Why do we need a style guide?

BoomTribe’s image is portrayed in many ways—the quality of our parties, our relationships with our sponsors, our Web site, even the way we answer our email. All publications, in the broadest sense of the word, also help establish BoomTribe’s image, whether the document is a member registration form, a product description in our catalog, a feature article, or a newsletter. We shouldn’t forget the effect a shoddy publication has on our most important readers: our members. How they feel about your online community affects how they relate with each other and to our sponsor partners and their products and services.

That brings us to the question: Why do we need a style guide?

We need a style guide because it’s one element in creating a unified community-wide image and a more professional appearance. If our published material is sloppy and unprofessional, it implies that we are sloppy and unprofessional.

As a Caribbean virtual community with a mission to unify the Caribbean culturally, we establish paths for others to follow, and, for that reason, incorrect grammar and misspellings are not acceptable in any of the printed materials we produce. Spell-check has given us a powerful tool, but style is more than correct spelling and punctuation.

Style dictates uniform usage for the name of the community and its components, including message boards, chat rooms, articles, parties and the names and titles of those who work to make BoomTribe such a vibrant onlien community.

A style guide applies to all materials whether printed or published online, including books, pamphlets, catalogs, and calendars, as well as letters, fliers and similar documents.

Never, NEVER think, “Who’s going to see this anyway?” Members and sponsors frequently print the pages where they come under the scrutiny of potential sponsors, members, friends, and family.

In short, this guide should be a primary resource when you are dealing with written materials in any form. This guide is not all-inclusive, and is not intended to be.

Your second source in matters of style should be the Associated Press Stylebook, which sets standards for people who write for publication. Its rules are applied almost universally to newspapers, books, magazines and other printed matter.

Some of the entries in this guide refer specifically to the Associated Press Stylebook. You can buy your own copy of the Stylebook directly from the Associated Press.

The core BoomTribe team, moderators and editors are also information sources. Contact Larry Evans, content administrator for this Web page, with comments, questions or corrections.

General Guidelines

These style guidelines are meant to help prospective writers for BoomTribe. Copy editors and production people can also use these style guidelines during the editing and production processes.

As an overall goal for written content, we want to move toward:

• A lively, first-person style for the articles, particularly the columns.

• Provocative content that engages our readers from many perspectives, focusing on their common interest in Caribbean youth culture.

In developing this style guide, our goal is to draw from established style guides that can be modified for our needs (to adapt existing guides in order not to “reinvent the wheel”) while  at the same time identifying unique needs of a Web-based publication. The other unique challenge of this work is to negotiate a style appropriate to the BoomTribe identity and members.

1. Hypertext style suggestions: We are developing a particular hypertext style for the magazine. We encourage prospective authors to be aware of this style, and we request that  submitted articles are written following it.

2. Language style guidance; We encourage writers to:

• Use active voice whenever possible.

• Introduce subject matter within the context of those interested in Caribbean music and culture, using terms and cultural references that either are in the glossary of terms, contain a hyperlink to more information, or are explicated in the article itself.

• Present material recognizing the diverse interests and backgrounds of the readership.

3. Length: target length for articles is 1,400 words maximum; columns and reviews, 1,000 words maximum; news items and others 600 words maximum.

4. Title: unless absolutely necessary, the title of an article should not contain a colon.

5. Citation style: Use BoomTribe citation style if necessary, which uses the APA American Psychological Association

(APA) Style Guide as a basis.

6. Language usage: Associated Press (AP) Style Guide as a basis; but with exceptions.

• Use “online” instead of AP’s “on-line”

• Use “email” instead of AP’s “e-mail”

• Use “website” instead of “Web site” or “Web-site”

7. Language bias: articles published will be free of words or phrases that either implicitly or explicitly categorize persons so it either demeans or implies a bias against them (from the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (4^th ed.). Prospective authors should submit manuscripts which use  gender-fair language and avoid racial, ethnic, stereotypes or other examples of language bias.

8. Vocabulary: we are developing a glossary of language and cultural references  considered part of audience knowledge.

9. Spelling: Caribbean English *

10. Format: see the current issues for a specification of the hypertext layout  and format for how final articles as well as specialized articles (book reviews, etc) will appear.

    Format of manuscript: You should enter the text of your prepared manuscript directly into the Publisher Editor. Please contact the editor for more details. Use plain ASCII text, with blank lines between paragraphs. If you want, your text can contain HTML  tags to indicate bold, italics, bulleted or numbered lists, etc., but it is not necessary to put  headers and footers to conform to magazine style on your manuscript—this will be done automatically if the manuscript is accepted for publication.

