Last month, the Associated Press (AP) announced several changes to the widely adapted style.
Let’s see if you can guess the changes:
A. “Email” or “E-mail”?
If you guessed “email,” you’re correct! That’s right, ladies and gents, the hyphen has, well, taken a hike.
B. “Cellphone” or “Cell Phone”?
Drum roll please…the correct answer is “cellphone.” It’s now one word. Get it right or pay the price. (Bonus points for anyone who can tell me what 1990’s TV show that saying was made famous on.)
C. “Smartphone” or “Smart Phone”
You didn’t think I would tell you the answer right away did you? Let’s think people! Okay, okay, the answer is “smartphone.”
Think of it this way: An email, a cellphone, and a smartphone are all essentially one unit so why use two words or waste space with a hyphen?
You should also note:
Website: In 2010, AP announced that “website” will now be one word versus the old rule of writing it as “Web site.
Just what is AP and why should I care?
Below is the description of the 2010 AP Stylebook as included on apstylebook.com:
The AP Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, a spiral-bound style manual produced by the world’s leading news agency, is an essential handbook for all writers, editors, students and public relations specialists. The 2010 edition provides fundamental guidelines on spelling, grammar, punctuation and usage, with special sections on social media, reporting business and sports. Included is an updated guide to media law.
Why is this style important?
I’ll put it this way, every journalist follows AP Style and today’s journalism industry is more competitive than ever. If you’re trying to get a journalist to write a story, you need to make their job as easy as possible. This includes a well-written press release that uses AP Style.
