What's your style based on?

One of the most important jobs for a proofreader and copy-editor is to ensure text is consistent. So if on page one of my website I’m a proofreader, copy-editor and copywriter, on page two I can’t be a proof-reader, copyeditor and copy writer (note the spacing and hyphenation).

That’s why it’s essential to stick to one style of writing.

When I started proofreading and editing, I bought myself some lovely huge reference books – now well thumbed and somewhat tatty. I chose Oxford because I particularly like their style, and they publish a wealth of guides answering just about every language question under the sun. They’ve been about a very long time, they know their stuff and their style is popular in printed material.

So when I’m writing or editing, I base my style on Oxford. I have a style sheet I’ve built up over the years with notes on grammar, punctuation and spelling, and I add to this pretty much daily.

There’s only one element of Oxford style I don’t apply – the use of z rather than s as in realise and realize. My feeling is that British English isn’t quite ready for this development – I’ve tried it out once or twice and invariably the response from my client is, ‘But it’s American!’

Although my personal taste is for Oxford style, I also edit within other styles for clients when they ask. One of my clients prefers using Chambers, which is fine – as long as your style is consistent, it’s not important which dictionary you work from.

Invest in a big dictionary – when you’re not using it to help with your writing, it will come in very useful as a step for changing lightbulbs (so that’s why mine are so tatty!).