Misplaced Pages

#609390

22-520: The Microsoft Manual of Style: Your Everyday Guide to Usage, Terminology, and Style for Professional Technical Communications ( MSTP ), in former editions the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications , was a style guide published by Microsoft . The fourth edition, ISBN   0-7356-4871-9 , was published in 2012. Microsoft employees and partners also had access to a Microsoft Compressed HTML Help (CHM) version. In 2018,

44-439: A business case, grow email lists, grow audiences, increase sales, or inform and persuade readers. The audiences for a B2B white paper can include prospective customers, channel partners, journalists, analysts, investors, or any other stakeholders. White papers are considered to be a form of content marketing or inbound marketing; in other words, sponsored content available on the web with or without registration, intended to raise

66-439: A guide may also enforce the best practice in ethics (such as authorship , research ethics , and disclosure) and compliance ( technical and regulatory ). For translations, a style guide may even be used to enforce consistent grammar, tones, and localization decisions such as units of measure . Style guides may be categorized into three types: comprehensive style for general use; discipline style for specialized use, which

88-415: A numbered list may be combined with either other type, it is not workable to combine a backgrounder with a problem/solution white paper. While a backgrounder looks inward at the details of one particular product or service, a problem/solution looks outward at an industry-wide problem. This is rather like the difference between looking through a microscope and looking through a telescope. Several variations on

110-408: A short style sheet that cascades over the larger style guide of an organization such as a publishing company, whose specific content is usually called house style . Most house styles, in turn, cascade over an industry-wide or profession-wide style manual that is even more comprehensive. Examples of industry style guides include: Finally, these reference works cascade over the orthographic norms of

132-600: A white paper tests public opinion on controversial policy issues and helps the government gauge its probable impact. By contrast, green papers , which are issued much more frequently, are more open-ended. Also known as consultation documents , green papers may merely propose a strategy to implement in the details of other legislation, or they may set out proposals on which the government wishes to obtain public views and opinion. Examples of governmental white papers include, in Australia, Full Employment in Australia and, in

154-699: Is often called a style sheet . The standards documented in a style guide are applicable for either general use, or prescribed use in an individual publication, particular organization, or specific field. A style guide establishes standard style requirements to improve communication by ensuring consistency within and across documents. They may require certain best practices in writing style , usage , language composition , visual composition , orthography , and typography by setting standards of usage in areas such as punctuation , capitalization , citing sources , formatting of numbers and dates, table appearance and other areas. For academic and technical documents,

176-430: Is often specific to academic disciplines , medicine , journalism , law , government , business, and other industries; and house or corporate style , created and used by a particular publisher or organization. Style guides vary widely in scope and size. Writers working in large industries or professional sectors may reference a specific style guide, written for usage in specialized documents within their fields. For

198-907: The United Kingdom , the White Paper of 1939 and the 1966 Defence White Paper . In Israeli history, the British White Paper of 1939  – marking a sharp turn against Zionism in British policy and at the time greeted with great anger by the Jewish Yishuv community in Mandatory Palestine ;– is remembered as " The White Paper" (in Hebrew Ha'Sefer Ha'Lavan הספר הלבן  – literally "The White Book"). Since

220-574: The revision control are determined by the subject. For style manuals in reference-work format, new editions typically appear every 1 to 20 years. For example, the AP Stylebook is revised annually, and the Chicago, APA, and ASA manuals are in their 17th, 7th, and 6th editions, respectively, as of 2023. Many house styles and individual project styles change more frequently, especially for new projects. White paper The term originated in

242-573: The 1920s to mean a type of position paper or industry report published by a department of the UK government. The term white paper originated with the British government , with the Churchill White Paper of 1922 being an early example. In the British government, a white paper is usually the less extensive version of the so-called blue book , both terms being derived from the colour of

