A

Abbreviations — Use them sparingly, and limit them to those widely recognizable by readers. From the AP: “A few universally recognized abbreviations are required in some circumstances. Some others are acceptable depending on the context. But in general, avoid alphabet soup. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms that the reader would not quickly recognize. Abbreviations and most acronyms should be avoided in headlines.”

So FBI, CIA, MTA, and other well-known agency names are acceptable, but many are not and should be referred to generically in second and subsequent references. (For example, when referring to a lengthy agency name such as the Smith Jones Community Health and Wellness Center, avoid the SJCHWC on subsequent references; instead, use the health center or just the center.)

Some widely known abbreviations are required in certain situations. For example, Dr., Gov., Lt. Gov., Rep., the Rev. and Sen. are required before a person’s full name when used outside a direct quotation. Note that those titles only need to be used on first reference (except in a direct quote); so, for example, it would be Dr. Sue Jones on first reference and just Jones on following references.

Addresses and locations — When it comes to streets, roads, avenues, drives, etc., capitalize and write out the full word if you don't use an exact address: 16800 block of South 94th Street. At 94th Street and 104th Avenue. Abbreviate in Patch style when you use full address: 16789 S. 94th St. Note: Only abbreviate Avenue, Boulevard and Street in exact addresses. Spell out all others all the time, even in exact addresses: 16759 S. Parlor Drive, 2859 W. DuPont Circle, 1234 W. Penny Lane, 2020 Winding Road.

In crime reporting, report the block address of the location where a crime took place unless the location is a well-known, highly visible, well-trafficked public place, such as a store, government office, hotel, golf course, etc. Then you can use an exact address. A colloquial reference is also acceptable in some cases, for example: A car drove through the window at the Main Street Post Office. The items were stolen from the 159th Street Walmart.

NEVER PUBLISH AN ADDRESS if there is a situation in which identifying the location puts a witness at risk. JUST DON'T DO IT. Consult your manager.

DO NOT publish the home address of someone who is victimized while away from their home.

NEVER use an unrelated business as a landmark to identify the location of a crime. For example: The attack took place one block from Mama Mia’s Pizza on Fourth Street. The business is not relevant to the crime. If a fight started in Mama Mia's and spilled into the street, then you rightfully should report on the business location.

When available, we should report the age and block address of anyone charged with a crime. This serves to specifically identify the individual. Jim Smith, 45, 100 block of Main Street, Happyville, is a different person than Jim Smith, 23, 500 block of Apple Road, Happyville.

adviser — Not “advisor.”

afterward — Never “afterwards.” (And it’s “toward, not “towards.”)

ages — Always use figures: a 4-year-old boy, a 9-year-old building, an infant who is 4 months old. Hyphenate only as an adjective: the 27-year-old woman; the woman was 27 years old (no hyphen). Also, the woman in her 20s (no apostrophe).

Asian American — No hyphen. The same goes for African American and similar constructions.

Airbnb — Per AP.

air-conditioned (adj.) — Also, air-condition (verb). But: air conditioning and air conditioner (no hyphens).

Allegedly and reportedly — Generally, you should avoid using these words as a crutch or hedge. "Allegedly" and "reportedly" do NOT afford you any legal protection in a crime story. We try to avoid using these words because too many reporters view them as a "security blanket" and think they are OK as long as the word "allegedly" is plopped in the sentence. Solid sourcing is the only security blanket. Attribution is your best bet. Unless quoting a chief, officer or spokesman directly, you can attribute key information to "police said" and "according to the police report". Generally, you can attribute everything you have in a police report to "police said.” See also: Our policies and best practices for crime and police reporting

accused, arrested and charged — A person is accused of a crime and arrested. A person is then charged with a specific criminal charge. Jack Ryan was accused of smashing the car window. He was arrested and charged with criminal mischief to property. This is incorrect: Jack Ryan was charged with smashing the car window. This is also incorrect: Jack Ryan was arrested for criminal mischief to property. Also incorrect: Jack Ryan was arrested for smashing the car window. (This phrase implies guilt). See also: Our policies and best practices for crime and police reporting

affect / effect — Most times, the verb is “affect,” as in “This advice will affect many people.” And, most times, the noun is “effect,” as in “The advice had a great effect.” (At the risk of confusing some, you’ll occasionally quote someone who wants to “effect change” — which is correct and more or less means put change into effect.)

amount vs. number — See number vs. amount entry under Numerals.

animals / who vs. that — Refer to an animal as “that” or “it” when hasn’t been identified by a name or gender; for example, “The dog, which crossed the street, returned to its home.” But refer to an animal as “who” or “he” (or “she”) when the name or gender is given; for example, “Fluffy, who got her nails clipped, looked fabulous.”

antisemitism — Note that this version — without a hyphen and with a lowercase “s" — is a change from previous guidance.

anxious vs. eager — “Anxious” denotes uneasiness, whereas “eager” denotes enthusiasm.

Associated Press — Style it “The Associated Press” with the uppercase “T” in all instances. The (AP) designator that automatically comes on Associated Press stories should be removed from our datelines. AP bylines should be moved to the end of the story and put in italics. By Jane Doe of The Associated Press; AP writers John Hamster and Greta Gargoyle contributed. In stories, use "The Associated Press" on first reference and "AP" or "the AP" on second and subsequent references.

at around — Don’t use when describing a time. Something doesn’t happen “at around 5 p.m.” It happens either “at 5 p.m.” or “around 5 p.m.” “At around” is oxymoronic. Also, don’t say something happened “around 5:23 p.m.” That’s pretty specific. It’s either “at 5:23 p.m.” or “around 5:25 p.m.” or 5:20 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. etc.

Attributions

— Follow the format “person said” (rather than “said person”). The exception is when you have a phrase after the attribution that tells more about the person or expands on the quote: “‘The show was great,’ said Jones, a noted expert on barbershop quartet singing.” Or “‘The show was great,’ said Jones, a member of the Paul McCartney fan club.” And in 99.9 percent of cases “said” is preferred over an alternative like “explained,” “agreed,” “concurred,” “commented,” etc.

— Make sure to attribute each and every sentence in a story that could indicate wrongdoing by someone. Think about it this way: Unless you know a fact firsthand, then you should identify who is conveying that fact.

— In a quote with several sentences, try to place the attribution after the first sentence instead of leaving it dangling at the end of the paragraph. This makes clear who is speaking, which is particularly important in a story with multiple sources.

B

back yard — Two words when being used as a noun: I left my bike in the back yard. This is a Patch deviation from AP style. But it’s backyard, one word, when being used as an adjective: We’re having a backyard picnic.

bail and bond — Reporters, editors and folks in the legal profession get this one wrong all the time, but "bail" and "bond" are not synonymous. A judge sets bail and a defendant posts bond. The bail is the full amount and bond is usually 10 percent of the bail figure. See also: Our policies and best practices for crime and police reporting

Black (adj.) — Capitalize when referring to Black people, communities, culture, ethnicity, experiences, institutions and other related entities. Black is acceptable as an adjective. African American (no hyphen) is acceptable for an American Black person of African descent. (Use Negro or colored only in names of organizations — such as the National Council of Negro Women or the United Negro College Fund — or in rare quotations when essential.)

— Person of color and people of color also are acceptable. But avoid using the abbreviation POC.

— Racial minority is acceptable when describing people of races other than white in the United States. However, avoid referring to someone as a minority unless in a direct quote.

