Copy Editing

Attribution & Titles

100

The placement of "said" when attributing a speaker 

After the speaker's last name! Eg. "Copic said." 

200

Do you capitalize titles before or after the person's name 

Before and without a comma! Eg. Director of Student Activities Jeromy Koffler

300

What should quotes NOT do

Repeat generic information or be thrown into the story without proper context

This or That

100

"Neighboring grocery stores fred meyer and new seasons are also affected." 

OR 

"Neighboring grocery stores Fred Meyer and New Seasons are also affected." 

Second sentence. Proper nouns are always capitalized! 

200

"On April 16 at approximately 9:18 p.m." 

OR 

"On Apr. 16 at approximately 9:18 p.m."

April > Apr. Because the spelling is already so short, it is not one of the abbreviated months. 

300

"A winged-clock moves up and down in 11-minute increments to help him stay focused." 

OR 

"A winged-clock moves up and down in eleven-minute increments to help him stay focused."

11. Spell out one through nine, use figures for 10 or above 

Punctuation & Lang.

100

How do we refer to alumni in an article

Always alum vs. alumna etc. AP style prefers gender-nuetral language 

200

Are headings automatically capitalized

No. Only capitalize the first word, and the remaining words follow typical rules of capitalization eg. names, proper nouns etc. 

300

When should the Oxford comma appear in a sentence

NEVER :(