5 Online Style Guides

5 Online Style Guides 5 Online Style Guides 5 Online Style Guides By Mark Nichol You’re looking for a style guide to adopt, or for one you can use as a model for creating your own personal or professional handbook, but you don’t want to pay for one or more books to evaluate and perhaps use (print versions of the major style guides retail for $20–$65), or you’re done with dead-tree resources (translation: books). You could beg, borrow, or steal a copy, but fortunately, several excellent online style guides are available so that you needn’t resort to these strategies. 1. The Associated Press Stylebook The online version of the AP Stylebook, the bible of US journalists, costs $26 for an annual subscription more than the print version but it features bonus benefits, including email notifications of style updates and access to new entries and recent changes. It also includes a search function and a personalization feature. Subscribers can use the Ask the Editor feature and search its archive, which is more voluminous than the Stylebook itself. The subscription policy includes multiuser and renewal discounts. Print version: $19.95 2. Chicago Manual of Style The primary resource for US book publishers is offered online for $35 per year (with multiuser and government and corporate discounts), but several free features are available on the site, most notably the Chicago Style QA, which offers responses to queries either from the manual itself or from a live (and sometimes snarky) respondent. You needn’t pay for a short-form (but still substantial) guide to citing sources, either, and a guide to preparation of electronic manuscripts and a chart of proofreaders’ marks are also available to all site visitors. The subscription cost includes access to the entire text of the fifteenth and sixteenth editions, as well as an online forum and a personalization feature. Print version: $65 3. The Economist The free style guide for this venerable British publication (focusing, of course, on British English but suitable for Yanks as well) embarks on a sure footing with an enumeration of George Orwell’s famous writing rules, followed by these admonitions: Do not be stuffy. Use the language of everyday speech. Do not be hectoring or arrogant. Do not be too pleased with yourself. Do not be too chatty. Do not be too didactic. Do your best to be lucid. The format is encyclopedic, but the often wryly written entries (from Abbreviations to Wrack no entries, alas, for X ray, yak, or zeugma) are searchable, and some expand with the click of a link. (The long-form entry about abbreviations, for example, is more than 1,000 words long.) Print version: $29.95 4. National Geographic This free online resource from the National Geographic Society doesn’t show up high in search rankings, but it’s an excellent resource. (And, seriously, have you ever seen a clumsy sentence, a grammatical error, or even a typo in National Geographic?) Unusually terse but clear entries are organized alphabetically, and the site includes a directory of new and altered entries and, especially helpful, one of terms and rules that contradict other authoritative resources or are exceptions to the norm. Print version: none 5. Yahoo.com Alone among these five selections, Yahoo’s style guide (both in print form and on the Internet the latter version is free) focuses on online writing, and though concise prose is one of the hallmarks of Web content, the site’s articles are substantial (but helpfully so). The Editing 101 section includes thirty detailed articles about punctuation, abbreviation, capitalization, titles, and numbers, and Writing for the Web features more than thirty extensive articles grouped under ten topics such as Shorten and Strengthen Sentences and Write Clear User-Interface Text. The site also includes a selective but substantial sampling of Yahoo’s word list (downloadable, so you can adapt and add to it), a resource list, and an Ask the Editor feature. Print version: $21.99 Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:25 Subordinating Conjunctions50 Diminutive Suffixes (and a Cute Little Prefix)What Is a Doctor?

Reporting Money to Customs at the Canadian Border

Reporting Money to Customs at the Canadian Border When traveling to and from Canada, there are rules surrounding what youre allowed to bring into and out of the country. Canadians returning home must declare any goods they purchased or otherwise acquired while out of the country. This includes things like gifts, prizes, and awards, including items that will be shipped later. Anything purchased at a Canadian or foreign duty-free shop also must be declared.   A good rule of thumb when returning to Canada through customs: If youre not sure whether or not  something needs to be declared, its better to declare it and clear it with border personnel. It would be much worse to fail to declare something that officers discover later. Officials can seize any goods being illegally imported into Canada and, if  caught, youre likely to face penalties and fines. If you try to bring a firearm or other weapon into Canada without declaring it, you could face criminal charges. Bringing Money Into Canada There are no limits to the amount of money that travelers may bring into or take out of Canada. However, amounts of $10,000 or more must be reported to customs officials at the Canadian border.  Anyone who fails to report amounts of $10,000 or more could find their funds seized, and face a penalty between  $250 and $500. If you are carrying $10,000 or more in coins, domestic and foreign bank notes, securities such as travelers checks, stocks, and bonds, you must complete a Cross-Border Currency or Monetary Instruments Report - Individual Form E677. If the money is not your own, you should complete Form E667 Cross-Border Currency or Monetary Instruments Report - General. The form should be signed and handed to a customs officer for review. Completed forms are sent to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada (FINTRAC) for assessment and analysis. Non-Canadians Visiting Canada Anyone bringing goods into Canada must declare them to a border officer. This rule applies to cash and other items of monetary value. Its a good idea to have some idea of exchange rates because the minimum amount required to be declared is $10,000 in Canadian dollars. Personal Exemptions for Returning Canadians Canadian residents or temporary residents returning to Canada from a trip outside the country and former Canadian residents returning to live in Canada may qualify for personal exemptions. This allows them to bring a certain value of goods into Canada without having to pay the regular duties. Theyll still have to pay duties, taxes and any provincial/territory assessments on the value of goods above the personal exemption. Future Issues at the Border The Canada Border Services Agency keeps a record of violations. Travelers into and out of Canada who develop a record of infractions may have issues crossing the border in the future and may be subject to more detailed examinations. Tip: The best course of action for anyone entering Canada, whether youre a citizen or not, is to have your identification and travel documents readily available.   Be honest and be patient, and youll be on your way quickly.