Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
AP Style Exercises
Abbreviations
1. Which are the only states that are never abbreviated?
2. What is the abbreviation for megabyte?
3. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Jones lived at 235 E. Main St., near the corner of Tucker
Boulevard. His office was on 1234 Fillmore Road, although his colleagues rarely saw him before noon.
4. Find and correct any mistakes in this passage: Dr. Riya Sangatpur was the best physician in town,
according to a survey of patients. However, the doctor was a private woman who lived with her husband,
the Rev. Steve Smith, in their mansion on Park Avenue.
5. Find and correct any mistakes in this passage: Early this morning, he got in his car and drove to
Southbury, Conn., to play golf with United States Sen. Roy Crisp, R.-Conn.
6. Find and correct any mistakes in this passage: Vice Adm. Lucy Lions was seen in heated talks with Jerry
Justice, a captain under her command
7. Find and correct any mistakes in this passage: Majs. Rebecca Ryals and Anna Gutierrez were well-
respected military women in the Utah National Guard. (There are no errors.)
8. Find and correct any mistakes in this passage: The sample discovered in northern Michigan measured
just 3 mm across, and weighed 5 pounds.
Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Addresses
1. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The fabric softener company moved its headquarters
from 1 World Trade Center to 34422 Park Ave. The human resources department moved to a separate
location at 454 Briarcliff Blvd.
2. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The bus route will pick up students along Winston Drive
and Deer Hill Road, with its last stop at 55 Flag Swamp Road.
3. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: He was raised at 111 N. 42nd St. before his family moved
to 135 N. 34th St. The family later moved to multiple addresses on North Sixth Avenue.
4. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The ice cream shop was near the intersection of First
Avenue and First Street. It attracted customers from the area of First and Second avenues, between First
and Second streets.
5. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Fire destroyed the small church on Roanoke Drive, but it
did not spread to the rectory at 124 Wakonda Drive, or the church offices at 1 Wakonda Court.
6. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: After leaving the Russian embassy, Vlasenko walked to
the train station on K Street, rode to the Dupont Avenue stop, and hailed a cab to 1300 Oklahoma Ave.
7. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Demolition of the office building at Parker and Trotter
avenues began, making way for the new complex, which will have the address One Midwest Trade Center.
8. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The children’s shelter on Pearce Street was evacuated
because of a gas odor, and the residents were moved to temporary facilities at 3 E. Third St. N.W. and 55
W. First Ave. S.W.
Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Capitalization
1. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The Jones and Marquez families celebrated Founders
Day by the shore of Abernathy Creek.
2. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: She opened a can of Coke, turned on the Derby, and fixed
a manhattan for her Marxist husband, Craig.
3. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Retired Sen. Jane McCarthy took a job lobbying for Exxon
Corp. and moved to the south side of Chicago, near the stadium where the White Sox play.
4. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The site where Taoist monks gathered was down the
street from the St. Louis County Courthouse and looked over the fountains on Fleet Street.
5. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: If she understood that Easter always falls on Sundays,
she did not let on, instead appearing to believe the holiday always fell on the third Thursday of April.
6. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The judge said the play was Shakespearean, awarding it
the highest honor for play writing in the state of Pennsylvania.
7. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: She thought for a moment, then decided that winter was
her favorite season, and that her favorite month was February, because her college offered short courses
in African-American history that she found fascinating.
8. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: She stood before Peter Jeffries, a city council member,
and decried his membership in the Libertarian Party, which she said was not compatible with her own
beliefs.
Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
1. What is the proper way to write a numeral at the beginning of a sentence? If possible, what should you
do to avoid such construction? You should spell out a numeral at the beginning of a sentence, but try to
avoid such construction by re-writing the sentence so the numeral is not at the beginning.
2. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The forecast for Tuesday was a low of minus 10, far from
ideal conditions for Super Bowl LII.
3. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The candidate for alderwoman in the 1st Ward looked
like a flapper from the Roaring ‘20s as she stepped out of Room 212.
4. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Twenty young children screamed with joy as the roller
coaster approached speeds of 40 mph.
5. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: He told her she was No. 1 in his heart, even though he
was only 50 percent sure about that.
6. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Susan defeated Jorge 11 to 3 in the election for class
president, with two voters absent because of illness. Jorge stood up in class and said he “would like to
thank Susan a million” for a hard-fought race.
7. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The odds were 3-2 that the judges would select 33-year-
old Selena to advance to the next round, after her stellar rehearsal suggested her skills were well beyond
the remaining 15 contestants.
8. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The Jeep Commander got just 18 mpg, but its shiny
chrome turned heads as it drove down Route 66.
Punctuation
1. Write a sentence with an example of an essential clause. Then write one with an example of a non–
essential clause. My sister Julie is my only one of my 10 siblings who knows how to cook. My wife, Amy, is
very jealous of her.
Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
2. Your grammar teacher wrote an e-mail to you that said, “I am having lunch with my sister Anjali.”
Assuming her grammar is impeccable, do you know if she has any other sisters? Yes, she has other sisters.
3. What is an Oxford comma? Does its use comport with Associated Press style? Also called a serial
comma, it is a comma before the conjunction in a simple series. While the Oxford comma is popular with
some writers, it is not to be used in AP style.
4. Use an ellipsis to make this quote more readable: “I swear to this board that I did not, you know, what
do you call it, oh heck, my mind is going blank, well for lack of a better term, I did not try to abscond with
money from any of this organization’s accounts.” “I swear to this board that I did not . . . try to abscond
with money from any of this organization’s accounts.”
