AP style guide 2026: the 25 rules writers get wrong most

This page is the hub for our AP style and news-writing guides. It covers the 25 rules editors fix most often, every major change since 2011 with its date, and how AP now handles artificial intelligence. For the full numbers rules, see the AP style numbers, dates and times cheat sheet.

What AP style is and who uses it

The Associated Press has published its Stylebook since 1953. Newsrooms, wire services, PR agencies and corporate communications teams use it so copy from many writers reads as one voice.

AP style favors short forms that save space: "Gov." before a name, "5%," "Jan. 5." Book publishers use the Chicago Manual of Style, which runs the other way on most of these points; see AP vs. Chicago style.

The 25 AP style rules writers get wrong most

Each row gives the rule, a typical mistake and the AP form. Examples are invented.

One "fix" that is no longer a fix: since March 2014, "over" and "more than" are both correct with numbers, as are "under" and "less than." Use "more than" only where "over" could be read as position.

AP punctuation rules

The Oxford comma in AP style

The Oxford comma (also called the serial comma) is the comma before the final "and" or "or" in a list of three or more items. AP style leaves it out of a simple series and puts it in when the series needs it.

Dashes, hyphens and ellipses

• Em dash: a space on both sides in AP style ( — ). Use it for an abrupt change, a series inside a phrase, or before an attribution in a pull quote. Chicago closes the space up; AP does not.
• Hyphen in compound modifiers: hyphenate a compound before a noun when it prevents confusion ("small-business owner" is not a small owner). In 2019 AP said a hyphen isn't needed when a compound is commonly read as one unit and the meaning is clear, such as "third grade teacher" or "chocolate chip cookie." Never hyphenate after an -ly adverb.
• Ellipsis: treat it as a three-letter word: three periods, no spaces between them, and a space on each side ( ... ). In a quote, an ellipsis marks omitted words. Never use one to change the meaning of what someone said.

Quotation marks

Periods and commas always go inside the closing quotation mark; question marks go inside only when they belong to the quote; colons and semicolons go outside. Use single quotation marks for a quote within a quote and in headlines.

Bulleted lists (changed in 2026)

Short-phrase bullets still take no period. Since the 58th edition, a bullet may also take a period when it forms a complete sentence together with the introduction before the colon.

Titles and names in AP style

Job titles

Capitalize a formal title only when it comes directly before a name. Lowercase it after a name, set off by commas, or standing alone.

Abbreviate Gov., Lt. Gov., Rep., Sen., the Rev. and military ranks such as Gen. and Sgt. before a full name outside quotes. Spell out "president" and "attorney general." Occupational titles ("astronaut," "coach") stay lowercase even before a name.

Courtesy titles and second reference

AP uses a person's full name on first reference and the last name alone after that. It doesn't use Mr., Mrs., Miss or Ms. except in direct quotes or when you need to tell apart two people with the same last name (then use first and last name).

"Dr." in AP style

Use "Dr." on first reference before the name of someone with a medical degree, such as a physician, dentist or veterinarian, and state the specialty. "Dr." may also be used for someone with another doctorate, such as a Ph.D., when it fits the context, but readers link the title to physicians, so say what the doctorate is in. On later references, use the last name only: "Dr. Sam Lee, a pediatrician at County General, said ... Lee added."

Numbers, dates, times, percentages and money cause more AP corrections than anything else, so they have their own cheat sheet with every exception in one table.

Places: states, cities and datelines

Since May 1, 2014, AP spells out state names in the body of a story. Before that, it used its own abbreviations (Calif., Ill., Tenn.) in text. The abbreviations remain for datelines, photo captions, lists and tables, and short party affiliations (D-Ill.).

• Never abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, Utah.
• No postal codes: AP uses "Calif.," not "CA," except in a full mailing address.
• Standalone cities: about 30 major U.S. cities need no state in datelines or stories, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington.
• Datelines: city in capitals, then the state abbreviation if needed, then a dash: "TOLEDO, Ohio —" or "DENVER —".

The full state abbreviation table is in the numbers and dates cheat sheet.

Composition titles: books, movies, songs and games

AP puts quotation marks around the titles of books, movies, plays, poems, albums, songs, operas, TV shows, lectures, speeches and works of art. It doesn't use italics. The 2026 edition confirms that video games are treated the same way as books and movies.

