A style guide comparing Associated Press style and Chicago style for editors, writers, teachers, students, word nerds, and anyone else who gives a dollar sign, ampersand, exclamation point, and pound sign about style.
Welcome to AP vs. Chicago: A Style Guide for Editors, Writers, and Word Nerds
by Karen Yin
I started AP vs. Chicago to keep track of style and usage according to the popular style guides The Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style.
A copy editor with 20-plus years of experience, I make it my job to keep up with changing styles and the evolution of language (or devolution, as the case may be). Even if my client doesn’t claim allegiance to any style, I will go along with the style they’ve arbitrarily created and shake out the mess of commas, hyphens, capitals, and italics to create a piece that sings with power and clarity. And for websites, advertisements, letters, and résumés, this is what makes what you’re selling shine.
Funny Posts
Compounds Ending with a Preposition or Adverb: Open, Hyphenated, or Solid?
It seems as if I’m always rifling through my reference books to check whether a compound is open, hyphenated, or solid in a particular style.
Apostrophe-S vs. Apostrophe: Forming Possessives of Words Ending in S (or an S Sound)
I’m going to focus on the difference between how The Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style handle possessives for words ending in s or an s sound.
Slashes: Uses and Restrictions
Misunderstood. Abused. Ignored.
No, not me. Well, maybe that, too, but I’m referring to the beleaguered slash . . .
Numbers: Spell Out or Use Numerals? (Number Style 101)
Numbers take up their own planet in the style universe, so let’s explore it one mountain at a time.
Em Dashes and Ellipses: Closed or Spaced Out?
You might be wondering why I’ve paired the em dash with the ellipsis. Doesn’t the em dash usually get grouped with the en dash and the hyphen?
State Abbreviations: Use Traditional or Go Postal?
In this quick guide to state abbreviations, I will cover the differences between AP style and Chicago style . . .
Fun-Free Posts
Styling Text Messages in Fiction
Your protagonist’s phone vibrates. It’s a text from her best friend, but how? He died exactly one year ago in a car crash. The words come into focus.
Wait a second. How should text messages be styled in a manuscript?
Beyond Kerning: How to Proofread Design
If you love catching a zero in place of a capital O, a curly quote in place of a prime, or two single quote marks in place of a double, you can hone your eagle eye by learning to spot flaws in design.
Crafting Citations through Principles, Not Rules: MLA Style, Eighth Edition
As a student of the humanities, I worked with Modern Language Association (MLA) style long before I became aware of the other styles. So it’s big news to me and generations of scholars that the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook, published in April, breaks from a rule…
Staying Ahead of Style Guides
Were you delighted by the ruling on Internet by The Associated Press Stylebook? Effective June 1, 2016, Internet became internet, no longer capitalized. Though many reacted with trepidation, others have desired this change for the last decade or so.
Nine Obscure (but Useful) Recommendations from The Chicago Manual of Style
Reading The Chicago Manual of Style while on deadline is different from curling up with it for a leisurely read. If you haven’t had time for the latter, not to worry. I’ve compiled a list of lesser-known but useful recommendations.
The New York Times Style: Fine Distinctions beyond the Newsroom
Billed as “the official style guide used by the writers and editors of the world’s most authoritative news organization,” the 2015 edition of The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage contains hundreds of changes made since the 2002 edition, increasing i…
