The style sheet is a description of the copyeditor's work. It ensures internal consistency when there are two correct ways of expressing something, such as when to use roman numerals, arabic numbers, or the words for numbers. The standard style books, such as the Chicago Manual of Style and Words into Type, and proprietary style manuals produced in-house by publishers, cannot cover all contingencies and are not suitable for all subjects. For example, most standard dictionaries give morning glory, two words. However, in agriculture, nearly all weeds are considered a single word, and morningglory is a weed to most farmers. Also, some authors strongly prefer expressions other than the ones the style books prescribe. In these cases, the style sheet reflects deviations from the style book, reflects the decisions the copyeditor has made, and allows a general review of the copyeditor's work without actually reading the document.

This sample style sheet is distilled from the many that Kate Daly has generated in the course of her work. It is not a description of the way she always does things; it merely shows how she has done them sometimes in the past. Most of the time Kate follows the author's style unless the publisher takes strong exception; however, sometimes it is necessary to override the author, and in such cases, the style sheet not only reflects the changes but explains them.

Style sheet for Example Book, published by Daly Web & Edit, 2002.

Sources: Previous edition of Example Book, American Heritage Dictionary (usage), Webster's 10th Collegiate Dictionary (spelling), Stedman, Medical Dictionary, American Medical Association style book.

A

acclimation, not acclimatization (first use in
manuscript)

airflow

air space (pneumonology; airspace is what airplanes
have)

alternate, occurring in succession, taking turns;
alternative, second possibility (in strictest
sense, limited to two options)

assure, set the mind at rest; ensure, make
certain; insure, buy a policy

at risk for; the risk of


B

in behalf of: for the benefit of; on behalf of: as the agent
of

beta-carotene (not Greek letter)

bodybuilder (Webster's 10th)



C

Ca2+

Cholesterol: HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol;
not HDL-C, LDL-C.

common sense, n; commonsense, adj.



D

die of; death from

dietitian



E

ECG, electrocardiogram (not EKG)

e.g. in tables and parentheses only; otherwise for
example
empathic, not empathetic



F

fractions: two-thirds of subjects



G
H

H1 blocker
health care practitioner



I

-ical, not -ic, endings
ISOTOPES: technetium 99m; 99mTc (AMA style
book)



L

lipoprotein(a), closed up, per Stedman



M

mm Hg
motor neuron, not motoneurone, motoneuron, or
motor neurone
ms, milliseconds



N

Newton, very bright guy; newton, unit of force



P

P < .0001
Paco2, arterial carbon dioxide tension (note
small cap co, inferior 2)
Percent ranges: 10<en>50% but between 10%
and 50%



S

State names written out in text and parentheses; postal
abbreviations elsewhere



T

t'ai chi
type I, type II



U

under way
U.S., adj; United States, n.


W

washout, n. (Webster's 10th)
workload, work rate, work site


Notes on Style
Numbers: Rule of 9: spell
out all numbers up to 9; spell out round numbers above 99;
spell out cardinal numbers to 99: 99 bottles of beer on the
wall; Ten thousand attended; the twenty-seventh
edition. Exceptions: Street numbers always figures, figures
with units of measure except time: 5 miles, but five
minutes.

Greek letters written out (beta-blockers)

Standard two-word phrases (those found in Stedman or
Webster) are not hyphenated as precedent adjectives: real
estate boom

Unit abbreviations are used only with figures: 10
mL/min/kg, but expressed in milliliters per minute
per kilogram.

Hyphens in phone numbers: 800-555-5555 (phone book
style).

Author used micron, which is obsolete;
micrometer has been substituted throughout per
publisher's strong preference.

Subtitles are preceded by a colon, not a dash: Advance One
and Sum: Look-Ahead Algorithm