Style Guide

Introduction

The Manual RedEye staff largely follows the style guidelines used by the Associated Press (AP); however, there are many specific copy rules that the staff uses specific to Manual. On this page you can see the RedEye-specific style guidelines and the most common AP Style mistakes. Click below to see the full AP Style Guide.

Associated Press Style Guide

Full Style Guide

Click below to see the full Manual RedEye Style Guide.

Manual Redeye Copy Style Guide 2015-2016

RedEye-Specific copy guidelines

• Headlines should be in sentence case, but they do not get a period--e.g. “Six students robbed the bookkeeper”
• When you refer to a student for the first time, use his/her full name, grade and magnet--e.g. Donald Trump (9, MST). Use just the last name throughout the rest of the article--e.g. Trump.
• When you refer to a teacher for the first time, use his/her honorific (Mr/Ms/Dr), full name and general subject area--e.g. Mr. Glenn Zwanzig (Science). Use just the last name throughout the rest of the article--e.g. Zwanzig
• Generally, for other school officials/faculty/staff, we use the title, honorific, and full name upon first reference--e.g. Assistant Principal Mr. Greg Kuhn. Use just the last name throughout the rest of the article--e.g. Kuhn.
• When covering sports, use the student’s full name, grade and number upon first reference--e.g. Amanda Tu (12, #9). Use just the last name throughout the rest of the article--e.g. Tu
• When writing about school-specific issues, try not to make references to Manual. For example, you don’t have to say “duPont Manual’s JV water polo lost to Iroquois last Friday,” instead say “JV water polo lost to Iroquois…”
• If referencing Manual is unavoidable, just say “Manual” and not “duPont Manual.”

YES: “Blah blah,” Cervera said.
NO: “Blah blah,” said Cervera.

Most common AP Style mistakes

• Don’t use the oxford comma (I know).

YES: Fons, Nikhil and Luke went to see “Straight Outta Compton” last night.
NO: Fons, Nikhil, and Luke went to see “Straight Outta Compton” last night.

• Only capitalize formal titles when they precede an individual’s name.

YES: Assistant Principal Mr. Greg Kuhn spent a record 14 minutes reciting the Pledge of Allegiance yesterday.
YES: Dr. Matt Kingsley, Jeffersontown High School’s principal, did 67 pull-ups yesterday.
NO: Assistant principal Mr. Greg Kuhn spent a record 14 minutes reciting the Pledge of Allegiance yesterday.
NO: Dr. Matt Kingsley, Jeffersontown High School’s Principal, did 67 pull-ups yesterday.

• Write out numbers one through nine and use figures for numbers 10 and above.

YES: RedEye has one adviser and 16 staff members. 

• If the number is at the beginning of the sentence, spell it out (try to rephrase the sentence if it begins with a number above nine)
• For ages, always used figures (e.g. the 4-year-old girl)
• When age is used as a noun (e.g. that 20-year-old is really annoying) or an adjective preceding a noun (e.g. the 77-year-old student), use hyphens.
• Do not use hyphens when age is used after a linking verb (e.g. my mom is 94 years old)
• Don’t use apostrophes if describing an age range (e.g. the student was in his 70s).
• Months are spelled out unless used with dates (e.g. The school burned down last October). When used with a date, only abbreviate the following: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. (the other months are spelled out)
• Always use figures for numbers in dates (e.g. Jan. 1, 2015)
• Times directly on the hour should only be listed with one figure

YES: 1 p.m.
NO: 1:00 p.m.

• Times not directly on the hour get two digits after the colon (e.g. 3:30 a.m.)
• Use periods between the letters in a.m. and p.m.
• Spell out ‘noon’ and ‘midnight’
• It’s boys’ soccer, not boys soccer or boy’s soccer
• Abbreviate Kentucky as Ky. (not KY)