• Capitalize the principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters: "Gone With the Wind," "A Tale of Two Cities."
• No quotation marks for the Bible and other holy books, reference books (almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks), catalogs, newspapers, magazines or software names.

Wrong: She reviewed Dune: Part Two for "The Atlantic." Right: She reviewed "Dune: Part Two" for The Atlantic.

Words AP has ruled on

The entries people look up most, with the year of the change where AP changed its mind.

AP style for artificial intelligence

AP added a set of 10 entries on artificial intelligence on Aug. 16, 2023, alongside its newsroom standards for generative AI. The 58th edition (2026) expanded them into a fuller chapter. The rules writers need most:

Wrong: The AI decided she wanted to rewrite the lead. Right: The artificial intelligence tool produced a new lead. Editors rejected it.

AP's newsroom standards are separate from the Stylebook entries but matter to any writer using these tools. In 2023 AP said its journalists may experiment with generative AI but do not use it to create publishable content, and that any AI output should be treated as unvetted source material. AP also doesn't use generative AI to add or remove elements in its photos, video or audio.

Recent AP style changes, by year

A cheat sheet from before 2019 still says "percent"; one from before 2026 still says "health care." Check the date on any reference you use.

How to check your copy for AP style

No spellchecker knows these rules. Use three passes:

1. Search pass. Search the draft for the patterns that cause most errors: % and "percent," :00, "AM" and "PM," ", and" before the last item of a list, every month name, two-letter state codes, "Mr." and "Mrs.," "health care," "e-mail" and "okay."
2. Tool pass. Run a dedicated AP checker or an AI prompt built for AP style. We compare the options, and give you a prompt you can paste, in AP style checkers compared.
3. Human pass. Read for the rules tools miss: titles before and after names, composition titles, datelines, second references and quotes. These depend on context.

Headlines follow their own AP rules (sentence case, numerals, single quotes). See how to write a headline.

Using WriteOrbit as your second pass

WriteOrbit doesn't have an AP style rule engine, and it won't flag "Jan. 15" against "January 15" on its own. What it does give a reporter and copy editor:

• Proofreading and tone review. The AI review checks grammar, consistency and tone and leaves each issue as a comment in the text, so you accept or reject it line by line.
• Suggestions (tracked changes) between writer and editor. The copy editor makes AP fixes as suggestions; the writer sees each change and why. Version history keeps the filed draft.
• AI chat beside the draft. Paste the AP checking prompt from our checker comparison into the chat and ask it to list every AP issue with the rule it breaks. Treat the list as a set of leads to check against the Stylebook, not as rulings.

The free plan includes the full editor and a few AI review checks a day; see pricing for current limits.

AP style cheat sheet (copy and print)

AP STYLE CHEAT SHEET (58th edition, 2026)

COMMAS     red, white and blue (no Oxford comma in a simple series)
NUMBERS    one to nine in words; 10 and up in figures
           Start a sentence with words: "Twenty people ..."
ALWAYS     ages (a 5-year-old), 5%, $5, $3 million, 6 feet, 7 mph,
FIGURES    3:30 p.m., No. 1, scores (21-17)
DATES      Jan. Feb. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. + date
           March April May June July always spelled out
           Nov. 6, 2026 | November 2026 | the 1990s | the '90s
TIMES      10 a.m. | 3:30 p.m. | noon | midnight
STATES     Spell out in stories; AP abbreviations in datelines
           Never abbreviate: Alaska Hawaii Idaho Iowa Maine Ohio Texas Utah
TITLES     Gov. Ana Ruiz | Ana Ruiz, governor of Utah | the governor
           No Mr./Mrs./Ms. | last name on second reference
WORKS      "Book Title" "Movie Title" "Song Title" (quotes, no italics)
DASH       word — word (spaces) | ELLIPSIS word ... word
WORDS      healthcare | email | internet | website | cellphone | OK
           toward | nonprofit | all right
AI         artificial intelligence on first reference, AI after
           no "thinks/wants" | no he/she for AI systems

The rest of the AP style and news writing series

• AP style numbers, dates, times and percent
• AP style checkers compared
• AP vs. Chicago style
• How to write a headline
• The inverted pyramid
• How to write a news article
• How to write a press release in AP style
• Interview transcription

FAQ

Does AP style use the Oxford comma?

