Chicago Style Workout 43: Chicago vs. AP, Round 2

Ready for another round?

With this month’s workout, you get another chance to test your knowledge of Chicago style versus AP. Whether you know both styles or only one of them, a comparison is a good way to sharpen your skills.

(If you missed the first round of Chicago vs. AP, start there.)

This quiz, like the previous one, is based on the latest version of each style—the 17th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style and the 2019 AP Stylebook, respectively.

But don’t worry about your score! This quiz isn’t about getting the right answers; it’s about learning to appreciate the differences between Chicago and AP. Do your best, hit Submit, and read the answers to see what they reveal.

Subscribers to The Chicago Manual of Style Online may click through to the linked sections of the Manual (cited in the answers). (We also offer a 30-day free trial of CMOS Online.)

The AP Stylebook is arranged alphabetically both in print and online (via subscription); answers cite specific entries or categories, but access is not required to take the quiz.

[Editor’s note: This quiz relies on and links to the 17th edition of CMOS.]

Chicago Style Workout 43: Chicago vs. AP, Round 2

1. In the twelve-hour system, refer to “AM” and “PM” in all caps, no periods: 10 AM, 10 PM.
2. For eras, use capital letters but no periods: 44 BC, AD 1066.
3. Always use numerals for ages of people or things: 3 years old; a 3-year-old law.
4. Write “website” (one word) but “web page” (two words).
5. For the illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), write “COVID-19,” not “Covid-19.”
6. Put a space before and after an em dash: The influence of three impressionists — Monet, Sisley, and Degas — is obvious in her work.
7. Always use an en dash rather than a hyphen in a number range: 10–12, not 10-12.
8. In the context of a conversation or correspondence, write “dialogue”; for the options window on a computer screen, prefer “dialog box.”
9. For the McDonald’s brand name, write “McCafé,” with an accent, following corporate usage.
10. Use italics for the titles of television series but quotation marks for individual episodes, as in “Amok Time,” the first episode of the second season of the original Star Trek.

 

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