Home
>
Writing
>
Recipe for a Style Guide

Recipe for a Style Guide

Wired Online has recently announced its plans to drop capitalization in internet, web, and net, but Wired Magazine continues to capitalize these words. Which should you do? For the most part, it's up to you. To ensure consistency on such tricky words, most editors will have a style guide.

This kind of style is the way you present yourself in words as well as the mechanics of words. Style addresses physical and editorial conventions.

If you don't have the luxury of creating one, there are a few excellent resources for your use. The ap style guide and ap style guide are the bibles for many editors. When you need to cite another source, use theap style guide or ap style guide for the rules. Just want a simple, small book you can carry with you? ap style guide is a winner.

Be warned that none of the cookbooks has a reference to words like "e-mail" and don't resolve all the issues you may encounter. In this case, you could refer to ap style guide. Here's what it says about E- words:

"In general, avoid forming new words with 'e-' (for electronic) unless you know your audience will understand. Some words that may be appropriate in certain circumstances are 'e-commerce' and 'e-money.' 'E-mail' and 'e-form' are acceptable. Use lowercase and always hyphenate for clarity."

Here's where creating your own recipe comes in. You can use a few other recipes and throw in your own modifications to come up with what best fits your tastes. Of course, we want to keep our readers in mind when creating the guide.

Start by thinking about the topics you write about. If it is high tech, then it helps to explore all the terms along with the spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Check out the ap style guide or ap style guide. If you're in another field, then you'll want to explorer for a similar resource. ap style guide has a radio style guide and the ap style guide is for writers and editors. Example of style guides for building Web sites include Lynch and Horton's ap style guide and New York Public Library's ap style guide. For those in medicine, University of Washington presents the most frequently used entries from the ap style guide.

The next ingredient to tackle is physical conventions. For instance, when starting a new paragraph, do you indent or use a double hard return? What font size, face, and style will you use for titles? Will the titles be capitalized or in sentence case? This is similar to a cookbook. All the recipes are formatted the same way. Even CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a recipe since it ensures formatting consistency.

Once you make the tough decisions, the easy part comes next. You throw all the selected ingredients into one pan, or in this case, one document. The style guide should be organized to make it easy for your writers can find what they need.

Finally, put it where everyone can access it. It doesn't have to be a book. It can be a one or two page document. It's a living document that you can continuously revise. Heck, use a blogging tool to easily manage it.

Now back to the hard part, getting everyone to follow the new guide.

Meryl K. Evans, Content Maven, is the writer and editor of many articles and publications including eNewsletter Journal, Shavlik's The Remediator, and Web Design @ InformIT. To get your feed on things geeky, webby, and wordy or to subscribe to free newsletters, visit her site at ap style guide.

Airbnb cleaning service Arlington Heights ..

In The News:

Red flags like processing fees, urgent countdowns and requests for full Social Security numbers expose fraudulent settlement sites targeting consumers.

Comprehensive analysis of Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps examines usability, routing accuracy, data handling and features across the top navigation platforms.

Expert analysis reveals whether wired Ethernet or wireless Wi-Fi connections are safer for home internet use, plus practical steps to secure your network from attackers.

Australian construction robot Charlotte uses sand, crushed brick and recycled glass to 3D print fireproof, floodproof homes with reduced carbon footprint.

Cybercriminals are using fake invitation emails to trick recipients into downloading malware and stealing personal information and data.

Flying drones could help retailers fight a 93% increase in theft rates as Flock Safety promotes airborne security systems to track suspects and deter crime.

The Fox News Artificial Intelligence Newsletter brings you the latest news on the emerging technology every Saturday, highlighting top stories.

Hacker group Radiant stole data from 8,000 children at Kido nursery chain, demanding ransom and directly contacting parents with intimidation tactics.

As 18 states implement bell-to-bell cell phone bans, creative students use Google Docs, iMessage on MacBooks and Post-It notes to stay connected in class.

A sheriff's captain says deputies often spend hours writing reports between calls, but Axon's AI program, Draft One, helps them save crucial time in the field.

Sora 2, OpenAI's new video-generation app, can create AI-generated videos based on a singular prompt. The results are both mind-blowing and terrifying.

iPhone and Android users can reduce Wi-Fi calling battery drainage through settings adjustments, background app limits and stronger Wi-Fi connections.

Work email scams are becoming harder to detect as criminals use AI and spoofed addresses to trick employees into opening malicious attachments and links.

From her Arizona living room, Christina Chapman ran a covert hub that helped North Korean operatives infiltrate U.S. firms, netting $17 million in stolen salaries.

UC Santa Barbara researchers developed a soft robotic intubation system that achieved 100% success rates for experts and 96% for paramedics with minimal training.

Scammers exploit probate filings to target grieving families with fake fees and debts, Kurt "Cyberguy" Knutsson reports.

Automotive giant Stellantis becomes latest victim of widespread Salesforce breaches affecting companies like Google, Cisco and Adidas this year.

A woman from Washington reunited with her missing Maine Coon cat Louie after 11 days using Love Lost, a free AI-powered pet recovery platform.

Expert cybersecurity tips help Mac owners remove malware infections and strengthen defenses with antivirus software, password managers and system updates.

Meta's AI chatbot training rules bans sexual roleplay with minors and block access to child abuse material as regulators scrutinize its safety measures.

Online banking users face a new threat: web injection scams that overlay fake pop-ups to steal logins. Here’s how to spot them and protect your accounts.

Meta introduced Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger while launching a School Partnership Program for U.S. educators to report bullying within 48 hours.

Executive order signed by President Donald Trump tasks Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s MAHA Commission with using AI to find new cures for childhood cancers.

New FileFix attack tricks Facebook and Instagram users into running malicious PowerShell commands disguised as Meta account maintenance to deploy StealC infostealer.

Step-by-step instructions help users migrate to Windows 11 while preserving emails, contacts, documents, and software licenses during the transition.

Recipe for a Style Guide

Writing