AP Style is an important factor in story telling. It’s a tool to help format and structure articles being put out to the public in a clear and concise way. Since the meaning of words and grammar is constantly changing it is important to understand how to write professionally. How can we continue to do this as times are constantly changing and words are evolving? To begin, there isn’t a wrong way to start, but AP style is mainly used for journalists and editors as well for Public Relations to put out to the public in a formal way. The AP Style guidelines will most likely help you to become a credible writer as well as trustworthy to your target audience. Using the AP Style handbook will help you become a confident storyteller and writer for the years to come. It’s important to understand how AP Style is used.
Know Your Audience
Whenever you are writing to the public you have to think about who you are presenting this information to. Are they young adults, children or an older audience? Usually in AP style you should be presenting it in a way that a fourth to sixth grader can fully understand what you are writing. In general a lot of people prefer something that is simple and clear to the point than complex. Making sure what you are putting out is clear and concise is very important.
Establish Purpose
As you are writing specifically in Public Relations you want to think about your goals and targets for your writing. There needs to be a purpose behind what you are writing about and how it will influence your target audience. Will it persuade them and be curious and interested in what you are writing? What are the main goals you want to accomplish with what you are publishing? You’ll need to stay focused with your topic and work through how to succeed with each objective you have given.
Typos and Misspelling
This is one of the most easy and hard ones to forget about but is very important. Typos can sometimes be easy to forget about but if this happens you can lose credibility from your audience. It is important to be on top of this and check for spelling errors and have someone look over your work or even read it out loud. This way you are set up for success instead of missing unnecessary mistakes that could be prevented in the near future.
Bias and Stereotypes
One of the main topics and categories to be careful with and avoid is bias and stereotypes. If you are researching specific information, having clear evidence can help you have higher credibility in your paper. Making sure it isn’t coming from one particular place and opinion is very important. Be sure to check where you are finding specific evidence and research helpful to look into.
Run On Sentences
As spelling and errors are important you must be aware of run on sentences. This is another important form of writing guidelines that should be avoided. Run on sentences can be really hard to not do, but they help prevent the audience from feeling less engaged with what they are reading. As you are writing, think about how many words you are putting in each of your sentences. Make sure to look them over and proofread them out loud or with someone else.
Capitalization
One of the final key points in AP Style writing to keep in mind is capitalization. Most people think that when it comes to titles and specific words and names they must capitalize it. Usually that isn’t the case and you must be aware of when to capitalize and not to. For example only capitalize if it is a proper noun or the unique identification for a specific person, place or thing. (John, Fatima, Mexico and England)
AP Style has many different key elements and points to consider. These are just a few main parts of writing in AP Style as a Public Relations writer. Being able to understand and apply these habits to your writing will help you learn and grow as a writer and be more confident in your own writing skills.
