Business Communication and Character

View Original

AP Style Guide Updates

The AP Style Guide has provided new guidance on usage in several areas.

AP Style tweet

PR Daily summarizes the changes, and here are some of the highlights:

  • In the sports chapter are changes for several sports. Advice includes avoiding exaggeration: ("A team losing a game is not a 'disaster'") and using lower case for skating moves even if they're named after someone.
  • You may write BLT without defining the ingredients.
  • Although climate change is more accurate, global warming may be used interchangeably. 
  • The guide suggests  avoiding "the term committed suicide except in direct quotations from authorities." 

    Instead, write "killed himself, took her own life or died by suicide."

Discussion Starters: 

  • Who uses the AP Style Guide, and why are these changes important?
  • The Guide's Facebook page suggests writing "April Fools' Day." What do you think? 
  • Notice that the last bullet, above, includes a quotation from the experts but no serial (or Oxford comma). Explain!