THOR Virtual Reference Desk

A collection of links to reference information of all types.

Purdue University (2000). Reference>Style Guides

Tips for Technical Writers

Begin by getting familiar with your corporate style. If there is no existing style guide, either review existing manuals to determine what has been done in the past ( Pay special attention to the language, assumed prior knowledge, general organization and presentation of how-tos (task-based or informational)) or choose a style guide.

Hanvey, Jeff. Suite101. Articles>Style Guides

Tips for Technical Writing: How to Avoid the Mechanical Pitfalls of Professional Writing  

The information that follows addresses common student questions when preparing research papers using the APA writing format. Students are encouraged to consult the 5th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) for more complete information and the Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services’ Style Guide for the Applied Dissertation (SGAD) for exceptions to APA. The summary also includes a few APA exceptions.

Gainey, Donald D. Nova Southeastern University (2002). Reference>Style Guides

Transitions

This section was part of a chapter made up of the following: Content—provides strategies for thinking of useful content for writing projects, in other words, developing the content of a project. Organization—provides strategies for reviewing the sequence and arrangement of the contents of a writing project. Transitions—provides review strategies for checking the coherence of a writing project, in other words, the 'flow' of the project as created by the transitions.

McMurrey, David A. Illuminati Online (2001). Academic>Course Materials>Style Guides

Typographic Dimensions and Conventional Wisdom: A Discrepancy?    

Typographic guidelines are based on a combination of legibility research and personal experience. Both of these approaches seem to ignore actual documents as a source of information. An inventory of the typographic dimensions of existing texts in different genres is required to investigate and discusscurrent typographic guidelines. In this study, three dimensions - x-height,linelength and linespace - of 106 brochures, 114 scientific journals and 110 novels were measured. The results show that the design of these documents does not reflect current typographic guidelines. The results also show that document developers specify the x-height, line length and linespace within clear boundaries andthat these boundaries differ per genre. There are preferences within these boundaries and these might be based on conventional wisdom.

van der Waarde, Karel. Technical Communication Online (1999). Design>Typography>Style Guides

Understanding the Importance of Style Guides

Style guides describe conventions for virtually every aspect of writing, ranging from such things as spelling, punctuation, and word usage, to structural and formatting issues. With the myriad of style guides in use, the dilemma for many writers is deciding which one to learn and apply in the trade. The answer to this is easy: learn at least one style guide thoroughly and keep a selected few others for backup. In the course of recruiting technical and generalist writers and editors for nearly a decade, I am sometimes shocked at the low level of familiarity with long-established style guides by people who claim to be seasoned professionals in this business. The reality is that it is plainly obvious to spot writers who “claim” to know a style guide and those who have actually taken the time to study it. The proof is in the pudding, as they say. The quality and consistency of a writer’s or editor’s output is the litmus test to how proficient he or she is in applying a given style guide.

Zvalo, Peter. Writer's Block (2002). Articles>Writing>Style Guides

The University of Victoria's Hypertext Writer's Guide

Originally prepared for students in the English Department at the University of Victoria, the Guide is an introduction to the process of writing and to the study of literature. We're pleased to make its hypertext version available to writers and students of literature across the World Wide Web. We hope you find it helpful whether you're just starting the big job of writing an essay or need only to check a small point.

University of Victoria (1997). Reference>Style Guides

Usage Experts Change Their Minds, Too

Many terms and constructions frowned on a generation ago have been admitted, like many new words, into mainstream parlance and have gained wider acceptance than before. An example is tycoon, in the sense of a wealthy businessman, labeled 'informal' in the first edition of AHD but accepted in the third. Another example is balding, called 'entirely vulgar' in a usage note by panelist Katherine Anne Porter in the first edition but entered without stigma in the third.

Soukhanov, Anne H. Editorial Eye, The (2003). Articles>Style Guides>Editing

The Use of Capitals

The question to the list-subscribers was I am looking for studies dealing with the difference between small letters and capitals. Are small letters easier to read? In France, road signs are written in capitals but it is not the case in the US or Canada.

