If you’re a writer of any kind, especially in the corporate or educational world, you’re likely to have had an argument over which style guide is the best. (Journalists are lucky–most of them are forced to use AP style.) It’s usually a passionate debate: style guides have loyal followings, like Macintosh and Coke.
I grew up on the Chicago Manual of Style, but my favorite has always been the common-sense classic, Strunk & White’s Elements of Style. I’ve provided an annotated list of the most popular style guides below, mostly for my own benefit (it’s good ammunition for defending one over the other). There are thousands, if not millions, of style guides out there, but smart (or lazy) people simply stick to the big ones and don’t reinvent the wheel.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Not just for behavioral sciences, APA style is used in many disciplines (most often academic). From the APA site: “APA style focuses on the needs of presenting psychological information. It omits general rules explained in widely available style books and examples of usage with little relevance to the behavioral and social sciences.”
Associated Press (AP)
AP style is used predominantly in U.S. newspapers and magazines. The book includes information on media law and other journalism-related topics, and it’s updated each June.
Chicago Manual of Style (CMS)
The Chicago Manual is probably the most widely used style guide in American English, prevailing especially in the publishing world. Many organizations, such as the American Anthropological Association, uses the Chicago Manual as a basis for its customized style guide.
Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA)
Used much less often than MLA style, MHRA is mainly for humanities scholars and can be downloaded free from its Web site.
Modern Languages Association (MLA)
Several countries use this academic style manual, including the U.S. and Canada. It focuses on the humanities, but professional writers and editors in other fields frequently refer to it.
Horace Hart developed this style manual, often called the “U.K.’s Strunk & White,” initially for Oxford and other English scholars. It’s now used in many fields, in England and other English-speaking countries.
Strunk & White’s Elements of Style
The classic style guide. It’s compact and to-the-point and should be read by anyone who wants to write a decent sentence. (The White is for E.B. White, author of Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little.)
Authored by Kate Turabian for the University of Chicago, this style is based heavily on the Chicago Manual but focuses on student papers, dissertations, and theses. Sometimes this style as used as a synonym for the Chicago Manual of Style.
Nothing like being six months late with a comment, but when I saw your list of style books and noticed Kate Turabian at the bottom, I had to reply.
Kate’s book may be based on the Chi Manual, but I suspect she contributed as much to them as they to her. When I wrote my Ph.D. dissertation back in 1958, Kate was the U. of C.’s official copy reader, and she had an eagle eye. She looked about 50 then, had a no-nonsense way about her. I was in awe, I’ll tell you that. I didn’t even know about the Chi Manual, but I had Kate’s little book. There should be a statue of her on the campus.