What is style?
Every publication, document or website should have its own house style. But what is “style”?
It is not the author’s writing style. And it is not the way the document is presented.
Style is the way words are used and formatted to maintain consistency and uniformity within a piece of text, as well as across a range of publications.
A style guide tells you when to use single and double quote marks, and when to use capital letters and when not to. It covers hundreds of things that can be expressed in more than one way.
For instance, take the phrase: nine o’ clock in the morning.
This can be expressed in the following ways:
- 9am.
- 9 a m.
- 9 a.m.
- 9AM.
- 9 A.M.
- 9 o’clock in the morning.
- 0900 hours.
These are all correct, but they are all different. And, if they are expressed in different ways in the same piece of copy, or in the same publication or website, it will look unprofessional.
Let’s look at another example. Take the term Police Constable. This can be expressed in the following ways:
- PC.
- Police Constable.
- P.C.
- Pol Cons.
- Pc.
- P.c.
A style guide will determine which version to use, and everyone writing or working for that website or publication must follow it, whether they agree with it or not.
Here are some more:
- Numbers: 10 or ten?
- Capital letters: prime minister, or Prime Minister?
- Dates: 26/05/2011, or May 26, 2011?
- Abbreviations: BBC, or British Broadcasting Corporation?
- Words that can be spelled in two different ways: acknowledgement, or acknowledgment? Focussed, or focused?
- Website addresses: www, or http://www?
- Bullet points: capitalise the first letter of each line, or not?
- Names: Mr Smith, or John Smith? Miss, or Ms?
- Ranks, titles, etc.
Style guides
Many businesses have their own style guides, but there are also well-known guides that many people and organisations use.
Always follow the style guide
We need to stress the importance of following style, right at the start of your proofreading and editing career.
Remember: the style guide is always right, even when you think it is wrong! Many proofreaders struggle with this.
They say: “My English teacher said the word Queen should always have a capital Q.”
Or: “The rules of grammar say you should not start a sentence with the words and, but, or so.”
These comments are irrelevant. You must follow the client’s style guide, even if you profoundly disagree with it!
Checking the client’s style requirements
Sometimes a client might follow a certain style already, either deliberately, or without realising it. For example, they may use bold to emphasise words, as in: “You must attend the meeting on time.”
A good proofreader or editor will ask them, in advance, if they want to:
- Keep their existing style where it exists, and let you use your chosen style guide for everything else, or
- Start from scratch and apply your chosen style guide to everything.
Creating your own style guide
It is useful to have your own style guide to use if your client does not have one, or does not have a complete one. But, there is no point in reinventing the wheel.
Most people use a recognised guide and have their own additional style points to list exceptions, or missing items.
See our proofreading course