Newsletter of the East Bay Chapter of STC
March/April 2003

Online Writing:
Style Guide Resources

by Scott Wallace
EBSTC Member

Resources from Style Guides to the Rescue.

Think of these as supplements to, not substitutes for, your trusty Chicago, AP, Oxford American, or other reputable print style manual.

Most of the style guides you’ll find online and in the technology section of your favorite bookstore are not editorial style guides. They’re guides for developers that focus on HTML and how it interfaces with various aspects of web design. Some of these include chapters on editorial matters, but none I’ve encountered is worth buying solely for that.

Online Resources

Citation Styles: Online.
Using the MLA, APA, CBE, and Chicago styles to cite and document online sources—web sites, e-mail, discussion-forum postings, and more. From Bedford/St.Martin’s.

Create a Web Site Style Guide.
11 guidelines for developing your own style guide. Edit-Work.com’s own Site Style Guide [http://www.edit-work.com/about/presentation.html] includes both editorial references and presentation specifications (layout, fonts, colors, link styles, logo use, etc.)

Editing a Website: Extending the Levels of Edit.
Adapting the three editing levels to hypertext documents. From The Communication Circle.

Using Style Sheets for Web Copyediting.
Sometimes a style sheet is all you need. Edit-Work.com suggests 20-plus things yours should address.

Web Style, 2nd edition.
Available online and in print, this replaces the Yale Style Manual, which I’ve recommended for years as essential reading. At minimum, read the chapters on editorial style, site and page design, and typography.

WebStyle Guide.
After three years, still the Web’s most comprehensive style guide for online writers and editors. By EBSTC’s Scott Wallace.

Writing for the Web: Editorial Review of Web Pages.
Every content project needs a good editor—especially those destined for online publication. From Sun Microsystems.

Books

The Columbia Guide to Online Style. Todd Taylor and Janice R. Walker. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-12311-0789-7. Both a language and design manual. Part 1: citing electronic reference sources. Part 2: production, including “The Logic of Document Style” and chapters devoted to network and print formats.

The Microsoft Manual of Style. Microsoft Corp. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press, 1998. ISBN 1-57231-890-2. Guide used by Microsoft and other companies developing online help, user documentation, and web publications for Windows. The companion CD includes an electronic version of the book, plus Microsoft’s Computer Dictionary.

Wired Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age, revised, updated edition. Constance Hale (Ed.). New York: Broadway Books, 1999. ISBN: 0-76790-372-2. Ten “Principles for Writing Well in the Digital Age,” a style FAQ, dictionary, and more. Easier to use, and less cloyingly pretentious, than the 1996 edition.

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