Julian F. Smith
Lenoir Rhyne College Hickory, North Carolina with the collaboration of1 M. Anderson, J. Baconcini, T. E. R. Singer
Style Manuals Guides for technical writing
Werfertig ist, d m ist nichts recht zu maehnz; Ein Werdender wild i m e r dankbar sein.% Goethe's Faurt (Vorspiel)
Style manuals, probably invented by perfectionists, have helped generations of growing souls toward their literary aspirations or duties. Perfectionists 6nd flaws even in the manuals; stmggling writers overlook small defects for the sake of guidance. A fundamental difficulty is that thought and its expression cannot be standardized, yet style manuals seek to standardize. One frankly says so in its title: "Editor's Handbook: Guide to Standardization of Writing Style" (1). The simple answer would be to discuss only those mechanizable features which can be standardized, such as format, typography, layout, etc. Then writers' guides would confine their attention to the finer aspects of good writing, which are amenable to expert advice. Unfortunately, there is no acceptable simple answer. Good writing and standardizahle style features inevitably influence each other. Bad presentation can mar the excellence of the best technical writing, and perfection in presentation wins no applause against the irritations fomented by execrable writing. Hence manuals of technical writing style commonly give advice, and guides for technical writers have much to say about form and presentation. No one draws an imaginary hairline distinction; a real one does not exist. But emphasis differs with purpose, and the principal emphasis here is on manuals for effective presentation of scientific and technical matter. This does not exclude occasional attention to writers' guides, nor rule them out of the list of Literature Cited. Style Manual Sources
The larger and more varied a publisher's output, the greater is the need for a style manual. The biggest and broadest publisher in America is the Government Printing Office. Its manual (2), revised a t intervals, is issued in an unabridged and an abridged edition. It has a British counterpart (S),issued by H. M. Stationery Office. Various other Federal agencies issue similar but less elaborate aids, e.g., the Air Materiel Command (4), the Department of Commerce (5),the National Bureau of Standards ( 6 ) ,the Naval Ordnance
' All
are affiliated with Singer, Smith and Co., New York
Pi*., V.YJ.
=The man who claims perfection sees o flaw in everything, while growing souls give thanks and see the honey, not the sting.
Test Station (7), and the U.S. Geological Survey (8). Though not a style manual, the looseleaf "Manual of Patent Examining Procedures," of the U.S. Patent Office has a few pages of cogent advice on document preparation. University presses have their aids to authors. A prominent example is the University of Chicago Press (9).
Newspapers may favor man-in-the-street style, but they are particular about maintaining the chosen level. The prestigious New Yurk Times, which upholds a high level of journalese, has an elaborate manual (10) published by McGraw-Hill Book Co. a firm which can lay claim to substantial achievement in its own manual (11). Because of McGraw-Hill emphasis on technical book publishing and technical periodicals, their manual has much to say about style in technical writing. Many societies and trade associations provide guides, primarily for contributors to their publications. Among them are the American Standards Association (121, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers ( I S ) , and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (14). Industrial firms in chemistry, engineering, communications, and the process industries like for their literature to help rather than hurt their public image. Examples of guide publishers are Detroit Edison (15), Westinghouse Electric (16),General Electric ( l 7 ) ,and Hercules Powder Co. (18). There is even a manual for users of style manuals (19). As seems appropriate, it is a monograph of the Association of College and Reference Libraries. In the major branches of science and technology, through various publishing houses, numerous authors have produced books and monographs assailing the "us engineers don't need no English" school of technical writing. True, these are mostly in the writers' guide camp, but they also have much to say about style. The English language has no monopoly on sloppy writing; the Nazi regime and Germans before and since have protested against careless and ignorant writing in German. With their characteristic thoroughness, one recent German general style manual (20) runs to 754 pages. In the Soviet Union there is a "spravochnik" for almost any field of literary endenvor ....