Style Guides: Specialized Guides: Dressing Your Words for Specific Occasions
Think of style guides as specialized tools. Just as a carpenter needs different tools for different tasks, writers need different style guides for various fields and purposes. While MLA, APA, and Chicago are widely used, many other specialized guides exist to cater to specific professions and writing styles.
Why Do We Need Specialized Style Guides?
Specialized style guides ensure consistency and accuracy within a particular field or profession. They address specific terminology, formatting, and citation conventions relevant to that domain.
Common Specialized Style Guides:
- AP Stylebook (Associated Press):
- Used primarily for journalism and news writing
- Emphasizes brevity, clarity, and accuracy
- Covers grammar, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviation, numerals, and specific topics like sports, business, and technology
- AMA Manual of Style (American Medical Association):
- For medical and scientific writing
- Addresses ethical considerations, nomenclature, statistics, and formatting of scientific papers
- The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation:
- Widely used in legal writing
- Provides detailed guidelines for citing legal sources like court cases, statutes, and regulations
- CSE Style Manual (Council of Science Editors):
- For scientific writing
- Offers guidance on formatting, citing sources, and presenting data in various scientific disciplines
- Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA):
- Also widely used in other social science fields beyond psychology, like sociology, anthropology, and education
- Provides guidelines for research papers, literature reviews, and case studies
Let’s Practice!
Explore a Style Guide: Choose a specialized style guide that interests you. Read through its introduction and familiarize yourself with its key features.
Identify Differences: Compare your chosen style guide with MLA or APA. Note the differences in formatting, citation style, and terminology.
Challenge!
Write a short article or report on a topic related to your chosen style guide (e.g., a news article in AP style, a medical case report in AMA style). Practice using the specific conventions of the guide.
Remember:
- Choose the right guide: Always use the style guide specified by your instructor, publisher, or organization.
- Consult the manual: Refer to the specific style guide for detailed instructions and examples.
- Ask for help: If you’re unsure, ask your instructor, editor, or a librarian for assistance with specialized style guides.
By familiarizing yourself with various style guides, you’ll be well-equipped to write effectively and professionally in different fields and formats.
