A style guide comparing Associated Press style and Chicago style for editors, writers, teachers, students, word nerds, and anyone else who gives a dollar sign, ampersand, exclamation point, and pound sign about style.

Welcome to AP vs. Chicago: A Style Guide for Editors, Writers, and Word Nerds

by Karen Yin

I started AP vs. Chicago to keep track of style and usage according to the popular style guides The Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style.

A copy editor with 20-plus years of experience, I make it my job to keep up with changing styles and the evolution of language (or devolution, as the case may be). Even if my client doesn’t claim allegiance to any style, I will go along with the style they’ve arbitrarily created and shake out the mess of commas, hyphens, capitals, and italics to create a piece that sings with power and clarity. And for websites, advertisements, letters, and résumés, this is what makes what you’re selling shine.

Funny Posts

Compounds Ending with a Preposition or Adverb: Open, Hyphenated, or Solid?

It seems as if I’m always rifling through my reference books to check whether a compound is open, hyphenated, or solid in a particular style.

Apostrophe-S vs. Apostrophe: Forming Possessives of Words Ending in S (or an S Sound)

I’m going to focus on the difference between how The Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style handle possessives for words ending in s or an s sound.

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Fun-Free Posts

Styling Text Messages in Fiction

Your protagonist’s phone vibrates. It’s a text from her best friend, but how? He died exactly one year ago in a car crash. The words come into focus.

Wait a second. How should text messages be styled in a manuscript?

Beyond Kerning: How to Proofread Design

If you love catching a zero in place of a capital O, a curly quote in place of a prime, or two single quote marks in place of a double, you can hone your eagle eye by learning to spot flaws in design.

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“Edit or Die” Mug