- . - . . In America, s ~ mstyle r guide publishrrs are academic, for examvlr l o w Starts (.'ollree (~, 1 I and the E~~cilwt.rine ~xperimintStation of the University of Minnesota (21). Not quite academic, the North Carolina Department of Archives and History has its own manual
-
Volume 42, Number 7 , July 1965
/ 373
(22). Publishers of technical books and periodicals tend, like McGraw-Hill, to emphasize technical writing style, as in the manuals issued by Prentice-Hall (23) and by John Wiley & Sons (24). The age of specialization inevitably comes to style manuals too. There are aids to presentation of data (25), to oral and visual communication (26), and to technical reporting (27-29); there are word division guides (SO), lists of abbreviations (Sf), and manuals for thesis writing (3%). Translation as a literary form received intensified attention in America and Western Europe after the first Sputnik sparked sudden interest in Russian technical literature. Tra~lslatorsof technical literature receive comfort, but no aid, from Tytler's classic "Essay on the Principles of Translation" (33). Style guides for translators exist in some variety-for example an erudite discussion of language barriers by Aslib (94), books on the general art of translating (35, S6), and guides issued by technical translators (37, 38). There is one for chemists (SQ), and the program of translations performed abroad with funds made available by Public Law 480 produced a manual of wider subject scope (40). Style manuals for translating machines are strictly individual. Once a computer is programmed to convert an input language into a target language, it has its style manual, for better or for worse. I t is often worse under such general instructions as to break down an indigestible word into its roots. Thus "Gardner" (which transliterates into Russian and back unchanged) came back as "Burnbottomer" because the Russian root gar means burn, dne means bottom, and the surplus r had to go somewhere. It is better when semantic complications are not too complex. However broadly general or narrowly specialized, style manuals for writers in science or technology help them to cultivate and refine clarity, brevity, and accuracy. To the extent that they are followed they combat pollution in the flooding stream of technical literature in a variety of ways: Ry preaching hrwiry they rurh the swelling vdwnr. nr i a n u mnklng muddy w : t t w 1e.s rtlorky, I i thcv h c I ~c>lhcrn.rltrr- to $re nrld t o w r i t e n w r i l v d \ . . By insisting on accuracy they lessen the flow of errors, and may even brake the tendency of some too-hasty authors to throw pseudo-scientific rubbish into the stream. By upholding standards of good usage in written Englivh they partially fill the vacuum left when Webster's "New International Dictionary" (Edition 111) abdicated its former position au an authority. Anything goes in Webster 111; am?, lie dvn't, and data is are merely idiomatic English.
" .
Style manuals are not for light summer reading, nor even for long winter evenings by the fireside. Peeking a t the last chapter is no more thrilling than reading the first one. Mainly they are for reference; they will settle many a doubt (or bet, for their sporting fans). Properly used, they will point a writer's work toward smooth and effective presentation. His message will then have much more penetrating power than if it were sloppily written and poorly arranged. When using style guides from British sources. American useG shbuld-watch for anglicisms, just a; British users of American style manuals need to watch for idioms and spellings peculiar to America.
