Spelling
Which is correct: Canceled or cancelled?
Canceled
Which numbers should be spelled out?
Those less than 10.
Is Texas the lone star state or the Lone Star State?
Capitalize most nicknames.
Which months are not abbreviated when used with a date?
March, April, May, June and July
Is there any difference between an epidemic and a pandemic?
Yes, an epidemic is the rapid spreading of disease in a certain population or region; pandemic is an epidemic that has spread worldwide.
Which is correct: Hotspot or hot spot?
Hot spot
What is the correct way to write 8,000,000 dollars?
$8 million
Do I prefer swiss or Swiss cheese?
Capitalize proper nouns.
Which is the only month to have a four letter abbreviation?
Sept.
Explain the difference between amount and number.
Amount is used when a number is abstract or uncountable. Number is used with concrete and countable numerals.
Which is correct: Wal-Mart, Walmart or WalMart
The company's name is spelled Walmart in all uses, whether referring to the corporation or an individual store. (This changed in 2018)
You are including a person's age in your story. Do you spell out the age? Or use figures?
Use figures.
Which is right: Democrat and Republican Parties or parties?
True or false: You abbreviate names of months in all circumstances.
False. Only abbreviate when there is a specific date with it, such as Feb. 14, 2021. Spell out when the month stands alone or is accompanied by a year.
Did the golfer home or hone in on the eighth hole?
Home is used when you are getting closer to a target. Hone means "to sharpen."
Which is correct: OK, ok, okay, o-k
OK. Do not use okay. Some might put O-K in a teleprompter for broadcast to avoid confusion with postal code for Oklahoma.
When the sentence starts with a year.
2020 has been a challenge for everyone.
True or false: When writing a headline, you should capitalize the first letter of each word.
This is false. The exception is for proper nouns and the first word after a colon.
True or false: It is ok to abbreviate days of the week.
False. Days of the week should not be abbreviated.
Does penultimate come before or after ultimate?
Penultimate means next to last, while ultimate means last.
Which is correct: Adviser or advisor
You'll often see Mizzou's academic advising staff use advisor because that is the university's local style. Correct AP Style is adviser.
It's cold outside! Do you use figures to express the temperature or words?
Figures
When referring to the coronavirus by its proper name, which letters should be upper case, which should be lower case?
All of the letters should be upper case, it's COVID-19.
Which is correct: March 13 or March 13th
March 13
Do not use st, nd, rd or th with dates.
Which is preferred: toward or towards? Forward or forwards?
AP Style uses toward and forward.