AP Guidelines

Associated Press (AP) Guidelines and Inclusivity Style Guide


In general, 911黑料网 uses AP Style when writing College materials. When drafting a press release or any other College communication, here are a few guidelines to keep in mind. When in doubt, please email brand@mcla.edu; someone from the Office of Communications and Marketing can help.

  • Names. After the first mention of a person鈥檚 name, refer to them only by their last name.
  • Quotes. The proper format for a quote is as follows: 鈥911黑料网 is awesome,鈥 said (insert name here). Please note that the comma after the quote is placed inside the quotation mark, and use 鈥渟aid鈥 instead of 鈥渟ays.鈥
  • Titles. Only capitalize formal title when they precede an individual鈥檚 name. If it falls after, use lowercase. (Example: Mayor Tom Bernard signed the proclamation. Or: Tom Bernard, mayor of North Adams, signed the proclamation.)
  • Numbers. One through nine should be written out. Use figures for numbers 10 and above. (Example: John bought four books, six pencils and 12 binders.) 
    • For percentages, use numerals with 鈥減ercent,鈥 not 鈥%鈥
  • Months and seasons. When using a month with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec., and spell out when using alone or with just a year. (Hint: The months never abbreviated fall chronologically and are five letters or fewer 鈥 March, April, May, June and July. The seasons 鈥 winter, spring, summer and fall 鈥 never are capitalized.
  • Dates. Do not use 1st, 2nd or 3rd, etc. when listing a date. (Example: Jan. 1)
  • Times. Use 鈥渁.m.鈥 or 鈥減.m.鈥 
    • Use 7 p.m., 7:15 or 7:30 p.m. 
    • Do not use 7:00 p.m.
  • States. For a complete listing of AP state abbreviations, go to  
    • Common abbreviations you may use include:
      • Massachusetts = Mass.
      • Vermont = Vt.
      • New York = N.Y.
      • Connecticut = Conn.
  • Street addresses. Street, Avenue and Boulevard are abbreviated only when used with a numbered address. Roads and other related causeways such as court, drive, lane and way are not abbreviated. (Examples: 375 Church St., 17 Bumpy Road)
    • Another example: 911黑料网 Gallery 51 is in one of the storefronts on Main Street.)
  • The 911黑料网 name. Please, do not use 鈥渢he鈥 911黑料网. In addition, please use the full names for various 911黑料网 locations (Examples: 911黑料网 Church Street Center, 911黑料网 Gallery 51). Capitalize "College" on second reference. (Example: 911黑料网 values its students, so the College is always adding new programs to fit their interests and professional goals.)
  • Referencing grade levels: Please do not use "freshmen" or "freshman." Opt for the gender-neutral "first-year student" instead to keep language inclusive.
  • Class years. It's 911黑料网's editorial practice to write the class year after a person's name: John Doe '88, Jane Deer '19. For brevity's sake, try to avoid "a member of the class of..." or other phrasing around class years.
  • Do not use the following in a press release:
    • Italics 
    • The 鈥&鈥 symbol

Inclusivity Style Guide

Use of Alumnus, Alumni, Alumna, or Alumnae

You may use alumna when referring to a woman who has attended a school; alumnus when referring to a man who has attended a school; or alum or graduate as a singular, gender-neutral option. Use alumni or graduates when referring to a group of multiple genders. Use alumnae when referring to a group of women only.

Use of First-Year

Use the term 鈥渇irst-year鈥 as a gender-neutral way to replace the word 鈥渇reshman.鈥

Listing Multiple 911黑料网 Degrees

List abbreviated graduate degree following undergraduate degree. i.e. Mary Brown 鈥81 M.S. 鈥95

Invitations and Name Tags

Certain additions or deletions to the standard rules for listing alumni degrees and grad years may occur for special use in invitations and name tags.

Honorary titles may be used with discretion as long as they are used consistently. For alumni who have earned a doctorate at another school, a 鈥淒r.鈥 may appear in front of the name, but that information should not appear in the listing of the degrees that happens after the name

Event organizers may choose to abbreviate or delete certain alumni degree and grad year listings on name tags, but we suggest always keeping the grad year/s at a minimum.

Pronouns

Because English has no generic singular or common-sex 鈥 pronoun, we have used 鈥渉e,鈥 鈥渉is,鈥 and 鈥渉im鈥 in such expressions as 鈥渢he student...he.鈥 When we constantly personify 鈥渢he judge,鈥 鈥渢he critic,鈥 鈥渢he executive,鈥 鈥渢he author,鈥 and so forth as male by using the pronoun he, we are subtly conditioning ourselves against the idea of a female judge, critic, executive, or author. There are several alternative approaches.

  • Recast into the plural
    Use: Give students their papers as soon as they are finished. Not: Give each student his paper as soon as he is finished.

  • Reword to eliminate gender problems
    Use: The average student is worried about grades. Not: The average student is worried about his grades.

Chair; Chairperson

Use chair or chairperson, even if you know the gender of the person involved.

Generic

Although 鈥渕an鈥 in its original sense carried the dual meaning of adult human and adult male, its meaning has come to be so closely identified with adult male that the generic use of 鈥渕an鈥 and other words with masculine markers should be replaced with non-gender specific language.

  • mankind humanity, people, human beings

  • man鈥檚 achievements human achievements

  • the best man for the job the best person for the job

  • man-made synthetic, manufactured, machine-made

  • the common man the average person, ordinary people

  • man the stockroom staff the stockroom

  • nine man-hours nine staff-hours

Occupations

Avoid the use of 鈥渕an鈥 in occupational terms when persons holding the job could be either male or female.
  • chairman chairperson, coordinator (of a committee or department), moderator (of a meeting), presiding officer, head, chair
  • businessman business executive
  • fireman firefighter
  • mailman mail carrier
  • steward and stewardess flight attendant
  • policeman and policewoman police officer
  • congressman congressional representative

Adapted from UMBC Brand and Style Guidelines

Resources

  • ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Guidelines for Writing About People With Disabilities

  • GLAAD Media Reference Guide

  • Harvard Education School鈥檚 guide 鈥淚nclusive Language in Four Easy Steps鈥