copyreading and headline writing

• Spell out - numbers one through nine
• Spell out - numerals that start a sentence
• Spell out - casual expressions
• Use Arabic numerals - numbers 10 and up
• Use Arabic numerals - when a year starts a sentence
• Use Roman numerals - wars and popes
• Use the accepted short name for a nation
• City name should be capitalized.
• Avoid abbreviations of academic degrees.
• Use an apostrophe for bachelor's degree, master's, etc.
• There is no apostrophe in Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science
• Use abbreviations when identifying many names on first reference
• Use abbreviations after a full name and set off with commas.
• Always use Arabic figures for dates.
• When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec.
• Always use Arabic numerals for ages.
• Hyphenate ages when used as an adjective
• Do not hyphenate if the age is used as a noun.
• Use figures for time except for noon and midnight.
• Use a colon to separate the hour from the minutes.
• O'clock is accepted, but a.m. and p.m. is preferred.
• Apostrophe

  Plural nouns ending in s - add apostrophe
• Apostrophe

  singular common nouns ending in s - add 's
• Apostrophe

  Singular proper names ending in s - add an apostrophe
• Apostrophe

  Singular proper names ending in s sounds such as x, ce, and z - add 's
• Apostrophe

  Plurals of a single letter - add 's
• Apostrophe

  Plurals of numbers or multiple letter combinations - add s
• Colon

  Capitalize the first word after a colon - when it is a proper noun or at the start of a complete sentence
• Comma

  Do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series. Do not use an oxford comma.
• Comma

  Use a comma to set off a person's hometown and age.
• Comma

  Use a comma to set off a person's hometown and age.
• Dash (Em-dash)

  Use a a dash after a dateline
• Dash (Em-dash)

  Use a dash for quotations in headlines.
• Hyphen

  Use a hyphen for compound adjectives.
• Hyphen

  Do not use a hyphen when the compound modifier is after the verb.
• Parentheses

  Avoid using parentheses as much as possible.
• Parentheses

  If the material is inside a sentence, place the period outside the parenthesis.
• Parentheses

  If the parenthetical statement is a complete independent sentence, place the period inside the sentence.
• Period

  Do not put a space between initials.
• Quotation Marks

  Each persons words are placed in a separate paragraph.