In most cases, however, you should use lowercase federal government according to the chicago manual of style and ap stylebook since the government is composed of multiple branches and is not a singular entity. It sets out writing rules that are different from practices adapted to print in order to support the writing principles for canada. These organizations must follow this style guides requirements for all publicfacing websites and digital services, regardless of the technology, domain name or publishing. It is the indispensable reference for writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers, informing the editorial canon with sound, definitive advice. The canadian style gives concise answers to questions concerning written english in the canadian context. Acronyms are capitalized to show they are acronyms, not because the terms that form them are necessarily. See the airline, airlines entry for its use in carriers names. It also includes useful advice for drafting letters, memos, reports, indexes and bibliographies. Jun 18, 2012 capitalization of words in titles and headings. As a writer following the associated press stylebook, however, i capitalize according to the rules and not peoples egos. Only capitalize the word federal when you are referring specifically to a federal government, e.
Generally speaking, the word federal should be lowercase unless its part of a title or an organizations name federal assistance the federal government federal rules of civil procedure federal trade commission. The requirements apply to departments and other organizations of the federal public administration listed in schedules i, i. Though there is no established rule on writing titles in the complimentary closing of a letter, we recommend capitalizing a persons title when it follows the name on the address or signature line. Apart from nasaspecific terms, follow chicagos down style for words describing but not directly naming entities, such as administration meaning presidential, federal government, state, nation, and so on. If it refers to a governmental body that uses it as part of its name, such as federal trade commission, it would be capitalized. The manual has come to be widely recognized by writers and editors both within and outside the federal government as an important editorial tool. Yes, if the first part of a hyphenated word is capitalized, capitalize the second part too e. Actually, you should capitalize federal only when it is part of a proper noun, that is, the official name of a particular or unique person, place, or thing. Abbreviations abbreviate junior or senior after a name, but dont use a comma. Dont capitalize state when using it as a common noun she visited the new england states last month. Defendant in this action has filed a motion to dismiss. Federal capitalization common errors in english usage and. Several government entities or departments are specifically spelled out in the ap stylebook with their proper capitalization and spelling.
Before sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal government site. It covers such topics as the decimal point, abbreviations, capital letters, punctuation marks, hyphenation, spelling, frequently misused or confused words and canadian geographical names. Capitalize city, county, state and federal when part of a formal name. Consult our word list or refer to ap style if youre not sure whether a term should be capitalized. Sep 25, 2018 ensure that the name of the government author you use in the intext citation matches the name of the author in the reference list entry exactly. Ap compiles us elections style guide associated press. The department prefers bullets, but punctuate them per ap style. When to capitalize peoples titles grammar and punctuation. It is designed for printers of federal government documents and has been adopted by government writers as the authority on matters of style, that is, questions of language that are not black and white but grey. Ap style federal home ap style ap style federal use a capital letter for the architectural style and for corporate or governmental bodies that use the word as part of their formal names. Quizlet flashcards, activities and games help you improve your grades. The manual has come to be widely recognized by writers and editors both within and outside the federal government as an important editorial. Use a capital letter for the architectural style and for corporate or governmental bodies that use the.
Stylebook of the unc hussman school of journalism and. Do not capitalize federal, state, department, division, board. Capitalize all job titles or official titles of federal officials before or after the persons. When should you capitalize geographic regions in the united. When writing about the government of the united states of america there are some basic rules to follow. The guidance encompasses the democratic and republican conventions to nominate presidential candidates. You need to know that federal law bars the lender from accelerating the mortgage on your personal residence because you transferred it to your living revocable trust. To subscribe to the associated press stylebook online, or to find out about purchasing hard copies of. Do you capitalize government and civil rights in the.
The term is acceptable on first reference, but should be explained later in the story. In ap style, magazines names and titles are governed. Capitalization of governmental words grammar and punctuation. Lewis university office of marketing and communications. When used as a proper noun and referring directly to the federal government in its official capacity, then you should capitalize it. Coronavirus topical guide associated press stylebook. Oct 31, 2014 the associated press has compiled a list of u.
