Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Chapter Twelve Editorials, Opinion Pieces, Columns, Blogs and Cartoons 383 Chapter Twelve Chapter Twelve Journalism Style To express the plural of multiple letters, just add an s without the apostrophe. Examples: • The APs broke up the fight. • ASBs met in Santa Barbara. • Do you know the ABCs of journalism? Numbers are also made plural by adding an s. Examples: • His closet floor is littered with shoes he has outgrown—three pairs of 12s, two pairs of 13s and one pair of 14s. • His grandparents started a store in the 1950s. Try It! Try It! Which is correct? 1. I will have two APs/AP’s/APS in the fall: chemistry and world history. 2. I am planning on getting 4s/4’s or 5s/5’s on both tests. 3. I’m sitting for two SATs/SAT’s/SATS before the application deadline. 4. I like the University of California, and I’m applying at two UCs/UC’s/UCS: UCLA and UC Berkeley. 5. I hope colleges will overlook the two Ns/N’s/NS I received my freshman year. 6. Harry Potter passed all his OWL’s/OWLs/ OWLS except astronomy. 7. Those were his two best IMs/IM’s/IMS of the season. 8. He ran three league-record-breaking 440s/440’s. 9. We do not look for other Title IXs/IX’s to even the playing field for other disadvantaged groups. Extend Your Knowledge Extend Your Knowledge Visit the Journalism website to find out the following: 1. How to make the plural of proper names. Example: They are spending too much money trying to keep up with the Jones’/Joneses/Jones’s. 2. How to make the plural of words used as words. Example: Her note of apology was filled with sorrys/ sorry’s/sorries. Style Exercises Plurals of Letters and Plurals of Letters and Abbreviations Abbreviations High schools are full of abbreviations and letters: • I got an A! • The AP (assistant principal) broke up the fight. • ASB (Associated Student Body) ran the assembly. • I will have an AP (advanced placement) class next fall. • I’m taking the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and the ACT (originally, American College Testing) in March. • They are abolishing SSR (Sustained Silent Reading). • Harry Potter passed an OWL (Ordinary Wizarding Level). • That was his best IM (Individual Medley) of the season. We also use numbers as nouns. • He ran the 440 (the 440-yard dash) in record time. • Title IX (Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972) requires that female athletes be given more opportunities. What happens when we use these letters, abbreviations and numbers as plurals? If you are writing the plural of a single letter, add an apostrophe and a lowercase s. Examples: • He loves the Oakland A’s. • He received seven A’s and two C’s. • He learned his three R’s: reading, writing and ‘rithmetic. • Any U’s in citizenship will hurt your chance of admission to the honor society. • He received O’s in work habits and D’s for grades. When type was set by hand, printers could easily confuse the letters p and q because they were arranging type to print the mirror image of what they saw. This is possibly the origin of the saying, “Mind your p’s and q’s.”