Writing in Style

If you're an English User that has to write a lot in English, then you might believe that you need to know all or most of the rules about writing.

In some cases, there are people who really do learn those rules, but don't worry if you are not one of them.

Why not? Because there are style guides.

What is a style guide?




A style guide is a document that is created by expert writers, editors, managers, or producers to determine how they expect a writer to deal with specific writing issues. Among these we can name the following:

• grammar issues
  
• spelling issues
  
• formatting issues
  
• general writing recommendations
  

A grammar issue could be related to punctuation, use of contractions or even if a certain text should be written in past or present tense. Spelling issues often revolve around whether to use the American or British spelling for words.We recommend the one that is most common for your readers, organization or field.

There might also be formatting issues related to what font to use for a specific section of the document, report of blog. (Such as this one) And of course, there are always writing considerations regarding the use of jargon or words that are only used by people in a common field. (doctors, accountants, lawyers, etc)

In business, there are style guides for all types of writing, including emails, reports and business plans. There are also endless guides for academic writers for research papers and special academic documents. And naturally, there are style guides for periodical journal writers such as journalists, columnists and bloggers.

If you are a business or non-business writer of English as a second language for your organization or for other purposes, it is probably a good idea to develop a manual of style. In other words, you should determine what common elements appear in the writing that need to have specific rules in order to keep the writing consistent and professional to the reader.

• Spelling
• Format
• Line Spacing
• Paragraph Style
• Editorial Style (formal, technical, fun, young audience, etc)
• Text Style
• Use of images
• Referencing the work of others

Perhaps one of the best known style guides in the academic world is the Chicago Manual of Style. It is considered by most writers and editors to be among the most complete. And its style recommendations are useful to non-academic writers as well.

Below is a short video describing what the Chicago Manual of Style is about.




However, there are many more options online that are available to writers. Here is a list of some of them:



American Style Guides

• Garbl's Editorial Style Manual
  Developed by editor and activist Gary B. Larson, this concise guide offers "writing and editing advice about abbreviations, addresses, capitalization, English grammar, numbers, organization terminology, plurals, possessives, punctuation, spelling, word usage, and the World Wide Web."


• National Geographic Style Manual
  Online since 1995 and frequently updated by a team of editors, this is an alphabetically arranged guide to "preferred National Geographic Society style and usage."


• The Tameri Guide for Writers: Generalized Stylebook
  Maintained by Susan D. Schnelbach and Christopher Scott Wyatt, the Tameri Stylebook is "based on the Associated Press Stylebook, which is the primary style guide for reporters and editors at daily newspapers and many periodicals."


• Wikipedia: Manual of Style
  This style guide for all Wikipedia articles is intended to help editors "write articles with consistent, clear, and precise language, layout, and formatting."

 
British Style Guides Online

• The BBC News Styleguide (pdf)
  Written by John Allen, a BBC reporter and editor for the past 40 years, this popular manual "is not a 'do and don't' list but a guide that invites you to explore some of the complexities of modern English usage."


• Economist.com Style Guide
  John Grimond's online guide is based on the style book followed by journalists at The Economist magazine. The 10th revised edition of the hardback version of the guide was published in 2012.


• The Guardian, Observer and guardian.co.uk Style Guide
  Edited by David Marsh and Amelia Hodsdon, this is the online version of Guardian Style. The third edition of this witty handbook was published in December 2010.


• Telegraph Style Book
  Augmented by monthly "style notes" from associate editor Simon Heffer, this is the "official guide to house style" for The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, and Telegraph.co.uk.

RAPPING about DO and MAKE

Make or do? Do or make?
Thinking about it will make your brain ache.
- Fluency MC


The challenge of learning to use DO or MAKE can be a daunting one. Daunting enough to give you a headache.

Unless...




Unless you're learning it through the Fluency MC's fun rap song about the different ways to use the two often-confused verbs. In fact, super fun English teacher Fluency MC (aka Jason R. Levine) frequently uses collocations (or collos) - which are small chunks of language commonly used together - in order to help us learn authentic use of language. And he usually presents his lessons as fun and catchy rap songs so that what we learn, sticks!

