Usage & Grammar
How might you correct this sentence for grammar/punctuation?
The students' favorite shirt which was blue with stripes was ruined when her classmate splashed her with paint.
The student's favorite shirt, which was blue with stripes, was ruined when her classmate splashed her with paint.
How would you write:
The two year old girl lost her jacket at the zoo.
The 2-year-old girl lost her jacket at the zoo.
True or false:
Always use the abbreviation, the Rev., not the full word reverend, before a name.
True
Are the commas correct or incorrect in this sentence?
She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her mom, dad and grandma.
Correct!
Use a comma separating city and state and after the state name. AP Style doesn't use Oxford commas in lists.
What is the correct abbreviation for Missouri if you use it in a dateline or party affiliation?
Mo.
Is this correct AP Style:
The midfielder worked hard in pre-season to focus on her footwork.
Incorrect:
No hyphens for preseason, postseason or offseason.
Does this number need to be corrected for AP Style? If so, how?
The state election officials reviewed 1,753,200 ballots.
The state election officials reviewed 1.75 million ballots.
When can you use courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms., etc.)?
Only when used in a direct quotation.
How would you correct the punctuation in this sentence?
They pulled their boats from the water and boarded up the windows, even with these precautions, the island was hard-hit by the hurricane.
Options:
1) They pulled their boats from the water and boarded up the windows. Even with these precautions, the island was hard-hit by the hurricane.
2) They pulled their boats from the water and boarded up the windows; but even with these precautions, the island was hard-hit by the hurricane.
When do you abbreviate the month April?
Never!
The professor paused after his lecture, hoping this effect/affect would help the information sink in.
The professor paused after his lecture, hoping this effect would help the information sink in.
Is this correct?
Tom is six feet, three inches tall.
No.
Tom is 6 feet 3 inches tall.
Give me three examples of titles you'd capitalize before a name.
And three examples of titles that are always lowercase before a name.
Capitalized: President, Pope, King, Queen, Senator (Sen.), Doctor (Dr.), etc.
Lowercased: poet, firefighter, astronaut -- anything occupational
Where does this sentence need commas?
Mary and Oliver were married on Tuesday Oct. 20 1990 and then they had three children.
Mary and Oliver were married on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 1990, and then they had three children.
True or False:
Abbreviate Jr. or Sr. and include a comma before it. (ex.- John Smith, Jr. was following his father's dreams.)
False. You do abbreviate Jr. and Sr. but you never precede it with a comma.
How would you write this sentence in past tense?
She is lying on the couch.
She lay on the couch (yesterday).
You spell out any number when it starts a sentence EXCEPT this type of number.
Years
Example: 2020 was a tough year.
No. You can include Dr. as an official title for a medical doctor on first reference. But never on second reference.
How would you correct this punctuation?
"I can't believe we scored in the last minute," she said, "We've been working hard all season and now it's paying off."
Period to end the sentence after she said.
Comma to show the start of a new independent clause in the second sentnece.
"I can't believe we scored in the last minute," she said. "We've been working hard all season, and now it's paying off."
How would you write this address in AP Style?
510 Ninth Street Northwest, Washington, D.C.
510 Ninth St. NW, Washington, D.C.
What is a dependent clause, and can you give an example?
A dependent clause is an incomplete thought and cannot stand on its own. Often they start with words like: although, but, while, however, etc.
Example: "While they were shopping for Christmas gifts."
True or false:
You generally write out fractions when they are less than 1.
True
How would you rewrite this sentence in AP Style?
Representative Sarah McBride (Democrat, Delaware) worked on a committee to increase access to dental care.
Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., worked on a committee to increase access to dental care.
When do you capitalize the first word after a colon (:)?
When it is a proper noun or starting a new complete sentence.
True or false?
When abbreviating the United States and the United Nations, you generally don't use periods.
AP Style specifically says to abbreviate them as U.S. and U.N. (most two-letter acronyms use period except for AP)