SECTION 10

#1732780585610

264-564: The United States' The Chicago Manual of Style from the University of Chicago Press . Australia has a style guide, available online, created by its government. The variety in scope and length is enabled by the cascading of one style over another, analogous to how styles cascade in web development and in desktop cascade over CSS styles. In many cases, a project such as a book , journal , or monograph series typically has

286-611: The book was replaced by a website, the Microsoft Writing Style Guide , joining other online guides like the Apple Style Guide and Google Developer Documentation Style Guide . Like any style guide , the MSTP establishes standards and serves as a reference for writers. The MSTP has the specific purpose of guiding technical writers, editors, and content managers working with Microsoft products. While

308-451: The document's cover. White papers are a "tool of participatory democracy ... not [an] unalterable policy commitment". "White papers have tried to perform the dual role of presenting firm government policies while at the same time inviting opinions upon them." In Canada , a white paper is "a policy document, approved by Cabinet , tabled in the House of Commons and made available to

330-506: The early 1990s, the terms "white paper" or "whitepaper" have been applied to documents used as marketing or sales tools in business. These white papers are long-form content designed to promote the products or services from a specific company. As a marketing tool, these papers use selected facts and logical arguments to build a case favorable to the company sponsoring the document. B2B (business-to-business) white papers are often used to generate sales leads, establish thought leadership , make

352-426: The following 11 chapters: Part 2 is an alphabetically arranged "Usage Dictionary" of terms commonly used in technical writing. Style guide A style guide is a set of standards for the writing, formatting , and design of documents . A book-length style guide is often called a style manual or a manual of style ( MoS or MOS ). A short style guide, typically ranging from several to several dozen pages,

374-410: The general public". The "provision of policy information through the use of white and green papers can help to create an awareness of policy issues among parliamentarians and the public and to encourage an exchange of information and analysis. They can also serve as educational techniques." White papers are a way the government can present policy preferences before it introduces legislation. Publishing

396-907: The language in use (for example, English orthography for English-language publications). This, of course, may be subject to national variety, such as British, American, Canadian, and Australian English . Some style guides focus on specific topic areas such as graphic design , including typography . Website style guides cover a publication's visual and technical aspects as well as text. Guides in specific scientific and technical fields may cover nomenclature to specify names or classifying labels that are clear, standardized, and ontologically sound (e.g., taxonomy , chemical nomenclature , and gene nomenclature ). Style guides that cover usage may suggest descriptive terms for people which avoid racism , sexism , homophobia , etc. Style guides increasingly incorporate accessibility conventions for audience members with visual, mobility, or other disabilities. Since

418-401: The manual in some parts focuses on usage particular to these products, the guide also serves as a general tool for technical writers. Content ranges from specific instructions for naming particular elements of specific programs to general rules of grammar . The MSTP is divided into two parts, preceded by a foreword and introduction. Part 1 is titled "General Topics" and is sub-divided into

440-530: The most part, these guides are relevant and useful for peer-to-peer specialist documentation or to help writers working in specific industries or sectors communicate highly technical information in scholarly articles or industry white papers . Professional style guides of different countries can be referenced for authoritative advice on their respective language(s), such as the United Kingdom's New Oxford Style Manual from Oxford University Press ; and

462-577: The rise of the digital age, websites have allowed for an expansion of style guide conventions that account for digital behavior such as screen reading . Screen reading requires web style guides to focus more intently on a user experience subjected to multichannel surfing. Though web style guides can also vary widely, they tend to prioritize similar values concerning brevity, terminology, syntax, tone, structure, typography, graphics, and errors. Most style guides are revised periodically to accommodate changes in conventions and usage. The frequency of updating and

SECTION 20

#1732780585610

484-488: The visibility of the sponsor in search engine results and build web traffic. Many B2B white papers argue that one particular technology , product , ideology, or methodology is superior to all others for solving a specific business problem. They may also present research findings, list a set of questions or tips about a certain business issue, or highlight a particular product or service from a vendor. There are, essentially, three main types of commercial white papers: While

#609390