Re: Does a Professional Tech Writer need to follow the Chicago Manual of Style?

[Janet_Swisher -at- TRILOGY -dot- COM]

DHICKEY wrote:

>Should I be relying on one particular (published) style guide when
creating
>documents? Or is it more important to use your own rules consistently and

>wisely?

Being a Chicago graduate, I'm tempted to say "Of course you must use the
Chicago Manual of Style!"  But in truth, I think it more important to use
your rules consistently.  If you ever have to work on projects with more
than one writer, it helps to have them written down.  At the company I
work for, our standard reference is the Microsoft Manual of Style (as with
most MS products, it's far from perfect, but it sets an industry
standard).  This mainly addresses issues of software terminology and
usage, rather than the generic concerns of a style guide like the CMS.  We
have a list of exceptions, bugaboos, and issues not covered in the MMS
(e.g., how this company treats trademarks), which is part of our internal
guide for writers (along with where to find stuff on the network, etc.).
Having a stated policy ensures consistency across writers on the issues
the organization cares about; when we use contractors, we state our style
policy as a condition of the contract.

Any issues not covered by our standard guides are left to the writer's
discretion.  They can refer to some other style guide, or just their own
horse sense.  I use the CMS when there's a question in my mind, but it's
possible I'm violating its dictates for things I never bothered to look
up.

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