Ukraine, not “the Ukraine.” Use the country’s name without the article: Russian strikes hit Ukraine’s power grid again Monday. apnews.com/article/b041f78e5…

We have two more live sessions to go in this fall's AP Stylebook Workshop 201. Sign up today and you can join us today at 2 p.m. EDT for our next webinar, then you can go back and watch the two previous sessions at your convenience. You'll have access to all the course resources through January. AP Stylebook Workshop 201: Refine Your Content covers the big-picture questions of how to improve your writing and editing to make your copy clear and compelling. store.stylebooks.com/ap-styl…

Be specific when possible. Shiyazh Pete is a member of the Navajo Nation, not only a “Native athlete.” apnews.com/article/indigenou…

Building a watch list? Abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. with a specific date: Oct. 16. Spell out October when it stands alone or appears with only a year. apnews.com/article/00be8937c…

The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences is distinct from the five Nobel Prizes established under Alfred Nobel’s will. apnews.com/article/96f32f1aa…

Market math, AP style: Pair a numeral with the % sign, with no space: 0.1%, 1%. Use words in casual expressions, such as a zero percent chance. This reflects a change we made in 2019, from spelling out “percent” to using the percent sign. apnews.com/article/a9a26b970…

It’s not too late to join the AP Stylebook Workshop 201: Refine Your Content. We kicked off with the first live webinar last week, but there are three more to come. You get access to all the online classroom materials, plus AP Stylebook Online and AP Stylebook Study Guides, through the end of January. See you at 2 p.m. EDT today! store.stylebooks.com/ap-styl…

An epidemic is the rapid spreading of disease in a certain population or region. A pandemic is an epidemic that has spread more widely, usually to multiple countries or continents, affecting a large number of people. Endemic as an adjective refers to the constant presence of a disease. For example, malaria is endemic in some tropical regions. Endemic diseases can sometimes become epidemics if the number of cases jump above what's normally expected. Follow declarations of public health officials in terminology. apnews.com/article/32ccde1e7…

One of the fun parts of working on the AP Stylebook team is that when The New York Times runs an article about @MerriamWebster's definition of biweekly and bimonthly, we can message dictionary editor Peter Sokolowski about it. If you want to chat with Peter about all things dictionary, sign up for the AP Stylebook Workshop. Peter is our guest speaker for Week 2, coming up Wednesday at 2 p.m. EDT. nytimes.com/2026/10/08/magaz…

The search for the next United Nations secretary-general is underway. In body copy, use periods in U.N. Headlines generally omit periods in abbreviations: UN. AP style says underway is one word with no hyphen in all uses. apnews.com/article/49faf5302…

Capitalize West Coast when referring to the U.S. region. Lowercase “coast” for the physical shoreline or a smaller area: erosion along the California coast. apnews.com/article/52246a73e…

The forecast called for triple-digit heat at the Braves-Dodgers opener. And if you need the past tense of forecast, it’s forecast, not forecasted. apnews.com/article/55fc55769…

The first live session of AP Stylebook Workshop 201: Refine Your Content is today. Join us to dig in on the big-picture questions of how to improve your writing and editing to make your copy clear and compelling. Hurry and sign up. We kick off at 2 p.m. EST. store.stylebooks.com/ap-styl…

Paramount has closed its $81B takeover of Warner Bros. The AP Stylebook’s entry on mergers can help you determine the difference between a merger and a takeover. apnews.com/article/warner-br…

If you're an editor, you probably get tired of people assuming all you do is add or cross out hyphens with your red pen all day. A good editor does so much more to get ideas across clearly. AP Stylebook Workshop 201: Refine Your Content will help you help that text sing. This four-part course will cover the big-picture questions of how to improve your writing and editing to make your copy clear and compelling. Our first live session is Wednesday so sign up now: store.stylebooks.com/ap-styl…

If you haven't finished the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle from Sept. 6, we might be able to give you a hint on the 4 down clue: Newsroom writing standard, in brief. Seven letters, it starts with AP.

If you are writing about Hurricanes Nolo or Polo, or Tropical Storm Hanna, call the storm it, not he or she. AP style uses “it” for nations, ships, storms and voice assistants, except in direct quotations. apnews.com/climate-and-envir…

Our free e-newsletter went out this week to over 100,000 recipients. If you aren't getting it yet, it's fast and easy to sign up. Don't miss out on AP style tips, product news, event announcements and more. And yes, "over." We said what we said. apstylebook.com/newsletter

Capitalize Coach when the word substitutes for a name: Thanks, Coach. Lowercase it in a job description: the Giants coach. apnews.com/article/vikings-g…

On Sept. 28, 1928, Alexander Fleming made a historic discovery: penicillin. Use the article “a” before consonant sounds: a historic event, a one-year term (sounds as if it begins with a w), a united stand (sounds like you). Use the article “an” before vowel sounds: an energy crisis, an honorable man (the h is silent), an NBA record (sounds like it begins with the letter e. apnews.com/article/7338203cb…