Better Writing the CP Way

[c9]

Courtesy of the Canadian Press Caps and Spelling style guide...

1. Over-capitalization and over-punctuation is a chronic disease.

Capitalize all proper names, government departments and agencies, trade names, names of organizations, religions, languages, races, places and addresses. Avoid the comma splice (using a comma where a period is required). There's no need to hyphenate adverbs ending in -ly (e.g. brightly lit room), established foreign terms (10 per cent increase) or established compound nouns (high school teacher).

2. Writers love abbreviations and buzzwords. Readers don't.

Use only abbreviations that are familiar to your audience. When in doubt, spell it out. Writers use "insider references" entirely too much. Think about your audience. Are they likely to all understand? Or is it only understood by a small segment of the population immersed in the culture that produced it?

3. Don't try to reproduce corporate logos in text form.

In a branding-mad world where the line between corporate logos and corporate names are blurring, CP capitalizes proper names for clarity (IPod not iPod) and capitalizes only the first letters of all-caps promotional and corporate names (Visa not VISA). We follow mixed capitalization for readability (MuchMusic) and drop unnecessary punctuation such as exclamation marks (Bravo not Bravo!). [I'm not sure why they chose IPod over Ipod. --Cam]

4. Use Canadian spellings and be careful of common word mix-ups.

Canadians use centre, not center; cheque not check; manoeuvre not maneuver and travelled not traveled. An effect is a result, but to have an influence is to affect. Alternately is first one and then the other, whereas alternatively is providing a choice. Ensure is to make sure, but assure is to remove worry or uncertainty. [Insure is to have insurance a thing or person. It's means 'it is' whereas its should be used similarly to 'his' or 'hers'. --Cam]

5. New CP style rulings.

Nearly 100 updates were made to the latest edition of Caps and Spelling, which lists hundreds of the most troublesome words and helps ensure accuracy and consistency when it comes to abbreviations, hyphenated and compound words, correct names of Canadian corporations and newsmakers, Internet terms, pop culture references and more. Updates included changes to CP style from paralyse to paralyze, Nfld. to N.L., CAT scan to CT scan and twentysomething to 20-something.

Comments

[canuckboy.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit baffled by IPod over iPod. I wonder what Apple would say to that.

[c9.livejournal.com]

I think their whole point is that they don't care what Apple wants to call it, it's a thing called i-p-o-d and proper nouns are capitalized. I don't get why they spell it IPod, but I understand why they didn't go iPod.

[canuckboy.livejournal.com]

If that's the case, should it not be Ipod? ;)

[c9.livejournal.com]

That's precisely why I wrote "[I'm not sure why they chose IPod over Ipod. --Cam]" above. Confusing.

[rebelprince26.livejournal.com]

actually, according to them, an iPod is not a proper name, government department or agency, trade name, name of an organization, religion, language, race, place or address, right? or is it a trade name?

anyway, according to them, it sounds like iPod should be just ipod.

[c9.livejournal.com]

I think it would fall under trade name, like "Advil."

[putaindemerde.livejournal.com]

I'm totally reminded of my AP Style Book that I had to basically eat and sleep with last year :-P

I'm shocked about the iPod vs. IPod thing, though...

[c9.livejournal.com]

With their capitalization logic, I would have expected Ipod, but I understand why they wouldn't go iPod. *shrug*

[putaindemerde.livejournal.com]

Strangely enough, I wrote an article about Free iPods for a class last semester and the prof didn't correct me when I put it as iPod...

Where did you find all this, by the way?

[c9.livejournal.com]

I volunteer with a queer newspaper, and we're on the mailing list for the Canadian Press style guide spam, so they send us "please buy our updated guide where we teach you how to spell modern words!" emails every once in a while.

[jpman.livejournal.com]

The newspaper you volunteer with only has sex with newspapers of the same gender? :)

[c9.livejournal.com]

Yes.

[thespos]

We tried to come up with a similar guideline within my company, as we were international, but there were too many disagreements, and no one of any rank had any backbone.

[rebelprince26.livejournal.com]

hmmm, i don't know if i am going to obey number 3. i always type iPod.

and as for number 4? canadian spellings are hot!

[nihilicious.livejournal.com]

Cheque vs. check is my favourite. It's so elegant. Some of our ATMs use the term "Checking account" and I always think "Checking it for what?"

[rebelprince26.livejournal.com]

once i saw a sign at a gas station that read, "No Checks."

and i thought, "No Czechs" and it made me chuckle.

not that i'm racist or anything, i just thought it was funny.

[(Anonymous)]

That, is A very interesting art., Cam. You r a real give-er-of-Information, Thank-you for the T.I.P.S. :)

[-kissyfur-.livejournal.com]

sorry, That was me.

[cap-hill-latte.livejournal.com]

Ha! And I thought I've be spelling "travelled" wrongly for the past four years.

[msvu20.livejournal.com]

When the CP books go to next edition (I think I have 12 and 15 of the stylebook and caps and spelling respectively) I will buy new ones. Mine are only 3 years old but they're already so out of date they have "vintage" written all over them.

And yes, vintage was cap-, spell- and stylechecked for accuracy :P

[c9.livejournal.com]

Look at you with your correct hyphenation! I'm so proud. Most kids these days, they don't know nuthin'.

[msvu20.livejournal.com]

You're something else lol

[c9.livejournal.com]

Just here to keep you amused!

[skeezix1000.livejournal.com]

How does CP deal with k.d. lang and e.e. cummings? Or, say, Sears Canada's short-lived eatons experiment? All capitalised?

I think iPod should be iPod, but I am frustrated that I cannot quickly come up with an argument in support of my position. The fact that "IPod" looks stupid is likely not going to win anyone over. I suppose I can use their own mixed-caps for readability argument (MuchMusic) to an extent.

Always sad to see CP using the American "ize" rather than "ise" (capitalize). I know "ize" is more common in Canada, but it's still sad.

[c9.livejournal.com]

Re: ize

Canadian English is a distinct dialect (well, to be more accurate, family of dialects) quite distinct from American or British English. Are you sad because you prefer the British spellings in all cases?

Interesting reading, if you haven't seen it before: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_English

[skeezix1000.livejournal.com]

That is a good article.

I don't prefer British spellings in all cases. I lean away from the "ize" because my favourite high school English teacher used to encourage us to use "ise", although she wouldn't mark us wrong for "ize".

[c9.livejournal.com]

Ah yes. I unusually pronounce (most would say mispronounce) Pythagorean due to my Hungarian high school math teacher. :) My British chemistry teacher's use of aluminium didn't stick though - that's where I drew the line.

[jpman.livejournal.com]

Thank god. I wanted to strangle her evey time she said that.

[c9.livejournal.com]

Ha!

[jpman.livejournal.com]

Didn't she also say 'vessicle' funny? I'm not sure if this is true, or someone else who said it. It drove me batty too.

[jpman.livejournal.com]

What was her name? I've forgotten.

Oddly, I never took a full course from Mr. Varga, and yet can still remember his name.

[c9.livejournal.com]

Ann Williams. Retired 2 years ago, so I can't visit her at Mac any more.

[jpman.livejournal.com]

Maybe her name wasn't distinctive enough for me to remember after 10+ years? I liked her, but we never bonded. In fact, I can't think of any of them I bonded with on any level.

[jpman.livejournal.com]

Wait -- Mr. Murray. Because we both read sci-fi and I lent him so many books.

Still, never wanted to visit him after I left.

[c9.livejournal.com]

Oh, and k.d. lang and e.e. cummings are spelled as they wish, typically with a note like this:

k.d. lang, who spells her name with lower-case letters, was nominated for...