Pro Writing Tips

Your résumé is one of the most important documents you will write.  It is a sales brochure about you – your experience, your strengths, and your life.

It’s also one of the hardest things you will write.  When you send your résumé to a potential employer, you don’t just have to prove that you’re worth an interview; you have to prove that you’re more worthy of an interview than the other hundreds of people that sent in their résumé.

An effective résumé needs to be strongly written. You’ve got about 5 seconds to grab that employer’s attention and keep them reading until the end; otherwise, your résumé will end up in the trash, with your chances of landing that dream job right along with it.

Types of résumés

There are two main types of résumés: chronological and functional. Chronological highlights what you’ve done, while functional highlights what you can do.

Chronological

These are organized by job titles, which the most recent position listed first.  Employers tend to prefer these, as they are easy to skim and get an idea of the person behind the paper.

What to write:

• Name and contact info
• Objective: A concise statement about the job you want.
• Summary: 2-4 bullet points with the most important aspects about yourself or your experience that help you reach your objective. For example: job experience, personality traits, community service, skills and strengths. Prioritize bullets by relevance.
• Professional Experience: Organized by job title, beginning with the most recent. List the job title, the company, the city and state, and the dates you held the position. Follow with 2-3 bullet points highlighting your accomplishments at that position.  Follow this same format for all positions. If you spend long periods of time at one position with multiple titles, combine your tenure into one entry.
• Education: Begin with the highest degree first. List the degree and major, the school, and the dates you attended. Mention any clubs, activities or awards.
• Optional: Community Service; and Skills, if not mentioned in job position details.

Functional

This kind of résumé is organized into sections rather than by position, highlighting skills and accomplishments. It is ideal for new graduates, those who lack a lot of experience, and job-hoppers, or those making a career change.

Some employers dislike functional résumés if it is difficult to match the skills mentioned with the positions held. Avoid confusion by mentioning the company or position in each bullet point.

What to write:

• Name and contact info
• Objective: A concise statement about the job you want
• Highlight of Qualifications (same as the Summary in the chronological résumé)
• Professional Accomplishments, organized by Key Skills: This is the big difference between functional and chronological résumés. Pick out 2 or 3 key skills that you possess that are relevant to the objective and the job you are applying for. For example, an applicant for a management position might pick “Management” and “Development” for his skills. An applicant for a design job might choose “Graphic Design” and “Photography.” Write 2 or more bullet statements on where you used this skill – it can be a job, or community service or activity, or someplace else that it came in handy. Prioritize the bullets with the most relevant first. As with the chronological résumé, you will mention how it positively affected the company, your boss, your customers, and your coworkers. Quantify results when appropriate. Also include awards or other recognition you received.
• Work History: Here is where you will list all the positions you’ve held, beginning with the most recent first. You don’t have to go into any detail about them. Basically, just list the position title, the company, the city and state, and the dates. No other information is required, unless something really needs explaining, such as a gap in work history.
• Education (same as chronological)
• Optional (same as chronological)

Looking forward

The colon is one of the most powerful punctuation marks we have.  It signifies that what comes after is what you’ve been waiting for. It is the harbinger of the payload, a sign that says “information here” in big red letters.

It also shares a name with a body part that one doesn’t discuss in polite company.

Where to use a colon

Colons are used when two parts of a sentence are dependent upon each other, but not that dependent.

The most common place to put a colon is just before a list.

He ate three things: chicken, eggs, and brains.

You do not use a colon if the list is introduced by a verb or preposition.

He ate chicken, eggs, and brains.

A colon is used with quotations if the quote is several sentences long and will stay in the paragraph, or just for dramatic effect.

He said just one thing about his diet: “It’s not like I’m eating people brains.”

You can also use a colon instead of “namely,” “e.g.,” or “such as.”

He only ate brains from livestock: cows, sheep, and pigs.

Set off two fully independent clauses with a comma, not a colon.

He ate brains, but he didn’t eat liver.

