Hurricanes are ranked 1 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Read about Hurricane Joaquin.

Seat belt. Two words. 

In indicates location: He was in the room.
Into indicates motion: She walked into the room. 

See “body mass index” entry: no hyphen. 

See “Bubble Wrap” entry. A registered trademark. Unless the trademark name is important to the story, use cushioning or packaging material.

Use female as an adjective, not woman: She was Alaska’s first female governor. 

Like other recipes, if a cocktail is named for a person or place, it is capitalized. Otherwise, lowercase. Unless it’s a brand name, schnapps is lowercase. A Manhattan is capitalized, an old fashioned is lowercase. Lowercase vermouth, which goes into a Manhattan. 

AP uses the hyphen to designate dual heritage, such as African-American, Mexican-American, Hispanic-American, Italian-American and Asian-American. 

first-grade student. See “grade, grader” entry. 

See “blood alcohol content” entry: As a noun phrase, no hyphen. Authorities may use level in that context, so it’s equally acceptable. 

It’s wildfire, one word. Use square miles to describe the size of the fires. 

Use The Associated Press on first reference (the capitalized article is part of the formal name.) On second reference, AP or the AP (no capital on the) may be used. 

It’s plead, pleaded, pleading. Do not use the colloquial past tense form, pled. 

Warmup (n.) and warm up (v.) were added to AP Stylebook Sports Guidelines in 2015. 

Hyphenate part-time when used as a compound modifier: She works part time. She has a part-time job. 

According to “academic titles” entry: Lowercase modifiers such as department in department Chairman Jerome Wiesner. 

Web page is capitalized and two words, as in the “website” entry. 

See “boo-boo” entry: always hyphen. 

Pontiff is not a formal title. Always lowercase. 

Ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft let people use smartphone apps to book and pay for a private car service or, in some cases, a taxi. They may also be called ride-booking services. Do not use ride-sharing. 

Thinking about lunch? Pack a BLT (OK on first reference) in a zip-close bag (Ziploc is a brand name.) 

The term is plural possessive to indicate that such an item is typically sought by more than one collector. 

AP stories favor headwind (one word,) although Webster’s makes it two words (head wind.) 

AP uses the hyphen to designate dual heritage, such as African-American, Mexican-American, Hispanic-American, Italian-American and Asian-American. 

To describe those who don’t accept climate science or dispute the world is warming from man-made forces, use climate change doubters or those who reject mainstream climate science. Avoid use of skeptics or deniers. 

Use today only in direct quotations and in phrases that do not refer to a specific day: Customs today are different from those of a century ago. Use the day of the week in copy, not today. 

To allude to something is to speak of it without specifically mentioning it. To refer to something is to mention it directly. 

Capitalize Coast Guard when referring to this branch of the U.S. armed forces: the Coast Guard, Coast Guard policy. 

One-word onto means on top of, aware of. Otherwise use two words: hold on to, log on to. 

The abbreviation for artificial intelligence is AI, not A.I. 

Schoolbook, schoolchildren, schoolroom, schoolteacher, schoolwork and schoolyard are one word, but school year, school age, school day and school bus are two. 

Semiannual means twice a year, a synonym for biannual. Do not confuse with biennial, every two years. 

Seconds and minutes generally can be timed or accurately estimated, so it’s better to use figures for those measurements, usually hyphenated as compound modifiers.