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The Book Writers Love To Hate And Hate To Love
The “journalist’s bible” can help you fine-tune your writing, but you have to get past the idea that it’s just for newspaper reporters
Is it “Covid-19” or “COVID-19”? “Antisemitism” or “anti-Semitism”? “Former president Donald Trump” or “former President Donald Trump”?
If you lie awake thinking about questions like these — instead of, say, whether the Browns will win the Super Bowl in your lifetime or Olivia Rodrigo is better than Ariana Grande — The Associated Press Stylebook will help you sleep better. It can also fine-tune your writing.
Some reporters call the AP stylebook “the journalist’s bible.” Others call it “the journalist’s book of Job.” By whatever nickname, this newsroom stalwart gathers in one volume the AP’s rules for grammar, spelling, capitalization, and other writing-related matters (including the questions in the first lines of this article, the answers to which appear at the end).
The 640-page paperback edition has more than 3,000 brief, clear, and alphabetically arranged entries, many on topics not covered by Grammarly, Microsoft Editor, or similar tools. Why should you care about its rules when more than 2,000 newspapers have died since 2000? Isn’t that like feeding insects to…
