We need style guides for correctness, clarity and consistency in writing. They are a valuable resource for language professionals. Style guides offer very useful suggestions that are not easily found in grammar and language books.
Out of the dozens of style guides available on the Internet, the two most popular style guides are the Associated Press Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style. They require paid subscription. But many helpful and free alternatives are available on the Internet.
Generally, style guides have different opinions on spelling. Therefore, I would suggest you to have a personal style sheet for specific words.
Please have a look at the following suggestions for the capitalization of the letter 'i' in the word 'Internet':
Please have a look at the following suggestions for the capitalization of the letter 'i' in the word 'Internet':
1. Internet (American Anthropological Association)
2. internet (The Times of London)
3. Internet (Reuters)
4. internet (The Economist)
5. Internet (United Nations)
6. internet (European Commission)
7. Internet (U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual)
8. internet (The Guardian and Observer of London)
9. Internet (The Yahoo! Style Guide)
10. internet (The Daily Telegraph)
One of the best written style guides is the BBC News Styleguide. Here are some of the witty suggestions from this style guide:
"The first rule of writing is to know what you want to say. This may seem a statement of the obvious, but items are often broadcast which are not exactly what the writer intended:
• For the second time in six months, a prisoner at Durham jail has died after hanging himself in his cell.
The ability of some people to die more than once is also illustrated in this headline:
• A suicide bomber has struck again in Jerusalem.
The afterlife seems to exist according to this writer:
• Sixty women have come forward to claim they have been assaulted by a dead gynaecologist."
Now, who can say that style guides are boring?