    Links in manuscript: links in an article might eventually go stale---archived articles will be saved (see link policy). Take this into consideration when making links in the article.

    Biography, email, web page: Please include a short biographical statement (up to 75 words) with your manuscript. Indicate if you would like your email address published as well as a  link to your web page.

Hyperlink Usage

This page is designed to assist prospective writers and editors for BoomTribe by defining a set guidelines for making hypertext links within articles published online.

A link within an article can serve a multitude of functions to convey, extend, expand, and associate meaning within text. Ultimately, making these links is a matter of taste (both  author’s and editor’s) as well as the developed editorial style of the website, particularly our style of hypertext organization.

Links should not be made for trival expansion of meaning. For example, in  the sentence:

“Those who want to get their hands dirty with online news issues now, rather than being forced to do so by the competition, are the members of the new Society of Electronic News  Delivery.”

Bilodeau, A. (1994) An overview of the society of electronic news delivery. Computer-Mediated

Communication Magazine 1(3):4.

A link to the dictionary definition of the word hand, would be considered “trivial,” as this meaning is not essential for the reader in the context of that article. In contrast, a link  to the home page of the Society of Electronic News Delivery would be very appropriate.

Names and How to Use Them

Company Name

The formal name of the business and online community is BoomTribe. Always written with a capital B and a capital T.

In written materials, the first reference should use the formal name; “The ‘Tribe” can be used for subsequent references.

Names of Parties

Carni Gras

Dominion

etc.

People’s Names

Every name you use in print is potential quicksand, ready to swallow your best intentions.

There is absolutely no excuse for misspelling a person’s name. Names are available in phone books, directories and a host of other documents and records, but the best source is the person. When in doubt, contact the person and ask how to spell his or her name. He or she will be flattered that you asked—and you’ll avoid embarrassment.

And this bit of information should be passed on to all our contributors who are also students: The worst possible mistake you can make on a job application is misspelling the name of the person to whom you’ve addressed the letter and application. The next-to-worst mistake is addressing the letter to his or her predecessor—it implies you aren’t interested enough in the company to find out the correct name.

Article Sections

Lead

The bottom-line-first/hook/relevance should occur in the article’s lead. As a journalism instructor might say, your article’s first words, first sentence,first paragraph should all count.These establish your subject, set the article’s tone, attract attention and guide your reader into what follows. These first sentences, this first paragraph or two, are called the article’s lead; it’s important to take some pains with them. The lead should captivate or  “hook” readers in the first line or two,  letting them know why they should take the time to read the article (relevance).

Feature leads (most of the articles BoomTribe receives are features) are of several  types: narrative, direct address (uses “you”), teaser, “freak” (unusual lead, such as a poem, play on  words, etc.), question, quote, description, summary or combination. Use the lead appropriate to your article.

Bridge

The bridge is usually a one-, two- or three-sentence paragraph between the article’s lead and main body. The bridge should back up or add information to the lead and link the lead to the body of the story.

Body

The body should develop the story and continue the lead’s mood or tone. The body should have a single focus and not sidetrack into other topics. (Supporting information that will help your reader understand your topic better can be placed in a “sidebar.”)

Use transitions throughout the body—from paragraph to paragraph, section to section—to maintain your article’s flow.

Opinions should be well-supported with examples.

Statistics should be translated into terms the reader can understand, that have  meaning and can be visualized. Example of what not to write: “Six thousand people die every year on America’s highways.” Example of what to write: “About

170 people die every day” or “Enough people die every year to fill Yankee Stadium.” Show the readers; don’t cite dry facts alone.

Ending

The conclusion of article should be equal, or nearly equal, in importance to the lead.

The article’s conclusion should summarize the story; wrap up any loose ends; tie back to an idea, key word or quote planted earlier in the story; present a surprise to the reader (called  a “stinger” ending); or combine any of these methods. Whatever conclusion you choose, it should be  appropriate to the type of article you’ve written.

If the article is an opinion piece where the reader is asked to do something or avoid something, there should be a clear “call to action” in the conclusion.

Opinion pieces should not contradict or criticize BoomTribe or DJ policy; hold the community or any or any of its members up to ridicule; take sides in political issues; hold any race, religion  or ethnic group up to ridicule; violate host-country sensitivities; or be written to air personal complaints. (Of course, if you do any of these things, the article won’t be printed.)