The same rule applies to words of fewer than four letters. The first is that using the full united states of america is usually not necessary in most writing. You need to know that federal law bars the lender from accelerating the mortgage on your personal. But in general mention of a course of study, do not capitalize unless it is a proper noun. The first word after a colon unless it begins an independent clause. Ap style is what the general public is accustomed to seeing because it is the official stylebook of the newspaper industry.
Stylebook key this updated and revised version of the associated press stylebook has been organized like a dictionary. Capitalize names of government departments and offices when they are. However, in most contexts it is capitalized only in the titles of agencies like the federal bureau of investigation and. Do not use the long form in one spot and the short form in the other. Abc store acceptable in all references to one of north carolinas staterun liquor stores academic courses capitalize formal class designations. Nij publications adhere to the associated press stylebook, with. Regarding the tax return, if you are writing the name of a specific tax return form, it is considered a proper noun and would be capitalized. Ap stylebook d study guide by reicne9 includes 179 questions covering vocabulary, terms and more. Abbreviations for states use postal service style, rather than ap style. Ap would spell out numerals under 10, even for grade levels. An article on when to capitalize the titles of governments and of government bodies such as departments, agencies, boards, committees and commissions. Writing tips contains concise observations on and examples of english grammar, usage and style problems encountered daily by.
Its just a government, which, like those in all countries, has some official bodies that act and operate in the name of government. There are clear guidelines for capitalizing academic degrees in ap style. Ap style federal use a capital letter for the architectural style and for corporate or governmental bodies that use the word as part of their formal names. Capitalize the full proper names of governmental agencies, departments, and offices. T he board voted on a proposal to renovate the high school. We get this question quite often so here are some rules and guidelines. The government of the united states of americathe american government would be left without capitalizing because you are speaking then in general terms. Colon capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. Do not capitalize when referring to codes generically. The government printing office style manual, gpo for short, is a handbook produced by the united states government publishing office. This semester, he is enrolled in survey of american authors. Some governmental style guidelines call for federal to be capitalized whenever it refers to a function or part of the federal government of the united states. Throughout the judges markup, he changes order to order and motion to motion.
Phrases like income taxes, federal income taxes, and just taxes are always lower case. Plain language along with all federal agencies and departments, epa must. Top 10 ap style guide 2016edits university blog service. May 22, 2016 some governmental style guidelines call for federal to be capitalized whenever it refers to a function or part of the federal government of the united states. Title ix one of the education amendments of 1972 title ix, 20 usc 1681 et seq. When writing about taxes, there are some basic ap style rules you should know about. The associated press stylebook has this entry for federal. Lowercase when used as an adjective to distinguish something from state, county, city, town or private entities. Capitalize government in the middle of the sentence if youre referring to a specific government federal government, state government, etc or if youre referring to a course about government i. In most cases, however, you should use lowercase federal government according to the chicago manual of style and ap stylebook since the. The convention is to lowercase these words when they are used generically to describe a category of actions or papers.
Rules for capitalizing academic degrees in ap style bka. Do capitalize agency and administration when they are short for nasa, because that is. If an article the, a, an is the first or last word in a title, capitalize it. The 2019 edition of the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law includes more than 200 new or revised entries, with chapters covering data journalism, business, fashion, food, religion and sports terms, as well as media law, news values, punctuation, social media, polls and surveys and a new chapter on health and science. If websters provides different spellings in separate entries, use the spelling that is followed by a full definition. So, if you are following ap style, your sentence would be. The internal revenue service may obviously be written as irs. However, the associated press stylebook does not recommend capitalizing city in. Oct 14, 2010 when should you capitalize someones title. Stylebook of the unc hussman school of journalism and media. The 2016 edition of the gpo style manual is the first revision to be issued under gpos new name, u. Capitalize as part of a formal title before a name. Web according to the ap stylebook, capitalize web only when you use world.
