Style Guides

On the Writing Style Guide for this Newsletter

Dear Fellow,

I was in a writing fellowship where we were introduced to a writing style guide called The Turabian Style Guide. Two weeks later I saw a style guide for shoes from a shoemaking brand called Nacre Style. On the style guide for shoes were the names of each shoe attached to a clear image of it, alongside a visual highlight of its unique features. I was surprised to find that shoemakers also have style guides. Now, you must be wondering what style guides are. By way of describing what they are, I will make a few sketches.

I found two individuals on Facebook who didn’t write the way everyone else did. One always capitalises the first letter of every word in each of her posts. If she were to rewrite the preceding sentence, she’d write it thus: One Always Capitalises The First Letter Of Every Word In Every Of Her Posts. The other one puts a dot (•) between every paragraph of her post. One of her posts reads:

I know for sure that what we dwell on that we become.
•
Choose to dwell on the positives in February.
Happy new month!

Last year, I decided that I would write book titles in capitals when writing by hand (and subtitles in title case). For example, this is how I wrote my first read for the year in my journal:

Whereas if I were writing it with a word processor or texting, I’d write it thus:

The unique approach to the writing of each of us described above is our style. Just as my sister would prefer to add onions to her noodles, while I dislike the idea. But in the end, we’d all have noodles served for a meal, right?

My friend Feyisayomi and I at the University of Jos Library. On a tour of the library last year, I was showing her The Chicago Manual of Style. | Photographer: Ariel Cyril

My first exposure to writing style guides was during my first year as an undergraduate in a text for a course (GST 101: The Use of English). Cheers to daring to read the whole book! In a section titled How to Handle Reference Material, I stumbled on the provisions of the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychology Association (APA) on how to account for where you got a particular piece of information in your writing.¹ I was curious to know more about these associations and had to look them up on the internet. That was the beginning of my interactions with writing style guides. In my final year, my research report was done according to the APA writing guidelines. Beyond school work, I figured publishers produce books according to style guides. Books from a particular publisher always looked alike in many ways: (check out books published by Penguin Random House).

Observe the uniformity of the spines. Image source: CNBC

Style guides are simply a set of guidelines designed to ensure consistency and standardisation in any system of creation for documentation purposes. It is a way to ensure that when you come across a product or creation from a place you can easily tell it apart from others like it. But beyond distinguishing, style guides help to ensure consistency—in this case, consistency in a body of writing. My quest for excellence as a writer led me down this path.

I wanted to write so beautifully and exceptionally that my writing doesn’t only communicate the message—it should be seen literally like a sketch, a painting, or a portrait in whatever medium it is read. And that means every detail matters in the presentation. It means every part of my pieces must be intentionally made out, from the paragraphing to the way I wrote my titles. Pardon me for being such a weird fellow.

I hope I haven’t lost you yet. If you have read to this point, it means I haven’t. (To make my joy complete, let me know if you endured reading or enjoyed reading to this point in the comments section. I will appreciate your kind response.)

All I have done so far is setting the grounds to finally show you one thought behind my writings on this newsletter for this year. (Though it has been there all along.) I will be formatting my writings on this newsletter, for this year, according to the Turabian Style Guide. The decision is simple: a means to honour and appreciate the invention and the human behind it.

I have limited space here—I ought not to write more than 1,500 words in a despatch. However, you can read up about Kate Larimore Turabian (1893-1987) and The Turabian Style Guide here: Read. To find out whether I comply with the provisions of the style guide in my writings here, you will have to get a copy of the style guide for yourself. On the other hand, you should just observe closely how I account for where I get certain facts or ideas from (even in this despatch you are currently reading).

You wonder why the bother? Maybe this is just one way to stand out, yet learning to play according to the highest standards in place. I hope you get the message clear enough. If you don’t, the comments section is yours to request an explanation. You can even write me a private request.

Thank you for reading, good Fellow. Have a lovely weekend and a lovely ride with me on this train.

See you next week, God willing.

Your LetterMan,

Tongjal, W. N.

1. The Use of English, ed. J. Akosu Adeiyongo, and Jess Godwin Doki (Jos: Shekrot Concept Ltd., 2017), 32.