Business Writers and Style Guides

Style guides are used by writers and editors to assure accuracy and consistency in formatting and language, correct grammar and spelling, and adherence to accepted norms within a company, industry, or genre. Business writers use style guides to help businesses create clear language, precise documentation, and a cohesive voice and style for both internal and external writing projects.

Every company, large or small, benefits from using a style guide. A style guide lists the decisions that were made about word usage, formatting conventions, spelling, abbreviations, numerical expressions, and more. These company-wide decisions are often reviewed and agreed on by senior management and legal counsel before they are distributed within the business. There are company style guides and industry style guides. There are published style guides and in-house style guides. Some companies create their own style guides, and some adopt an existing guide.

Some well known published style guides include:
Chicago Manual of Style, by The University of Chicago Press, used in history and non-journalism
Associated Press Stylebook, Norm Goldstein, Editor, used in journalism
The Elements of Style, by William Strunk and E.B. White
A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, by Kate L. Turabian, used in universities
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, By Joseph Gibaldi, used in English and the humanities
The Microsoft Manual of Style, by Microsoft Corporation, used throughout Microsoft
American Anthropological Association Style Guide, used in anthropology publications.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) Style Guide, used in psychology and social sciences
American Medical Association Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors, by Iverson, Cheryl, et al., used in medicine
The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, by Harvard Law Review et al, used in law
CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, by Cambridge University Press, for scientific and technical publications
Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer Industry, By Sun Technical Publications
IEEE Standards Style Manual, used by electrical engineers

There are also style guides for each branch of the US military. The U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual is the official guide for federal publications and has been in use since 1894. According to the GPO, "The Style Manual is the product of many years of public printing experience, and its rules are based on principles of good usage and custom in the printing trade. Essentially, the Style Manual is a standardization device designed to achieve uniform word and type treatment, and aiming for economy of word use."

Some corporate style guides are ultra-inclusive. The multi-volume style guide for 3M is a protected internal document whose contents are taught in workshops and is updated under strict version control. There is an analogous series dealing with 3M marketing conventions. The style guides from Microsoft and Sun Microsystems are de facto guidelines for much of the computer industry. Some businesses adopt a published style guide, such as Chicago, to be their standard.

The style guide a business selects should match the needs of that business. Most business documents do not involve citing sources but technical documents may. Engineering documents may require a paragraph numbering system like 1.1.1.1 or something similar. Technical and design documents that are under version control may require specific sections, either by convention, statute, or government regulation by agencies like the SEC or FDA. All of the specific requirements for a company should be stated in their style guide.

Style guides may include any of the following and more:
- proofreader marks
- copyright information
- brand name usage
- trademark and service mark usage (®, TM, SM)
- preferred punctuation
- preferred spelling
- preferred company names for departments, job titles, documents, branch locations, products
- preferred abbreviations (two-letter abbreviations for states, US instead of U.S.)
- conventions for numerical expressions and measures (KB for kilobyte, kg for kilogram, µ for micro, nano for billionth)
- glossary of technical terms
- commonly misused words (connote/denote, implicit/explicit, deductive/inductive, inferred/implied)
- labeling conventions for diagrams, charts, tables, and illustrations
- formatting conventions for fonts, point sizes, document titles and section headings, margins, page numbering, - tables of contents, indices, and use of italics, bold, and underlining
- identification, layout, and required sections for procedures
- required disclosures, cautions, warranties, and other legal dictums
- required review and signoff for specific document types

Some companies involved with extensive translation of documents have adopted a Simplified English guide, such as ASD-STE100, which severely restricts the words that may be used and dictates the exact meaning of those words.

Templates are another type of style guide. A standard template for external memos helps keep customer communication consistent. A template for performance reviews help assure compliance with company policies. A preformatted engineering performance specification includes the required sections and describes the information needed in each section.

Large companies have documentation departments that assure all correspondence and documentation follow the prescribed style guides. Small companies can benefit from an ongoing relationship with a freelance business writer who can work with them to develop a style guide, create templates, or craft the actual writing projects. Professional writers are problem solvers for businesses. They have experience with several style guides and can adapt quickly to the style guide used by the client.