Style, Rhetoric, and Tone (wip)

AP Highlights

The full AP Stylebook contains thousands of detailed entries covering grammar, punctuation, usage, and terminology, but only a small portion of these rules are needed for most writing. In addition to the official Associated Press Stylebook, which comes with a price tag, there are also widely used abbreviated guides and online summaries that provide quick answers for common questions. Also, AI platforms seem to know these rules, although we have not verified their accuracy.

The highlights below summarize some of the most commonly used AP Style conventions. These highlights apply by default; when this guide lists a specific exception to AP (for example, in “Style: General Exceptions to AP”), the exception takes precedence.

Numbers

Rule	Example
Spell out one through nine	three studies
Use numerals for 10 and above	12 participants
Spell out numbers at sentence start	Twenty people attended
Use numerals for ages	5 years old; a 10-year-old child
Use numerals for money	$5; $12.50
Use numerals for percentages	5% (not “five percent”) Use the % symbol with numerals in both body text and headings; avoid spelling out ‘percent’ unless you are quoting a source that does so.
Use numerals for measurements	6 feet tall; 3 miles
Exact numbers use numerals with commas	1,000; 12,400
Large round numbers → use words like million, billion, trillion	10 million, 3 trillion

Dates and Times

See the General Exceptions to AP section below for date exceptions.

Rule	Example
Use numerals for dates (no “st,” “nd,” etc.)	April 4
Do not abbreviate days of the week	Monday
Use lowercase with periods for time	3 p.m.; 11 a.m.
Do not use :00 for exact hours	7 p.m. (not 7:00 p.m.)
Use “noon” and “midnight”	The meeting is at noon

Names and Titles

Rule	Example
Use full name on first reference	Jane Smith
Use last name on second reference	Smith said
Do not use courtesy titles such as Mr., Ms., or Dr.	First reference: Jane Smith. Second reference: Smith said. (Not Ms. Smith or Dr. Smith.)
Capitalize formal titles before a name	President Joe Biden
Lowercase titles after a name	Joe Biden, president
Do not capitalize job descriptions	teacher, coach
Lowercase class years unless starting a sentence	sophomore, junior

Punctuation and Formatting

For rules on commas in lists, see Style: General Exceptions to AP below.

Rule	Example
Use quotation marks for most composition titles	“American Idol”
Do not use quotes for books, magazines, newspapers	Time magazine
Use quotation marks for titles of external articles, reports, webpages, and videos.	“The Holy Grail” “The Current Crisis”
Use commas with attribution	“We agree,” she said.
Capitalize the first word of a full-sentence quote	She said, “We are ready.”
Do not capitalize fragment quotes	He called it “a major step forward.”
Avoid apostrophes for plurals	1970s, ABCs

AP Style Principles

Principle	Description
Concise	Short, direct sentences
Clear	Familiar, everyday wording
Front-loaded	Key information comes first
Consistent	Standardized formatting rules
Readable	Easy to scan and understand quickly

Italics Exceptions to AP

Unlike AP Style, which generally avoids italics, we use italics selectively to improve clarity, structure, and readability—especially in educational and operational content.
AP rules on quotation marks for composition titles still apply by default; the italics rules below are limited to the specific uses we describe. This approach draws on established style guides and also incorporates conventions commonly used in technical writing to improve our operational documentation.

When to Use Italics

Naming Topics, Subtopics, and Structured Elements (Primary Use)

Use italics when referring to Topics, Subtopics, sections, or other labeled elements within the knowledge base. This is especially important in operational documentation, where clarity of structure and hierarchy is essential. Italics distinguish these structural labels from surrounding prose without adding visual clutter, making it easier for readers to recognize when a term refers to a specific part of the system rather than a general concept.

Examples:

• Assign the briefing to Nutrients of Concern under Human Health.
• This appears in the Topics panel under Environment → Water Pollution.

Words as Words / Conceptual Focus

Use italics when referring to a word or phrase as a term, label, or concept rather than using it in its ordinary sense. This helps signal that the reader should understand the word itself as the subject of discussion, which is especially useful when defining terminology or clarifying how a term is being used within the platform.

Examples:

• The term humane washing is often used to describe misleading marketing.
• What do we mean by necessity in this context?

Occasional Clarification of Contrast Categories

Use italics when clarifying distinctions between categories or groups that might otherwise be ambiguous. This is particularly helpful when distinguishing between closely related or easily conflated concepts, as it allows the writer to signal contrast without adding extra wording or disrupting the flow of the sentence.

