Time-saving consistency tools for writers and editors

Be consistent! Consistency is an often overlooked part of editing. Yet, by being consistent, your documents will be much easier to read and understand. Consistent documents also look and feel much more professional. My two favourite consistency tools are PerfectIt and Endnote. These software tools have saved me a lot of time when editing or …

The Australian manual of scientific style (AMOSS)

Whether you are a scientist writing journal articles or an editor working on scientific documents, I can strongly recommend the Australian manual of scientific style (AMOSS). This great resource can answer many of your questions about scientific writing style, language and editorial consistency. It also has special sections that focus on peer-reviewed scientific papers, grant …

‘Effective writing — Plain English at work’ by Elizabeth Manning Murphy and Hilary Cadman

This is an excellent book for writers who want to improve or refresh their skills of effective writing. When I was doing my online editing course many years ago, I used the first edition of this book extensively. It has excellent examples and many exercises to test yourself. I still use it to look up …

‘Style manual for authors, editors and printers’ by DCITA, 6th edition

Most departments of the Australian Government use the Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers as their style guide. Many other organisations also use it. It covers the planning process, writing and editing, design, illustration usage, the legal aspects of publishing, and final product evaluation. I have found the writing and editing section most useful …