Gaviero-Villatte, Elisa. TC-FORUM (2000). Articles>Style Guides>Grammar

Use of Hyphens

This page collects a series of notes from readers of my newsletter, and my responses to those notes, arising from an article in issue 60, 13 May 2002. I thank those who took the time to write and explain why some hyphen usage is considered to be correct or incorrect.

Hollis Weber, Jean. Technical Editors Eyrie (2002). Articles>Writing>Style Guides>Grammar

User Attitudes Toward Corporate Style Guides: A Survey    

Little information is known on user attitudes toward corporate style guides (CSGs). A national survey shows that an overwhelming 93% of users and 85% of non-users advocate CSG usage primarily to generate consistency in documents, to save time generating documents, and to create a professional look in documents. As corporations face the future by restructuring, usually by downsizing, and by competing more in a global economy, CSG usage will be more prevalent in corporate America, as the results of this survey indicate that CSGs are an economical quality tool that benefits both the user and the corporation.

Allen, Paul R. Technical Communication Online (1996). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Style Guides

Using a Doc Spec for Printed Books  

All technical documentation projects benefit from a good content plan or 'doc spec.' The doc spec is a blueprint for a document. It identifies the product, users, source materials, and subject matter experts (SMEs). It also provides a preliminary outline of topics and estimates the work effort to produce the document. The doc spec template is simply a tool that guides you through the document planning and estimating process. Your customized doc spec serves as a record of the who, what, when, why, and how of your project.

Wing, Elizabeth. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>Style Guides

Using a Style Guide to Build Consensus

Style guides are often requested as a way to promote a common look and feel but do little to address the real problems in the way user interfaces are developed. In many situations, a collection of rules for visual design and the use of controls can seem like a band-aid; promoting surface-level consistency rather than solving the real usability problems. Even when a good style guide is created, it is often ignored after release. Worse, the style guide can become a weapon where a user-centered design process is needed. In either case, the style guide has failed to produce the desired effect. What’s missing is a consensus on the scope, ownership, or content. Solving this problem requires a change in the way style guides are developed, distributed, and used. Three suggestions for teams developing style guides are to start early, to make the emerging style guide widely available, and to plan for long-term maintenance of the guidelines.

Quesenbery, Whitney. Usability Interface (2001). Articles>Style Guides

Using a WWW Development Design Document to Create a Comprehensive Web Site  

Technical Communicators are eminently qualified for Web publishing as it is a natural extension of our writing abilities. However, we must be careful to avoid the pitfalls of Web publishing and contribute to the host of glamorous Web sites that lack content, are difficult to navigate, and do not satisfy the ultimate goals of the organization or institution the site represents. One proven technique for planning and implementing a Web site is the creation of a WWW Development Design Document. By championing the development of this document, communicators return to their knowledge roots of organization and writing.

Faure, MacKenzie, Amey Celoria and Cecilia Kullberg. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Web Design>Style Guides

Using American Psychological Association (APA) Format

For the most current information about APA Format, we recommend visiting the Author's Corner of the APA website, where you can read about electronic reference formats recommended by the American Psychological Association and some frequently asked questions about the APA Publication manual, which includes the most up to date information about formatting, citation, and style. This handout is currently being revised to be in accordance with the latest guidelines, so do make sure to check our information against theirs.

Purdue University. Reference>Style Guides>Writing

Using Manual Quality Tables To Improve Manual Quality  

Technical writers need to decide what information is to go into a manual, and in how much detail. Such decisions can have a crucial effect on manual quality. Poor decisions can result in published manuals that lack required information, contain unsuitable or unnecessary information, or repeat information in other manuals. To help make better decisions, Hitachi technical writers use Manual Quality Tables. The tables specify what type of information is to go into a manual, the required level of detail, and sources for the information. These tables enable writers to itemize the required contents of a manual before starting to write the manual. In addition, during later revisions, the tables enable writers or reviewers to easily discover any topics that were left out in the original version.