Now, if you are using it to refer to how a persons character makeup or societys makeup, always use lowercase letters unless of course its at the beginning of a. So you would only capitalize federal when you use it in the name of a federal agency, an act, or some other proper noun. The word federal when used generically as an adjective would not be capitalized. Writing principles usagov platform style guide usagov.
Retain capitalization in referring to a specific body if the dateline or context makes the name of the nation, state, county, city, etc. May 29, 2008 nor is it when it is referred to as the federal government or the us government or the us federal government. Writing tips contains concise observations on and examples of english grammar, usage and style problems encountered daily by writers. Capitalize county if it is an integral part of a specific bodys name even without the proper noun. Terms and definitions are from the ap stylebook or based on common usage in ap news reports. Writing for the web follows the departments style, which is based on the ap stylebook. Aug, 2012 the associated press has compiled a list of u. The following formal names of specific degrees should always be capitalized in ap style. Ap updates its stylebook to accommodate changes in conventions and usage.
The chicago manual of style online is the venerable, timetested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. Rules from the ap stylebook i recently conducted a workshop for employees in the development office at my university, and since they use associated press ap style, i was asked to include a unit on avoiding common ap errors. Associated press style is to use dashes, not bullets, for lists that follow a colon. Instead, capitalize every word unless it is a preposition that has fewer than five letters of, with, a conjunction and, or, or an article a, an, or the. Shorthand for the formal title of the health care overhaul that former president barack obama signed into law in 2010. Do not capitalize a word or phrase just because you are going to turn it into an acronym, such as cognitive behavior therapy cbt. The ap stylebook holds to the following guidelines. Title ix protects individuals from sexual harassment and acts of sexual. Apr 16, 2011 when writing about taxes, there are some basic ap style rules you should know about. Do you capitalize government and civil rights in the middle. For spelling, style and usage questions not covered in this stylebook, consult websters new world college dictionary, fourth edition.
An exception is that you can introduce an abbreviation for the government agency in the text if you will be referring to it. A style guide for the 2020 elections, based on the ap stylebook and common usage in ap stories. The associated press stylebook ap style suggests capitalizing terms like midwesterner, northerner, southerner, and westerner. Please consult this resource if you have questions. But you may capitalize school board without seattle on second reference to our specific board, as per ap rules for city council. When you reference government directly as its own entity then you would capitalize it. Use the first spelling listed in websters unless a specific exception is listed in this book. These include certain common nouns in the singular when. Like adjectives, the decision to capitalize or lowercase geographic populations in the united states will depend on your style guide. Writing style sba marketing and promotional materials follow the associated press stylebook and briefing on media law, though we do have a few exceptions that are noted in this guide. Since 1894, the gpo style manual has served as a guide to the style and form of federal government printing and publishing. If you are nonspecifically referring to a constitution document, you dont capitalize the word. For example, after the coup, the country will need a new constitution. Capitalize and spell the word out when part of a formal street name.
Seattle school board do not capitalize board on second references, as per ap style. After each bullet, capitalize the first letter and use periods at the end of each item. The associated press stylebook has this entry for federal use a capital letter for the architectural style and for corporate or governmental bodies that use the word as part of their formal names. Also, i have read that the words federal government are capitalized when. Election terminology, writing with context and cliches to avoid are included. Spiralbound book, updated each spring 2019 ap stylebook. All major words in titles including small words, such as is and it. All you need to know about titles in ap style gatehouse. In general, midwesterners are friendly and down to earth. Words such as honors, baccalaureate, masters degree, federal, government and state should not be capitalized unless used as part of an official name or title. Capitalize the second element if it is a proper noun or proper adjective or if it is as important as the first element. Federal capitalization common errors in english usage. Writing style sba brand guide small business administration.
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