— NOTE: Black is not always synonymous with African American.

It should also be noted that:

• The capitalization of Black is consistent with our references to other cultures: Asian, Indigenous, Latino/Latina/Latinx, etc.

• We are not capitalizing white because it is a description of a skin color, not a culture.

• In complete police descriptions of suspects at large, the use of black to describe skin color should remain lowercase.

• See also "Racial descriptions" entry.

bloc vs. block — Use “bloc” when referring to a coalition of people, groups or nations with the same purpose or goal.

body camera — The preferred reference to a camera mounted on clothing. The condensed version is "bodycam."

Book titles — Don’t put them in italics. Songs, movies, books, TV shows, plays, etc. are “composition” titles and get quotes, not italics. So it would be “Star Wars,” “Born to Run,” “Death of a Salesman,” “The Big Sleep,” etc.

born / borne — It’s “born out of a need,” not “borne.” However, “The burden to use the right word is borne by all of us.”

Bulleted lists — Begin each line with a bullet (not a dash).

• Capitalize the beginning of each line in the list.

• Use a period at the end of each line, even if it’s not a full sentence.

• Use “parallel construction” — meaning be consistent with the grammatical form of how the lines are written. For example, these lines start with a verb (except the last one, which is not written in parallel construction):

  • Take naps twice a day.

  • Eat plenty of vegetables.

  • Wash your hands regularly.

  • It can help to floss after you brush your teeth.

The Bronx — The New York Borough gets an uppercase “t” in “The.”

C

cancel, canceled, canceling — One "l" in AP style. However: "cancellation."

canvas / canvass — "Canvas" is heavy cloth. "Canvass" refers to the taking of a survey.

capitol vs. Capitol (vs. capital) — Capitalize “Capitol” when referring to a specific state or federal governmental building, even if the proper name does not accompany the word. Note: Do not confuse with “capital,” which refers to the seat of government for a county, state or country.

cell phone — Two words. This is a Patch deviation from AP style.

child care — Two words, no hyphen, in all cases. Per AP.

chokehold — One word.

City Council — Uppercase when referring to a specific body, even without the city’s name included.

claim vs. said — These are not interchangeable. “Claim” should be reserved for times when a statement might be open to question. If “claim” is attached to a statement inappropriately, it can suggest skepticism inadvertently. In almost all cases, “said” is your best bet.

class of — Lowercase "class," as in "class of 2020."

compare with vs. compare to — Don’t confuse the two. Use “compared with” when juxtaposing things to show similarities or differences, such as numbers; for example, “The cases increased to 195 in 2019, compared with 170 in 2018.” Use “compared to” when simply talking about a comparison but without detail; for example, “He liked to be compared to sports greats.”

Composition titles — Don’t put them in italics. Put quotes around the titles of books, songs, television shows, computer games, poems, lectures, speeches, works of art and podcasts. So it would be “Star Wars,” “Born to Run,” “Death of a Salesman,” “The Big Sleep,” etc. Also, do not italicize or put quotation marks around the name of a newspaper or a magazine.

Congressional titles — Use the two-letter postal abbreviation in congressional titles. So it would be U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) or U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). An exception to AP style.

contactless — No hyphen.

counterprotester — One word, no hyphen.

co-worker — Hyphenated.

credit union — A "cooperative association for pooling savings of members and making loans to them at a low rate of interest." (Webster's New World College Dictionary). Note: When writing about a credit union robbery, refer to it in the main headline as a "bank robbery" for better SEO; then specify "credit union" in the subhead and story text.

Crime victims — Be careful with cases involving sexual assault (including date rape), domestic abuse and crimes involving children (including molestation by a relative). Bring these to a manager's attention if you're unsure about any aspect. It's better to be safe than to post something that "victimizes a victim" or reveals too much information. In cases where the victim is related to the accused, you usually can find a way to write about the crime and the person charged without revealing the identity of the victim. While you sometimes may be contacting victims of crime or their relatives for stories, do not contact the victims of sex assault without explaining why you are contacting that person and getting clearance from your manager or the editor-in-chief. Consult with your manager when in doubt.

Victims of most crimes do not need to be identified by name in your article unless that knowledge is pertinent to the story. See also: Our policies and best practices for crime and police reporting

critical race theory — Lowercase. Here’s a brief definition you can use to let readers know what it is:

“Critical race theory is a decades-old legal and academic framework that looks at and critiques how race and racism shaped the U.S. laws and institutions that remain in place today and help perpetuate racism and a kind of caste system that continues to the disadvantage of people of color.”

You also can add something like this for context: "The phrase has become a catchall for various claims about racism and race relations in the United States having nothing to do with critical race theory itself.”

Cutlines — Should conform to rules on days/dates, even in AP captions. No need to say “Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019” when the story is running on Friday, Oct. 25.” Also, the exact date is often unnecessary in a caption for a file photo. A photo of President Ronald Reagan on April 12, 1980 does not need the exact date. Exceptions might be a photo of President George W. Bush taken on Sept. 12, 2001, for instance.

Cutlines should be robust, full sentences, with as many search terms as possible. They are often a good place to put the name of the person referred to in the headline. So if your headline is along the lines of “Chicago Man Charged With Murder,” make sure your cutlines (and subhead if possible) have the man’s name in there.

When there are two or more people in an image, identify them this way in the caption: John Doe (left) and Mary Smith attend the premiere of “Death Blow.” For a larger group do this: Joe Doe (from left), Mary Smith and Sally White attend the premiere of “Death Blow.”

For embedded photos, make sure to follow the proper procedure for inserting the cutline. Don’t just type it under the photo in the body of the story — click on the image and a pop-up box will give you a place to type the “caption.”

D

damage vs. damages — Use “damage” for something that’s been harmed. Use “damages” for money paid in compensation.

dashcam — One word.

Dashes — Use the long dash in datelines or in body copy when you’re trying to set off a clause or phrase. Don’t use hyphens (or double hyphens). To get the long dash use Shift+Option+-, or use the “Dash” function in the toolbar of our CMS. Or on a MacBook, you can simultaneously press shift, option and the dash key (to the right of the zero) to create the em dash.

data — Singular noun: For example, “The data shows the virus is spreading.”

Dates, Months, Years, Days of the Week — For dates and years, use figures. Do not use st, nd, rd, or th with dates, and use Arabic figures. Always capitalize months. Spell out the month unless it is used with a date. When used with a date, abbreviate only the following months: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Use a comma to set off a year if the date, month and year are given: The date July 4, 1776, was important in history. Use an apostrophe before figures expressing a decade if numerals are left out; example: the ’90s.

Date vs. Day — For something that happened within the past seven days or is happening in the next seven days, use the day. If it happened more than seven days ago or is happening more than seven days in the future, use the date. No need to use day AND date. And the time always comes first. So “The festival kicks off at 5 p.m. Saturday,” not “Saturday at 5 p.m.” Or “The festival kicks off at 5 p.m. Oct. 27,” “The accident happened around 4 a.m. Sept. 19.”

Datelines — Every story should have a city and state abbreviation, followed by a long (em) dash and a space on either side of the dash. So COLUMBUS, IN — or CHICAGO, IL — . For New York City stories, it should be NEIGHBORHOOD, BOROUGH — Note: This is a Patch exception to AP style.

day care — Two words, no hyphen, in all cases. Per AP.

daylight saving time — Not “savings.” This takes place when clocks are turned ahead an hour from the second Sunday in March to the second Sunday in November to make fuller use of longer daylight during that period.

