Anyone who has written a paper for an assignment or a research project knows that certain subjects require certain writing styles. A research paper on a topic in psychology, for example, is typically written with American Psychological Association style (APA) style, while another essay analyzing the characters in Mark Twain’s novels is more likely to be written in Modern Language Association style (MLA). Books, for their part, are most often written following the Chicago Manual of Style. Each style has specific parameters and expectations, depending on the subject or content.
What happens, then, when you move on from academic papers to the professional world and must adapt to a new writing style? How do you choose between the various styles you became familiar with during high school or university, and which one is the “correct” one: APA, MLA, Chicago, or something else entirely? The answer, typically, is AP style (no, not APA, though the many abbreviations can get confusing). Associated Press, or AP, style is what is used by journalists, newspapers, and magazines, whether that be for an article, or an advertisement featured on page or in a website’s sidebar.
AP Style and what you stand to gain from it
Those that have no desire to add another writing style to their repertoire and consider themselves more of an “ideas person” likely wish they could leave the actual copy to the real writers and carry on by coming up with the best new thing. However, knowing AP style can be useful for several reasons, including writing a professional email, posting a blog (hello, fourth wall!), writing a brief article on an experience to share on social media, and more. (For example, this entire article is written in AP style.)
Those immersed in professional writing––especially writers, marketers, and journalists–– are likely so used to how they write that they may not even be conscious of what style they use. Usually, AP style is the prominent writing style for these professions and knowing how to write is an incredibly valuable skill to have, regardless of your experience. If you write in any capacity, knowing AP style (among other styles) will be integral to promoting and developing your skillset.
AP Style does seem useful. How does it work?
So, what makes AP style distinct? For one, numbers 10 and higher should be written in numerical form, while one through nine are written out (with some exceptions, like years). Some proper nouns like cities and states should be capitalized, but other things can be abbreviated (e.g., Orlando, Fla., John Smith, Ph.D., etc.). Additionally, punctuation should go inside of quotations, and acronyms like APA should first be spelled out and then can be abbreviated in every instance after. Once these basic rules are highlighted, it is far simpler to recognize them in writing, both in your own and in others’. For a better understanding of what AP style looks like, you can review the AP stylebook online.
Knowing different writing styles is a useful skill whether you write professionally or for personal use. Though there is some overlap in the various writing styles, it is critical to know the difference between each one. It will improve your writing and make you sound more authoritative, among other benefits. The next time you write an important email or read a news article, pay attention to the writing style. It may just come in handy to sound like you know what you’re doing!
About the author
Hailey Robinson is a writer and an assistant marketer at Copper Sun Creative. Her blog content relates to marketing, writing, and inventive advertising. Hailey enjoys learning about the next big social media trend and working on creative marketing plans in her free time.