Writing Made Easy

Writing - of any kind - is no mystical endeavor. But successfully delivering a message requires thought and organization. You need to:

Think about the message you want to deliver.

Think about who your audience will be, in terms of their knowledge and their educational level. You will write differently for six-year-olds than you will for adults.

Make a short outline, and organize your thoughts.

Create your message, writing as if you were talking to your audience. Above all, avoid wordiness! An overly long written piece is worse for the reader than an overly long speech is for the audience. Few dinner guests leave before a speaker is finished, but you will probably lose your reader long before he’s finished digesting your message.

Keep your message as simple as possible.

When your first draft is done, put your message aside for a time, even an hour. Then return to it, read it again and make corrections and changes. If necessary, repeat this process until you have what you want - a concise message for your audience that expresses your thoughts and ideas.

Basically, you need to think about your writing, and avoid the common pitfalls, such as inappropriate adjectives and verbs - the little things that grind a reader’s teeth. Here’s one perfect example, an overworked and overused cliche that can ruin your best effort:

The situation went “from worse to worse.”

Nope. Situations go from bad to worse to WORST.

And so will your writing if you insist on murdering the language, whether English or any other!

Words: Using them effectively and correctly

If you aren’t sure about how to spell a word - any word

check the dictionary. If you’re so unsure that you haven’t the least idea how a word might be spelled, ask a co-worker or friend for assistance. Always keep in mind that some of the world’s greatest authors were and are the world’s worst spellers.

Delete “that”

Why pick on such a common and apparently useful word? Because that is a word that clutters language and that encourages people that are not careful writers to string out ideas that should be broken into sentences that could be shorter. That’s why! Cross out “that” every time it appears in your writing. No exceptions.  Now read the material aloud and replace the “that” only in sentences making no sense without it. Perhaps one sentence in 10 will get its “that” back.

Clarity

After you set your hook/bottom line into the first or second paragraph, it may be easiest to rough out a draft, then edit it carefully according to this style manual. You may fine-tune according to the clarity index, which may be helpful in excising even more “fat”.

This is a necessary process, as long words and long sentences make writing difficult to read—moreso on the web. Not only does the long words/long sentences kind of writing fail to meet BoomTribe standards, but also your fellow members won’t read your article if you don’t make it clear, concise and relevant.

The clarity index is based on word and sentence length. To calculate a piece of writing’s clarity, take a sample of 200 words or less, then:

1. Count the number of sentences;

2. Count the number of words;

3. Divide the number of words by the number of sentences to get the average sentence length (target average is 15 words per sentence);

4. Count the number of words that have three syllables or more;

5. Divide the number of long words by the total of words to determine the percentage of long words (target is 15 percent);

6. Add the average sentence length to the percentage of long words;

7. The sum is the clarity index (target is 30).

Commonly Misused Words

Even if you never look at this style guide again, READ THIS SECTION. You will be amazed at the mistakes you can make simply by using the wrong form of a word.

Some are synonyms - one of two or more words that have the same or nearly the same meaning.

Most, however, are homonyms - words with one or more sound-alike forms, such as their, there, and they’re.  The wrong form will distract your readers and probably distort or even mangle your message. Spell-check won’t save you on these mistakes - every form of the word will be accepted as correct.

There’s a big difference between “spending the weekend dyeing” and “spending the weekend dying.”

Here are some common examples:

Accept, except: Accept means to receive; except means to exclude.

Adverse, averse: Adverse means unfavorable: He predicted adverse weather. Averse means reluctant or opposed: She is averse to change.

Affect, effect: Affect, as a verb, means to influence:

The game will affect the standings. Effect, as a verb, means to cause: He will effect many changes in the company. Effect, as a noun, means result: He miscalculated the effect of his actions. (Affect, as a noun, is best avoided. It occasionally is used in psychology to describe an emotion, but there is no need for it in everyday language.)

Aid, aide: Aid is assistance. Aide is a person who serves as an assistant.

Allusion, illusion: Allusion means an indirect reference: The allusion was to his opponent’s war record. Illusion means an unreal or false impression:

The scenic director created the illusion of choppy seas.

Altar, alter: An altar is a table-like platform used in a church service. Alter means change.

Anybody, any body, anyone, any one: One word is used for an indefinite reference: Anyone can do that. Two words are used to single out one element of a group:

Any one of them may speak up.

Biannual, biennial: Biannual means twice a year and is a synonym for the word semiannual. Biennial means every two years.

Bloc, block: A bloc is a coalition of people, groups or nations with the same purpose or goal. Block has more than a dozen definitions, but a political alliance is not one of them.

