Poisoned Pen Press adheres to the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition. Here is a quick list of things to keep in mind while writing and editing.
Punctuation
Use serial commas. In lists of three or more, and should be preceded by a comma (for further information see CMS 6.19).
- One, two, and three (as opposed to one, two and three)
Colons, semicolons, question marks, and exclamation points go outside quotation marks (unless they are a part of the quoted material). Periods and commas go inside quotation marks (6.8–6.9).
- “Put that gun down!”
- Do you want to go “over there”?
- He didn’t think it was “right”; I convinced him otherwise.
- “I don’t think so.”
When using ellipses, three dots are used to indicate missing words in a quotation, or at the trailing off of a sentence. Four dots are used when multiple sentences are omitted. If other punctuation follows or when the trailing off falls at the end of a sentence (11.57–11.60).
- “Tyger! Tyger! burning bright . . . who could frame thy fearful symmetry?”
- “But how did you know . . .?”
In general, hyphens are used in compound words, en dashes are used to connect numbers or places (from–to), and em dashes are used to express emphasis in much the same way as a parenthesis or comma (6.80–6.94).
- The fifth-place runner got a gift certificate.
- The Amsterdam–Paris coach left at midnight.
- The train—running six hours late—finally arrived.
Numbers
Numbers one through ten are spelled out, as are all larger round numbers.
- four, 27, 193, three hundred
Spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence. If this is awkward, recast the sentence (9.5).
- Nineteen ninety-three was an enjoyable year.
- I remember 1993 as an enjoyable year.
Where multiple numbers occur, remain consistent with the format (9.7).
- Phoenix enjoys between 295 and 300 days of sunshine a year.
Dates and Time
Centuries should be spelled out and lowercased (9.36).
- the eighteenth century, a sixteenth-century manuscript
Decades can be spelled out or written in numerals with no apostrophe (9.37).
- the nineties, the 90s, 1990s
Eras are written in full caps with no periods (9.38).
- CE and BCE, AD and BC
- 500 BC and AD 1400
Times of day are written as a.m. and p.m. as opposed to AM and PM (9.42).
Abbreviations & Numbers
Abbreviations and acronyms should be spelled out the first time they are referenced, and should then appear in full caps with no periods (15.25).
- Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI
- An abbreviation is preceded by “a” or “an” according to the way it would be read out loud (15.9)
- a UFO, an EU proclamation, an MIT graduate
In names, the middle initial is followed by a period and a word space. If the entire name is abbreviated, do not use periods or spaces between the letters (15.12).
- William H. Taft, MLK, George H. W. Bush
Capitalization
In general, CMS recommends down-styling capitalization. In other words, when in doubt, lowercase.
Official and professional titles are capitalized if preceding or part of a name, and lowercased if following a name or used generally. If used in a direct address, the title remains capitalized (8.21–8.22).
- Queen Elizabeth II, the queen
- Professor Jones, the professor, “Excuse me, Professor.”
- Captain Cook, the captain, “Aye-aye, Captain!”
Institutions, organizations, and political movements are capitalized when used specifically. If referred to generally, they are lowercased (for more examples see 8.71–8.76).
- the Communist Party, Communism, the party
- the Beatles, the band
- the Phoenix City Council, the council
- Arizona State University, the university
Commonly accepted regional terms are capitalized. Adjectives and nouns derived from them are lowercased, as are compass points (8.48–8.49).
- the Southwest, southwestern, driving southwest
- the East, East Coast, easterner, eastern wind
- Western Europe, western thought
Racial and ethnic terms are generally capitalized and are not hyphenated. Generic terms are lowercased (8.41–8.43).
- African American
- the British, British, Brit
- Latino, Latino culture
- white
- black
Quotations & Italics
This distinction is flexible in fiction writing, but in general
Words used as objects themselves are written in italics (7.62).
- Big Brother has bad connotations around here.
Uncommon foreign terms are italicized, and their translations are put in quotation marks or parentheses. Common foreign terms can be left in roman (7.52).
- They ate burritos for dinner.
- Manger is French for “to eat.”
- Common phrases, quotations, colloquialisms, and clichés do not need quotations (7.61).
- He was a regular man about town.
- She did not go gentle into that good night.
- The jocks ruled the school.
Books, movies, newspapers, paintings, periodicals, and plays are italicized. Poems songs, and articles are in quotations. Mottoes and signs are generally written in roman (8.178–8.210).
- He watched Gone with the Wind every night.
- “Annabel Lee” was her favorite poem.
- They ignored the No Smoking sign as they lit their cigarettes.
- I read the New York Times on weekends.