP Stylebook gets yearly updates in print. The 55th edition just went on sale in May and includes more than 200 new or revised entries, with chapters covering media law, punctuation, social media and more. There’s also an online subscription version for easy access.
You can pick up some timely tips and information on style changes by following @APStylebook on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. For example, on June 19, @APStylebook tweeted this important announcement:
“AP’s style is now to capitalize Black in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense, conveying an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black, including those in the African diaspora and within Africa.”
So, take it from this dinosaur: Yes, AP style is still relevant. Even in corporate communications.
Think you know AP style?
Which is correct:
a. Sonja Barisic, Content Crafter at Sunflower Communications, wants you to use AP style.
b. Sonja Barisic, content crafter at Sunflower Communications, wants you to use AP style.
If you read my parenthetical material above, you know that the correct choice is b. The AP Stylebook makes it easy to find the answers to questions about title usage and much more.
Which is the correct way to treat an ellipsis?
a. “It is a tale told by an idiot … signifying nothing.”
b. “It is a tale told by an idiot…signifying nothing.”
If you picked b, great! According to AP style, think of an ellipsis as a three-letter word, with a space on either end.