Writing
Posts and articles that relate to the art and science of writing
BBC News Style Guide
BBC News Style guide is one of the best styleguides I’ve ever seen. It’s almost fun!
Why does the BBC need a styleguide? For the same reasons Technical Writers need them. The domain might be different, but the aim is the same.
One should not aim at being possible to understand but impossible to misunderstand – Quintilian
Download the PDF here.
Appended on 10th March 2010
Listing some more styleguides here.
If you know some good styleguides, and would like to share it with the world, post a link in the comments, and I’ll add then to the main list.
Computer software and hardware
- Apple Style Guide 2008 (pdf)
- Chicago Manual of Style 15th edition (online)
- Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications ( link to the MS website)
Journals and Publications
- The Economist Style Guide (British English)
- The Gaurdian Style Book ( British English)
- The Times Style & Usage Guide (British English)
The Joy of exclamation marks!!!
Exclamation marks used to be frowned upon. Now look what’s happened! We use them all the time! Hurrah!!! But what is it about the age of email that gets people so over-excited?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/apr/29/exclamation-mark-punctuation
Excerpts from On Writing Well by William Zinnser
Clutter is the disease of American writing. We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills and meaningless jargon.
Read on at http://www.cla.wayne.edu/polisci/kdk/general/sources/zinsser.htm