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Grammar and Punctuation

Harvesters typically follows the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook for grammar and punctuation. It is the same style used by most journalists, and is thought to be the clearest and most universal style of writing. It is acceptable for organizations to use combinations of writing styles, as long as usage is consistent across vehicles. If you have questions, contact Sarah.

 

Below are some of the most frequently used elements of AP Style writing.

 

Abbreviations

  • Within a sentence or paragraph, use Mo. for Missouri rather than MO, and Kan. for Kansas, rather than KS.
  • Two-letter capitalized state abbreviations are intended for addresses on envelopes only.

Acronyms

  • Do not use abbreviations or acronyms that the reader would not quickly recognize. DO NOT follow an organization’s name with an abbreviation or acronym in parentheses.  If the acronym would not be clear in the second mention, do not use it. EXAMPLE: The first time you refer to Commodity Supplement Food Program, spell it out. If the second reference is relatively close, use CSFP. If the second reference is 20 pages later, spell out the name of the program again.
  • Leave out periods between letters (USDA, not U.S.D.A.).
  • United States should be spelled out when used as a noun and abbreviated U.S. when used as an adjective. For example, Feeding America includes food banks throughout the United States and The U.S. plan for Food Stamp expansion is ambitious.

Apostrophe

  • Apostrophes should be used in possessive nouns, such as the lawyer’s companion, the children’s shoes, Phyllis’ dentures and in contractions, such as can’t and doesn’t. However, contractions should not be used in formal writing.
  • Do not use apostrophes to designate plural words such as taxis or CDs or in numerals such as 90s.
  • When using the possessive of Harvesters, the apostrophe should never be placed before the final s. It should always appear as Harvesters’—never as Harvester’s. Please see below for examples of proper usage.
    • Harvesters’ agencies serve nearly 141,500 people every month.
    • Harvesters has more than 760 agencies that serve 141,500 people every month.
    • Agencies that belong to Harvesters’ network serve 141,500 people every month.
    • Harvesters’ website address is www.harvesters.org.
    • The address for the Harvesters website is www.harvesters.org.
    • Harvesters is the regional food bank.

Capitalization

  • We do not capitalize the words network, member or food bank in Harvesters communication.
  • Make titles lowercase when they are not used with an individual’s name: The chair issued a statement. Also make titles lowercase when they are set off from the name by commas: The director of food safety, Jane Doe, said that the food was being recalled and John Doe, gardening manager, will be heading up the effort. Do capitalize titles when they are used before a name and without a comma: President and CEO Valerie Nicholson-Watson said. . .

Chair

  • Don’t use chairman, chairwoman or chairperson, but rather use chair in all situations.

Colon

  • Use a colon to begin lists:  We grow three types of tomatoes: cherry, Roma and tigerella.

Comma

  • A series comma should only be used before the conjunction in a complex series, as in The travelers visited the museum, met a friend for lunch, and took a walking tour. For more complex phrases, use a semi-colon. When writing a list of items, do not place a comma before the final item, as in The man brought apples, pears, bananas and oranges.
  • A comma should be used to set apart two independent clauses, as in We offered her a ride, but she declined.
  • Beware of the comma splice. A comma splice is the joining of two independent clauses by a comma, without using a conjunction. An example of a comma splice is: The woman walked into a bookstore, she bought two books. When joining two independent clauses without a conjunction, use a semi-colon.
  • Use a comma to set off introductory phrases, as in In 1986, there were only four houses on this block.
  • Commas are always placed within quotation marks: “Hurray,” the crowd cheered!

Consistent Parts of Speech

  • Begin bullet items and series in a sentence with the same part of speech. Examples of consistency are:
    • walk to the store
    • buy a bouquet
    • visit grandmother
    • This afternoon, I am going to go to my house, walk my dog, and alphabetize my CD collection.

Date and Time

  • Information should be presented in Time-Date-Place order. Behind the Barrels is at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 11, in the Hunger Awareness Center.
  • Set off the date with commas when it follows a day of the week. Forks & Corks is at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 24, at the Kansas City Convention Center.
  • Do not use a comma between a month or season and the year if no day is included. The symposium was in summer 2008.
  • Use numbers, except for noon and midnight, and lowercase a.m. and p.m. The meeting runs from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The workshop begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m.

Hyphen

  • A hyphen is used to join two words that modify a single word, as in hunger-relief organization or well-read student. On their own, hunger relief and well read would not need hyphens.
  • The word nonprofit should not have a hyphen.  The word nonperishable should not have a hyphen.
  • If a hyphen is used to signify a date range, the date should not be preceded by from, beginning or similar words. Those words should only be used when to is used instead of a hyphen. The conference is June 23-25 or The conference is from June 23 to June 25.
  • Fundraiser and fundraising are always one word and should never be hyphenated. Forks & Corks is Harvesters biggest fundraising event of the year.
  • Use lowercase and a hyphen to represent electronic. Examples: e-commerce and e-newsletter. But do NOT use a hyphen for email.

Internet Terms

  • Internet is always capitalized; so is Web in Web page, but website is NOT capitalized and is one word.
  • Email should NOT have a hyphen. Online is one word, without a hyphen.

Latin Abbreviations

  • e.g. (exempli gratia) means for example.
  • i.e. (id est) means that is, or in other words and is used to clarify a point.
  • Along with etc., these should not be used in formal writing.

Numerals

  • Numbers one through nine should always be spelled out, except when referring to dollar amount, ages and numbers in the millions. Numbers 10 and higher should be in numeral form, unless the number is the first word of a sentence.
  • The word percent should be spelled out in text. The exceptions to this are on the Harvesters website when % is used for readability, and in bulleted lists, tables and graphics.
  • Use commas in numbers larger than 999 (1,234, not 1234).
  • Use more than to describe quantities, instead of over.

Organization’s Name

  • First reference to our food bank should always be complete: Harvesters­—The Community Food Network (please note the m-dash and the fact that The is capitalized). On second reference, the food bank can be referred to simply as Harvesters.

Over vs. More Than

  • Over should be used to show location and more than should be used with quantities. She drove over the hill. The event raised more than $5,000.

Phone Numbers

  • Write phone numbers with periods and without parentheses, as in 816.929.3000, not (816) 929-3000.

Quotation Marks

  • Quotation marks should only be used when quoting a statement or using slang. They should not be used to emphasize words.
  • Commas should always be inside the quotation they set off.

Semi-colon

  • A semi-colon should be used in a very complex series of phrases when the sentence might seem confusing using only commas. The mayor thanked those for building the bridge, including the architects who drafted the plans; masons who laid the stone; engineers who strung the cables; and pavers who poured the asphalt.

That vs. Which

  • That should be used for essential clauses, which if removed, would change the meaning of the sentence. The dog that belongs to my neighbor is aggressive.
  • Use which for non-essential clauses that are not essential to the sentence and would not change the meaning if omitted.  The dog, which is black, loves children.

Who vs. Whom

  • Who is always the subject of a sentence:  Who is the new barista at the coffee shop?
  • Whom should be used as the object of a sentence:  To whom are you giving the extra ticket?