The revised edition of the Bible of the newspaper industry.

More people write for The Associated Press than for any newspaper in the world, and writers--nearly two million of them--have bought more copies of The AP Stylebook than of any other journalism reference. It provides facts and references for reporters, and defines usage, spelling, and grammar for editors. There are separate sections for journalists specializing in sports and business, and complete guidelines for how to write photo captions, file copy over the wire, proofread text, handle copyrights, and avoid libel. This edition of The AP Stylebook keeps pace with world events, common usage, and AP procedures.
Whether you're a student struggling through Composition 101 or a professional writer on a quest for perfection, The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law is always ready to fill the role of trusted advisor to your creative genius. Revised and updated in 2000, this version contains a 40-page section on media law, guides for punctuation and bibliographies, and specialized glossaries for business and sports writing, all in addition to its 280-page generalized stylebook.

Within each section, entries are alphabetized, and searching for an answer is a fairly simple process. Tricky words--those that can be hyphenated (know-how) or not (jukebox), homonyms, nonstandard spellings (mo-ped)--are given their own short entries. Larger categories, such as religions, military titles, the Internet, and datelines, have multiple pages devoted to their explanations, but detail and clarity are brought nicely together in each listing. Many entries concern brand names and trademarks--never again will you question whetherpingpong or Ping-Pong should be used in the flier for your table-tennis tournament.

While a few sections of this book--the ones concerning media law, photo captions, filing the wire, and proofreading marks--will most likely be used by professional and student journalists and editors, the majority of this book is an excellent tool for anyone who ever has to write for the public. Whether it's a newsletter for your badminton league, a training manual for your employees, or a press release detailing your company's quarterly earnings, this stylebook will help you turn out well-written copy that gains the approval of every English teacher you've ever had. --Jill Lightner

Customer Rating:
Summary: Good reference aid for a community newspaper
Comment: I work as a columnist and newspaper staff writer. The book helps our weekly community newspaper maintain consistency and a professional appearance. We are a tabloid paper serving a bi-county area in central Kentucky. I would highly recommend this for any person who writes for a newspaper, or any student of journalism. There are a lot of books out there on newpapers, but this is probably the gold standard for journalistic excellence.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Journalism Class
Comment: Nice book for a journalism class. It got me through the course alive : )

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Customer Rating:
Summary: oops! wrong edition
Comment: Perhaps my mistake, but I wanted at least a 2003 edition, not the 2001 one I already own. The subcontractor told me I can return the one I got, but I presume it will cost me more in shipping than a copy would cost me here in town.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: AP Stylebook Review
Comment: The 2008 AP Stylebook is a useful guide to any potential journalist. It is necessary to know the ins and outs of writing and nothing articulates it better than this book.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Helpful
Comment: This was quite helpful while taking a journalism course. It takes a few minutes to understand the layout of the book to lookup things, but once you get it, it's easy.

I think this book helped raise me a letter grade in my course. Anyone taking a journalism course with a strict professor or planning on entering journalism should get a copy. My textbook had a reference in it, but it was quite small. With the low cost of this book, you can't go wrong.

If you're taking the course without an intent to go into journalism, check to see if you can use copies from the department first.

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