There are three ways to handle states. When referring to a state by itself, as in Everyone likes the scenery in Michigan, spell it out. When a city name accompanies the state, use the standard, Associated Press abbreviation as in, Susie was born in Wichita, Kan. (see list below). Only when giving a specific address that might be used on an envelope should you use the postal code abbreviation and ZIP without a comma: Send your ideas to Communications and Marketing, Northern Michigan University, 1401 Presque Isle Ave., Marquette, MI 49845.
| AL/Ala. | FL/Fla. | KY/Ky. | MT/Mont. | OH/Ohio | UT/Utah |
| AK/Alaska | GA/Ga. | LA/La. | NE/Neb. | OK/Okla. | VT/Vt. |
| AZ/Ariz. | HI/Hawaii | ME/Maine | NV/Nev. | OR/Ore. | VA/Va. |
| AR/Ark. | ID/Idaho | MD/Md. | NH/N.H. | PA/Pa. | WA/Wash. |
| CA/Calif. | ID/Idaho | MA/Mass. | NJ/N.J. | RI/R.I. | WV/W.Va. |
| CO/Colo. | IL/Ill. | MI/Mich. | NM/N.M. | SC/S.C. | WI/Wis. |
| CT/Conn. | IN/Ind. | MN/Minn. | NY/N.Y. | SD/S.D. | WY/Wyo. |
| DE/Del. | IA/Iowa | MS/Miss. | NC/N.C. | TN/Tenn. | |
| DC/D.C. | KS/Kan. | MO/Mo. | ND/N.D. | TX/Texas |