Capitalization and the colon

Capitalize the word after the colon only if it is a proper noun or begins a complete sentence.

Three of us tried his stew: John and his sisters.

Their reactions were mixed: chiefly disgust, but some morbid curiosity.

John had only this to say: “That wasn’t albatross I ate on the boat.”

“That” or “which” — the eternal question. Which of these two words should you use to start a clause?

The answer depends on how important what you’re writing is. If the clause is important to the meaning, you use “that”; if it can be omitted without changing the meaning, you use “which.”

Essential clauses take “that”

Essential clauses are just that: they are essential to the meaning of the sentence. When introducing such a clause, you use “that.”

The car that cut me off was a blue Honda.  

Taking the clause out leaves us with a meaningless sentence.

The car was a blue Honda.

Nonessential clauses take “which”

If the clauses can be left out without any loss in meaning, you use “which” and set it off with commas.

The blue Honda, which had a vanity plate, was going about 90 mph.

Dropping the clause leaves us with the same meaning.

The blue Honda was going about 90 mph.

Sure, we miss out on the vanity plate, but we get all the important stuff.

What the experts say about “that” and “which”

The usual suspects agree with me almost entirely. AP style is identical to the rules set out above. Chicago Style agrees with the rules, but points out that they refer only to American English.  Fowler also agrees but wimps out, saying that not everyone follows the rules.  That being said, if you’re well-known enough to make it into Fowler’s, you’ve probably earned the right to break a few rules.

A final exception

It most be noted that there is one big exception: “That” cannot be used with a preposition.  If a preposition is called for, use “which,” regardless of how essential the clause is.

The blue Honda of which we speak is being pulled over right now.

The living room in which we are sitting is on fire.

Headlines are the most important thing you’ll ever write. No matter how well-written your article is, it will be ignored if your headline isn’t compelling.

Make no mistake: Good headlines are hard to write. You’ve got about 2 seconds and 10 words at most to convince the potential reader to trust you with their time. Clearly, your pitch must be strong.

Let us consider an article about the recent Google Chrome EULA fiasco. A quick recap for those of you who aren’t familiar with the situation: Google’s new web browser, Chrome, shipped with a EULA that said, essentially, that by using their browser, you are giving Google the right to republish any content made with it as they see fit. Google later retracted the EULA retroactively, saying it was a mistake. We’ll ignore the last part of the story for the purpose of these exercises.

So, you’ve written an insightful, well-researched, and potentially life-changing article on the dangers of using Chrome and, with society’s best interests at heart, want to spread the word far and wide to protect them from the dangers of rights-stealing contracts. So what is your headline? What do you write to get people’s attention and drive them to your article?

The first thing you do is get the relevant keywords. I use the Google Adwords keyword tool, which has the advantages of being cheap and easy.  Of course, the savvy web writer has already consulted a keyword research tool when writing the article itself, but it never hurts to be sure.

The keywords you choose should be the first word in your headline or as close to it as you can manage.  Don’t be concerned about them sounding contrived — keywords represent what people are actually searching for. By using keywords, you’re doing the reader a favor by making relevant content easy to find.

Now let’s look at a few approaches to writing a compelling headline. None of these are the best approach: it depends on the tone of your site and the expectations of your reader.

The no-nonsense approach.

Chrome’s software license agreement gives Google republishing rights

This approach has the advantage of getting the straight facts, and keywords, across in a clear-cut manner. It has the disadvantage of being boring. Unless you have a very large, loyal audience who would read the phone book if you published it, consider this approach as little more than a starting point.

The quote approach

Chrome’s license “appalling”

This one’s nice. It allows you to say something in a news headline that you wouldn’t ordinarily get away with. Of course, if it’s an opinion piece, you wouldn’t need the quote marks.

Just to be clear, if you put a word in quotation marks in your headline, it had very well better appear in quotes in your article.

The Getting-a-rise approach

Chrome’s license is the end of the internet

Here we’ve stepped away from respectable journalistic ideals and into the realm of tabloids. Compare the number of people who read tabloids to how many read your site before you look down your nose at this one.

