Associated Press Stylebook<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nThe reference manuals listed above provide helpful answers to most of the common questions writers have when they are composing correspondence, reports, and articles.\u00a0 Each of these reference manuals has been adopted or recommended by one or more departments at Palomar College and therefore should be available in the bookstore.<\/p>\n
The rules in these manuals will vary slightly, due to traditional or accepted standards of usage in different fields at different times. For example, news releases and newsletters should be written in accordance with the guidelines in the AP Stylebook<\/span>. For other materials, another style manual may be preferred.\u00a0 The basic principle is to be consistent<\/strong> within each document in applying guidelines which are appropriate to the document being written.<\/p>\nPreferred Grammatical Usage and Common Errors<\/h2>\nApostrophes have three uses:<\/h3>\n\n- Use an apostrophe (‘) to show possession:\n
\n- John’s hat, students’ books.\u00a0<\/em>If the word is plural and already ends with s<\/em>, just add an apostrophe.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Use an apostrophe to show a contraction:\n
\n- We’re going, she’s coming.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Use an apostrophe to show the plural form of a letter or number: A’s, 3’s<\/em>.<\/li>\n
- Do not<\/span> use an apostrophe to show the plural form of a proper noun.\u00a0(See “Plurals” below.)<\/li>\n
- Do not<\/span> use an apostrophe in a pronoun that is already in possessive form:\n
\n- Examples: his, hers, ours, theirs, yours, and its.<\/em>\u00a0(If you don’t mean it is<\/em>, use its<\/em> without<\/span> the apostrophe.\u00a0 See “Contractions.”)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Capitalization:<\/h3>\n\n- Basic rule: capitalize only when there is a reason to do so.<\/li>\n
- Capitalize the names of people, localities, days of the week, and months.<\/li>\n
- Capitalize public holidays, brand names, and the names of specific events.\n
\n- Examples: Fourth of July, Kleenex, Battle of Gettysburg<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- In titles, capitalize the first word, major words, and words of six or more letters.<\/li>\n
- Capitalize Palomar, Palomar College, Palomar Community College District<\/em>.<\/li>\n
- Capitalize College<\/em> or District<\/em> or Governing Board<\/em> when referring to Palomar College, the Palomar Community College District, or the Governing Board of the Palomar Community College District.<\/li>\n
- Capitalize official building names and room names.\n
\n- Examples: Dome, Library, Room P-32, Governing Board Room<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Capitalize titles of individuals only when the title precedes the name.*<\/li>\n
- Capitalize full department and division names, but not individual subjects except when they come from names of countries: Department of History, Economics, and Political Science; faculty members teach history, English as a second language, Spanish, and economics<\/em>.<\/li>\n
- Do not capitalize seasons of the year or entire words.<\/li>\n
- Do not capitalize entire names (or the correct spelling cannot be determined).\u00a0Example: Donna DeYarman<\/em>, not DONNA DEYARMAN<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
*It may be necessary to capitalize certain words in legal documents that otherwise would not be capitalized.\u00a0 Also, it may be necessary for personnel offices to capitalize position titles in job announcements, but in other written documents the position titles may not need to be capitalized.<\/p>\n
Commas:<\/h3>\n\n- Except in newswriting, use a comma before the final “and” in a series.\u00a0Use a comma and a space before but, and, so, yet, or, for<\/em>, and nor<\/em> when they connect two sentences (technically, two independent clauses) into one.\n
\n- Example:\u00a0The bus was late, but Jeff was there on time<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Use a comma after a long introductory part of a sentence.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Contractions:<\/h3>\n\n- Use “it’s” only when the meaning is “it is” and not to show possession.\n
\n- Example: Don’t judge a book by its<\/em> (not it’s) cover<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Use “who’s” only when the meaning is “who is” and not to show possession.\n
\n- Examples: “Who’s there?<\/em>”\u00a0 but “Whose book is that?”<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Numbers:<\/h3>\n\n- If following AP style, spell out numbers below 10.<\/li>\n
- If following Rules of Thum<\/span>b, spell out any number that requires only one or two words; use numerals for numbers requiring three or more words.<\/li>\n
- Spell out numbers that begin a sentence, or re-word the sentence if awkward.<\/li>\n
- Use numerals in dates, page references, addresses, percentages, and money:\n
\n- May 3, 2003; page 2; 7,500 residents; 1140 W. Mission Road; $5.98<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Spell out fractions, such as one-half<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Plurals:<\/h3>\n\n- Proper nouns: add “s” or “es.”\u00a0 Do not use an apostrophe to form the plural.\n
\n- Examples: Simpsons, Smiths, Joneses<\/em>; not Simpson’s, Smith’s, Jones’<\/em>; \u00a0unless you want to show possession, as in Smiths’ house<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Numbers and letters: use an apostrophe to show plurals, as with 4’s<\/em> and F’s.<\/em><\/li>\n
- The word data<\/em> is the plural form of datum<\/em>.\u00a0 Therefore, the data are<\/em> (not is<\/em>) . . .<\/li>\n
