Chicago Manual Style Guide is a universal style guide originated in USA and accepted by American English followers worldwide in the world of publication.
Need for a Style Guide
A style guide is a guide which lays down rules of writing for the writers. The main purpose of using a style guide is to bring a disciplined approach among the writers who represent the same brand, company, or the website.
Companies insist their writers to follow style guide. This is to ensure uniformity and consistency in their deliverables. A company or a brand carves a niche for itself in the world market through its writings. In such a case, if all the writers follow the same guidelines and rules while drafting their writing, it would not only ensure their affinity to their company but also show that they have the same level of understanding. Style guide, thus, assimilates the respective writers under one roof. It assists the writers to follow a single path and not wander away in their personal approach to writing.
Readers also find themselves comfortable in reading the published articles which have consistency and uniformity. A style guide is more than specifying the grammar rules; it represents the style in which the information must be represented to make reading easy and understandable.
Style guide is mainly followed by writers in professional fields like technical writing, business or commercial writing, journalism, or web content writing. Although many companies have their individual style guides, the Chicago Manual of Style is the most preferred and accepted style guide for American English vocabulary worldwide. Even the companies which have their own style guide are influenced by the Chicago Manual of Style and adhere to its basic norms of writing.
Why is Chicago Manual of Style so popular
Chicago Manual of Style came into existence in 1906, a time when professional writing was still in its nascent stage. Various companies in the business world were struggling to make their mark among the users — new and existing, and were not yet reaping the benefits of spreading the details of their products or their offer through well written manuscripts.
The Chicago Manual of Style, known then as Manual of Style: Being a compilation of the typographical rules in force at the University of Chicago Press, came as breeze of fresh air in the world of publication. It was the first style guide published in USA and made the very first attempt to stress on standardization and consistency. The Chicago Manual of Style made literates aware of the nuances of American English, including the different kinds of punctuations, usage of active and passive voice, and other details in Grammar, which was not much stressed before this. Its major contribution was towards the readers. For the first time, this manual laid stress on user-friendly information to be presented in an easy and understandable format.
The Chicago Manual of Style Guidelines
The Chicago Manual of Style had so far 16 editions; the latest published in August 2010, in both hard copy print out format as well as online. It underwent lot of changes with getting revised with each edition and improvising itself to suit the requirement of the publishers.
Boon to the editors: The Chicago Manual of style has become a bible for the editors who find its importance while editing articles by different writers. Editors find it easy to edit by simply following the rules pertaining to the style guide and hence can save their time and energy from justifying their edits and convincing the writers the need for the corrective change.
Introduction to citation style: The most significant feature of the Chicago Manual of Style is its introduction of citation style. Citation is basically a reference of published or unpublished work which the author refers as part of his text. The citation reference is made in bibliographical section as an acknowledgement. Its motive is to acknowledge the author or the book and leave to the reader to decide its relevance.
Tools: The guide also updates the writer about the various tools for publication, including preparing electronic manuscripts. It also specifies proofreading symbols and gives a detailed analysis of the xml workflow. These tools are also useful to editors and publishers who want guidance with regard to structuring and formatting.
Question & Answer section: The Chicago Manual of Style is a complete guide. It resolves many queries of the writers and editors through its question and answer section. You can also post a question and find an answer. There is an index wherein you can click the related word which is the basis of your question. You would find questions thereof.
American English grammar: It was never easy to understand the rules of grammar especially for grownups. Even though as kids we learn grammar, we tend to forget it as we grow older and get entangled in day-today activities. The Chicago Manual of Style takes us back to our school days and precisely makes us recollect the necessary tips for Grammar. It deals with American English and vastly explains the different names used including the names in some of the foreign languages. It also specifies the use of numeric, mathematics, quotations, and abbreviations. In short, the Chicago Manual of Style makes the task of a writer and an editor easier and makes his writing more readable and user-friendly.
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—About our writer:
Sunita Subrahmanyam is a post graduate from Delhi University. She has worked as a technical writer in reputed software companies in Bangalore and has handled projects of EMC2 and HP. At present she is residing in California, USA. Her main interest lies in writing and she is glad to have made her hobby as her profession. Her motto of life is "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going."
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