Style guide (original) (raw)

A style guide is a work aiming to set out rules for writers. In such works, style can have two meanings:

Publication conventions for markup style, such as italicization of book and movie titles, expression of dates and numbers, or formats for footnotes.
Literary considerations of prose style, such as best usage, common grammatical errors, rules or suggestions for the most forceful expression of ideas.

Some style guides for the English language

APA style: academic style for the social sciences by the American Psychological Association
The MLA style manual: academic style for the arts by the Modern Language Association of America
The Chicago Manual of Style: mostly publishing conventions
Words into Type: publishing conventions, less scholarly, more accessible than the Chicago Manual
Turabian: academic style based on the Chicago Manual

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr and E. B. White: mostly literary style, American
Fowler's Modern English Usage: more a grammar guide than a style guide, British, later editions not written by Henry W. Fowler
Oxford Style Manual: The 2003 work combines The Oxford Guide to Style and The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors with the latter emphasizing common problems.
Politics and the English Language by George Orwell
Plain Words by Sir Ernest Gowers: mostly literary style, British slant

Usage and Abusage by Eric Partridge
The King's English by Kingsley Amis
Troublesome Words by Bill Bryson
Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor The Columbia Guide to Online Style; Columbia University Press ISBN 0231107897 (paperback, 1998) and ISBN 0231107889 (hardback, 1998)
The Chicago Manual of Style; University of Chicago Press; ISBN 0-226-10403-6 (15th edition, hardcover, 2003). Margaret D. F. Mahan wrote the preface, but is not credited as editor.
H.W. Fowler and Robert Burchfield (editor); The New Fowler's Modern English Usage; Clarendon Press; ISBN 0198602634 (revised 3rd edition, hardcover, 2000)

1Wikipedia has several recommendations as to writing style, such as: