6 AP style mistakes to stop making now

Even for native speakers, English is a confusing written language with a million exceptions to every rule. When you layer on the specific demands of AP Style, used in most professional communications, things can get downright maddening.

After years of editing both reporters and comms pros, these are some of the most commonly repeated AP Style mistakes I see day in and day out. If you’re making these mistakes, don’t beat yourself up. This stuff is confusing. But here’s how to do it by the book:

There’s usually no Oxford comma in AP Style

For a simple sentence, like “PR Daily is the best, coolest and smartest resource,” there is no comma before the last item in the list. That’s proper AP Style. There are exceptions when sentences are more complicated, which you can read about here.

You’re capitalizing too much

A job title is only capitalized if it comes before a name: Executive Editor Allison Carter, but Allison Carter is executive editor. Likewise, departments are only capitalized when part of a formal title: The PR Daily Editorial Department, but just the editorial department in a more casual reference.