For journalists, the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook is the industry “bible.” They live and die by its grammar and style rules, and most have taken numerous journalism school classes to perfect the art of AP style writing. As such, AP style errors in press releases are glaringly obvious to reporters and could turn them off from considering a press release. But mastering the 500-page book, which is updated every year, can be a daunting task.

Below is a list of the top AP style tips that every PR professional should know and some of the most commonly made mistakes to avoid. Although you should always have an AP Stylebook at your desk, consider this your cheat sheet for quick reference.

Addresses

Only use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd. and St. with a numbered address. Always use figures for a numbered address. Example: His address is 1600 Pike St. He lives on Pike Street.

For street names that are numbers, spell out and capitalize First through Ninth. Use figures with two letters for 10 and above. Example: He lives on Third Avenue. She lives near 10^th and 22^nd streets.

Spell out Interstate on first reference, then abbreviate. Example: She drove down Interstate 5 to get to work. She also took I-5 when she drove home.

Dimensions

When writing about height, weight or other dimensions, use figures and spell out words such as feet, miles, etc. Examples: She is 5-foot-6. He wrote with a 3-inch pencil.

Hyphens

Hyphenate the words that go together when using adjectives to modify words. For example: energy-efficient products, much-anticipated announcements, long-term relationships. 

Words that end in “–ly” are adverbs and should never be hyphenated.

“More Than” Vs. “Over”

Use “more than” when referring to numbers and “over” when referring to spatial elements. For example: We acquired more than 100,000 customers. The cow jumped over the moon.

Numbers

Write out numbers one through nine, and use figures for 10 and above. Spell out a number if it starts a sentence unless it’s a year.