The question approach

How does Chrome’s license affect you?

Funny thing about question marks in headlines: They are much less respected than they are effective.  Asking a question pulls in readers because they want to know the answer, so long as the question is relevant to them.

The funny approach

Chrome’s license is Google’s Plan 9

The intentionally unfunny example above highlights the difficulty of writing a funny headline: Your friends think you’re funny. Your mom does. Anonymous strangers looking down a list of search results probably don’t.

By all means, use humor in your writing. But don’t count on everyone getting your joke, and don’t bet your traffic on them getting it, thinking it’s funny, and thinking it’s funny enough to read what else you have to say.

The number approach

5 ways Chrome’s license affects you

A number may very well be the most effective way to start a headline. Take a look at Digg’s front page, for example, and see how many numbers you see. Lists are easy to read and digest. They’re also an easy way to drive traffic.

The sex approach

Naked women explain Chrome’s license

No, you probably can’t get away with this one. I wanted to add it, however, to drive home the importance of write a compelling headline. Ask yourself this before hitting “publish”: With the plethora of pornography available on the internet, am I writing something that will distract my readers from their baser needs?

If you should decide to start a site in which naked women explain the news, understand this: You will be shameless, you will be exploitive, and you will be rich. Sad, but true.

Okay, I’ve given 6 approaches, some of which will actually work and some that are either too conservative or too risqué. How about you? If you’ve got an effective technique, leave your headline in the comments and explain why it works.

If you like rooting for the underdog, you’re going to love the semicolon. Although the en dash may be used even less, it’s not out of spite — no one’s ever heard of it. Not so with the semicolon. It is commonly rejected by lesser writers everywhere. Once you learn and apply the two simple rules for semicolon usage below, you’ll stand head and shoulders above the rest.

1. Semicolons join two independent clauses.
   • also
   • however
   • otherwise
   • consequently
   • indeed
   • similarly
   • finally
   • likewise
   • then
   • furthermore
   • moreover
   • therefore
   • hence
   • nevertheless
   • thus
   • nonetheless.

If you have two closely related independent clauses, separate them with a semicolon

To err is human; to forgive, divine.

He washes the dishes; I do the laundry. 

If the link between the clauses is not so obvious, you can link the two clauses with a conjunctive adverb. 

Conjunctive adverbs are words such as however, nonetheless, as a result. They make apparent the logical relationship between the two clauses. Here is a non-conclusive list.

 

He was, in most ways, a model employee; however, his kleptomania cost him many a promotion.

In the above example, the two independent clauses wouldn’t work without the semicolon and conjunction. 
  

The main thing to remember is to use the semicolon rather than a comma. Using a comma where a semicolon is more appropriate creates a comma splice; if that happens, copious amounts of red ink will be spilled.

2. Semicolons act as dividers in complex lists

I’d like to thank my dog, my wife, Jennifer, my cat, and Randy Newman. 

Pop quiz: How many people are being thanked in the sentence above, 4 or 5? 

The answer is, we don’t know. The speaker’s wife may be Jennifer, his cat may be Jennifer, or Jennifer may be someone else entirely. Luckily, we have a solution to our ambiguity problem.

I’d like to thank my dog; my wife, Jennifer; my cat; and Randy Newman.

Now we know for sure that the speaker’s wife is named Jennifer.

Use a semicolon in a list when one of the items requires a comma itself. Think of the semicolon as comma’s back-up: It jumps in when the comma can’t handle the job alone.

Well, there you have it: Two simple rules for impeccable semicolon usage. Follow them and you’ll stand out as a writer, a lover, and a human being.

1. That
   If the sentence reads okay without it, omit it.      

   I think that yogurt is delicious.

   I think yogurt is delicious.

2. There is

Get to the point. A sentence beginning with “there is” is a weak sentence.

There is only one cup of yogurt left.

Only one cup of yogurt is left.

