In today’s post, the serial comma—also known as the Oxford comma. For those of us who may become rather focused on such things, the debate about “serial comma, yes or no?” can be serious business. Commas are wonderful tools. They convey changes of direction, clarify sentences, indicate pauses, and flag upcoming dialogue. In marketing communications, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Chicago Manual of Style’
Sorry, No, That’s Not What You Mean At All
Your Highness: I’m not much of a writer but, like so many of your loyal subjects, I have a job that often requires me to write. I want to be professional—and avoid embarrassing mistakes. I need an on-call editor. Or at least a cheat sheet. Please help! My dear Subject, Ah, English! Constantly changing, constantly [...]
Substance Over Style
The 2012 print edition of The Associated Press Stylebook has been published. This news may have passed with little fanfare outside the world of publishing and editing but it’s a cause for rejoicing among some of us here at the Content Bureau. The AP Stylebook is nothing less than the bible of editorial resources. You [...]
Gifts for an English Buff
English buffs are a breed apart from just plain readers. True lovers of language relish wordplay. They’ve alienated all but the most accomplished Scrabble players from their circle of friends. Finding a typo in a bestseller (misspelled words in newspapers constitute child’s play for these grammar goons) leaves them feeling both superior and a little [...]
Quotation Dos and Don’ts
Your Highness: I hold a job that requires I write articles, press releases, and similar pieces in which I quote others. You’d think I’d have such matters down by now, but I’ll come clean: I never really learned the rules for using quotation marks. To complicate matters further, I’m a bit of an Anglophile—only the [...]
Holiday Décor: A Mini Chicago Manual of Style
If a Christmas tree figures into your holiday décor, consider adding a bit of wordsmithing flavor to your ornament collection with a miniature Chicago Manual of Style guide. The creative folks at CMOS have crafted this downloadable teensy guide to adorn your tree (or Festivus pole, as the CMOS editors suggest), complete with miniscule text [...]
The very best style guide reference books
If you’ve read the fabulous Grammar Queen’s post on creating a corporate style guide (and if you haven’t read it, do so right now), you know you must make some decisions about how your organization crosses the t’s and dots the i’s. However, you can’t possibly list every grammar or style rule in your own [...]
