List of style guides

A style guide, or style manual, is a set of standards for the writing and design of documents, either for general use or for a specific publication, organization or field. The implementation of a style guide provides uniformity in style and formatting within a document and across multiple documents. A set of standards for a specific organization is often known as "house style". Style guides are common for general and specialized use, for the general reading and writing audience, and for students and scholars of various academic disciplines, medicine, journalism, the law, government, business, and industry.

International

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Several basic style guides for technical and scientific communication have been defined by international standards organizations. These are often used as elements of and refined in more specialized style guides that are specific to a subject, region, or organization. Some examples are:

  • EN 15038, Annex D – European Standard for Translation Services (withdrawn)
  • ISO 8 – Presentation of periodicals
  • ISO 18 – Contents lists of periodicals
  • ISO 31 – Quantities & units
  • ISO 214 – Abstracts for publication & documentation
  • ISO 215 – Presentation of contributions to periodicals and other serials[1]
  • ISO 690 – Bibliographic references – Content, form & structure
  • ISO 832 – Bibliographic references – Abbreviations of typical words
  • ISO 999 – Index of a publication
  • ISO 1086 – Title leaves of a book
  • ISO 2145 – Numbering of divisions & subdivisions in written documents
  • ISO 5966 – Presentation of scientific & technical reports (withdrawn)
  • ISO 6357 – Spine titles on books & other publications
  • ISO 7144 – Presentation of theses & similar documents
  • ISO 9241 – Ergonomics of Human System Interaction
  • ISO 17100 – Translation Services-Requirements for Translation Services

Other style guides that cover international usage:

Australia

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General

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  • Australian Government Style Manual by Digital Transformation Agency. 7th ed.
  • Style Manual: For Authors, Editors and Printers by Snooks & Co for the Department of Finance and Administration. 6th ed. ISBN 0701636483.
  • The Australian Handbook for Writers and Editors by Margaret McKenzie. 4th ed. ISBN 9781921606496.
  • The Cambridge Guide to Australian English Usage by Pam Peters of Macquarie University. 2nd ed. ISBN 9780521702423.
  • The Complete Guide to English Usage for Australian Students by Margaret Ramsay. 6th ed. ISBN 9780521702423.

Law

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Science

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  • Australian manual of scientific style (AMOSS) by Biotext; illustrated by Biotext. 1st ed. ISBN 9780994636904

Canada

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European Union

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United Kingdom

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In the United Kingdom, major publications, academic institutions and companies have their own style guides, otherwise they would normally rely on New Hart's Rules available in the New Oxford Style Manual.

For general writing

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For academic papers

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For journalism

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For electronic publishing

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For the computer industry (software and hardware)

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  • Acorn Technical Publications Style Guide, by Acorn Computers. Provides editorial guidelines for text in RISC OS instructional publications, technical documentation, and reference information.[8]
  • RISC OS Style Guide[9] by RISC OS Open Limited. Provides design guidelines, help and dialogue box phrasing examples for the software user interface.

United States

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In the United States, most journalistic forms of mass communication rely on styles provided in the Associated Press Stylebook (AP). Corporate publications typically follow either the AP style guide or the equally respected Chicago Manual of Style, often with entries that are additions or exceptions to the chosen style guide.

A classic grammar style guide is The Elements of Style. Together, these two books are referenced more than any other general style book for US third-person writing used across most professions.[citation needed]

For general writing

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For academic papers

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For journalism

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For electronic publishing

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  • The Columbia Guide to Online Style, by Janice Walker and Todd Taylor.
  • Web Style Guide: Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites, by Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton.
  • The Yahoo! Style Guide, 2010.[11]

For business

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For the computer industry

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  • Apple Style Guide, published online by Apple Inc.[13] Provides editorial guidelines for text in Apple instructional publications, technical documentation, reference information, training programs, and the software user interface.
    An earlier version was the Apple Publications Style Guide.[14]
  • DigitalOcean documentation style guide, published online by DigitalOcean.[15]
  • GNOME documentation style guide, published online by GNOME.[16]
  • Google Developer Documentation Style Guide, published online by Google.[17] Provides a set of editorial guidelines for anyone writing developer documentation for Google-related projects.
  • The IBM Style Guide: Conventions for Writers and Editors, 2011,[18] and Developing Quality Technical Information: A Handbook for Writers and Editors, 2014,[19] from IBM Press.
  • Mailchimp content style guide, published online by Mailchimp.[20]
  • Microsoft Writing Style Guide, published online by Microsoft Corporation.[21] Provides a style standard for technical documentation including use of terminology, conventions, procedure, design treatments, and punctuation and grammar usage. Before 2018, Microsoft published a book, the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications.
  • MongoDB documentation style guide, published by MongoDB.[22]
  • Mozilla Writing Style Guide, published online by Mozilla.[23]
  • Rackspace style guide for technical content, published online by Rackspace.[24]
  • Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer Industry, by Sun Technical Publications, 3rd ed., 2010.[25]
  • Red Hat style guide for technical documentation, published online by Red Hat.[26]
  • Salesforce style guide for documentation and user interface text, published online by Salesforce.[27]
  • The Splunk Style Guide, published online by Splunk.[28] Provides a writing style reference for anyone writing or editing technical documentation.
  • SUSE documentation style guide, published online by SUSE.[29]
  • Wired Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age, 1996 by Constance Hale and Jessie Scanlon for Wired