Not in a simple series. AP style writes "red, white and blue" with no comma before the conjunction. AP does use the comma before the final "and" or "or" in a complex series, when an item already contains a conjunction ("toast, and ham and eggs"), and whenever leaving it out would make the meaning unclear.

Is AP style the same as journalism style?

Mostly, in the United States. AP style is the set of writing and editing rules published by The Associated Press in the AP Stylebook, the standard reference for U.S. news writing. Many newspapers, broadcasters and PR teams follow it, but large outlets such as The New York Times keep their own stylebooks, and most newsrooms add a local house style on top of AP.

How often does AP style change?

Continuously online and every two years in print. AP Stylebook Online is updated through the year, and AP announces its biggest changes each spring at the ACES editors' conference. The 57th edition came out in 2024 and the 58th edition in May 2026. Words not in the Stylebook follow Merriam-Webster, AP's primary dictionary since 2024.

Is it healthcare or health care in AP style?

Healthcare, one word, as of the 58th edition of the AP Stylebook, announced in April 2026. AP editors said usage now heavily favors the one-word form. Earlier editions used two words, health care, so copy edited before 2026 and older cheat sheets still show the old spelling.

How does AP style refer to artificial intelligence?

Spell out artificial intelligence on first reference; AI is fine in headlines and on later references. Avoid language that gives AI systems human traits, such as saying a chatbot thinks or wants, and don't use gendered pronouns for them. If you use hallucination, explain it as a known problem with the technology.

Next step

Start with the rule set that causes the most corrections: numbers. The AP style numbers, dates and times cheat sheet puts every number rule in one table, with a 10-question quiz to check yourself. Then test your copy with the paragraph and prompt in AP style checkers compared.

Sources

1. The Associated Press, AP Stylebook and Ask the Editors: https://www.apstylebook.com/
2. ACES: The Society for Editing, "AP announces Stylebook changes; healthcare tops list" (April 2026): https://aceseditors.org/2026/04/24/ap-announces-stylebook-changes-healthcare-tops-list/
3. Talking Biz News, "AP Stylebook expands artificial intelligence entry" (May 2026): https://talkingbiznews.com/media-news/ap-stylebook-expands-artificial-intelligence-entry/
4. Editor & Publisher, "New AP Stylebook features expanded artificial intelligence chapter": https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/new-ap-stylebook-features-expanded-artificial-intelligence-chapter,261828
5. Nieman Lab, "'Not a replacement of journalists in any way': AP clarifies standards around generative AI" (Aug. 16, 2023): https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/08/not-a-replacement-of-journalists-in-any-way-ap-clarifies-standards-around-generative-ai/
6. Poynter, "AP says the percentage sign is now OK when used with a numeral" (March 29, 2019): https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2019/ap-says-the-percentage-sign-now-ok-when-used-with-a-numeral-thats-shift5/
7. Poynter, "AP's year of freaking out language geeks" (2014: over/more than, state names): https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2014/aps-year-of-freaking-out-language-geeks/
8. PR Daily, "AP makes its (lower)case for internet and web" (2016): https://www.prdaily.com/ap-makes-its-lowercase-for-internet-and-web/
9. Columbia Journalism Review, "AP hyphens guidance update" (2019): https://www.cjr.org/language_corner/ap-hyphens-guidance-update.php
10. ACES, "AP Stylebook announces historic Merriam-Webster collaboration at ACES 2024": https://aceseditors.org/news/2024/ap-sylebook-announces-historic-merriam-webster-collaboration-at-aces-2024-san-diego
11. Vermont Public, "AP changes writing style to capitalize 'b' in Black" (June 2020): https://www.vermontpublic.org/vpr-news/2020-06-22/ap-changes-writing-style-to-capitalize-b-in-black
12. Purdue OWL, "AP Style": https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/journalism_and_journalistic_writing/ap_style.html
13. Hofstra University Style Guide, "AI – Artificial Intelligence" (selected AP entries): https://sites.google.com/hofstra.edu/style-guide/topical-guides/ai-artificial-intelligence