Dates: AP Style is your guide on months and times

By Dick Thien
Chips Quinn Writing Coach

When used with a specific day, abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec.
EXAMPLE: Dec. 2

Do NOT abbreviate March, April, May, June, July.
EXAMPLE: July 2

When the year is added to the day and month, set it off by commas, both before and after.
EXAMPLE: Jan. 9, 2002, falls on Wednesday.

When only month and year are used, reverse the two foregoing rules; do NOT abbreviate the month and do NOT set off the year with commas.
EXAMPLE: He died in October 1999 from a kidney disease.

Most newspapers do NOT use yesterday, today or tomorrow to indicate the day of an event. Reason: You can't be sure what day your stories will appear in the newspaper. So it is best to check with the copy-desk chief to see what style your newspaper uses.

Use the day of the week (always spelled out) to identify the date that something occurred or will occur UNLESS the span is greater than six days.
EXAMPLE (for a story written on a Tuesday): The meeting will be Monday. (If the meeting was scheduled for one or more days later, you would use the day and month.)

Time of day

Write as follows: 8:15 p.m.; 1:30 a.m.; 6 p.m. (NOT 6:00 p.m.)

Watch for repetition. Do NOT write at 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

Use either the designation p.m. or the word afternoon, but not both.

Spell out the words noon and midnight. Do NOT use 12 a.m. or 12 p.m. or use the repetitive designation of 12 noon or 12 midnight.

TRICKY PAIRS

Its and It's

The contraction it is takes an apostrophe.
EXAMPLE: It's a nice day.

The possessive form does NOT take an apostrophe.
EXAMPLE: Its day had come.

Affect and Effect

In general, affect is a verb and effect is a noun. Because effect is a noun, it usually is preceded by the article the or an.
EXAMPLES: What is the effect of the drug?
Does the drug have an effect?

EXCEPTIONS: As an object (either of a preposition or verb) the noun often goes without an article, as in:

The law will take effect Thursday.
(direct object of verb).
The law went into effect Thursday.
(object of preposition)

Special note: On rare occasions, effect can be a verb, as in: She will effect changes in the system. Can you "hear" the difference between that and, She will affect the outcome?

USAGE TRICKS AND TRAPS

Personal Pronouns: In straight news writing, avoid personal pronouns like our, your and my. Do not, for instance, refer to a city as our city. Say the city. Do not even write about our country; write about the country.

Similarly, avoid addressing the reader directly by the use of you or your. These prohibitions apply to day-to-day stories; often when subject matter requires a more informal tone, the use of such pronouns can be effective and honest. But if used, they must be used consistently.

NOT: One should be careful of what you eat.

Set and Lay: These verbs must be followed by objects -- by things being set or laid.
EXAMPLES: He set the book on the table (but once it is set there, it sits on it.)
She laid the book on the table.

LAY is doubly difficult because 1) it also is the past tense of lie, and 2) it is an irregular verb; therefore you have to remember its changing forms. Its principal parts are:
He lays the book on the table. (present tense)
She laid the book on the table. (past tense)
He was laying the book on the table. (present participle)
She has laid the book on the table. (present participle)

SPELLING WORDS

accommodate
consensus
interrupt
receive

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