Sudo, Hideki. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Documentation>Style Guides

Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format

Modern Language Association (MLA) format provides writers with a system for cross-referencing their sources--from their parenthetical references to their works cited page. This cross-referencing system allows readers to locate the publication information of source material. This is of great value for researchers who may want to locate your sources for their own research projects. The proper use of MLA style also shows the credibility of writers; such writers show accountability to their source material. Most importantly, the use of MLA style can protect writers from accusations of plagiarism--the purposeful or accidental use of source material by other writers without giving appropriate credit.

Purdue University. Reference>Style Guides>Writing>Plagiarism

Using 'Which' and 'That'

'That' clauses form a sense unit with the word they're attached to, and that's why they aren't preceded by a comma.

Right Words. Articles>Writing>Style Guides

Verbs with -ize: Efficient or to Be ... Ostracized?

A discussion of whether neologisms such as 'prioritize' have 'arrived' yet.

Packard, Robyn. Editorial Eye, The (1996). Articles>Writing>Style Guides

A Visual Guide to Document Design and Layout  

Technical publications departments in their infancy seem to have great difficulty producing documentation that is well designed and consistent in appearance throughout all documents. As the department matures, it attempts to "consistify" the appearance of the documentation, but, unless there is an experienced template designer on board, this is often a drawn-out process involving focus groups and much squabbling. Once the design is complete, however, it tends to be nearly identical to the templates designed by every other technical publications department in the world. Aside from a handful of design features that distinguish the look and feel of one company's documentation from that of its competitors, everything else is pretty much the same. Whether the focus group spends six months or two years designing templates, they all discover that a well-designed user guide contains some specific and standard design elements.

Amott, Lyndsey. Docsymmetry (2003). Resources>Style Guides>Design>Documentation

Web Design Standards: 10 Organizational Secrets

The practices and processes that facilitate the organizational development needed to create a successful Web design standard.

Schaffer, Eric M. Human Factors International (2006). Presentations>Web Design>Style Guides>Workplace

When Metaphors Fail to Keep Their Distance

Was I being too literal when I made the following change? I don't think so. A name-brand financial columnist wrote the following paragraph in a piece about Web-based credit cards: Most issuers mail you a plastic card, usually a MasterCard or Visa, which you also can use in stores. At Citibank, however, plastic has become uncool. Instead, it's offering ClickCredit, a virtual card (www.clickcredit.com). It acts like a credit card, but exists only in Citi's computer. You use it solely for making purchases on the Web. The problem is, I have one of these Citibank cards, and while it's true that it's not an ordinary credit card that you carry around in your wallet and use at stores, it's also true that the ClickCredit people do mail you a card, and it's made of plastic.

Walsh, Bill. Slot, The (2001). Articles>Style Guides>Marketing>Tropes

When Technical Writers Don't Write Technically  

Technical writers are often asked to write more than just end-user manuals or online help systems. Due to company size, layoffs, or a lack of resources, the technical writer might also be expected to deliver marketing communication collateral, Web site content, training materials, and more. These additional tasks can daunt those who have not been formally trained in other writing styles or those who do not switch writing styles easily.

Statt, Ronald A. Intercom (2003). Articles>Writing>Style Guides>Technical Writing

Working with Government Documentation Standards: A Case Study  

This paper discusses the software development process at a particular government agency, the documentation standards used by that agency, the problems caused by these standards, and some of the solutions that have helped the technical communication there to work through the problems and still create documents of use to the reader.

Chiricosta, Tracey C. and Irene Lea Taylor. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>Documentation>Style Guides>Government

Writer's Handbook

We're pleased to offer some of the many instructional materials we've developed for our Writing Center teaching. As useful as we think these materials may be to you, though, we need to offer a few words of caution. There are limitations to these materials. Assignments vary. Different instructors want different things from student writers. What's appropriate and effective in one context, isn't necessarily so in others. So as you peruse what's here please understand that our suggestions may or may not apply to your writing situation. Please remember that handouts can give only a fraction of the customized guidance that an individual conference with a Writing Center instructor can provide.

University of Wisconsin (2001). Reference>Style Guides