3. Adverbs

 Do you need it to get your point across?

I am madly in love with yogurt.

I am in love with yogurt.

4. Doublets

 Cease and desist? Really?

I really and truly love that yogurt.

I really love that yogurt.

(Ignoring the preceding tip, of course.)

5. Or not

 I don’t care whether you think you need it — you don’t.

I don’t know whether or not I love her as much as I love yogurt.

I don’t know whether I love her as much as I love yogurt.

6. Kinds of

Don’t artificially limit your writing when it’s already done for you.

I like some kinds of yogurt.

I like some yogurt.

7. For all intents and purposes

For all intents and purposes, yogurt has become my primary food group.

Yogurt has become my primary food group.

“All intensive purposes” is right out.

8.   Generally speaking

This is a classic example of weasel language.

Generally speaking, spoiled yogurt is not yummy.

Spoiled yogurt is not yummy.

9. Phrases that can be turned into single words

Omit needless words.
 

Yogurt with strawberry chunks in it is my favorite.

Strawberry yogurt is my favorite.

10. It is, there are

These and similar phrases only stand in the way of your point.

It is my wife who picks out the flavors.

My wife picks out the flavors.

11. The fact that

These three meaningless words are the quickest way to turn a perfectly active voice to a passive one.

The fact that I don’t get to pick the yogurt is cause for concern.

I don’t like not getting to pick the yogurt.

12. At this point in time

Wow, you’ve managed to cram one word of meaning into five.

At this point in time, we’re flush with yogurt.

We’re flush with yogurt now.

13. With regards to

“Regarding” will fit the bill quite nicely.

With regards to your yogurt obsession, we need to cut back on your culture intake.

Regarding your yogurt obsession, we need to cut back on your culture intake.

14. Has the ability to

“Can.”

Yogurt has the ability to wreck a marriage.

Yogurt can wreck a marriage.

15. It could happen that

“May.”

It could happen that she leaves me, solely because I love yogurt.

She may leave me, solely because I love yogurt.

16. It goes without saying

Well, it should have.

It goes without saying that you should never love yogurt more than your wife.

You should never love yogurt more than your wife.

 