When referring to a specific time zone, use only “daylight”; for example, “Central Daylight Time.” Bonus: Use of a time zone abbreviation such as “CDT” is acceptable on first reference if used with a clock reading; for example, “at 7 p.m. CDT.”

defendant — Avoid this court jargon whenever possible. Use the person’s name in most cases. See also: Our policies and best practices for crime and police reporting

delta — Lowercase when referring to a variant of the coronavirus.

Democratic: Capitalize when referring to the political party. Also, capitalize “party” in that context: the Democratic Party. However, lowercase “democratic” when used generically; for example, “They endorsed a democratic system of government.”

died — Avoid euphemisms such as "passed away," except in direct quotes. “Died” is clear and respectful. However, “taken the lives of” is acceptable, such as in: “The new coronavirus had taken the lives of 20,000 Americans as of Wednesday.”

dimensions — When writing about height, weight or other dimensions, use figures and spell out words such as feet, miles, etc. Examples: She is 5-foot-3. The 6-foot-3-inch man. He was 6 feet, 3 inches tall. He wrote with a 2-inch pencil. The town had 2 feet of snow. The plank was 4 feet by 9 feet.

disperse vs. disburse — “Disperse” means to spread around; “disburse” means to pay.

dog sitter — No hyphen as a noun. However, "dog-sitting service."

double-check — two words, hyphenated.

doughnut — When referring to the pastry, write “doughnut,” not “donut.” But use “Donut” for a company name if that is how it’s spelled. For example, “Joe’s favorite doughnut is the kumquat and raisin cruller at Jonesville Donut Emporium.”

Dr. — From the AP entry on “doctor:” Use Dr. in first reference as a formal title before the name of an individual who holds a doctor of dental surgery, doctor of medicine, doctor of optometry, doctor of osteopathic medicine, doctor of podiatric medicine, or doctor of veterinary medicine: Dr. Jonas Salk.

The form Dr., or Drs., in a plural construction, applies to all first-reference uses before a name, including direct quotations. Do not continue the use of Dr. in subsequent references.

Do not use Dr. before the names of individuals who hold other types of doctoral degrees. Instead, when necessary or appropriate for a specific audience: Cassandra Karoub, who has a doctorate in mathematics, was lead researcher. In a list: Stephanie D’Ercole, Ph.D.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — Using the guidelines for “doctor” above, don’t use unless in a quote or formal title of a school, street, etc. Use “the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.”

drive-thru — Not “drive-through.”

drunk vs. drunken — The proper term for the state of inebriated driving is "drunken driving" not "drunk driving." The actual criminal charge may be driving under the influence (DUI), operating under the influence (OUI) or DWI (driving while intoxicated) depending on the jurisdiction. But the description for the act itself is properly written as "drunken driving." This is also AP style. See also: Our policies and best practices for crime and police reporting

E

East Coast, South, Southern, Midwest, etc. — Lowercase ordinary compass directions; for example, “He headed north toward the interstate, then drove west-northwest.” But uppercase specific regions; for example, “She had an East Coast address but a Southern accent.” And, “He was a Midwest boy but made his home in Southern California.”

e-learning — Hyphenated. Also, "e-books."

Election terminology:

— front-runner: Hyphenated.

— Election Day: Uppercase only when referring to the election that occurs on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

— election night: Lowercase in all uses.

— general election: Lowercase in all uses.

— lead-up: Hyphenated.

— mail-in: Hyphenated as an adjective.

— neck and neck: No hyphen.

— nonpartisan: One word, no hyphen.

— re-elect, re-election: Hyphenate (an exception to AP).

— running mate: No hyphen, two words.

— runnoff: One word, no hyphen.

— standard-bearer: Hyphenated.

— toss-up: Hyphenated.

— vote-by-mail / vote by mail: Hyphenate “vote-by-mail” as a compound modifier; for example, “They said vote-by-mail arrangements are pending.” Do not hyphenate when used in this construction: “They plan to vote by mail in October."

— write-in: Hyphenated both as a noun and as an adjective.

Ethnic descriptions — See “Racial descriptions.”

Ellipsis — See "Punctuation."

Em dash — See "Punctuation."

entitled vs. titled — “Entitled” means having a right to something. “Titled” refers to the title of something, such as a book. So do not say "the book is entitled."

F

face mask — Two words.

family — It’s a collective noun, so it takes a singular verb; for example, “The family held its weekly dinners every Sunday.”

farmers market — No apostrophe.

farther vs. further — "Farther" refers to physical distance. "Further" refers to an extension of time or degree.

fazed vs. phased — “Faze” means to disturb the composure of someone. “Phase” means an aspect or stage of something.

female/male — Avoid using these terms whenever possible. If the age of the person is unknown they are acceptable, but if someone says a “40-year-old male” use “man” instead. Likewise “woman” instead of “19-year-old female.” Anyone younger than 18 is a “boy” or “girl” though tread lightly with 17-year-olds, especially in crime stories.

fetus — From the AP entry on “embryo, fetus, unborn baby, unborn child:” While the terms are essentially interchangeable in many common uses, each has become politicized by the abortion debate even in uses not involving abortion. Anti-abortion advocates say fetus devalues a human life; abortion-rights supporters argue unborn child or baby equate termination of a pregnancy with murder by emphasizing the fetus's humanity.

Write clearly and sensitively, using any of the terms when appropriate:

Fetus, which refers to the stage in human development from the eighth week of pregnancy to birth, is preferred in many cases, including almost all scientific and medical uses: The virus can be disastrous to a fetus. The lawsuit alleges harm to a fetus that prosecutors claim was viable. The research was conducted on fetal tissue.

In scientific uses referring to the first seven weeks of human development after conception, use embryo.

The context or tone of a story can allow for unborn baby or child in cases where fetus could seem clinical or cold: Weiss said her love for her unborn baby was the strongest feeling she had ever felt. The expectant mother lost her baby in the seventh month of pregnancy.

Note: From the AP entry on "abortion": "Use the modifiers anti-abortion or abortion-rights; don't use pro-life, pro-choice or pro-abortion unless they are in quotes or proper names. Avoid abortionist, which connotes a person who performs clandestine abortions."

Fiberglas — Capitalize when referring to the trademarked substance, which is spelled with a single “s.” However, lowercase when referring to the generic form — fiberglass — which is spelled with a double “s.” Note: The same rule applies to “Plexiglas” and “plexiglass.”

fiance vs. fiancee — A “fiance” is a man who’s engaged to be married; a “fiancee” is a woman who’s engaged.

Fire names: Capitalize "fire" when used as part of a name designated by an agency. For example, "The Camp Fire and the Woolsey Fire were major wildfires."

first lady / first gentleman — Lowercase even when used before a name as a title.

flyer — Refers to handbills and a person flying an aircraft.

forecast — Use for either the past tense of the verb or the noun. Not "forecasted."

forgo vs. forego — "Forgo" means to do without. "Forego" means to go before.

Fourth of July — "4th of July" is preferred because it dominates for SEO. This is an exception to AP style.

Fractions as words — Hyphenate fractions of less than 1, such as “three-tenths.”

front-line — Hyphenate as an adjective.

full time / part time — No hyphen when used as an adverb but hyphenated when used as an adjective. For example, They went to school part time while working at their full-time jobs.

fundraising, fundraiser — One word in all cases, per AP.

