A style guide is a document that defines how writing should be done within an organization, publication, or project. It governs decisions that grammar alone does not resolve: word choice, capitalization conventions, formatting standards, tone, and voice. Its purpose is consistency — so that writing produced by different people at different times reads as if it came from one mind.
Style guides operate at several levels:
- Language conventions — spelling preferences (US vs. UK), serial comma usage, number formatting, abbreviation rules. These are the most mechanical decisions and the easiest to enforce.
- Voice and tone — how the writing should sound. A style guide might specify “write as a knowledgeable peer, not an authority” or “prefer active voice and direct address.”
- Word lists — approved and forbidden words. This vault’s PTGAE style guide maintains a list of words to avoid (“utilize,” “facilitate,” “implement”) with preferred alternatives.
- Structural conventions — how to format headings, cross-references, lists, and code examples. These overlap with document design.
The most widely used style guides in English are the Chicago Manual of Style (publishing), AP Stylebook (journalism), and Microsoft Writing Style Guide (technology). Each reflects the needs of its domain: Chicago addresses scholarly apparatus like footnotes and bibliographies; AP addresses brevity under deadline pressure; Microsoft addresses interface text and global audiences.
In technical writing, a style guide reduces friction in collaborative environments. When ten writers contribute to the same documentation, a style guide prevents the reader from encountering “click” in one article and “select” in another, or “e-mail” in one paragraph and “email” in the next. The consistency is not pedantry — it reduces cognitive load for the reader, who doesn’t have to wonder whether different terms mean different things.
Related terms
- brand voice — a style guide often defines and codifies brand voice
- document design — structural conventions are a form of document design
- plain language — many style guides incorporate plain language principles