1. absence
2. abundance
3. accessible
4. accidentally
5. acclaim
6. accommodate
7. accomplish
8. accordion
9. accumulate
10. achieve
11. achievement
12. acquaintance
13. acquire
14. acquitted
15. across
16. across
17. address
18. advertise
19. advertisement
20. advice
21. advise
22. affect
23. aggravate
24. all right
25. alleged
26. amateur
27. amend
28. amendment
29. among
30. analysis
31. analyze
32. annual
33. apartment
34. apparatus
35. apparent
36. appearance
37. archaeologist
38. arctic
39. argument
40. ascend
41. atheist
42. athlete
43. athletic
44. attendance
45. auxiliary
46. awful
47. balance
48. balloon
49. barbecue
50. barbiturate
51. bargain
52. basically
53. becoming
54. before
55. beggar
56. beginning
57. belief
58. believe
59. beneficial
60. benefit
61. breathe
62. bicycle
63. biscuit
64. bouillon
65. boundaries
66. boundary
67. brilliant
68. Britain
69. broccoli
70. Buddha
71. bureau
72. business
73. calendar
74. camaraderie
75. camouflage
76. candidate
77. cantaloupe
78. careful
79. category
80. Caribbean
81. category
82. ceiling
83. cemetery
84. certain
85. chagrined
86. challenge
87. changeable
88. changing
89. characteristic
90. chief
91. choose
92. chose
93. cigarette
94. citizen
95. climbed
96. cloth
97. clothes
98. clothing
99. collectible
100. colonel
101. colossal
102. column
103. coming
104. commission
105. commitment
106. committee
107. comparative
108. competent
109. competition
110. completely
111. concede
112. conceivable
113. conceive
114. condemn
115. condescend
116. conscience
117. conscientious
118. conscious
119. consciousness
120. consistent
121. continuous
122. controlled
123. controversial
124. controversy
125. convenience
126. convenient
127. coolly
128. corollary
129. correlate
130. correspondence
131. counselor
132. courteous
133. courtesy
134. criticism
135. criticize
136. criticize
137. decease
138. deceive 
139. defendant
140. deferred
141. definite
142. definitely
143. definition
144. dependent
145. deposit
146. descend
147. descent
148. describe
149. description
150. desirable
151. despair
152. desperate
153. develop
154. development
155. device
156. dictionary
157. difference
158. dilemma
159. dining
160. disappear
161. disappearance
162. disappoint
163. disastrous
164. discipline
165. disease
166. dispensable
167. dissatisfied
168. does
169. doesn’t
170. dominant
171. drunkenness
172. during
173. easily
174. ecstasy
175. effect
176. efficiency
177. eight
178. eighth
179. either
180. eligible
181. eliminate
182. embarrass
183. emperor
184. encouragement
185. encouraging
186. enemy
187. entirely
188. environment
189. equipped
190. equivalent
191. especially
192. exaggerate
193. exceed
194. excellence
195. excellent
196. except
197. exercise
198. exhaust
199. existence
200. existent
201. expect
202. expense
203. experience
204. experiment
205. explanation
206. extremely
207. exuberance
208. facsimile
209. fallacious
210. fallacy
211. familiar
212. fascinate
213. fascinating
214. feasible
215. February
216. fictitious
217. fiery
218. finally
219. financially
220. fluorescent
221. forcibly
222. foreign
223. foresee
224. forfeit
225. formerly
226. forty
227. forward
228. fourth
229. fuelling
230. fulfill
231. fundamentally
232. gauge
233. generally
234. genius
235. government
236. governor
237. grammar
238. grateful
239. grievous
240. guarantee
241. guardian
242. guerrilla
243. guidance
244. handkerchief
245. happily
246. harass
247. height
248. heinous
249. hemorrhage
250. heroes
251. hesitancy
252. hindrance
253. hoarse
254. hoping
255. humorous
256. hygiene
257. hypocrisy
258. hypocrite
259. ideally
260. idiosyncrasy
261. ignorance
262. imaginary
263. immediately
264. implement
265. incidentally
266. incredible
267. independence
268. independent
269. indicted
270. indispensable
271. inevitable
272. influential
273. information
274. inoculate
275. insurance
276. intelligence
277. intercede
278. interference
279. interrupt
280. introduce
281. irrelevant
282. irresistible
283. island
284. jealous
285. jealousy
286. jewelry
287. judgment
288. judicial
289. ketchup
290. knowledge
291. laboratory
292. laid
293. later
294. latter
295. legitimate
296. leisure
297. length
298. lenient
299. liaison
300. library