G

gallon — Use a figure when listing an amount. For example: “The tank holds 8 gallons.”

General Assembly — Uppercase when referring to a specific state assembly, with or without the state’s name.

GoFundMe — One word. When possible, use “page,” “campaign,” “fundraising site” or “effort” with it; for example, "The family benefited from a GoFundMe campaign."

grader — When referring to a student, no hyphen is needed in phrases such as “first grader.” However, for clarity, use a hyphen if the phrase is used with another ordinal number; for example, “He was the fifth first-grader to spell the word correctly.”

Guard / Guardsmen — Capitalize when referring to members of the National Guard; for example, “Many National Guardsmen were stationed at the entrance.” But lowercase references without "National"; for example, "several guardsmen" assisted residents" and "the guard was activated."

H

half-dozen — Hyphenated. However, AP says this about words and word combinations that begin with “half” — Follow Webster's New World College Dictionary. Hyphenate if not listed there.

Here are some that get hyphens: half-baked, half-life, half-cocked, half-mile, half-dozen, half-moon, half-truth.

Here are some that don’t get hyphens: half brother, half size, half dollar.

And here are some that are one word: halftime, halfback, halfhearted.

Headlines and headers within stories — In both cases, the first letter of every word is capitalized. And for headers within stories, make sure to use the Header 2 or Header 3 style under the “A” in the CMS toolbar. Also, some tips on Headline SEO here.

health care — Two words, no hyphen, in all cases. Per AP.

Heights — Don’t use the apostrophe-and-quote-marks format ever. So no 5’ 5”. Instead, write a person’s height in this style: “He was 5 feet, 9 inches tall” or "The 5-foot- 9-inch man." Don’t abbreviate “feet” or “inches.”

hit-and-run — Hyphenated as a noun or as an adjective.

hoard vs. horde — “Hoard” refers to collecting — often over-collecting — a bunch of stuff for oneself; “horde” refers to a large, unorganized group of people.

home schooling — No hyphen for the noun phrase. For example, “Home schooling is now common in the country.”

— home-schooler also as a noun; for example, “She has been a home-schooler for many years.”

— home-school as a verb; for example, “We have begun to home-school our kids.”

— home-schooled as an adjective; for example, “The home-schooled kids are familiar with the current situation.”

hot spot — Two words.

Hyperlinks — When hyperlinking to a story, use keywords and not the name of the source. Also, avoid hyperlinking before the third graph.

hyperlocal — One word, no hyphen.

I

immunocompromised — One word.

individual — As a noun, “individual” is a jargony term popular with police and others. Use “person” and not “individual” in almost all instances.

internet — Lowercase.

interstate — Spell out and capitalize “Interstate” (when referring to a specific highway) on first reference; can abbreviate with the number on subsequent references. For example, “The roadway was clear on southbound Interstate 90, but northbound traffic on I-90 was backed up for miles.”

in the process of — This is usually a superfluous phrase.

J

jack-o’-lantern — Note the hyphens and apostrophe.

July Fourth — "4th of July" is preferred because it dominates for SEO. This is an exception to AP style.

Juvenile crime — Do NOT publish the names of anyone 16 or younger charged with a crime UNLESS they are charged AS AN ADULT. Usually, those cases will be high-profile cases. When you encounter a minor charged as an adult, please consult with your manager. See also: Our policies and best practices for crime and police reporting

K

kindergartner — Not "kindergartener."

K-9 — A canine used by law enforcement or the military. Note the hyphen.

L

Latino/Latina/Latinx — Patch follows AP style: “Latino” is often the preferred noun or adjective for a person from, or whose ancestors were from, a Spanish-speaking land or culture or from Latin America. “Latina” is the feminine form. Some prefer the recently coined gender-neutral term “Latinx,” which should be confined to quotations, names of organizations or descriptions of individuals who request it and should be accompanied by a short explanation. “Hernandez prefers the gender-neutral term Latinx.” For groups of females, use the plural “Latinas”; for groups of males or of mixed gender, use the plural “Latinos.” “Hispanics” is also generally acceptable for those in the U.S. Use a more specific identification when possible, such as “Cuban,” “Puerto Rican,” “Brazilian” or “Mexican American.”

Legislative titles — Use the two-letter postal abbreviation in congressional titles. So it would be U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) or U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

Legislature — Capitalize when referring to a specific body, even if not with the state’s name. For example, “the Illinois Legislature” and “the state Legislature.”

LGBT/LGBTQ — These appear almost interchangeable in general usage, so either is acceptable depending on common usage in a community or specific usage by a source.

Note 1: Neither of the above must be spelled out on first reference.

Note: 2: Also acceptable is LGBTQIA; “I” stands for intersex and “A” for either asexual or ally, or both. Occasionally, it is also written with a plus sign at the end — LGBTQIA+ — to include others not mentioned.

More from AP: Acceptable in all references for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning and/or queer. In quotations and the formal names of organizations and events, other forms such as LGBTQIA and other variations are also acceptable with the other letters explained. I generally stands for intersex, and A can stand for asexual (a person who doesn't experience sexual attraction), ally (some activists decry this use of the abbreviation for a person who is not LGBT but who actively supports LGBT communities) or both. Use of LGBT or LGBTQ is best as an adjective and an umbrella term. Don't use it, for instance, when the group you're referring to is limited to bisexuals. Walters joined the LGBTQ business association. Queer is an umbrella term covering people who are not heterosexual or cisgender and is acceptable for people and organizations that use the term to identify themselves. Do not use it when intended as a slur.

livestream / livestreaming — One word.

located at — Avoid. It’s redundant. So instead of saying the store is "located at 1234 Thunder Road," just say it’s "at 1234 Thunder Road."

lockdown — One word as a noun: “The state is on lockdown.” However, “The state is being locked down.”

longtime — One word, no hyphen.

long-term — Two words, with hyphen

M

male/female — Avoid using these terms whenever possible. If the age of the person is unknown they are acceptable, but if someone says a “40-year-old male” use “man” instead. Likewise “woman” instead of “19-year-old female.” Anyone younger than 18 is a “boy” or “girl” though tread lightly with 17-year-olds, especially in crime stories.

Marine — Capitalize when referring to the U.S. armed force, such as U.S. Marine Corps (no period after “Corps”). Do not refer to Marines as “soldiers,” which is used for those in the Army.

Note: In deference to the preferences of Marines, do not refer to them as “former” Marines. (A motto of the Corps is “Once a Marine, always a Marine.”) This is a Patch exception.

marshal — Use this spelling for fire or law enforcement officials. ("Marshall" typically refers to the spelling of someone's name.)

maskless — No hyphen. Also: mask-wearing (hyphenated).

Mass / Masses — Capitalize when referring to the Catholic church celebration.

mass shooting — A shooting in which four or more people are shot, not including the shooter. Where feasible, note that this definition comes from the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research organization.

Note: A mass killing is one in which four or people have been killed, not including the killer. Where feasible, note that this definition comes from a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

megasite — Not mega-site or mega site.

meteorologist — Do not capitalize even if used in front of a person's name because it's a job description rather than a formal title.

midnight — Refers to the day ending. So "midnight Tuesday" occurs just as Wednesday morning begins. However, use a specific time whenever possible to avoid any confusion.

