Two small yet remarkably complete books are recommended as basic guides to style and grammar.
Strunk & White's Elements of Style
Margaret Shertzer's The Elements of Grammar
Follow the recommendations of these books except where superceded by the instructions in this style guide.
KEEP STRUCTURE SIMPLE - Organize your text into a simple system of headings and text, preferrably with only two levels of headings (head and subhead). Definitely no more than three.
USE SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE - Keeping to the simple present tense makes it much easier for the reader to read and understand the text. Use past and future tenses only when it would be confusing to do otherwise.
USE ACTIVE VOICE - The active voice conveys clearly who is doing what to whom. Avoid the passive voice except when you must be deliberately vague, as when describing unpredictable results.
TONE SHOULD BE DIRECT AND TO THE POINT - NOT CHATTY - Imagine you are explaining something aloud to busy, intelligent professionals.
ESTABLISH CONTEXT - Establish the context of an instruction. For example, in explaining the use of a command, it is often necessary to explain when and where the command is used.
If you want to know what processes are running, at the system prompt, enter ps
USE SECOND PERSON - Second person (you) focuses the discussion on the user and makes it easier to avoid passive voice. Avoid "I" or "We".
Avoid above and below or preceding and following in references to tables and figures, since with future rewrites the position of such floating elements may change. Instead, refer to the element by its title, number, or caption.
Access is a "techie" term that usually can be avoided. Use synonyms such as reach, communicate with, enter, make use of, connect to, or use.
Can means "am able". May expresses opportunity or permission.
With the DISPLAY variable set, you can start an X application.
For security reasons, only Operations staff may be in the I/O area.
Use different from rather than different than.
Fewer refers to a countable number. Less refers to an amount, value or degree. Less is the vaguer term.
Dante has less disk space. It has 20 fewer megabytes.
Use the verb print rather than print out.
To print your file on the Xerox printer, use the prt command.
That is the defining, or restrictive, pronoun. Which is nondefining or nonrestrictive.
The computer that was sold is a Cyber.
"That was sold" specifically identifies which computer.
The computer, which is sold, is a Cyber.
"Which is sold" tells something about a computer.
Use who as a subject, whom as a direct object or object of a preposition.
Who has the answer to my question?
To whom should I direct this call?
Use a bulleted list for a set of "equal elements".
Several classes are offered on Excel.
Introduction to Excel
Intermediate Excel
Excel for Financial Applications
Use a numbered list for sequential steps or if you will later need to refer to items on the list.
The following list is the recommended sequence for taking the Excel classes:
Introduction to Excel
Intermediate Excel
Excel for Financial Applications
In bulleted or numbered lists, omit periods after items unless one or more of the items are complete sentences. If a list completes a sentence begun in an introductory sentence, the final period is also omitted unless the items in the list are separated by commas or colons.
System commands on hard copy should be represented as follows:
Commands in text are set in bold and in the same font as the text. This rule would also apply to single characters and control or escape codes. For example:
At the "Exit Pine?" query, press y and then press <Return>.
A single line command by itself is in the Courier font. Parts of the command that the user enters should be in bold Courier.
"Variables," such as userid, are indicated with italics. In a text paragraph, they are in the same font as text. In a single separate line, they are in Courier.
Multiple line lists of output are in Courier (a non-proportionally spaced font). Only text entered by the user is set in bold. For example:
The fmail command allows you to control mail forwarding among your various accounts on the Uniform Access computers.
The syntax of the command is fmail -option. For example, use fmail -forward to list you current forwarding settings.
dante% fmail -forward henry@u henry@dante henry@saul henry@U henry@mead henry@U
When occuring in text Internet addresses, both names and numbers, should be italic (for example, henry@u.washington.edu or 128.95.135.99).
Avoid breaking an address across two lines. For clarity, no period should follow an Internet address, even if it comes at the end of a sentence. For this reason, it is better to avoid placing an Internet address at the end of a sentence.
An Internet address occuring as part of a command would not be in italic, but would follow the rules for commands (see above).
Always use full Internet addresses.