301. license
302. lieutenant
303. lightning
304. likelihood
305. likely
306. loneliness
307. longitude
308. loose
309. lose
310. losing
311. lovely
312. luxury
313. magazine
314. maintain
315. maintenance
316. manageable
317. maneuver
318. manufacture
319. marriage
320. mathematics
321. medicine
322. mediocre
323. millennium
324. millionaire
325. miniature
326. minuscule
327. minutes
328. miscellaneous
329. mischievous
330. missile
331. misspell
332. misspelled
333. mortgage
334. mosquito
335. mosquitoes
336. murmur
337. muscle
338. mysterious
339. narrative
340. naturally
341. necessary
342. necessity
343. neighbor
344. neutron
345. ninety
346. ninth
347. noticeable
348. nowadays
349. nuclear
350. nuisance
351. obedience
352. obstacle
353. occasion
354. occasionally
355. occurred
356. occurrence
357. odyssey
358. official
359. omission
360. omit
361. omitted
362. opinion
363. opponent
364. opportunity
365. oppression
366. optimism
367. optimistic
368. orchestra
369. ordinarily
370. origin
371. original
372. outrageous
373. overrun
374. pamphlets
375. panicky
376. parallel
377. parliament
378. particular
379. particularly
380. pavilion
381. peaceable
382. peculiar
383. penetrate
384. perceive
385. performance
386. permanent
387. permissible
388. permitted
389. perseverance
390. persistence
391. personal
392. personnel
393. perspiration
394. physical
395. physician
396. picnicking
397. piece
398. pigeon
399. pilgrimage
400. pitiful
401. planning
402. playwright
403. pleasant
404. portray
405. possess
406. possession
407. possessive
408. possibility
409. possible
410. potato
411. potatoes
412. practically
413. prairie
414. precede
415. precedence
416. preceding
417. preference
418. preferred
419. prejudice
420. preparation
421. prescription
422. prevalent
423. primitive
424. principal
425. principle
426. privilege
427. probably
428. procedure
429. proceed
430. profession
431. professor
432. prominent
433. pronounce
434. pronunciation
435. propaganda
436. psychology
437. publicly
438. pumpkin
439. pursue
440. quandary
441. quantity
442. quarantine
443. questionnaire
444. quizzes
445. raspberry
446. realistically
447. realize
448. really
449. recede
450. receipt
451. receive
452. recognize
453. recommend
454. reference
455. referred
456. referring
457. relevant
458. relieving
459. religious
460. remembrance
461. reminiscence
462. renege
463. repetition
464. representative
465. resemblance
466. reservoir
467. resistance
468. restaurant
469. rheumatism
470. rhythm
471. rhythmical
472. ridiculous
473. roommate
474. sacrifice
475. sacrilegious
476. safety
477. salary
478. satellite
479. scary
480. scenery
481. schedule
482. science
483. scissors
484. secede
485. secretary
486. seize
487. sense
488. sentence
489. separate
490. separation
491. sergeant
492. several
493. severely
494. shepherd
495. shining
496. siege
497. similar
498. simile
499. simply
500. simultaneous
501. sincerely
502. skiing
503. soliloquy
504. sophomore
505. souvenir
506. special
507. specifically
508. specimen
509. sponsor
510. spontaneous
511. statistics
512. stopped
513. strategy
514. strength
515. strenuous
516. stubbornness
517. studying
518. subordinate
519. subtle
520. succeed
521. success
522. succession
523. sufficient
524. supersede
525. suppress
526. surprise
527. surround
528. susceptible
529. suspicious
530. syllable
531. symmetrical
532. synonymous
533. tangible
534. technical
535. technique
536. temperamental
537. temperature
538. tendency
539. themselves
540. theories
541. therefore
542. thorough
543. though
544. through
545. till
546. tomorrow
547. tournament
548. tourniquet
549. towards
550. tragedy
551. transferred
552. transferring
553. tries
554. truly
555. twelfth
556. tyranny
557. unanimous
558. undoubtedly
559. unforgettable
560. unique
561. unnecessary
562. until
563. usable
564. usage
565. usually
566. utilization
567. vacuum
568. valuable
569. vengeance
570. vigilant
571. village
572. villain
573. violence
574. virtue
575. visible
576. vision
577. volume
578. warrant
579. warriors
580. weather
581. Wednesday
582. weird
583. wherever
584. whether
585. which
586. wholly
587. withdrawal
588. worthwhile
589. yacht
590. yield
591. young
592. you’re
593. zoology

