Total Apex Media Style & Format
Total Apex Media uses AP Style for our articles.
By maintaining a consistent writing style, we will ensure consistency across our articles. All professional organizations have a specific style guide for writing. Failure to follow the style guide will result in the article being sent back to the writer for edits.
This article will take you through the specifics of the Total Apex Media style guide. You can refer back to this guide any time to refresh your memory and make sure your writing is following the correct rules for grammar, punctuation, and more.
Article Formatting
Introduction
The article should begin with an introduction that answers the basic applicable questions:
- Who?
- What?
- When?
- Where?
- Why?
- How?
No links in the Introduction.
Main Body
- One or More H2 Headings
- Can have H3 headings under H2s
- Focus Keyword in an H2
- Focus on the Topic
- 2 Internal, 2 External Links
- Cite & link sources
- Active voice
Conclusion
- Summarize the story
- Ask/answer additional questions
Names of People
- First mention: Full Name
- Taylor Swift
- Rob Reiner
- Further mentions: Last Name
- Swift
- Reiner
- Alternatives:
- Pronouns
- Description: the singer, the director, the victim
Exception: If writing about multiple people with the same last name, use their full names when needed for clarity.
NEVER: Refer to a person by their first name only. This is disrespectful. They are not your friend.
Titles of Things
AP Style doesn’t use italics for the titles of things.
Music
- Albums: Capitalized
- Song Titles: In Quotation Marks
- Tour Names: In Quotation Marks
- Band Names: Capitalized
Movies
- Movie Titles: In Quotation Marks
- Series Titles: In Quotation Marks
- Character Names: Capitalized
Television
- Show Titles: In Quotation Marks
- Episode Titles: In Quotation Marks
- Streaming Platforms: Capitalized
Books & Literature
- Book Titles: In Quotation Marks
- Chapter Titles: In Quotation Marks
- Series Names: In Quotation Marks
- Poem Titles: In Quotation Marks
Games
- Video Game Titles: Capitalized
- Board Game Titles: Capitalized
Colons that are Not Part of the Title
Colons Go Outside the Quotation Marks
Example: “Avatar”: The Newest Installment
Numbers
General
- 1 through 9: Spelled Out in Words (Three dogs)
- 10+: Numerals (25 students)
- Ages: Numerals (5-years-old)
- Percentages: Numerals (5%)
Dates & Times
- Abbreviate months with specific dates: Jan. 5
- Don’t abbreviate March, April, May, June, July: May 3
- Numerals for time & lowercase a.m./p.m.: 3:30 p.m.
- Avoid “o’clock”: Correct: 6 p.m.
Quotes & Attributions
- Use “said” for attribution (avoid “exclaimed,” “stated,” etc.)
- Use a comma before attribution: “I agree,” he said.
- Periods and commas go inside quotation marks: “It’s true,” she said.
Abbreviations & Acronyms
- Spell out on first use, abbreviate after: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Do not use periods in acronyms: FBI
Hyphens, Dashes, & Slashes
- Use hyphens for compound adjectives: well-known author
- Use en dashes for ranges: Jan. 5–10
- Use em dashes for breaks in thought: He was late — again.
- Avoid slashes unless in web addresses or fractions
Article Length
All articles must be at least 600 words in length, with the exception of Breaking News, which may be 250-350 words. Breaking News has this exception because there might not be enough information about the situation to write something longer and these articles must be completed and published quickly.
Image Format
All articles must have a featured image, and most (except Breaking News) should have one or more images in the body of the article.
Images must:
- Be in .webp format
- Be 822×535 pixels
- Be appropriate to the article topic
- Not violate any copyright