How to Use the AP Stylebook

The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook is a popular handbook that contains comprehensive guidelines for writing professional content. Safety Provisions uses this handbook to supplement its own corporate style guide. You should refer to it any time you run into a writing issue that isn't addressed in the company help center. 

Logging In

You can access the AP Stylebook online using a company account, the credentials for which are in LastPass. Simply go to https://www.apstylebook.com/ in your web browser and enter the login information in the box provided.

Features

When you log in, you'll see several links to different features of the AP Stylebook website. The most important feature, however, is the stylebook itself, which you can use by interacting with the menu pictured below.

From this menu, you can look through entries alphabetically by clicking View by Chapter, or search for a particular term using the search bar. If you're interested, you can view popular topics, new entries, and changes to the stylebook by following the other links in the menu.

If you select View by Chapter or click on the large AP Stylebook title on the menu, you'll bring up a page listing all of the entries in the stylebook in alphabetical order. You'll also be able to access a new menu called Categories, which is pictured below.

The Categories menu contains several quick reference lists for common writing issues including frequently misspelled words, punctuation, and prefixes and suffixes. If you're looking for guidelines on one of these issues, it may be easier for you to find it in the Categories menu than it would be to search for it manually.

Entries

The AP Stylebook features several types of entries that address a wide variety of writing issues. These include terms, grammar, and punctuation.

Terms

Many of the entries in the stylebook are about specific terms. These entries usually include the proper spelling of the term as well as rules for proper usage.

Occasionally, an entry in the stylebook will compare similar-sounding terms for which writers often confuse the definitions. You can refer to these entries if you want to make sure the content you are writing conveys the proper meaning.

Important: Some entries for specific terms feature modernized definitions. It's important to keep in mind, however, that since the AP Stylebook caters primarily to journalistic publishers, these definitions tend to reflect the more popular or colloquial usage of the terms. They do not reflect the primary or common meanings of words as they are used in Safety Provisions content.

 

Grammar & Punctuation

In addition to terms and definitions, the stylebook also contains entries on punctuation and other grammatical topics. You can refer to these entries when you need clarification on particular punctuation marks or sentence structure.

Using the Stylebook

When you run into questions and concerns about the content you are writing, remember that the Safety Provisions corporate style guide and company policies take precedence over the AP Stylebook. You should always refer to the company's internal style materials before referencing other sources. Similarly, if you come across any guidelines in the AP Stylebook that are not congruent with the corporate style guide, you should follow the guidelines in the corporate style guide.

The quality assurance department at Hard Hat Training regularly updates the corporate style guide as well as the company's style policies. If you have additional questions about writing Safety Provisions content, or if you find any issues that aren't addressed by either the AP Stylebook or the internal documents, you should talk to someone in that department.