- The word media<\/em> is the plural form of medium<\/em>.\u00a0 Therefore, the media<\/em> are (not is<\/em>) . .<\/li>\n
- The plural form of alumnus<\/em> (male) is alumni<\/em>. The plural form of alumna<\/em> (female) is alumnae<\/em>.\n
\n- Use alumni<\/em> for a group with males and females.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Criteria<\/em> is the plural form of criterion<\/em>.\u00a0 Therefore, the criteria are<\/em> (not is<\/em>)<\/li>\n
- To determine whether to start a sentence with “There is” or “There are,” look or think ahead to determine whether the subject is singular or plural.\n
\n- There is<\/em> a major problem<\/em> with this essay.<\/li>\n
- There are<\/em> several problems<\/em> with this essay.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Common nouns: check a standard dictionary when in doubt.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Quotation Marks:<\/h3>\n\n- Use quotation marks around someone’s exact words only.<\/li>\n
- After a quotation, a period or comma goes inside<\/span> the quotation marks.<\/li>\n
- If the sentence continues after a quotation followed by a semicolon, the\u00a0 semicolon goes outside<\/span> the quotation marks.\u00a0 Example: Huck Finn said, “It’s lovely to live on a raft”; however, the raft drifted him into trouble<\/em>.<\/li>\n
- Do not use quotation marks around slang.\u00a0Either use the word without quotation marks or find a better word.<\/li>\n
- For quotations within a quotation, use single quotation marks.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Spelling and Word Usage:<\/h3>\n\n- When referring to the Howard Brubeck Theatre, spell it that way.\u00a0Use “theatre” and not “theater.”\u00a0 It’s a tradition at Palomar to do so.<\/li>\n
- Use “and” instead of “&.\u201d\u00a0 Use “&” only when it is part of a formal name.<\/li>\n
- Use “\/” sparingly, as in his\/her<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0 The slash means “or,” not “and.”<\/li>\n
- Affect<\/em>, the verb, means to change or influence.<\/li>\n
- Effect<\/em>, the noun, is the result, the consequence.<\/li>\n
- Effect<\/em>, the verb, means to bring about, as to effect change<\/em>.\u00a0 Not used often.<\/li>\n
- A lot<\/em> is always supposed to be written as two words.<\/li>\n
- Already<\/em> is one word, but all right<\/em> is always two words.\u00a0 Do not use alright<\/em>.<\/li>\n
- Appraise<\/em> means to evaluate, as to appraise a house’s value.<\/li>\n
- Apprise<\/em> means to inform, to make someone aware of a situation.<\/li>\n
- Lay<\/em> or laying<\/em> means to put something down.\u00a0I lay<\/em> the book on the table.\u00a0A hen lays<\/em> eggs.\u00a0The bricklayer is laying<\/em> bricks.<\/li>\n
- Lie<\/em> or lying<\/em> means to recline or to remain at rest.\u00a0The book lies<\/em> on the table.\u00a0Students are lying<\/em> on the beach.<\/li>\n
- Where it becomes confusing:\n
\n- The past tense of lie<\/em> is lay<\/em>.\u00a0 Yesterday the book lay<\/em> on the table all day.<\/li>\n
- The past tense of lay<\/em> is laid<\/em>.\u00a0 Yesterday he laid<\/em> the book on the table.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Use fewer<\/em> when there are countable items; use less<\/em> when not countable.\n
\n- We had fewer<\/em> students last year with less<\/em> confusion, less<\/em> water.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Use number<\/em> when there are countable items; use amount<\/em> when not countable.\n
\n- A large number<\/em> of students attended; the amount<\/em> of noise was great.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Stationary<\/em> means fixed, not moving; stationery<\/em> means envelopes and paper.<\/li>\n
- If something or someone is unique<\/em>, it is different from any other.\u00a0 Thus it is\u00a0incorrect and illogical to use the terms more unique<\/em> or less unique<\/em>.<\/li>\n
- Like<\/em> is a preposition or a verb, depending on its usage.\u00a0 It is not a conjunction.\n
\n- It looks as though<\/em> (not like<\/em>) he studied all night.\u00a0 It seemed like<\/em> daytime.<\/li>\n
- Do you like<\/em> college?\u00a0 Avoid: \u201cI like really enjoy college<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 (Take the like<\/em> out.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Valuable<\/em> describes something with value, even great value.\u00a0 Invaluable<\/em> describes something or someone with such great value that it cannot be measured. Thus the opposite of valuable<\/em> is not valuable<\/em>, rather than invaluable<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Topics Specific to Palomar College<\/h2>\nAbbreviations:<\/h3>\n\n- General rule: avoid abbreviations, except for words that are always abbreviated.\n
\n- For example, do not use: dept.<\/em>, gov’t.<\/em>, w\/o<\/em>, Thurs.<\/em>, thru<\/em>, or yr<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Do not use “PC” for Palomar College.\u00a0 “PC” has many other meanings.<\/li>\n
- Spell out names the first time they appear in a document.\u00a0 You may wish to put the abbreviation in parentheses after the name and use the abbreviation thereafter.<\/li>\n
- Preferred abbreviations and official department or office titles:\n
\n- AIS<\/strong>: American Indian Studies<\/li>\n
- ASG<\/strong>: Associated Student Government<\/li>\n
- ASL<\/strong>: American Sign Language<\/li>\n
- BOGW<\/strong>: Board of Governors Waiver (of enrollment fee)<\/li>\n
- CalWORKs<\/strong>: California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids<\/li>\n
- CCE\/AFT<\/strong>: Council of Classified Employees\/American Federation of Teachers\u00a0(union of classified employees)<\/li>\n
- CSIT<\/strong>: Computer Science and Information Technology\u00a0(not IS; see below)<\/li>\n