Re: Grammar Guides, Dictionaries, etc.

[Dick Margulis <ampersandvirgule -at- WORLDNET -dot- ATT -dot- NET>]

Tracey,

Okay, I'll throw this list out for starters. Note that I tend to be
paper-oriented when it comes to references; others may weigh in with a
bunch of CD-ROMs or online resources:

Dictionary:

American Heritage Dictionary

Get one copy of the desk edition and then get a college edition for
everyone. One of my avocations is collecting and critquing dictionaries
and I strongly recommend this one over Merriam-Webster for your
purposes.

(You may also want specialized technical dictionaries, but I don't know
much about them.)

Style guide:

Chicago Manual of Style

If you deal with the Federal Government a lot, you may prefer to go with
the Government Printing Office Style Manual instead; otherwise go with
Chicago.

In addition, I would assume you are hiring writers who have a grasp of
basic grammar and have their own libraries. You should not have to buy
them copies of the Elements of Style, by Strunk and White, or Warriner's
Handbook of English.

You do, however, need to work as a group to establish your own rules for
those things that are still discretionary so you can al be consistent.
This would include things like whether to use a comma before and, how to
spell catalog(ue), and so forth.

HTH





Tracey Moore wrote:
>
> Anyone have any suggestions for grammar guides, thesauruses, and
> dictionaries for technical writers?  I need to purchase either books or
> software for our company, so your input is greatly appreciated.
>