5. Do you put a space between someone’s first and middle initials? Why or why not? You do not use a
space. The goal is to prevent the initials from being placed no two lines in typesetting.
6. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The trip started in Hartford, Conn., home of Aetna Inc.,
and finished in Philadelphia, the home of Comcast.
7. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The class of ‘90 donated $10,000 to its old school to
provide scholarships to three math students: Jayne Jalisco, Bedros Harpikian, and Deshawn Velez.
8. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: “I can’t find my keys,” Margot Maxwell said as she
shuffled through papers on the kitchen counter, to which her husband, Jared Maxwell, replied, “Where
did you leave them?”
Spelling
Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
1. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Appearances can be deceiving, and the glamorous may
be humorous.
2. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The grand jury handed down an indictment on Tuesday,
although one juror was playing hooky.
3. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The World Series winners have been predominantly
from the American League. The series premiere starts Oct. 15.
4. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: His diet did not allow him to eat potatoes. So he sat
quietly near the poinsettia and ate his hot dog.
5. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: She felt it was inappropriate to get a negligee and
makeup from her uncle, but it was perhaps more useful than getting menswear.
6. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The UFO measured 20 meters across, but after smoking
marijuana no one could tell its true size.
7. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: “Do not kowtow to the department store manager,” Kriss
Kringle sneered to the elves as he glued on his beard.
8. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: She inquired where she could find a doctor to inoculate
her from swine flu.
Possessives
1. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Jesus’s teachings were of great importance to Jim and
Jane’s children.
2. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Women’s rights and teachers pay were two discussion
topics at the Teamsters meeting.
Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
3. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: He held his wife’s seat while she tended to their twin
daughters’ hair before they took stage in the talent show.
4. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: When he discovered the lone deer’s antlers, he had been
following two other deer’s’ tracks through his friend Andrew’s woods.
5. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: He searched all over his parents’ house until he found
James and Julie’s citizens band radio in their closet.
6. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The train’s route took him through both of Kansas’ major
universities, as well as Joe Williams’ childhood home.
7. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The teachers college did not appeal to the aspiring
writer, but his father’s wishes were that follow the family’s tradition by attending.
8. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Jules Santopietro of Waterbury’s motion was defeated in
the Connecticut assembly, because he was not seen as being a friend of nurses.
Word Choice
1. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: He was shooting for an NBA record and a historic night
before his state was hit with an energy crisis.
2. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: He was an agnostic, meaning he believed it was not
possible to know whether there is a God.
3. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: He walked farther into the woods to find Father Renaud,
in hopes to look further into his disappearance.
Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
4. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: She was not fazed by her husband’s use of chemicals on
their lawn, but worried what it would do to the environment.
5. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: He embraced his (delete elderly) 70-year-old father and
whispered, “Neither you nor I were prepared for this.”
6. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: They gibed him with taunts and he heard their foul
language as he walked the gantlet.
7. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: He flailed his arms wildly to warn the mayor’s flack that
a gaggle of reporters was coming around the corner.
8. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The Red Sox fan and the Yankees fan differed with each
other on the topic of who was the greatest hitter of all time, Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams. Their
conversation during a cousin’s bar mitzvah had to be very discreet.
Time
1. Under what circumstances is it necessary to give the exact time of day? Whenever it gives the reader a
better picture of the scene, or when it is critical to the story.
2. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: The national telecast of the Dodgers-Mets game was
scheduled for a 5 p.m. EDT (2 p.m. PDT) start.
3. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: She set the appointment for noon on March 14, hoping
she would be done by no later than 2 p.m.
4. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Monday, March 30, was a day of great sadness for
Bearcats fans, as many stayed up past midnight to watch their team lose.
Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
5. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Lydia Lynott asked Peter Petrova on Tuesday if he would
be her date to the prom (delete on) Friday.
6. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: First pitch for the Redbirds will be (delete on) Tuesday
(delete night) at 6:05 p.m., right after the conclusion of the 5 p.m. parade.
7. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: He grimaced when he read his schedule and learned he
had an 8 a.m. class (delete on) Monday morning and a 5:30 p.m. class (delete on) Friday. (Delete night.)
8. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were filled with
appointments, so the earliest he could get in was (delete at) 8 a.m. Thursday. (Delete morning.)
Titles
1. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Drs. Shirletta Jones and Francesca Falozzi opened their
psychiatry practice next door from (delete Mr.) Hermann Jones.
2. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: He received a call early Monday from a staffer in the
office of former President Barack Obama asking if he would be available to speak with Sen. McCaskill
later that day.
3. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Jade switched on the television to watch the discussion
of Pope Francis’ letters to world leaders, including President Trump, Sen. Ryan, and Angela Merkel, the
chancellor of Germany.
4. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah
Palin endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Danbury,
Conn.
Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
5. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: With his head bent low as he stood before Judge Jodie
Joachim, the Rev. John Jones, pastor of Blessed Flower Catholic Church, admitted he had stolen money
from (delete Mrs.) Brenda Jacoby.
6. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: U.S. Army Maj. Paul Wilhelm, and Capt. Jessica Conroy, of
the U.S. Coast Guard, were applauded as they entered the grand hall.
7. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: U.S. Army Spcs. Jim James and John Johns were
commended for their bravery in the U.S. victory in Mogadishu.
8. Find and correct the mistakes in this passage: As the opera entered its third hour, King George glanced
at Queen Johanna and motioned for her to wake their sleeping princesses and duck out the back of their
box.