Midwest, South, Southern, East Coast, etc. — Lowercase ordinary compass directions; for example, “He headed north toward the interstate, then drove west-northwest.” But uppercase specific regions; for example, “She had an East Coast address but a Southern accent.” And, “He was a Midwest boy but made his home in Southern California.”

miles — Use figures for any distances. Examples: My flight covered 1,113 miles. The airport runway is 3 miles long.

million — Abbreviate with an “M” in headlines.

Minor/juvenile name — In general, refer to children 15 or younger by their first name on second reference. For youths 16 to 17, use their first name on second reference if the type of story lends itself to that treatment.

movie titles — Don’t put them in italics. Songs, movies, books, TV shows, plays, etc. are “composition” titles and get quotes, not italics. So it would be “Star Wars,” “Born to Run,” “Death of a Salesman,” “The Big Sleep,” etc.

murder — Don’t call a death a “murder” unless there has been a conviction or a guilty plea. It’s a slaying, killing, homicide, fatal shooting/stabbing, etc. Don’t confuse this with someone being charged with murder; the charge doesn’t make it a murder until there’s a conviction or guilty plea.

N

Names — Always use a person’s first and last name the first time they are mentioned in a story. Only use last names on second reference. Do not use courtesy titles such as Mr., Mrs., Miss or Ms. unless they are part of a direct quotation or are needed to differentiate between people who have the same last name.

Nativity scene — “Nativity” is capitalized, and “scene” is lowercase.

news conference — Use that rather than “press conference.” Also, use “news release” rather than “press release.”

nighttime — One word, no hyphen

noon — Preferred over 12 p.m.

nonpartisan — No hyphen

nonprofit — One word.

Numerals:

In general, spell out numbers one through nine, and use figures for 10 and above. Also, use figures for ages and for a number preceding a unit of measurement.

In general, spell out numbers at the start of a sentence. Examples: Two hundred freshmen attended. Five actors took the stage. However, AP lists a few exceptions: a year: 1776 was an important year; and numeral/letter combinations: 401(k) plans are offered. 4K TVs are in demand. 3D movies draw many fans.

Some specific applications:

— Use numerals in main headlines instead of spelling out the numbers.

— Use numerals for rain and snow amounts: “They saw 2 inches of rain in five hours.”

— For ordinal numbers, spell out first through ninth and use figures for 10th and above when describing order in time or location. Examples: second base, 10th in a row. Some ordinal numbers, such as those indicating political or geographic order, should use figures in all cases. Examples: 3rd District Court, 9th Ward, 16 Congressional District.

number vs. amount: Use “number” when referring to things that can be counted; for example, “The number of cases continues to climb.” Use “amount” for things that can’t be counted; for example, “The amount of gasoline needed for the trip was excessive.”

Note 1: In general, use “fewer” when referring to things that can be counted: for example, “The county saw fewer cases this week than last week.” In general, use “less” for things that can’t be counted; for example, “They used less gas for the trip than expected.”

Note 2: Use a singular verb when referring to “the number of” something; for example, “The number of cases continues to rise.” However, use a plural verb when referring to “a number of” something; for example, “A number of cases continue to rise.”

N-word — Do not use this term or the racial slur it refers to except in rare circumstances, when it is crucial to the story or the understanding of a news event. Consult with a manager first. In most cases, “racial slur” is a suitable substitute. Writers should recognize that using “N-word” essentially repeats a word that many find offensive; the need to employ that phrase must be great enough to outweigh the risk of offending others with its use.

O

offender — Don’t use. Ever. Say “gunman,” “attacker,” “rapist” or anything else but never “offender.” See also: Our policies and best practices for crime and police reporting

OK — Never “okay.”

omicron — Lowercase when referring to the variant of the coronavirus.

on vs. [not “on”] — It’s usually not necessary to use “on” before a time element; for example, “They will go to the zoo on Wednesday” is perfectly clear without “on.” However, “on” is useful in helping separate a time element from a proper noun — and adding clarity; for example, “The sheriff plans to see Joe on Friday.”

on-site — Hyphenated.

P

passed away — Avoid such euphemisms, except in direct quotes. Use “died” instead; it is clear and respectful. However, “taken the lives of” is acceptable, such as in: “The new coronavirus had taken the lives of 20,000 Americans as of Wednesday.”

peanut butter and jelly — Can be abbreviated as PB&J.

percent — Spell out rather than using the “%.” This is a Patch variation from AP Style. The percentage symbol — % — can be used in headlines for space purposes.

percentage point — Not the same as "percent." Use "percentage point" for a change in percentage. For example, “His approval decreased from 39 percent of those surveyed to 34 percent, a difference of 5 percentage points.”

pet sitter — No hyphen as a noun. However, "pet-sitting company."

plexiglass — The generic term for a material that’s like the trademarked Plexiglas (with one “s”). Note: Use “plexiglass” if you’re unsure which material is being described.

phased vs. fazed — “Phase” means an aspect or stage of something. “Faze” means to disturb the composure of someone.

phase — Lowercase and use a numeral when referring to a study or other stage in a series or development of something. For example, "phase 2 clinical trial"; not "phase two" or "phase II".

Phone numbers — Write them a la 312-588-2300 (no parentheses). No need for a “1-” at the start of them, even for toll-free numbers.

Photo captions — Should conform to rules on days/dates, even in AP captions. No need to say “Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019” when the story is running on Friday, Oct. 25.” Also, the exact date is often unnecessary in a caption for a file photo. A photo of President Ronald Reagan on April 12, 1980 does not need the exact date. Exceptions might be a photo of President George W. Bush taken on Sept. 12, 2001, for instance. See photo credits below.

Cutlines should be robust, full sentences, with as many search terms as possible. They are often a good place to put the name of the person referred to in the headline. So if your is along the lines of “Chicago Man Charged With Murder,” make sure your cutlines (and subhead if possible) have the man’s name in there.

When there are two or more people in an image, identify them this way in the caption: John Doe (left) and Mary Smith attend the premiere of “Death Blow.” For a larger group do this: Joe Doe (from left), Mary Smith and Sally White attend the premiere of “Death Blow.”

For embedded photos, make sure to follow the proper procedure for inserting the cutline. Don’t just type it under the photo in the body of the story — click on the image and a pop-up box will give you a place to type the “caption.”

Photo copyrights — Great care should be taken when using photos with stories. We must ensure that we have the proper permission to use any image, whether through written permission of someone holding the rights to the image or through our subscription to a photo service. See full our Photo copyright rules.

Photo credits: Use these formats:

• AP: Photographer Name/AP Photo (if credited to pool or third-party, then copy exactly as is shown. Example: Stu Forster/Pool via AP)

• Getty: Photographer Name/Getty Images (if credited to pool or third-party, then copy exactly as is shown)

• Shutterstock: Photographer Name/Shutterstock (if credited to pool or third-party, then copy exactly as is shown)

• Patch Staffer: Photographer Name/Patch (ex: David Allen/Patch)

When crediting a third-party source such as a reader-submitted image, use any one of these:

Courtesy of

Provided by

Used with permission

*Do not just put 'provided photo" or "courtesy photo"

Police jargon — Avoid cop jargon. Unknown subjects. Victim was transported. Searched the vehicle. Officers responded to. Officers observed. If it sounds like something you've heard on a cop show, don't use it. If you know the vehicle was a car, truck or carriage, say so. The victim told police someone (not unknown subjects) stole his lawn mower. An ambulance took (not transported) the injured man to the hospital. Police searched the car/truck/SUV/etc. (not vehicle). Police saw (not observed) the car swerving in the road. See also: Our policies and best practices for crime and police reporting

Police/military rank — Abbreviate when they appear before names, such as captain (Capt.), commander (Cmdr.), sergeant (Sgt.), lieutenant (Lt.) and major (Maj.).

politics — This usually takes a plural verb; for example, His politics were of no interest to me. However, it takes a singular verb when used as a study or science; for example, Politics is something that never interested him.

