It’s that time of year again! The latest 2019 issue of The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook is now available. Every year the AP team releases an updated issue with a variety of updates – sometimes surprising, other times exciting and almost always a little confusing.
Some of last year’s AP Stylebook updates included guidance around spelling tech terms such as “homepage” and “smartwatch” (written as one word), clarity around “emoji” as the correct singular and plural reference of more than one emoji, as well as advice for referencing sexual harassment and misconduct clarifying when to use “survivor” and “victim.”
Below is an overview of some of the AP Stylebook’s update for the 2019 edition.
Percentage sign. According to the latest version of the Stylebook, it is now OK to use the percentage sign (%) when paired with a numeral, with no space. For example, “her salary increased 4% from a year ago.” When referring to amounts less than 1%, writers can precede the decimal with a zero (e.g., the cost of fruit rose 0.4%). The rule did note that in casual uses, it is OK to use words rather than figures and numbers (i.e., there is a zero percent chance she will be going to the party).
Accent marks. It is now acceptable to use accent marks – e.g., the acute (é), grave (è), circumflex (â, î or ô), tilde (ñ), etc. – with individuals’ name when they request it, are known to include them, or if quoting a language that uses accent markets.
Hyphens. The new stylebook included explanations around a variety of hyphenation uses including the “em dash” and the “en dash.” The lead editor of the AP Stylebook hosted an “Ask me anything” session on Reddit where she explained how AP typically uses em dashes (–), and instead of using en dashes, AP uses hyphens (-). Here is the excerpt from her explanation of hyphens and dashes on Reddit:
References in the Stylebook to dashes denote what some styles call em dashes, long dashes or thick dashes. Because of news industry specifications for text transmission, AP has never used en dashes, also known as short dashes.
Em dashes (or what the Stylebook refers to simply as dashes) are used to signal abrupt change; as one option to set off a series within a phrase; before attribution to an author or composer in some formats; after datelines; and to start lists. AP style calls for a space on both sides of a dash in all uses except the start of sports agate summaries.
Some other styles call for en dashes to indicate ranges, such as ranges of dates or times, or with some compound modifiers. AP uses hyphens in such cases.
Race-related terms. Announced in March, the updated AP Stylebook includes guidance for reporters around using the terms “racist” and “racism.” This chapter also discourages individuals from using “racially charged” as a synonym for racist or racism when those words could be used instead. In addition, the AP editors discourage the use of “black/blacks” or “white/whites” as nouns in the singular and plural.
Health and science. This year’s update also included a new chapter with guidelines around selecting stories and proper usage of scientific journals. The health and science chapter also includes a primer on a variety of studies and reference guidance.
Other AP Stylebook updates include clarification and new entries around sports-betting terms, vaping, budtender and cryptocurrency, as well as guidance for reporting on suicide and covering crime – with direction to avoid the term “casualties.”
To stay updated on all of the latest AP Stylebook updates, visit https://www.apstylebook.com/ or follow the company’s Twitter account @APStylebook.