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From the Newsroom: Totally easy Columbian, AP style rules quiz

By Craig Brown, Columbian Editor
Published: June 16, 2018, 6:05am

Put 40 writers in a newsroom, and you will get 40 different ways to write the same information. That’s why we have style rules, which are sort of the traffic cops of news writing. They keep us orderly and on course.

But just like the errant motorist, sometimes we mess up, or just need a refresher on the rules. Our assistant news editor, Colleen Keller, is the keeper of our style book. She came up with this quiz. I dubbed it “totally easy” because she had shared every answer within the past month as one of her daily tips.

I handed it out to the metro reporters. The only reporter to get every question right was Tom Vogt. There was a big prize at stake, too: a $10 coffee gift card. (I missed Question 2, which in my opinion was very, very difficult. But, it wouldn’t have been appropriate to award the gift card to myself anyway.)

Although you don’t get the emails with Keller’s style tips, I thought you might like to try the quiz. The answers are at the bottom.

1. The correct spelling of this word is:

A. gray

B. grey

2. If you want to leave your car in a lot and use a C-Tran bus, you go to a:

A. park and ride

B. Park & Ride

3. One of Vancouver’s main drags is:

A. Broadway

B. Broadway Street

4. Mark Matthias’ latest restaurant is:

A. Warehouse 23

B. WareHouse ’23

5. That nice hotel just south of Esther Short Park is:

A. The Vancouver Hilton

B. The Hilton Vancouver Washington

6. The name of this retail giant is:

A. Walmart

B. Wal-Mart

7. When entering or exiting a highway, you use:

A. on-ramp, off-ramp

B. onramp, offramp

8. Which of these addresses is written correctly?:

A. The Columbian, 701 W. 8th Street, Vancouver

B. The Columbian, 701 W. Eighth St., Vancouver

9. Which of these event times is written correctly?

A. The event is on Saturday, May 26th from 12 noon to 5 p.m. at Esther Short Park.

B. The event is noon to 5 p.m. May 26 at Esther Short Park.

10. The small airport in Vancouver is:

A. Pearson Field

B. Pearson Field Airport

11. Prairie High School is in which school district?

A. Battle Ground School District

B. Battle Ground Public Schools

12. Which is written correctly regarding the child’s age?

A. The baby is four months old.

B. The baby is 4 months old.

13. The former Clark County poor farm is now called the:

A. Heritage Farm

B. The 78th Street Heritage Farm

14. Which of these names are written correctly?:

A. The Vancouver Mall, the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics

B. Vancouver Mall, School of Arts and Academics

15. Clark County Council Chair Marc Boldt’s political affiliation is:

A. No party preference

B. Republican

Answers: 1-A; 2-B; 3-A; 4-B; 5-B; 6-A; 7-B; 8-B; 9-B; 10-A; 11-B; 12-B; 13-B; 14-B; 15-A

How well did you do? Probably well enough to deserve another cup of coffee.

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