Postal Service — Capitalize when referring to the U.S. Postal Service. However, lowercase “the service.” Also, lowercase “post office” in all references.

PPE — Use “personal protective equipment” on the first reference. For variety, “protective gear” is an acceptable variation.

(at) press time — Since we’re not using presses, we shouldn’t use the phrase. If you want to say someone “did not respond” by a certain time, you can write something like “did not immediately respond.”

pre-K — Lowercase “p.”

Pride/pride — Says AP: “Capitalize Pride when referring to events or organizations honoring LGBTQ communities and on subsequent references.” For example, “Many homes are flying flags to mark Pride Month.” However, lowercase “pride” in generic usages; for example, “She took part in a gay pride festival and flew the pride flag.”

principal — Capitalize when used as a formal title of a school administrator in front of the person's name.

Profanity — From AP: Do not use them in stories unless they are part of direct quotations and there is a compelling reason for them. Try to find a way to give the reader a sense of what was said without using the specific word or phrase. For example, an anti-gay or sexist slur.

If a profanity, obscenity or vulgarity must be used, flag the story at the top for editors, being specific about what the issue is. But online readers receiving direct feeds of the stories will not see that warning, so consider whether the word in question truly needs to be in the story at all.

When possible, confine the offending language, in quotation marks, to a separate paragraph that can be deleted easily by editors.

In reporting profanity that normally would use the words damn or god, lowercase god and use the following forms: damn, damn it, goddamn it.

If the obscenity involved is particularly offensive but the story requires making clear what the word was, replace the letters of the offensive word with hyphens, using only an initial letter: f---, s---. (Note the use of hyphens and not asterisks)

In some stories or scripts, it may be better to replace the offensive word with a generic descriptive in parentheses, e.g., (vulgarity) or (obscenity).

Profanity in photos — Sometimes, the news warrants the use of powerful photos that contain offensive language, such as in scrawled graffiti. Unless there's a compelling reason to use a particular image that includes profanity, you should consider alternative photos that will illustrate your story without the prospect of offending certain readers. In addition, strategic cropping is always an option if it doesn't hurt the integrity of a photo and keeps the main focal point intact.

Of course, every photo must be judged on its own merits, on a case-by-case basis.There will be extenuating circumstances, such as profanity that's in the background of an image that forcefully conveys an action or situation. Or, if a story is about graffiti and the fact that its profanity is discussed by or important to the story, then judicious use of a photo containing it will be an option. But absent such a situation, we should strive to use photos that are impactful without being unnecessarily offensive.

protester — Spelled with an “er” and not an “or.” Also, "counterprotester."

proven vs. proved — Use “proven” only as an adjective; for example, “He has a proven track record of success.” By contrast, “His success proved to be his downfall.”

Punctuation:

Good guidance from AP: “As with all punctuation, clarity is the biggest rule. If a comma does not help make clear what is being said, it should not be there. If omitting a comma could lead to confusion or misinterpretation, then use the comma.”

Commas:

Commas (and other kinds of punctuation) are like road signs for readers; they help a reader pause and prepare for a change in thought, such as a comma before a clause. For example, “Before the committee could vote, the mayor removed the item from the evening’s agenda.” The comma almost seamlessly gives the reader the heads-up that there are two separate thoughts in the sentence and splits them physically so the reader can quickly do it mentally.

When to use a comma:

— When writing the names of a city and state, use a comma after the state if the sentence continues after it. For example: “Joe Jones owned a tire store in Smithville, Alaska, before becoming its police chief."

— Before “too,” as in “Writers need to use proper punctuation, too.”

— After a date, as in “The school opened Jan. 16, 1973, in its current location.”

— Before “which” (usually), as in “The food was good, which is more than I can say about the service.”

— When a sentence is broken into two parts, and each contains a subject and a verb: “The service has improved, and it was a nice surprise.” Or: “The employee has shown great potential, and that’s why we hired her.”

— After a city and state: “The circus made a special trip to Indianapolis, Indiana, to perform for the children there.”

— To set off a phrase, as in “Being a community leader, you know the right people to contact.”

— To set off a phrase, as in “When I first became mayor, things were different in the community.”

— To set off a person’s identification: “He and his friend, Joe Smith, went to the game. (However, no comma when phrased this way: “He and friend Joe Smith went to the game.”)

— Note: When using “Jr.” after a name, don’t precede it with a comma. For example: “Joe Smith Jr.”

Ellipsis:

An ellipsis is a set of three periods, with a space at the beginning and the end, that generally indicates the removal of one or more words in the middle of a quote. For example, "I feel it's my duty ... to finish my term in office."

-- Note: If an ellipsis follows a grammatically complete sentence, use a period at the end of that sentence before the ellipsis. For example, "I believe I have much to offer. ... That is why I'm running for office."

Em dash:

An em dash is a long dash that's used between a dateline and the start of a lede, and potentially other places in a story. (It's called an em dash because it's the width of the letter "M" and is the longest of all dashes used.) Note: Use a space before and after every em dash.

-- There are two ways to create an em dash:

-- In the Patch CMS, place your cursor where you want the dash. Then look for the “Dash” button in the toolbar and click it.

-- On a MacBook, you can simultaneously press shift, option and the dash key (to the right of the zero) to create the em dash.

Q

queer — Avoid unless used specifically by a source to self-identify, or in a direct quote. Consult with your manager first. Do not use it at all if it's intended as a slur.

Quotes — Don't alter quotations, even to correct minor grammatical errors or word usage. Also, don't use [sic] to flag errors in quotes. Paraphrase if needed to avoid confusion.

R

Racial descriptions — In crime stories, should only be used as part of a complete description when that information may aid in the capture of a suspect. A solid description includes three unchangeable characteristics of the person. So “the suspects were described as two white men” should never be used. But “the suspects were described as two white men, 25 to 30 years old, with stocky builds, bald heads and wearing White Sox shirts” is acceptable. An exception to this would be when race plays a role in the incident. “The woman, who is Black, was attacked by three white men when she tried to walk through the area where the white nationalist protest was happening.” Or “Jason Van Dyke, the white Chicago police officer who shot Black teenager Laquan McDonald in 2014 …” See also: Our policies and best practices for crime and police reporting

Ratio — Use figures and hyphens in most instances to express a ratio; for example, “They won by a 3-1 ratio”; “The victory was decided by a ratio of 2-to-1.” However, “1 in 7 respondents opposed the idea.”

Realtor — Capitalize for a member of the National Association of Realtors. However, the term real estate agent is preferred.

recreate vs. re-create — “Recreate” means to refresh, such as in recreation. “Re-create” means to create something again.

re-elect, re-election — Hyphenate (an exception to AP).

rein vs. reign — The word rein refers literally to the straps used by a rider (or driver) to control a horse; figuratively, it refers to controlling something. So it would be used in a phrase such as keeping a tight rein or having free a rein. The word reign means to have dominion, sway or royal authority over others.

