User:Dreftymac/StyleTips
Dreftymac style tips
[edit]These are some style rules that I have adopted for the purpose of consistency. They largely reflect personal preferences, although some of them may coincide with WP recommendations. Some of them are more serious than others, your mileage may vary.
SingularTitleEqSingularIntro
[edit]If the article title is singular, use singular in the introductory paragraph as well.
GOOD:
An automobile is a kind of vehicle that runs on gasoline. They include ...
BAD:
Automobiles are vehicles that run on gasoline. They include ...
Authority: Wikipedia:Naming conventions (plurals)
SingularTopicHeader
[edit]Similar to the example above, the sub-header 'all-terrain automobile' should be singular also, as well as any other variants.
AvoidItemCount
[edit]Avoid using an item count when enumerating a list of related items:
GOOD:
Fruit consists of: 1) apples; and 2) oranges.
BAD:
There are generally two types of fruit: apples and oranges.
Rationale: The list might change over time, and quantification encourages 'weasle words' in cases where the author is not completely certain the list is exhaustive. Also, it's redundant, most literate people know how to count.
AvoidFolksyWriting
[edit]This is the style of writing that is inconsistent with inclusion in an encyclopedia. The content sounds like a tutorial or a blog entry or marketing material or an editorial or a work of fiction:
Examples:
- vast majority of the audience were taken aback at the brilliance of the production and...
- Immediately the problem arises: how do you include quotation marks ...
- It seems then quite natural that each technical space provides basic ...
- There is no surprise if transformation has become a central element in ...
- a Microsoft technology preview for scripting web browsers - think of it as an XML version of ...
AvoidMarketingLingo
[edit]Avoid empty and meaningless "marketing lingo." It detracts from both credibility and quality.
For example:
- "highly configurable"
- what is the opposite of this, "lowly configurable"? ... highly compared to what? previous versions of the product? competitor products? Either the thing is configurable or it isn't. You don't say "highly pregnant" do you? If making a comparision to some baseline, state the baseline specifically, and how this exceeds it. Otherwise, just state the configuration options explicitly. The term "highly" is highly subjective, highly redundant, and highly meaningless.
- absolute comparatives (e.g., "we sell for less!" "why pay more?")
- less than whom? under what conditions? This is similar to 'highly configurable.' If you are inviting a comparison, state it expressly. If it is too obvious to make an explicit mention worthwhile, then don't bring it up at all.