An editor’s favorite resources
This month, I’d like to share a few of my favorite resources for editing. If you find any of them helpful, please bookmark them to use in the academic year ahead!
Even if you don’t use AP style (and most corners of the University don’t), the AP Stylebook is still a great resource. Not only do the editors stay up-to-date on current events, but they also do their research and share it in the stylebook. Want to know the difference between a motor and an engine? Or are you curious about how to approach the U.S.’s “One China” policy in your writing? The AP Stylebook is there for you. You do need a subscription, but it’s only about $25 for a year.
This is a resource I use daily, since the University Style Guide is based on Chicago style. The online version has a handy search feature, is easy to navigate, and includes access to a Q&A section and a blog to learn more. Ordinarily you would need a subscription for the online version, but happily the Hesburgh Libraries provides free access to anyone on campus.
This website is a solid resource for getting new perspectives on a range of inclusive language topics including age and disability, climate and environment, socioeconomic status, and plenty more. This isn’t a “normal” style guide in the sense that it provides concrete guidance or approaches, but it’s an excellent roundup of resources on things to be more aware of when writing or editing.
For the Facebook users out there, this is a fun, informative, active group of editors and writers. You’ll find a little bit of everything on here, from funny memes to questions about punctuation to whether a U.S. reader would be familiar with a Britishism. I learn a lot here, and it’s a great group of people to go to when I have nitpicky questions. It’s certainly geared more toward copy editors, but writers get a lot out of it as well.
It seems 90 percent of quotes online are attributed to Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, or Albert Einstein. Obviously, some digging usually needs to be done to find the correct source or even the correct quote. Unfortunately, many of the websites out there that claim to verify quotes can have bad information on them (looking at you, Goodreads). Wikiquotes is actually a reliable source of information on this, and if you’re like me and are still wary of any website starting with Wiki-, check out the New York Public Library’s list of resources.
Style guide update
Going forward, the University Style Guide recommends styling the names of papal encyclicals— e.g., Laudato si’—in italics. Previously the guidance was not to italicize, but the Vatican and USCCB both use italics here and we will update to follow best practices.
Pop quiz
Which is University style for formatting numbers in general?
Click on your answer to submit your response. If you have the correct response, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a free treat!
June pop quiz winner
Congrats to Janine Meersman, adviser to the vice president for undergraduate enrollment, the winner of the June pop quiz!
Following University style, is alma mater ever capitalized? No
The correct response is no. Unless something like a song is “officially” named Alma Mater, the term is considered a descriptor and not a title, and as such is lowercase.
Example: Notre Dame’s alma mater is titled Notre Dame, Our Mother.
For more, see https://onmessage.nd.edu/policies-and-guidelines/university-style-guide/#term-alma-mater-reference-to-school .
What we’re reading
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The Washington Post
The Washington Post
Latest style guide updates
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AD, BC
Use no periods in AD or BC. As a Catholic university, AD and BC are preferred over the contemporary CE and BCE markers.
Note that AD goes before the year, as it stands for anno domini, or “the year of our Lord.” BC, or “before Christ,” goes after the year.
- The paintings are dated back to circa AD 1200.
- Britain was invaded successfully in 55 BC and AD 1066.
- But: the fifth century AD
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encyclicals
The names of papal encyclicals are always italicized.
- The encyclical Humanae Vitae was a foundational document for the institute.
- Laudato si’ is a 2015 encyclical from Pope Francis.