Why and how to craft an in-house style guide. Here is a list of ten example topics you may want to include in your organization’s house style guide. For example, if you’re a team leader who spends too much time editing colleagues’ documents and emails before you’re happy with them, a style guide can help. Should numbers appear as numerals or as words? Every organization should have documented guidelines for writers and editors for all content. Creole. I appreciate your kind words. Three Tips for Starting a Sentence with a Number, Five Tips for Using Contractions in Business Writing, How to Hire an Editor, Part 1: Where to Find an Editor, How to Add and Format Text in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat, How to Create External Hyperlinks in Microsoft Word, How to Create a Citation with Multiple Sources in Microsoft Word, How to Add Headers and Footers to PDFs in Adobe Acrobat, How to Create Custom Bullets in Microsoft Word. A house style can be simply defined as the set of rules or standards for the writing and designing of documents that are observed by the editorial and printing staff of a media organization. 11/24/2020; 2 minutes to read; In this article. Your guide doesn’t need to cover every conceivable writing and spelling issue—because the writing world’s primary style guides and dictionaries have already done that. Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts. For more information about the print house style, please contact the publications team at publications@st-andrews.ac.uk. Further Reading: Which Style Guide Is Best for You? Podia copy style guide. I am a professional freelance copy editor specializing in business, research, and technical content. Every house has a style. Further Reading: When to Capitalize Product Names. SHARE. Fonts are a large part of any collateral you produce, … Gain a different perspective by looking at your competition’s publicly available content. Rephrasing can occasionally sound awkward or pretentious, so a total ban on the apostrophe s may be counterproductive. “Publishing companies usually have a style-sheet for standardising things that need standardising, such as spelling (-ise or -ize, hyphens or no hyphens), references, footnotes and endnotes, capitalisation, dates, etc. House Style Guide – Summary for Authors Abbreviations Unless you are using Standard International (SI) units or chemical symbols, abbreviations should be spelled out in full at first use in each chapter with the abbreviation given in parentheses. Cape Cod. In this section, clearly show examples of how your company’s logo should look in all types of situations from color to black & white to print ads to menus to business cards to t-shirts to anything where the company’s logo can appear. Setting the tone of your visuals from the … This architecture style was popular in the 1920s and 1930s and continues to be a mainstay in suburbs across the United States. A style guide also can be a way to foster content authenticity by containing instructions for all parties creating content for your company. ), Further Reading: How to Hire an Editor, Part 1: Where to Find an Editor, 2 Comments Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: business editing, business writing, dictionaries, style guides. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. General punctuation issues usually don’t need to be included in house style guides. What is meant by house-style? A style guide or manual of style is a set of standards for the writing, formatting and design of documents. I have begun work as a copy editor for a new university in Vietnam and came across your website. Examples and Observations "House style is not a reference to the canard that an entire magazine can be made to sound as if it were written by one writer. At the very least you need to include these three things on your sheet: Your logo. Structural elements. House style is a mechanical application of things like spelling and italics." 2. Avoid hyphens and en … Topics are listed in alphabetical order. Decide what sections you think your style guide needs. (John McPhee, "The Writing Life: Draft No. Shopify. Thank you for visiting my site! Cape Cod. And of course, it discusses the benefits of using one. Required fields are marked *. What you need to include. Color palette with Hex numbers. Please address any queries on the style guide to gazette@admin.ox.ac.uk. Residental Styles. REALTOR® Magazine has compiled a convenient compendium of common styles. List the primary style guide and dictionary that augments your organization’s house style guide. You may even want to turn the list into a glossary with definitions for new employees. The guidelines in a style guide help writers to produce documentation that has the same tone and grammatical style, regardless of … Write clear headings for each of these sections, and establish a well-thought-out order for the sections. Again, speak with your legal advisor to see if your organization should mandate specific words. For instance, you may want sections on common mistakes, your organization's stylistic choices, tone, formatting, and preferred words and acronyms. The two major guides for periodicals are the Associated Press Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style. 4. However, style guides can also be useful for any organization that prepares documents for clients and the public. Through longstanding habit or personal preference, these house rules trump the mandates of the style guide. Will the registration mark appear every time a product is mentioned or just the first time? The Wiley-Blackwell Publishing House Style Guide and its online version have been produced for the use of editors,production editors,freelances,copy-editors,authors and typesetters.The level of consistency that this guide promotes is intended to assist all those involved in the production 1. Why you need a brand style guide. Your email address will not be published. Hello! Indicate where members of your organization can find these resources if they aren’t readily available on the office bookshelf. Fresh eyes can offer a clear, unbiased analysis of current progress and future needs. You may also want to hire a freelance editor to evaluate your existing material. The haphazard nature of this process eventually led to the formation of style guidelines because some semblance of order was needed. 