AP Style On

AP Style holds that you should not use “on” before a date or day of the week when its absence would not lead to confusion, except at the beginning of a sentence. For example,

  • The conference call will be held Monday.
  • The president will be inaugurated Jan. 20.

-but-

  • On Dec. 21, the committee will meet to discuss the issue.

Use “on” to avoid an awkward juxtaposition of a date and a proper name. For example,

  • Steve met Susie on Monday.
  • She told Johnson on Thursday that the appointment was cancelled.

Use “on” also to avoid any suggestion that a date is the object of a transitive verb. The example,

  • The Senate killed on Tuesday a bid to raise the debt ceiling.
  • The House postponed on Thursday budget talks

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