Style Guide for Publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Fourth Edition Style Guide for Publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Fourth Edition Published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Salt Lake City, Utah This document is subject to revision. Please send comments and suggestions to: Editing 50 East North Temple Street, Floor 23 Salt Lake City, UT 84150-0023 [email protected] Quotations from the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, used by permission of the University of Chicago Press. © 2010 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. © 1972, 2013 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America English approval: 2/06 Contents Preface ........................................ v Quotation Marks Typographic Considerations 1. Style Reference Sources ...................1 Lists 2. Writing for Church Publications ............3 7. Spelling and Distinctive Treatment Determine the Document’s Purpose of Words ................................21 Define the Audience Standard for Spelling Create a Preliminary Outline Spelling and Usage of Terms in Church Writing Compose Effective Paragraphs Plurals Compose Effective Sentences Possessives Word Division 3. Letters and Notices ........................7 O and Oh Letters from the Presiding Councils Ligatures Signature Blocks for Letters from the Presiding Ampersands Councils Italics Notices from Church Headquarters Words on Chalkboards or Wordstrips Addressee Lines for Correspondence from Compound Words Church Headquarters 8. Names and Terms ........................27 4. Copyrights, Permissions, and General Principles of Capitalization Publishing Information ...................11 Church Positions and Offices Intellectual Reserve, Inc. Church Buildings Correlation Intellectual Property Temples Determining Whether Permission Is Required Places and Historic Sites Obtaining Copyright Approval General Church Funds Publishing Information Church Organizations, Classes, and Programs English Approval Date Church Meetings Copyright Notices Awards Bar Code Time Zones Church Logotype Kinship Names Registered Trademarks Names and Titles of Deity Religious Persons and Groups 5. Grammar and Usage ......................15 Satan and His Followers Agreement of Pronouns and Antecedents Saint(s) Use of Gender-Specific Pronouns Church Nouns Used as Modifiers Priesthood That and Which Religious Writings Scripture and Scriptural as Modifiers Religious Terms Historic and Historical 9. Numbers ................................41 6. Punctuation . 17 Numerals or Words Commas and Semicolons Physical Quantities Colons Fractions, Percentages, and Decimals Question Marks Money Hyphens Parts of a Book En Dashes Dates Em Dashes Telephone Numbers Parentheses Punctuation of Numbers Brackets Inclusive Numbers Slashes Scripture References iii 10. Abbreviations . 43 Punctuation of Parenthetical Source Citations Punctuation of Abbreviations Cross-References Names and Titles Block Quotations Geographical Terms Scripture References Designations of Time Quoting the Words of Church Presidents The Standard Works Sample Citations: Scriptures Sample Citations: Leadership Materials 11. Titles of Works ..........................47 Sample Citations: Church-Published Manuals Italics and Quotation Marks in Titles and Books Punctuation and Capitalization in Titles Sample Citations: Pamphlets and Booklets Titles of Artwork in Church Publications Sample Citations: Proclamations Titles of Departments in Church Magazines Sample Citations: Hymnbooks and Songbooks Sample Citations: Conference Talks 12. Computer and Internet Terms .............51 Sample Citations: Worldwide Leadership Spellings of Computer Terms Training Meetings Names of Computer Software Sample Citations: Books File Extensions Sample Citations: Magazines, Newspapers, Website Addresses and Journals Website Navigation Instructions Sample Citations: BYU and Church Educational Website and Email Addresses in Text System Devotionals Hashtags in Church Materials Sample Citations: Documents Published Online Sample Citations: Works Not Formally 13. Quotations ..............................55 Published Sample Bibliographic Entries Integrity in Quoting Quotations Frequently Misattributed Permissible Changes Relationship to Text 15. Use of Latter-day Saint Titles ..............73 Initial Capital or Lowercase Letter Introducing Quotations 16. Scouting Terminology ....................75 Ellipses Italics Added Cub Scouting Terms Phrases Ending with Amen Terms Relating to Scouts Varsity and Venturing Terms 14. Source Citations, Notes, and Bibliographies ...........................61 17. Terms No Longer Current in Church Usage ............................77 Editions and Printings Form of Source Citations Index .........................................79 Specific Source Citation Issues Full and Shortened Citations iv Preface The purposes of the Church Style Guide are to provide: a matter of style is of particular concern, this guide quotes Chicago’s policy. Cross-references in this guide 1. Guidelines for effective written communication. also direct the reader to Chicago for further information. 