Religious titles — Use "Rabbi," "Imam," "the Rev." or whatever other formal title is appropriate on first reference. Refer to the person by their last name on subsequent references. Avoid using the informal "father," "pastor" or similar terms before a name as a title.

remdesivir — Lowercase, since it’s not a brand name.

reopen / reopening — One word, no hyphen.

resign vs. re-sign — “Resign” means to give up or quit. “Re-sign” means to sign something again.

restaurateurs — Note there is no “n,” so it’s not “restauranteurs.”

ride-sharing — Two words, hyphenated.

robbery vs. theft vs. burglary — These are easy to mix up, but they all mean different things. “Robbery” — generally speaking — is the threat or use of violence to take something. “Theft” is the mere act of taking something. “Burglary” is the entering of a building (or a vehicle) to commit a crime.

route — Do not abbreviate. For example, “Traffic on Route 31 was congested.”

S

school board — Lowercase, unless written as part of an official name.

School terms — Note the spellings and punctuation for these common school terms — pre-K, K-12, first grader, kindergartner, preschooler, seventh grade student.

Scout — Capitalize when referring to a member of the Boy Scouts. Also capitalize “Scouts” and “Scouting.” Note: The organization Boy Scouts of America now is Scouts BSA, having begun accepting girls as members in 2019.

screenshot — One word, no hyphen.

seat belt — Two words.

Self-isolation v. self-quarantine — Although some entities use these interchangeably, they are different. According to the CDC: Isolation separates sick people from healthy people to prevent spread of disease. Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.

SEO — Is crucial to our success here at Patch. Headlines, short headlines, subheads and photo captions should all be written with search engine optimization in mind. See our guide to SEO essentials

Sex assault victims — See “Crime victims.” Also, never refer to "alleged" victims or "alleged" assaults in cases involving sex crimes. It is a needless insult to the victims. To get around the "victim" dilemma — the word "victim" presumes a crime took place where none may be certain — you may write: The woman told police she was attacked ... You may also refer to the person who was attacked as "the accuser."

As a rule, we do not identify victims who report a sex crime. That includes omitting potentially identifying information, such as a relationship to the accuser, for example. There are many other potentially identifying factors in such cases. All stories such as this must be reviewed by a manager or copy editor. See also: Our policies and best practices for crime and police reporting

shutdown — One word, no hyphen.

socially distanced: No hyphen.

Social Security number — Uppercase “Social Security” in all references but lowercase “number” (even though the common abbreviation is “SSN”).

Song titles — Don’t put them in italics. Songs, movies, books, TV shows, plays, etc. are “composition” titles and get quotes, not italics. So it would be “Star Wars,” “Born to Run,” “Death of a Salesman,” “The Big Sleep,” etc.

South, Southern, East Coast, Midwest, etc. — Lowercase ordinary compass directions; for example, “He headed north toward the interstate, then drove west-northwest.” But uppercase specific regions; for example, “She had an East Coast address but a Southern accent.” And, “He was a Midwest boy but made his home in Southern California.”

spokesperson — Use this in lieu of spokesman/spokeswoman.

springlike — One word, no hyphen, always lowercase.

State abbreviations — In headlines and datelines use the two-letter postal designations (AZ, MI) rather than the old traditional abbreviations (Ariz., Mich.). Spell out state names in stories (Winslow, Arizona, rather than Winslow, Ariz.)

Statehouse — Capitalize (one word) when referring to a specific statehouse, even when not using the state’s name before it.

student-athlete — Hyphenated.

Styrofoam — This is a trademark for a brand of plastic foam. Write “plastic foam” unless you know Styrofoam is the brand name.

suffered vs. sustained — Write “suffered injuries” when a person has been hurt. Write “sustained” when a thing has been damaged.

Suicides — Reports of people taking their own lives generally should not be reported unless they involve a public figure or prominent citizen. However, if this happens in a public place (someone hurls himself off the top of a building, hangs himself from a bridge, walks in front of a commuter train), we do report on what's happened. The key consideration here is HOW PUBLIC the act was and how much we report. Consult with your manager about the proper way to word these stories.

Also, avoid using the word "suicide". A suicide actually requires an official coroner's ruling, often at an inquest, so we must avoid using the word indiscriminately. Often, reporters will write of someone's "apparent attempt to take his own life."

Social media, however, can change how we approach cases in which community members may have taken their own life. Teen-agers often take to social media when a classmate dies, for example. Still, these are delicate matters and should be discussed before publishing anything.

suspect — When a crime is reported and the identity of the person who committed the crime is not known, they are “robbers” or “bandits” or "thieves" or "killers" and should be referred to as such. Do not refer to them as "alleged robbers" or "alleged killers," either. Never use the phrase "unknown suspect" or "unknown subject." This is jargon.

When the police have a specific person in mind who is believed to have committed the crime, that person is then and only then a “suspect.” Once someone is charged, they are no longer a “suspect.” You refer to them as "the accused.” See also: Our policies and best practices for crime and police reporting

superintendent — Don’t abbreviate. Capitalize when used as a title before someone's name.

supersite — Not super-site or super site.

superspreader — One word, in keeping with AP guidance.

T

takeout — One word as a noun: “Many restaurants still offer takeout food.” However, “The order still allows customers to take out food from restaurants.”

Taser vs. taze vs. stun gun — “Taser” is the trademark for a stun gun. Unless you know the weapon involved is a Taser brand, use the generic “stun gun.”

Note: Do not use as a verb, such as “Tasered” or “tazed.” An acceptable alternative would be “used a stun gun.” (Also, “stunned" is a risky alternative because it has a very different meaning that’s much more familiar and its use could be awkward or misread.)

teachers union — No apostrophe is needed either before or after the “s.”

Technological terms:

Here are the correct spelling and capitalization rules for some common technological terms:

— BlackBerry, BlackBerrys

— deepfake

— download

— eBay Inc. (use EBay Inc. when the word begins a sentence)

— e-book

— e-book reader

— e-reader

— email

— cell phone [Patch style — an exception to AP]

— Facebook

— Google, Googling, Googled

— hashtag

— IM (IMed, IMing; for first reference, use instant messenger)

— internet

— iPad, iPhone, iPod (use IPad, IPhone, or IPod when the word begins a sentence)

— LinkedIn

— livestream / livestreaming

— social media

— smartphone

— Twitter, tweet, tweeted, retweet

— videoconference

— video game

— World Wide Web, website, Web page

— webmaster

— YouTube

telework, telecommute — One word, no hyphen.

Temperatures — No need to say “Fahrenheit” in just about all cases. An exception would be a document or a quote giving a temp in Celsius that we need to convert to Fahrenheit. Also, don’t use the little circle thing after the number. Proper form would be “98 degrees.”

that — Use it sparingly; it’s way overused, and often unnecessary. Instead of “Police said THAT the man killed his brother” just say “Police said the man killed his brother.”

there are— That phrase often signals a waste of wordage. For example, “There are some 14,000 staff members who took the exam.” A simpler and more-active sentence: “About 14,000 staff members took the exam.”

thin blue line — Although AP doesn't have a style ruling on this (yet), we should make "thin blue line" lowercase and in quote marks. There's a company named Thin Blue Line USA that makes flags, but the phrase is generally generic and thus lowercase.

thousand — Can abbreviate with a “K” in headlines.

Time/Day/Date — For something that happened within the past seven days or is happening in the next seven days, use the day. If it happened more than seven days ago or is happening more than seven days in the future, use the date. No need to use day AND date. And the time always comes first. So “The festival kicks off at 5 p.m. Saturday,” not “Saturday at 5 p.m.” Or “The festival kicks off at 5 p.m. Oct. 27,” “The accident happened around 4 a.m. Sept. 19.” For a range of time use this format: “5 p.m. to 2 a.m.”

