"On" or "about"
What is AP's stance on when these words should be used? Are they considered interchangeable?

This is kind of a nuanced question regarding to-go food and the use of "To Go."

I know if I am using it as an adjective there's a hyphen: To-go food for example.
However, if I'm using it more casually without a noun like "food" or "service" but it's implied do I still hyphenate? Hyphenate looks right to me (less confusing) but please advise. Below is an example (note: this is directed to foodservice professionals so the casual use is regular language for them)

To-Go: Capitalizing on the ‘Golden Child’ of the Foodservice Industry

The state of to-go and the hottest equipment innovations to support it

Quoting someone who says, "My joke is that I already have a degree from real-world university." I'm debating in my head whether it should be as I've written in the previous sentence or "... Real World University." Or, perhaps, some other way. Is there a rule of thumb about capitalizing fictional entities that carry an (almost) assumed formal existence?

Would you consider these titles and capitalize "executive producer," "director," "showrunner," etc., before the name?

Some colleagues and I are debating fewer, less and lower. "A plant has 10 gazillion tons fewer emissions than x." What about "A plant has 99% lower emissions than y"? In either instance, less emissions sounds odd. Thanks!

Hi,

Does AP style apply to closed captioning?

Our organization follows AP style. Should the closed captioning in our videos follow AP style as well or is there wiggle room? For example, can we write Dec. 31 as December 31 since the narrator says December?

Thanks.

This quiz question needs an update:
 
 Q: Even after the 2010 elections, when her party lost 63 seats, Pelosi was (reelected, re-elected) Democratic leader by her caucus.
 A: re-elected. The Stylebook's "re" entry says a hyphen is needed if the word that follows begins with the same vowel: re-elect, re-emerge, re-establish. For other words, the sense governs: resign (quit), re-sign (sign again).
 
I know the guidance has changed since it was originally written, but the wrong answer cost me a perfect score. :) Thanks for correcting!

We want to add new guidance to our organization's internal style guide regarding race- and gender-related content that is consistent with AP guidance. What's the best way to present essentially the same rules without running afoul of copyright laws?

Hi -- we sometimes refer to various offices/departments as teams. E.g. the Communications Office might be referred to as the Communications team. Would you capitalize Communications and lowercase team in this reference, or would you capitalize/lowercase differently than I have laid out? 

The abbreviation for grams is gm, but in a brochure where all letters are capitalized, must gm be lowercase? Example:
BROMINE CARTRIDGE (150) GM

Will you be publishing a style guide for the 2020 presidential election? Your previous election style guides, which are still publicly available and some of our writers are aware of, hyphenated "re-elect" and "re-election," but I believe you dropped the hyphen last year. There might have been other changes.

Which is correct, Q&A's or Q&As? 

If you are sprinkling sugar, would it be "Sprinkle the sugar on your favorite treats" or "Sprinkle the sugar onto your favorite treats"? 

Is this out of date?

Does AP use "SIMPLE IRA" or "Simple IRA" for the Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees IRA? The AP Stylebook acronym entry states, "Use only an initial cap and then lowercase for acronyms of more than six letters, unless listed otherwise in this Stylebook or Webster's New World College Dictionary." By my reading, this means that AP prefers "SIMPLE IRA." 

SIMPLE IRA in AP stories.

What's the correct way to say mp4 file format? Is it MP4? mp4? Other?

Can you confirm whether or not commonsense is still one word? The last update I saw on this was back in 2015 - but it's not coming up as a Webster's entry.

Is it OK to use dates like this in a bulleted list -   Program order period: July 1, 2020 - Dec. 31, 2020. Should the months always be spelled out in the body when in paragraph form?

Can we say "initiating meeting" or "kick-off meeting". If so, are there any differences between the two?
Thanks for your answer~

Is it still appropriate to use quotation marks around the name of a product promotion? And for the title, do the quotation marks become single?  Headline - ABC introduces 'Save Now' 2020 Truck Promotion (capping the entire formal name of the promotion)?   

In the following sentence, should the word master not be capitalized? In the local lodge, it is the highest title a Mason can achieve.

He is formerly the master of Masonic Lodge Albemarle 703 A.F. & A.M. and previously served on the Stanly County Planning Board.

Have I missed a recent reference to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)? If not, could you please explain how we should use it?

Which use of forward or forwarded is correct.
If this email was forward to you, click here.
If this email was forwarded to you, click here.

Hello AP. I adhere to AP Style in my organization's communication materials and thus delete Oxford commas in short series where they appear. I have a rough draft of a "letter to the membership" written by the board chairman; this draft utilizes the Oxford comma in a short series. Should this draft be modified to fit with the organization/AP standards? OR ... should this draft be treated like a long quotation, in which AP would suggest to avoid alterations, and thus the Oxford comma remains only in this piece? Thanks!

Hi! I'm so confused. A number of people have asked about formatting a lecture SERIES name, and the answers always refer to the "lecture entry," which does not mention how to handle a series name, just the actual lecture name. For example, in the sentence "... she said in her lecture How to Publish a Book, in our lecture series Ask the Author," how would you handle "Ask the Author"?

Thanks!
Molly Frances
Maplewood, NJ

QUESTION from Richmond, Va. on March 20, 2012