374 / Journol o f Chemical Educofion
Literature Cited (1) "Editor's Handbook: Guide to Stmdardization of Writing Style," 2nd ed., Iowa Stste College, Cedar Falls, 1957. (2) "Government Printing Office Style Manual," U.S.G.P.O., Washington, revised edition and an abridged edition, 1959. (3) "H. M. Stationery Office Guide," 4 parts in 1 volume, London, 1937. (4) "Preparation of Air Force Technical Reports," Air Materiel Command, Washington, 1961. (. 5.) "Handbook of Publications and Printhe." -. U S . De~artment of Commerce, Washington, 1961. ( 6 ) HEREFORD,THOMASG., "National Bureau of Standards Publications and Reports Manual," Washington, 1957. (7) VANHAGEN,C. E., "Handbook for Authors of Technical Reports," Naval Ordnance Test Station, China. Lake, California, 1951. (8) "Suggestions to Authors of Reports of the US. Geological Survey," 5th ed., Washington, 1958. (9) "Manual of Style." . . 11th ed.. University of Chicago - Press. 1949. (10) "New York Times Style Book for Writers and Editors," McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., New York, 1962. (11) "McGraw-Hill Author's Book," McGraw-Hill, New York, 1955. (12) "Style Manual," 4th ed., American Standards Assoc'n, New York, 1960. (13) "Style Manual for Engineering Authors and Editors," Ameriean Society of Mechanicel Engineers, New York, 1939. (14) "Suggestions to IEEE Authors," Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, New York, 1963. (15) "Manual of Instructions for Preparing Research Department Reports," Detroit Edison Co., 1945. (16) "Westinghouse Engineer's Guide for Association Activities" (includes report writing), Pittsburgh, no date. (17) MARTIN,MILES J., "Technical Writing and Speaking,'' General Electric Research Laboratory, Schenectady, 1953. (18) BECK,L. W., and SCHAEI~R, P. K., "Preparation of Reports," Experiment Station, Hercules Powder Co., Wilmington, 1945. (19) KINNEY,M. R., "Bibliographical Style Manuals: A Guide to Their Use in 1)ocumentation and Research,'' ACRL Monograph No. 8, Association of College and Reference Libraries. Chicaeo. - . 1953. (20) S C ~ M A N N OTTO, , "Dm Manuskript: Handbuch fur Autoren," 2nd ed., Wilhelmshitven, 1960. The ACRL guide LO Bibliographic Guides. American Library Assoe'n, Chicago. M. J., "Aids t o Teohnical (21) JORDAN, R. C., A N D EDWARDS, Writing." Engineering Experiment Station BulletinNo. 21, University of Minnesota, 1944. ELIZABETH W., "Editor's Handbook: A Manual (22) WILBORN, of Style." Department of Archives and History, State of North Carolina, Raleigh, 1956. (23) "Author's Guide," Prentiee-Hall Editorial Staff, New York, no date. (24) Wiley "Author's Guide": I, "Manuscript," 1960, 11, "Publishing," John Wiley & Sans, New York, 1960. (25) "Manual for Authors of ASTM Papea," Philadelphia, 1958. "Manual on Presentation of Data," American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia; isvued s t intervals from 1933 t o date. (26) GRAY,G. W., AND BADEN,W. W., "Public Speaking: Principles and Practice!' Harper and Row, 1963. (27) WEIL, BEN H., "Technical Editing," Iteinhold Publishing Co., 1958. (28) WINPREY, R O B ~ Y "Technical , and Business Report Preparation." 3rd ed., Iowa State University Press, 1962.
J. E., "Word Division Manual for the Basic (30) SILVERTHORNE, Vocabularv of Business Writine." -. Southwestern Publishing Co., ~incinnati,1958. (31) MAYBERRY, GEORGE,"Concise Dictionary of Abhreviations," Tudor, New York, 1961.
(32) TURABIAN, KATE L., ''l\lanual for the Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations!' University of Chia g o Press, revised edition, 1955. (33) TYTLER,A. F. (Lord Woodhouselee), "Essay on the Principles of Translation, 3rd ed., Edinburgh, 1813. (34) "Foreign Language Barrier in Science and Technology," ASLIB, London, 1962. (35) SAVORY, T. H., "Art of Translation," Dufour Editions, 1960. AND SHATTUCK, ROGER,'Craft and (36) ARROWSMITH, WILLIAM, Context of Translation: A Svmnosium Heoort." University of Texas Press, 1961.
" .
(37) "Style Guide for Translators," Singer, Smith and Co., New Yurk, 1964. Private communication. (38) "Instructions for Transistors," Associated Teehnicsl Services, New York, 1963. Private communication. (39) NEVILLE,HUGHH., A N D YUILL,W. E., "Translation from German for Chemists." John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1959.
(40) "Style Manual far Russian-English Translations," Jerusalem, 2nd ed., 1960. (41) . . FIESER.LOUISF. A N D MARY."Style Guide fur Chemists." ~einhold,1962.
Volume 42, Number 7, July 1965
/
375
