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Oct 16, 2018 6 tweets 2 min read Read on X
Happy #DictionaryDay! Today we honor the AP Stylebook's official dictionary, Webster's New World College Dictionary (no relation to Merriam-Webster). AP style: Use the first spelling in Webster's New World College Dictionary unless the Stylebook lists a specific exception. (1/6)
If Webster's New World College Dictionary provides different spellings in separate entries (tee shirt and T-shirt, for example), use the spelling that is followed by a full definition (T-shirt). #DictionaryDay (2/6)
If Webster's New World College Dictionary provides definitions under two spellings for the same sense of a word, either use is acceptable. #DictionaryDay (3/6)
Fun facts: The first edition of Webster's New World College Dictionary was published in 1953. The second edition, in 1970, was the first dictionary to identify Americanisms – terms and usages that first appeared in the U.S. or that were coined by Americans. #DictionaryDay 4/6)
We also consult the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, and Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language (published by Merriam-Webster). (Oxford comma added for clarity.) #DictionaryDay (5/6)
Stylebook Online subscribers have the option to add Webster’s New World College Dictionary entries. Seeing the results in one place is helpful in cases when the AP Stylebook is silent because we’re deferring to a Webster’s New World entry we agree with. #DictionaryDay (6/6)

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More from @APStylebook

Jan 27, 2023
We deleted an earlier tweet because of an inappropriate reference to French people. We did not intend to offend.

Writing French people, French citizens, etc., is good. But "the" terms for any people can sound dehumanizing and imply a monolith rather than diverse individuals.
That is why we recommend avoiding general “the” labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the wealthy, the disabled, the college-educated.
Instead, use wording such as people with mental illnesses or wealthy people.

Use these descriptions only when clearly relevant and that relevance is made clear in the story.

Be specific when possible and relevant, such as people with incomes below the poverty line.
Read 4 tweets
Mar 21, 2022
New on AP Stylebook Online today: Many deaf people who use sign language have a deeply ingrained sense of culture and community built around the experience of deafness and sign language, and use the uppercase form Deaf to signify that culture. (1/4)
The uppercase is acceptable, if used by the person or group, in descriptions such as the cultural Deaf community, Deaf education, Deaf culture, etc. (2/4)
Use deaf lowercase for the audiological condition of total or major hearing loss and for people with total or major hearing loss, when relevant to the story. Hard of hearing can be used to describe people with a lesser degree of hearing loss. (3/4)
Read 4 tweets
Jan 6, 2021
John Daniszewski, AP's standards editor, issued detailed guidance this evening to help AP journalists choose words carefully and wisely around events at the Capitol:
/1
AP style in the event of civil disturbances allows editors and journalists to choose the term that in their judgment best applies.
/2
So far, our main story has spoken of a “chaotic protest aimed at thwarting a peaceful transfer of power,” a “melee” and a “raucous, out-of-control scene.”
/3
Read 9 tweets
Sep 30, 2020
New guidance on AP Stylebook Online:

Use care in deciding which term best applies:
A riot is a wild or violent disturbance of the peace involving a group of people. The term riot suggests uncontrolled chaos and pandemonium. (1/5)
Focusing on rioting and property destruction rather than underlying grievance has been used in the past to stigmatize broad swaths of people protesting against lynching, police brutality or for racial justice, going back to the urban uprisings of the 1960s. (2/5)
Unrest is a vaguer, milder and less emotional term for a condition of angry discontent and protest verging on revolt. (3/5)
Read 5 tweets
Sep 29, 2020
The term misinformation refers to false information that could be mistaken as truth. It can include honest mistakes, exaggerations, and misunderstandings of facts, as well as disinformation, which is misinformation spread intentionally to mislead or confuse. #APStyleChat (1/5)
Misinformation can be transmitted in any medium, including social media, websites, printed materials and broadcast. It includes photography or video and audio recordings that have been created, manipulated or selectively edited. #APStyleChat (2/5)
The term misinformation typically excludes opinions, as well as satire and parody. It does include hoaxes, propaganda and fabricated news stories. #APStyleChat (3/5)
Read 5 tweets
Sep 29, 2020
Election returns are usually outdated as soon as they are published and should therefore be used sparingly in stories/scripts — especially shortly after polls close and the vote count is beginning. #APStyleChat (1/4)
Early returns often do not provide an accurate reflection of the ultimate outcome, especially in states that take days or weeks to count votes cast in advance and provisional ballots. #APStyleChat (2/4)
It is often better to characterize the state of the vote count, rather than report it directly. For example: As of Wednesday morning, Trump was ahead of Clinton by fewer than 20,000 votes in Michigan out of 4.7 million votes counted. #APStyleChat (3/4)
Read 4 tweets

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