I’ve been working to develop a style guide for a client and it’s making me think about the benefits of consistency, the impossibility of universal consistency, and the way that language evolves.
While I am a big advocate for organizations developing their own style guide, I would never start from scratch. In Canada, there are a few standard style guides, including Canadian Press, and Chicago, to name the couple I work with most regularly. They are such a handy shortcut, and anyone who copyedits with any frequency even has some of the more common rules memorized. Yet for organizations that regularly write about the same topics, creating tailored lists of words that you use often is a great route to even more consistency. And to save your writer time.
Style guides differ with purpose
While rules of grammar are fairly universal (with exceptions like the much-debated serial comma) there are different interpretations on how to handle other parts. CP asks you to spell out numbers one through ten and use numbers for the rest. Organizations focused on technical subjects often want all numbers written in numerals. This is why we’ll never have a universal Ministry of Style. Probably a good thing, although that is a fantasy for those of us who work with multiple style guides.
The evolution of language
Another thought prompted by working on a style guide is the way that language evolves. Over my years as a writer/editor, I’ve watched Web site move from Website to website. I’ve cringed as impact turned from a noun to a verb, then reminded myself to stop being so stodgy and accept the change. Is the word Internet evolving from caps to lowercase? Again, I wince. But language evolves. That’s also why I think if you’re making choices about styles, go with the simplest. Skip through the two-word phase to the single word, as long as it makes sense grammatically.
Style is visual too
Finally, styles are not just for words. Visual style as in branding is important, for example using the same font across multiple documents, deciding on what font sizes to use for various header levels, and using the exact colour for your logo brand. Equally important but less a focus is the way organizations use voice, for example deciding on how formal to be, whether to write in first person, whether to use swear words or avoid them. All of these contribute to a stronger picture of the business or brand overall.
