AP Style Rules Around the Iran War, Tax Season, Golf and More
We know journalists are busy, and it can be difficult to keep up with recent AP Stylebook changes. So we’ve done the work for you, rounding up a few of the recent significant — and just plain interesting — updates to the AP Stylebook.
The calendar ahead is full of events that require writers to be up-to-date on the latest AP Style guidelines. Not to mention the conflict in the Middle East between the U.S. and Israel, and Iran, that is dominating headlines across beats — getting the terminology in your reporting right is crucial.
Here are a few reminders to help ensure your next article follows best practices.
War in Iran
The AP is referring to the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, and Iran’s retaliation as a “war.” Even though a war has not been officially declared by the countries involved, AP explains that the events meet the criteria of a war, according to the Merriam-Webster definition: “A state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations,” or “a state of hostility, conflict, or antagonism.”
Other war or military-related terms:
- Note that “war” is lowercase and only capitalized as part of a formal name. The terms “conflict” and “attacks” may also be used to describe the situation.
- Don’t use the term “soldiers” to broadly describe members of the U.S armed forces. Soldiers are members of the Army. Marines are Marines. The Navy has sailors. Air Force personnel are airmen.
- Department of Defense is appropriate for the first mention. DOD or Pentagon is acceptable on the second reference. Lowercase “the department” whenever it stands alone.
- “The Revolutionary Guard” is acceptable on first reference if the context makes Iran clear. “The Guard” is acceptable on second reference.
- One of the most-discussed impacts of the war is on the global energy industry. In shipping, oil and oil products are normally measured by the ton. In your stories, convert these tonnage figures to gallons. There are 42 gallons in each barrel of oil. The number of barrels per ton varies, depending on the type of oil product.
Upcoming Holidays
The spring calendar is full of holidays, so take a minute to brush up on the right way to reference them in your writing:
- Easter: The days leading up to the Christian holiday – known as Holy Week – include Good Friday. Easter Sunday is capitalized, as is Easter Bunny.
- Earth Day: Earth Day takes place on April 22 and promotes concern for the environment.
- Remember to lowercase climate change and climate crisis. Though both terms can be used in broad references, “climate change” is preferred when referring to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, and the science explaining or describing those shifts. Global warming is one aspect of climate change.
- When writing about climate change, avoid jargon as much as possible and clearly identify sources of data and detailed predictions.
- Many popular terms associated with this topic are lowercase, including greenhouse gases, net zero and carbon capture.
- Cinco de Mayo: The May 5 celebration commemorates the Mexican victory over the French at Puebla in 1862.
- April Fools’ Day: The apostrophe is always after the ‘s’.
Golf Terminology
The 2026 Masters Tournament is coming up (April 6–12), so now is the perfect time to remind yourself of these key golf terms:
- Lowercase birdie, bogey and eagle. The past tense versions are birdied, bogeyed and eagled.
- Include hyphens in hole-in-one.
- Fairway is one word, no hyphens.
- Also, no hyphens in tee off.
- Use figures for handicaps, par listings and clubs: a 2-stroke handicap, a par-3 hole and a 7-iron, for example.
- Masters and Masters Tournament are not possessive, so no apostrophe is needed. Use the Masters on the second reference.
Tax Season
With April 15 fast approaching, here are a few financial terms to remember for your reporting:
- IRS is acceptable in all references for Internal Revenue Service (which is capitalized).
- 401(k) is the correct format for the tax-free retirement savings account.
- Lowercase phrases like estate tax, inheritance tax and death tax. And no hyphen in capital gains tax.
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Rocky Parker is the Manager of Audience and Journalist Engagement at Cision PR Newswire. She's been with the company since 2010 and has worked with journalists and bloggers as well as PR and comms professionals. Outside of work, she can be found trying a new recipe, binging a new show, or cuddling with her pitbull, Hudson.
