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 an "in-house style". Style guides are common for general and specialized use, for the general reading and writing audience, and for students and scholars of medicine, journalism, law, and various academic disciplines.
International
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EN 15038, Annex D–European Standard for Translation Services (withdrawn)
In the United Kingdom, many major periodicals, academic institutions, and large companies have their own style guides; otherwise, they normally rely on New Hart's Rules, available in the New Oxford Style Manual.
For general writing
Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford (1893), more commonly known as Hart's Rules. First edition circulated privately. Fifteenth edition (first for publication): 1904. Thirty-ninth (final) edition: 1983. Later editions published under new format under the title New Hart's Rules; see entry below for New Oxford Style Manual.
Author & Printer: A Guide for Authors, Editors, Printers, Correctors of the Press, Compositors, and Typists; With full list of Abbreviations; An Attempt to codify the best Typographical Practices of the Present Day (March 1905), by F. Howard Collins. Reprinted under its more familiar title, Authors' and Printers' Dictionary, in 1909.
A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1926), by H. W. Fowler. Second edition, edited by Sir Ernest Gowers: Fowler's Modern English Usage (1965). Third edition, edited by Robert Burchfield: New Fowler's Modern English Usage (1996). Fourth (latest) edition: Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage, edited by Jeremy Butterfield (2015). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN9780199661350
The Complete Plain Words (1954), by Sir Ernest Gowers. An amalgamation of the author's Plain Words: A Guide to the Use of English (1948) and his ABC of Plain Words (1951). The first edition of 1954 was published to popular acclaim; a second edition, revised by Sir Bruce Fraser, was published in 1973 and was also warmly received for its wit and charm. The latest (fourth) edition, edited by Gowers' great-granddaughter Rebecca Gowers, was published in 2014.
Acorn Technical Publications Style Guide, by Acorn Computers. Provides editorial guidelines for text in RISC OS instructional publications, technical documentation, and reference information.[13]
RISC OS Style Guide[14] by RISC OS Open Limited. Provides design guidelines, help and dialogue box phrasing examples for the software user interface.
United States
In the United States, most journalistic forms of mass communication rely on styles provided in the Associated Press Stylebook(AP Stylebook). Corporate publications typically follow either the AP Stylebook or the equally respected Chicago Manual of Style, with in-house modifications or exceptions to the chosen style guide.
A classic grammar style guide is Strunk & White's Elements of Style.
The Conscious Style Guide: A Flexible Approach to Language That Includes, Respects, and Empowers, by Karen Yin — provides "style guidance on compassionate, mindful, empowering, respectful, and inclusive language," particularly with regards to marginalized communities[15]
Handbook of Technical Writing, by Gerald J. Alred, Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter E. Oliu
The Little Style Guide to Great Christian Writing and Publishing, by Leonard G. Goss and Carolyn Stanford Goss — provides a distinctively religious examination of style and language for writers and editors in religion, philosophy of religion, and theology
Apple Style Guide, published online by Apple Inc.[26] — provides editorial guidelines for text in Apple instructional publications, technical documentation, reference information, training programs, and the software user interface
GNOME Developer Documentation Style Guidelines, published online by GNOME[28]
Google Developer Documentation Style Guide, published online by Google[29] — provides a set of editorial guidelines for anyone writing developer documentation for Google-related projects
The IBM Style Guide: Conventions for Writers and Editors, by Francis DeRespinis, Peter Hayward, Jana Jenkins, Amy Laird, Leslie McDonald, and Eric Radzinski for IBM Press[30]
Developing Quality Technical Information: A Handbook for Writers and Editors, by Michelle Carey, Moira McFadden Lanyi, Deirdre Longo, Eric Radzinski, Shannon Rouiller and Elizabeth Wilde for IBM Press[31]
Mailchimp Content Style Guide, published online by Mailchimp[32]
↑The CSE manual: scientific style and format for authors, editors, and publishers (9ed.). Chicago: Published by the Council of Science Editors in cooperation with The University of Chicago Press. 2024. doi:10.7208/cse9. ISBN978-0-226-68394-2.
↑Cunningham, Helen; Greene, Brenda (2013). The Business Style Handbook: An A-to-Z Guide for Effective Writing on the Job (2nded.). McGraw-Hill. ISBN9780071800105.