So for today's post, we invite all our English Users to check out the Fluency MC's rap song about DO and MAKE. First, view it and enjoy the first time. When you finish, make note of the collocations he uses (shown in bold letters below) that are new to you. Then, view the video a second time and focus more on listening and think about what he says, then about reading.

And finally, answer the following questions:

1. Which of the things that Fluency MC says he does, do you usually DO?
2. Which of the things that Fluency MC says he does, do you usually MAKE?
3. Which of the things that Fluency MC says he does, did you DO this week?
4. Which of the things that Fluency MC says he does, did you MAKE this month?



Make or do? Do or make?
Thinking about it will make your brain ache.
Do yourself a favor. Give yourself a break.
Relax and Repeat, for Fluency’s sake.
I make sure to do my homework; then, I hit the sack.
I make a to-do list to stay on track.
I need to do a few errands; I’ll be right back.
Make yourself at home; be my guest; make a snack!

Do or make? Make or do?
If you’ve heard that they’re different, it’s not exactly true.
Many languages have one word, not two.
When you Collo, it’ll follow and make sense to you.
I make the bed in the morning and do laundry at night.
I don’t make fun of people-that’s impolite or
make a fist or do harm to someone in a fight.
I’d rather do good, make peace, and unite.
You’ve got to do your duty to make things right.
Let’s make a plan to eat out at this restaurant I know.
They make an excellent brunch; can you make time to go?
You’ll have the chance to make friends and make some conversation.
I can make a call now to make a reservation.
You’ll thank me for making such a great recommendation!

Do or make? Make or do?
If you’ve heard that they’re different, it’s not exactly true.
Many languages have one word, not two.
When you Collo, it’ll follow and make sense to you.
When I run out of food, I leave the house to do the shopping.
I do chores like the vacuuming, the sweeping and the mopping.
I’ll make a gourmet dinner and also do the dishes.
On birthdays we make cakes, light candles, and make wishes.

Do or make? Make or do?
If you’ve heard that they’re different, it’s not exactly true.
Many languages have one word, not two.
When you Collo, it’ll follow and make sense to you.
Do research; do experiments; develop your vision.
Make a promise to yourself that when you make a decision,
you’ll make a point to do it well, and then
you’ll make a commitment to do it just as well again.
Try to do good deeds and make a goal to do your best,
though you’re sure to make mistakes or even make a big mess.
To make progress, make great effort. That’s the key.
Make a choice to learn the truth and it will set you free.
Do the math. Make it last.

Peace, Fluency MC.

Enjoy other Fluency MC songs and be sure to give him a like on Facebook.

Quoting Mandela

Nelson Mandela - who passed away in December of 2013 - was a man known around the world for his lifelong commitment to the cause of the racial equality and later, to achieving reconciliation between two deeply disparate groups of people in the nation of South Africa.




Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison before becoming the first black president of South Africa was also deeply committed to education and its importance in creating a better tomorrow for our world.

On occasion of his recent departure, as English users we will share with you some of his most memorable quotes. These are great to discuss in your English classes or with other English users, especially because all of them go far beyond the situation in South Africa. Additionally, to add a linguistic dimension, we added some language points about each quote.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/nelson_mandela.html#S52TvbKJgZ9qBeUQ.99

• Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
• Here the word is "education" is used as a metaphor. Metaphors are rhetorical devices that transfer the sense or aspects of one word to another.
• If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.
• A powerful message involving the zero conditional. 
• There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.
• to play small  (idiom) = to be mediocre or not try very hard
• There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.
  Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/nelson_mandela.html#S52TvbKJgZ9qBeUQ.99
  I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man.
• whether = regardless of if
• It always seems impossible until its done.
• adverbs of frequency (always) go before single verbs

EXERCISE (Optional): Explain what Mandela is trying to say and add a specific example.

For a brief biography on the life of this iconic leader, we recommend you watch the following mini biography.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/nelson_mandela.html#S52TvbKJgZ9qBeUQ.