Re: need copyedit advice! what's a style sheet?

["Susan W. Gallagher" <sgallagher -at- EXPERSOFT -dot- COM>]

amy wrote:
>...I must create a
>style sheet...I have no idea what a style sheet is.

A style sheet is a list of standards that a set of documents will
follow. Commercially available style documents, such as the Chicago
Manual of Style, spell out all the rules for punctuation, spelling,
reference lists, etc. A style sheet for a smallish pubs group ususally
references a book like CMS, then documents the differences/disagreements
or industry-specific stuff.

For example, a style sheet might specify that one (or two) spaces
be used after a sentence, that e-mail be spelled with a hyphen
but online be spelled as a closed compound, that bulleted lists
should be single spaced with no terminal punctuation, etc.

A style sheet can also specify standard verbiage, such as whether
you click or click on a button, select or choose a menu item, and
whether menu things are items, options, or picks.

>Also, what's the difference between em dashes and en dashes?

An em dash is as wide as an M, an en dash is as wide as an N. At
least that's the theory. Wether it's true depends on the typeface.
In any case, em is wider than en.

HTH!


-Sue Gallagher               http://pw1.netcom.com/~gscale/susanwg/
sgallagher -at- expersoft -dot- com     http://www.expersoft.com

The _Guide_ is definitive.
Reality is frequently inaccurate.  --Douglas Adams

 TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot-  Send commands
   to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
  Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/  or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html