The IBM Style Guide:: Conventions for Writers and Editors

The IBM Style Guide distills IBM wisdom for developing superior content: information that is consistent, clear, concise, and easy to translate. The IBM Style Guide can help any organization improve and standardize content across authors, delivery mechanisms, and geographic locations.

This expert guide contains practical guidance on topic-based writing, writing content for different media types, and writing for global audiences.

Throughout, the authors illustrate the guidance with many examples of correct and incorrect usage.

Writers and editors will find authoritative guidance on issues ranging from structuring information to writing usable procedures to presenting web addresses to handling cultural sensitivities.

The guidelines cover these topics:

• Using language and grammar to write clearly and consistently
• Applying punctuation marks and special characters correctly
• Formatting, organizing, and structuring information so that it is easy to find and use
• Using footnotes, cross-references, and links to point readers to valuable, related information
• Presenting numerical information clearly
• Documenting computer interfaces to make it easy for users to achieve their goals
• Writing for diverse audiences, including guidelines for improving accessibility
• Preparing clear and effective glossaries and indexes

The IBM Style Guide can help any organization or individual create and manage content more effectively. The guidelines are especially valuable for businesses that have not previously adopted a corporate style guide, for anyone who writes or edits for IBM as an employee or outside contractor, and for anyone who uses modern approaches to information architecture.

Francis DeRespinis, Peter Hayward, Jana Jenkins, Amy Laird, Leslie McDonald, and Eric Radzinski are members of the IBM Style and Word Usage Council, a workgroup of senior editors who represent key product brands in IBM.