The Yale International Forum's Style Guide
1997 Edition
(courtesy of the The Chicago Manual of Style, Strunk and White, and personal preferences)

Welcome to the YIF's Style Guide! This handy reference addresses the burning questions that have been plaguing your conscience when editing and proofreading YIF submissions. Where do I place the comma? How do I correct this horrible sentence? Why is Alex such a weirdo? Well, okay, so this won't answer that question but fear not! You can find the answers to the other questions below!

Spelling

1. Use the dictionary and the spell check function on the word processor liberally.Misspelled words are embarrassing in any context. When reading proofs, be sure to check for misspelled words in ads, the table of contents, and photo captions as well.

2. Some spelling pet peeves to look out for:

3. Avoid foreign spellings (e.g. harbor not harbour).

Punctuation

1. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last:

President Clinton, President Yeltsin, and Alex had high level negotiations in Moscow Monday.
Bob, Joe, and Moe were sent to cover the comedy convention in New York.

2. Place periods and commas within quotation marks:

"That prime minister is such a moron,' remarked the official.
Beatrice observed, "Gee, those jalapeno peppers were really hot."

3. Use two spaces after each period and colon, but only one space after each comma and semicolon:

Without love, life means nothing. With a lot of money, however, life can be swell.
She brought with her the following items: a glass of Chardonnay, chalk and suspenders.

4.Use the en dash between numbers and compound words:

1945­1995
quasi­public
non­English­speaking countries

5. Use the em dash for a separation stronger than a comma:

U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor­­an undisputed tough guy­­has gained popularity.

Note: To create an em dash, hold down the ALT button and the numbers 0151 in the NUM LOCK mode. Do not use spaces before or after the em dash.

6. When in doubt, err on the side of including commas:

For example, 425 UN peace keepers were injured in the attack.
Prior to the conference, diplomats met in Geneva to discuss possible settlements.

Possession

To make a possessive form in singular words, add an apostrophe and an s:

Mike's
Mike Jones's
Kansas's (it looks weird, we know, but that the way it is)

Abbreviations

1. Do not use periods in acronyms of organizations and associations.

UN not U.N.
NATO not N.A.T.O.

2. Use periods in abbreviations of countries.

U.S. not US
U.K. not UK

Dates and Numbers

1. Use dates in the following format:

September 15, 1997
December 1975
October 4-21, 1990

Note: Do not include the day of the week in specific dates. Do not use time specific expressions given that our audience will be reading the magazines at different dates.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu visited the campus on September 2 not Archbishop Desmond Tutu visited the campus yesterday.

2. Spell out numbers up to and including ten; numbers greater than ten should be left as figures.

3. Numbers that begin a sentence must always be spelled out.

Sixty-three victims were killed in the plane crash over Montana.

Note: In this situation, numbers 21 through 99 should be hyphenated with an en dash.

4. Numbers between ten and 100,000 should be left as figures, but numbers greater than 100,000 should be written out:

65,000 and 1,021 (use commas)
but 2.5 million and 645 thousand

5. Always write out "percent."

Format-Related Concerns

1. Italicize titles of books, newspapers, and magazines:

She subscribed to the New York Times, Newsweek, and Vogue.

2. when editing pieces on the computer, take out all hard indents (Pagemaker does not do this automatically, but it does add soft indents).

Pet Peeves

1. Use active voice whenever possible. Passive voice deadens the tone of the piece.

2. Don't use the word "however" in the beginning of a sentence.

3. Avoid impersonal construction at the beginning of a sentence:

It is evident that dropping the bomb saved American lives.
There are too many people at Naples.

4. Avoid split infinitives.

5. Do not misuse words:

• Use among when comparing more than two objects; use between when comparing two.
• Use different from not different than.
• Use disinterested to mean impartial; use uninterested to mean not caring or not interested.
• Do not use the word irregardless; use simply regardless.
• That is defining and restrictive; which is nondefining and nonrestrictive:

The lawnmower that is broken is in the garage. (Implies that there is more than one lawnmower.)
The lawnmower, which is broken, is in the garage.

 

When editing....

• write comments and edits legibly. The author has to be able to read all remarks.
  
• correct grammar as well as critique content.
  
• use the style guide for proofreading and recurring YIF rules. Feel free to consult the Chicago Manual of Style at your leisure.
  
• denote possible pull quotes.
  
• suggest subhead titles where appropriate.
  
• suggest new titles if the current one sounds too "academic."
  
• mark your edits in a different color ink from other editors. Write your name and phone number at the top of the page to let the author know who wrote what comments.
  
• include positive criticism (of course). What worked?
  
• think of visuals (photos, charts, diagrams, graphics) for the piece. Extra brownie points if you can actually get the visuals.
  
• adhere to the deadlines that the edit leaders assign.
  
• BE SURE TO PASS ALONG ALL YOUR EDITS IN A TIMELY MANNER.

Authors: When revising....

• be sure to include the latest word count of the article. Currently, four page articles should approximate 1100 words, while three-page articles should approximate 850 words. HOWEVER: it is ALWAYS ALWAYS better to have more words than less.
  
• call editors if something is unclear.
  
• when returning drafts to editors, please include the old drafts with comments.This will allow the editors to refer to their previous comments.
  
• adhere to the deadlines set by the edit leaders.