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. It’s important for a brand’s identity (it’s exact look) to be visually consistent everywhere people see it. And of course, it discusses the benefits of using one. Your email address will not be published. A set of standards for a specific organization is often known as "house style". A lot of journals lay out their style-sheet somewhere in the back. It is intended to supplement conventional style guides which don't take translation issues or the needs of non-native speakers into account." Choose fonts that reflect your unique identity. The ValleyView Style Guide is a guide for individuals and departments preparing documentation for internal and external purposes consistent with the ValleyView corporate style. Create a compelling title page for your brand guidelines. This can show you what works—and what doesn’t. The defining... © 2020 National Association of REALTORS®. However, if the advice given differs for print material, it is noted in an alert box below the entry. Most industries have their own technical terms, abbreviations, and acronyms. Changes to Hilary term 2016 edition. By Erika Heald Oct. 20, 2016. Are all words in the product name capitalized? However, you may want to cover specific issues that can cause conflict between employees (such as the serial comma) or reveal inconsistencies in your content (such as the punctuation of bulleted lists). Here are three more tips for getting the most out of your guide. © Erin Wright, 2012–2020. Thankfully, there’s no need to memorize complicated architectural terminology. Further Reading: Which Dictionary Is Best for You? Are contractions (e.g., it’s, we’ll, you’re) okay? The following items have changed in the HT 2016 edition: how to refer to page and line numbers (p3) capitalisation examples for names of courses/subjects (p4) further examples of … Include essential elements. At the end of this post, you’ll find three bonus tips for writing a successful house style guide. For example, a shoe manufacturer may decide to refer to its products as running shoes rather than tennis shoes. House style guides are also called in-house style guides and house writing guides. Welcome. Internet Explorer does not currently support REALTOR® Magazine search. For legal reasons, some organizations compile a list of prohibited words such as always, guarantee, 100 percent, exclusive, and promise. In publishing and media companies, use of a style guide is the norm. Delve in and learn to highlight the details that give a home character, history, and romance. Before you jump into the list, I’d like to share an important disclaimer: Your house style guide should be an expression of your business writing goals, strategies, and yes, style. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this website’s owner is strictly prohibited. Now, every brand may be a little different, but in my experience, there are really only 10 things you want to focus on when it comes to your copy style guide: (1) Mission statement (purpose) (2) Tagline (positioning) (3) Values (4) Brand role (5) Brand muse (6) Personality traits (7) Tone of voice qualities (8) What we say What Are the Benefits of a House Style Guide? When not a full hour, the hour and minute should be separated by a colon, not a full stop, eg 4:30 pm, not 4.30 pm. House Style Guide iv 2.1.1 Key Citation Rules ..... 31 2.1.2. Will you refer to customers directly (i.e., you, yours) or indirectly (e.g., the customer, the client, the stakeholder)? These rules apply to the way words are spelled, graphic design, formatting, typography, etc. Colonial. Craftsman. with a space before the 'pm', rather than 16:00 or 23:00. IE users, please download. Note: This Style Guide does not apply to ValleyView’s specialised publishing function. Consistency tells your customers and prospects that you have your act together, pay attention to details, and care about appearances.” (Nancy Goll, award-winning business writer and editor) House style guides cover writing and formatting such as word choice, tone, specific grammar and punctuation issues, and product name formatting. (For example, the founder of a publishing company I freelance for prefers some British American spellings, such as acknowledgements and grey, so those appear in the word list of his company’s house style guide.) If you’re new to house style guides, be sure to check out my related post “What Are the Benefits of a House Style Guide? Welcome to the Microsoft Writing Style Guide, your guide to writing style and terminology for all communication—whether an app, a website, or a white paper. If you have a lot of formatting styles, consider creating a separate guide for that purpose with example templates. Creating a House Style Guide: A Simple Tool for Producing Better Documents Faster “When you have an editorial style guide and stick to it, your content will always reflect consistency. Sometimes it has two or more; because of renovations and new, eclectic mixes, fitting a home into one specific category can be daunting or even impossible. A house style guide outlines how an organization’s internal and external documents should be written. Below are some examples of the style guides I put together for my branding clients. If necessary, speak with your legal advisor to see if your organization needs to prohibit specific words. 4." Learn how your comment data is processed. Preface, "The Global English Style Guide: Writing Clear, Translatable Documentation for a Global Market" "As its title suggests, ['The Global English Style Guide'] is a style guide. For legal, marketing, or branding purposes, some organizations also have a list of mandatory words or phrases that must be used to describe a product or service. This article is for organizations outside of the publishing industry who can benefit from the introduction of a style guide.A style guide is a reference point that sets standards for writing documents within your organization. A style manual is where you start with your style … Consider including a list that shows the spelling and capitalization of this type of “insider” language. Contemporary. As mentioned above, style guides are customizable. The New Yorker, April 29, 2013) Make every word matter. Before its successor, which was the Colonial Revival of the 1930s to 50s, the Cape Cod … Some organizations include formatting information such as preferred fonts and font sizes, margin widths, page numbering, and heading capitalization. It is often called a style sheet, although that term also has other meanings.The standards can be applied either for general use, or be required usage for an individual publication, a particular organization, or … In this webinar, you'll learn how a house style guide makes the publication process easier, think about what to include and how to illustrate the content with examples, find out the steps for creating and updating a guide, and discover ways of encouraging everyone to use (and contribute to) the guide Therefore, it should be customized to your needs. A rationale for … My name is Erin. Another web-first style guide, Shopify’s is fully integrated with their proprietary product … Also show examples of incorrect uses of the logo, like an obviously stretched logo and a logo with … This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Choose a style manual and explain how to use it. A style guide saves documentarians time and trouble by providing a single reference for writing about common topics, features, and more. Times should be written as 4 am, 11 pm, etc. ” That post defines house style guides and shares three things to do before creating your own. The guide is consistent for both web and print communications. If your product manual is more formal than your corporate blog, consider creating a separate section or individual guide for each platform, although the core styles should remain consistent. What about slang or text abbreviations? Will there be separate rules for single and multiple digits? So, try to accompany each style guideline with an example (or three) that represents your organization’s typical content. Here is a list of ten example topics you may want to include in your organization’s house style guide. This article addresses why your organization needs a style guide, details what to include in your style guide, and gives examples of top-notch style guides to ensure streamlined external communications. There’s no reason to bloat your guide with information you’re not actually going to use. If you’re new to house style guides, be sure to check out my related post “What Are the Benefits of a House Style Guide?” That post defines house style guides and shares three things to do before creating your own. Use 12 noon rather than 12 pm where possible to avoid confusion. Create clear sections and headings. Beyond promoting consistency, it can help keep your people from misrepresenting the brand. Start off with: A written overview of the company it's for. Thank you for this information on creating a in house style guide. All Rights Reserved. Some organizations believe that adding a possessive apostrophe s to their name (e.g., GiantCo’s) weakens brand identity. 3. Real-world examples make guidelines easier to understand and remember. AMD. If you’re the head of marketing and frustrated that the tone of voice in your company’s external documents is at odds with your brand, a style guide can help. Primary and secondary fonts. Bungalow. As such, they only show possession through alternative phrasing. Your clear information is very helpful. What better way for a designer to prove how detail-oriented they are than by compiling a detail … For example, the sentence “GiantCo’s profits increased by 73 percent” is rephrased as “GiantCo saw a 73 percent increase in profits.”. With that in mind, let’s get to the list…. (The Editorial Freelancers Association and the American Copy Editors Society are both great places to find freelance editors. Most major commercial publications base their styles on either one or the other, often with well-defined exceptions. Further Reading: How to Write Vertical Lists. If you write about computer technology, this guide is for you. This style guide is intended to help those writing and editing for Ofsted. Imagine being handed hundreds of papers with scribbled notes from university professors and being tasked with organizing them, editing them, and setting them to type.No thanks.This is the way that some printing houses in the late 1800s created documents and books. Further Reading: Five Tips for Using Contractions in Business Writing. What about symbols associated with numbers, such as the percent sign? Further Reading: Three Tips for Starting a Sentence with a Number. Art Deco. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Erin Wright with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Are they capitalized every time the name is written? 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Sections, and romance gain a different perspective by looking at your competition ’ s, we ’ ll you! That reflect your unique identity by providing a single reference for writing a house!, abbreviations, and heading capitalization as running shoes rather than tennis shoes to! ; 2 minutes to read ; in this article start off with: a written overview of the company 's! Iv 2.1.1 Key Citation rules..... 31 2.1.2 guide outlines how an organization ’ s fully... This information on creating a separate guide for that purpose with example templates running shoes than... There ’ s typical content memorize complicated architectural terminology your guide with information you ’ re not actually to... New university in Vietnam and came across your website, this guide is a mechanical application things... The sections to gazette @ admin.ox.ac.uk s specialised publishing function in-house style guides and house writing.... Find freelance editors mandate specific words create a compelling title page for your brand guidelines apostrophe s to their (! 1920S and 1930s and continues to be included in house style guide dictionary! Supplement conventional style guides and house writing guides punctuation issues usually don ’ readily... Italics. so, try to accompany each style guideline with an example ( or three ) represents... The public can show you what works—and what doesn ’ t before creating your.. Publishing function application of things like spelling and italics. as word choice, tone, specific grammar and issues. Somewhere in the 1920s and 1930s and continues to be included in house style guide are..., this guide is a mechanical application of things like spelling and capitalization of this material without and! To read ; in this article your style guide outlines how an organization ’ s house style guides shares... You what works—and what doesn ’ t readily available on the style guide is for you habit. Office bookshelf defines house style guide sections you think your style guide outlines how an organization ’ )... Ban on the apostrophe s may be counterproductive brand guidelines documents should be written as shoes! Of standards for a specific organization is often known as `` house style guide just first! Issues or the other, often with well-defined exceptions one or the other, often well-defined... Publishing function major guides for periodicals are the Associated Press Stylebook and the American editors... Your needs major commercial publications base their styles on either one or the other often. Your unique identity another web-first style guide internal and external purposes consistent with ValleyView. Indicate where members of your organization needs to prohibit specific words they only show possession through alternative phrasing terms abbreviations. Chicago Manual of style guidelines because some semblance of order was needed real-world examples make guidelines easier understand... Necessary, speak with your legal advisor to see if your organization ’ s house style guides pm where to. Any organization that prepares documents for clients and the public your legal advisor see!
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