Cannon, canon: A cannon is a weapon. A canon is a law or rule, particularly of a church.

Canvas, canvass: Canvas is heavy cloth. Canvass is a noun and a verb denoting a survey.

Carat, caret, karat: The weight of precious stones, especially diamonds, is expressed in carats. A caret is a mark used by writers and proofreaders. The proportion of pure gold used with an alloy is expressed in karats.

Caster, castor: A caster is a roller. Castor is the spelling for the oil and the bean from which it is derived.

Censer, censor, censure: A censer is a container used to burn incense. To censor is to prohibit or restrict the use of something. To censure is to condemn.

Complacent, complaisant: Complacent means self-satisfied. Complaisant means eager to please.

Complement, compliment: Complement is a noun and a verb denoting completeness or the process of supplementing something: The ship has a complement of 200 sailors and 20 officers. The tie complements his suit. Compliment is a noun or verb that denotes praise or the expression of courtesy: The captain complimented the sailors. She was flattered by the compliments on her outfit.

Complementary, complimentary: Complementary means fill out or complete: The husband and wife have complementary careers. Complimentary means given free:

They received complimentary tickets to the show.

Counsel, counselor, council, councilor: To counsel is to advise; a counselor is one who advises. A council is a deliberative body; councilors are its members.

Discreet, discrete: Discreet means prudent, circumspect: “I’m afraid I was not very discreet,” she wrote. Discrete means detached, separate: A quadraphonic system produces four discrete sounds.  Dyeing, dying: Dyeing refers to changing colors. Dying refers to death.

Emigrate, immigrate: One who leaves a country emigrates from it. One who comes into a country immigrates. The same principle holds for emigrant and immigrant.

Ensure, insure: Use ensure to mean guarantee: Steps were taken to ensure accuracy. Use insure for references to insurance: The policy insures his life.

Farther, further: Farther refers to physical distance:

He walked farther into the woods. Further refers to an extension of time or degree: She will look further into the mystery.

Faze, phase: Faze means to embarrass or disturb: The snub did not faze her. Phase denotes an aspect or stage: They will phase in a new system.

Flair, flare: Flair is conspicuous talent. Flare is a verb meaning to blaze with sudden, bright light or to burst out in anger. It is also a noun meaning a flame.

Flaunt, flout: Flaunt means making an ostentatious or defiant display: She flaunted her intelligence. Flout is a show of contempt: He flouts the law.

Flier, flyer: Flier is the preferred term for an aviator or a handbill. Flyer is the proper name of some trains and buses: The Western Flyer.

Flounder, founder: A flounder is a fish; flounder means moving clumsily or jerkily, to flop about: The fish floundered on land. Founder refers to bogging down, becoming disabled, or sinking: The ship floundered in the heavy seas for hours, then foundered.

Forbear, forebear: To forbear is to avoid or shun. A forebear is an ancestor.

Forego, forgo: To forego means to go before, as in foregone conclusion. To forgo means to abstain from.

Foul, fowl: Foul means offensive, out of line. A fowl is a bird, especially the larger domestic birds used as food: chickens, ducks and turkeys. Looney Tunes cartoon lovers may remember this sentence: “Our chicken has that real fowl taste.”

Gage, gauge: A gage is security or a pledge. A gauge is a measuring device or a term used to designate the size of shotguns.

Gamut, gantlet, gauntlet: A gamut is a scale or notes of any complete range or extent. A gantlet is a flogging ordeal, literally or figuratively. Movie cowboys captured by Indians ran the gantlet, not the gauntlet, which is a glove. Throwing down the gauntlet issues a challenge. Taking up the gauntlet means accepting the challenge.

Gibe, jibe: Gibe means taunt or sneer: They gibed him about his mistakes. Jibe means to shift direction, or, colloquially, to agree: They jibed their ship across the wind. Their stories didn’t jibe.

Grisly, grizzly: Grisly is horrifying, repugnant. Grizzly means grayish or is a short form for grizzly bear.

Hangar, hanger: A hangar is a building. A hanger is used for clothes.

Impassable, impassible, impassive: Impassable means that passage is impossible: The bridge was impassable.  Impassible and impassive describe lack of sensitivity to pain or suffering: She was impassive throughout the ordeal.

Imply, infer: Writers or speakers imply with the words they use. A listener or reader infers something from the words.

Incredible, incredulous: Incredible means unbelievable.

Incredulous means skeptical.