Times — When writing the exact time of an event, use figures but spell out noon and midnight. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes( but do not use :00). Examples: 1 p.m., 3:30 a.m.

titled vs. entitled — “Titled” refers to the title of something, such as a book. “Entitled” means having a right to something, so do not say "the book is entitled."

Titles — Generally, capitalize formal titles when they appear before a person’s name. However, lowercase titles if they are informal, appear without a person’s name or follow a person’s name. For example, President Robert Smith; mechanic Sue Jones; Joe Jones, president. Also, lowercase adjectives that designate the status of a title: former Mayor Pete Jones. If a title is long, place it after the person’s name: Julius Jones, vice president of business customer services.

toward — Not “towards.”

Trademarks:

— “Baggie” is a trademarked item; unless you know that’s the brand involved (usually in a drug sale), use “plastic bag.”

— “Taser” is the brand name of a “stun gun”; use the latter terminology unless you know it’s the brand name (although police sometimes refer to “Taser” regardless of what brand it is).

— “Laundromat”: This can be either uppercased when it’s the name of the business or lowercased as the generic name of a self-use washer/dryer facility.

— “Dumpster”: Formerly trademarked term for a large metal trash bin; “dumpster” is fine in all references.

— “Realtor”: Uppercased term that refers to a member of the National Association of Realtors. Use the generic, preferred terminology of “real estate agent” unless the context calls for “Realtor.”

trick-or-treat: Most versions of this Halloween phrase are hyphenated. For example, “We plan to trick-or-treat with the kids”; “We saw many trick-or-treaters out late”; “They were trick-or-treating with great costumes.” However, “The kids said, ‘Trick or treat!’ in unison.”

“trunk-or-treat” / “trunk-and-treat” — These terms are gaining wider usage this year. Choose whichever version is being used by the source or organization.

T-shirt — The "T" is capitalized. Same goes for "X-ray."

TV shows — Don’t put them in italics. Songs, movies, books, TV shows, plays, etc. are “composition” titles and get quotes, not italics. So it would be “Star Wars,” “Born to Run,” “Death of a Salesman,” “The Big Sleep,” etc.

tweet — Lowercase; only capitalize "Twitter."

twindemic — This new coinage describes the feared combination of the coronavirus pandemic and the upcoming flu season occurring simultaneously. Put in quote marks since it’s not yet widely familiar, and use sparingly since it’s not widely used.

U

underway — One word, no hyphen.

upward — Not upwards.

U.S./United States — In story text, write “United States” as the noun and “U.S.” as the adjective. Also, use periods in the abbreviation, even in headlines. Both are exceptions to AP style.

U.S. Marshals Service — No apostrophe.

V

Valentine's Day — Feb. 14.

variant — Refer to new forms of the coronavirus as “variants” and not “strains.” Generally, the new forms of SARS-CoV-2 don’t have enough mutations to qualify them as substantially different enough to be classified as a “strain” — at least not so far.

When mentioning these variants, avoid country labels (such as the infamous "China virus"). Also, stick to general descriptions such as “the variant originally detected in the U.K. ” or “the variant originally found in Brazil” to avoid confusing readers with unfamiliar numbers. Use their number if needed for clarity:

B.1.1.7 (not B117): The variant originally detected in the U.K.

B.1.351 (not B1351): The variant originally found in South Africa

B.1.429 (not B1429): The variant originally found in California

P.1 (not P1): The variant originally found in Brazil

versus — Spell out in ordinary writing: "The campaign to slow the spread of the virus versus the effort to develop a vaccine ..." The abbreviation is acceptable in short expressions: "The discussion about dogs vs. cats continued." For court cases, use "v." (lowercase): "Brown v. Board of Education."

videoconference — One word, no hyphen.

video game — Two words.

virus's — Note the apostrophe and second "s" in the possessive form of "virus."

voicemail — One word.

W

weapon — Don’t use “weapon” as a generic term when we know what kind of weapon it was. If it was someone with a gun, a “weapon” isn’t recovered — it’s a gun. So when we know what kind of weapon it is, say knife, or crossbow, samurai sword, etc. but not “weapon.”

Weather terminology:

air mass — Two words.

arctic — Lowercase as an adjective meaning frigid; capitalize as the region around the North Pole.

blizzard — This involves wind speeds of 35 mph or more and considerable falling and/or blowing of snow, with visibility of less than one-quarter mile for three or more hours.

Category 1-5 — “Category” is capitalized when used with the numerical designation of hurricane strength.

EF1-5 — The measured strength of a tornado. Tornadoes (note the “e”) that are rated EF2 or higher are considered “significant.”

feet / inches — Use numerals for these (and other) measurements — “Forecasters expected 8 inches of snow, but some areas got 1.5 feet of it.”

floodwater — One word.

heat wave — Two words.

heavy snow — Generally means a.) Snowfall that accumulates to 4 inches or more in depth in 12 hours, or b.) Snowfall that accumulates to 6 inches or more in depth in 24 hours.

hurricane / Hurricane — Capitalize “Hurricane” when it’s used before the name given to that storm: “Hurricane Isaias.” Otherwise, lowercase when written as "the hurricane" or "a hurricane." Note: Lowercase “hurricane” when it’s used before the names of multiple storms: “Much destruction was caused by hurricanes Irma and Harvey.”

inches/feet — Use figures to express amounts; for example, “Storm surges of up to 4 feet were expected, along with rainfall of up to 6 inches.”

minus / zero — Use a word, not a minus sign, to indicate temperatures below zero. For example: “minus 10” or “5 below zero.”

mph — This abbreviation is acceptable in all references. No hyphen is needed when it’s used with a figure — “Outages were caused by 40 mph winds throughout the area.”

nor’easter — Lowercase throughout (unless you want to say, “Happy nor’Easter!”).

polar vortex — This usually refers to the gigantic circular upper air weather pattern in the Arctic, enveloping the North Pole (or South Pole).

rainfall — One word for the noun.

snowstorm — One word.

subzero — One word, no hyphen.

tornadoes — Note the “e” after the “o” in the plural version.

watch / warning — Lowercase, even if a weather service capitalizes them. For example, “The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the entire county.”

whiteout — No hyphen.

wind chill factor — Not hyphenated. The wind chill is a calculation that describes the combined effect of the wind and cold temperatures on exposed skin.

who / that — Use "who" when referring to people. Use "that" when referring to objects and animals. (However, animals named in stories would be referred to as “who.”)

Wi-Fi — With a hyphen and an uppercase “F.”

Wildfire names: Capitalize "fire" when used as part of a name designated by an agency. For example, "The Camp Fire and the Woolsey Fire were major wildfires."

World War II (and World War I) — Spell out on first reference; "WWI" or "WWII" is acceptable in headlines or on second reference. Do not spell out the numeral (such as "World War Two").

X

X-ray — Note the hyphen and lowercase "r."

Xmas — Don't use this abbreviation for Christmas.

Y

yearlong — One word, no hyphen ("yearslong," too).

youths — Use it to describe more than one young person. Don’t use “youth” when referring to more than one. So “We must help the youth of this neighborhood” should be “We must help the youths of this neighborhood.”

Z

ZIP code — ZIP is all uppercase, an acronym for "Zone Improvement Project."