AP Style E

AP Style E

1. Either = One or the Other, not both.

   • Right: "There were lions on each side of the door." Wrong: "There were lions on either side of the door"

2. Either or/Neither nor

   • Require a verb that agrees with the nearer subject
     • "Neither they nor he is going. Neither he nor they are going"

3. Ensure: To mean guarantee

   • "steps were taken to ensure accuracy"
   • Insure: For references to insurance
     • "The policy insures his life"
     • Assure: To make sure or give confidence
       • "she assured us the statement was accurate"

4. Entitled: A right to do or have something. DO NOT USE to mean "titled"

   • "she was entitled to the promotion"
   • "The book was titled, 'Gone With the Wind'"

5. Essential/Nonessential clauses

   • Essential = cannot be eliminated without changing the meaning of the sentence.
     • Essential restricts the meaning of the word or phrase that its absence would lead to a substantially different interpretation of what author meant.
       • "Reporters who do not read the Stylebook should not criticize their editors"
       • Who, Whom, That, Which = introduce Essential clauses and refer to INANIMATE OBJECT or animal without name.
         • "He said Monday that the part of the army which suffered severe casualties needs reinforcement."
         • "Which" is only used when "that" appears as a conjunction to introduce another clause in the same sentence.
     • Essential clause MUST NOT be SET OFF by COMMAS.
   • Nonessential = can be eliminated without altering basic meaning of the sentence
     • Nonessential does not restrict the meaning so significantly that its absence would radically alter the author's thoughts.
       • "Reporters, who do not read the Stylebook, should not criticize their editors"
     • MUST be SET OFF by COMMAS

6. Essential/Nonessential phrases

   • Essential = word/group of words critical to reader's understanding of what author had in mind.
     • Nonessential = provides more info about something. Although helpful, reader would be misled if the info were not there.
       • DO USE COMMAS
         • "They ate dinner with their daughter Julie and her husband, David."
         • Don't confuse punctuation rules for Nonessential clauses with the correct punctuation when a nonessential word is used as a descriptive adjective.
           • "Julie and husband Jeff went shopping." VS. "Julie and her husband, Jeff, went shopping"
           • "Company Chairman Henry Ford II made the announcement." VS. "The company chairman, Henry Ford II, made the announcement."
     • DO NOT set off by commas.
       • "We saw the award-wining movie 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'"