2. Guidelines for copyrights and permissions. The principles in this style guide and The Chicago Man- 3. Guidelines for grammar and style. ual of Style are recommended as guidelines for main- taining clarity and consistency. Writers and editors The Style Guide is not intended to answer all questions should not vary from these standards based merely of style. Because Church publications generally follow on personal preference. However, some documents or the principles suggested in the 16th edition of The Chi- passages may justify variation from the recommended cago Manual of Style (herein referred to as Chicago), this style. Writers and editors should consider the needs guide is concerned primarily with matters in which of the particular document or context and apply the Church style differs from that of Chicago or is more principles judiciously. specific than Chicago’s suggestions. Occasionally, when v Style Reference Sources 1 1.1 Except for the variations specified in this guide, Amy Einsohn, The Copyeditor’s Handbook, the style in Church publications follows the 3rd ed. (2011) guidelines given in the most recent edition of The Chicago Manual of Style, currently the 16th Bergen and Cornelia Evans, A Dictionary of edition. Contemporary American Usage (1957) 1.2 The standard reference for spelling, meaning Wilson Follett, Modern American Usage (1966) of words, and end-of-line breaks is the latest H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, edition of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate The Little, Brown Handbook, 12th ed. (2011) Dictionary, currently the 11th edition. In case of discrepancies between Chicago and Webster’s H. W. Fowler, A Dictionary of Modern English (especially in capitalization and hyphenation of Usage, 2nd ed. (1965) compounds), follow the principles in Chicago. If Bryan A. Garner, “Grammar and Usage,” further help is needed, consult Webster’s Third chapter 5 in The Chicago Manual of Style, New International Dictionary. In case of discrep- 16th ed. (2010) ancies between the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate and the Third International, follow the Merriam- Bryan A. Garner, Garner’s Modern American Webster’s Collegiate (see Chicago 7.1). Usage, 3rd ed. (2009) 1.3 For general information about vocabulary, cor- William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, The rect usage, and principles of grammar, consult Elements of Style, 4th ed. (2000) the following works: William Zinsser, On Writing Well, rev. ed. Theodore M. Bernstein, The Careful Writer: (2006) A Modern Guide to English Usage (1968) Roy H. Copperud, American Usage and Style: The Consensus (1980) 1 Writing for Church Publications 2 Determine the Document’s Purpose 2.4 The audience for Church publications is usually composed of people from many cultures and 2.1 Before you begin writing, determine the pur- nations. Use language, stories, and examples pose of the document you are preparing. that will minimize translation problems and be Generally, state this purpose clearly in the first meaningful to people from different cultures. paragraph. To help you determine the purpose, ask questions such as: Create a Preliminary Outline What do we want this document to accomplish? What do we want the reader to know? 2.5 When creating a preliminary outline, make sure it flows naturally and logically. Clearly distin- What do we want the reader to do? guish main ideas from subordinate ideas. How do we want the reader to feel? 2.6 Make sure that the most important information The purpose or thesis statement should help the in a document is in the most accessible places— reader understand what the document will say. the beginning of the document, the beginning It should predict and control everything that will of a chapter or section, and the beginning of follow in the document. paragraphs. Do not bury important information in long paragraphs. Define the Audience 2.2 Before you begin writing, clearly define the au- Compose Effective Paragraphs dience that will read the document. It is often 2.7 The following guidelines will help you compose helpful to ask questions such as: effective paragraphs: What is the reader’s level of knowledge and experience? 1. Include a topic sentence (a sentence that states the main idea) in each paragraph, usually What is the reader’s age? at the beginning. A topic sentence forecasts What is the reader’s attitude toward