Editorial style guides on preparing a manuscript for publication

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Academic

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Communities

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  • Conscious Style Guide[32] -- A website "devoted to conscious language. My mission is to help writers and editors think critically about using language—including words, portrayals, framing, and representation—to empower instead of limit." Created by author and Robinson Prize winner Karen Yin.
  • GLAAD Media Reference Guide, 8th ed., GLAAD College Media Reference Guide, 1st ed., GLAAD Chinese Media Reference Guide, 1st ed. - published by GLAAD to encourage media outlets to use language and practices inclusive of LGBT people. Available as a free download.[33]

Art

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  • Association of Art Editors Style Guide[34]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "ISO 215:1986 – Documentation – Presentation of contributions to periodicals and other serials". International Organization for Standardization.
  2. ^ "Council of Europe English Style Guide PDF" (PDF). European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe. 20 October 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2023.
  3. ^ "English resources: English Style Guide". European Commission. April 2023. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Publications Office — Interinstitutional style guide — Home". Publications.Europa.eu.
  5. ^ "BBC News style guide". BBC Academy.
  6. ^ "Style Guide | the Economist". The Economist. Archived from the original on 7 February 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Guardian and Observer style guide: A". Theguardian.com. 23 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Acorn Technical Publications Style Guide" (PDF). RISC OS Open. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  9. ^ "RISC OS Style Guide" (PDF). RISC OS Open. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  10. ^ Favilla, Emmy; Paolone, Megan (8 March 2023). "BuzzFeed Style Guide". BuzzFeed.com.
  11. ^ Barr, Chris (2010). The Yahoo! Style Guide. Yahoo! Inc. ISBN 9780312569846.
  12. ^ Cunningham, Helen; Greene, Brenda (2013). The Business Style Handbook: An A-to-Z Guide for Effective Writing on the Job (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill. ISBN 9780071800105.
  13. ^ Apple Inc. (March 2024). "Apple Style Guide".
  14. ^ "Apple Style Guide" (PDF). April 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2015.
  15. ^ Digital Ocean. "DigitalOcean documentation style guide". Docs.DigitalOcean.com.
  16. ^ GNOME. "GNOME documentation style guide".
  17. ^ "Google developer documentation style guide". Google Inc.
  18. ^ DeRespinis, Francis (2011). The IBM Style Guide: Conventions for Writers and Editors. IBM Press. ISBN 9780132101301.
  19. ^ Carey, Michelle (2014). Developing Quality Technical Information: A Handbook for Writers and Editors (3rd ed.). IBM Press. ISBN 9780133119008.
  20. ^ Mailchimp. "Mailchimp content style guide".
  21. ^ "Microsoft Writing Style Guide". Microsoft.
  22. ^ MongoDB. "MongoDB documentation style guide".
  23. ^ Mozilla. "Mozilla Writing Style Guide".
  24. ^ Rackspace. "Rackspace style guide for technical content".
  25. ^ Sun Technical Publications (2010). Read me first!: A style guide for the computer industry (3rd ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780137058266.
  26. ^ "Red Hat Style Guide". Stylepedia.net. Red Hat.
  27. ^ "Salesforce style guide for documentation and user interface text". Salesforce.
  28. ^ "Welcome to the Splunk Style Guide - Splunk Documentation". Docs.Splunk.com. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  29. ^ SUSE. "SUSE documentation style guide".
  30. ^ "Shaw Communications". Members.Shaw.ca.
  31. ^ "Scientific Style and Format Online". Scientific Style and Format Online. Council of Science Editors / Chicago University Press.
  32. ^ Yin, Karen. "Conscious Language + Design". Conscious Style Guide. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  33. ^ "GLAAD Media Reference Guide". GLAAD.org (10th ed.). 25 August 2011.
  34. ^ "AAE Style Guide NEW". 7 March 2015. Archived from the original on 7 March 2015.
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