AP Style checker

Paste a news story, press release or blog post. The checker marks numbers, dates, times, titles, place names and punctuation that break Associated Press style, and fixes the clear-cut ones.

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AP Stylebook · current Stylebook

The city council voted 5-2 on Tuesday, September 12th¹ to approve a new budget of 4.5 million dollars² for road repairs. Mayor Linda Ortiz said the plan would fix roughly twelve³ percent of the city's streets by 2026. Ms. ⁴Ortiz told reporters at 3:00 PM⁵ that residents from Springfield, IL⁶ had complained for years. The plan includes new sidewalks, bike lanes, and lighting⁷. A seven-year-old⁸ girl was injured on Oak Street last year, according to police. Details are posted on the city's web site⁹ and residents can send questions by e-mail¹⁰--¹¹the council will review them at 12 noon¹² on Oct. 3.

95 words · 6 sentences · 22 AP rules checked

1errors

11warnings

0notes

1
Ordinal suffix in a date
“September 12th” → “September 12”
Write March 3, not March 3rd.
2
Amount written with “dollars”
“4.5 million dollars” → “$4.5 million”
AP uses the $ sign with figures: $5, $1.5 million.
3
Spelled-out number 10 or above
“twelve” → “12”
AP uses figures for 10 and above.
4
Courtesy title
“Ms. ”
AP does not use Mr., Mrs., Ms. or Miss except in direct quotations; use the surname on second reference.
5
Time format
“3:00 PM” → “3 p.m.”
AP writes times as 9 a.m. or 3:30 p.m.: lowercase with periods, no :00.
6
Postal code in running text
“Springfield, IL”
AP spells out state names in the body of a story (postal codes are for addresses).
7
Serial comma in a simple series
“sidewalks, bike lanes, and lighting” → “sidewalks, bike lanes and lighting”
AP omits the comma before the conjunction in a simple series (keep it only if the series is complex or ambiguous).
8
Age spelled out
“seven-year-old” → “7-year-old”
AP always uses figures for ages: a 5-year-old.
9
Non-AP spelling
“web site” → “website”
AP writes email, website, internet (lowercase), OK, cellphone.
10
Non-AP spelling
“e-mail” → “email”
AP writes email, website, internet (lowercase), OK, cellphone.
11
Double hyphen as a dash
“--” → “—”
Use a true em dash (—). APA, MLA and Chicago close it up; AP puts a space on each side.
12
Redundant “12”
“12 noon” → “noon”
AP writes “noon” and “midnight” alone.

AI style review

A second read by an AI editor briefed on AP Stylebook: judgment calls the rules can’t make, such as clarity, bias-free wording and citation placement.

The AP rules that trip people up most

The AP Stylebook is built for speed and consistency across thousands of newsrooms. Its rules are short and absolute, which makes them easy to check and easy to forget under deadline.

Numbers

Spell out one through nine; use figures for 10 and above. Ages are always figures (“a 7-year-old”), as are percentages with the % sign (“12%”), dollar amounts with $ (“$4.5 million”), dimensions and dates.

Dates and times

Abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. only with a specific date, and never add “th” or “rd”: “Sept. 12”. Times are “3 p.m.” or “3:30 p.m.”, lowercase with periods and no “:00”. Write “noon” and “midnight”, not “12 noon”.

Names, titles and places

Use a full name on first reference and the surname alone after that; no Mr., Ms. or Mrs. outside direct quotes. In body copy, spell out state names when they stand alone or follow a city (“Springfield, Illinois”); postal codes such as IL are for full addresses only.

Punctuation

No Oxford comma in a simple series, a space on both sides of an em dash, and one space after a period. For capitalising headlines, use the title case converter set to AP.

What this checker looks for

Every AP rule the engine applies, grouped as a copy editor would.

Mechanics

Two spaces after punctuation. All four guides now use one space after a full stop or other punctuation.
Space before punctuation. Punctuation attaches to the preceding word in English.
Repeated word. The same word appears twice in a row, usually a typing slip.
Abbreviation missing periods. Write “e.g.” and “i.e.” with periods in US styles.
Double hyphen as a dash. Use a true em dash (—). APA, MLA and Chicago close it up; AP puts a space on each side.
Closed em dash. AP puts a space on both sides of an em dash.

Citations

Malformed “et al.”. “et” is a whole Latin word (no period); “al.” is an abbreviation (period required).

Bias-free language

Outdated or biased term. Current style guides recommend neutral, person-first or specific wording.

Punctuation

Serial comma in a simple series. AP omits the comma before the conjunction in a simple series (keep it only if the series is complex or ambiguous).

Word choice

British variant. American usage prefers toward, afterward, among, while.
Non-AP spelling. AP writes email, website, internet (lowercase), OK, cellphone.

Numbers

Spelled-out number 10 or above. AP uses figures for 10 and above.
Figure below 10. AP spells out one through nine (ages, percentages, dimensions, dates and money stay figures).
Age spelled out. AP always uses figures for ages: a 5-year-old.
“percent” after a figure. Since 2019 AP uses the % sign with figures: 5%.
Amount written with “dollars”. AP uses the $ sign with figures: $5, $1.5 million.

Dates & times

Month not abbreviated with a date. AP abbreviates Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. when used with a specific date.
Ordinal suffix in a date. Write March 3, not March 3rd.
Time format. AP writes times as 9 a.m. or 3:30 p.m.: lowercase with periods, no :00.
Redundant “12”. AP writes “noon” and “midnight” alone.

Names & titles

Courtesy title. AP does not use Mr., Mrs., Ms. or Miss except in direct quotations; use the surname on second reference.
Postal code in running text. AP spells out state names in the body of a story (postal codes are for addresses).

Questions

What does the AP Style checker check?

Numbers (words for one to nine, figures for 10 and up, figures for ages and percentages), the % sign, month abbreviations with dates, times (3:30 p.m.), noon and midnight, courtesy titles, state postal codes in body copy, the serial comma, spaced em dashes, dollar amounts and AP spellings such as email, website, internet and OK.

Does AP Style use the Oxford comma?

No, not in a simple series: “red, white and blue.” AP adds the comma only when a series is complex or would be ambiguous without it.

How does AP write percentages?

Since 2019, AP uses the % sign with a figure and no space: 5%, 12.5%. Spell out “percent” only in casual uses without a number.

Which months does AP abbreviate?

With a specific date, AP abbreviates Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. March, April, May, June and July are always spelled out. Without a date, spell every month out: “in September”.

Is AP Style used for academic papers?

Rarely. AP is for journalism, public relations and corporate communication. Academic papers use APA, MLA or Chicago, which also have citation systems that AP lacks.