AP Style Rules at a Glance

CAPITALIZATION In general: Capitalize proper nouns the name of a specific person, place or thing. Lowercase common nouns. Capitalize the first word of a sentence. (Thats true if the sentence is in a quote or follows a colon: You still must capitalize the first word.) Directions: Capitalize specific regions: The Northeast is experiencing bad storms. Lowercase compass directions: The storm moved west through the state. Popular names: Capitalize popular names that are equivalent to proper names: the West End Dont capitalize of: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Society of Professional Journalists Trademarks: Coca-Cola, Realtor, Kleenex Avoid them by using generic words. Derivatives: Capitalize words that are derived from a proper noun and still depend on it for their meaning: American, Shakespearean Lowercase derivatives that no longer depend on the root word for their meaning: french fries, herculean, pasteurize Politics: Capitalize political organizations (the Republican Party, the Green Party of Virginia) and affiliations (Libertarian, Democrat). Lowercase ideologies and forms of government: democracy, fascist, communism, socialist ... Governmental bodies: Capitalize references to specific bodies, even without the locality or state name: the Virginia General Assembly, the General Assembly Lowercase short forms and generic references: Republicans control the assembly. The council voted to raise parking fines. No legislature has approved same-sex marriage. Government buildings: Capitalize Capitol and City Hall when referring to a specific building: the U.S. Capitol, the Capitol, the Virginia Capitol, the state Capitol, Richmond City Hall, City Hall Lowercase general references: You cant fight city hall. When pluralizing: Lowercase the pluralized word: The Republican and Democratic parties agreed to hold presidential debates. The James and York rivers flow into the Chesapeake. Composition titles: Capitalize (and put quotes around) the titles of books, movies, plays, poems, operas, songs, TV shows, works of art, computer games: The Road Not Taken The Sopranos Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa Capitalize a, an, the only if it is the first or last word of the title. Capitalize prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters. Put titles in quotes (except for the Bible and reference books, such as dictionaries). Titles (for people): Capitalize formal titles when used before a proper name: CSX Chairman Michael Ward, Director Judy Turk Some titles are abbreviated: Rep. Rick Boucher, Sen. John Warner A formal title denotes authority, professional activity or academic accomplishment. Its sometimes a judgment call. Check the AP Stylebook. Lowercase any title thats separated from the persons name or is standing alone: When Bush was president The pope traveled to Haiti As a U.S. senator, Obama voted against Capitalize nationalities and races: Asian-Americans, African-American, Hispanic, Latino, Italian-Americans, Mexican-American Hyphenate all except Latin American and Native American.

Capitalize awards and decorations: the Medal of Honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Pulitzer Prize an Academy Award, an Oscar, the Heisman Trophy a Nobel Prize Religion: Capitalize the proper names of monotheistic deities: God, Allah, the Father, the Son, Jesus Christ Lowercase pronouns referring to the deity: he, him, his, thee, thou, who, whose, thy Capitalize the names of religions: Christian, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism Capitalize the names of sacred texts: the Bible, the Quran, the Talmud except in generic uses: The study guide was his bible. Capitalize holidays and holy days; key events and principles concerning Jesus Christ (Last Supper, the Resurrection, the Crucifixion); references to specific Christian rites (Benediction, Mass, Holy Communion but: a high Mass, a low Mass, a requiem Mass). Lowercase the word gods in referring to polytheistic religions. Capitalize the proper names of pagan and mythological gods and goddesses: Neptune, Thor, Venus Lowercase heaven, hell, devil, angel, cherub, an apostle, a priest. Capitalize Hades and Satan. Lowercase such words as godawful, goddamn, godlike, godliness, godsend. Capitalize abbreviations (AARP, FBI, VCU) days of the week and months Capitalize family words when theyre a substitute for a persons name: I wrote Mother a letter. I wrote my mother a letter. I wrote to Grandfather Smith. Capitalize historical ages, periods or events (the Bronze Age, World War II) monuments (Lincoln Memorial, Statue of Liberty) the names of planets, stars, constellations (The comet passed Mars and headed toward Earth. But lowercase sun, moon. Also, lowercase earth in: down to earth, salt of the earth). Capitalize Police Department if that is the agencys formal name: the Richmond Police Department, the Police Department. Lowercase: the police, the department. Animals: Capitalize names of specific animals: The dogs name is Rover. The veterinarian could not save Snowflake. For breeds, follow Websters. Capitalize words derived from proper nouns: Boston terrier, German shepherd. Lowercase seasons (winter, spring, fall, etc.) unless part of a formal name: Summer Olympics; the VCU Winter Carnival. Lowercase plants unless the name includes a proper noun (tree, fir, white fir, Douglas fir; Scotch pine; clover, white clover, white Dutch clover). Internet terms: Capitalize Internet (the Net is acceptable in later references), World Wide Web, Web. But lowercase website (and make it one word; this is a change that AP announced in 2010). In 2011, AP removed the hyphen from email but continue to hyphenate e-book, e-commerce, e-business, etc.