As we prepare to say goodbye to 2025, we thought it might be interesting to see what the most common questions were this year from the “Bible” of journalistic writing, the AP Stylebook.
Gender, Race, Ethnicity
Not surprisingly, inclusivity in terms of race and gender were searched pretty often. I say not surprisingly because the atmosphere is always changing for these situations, in terms of the best and most common and accepted practices.
AP Style notes to use “women” for adult females and “men” for adult males. Unless you’re discussing gender or sex in reference to biology, do not use “female” or “male.”
Race and ethnicity get a little dicey and AP Style currently recommends capitalizing Black, Jewish, Armenian, etc. when referencing people of a specific descent/race, religious orientation, or nationality.
For age-related references, use “older adults/people” instead of “elderly” or “seniors.” You could also note a specific age, such as “65 and older.” Or, as I like to say when speaking of my own personal qualifications, you could use “a seasoned professional.”
Person-First
Person-first language is an up-and-coming way to describe people in the disability space. Person-first simply means to consider the person before the disability – meaning: the disability doesn’t define the person. Examples include using “person with autism” instead of “an autistic person” or “person with hearing impairment” instead of “deaf person.”
AI, Social and Tech
For artificial intelligence, the Stylebook advises journalists to avoid language that attributes human characteristics to artificial intelligence. Don’t use gender-defining pronouns when referring to AI qualities.
Social media references should focus on clarity, brevity, and consistency. Use a lowercase “i” in iPhone, capitalize platform names like Facebook and Instagram, and be concise with language.
Current best practices for technology terms include:
- artificial intelligence: use “AI” on first reference
- internet: lowercase.
- IT: use “information technology” first then “IT”
- web: lowercase.
- one word, no hyphens for:
- cellphone
- ecommerce
- online
- smartphone
- website
Climate
AP Stylebook has updated direction for when to use “climate crisis” or “climate change.” Use “climate change” for long-term shifts (be scientifically accurate for varied impacts like extreme weather or sea rise). Use “climate crisis” sparingly because it implies urgency. Avoid using “deniers” for people who doubt science; instead, opt for something more specific like “people who reject mainstream climate science.”
Good Reminders
Old standby searches were also prevalent in 2025 because some of these hacks are really hard to remember. I always keep a cheat sheet handy and reference it often.
AP Style now designates not using an Oxford comma (that comma before “and” in simple lists like “red, white and blue”). But, full disclosure, Blue Wagon Group is a BIG proponent of the Oxford comma, so we’ll keep using it despite this new (ish) recommendation.
Other detailed punctuation, date and number nuances that can cause confusion:
- periods and commas always go inside a closing quotation mark
- job titles can be quite confusing, especially when you have a C-suite executive that prefers their title capitalized – use “President Washington” but lowercase “Washington, the president”
- only use one space after a period at the end of a sentence
- use a lowercase “a.m.” or “p.m.” with periods to note time, like 2 p.m.
- spell out months (February) and do not use “st, nd, rd, th” (instead of July 15th, use July 15)
- spell out states in body text instead of using postal codes (Arizona or Ariz. but not AZ)