Examples:

• This applies to humans, not other animals.
• The distinction between plant-based and vegan is important.

Notes and Visually Distinct Callouts

Use italics for text that appears within short notes or callouts that are already visually distinguished from the main content (such as blocks with a non-white background). In these contexts, italics help signal that the text is supplementary, interpretive, or advisory rather than part of the main narrative flow, while maintaining a consistent visual language across the platform.

Example:

Note: The screenshots in this article show how they looked at the time they were taken.

When Not to Use Italics

In Tables

Do not italicize terms that appear alone in a table cell. This rule does not apply when the term is part of a sentence.

Avoid Decorative or Excessive Use

Do not use italics for decoration, stylistic variation, or to add visual interest. Italics should serve a clear functional purpose, and overuse can reduce readability and diminish their effectiveness. If multiple elements in a sentence seem to require italics, the sentence should be rewritten for clarity instead.

Examples:

• Bad: This is a very important point that deserves attention.
• Bad: Animals are sentient beings who deserve moral consideration.
• Bad: This applies to many different situations and should be considered carefully.

Do Not Italicize General Terms or Common Nouns

Do not italicize common nouns or categories when they are used in a general or descriptive sense rather than as specific labeled elements. Words like animals, plants, protein, or categories should remain in standard text unless they are being referenced as defined terms or structural labels.

Examples:

• Bad: Many people choose to avoid eating animals.
• Bad: Plants provide essential nutrients.
• Bad: This diet is rich in protein.

Do Not Default to Italics for External Titles

Do not use italics for titles by default. However, italicize the titles of internal resources (such as briefings, documentation articles, or named sections) when they are referenced as distinct, labeled elements within the platform. This applies not only to headings, but also to label-style prefixes (e.g., “Choices:”, “Moral Framing:”) that introduce examples or categories.

Examples:

• Good (external): According to a study titled “Birds Have Strong Emotions” published in Nature, the findings were significant.
• Bad (external): According to a study titled “Birds Have Strong Emotions” published in Nature, the findings were significant.
• Good (internal): Advocacy Identity: Instead of “Animal rights advocates believe this is unjust,” write “These practices raise ethical concerns about how animals are treated.”
• Good (internal): See Presenting Evidence for citation guidelines.
• Good (internal): This is covered in the Style, Language, Framing, and Tone article.

General Exceptions to AP

The following are rules to follow, which are exceptions to the AP Style Guide:

• Title Case Versus Sentence Case
  • • If the heading is a complete sentence, use sentence case.
  • • If the heading is not a complete sentence, use title case.
• Dates
  • Year. Include the year in every written date, even when AP would allow omitting it (for example, dates in the current calendar year).
  • Month. Do not abbreviate month names (AP allows abbreviating the month if in a date).
  • Day. The day of the week may be omitted when mentioning a date if it does not add meaningful clarity or relevance.
• Serial (Oxford) Comma. In lists of three or more items, always use the serial (Oxford) comma, even though standard AP omits it in simple series.
  • Example: This applies to humans, other animals, and the environment.
• Fold Expressions. Use spelled-out, closed compounds such as fivefold, threefold, etc., rather than hyphenated numeral forms (e.g., not 5-fold, 3-fold), as this is more readable and consistent with natural usage.
• Citations. Going forward, we will use Chicago-style footnotes with two modifications:
  • Each note repeats the full citation instead of using shortened forms such as “ibid.” or “op. cit.”
  • When a source is available online, the title is linked directly rather than listing a separate URL on a new line.
  • The article “Presenting Evidence” defines our citation format and should be treated as the authoritative reference for all citation questions.

Other Terminology

All words, terms, and phrases should be written exactly as depicted below (unless their location within a sentence requires otherwise). Some of these conflict with and override AP rules, but we think they are more readable or animal-friendly.

A few terms (such as ideological labels) are included here mainly to ensure consistent spelling when necessary; see Framing: Avoiding Identity Framing for guidance on when to use them.

Word or Phrase	Notes
show/hide panel	NOT accordion, collapsible…, expandable…
copy and paste	NOT copy-paste, copy/paste
fact-check (ing, ed): modifier	The fact-checking team was awesome.
fact check (ing, ed): verb or standalone	We fact checked the briefing. The report was fact checked. Please fact check this section.
home page	NOT homepage, Home Page, Home page
knowledge base	NOT knowledge-base, knowledgebase