Some AP style rules about geography.

1. AP style Geography Around the World in Grammatical Errors

2. Asian subcontinent Only use when referring to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India Nepal, Pakistan, Sikkim and Sri Lanka.

3. The “Belts” Did you know the United States holds the Bible Belt, the Sun Belt, the Corn Belt, Cotton Belt? Use “Bible Belt” with caution.

4. The Low Countries Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands constitute this European region.

5. Far East vs. Far West The Far East constitutes the eastern most portions of Asia. The Far West Constitutes the area west of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S.

6. Datelines: South American Editon As a dateline, Rio De Janeiro stands alone, but Caracas, Venezuela does not. Datelines are determined by the population of the city, the frequency of the city’s appearance in the news, the uniqueness of its name, and experience that has shown the name to be almost synonymous with the city or nation where it is located.

7. A Lesson in Mountains Did you know that “Sierra” means “mountain range? Thus, it is always “the Sierra Nevada,” never “Sierra Nevada mountains” or “Sierra Nevada Mountain range.”

8. The Old World The Old World equates to the Eastern Hemisphere (Asia, Europe and Africa). You can reference it culturally or geographically.

9. Image Sources http://www.sitesatlas.com/Maps/Maps/510.htm http://springfieldpublicschoolsmo.org/depts/edtech/photoshopcs3/index.htm http://kindredblood.wordpress.com/category/confederate-flag/ http://www.rio-de-janeiro.info/ http://www.city-data.com/forum/general-u-s/359362-rockies-appalachians-6.html http://stock-images.antiqueprints.com/stock/worldmaps.html