Indiscreet, indiscrete: Indiscreet means lacking prudence. Its noun form is indiscretion. Indiscrete means not separated into distinct parts. Its noun form is indiscreteness.

It’s, its: It’s is a contraction for it is or it has:

It’s up to you. It’s been a long time. Its is the possessive form of the neuter pronoun: The company lost its assets.

Linage, lineage: Linage is the number of lines. Lineage is ancestry or descent.

Mantel, mantle: A mantel is a shelf. A mantle is a cloak.

Naval, navel: Naval pertains to a navy. A navel is a bellybutton.

Palate, palette, pallet: Palate is the roof of the mouth. A palette is an artist’s paint board. A pallet is a bed or platform.

Pedal, peddle: You pedal a bicycle. When selling something, you may peddle it.

Pore, pour: The verb pore means to gaze intently or steadily: She pored over her books. It’s also a noun describing a hole in your skin. The verb pour means to flow in a continuous stream: It poured rain. He poured the coffee.

Pretense, pretext: A pretense is a false show, a more overt act intended to conceal personal feelings: My profuse compliments were all pretense. A pretext is something that is put forward to conceal a truth: He was discharged for tardiness, but the reason given was only a pretext for general incompetence.

Principal, principle: Principal is a noun and adjective meaning someone or something first in rank, authority, importance or degree: She is the school principal. He was the principal player in the trade. Money is the principal problem. Principle is a noun that means a fundamental truth, law, doctrine or motivating force:

They fought for the principle of self-determination.

Rack, wrack: The noun rack applies to various types of framework; the verb rack means to arrange on a rack, to torture, trouble or torment: He was placed on the rack.  She racked her brain. The noun wrack means ruin or destruction, and generally is confined to the phrase wrack and ruin. The verb wrack has substantially the same meaning as the verb rack, the latter being preferred.

Ravage, ravish: To ravage is to wreak great destruction or devastation: Union troops ravaged Atlanta. To ravish is to abduct, rape or carry away with emotion: Soldiers ravished the women. Although both words connote an element of violence, they are not interchangeable.  Buildings and towns cannot be ravished.

Rebut, refute: Rebut means to argue to the contrary: He rebutted his opponent’s statement. Refute connotes success in argument and almost always implies an editorial judgment. Instead, use deny, dispute, rebut or respond to.

Reign, rein: The leather strap for controlling a horse is a rein, hence figuratively: seize the reins, give free rein to, put a checkrein on. Reign is the period a ruler is on the throne: The king began his reign.

Reluctant, reticent: Reluctant means unwilling to act:

He is reluctant to enter the primary. Reticent means unwilling to speak: The candidate’s husband is reticent.

Rifle, riffle: Rifle means plunder or steal. Riffle means leafing rapidly through a book or pile of papers.

Stanch, staunch: Stanch is a verb: He stanched the flow of blood. Staunch is an adjective: She is a staunch supporter of equality.

Stationary, stationery: When you stand still, you’re stationary. Writing paper is stationery.

Suit, suite: You may have a suit of clothes, a suit of cards, or be faced with a lawsuit. There are suites of music, rooms and furniture.

Symbol, cymbal: A symbol is a token of identity; a cymbal - a circular brass plate used in music – puts you in the drum section of a band.

Their, there, they’re: Their is a possessive pronoun:

They went to their house. There is an adverb indicating direction: We went there for dinner. There is also used with the force of a pronoun for impersonal constructions in which the real subject follows the verb: There is no food on the table. They’re is a contraction for they are.

Toward, towards: Moving in a direction, toward the city. Both words mean the same; toward, without the s, is preferable.

Troop, troops, troupe: A troop is a group of people or animals. Troops means several such groups, particularly groups of soldiers. Use troupe only for ensembles of actors, dancers, singers and other performers.

Who’s, whose: Who’s is a contraction for who is, not a possessive: Who’s there? Whose is the possessive: I do not know whose coat it is.

Frequently Misspelled Words

Here are the preferred spellings for some of the most frequently misspelled words:

• accessible

• accommodate

• all right

• auxiliary

• commitment

• compatible

• develop

• dissension

• drought

• ecstasy

• excel

• fulfill

• inadvertent

• independent

• indispensable

• irresistible

• judgment

• liable

• liaison

• likelihood

• manageable

• maneuver

• memento

• noticeable

• occasion

• occurrence

• permissible

• perseverance

• practitioner

• precede

• precedence

• prerogative

• pursue

• questionnaire

• rarefy

• rescind

• seize

• separate

• serviceable

• supersede

• withhold

• yield