At the beginning of a writing project, I always ask new clients they have a corporate style guide. A style guide is a reference document that includes rules and suggestions for writing style and document presentation. See this article for an excellent description. You don’t have to have a style guide to prepare effective communications, but writing according to an agreed-upon style helps keep the body of written work that every company produces clear, consistent, and professional.
In my work for clients, I use a hierarchy of style guides. First, the client’s own guide, if they have one. Second, the AMA Manual of Style, or the ACS Style Guide, depending on the client’s audience. Both references are very complete; the ACS Guide’s chapter on grammar, punctuation, and spelling uses scientific examples to illustrate grammatical rules such as subject-verb agreement (“The mixture was stirred, and 5 mL of diluent was added.”). Chapter 5 is my favorite (Numbers, Mathematics, and Units of Measure). Finally, for anything that isn’t covered in the client’s own guide or the AMA or ACS Guide, I refer to The Elements of Style by Strunk and White.
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