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Does anyone out there still use a style guide? Or are people just
disinclined to use them?
Reading through the posts on the TECHWR-L list, there are regular and
frequent posts of questions concerning word use, spelling, appropriate
terminology, and (slipping past when Eric isn't looking) the
occasional grammar question.
These are all questions typically addressed by a style guide, so it
seems that many TECHWR-L'ers are not using one. As an old fogey, I
can't imagine attempting any serious writing project without
one--possibly because I still remember my high school journalism
teacher waving the AP Style Guide in our faces when we made a
particularly egregious error.
We are currently revising our in-house style guide (never a pleasant
task), so perhaps I'm overly sensitive to the topic right now. In
addition to our in-house style guide, we also use:
The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edition
Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition
Fowler's Modern English Usage, 2nd edition
Our in-house style guide addresses various idiosyncratic style
questions unique to our products and marketplace, and resolves style
conflicts between our reference sources.
In addition to the above sources, I keep on hand:
IBM Dictionary of Computing
Microsoft Press Computer Dictionary
Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications
In general, if you can't find a definitive answer to a style question
in these six references, it's probably not important. At worst, you
may find conflicting recommendations, and then you get to play God and
choose The Proper Style.
The references cited above can be purchased for about USD $200. Our
Australian writers use the Style Manual for Authors, Editors and
Printers, 4th edition, and The Macquarie Dictionary, 2nd edition, as
their main style and dictionary references.
To me, being conversant with various style references and applications
of style are important components of being a well-rounded writer
(technical or otherwise).
Regards,
Keith Arnett
Senior Technical Writer
Sterling Software, Inc./Operations Management Division
Reston VA USA