Here are a list of frequently asked questions at Prowritingtips.com and, conveniently, their corresponding answers.

1. Is CDC singular or plural?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, is singular. Don’t let the fact that many people work in many centers at the CDC throw you off: In American English, any group or organization is a singular noun, even if it the words themselves are plural.

With any rule comes with an exception — sports teams are often referred to as plurals. Go figure.

2. What is the rule for fixing misplaced modifiers?

Misplaced modifiers are fixed by moving the modifier right next to the word being modified.

Sitting on the couch, the TV is too far away to see.

Either you need to see an optometrist or the TV isn’t actually sitting on the couch.

Sitting on the couch, I can’t see the TV

or better yet

I can’t see the TV when I sit on the couch.

Think of the modifier as the groom and the modifiee as the bride: you wouldn’t stick anyone between them, would you?

3. How can you develop effective transitions in your writing?

The best transitions are the ones that clearly state how two ideas are related.

Transitions aren’t just syntactic sugar that makes your writing easier to read — they are logical constructs that inform the reader.  Is the idea in the new paragraph a consequence of the idea in the preceding one? Is it another entry is a series of ideas? Is it a continuation? Make the relationship between your paragraphs explicit and you’ll go a long way.

But in addition to logical constructs, transitions are a way to keep the reader reading. Every blank line is an opportunity to put the book down, throw out the résumé, flip forward past the ad.  Tell the reader that these next few sentences are crucial to their well-being and  happiness.

If that doesn’t work, lead off with a joke.

4. Do I use a hyphen with “well”?

Hyphens can be tricky. Luckily, there is a hard and fast rule: Use a hyphen before a noun, drop it afterwards.

That is a well-read book.

That man is well read.

Again, it is a matter of understanding. Before the noun, the compound may be misunderstood as two equal adjectives. Afterwards, not so much.

5. Does anyone actually use the en dash?

No. But apparently some think it’s sexy.

If you have a writing or grammar question, please leave it in the comments.

Here is a brief overview of some of the guiding principles of AP style, which is widely used in journalism and public relations. It is not intended to be exhaustive: the stylebook is over 400 pages long and contains many exceptions. At the end of the article are links to sites with more information, but if you are involved with newspapers in any way, you should definitely pick up a copy of the AP stylebook and memorize it front to back.

Punctuation

The AP’s philosophy is that punctuation is meant to ease understanding: consequently, their style uses fewer punctuation marks that other styles might.

• AP does not use the Oxford comma except in situations in which it would be unavoidable.
• Hyphens are not used with prefixes unless
• 1. The prefix ends with a vowel and the base word begins with the same vowel
  2. The base is a proper noun
  3. Omitting a prefix would double or triple a consonant in an ugly fashion (shelllike)
• Use hyphens to join compound adjectives (pickled-fish seller.)
• Don’t use a hyphen to join an adverb ending in -ly to an adjective (The widely read book.)
• AP makes great use of the em dash.
• AP omits the en dash.
• When forming plurals
  • for a plural noun ending in “s,” add just an apostrophe.
  • For singular nouns ending in an “s,” add “’s” (Apostrophe + s).
  • For singular proper nouns ending in ’s’, add just an apostrophe.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

• As much as possible, avoid acronyms.
• Even if the acronym is well understood, such as FBI, you may need to spell it out the first time it appears
• Don’t give the acronym immediately after the first reference. Wait until the second time it is used.
• Generally, omit periods in acronyms, unless the acronym would spell an unintended word.
• Use periods in most two-letter acronyms.
• If the acronym is longer than six letters, only capitalize the first letter.
• Generally speaking, use abbreviations before someone’s name, and spell them out after.
• B.C., A.D., a.m., p.m., and No. cannot be used as abbreviations without a numeral.
• States do not use postal abbreviations — AP has their own set of abbreviations for them. In fact, eight states aren’t abbreviated at all.
• St., Ave, and Blvd are abbreviated when used with a numbered address.

Numbers

• Spell out numbers nine and below, except in ages and dimensions.
• Don’t begin a sentence with a numeral. You can spell it out, though.
• Don’t use full numbers above six digits, unless the exact number is central to the point. (Ex. 10,000, $10M)

Of course, there is much more to know to be fully proficient in AP style. To learn more, consult the links below and read the stylebook. If you think you’re already well versed in the style, take some AP tests at Newsroom101.com

For more information

• Associated Press (AP) Style Guide - the basics
• AP Style Basics | Whatcom.ctc.edu
• AP Style Overview | Mnstate.edu
• ASSOCIATED PRESS STYLE ESSENTIALS | Wwu.edu