Reference: Style Guides
A style guide serves as a set of standardized rules and guidelines that define the formatting, language and tone of technical documents.
A style guide also means that writers have more time to think about what they say instead of how they say it.
Once you internalize the standards of a style guide and you don't have to choose your words, writing becomes much faster!
The following list includes some of the most popular English-language guides that are written specifically for technical documentation.
The Microsoft style guide covers a broad range of topics, including grammar, terminology, formatting and style preferences for digital content. It is mostly used in the software industry, particularly for products that run on Microsoft Windows.
Be aware that there is some controversy in the community! The online version is an abbreviated form of the previous, printed guide, and some writers feel it's lacking in content as a result.
You may still be able to buy used copies of the last printed edition, the 4th edition.
Google’s style guide covers the usual technical writing topics, such as content structure, terminology and how to write for an international audience. It is more concise than other guides and focuses on short explanations and examples.
Apple’s style guide covers the tone and voice of Apple's product documentation, focusing on clarity and precision. The guide also includes information for developers working on user interfaces for Apple devices.
Red Hat’s style guide is aimed at open-source software documentation, providing detailed instructions on formatting, writing conventions and technical terminology.
IBM’s style guide is used especially for large-scale technical documentation. It offers detailed guidance on terminology, tone and writing conventions.
ASD-STE100 is not a style guide per-se, but it is a controlled language standard that serves the same purpose. STE stands for Simplified Technical English and the standard was developed by the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD). It is mostly used in aerospace, defense, military, manufacturing and engineering.
This style guide was developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and is primarily used for academic papers, research articles and technical documentation in engineering.
The ASME Style Guide is developed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and provides guidelines for writing and formatting technical papers, journal articles, and engineering reports.
ASME Journal Information for Authors (online, free) ASME Author Guidelines for Proceedings (online, free)
For more details and examples of popular style guides, you can also read this Archbee blog post.
While it’s a general-purpose style guide, CMOS is often used by technical writers. It is extremely detailed and covers most usage of the English language.
This style guide is written for writers and editors in all domains and it’s often referenced by technical writers for its grammar and punctuation rules. It also includes a dictionary
While the AP Stylebook is traditionally used in journalism, it is also widely adopted in technical writing, particularly for web content. It’s a common choice for technical writing aimed at a broad audience.
