# Editors and other prose stylists **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 3, 2006, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845 "2006-03-03T00:55:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845/1 "2006-03-03T00:55:13Z")
Left to your own devices, to you prefer Chicago or AP? Why? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845/2 "2006-03-03T03:06:18Z")
Left to my own, I’ll default to AP, because it’s what I was trained with when I was starting. ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845/3 "2006-03-03T03:12:16Z")
AP. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t good reasons for exceptions to any style guide. Clarity and consistency should be the final word. Words? ---
**Author:** ![Stinkum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Stinkum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stinkum)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845/4 "2006-03-03T06:00:20Z")
Chicago. It’s the style I’ve used for the past 10 years and I’m lazy. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845/5 "2006-03-03T06:27:32Z")
Chicago. That’s the one I’ve used most, plus I’ve got the Chicago manual right here at my desk. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845/6 "2006-03-03T13:10:20Z")
Hm, interesting. I’m also a Chicago gal – but it’s because that’s what I’m used to. I was just wondering if there were reasons other than habit for going AP. Apparently not. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845/7 "2006-03-03T14:41:00Z")
I’ve used both and AP is easier in some respects but it can be hard to get used to. Consistency is key, though. I’ve had to flip back and forth between Chicago, AP, and APA style and that gets messy, particularly when I’m writing for disciplines where there is no consistent standard. If you choose a standard, stick to it. Robin ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845/8 "2006-03-03T14:54:45Z")
Chicago is more thorough, AP is a little easier to find your way around. I use Chicago (except when teaching Journalism, where AP is the bible). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845/9 "2006-03-03T16:02:00Z")
Modified A.P. ---
**Author:** ![marymargaret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845/10 "2006-03-04T00:08:00Z")
Turabian all the way! ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845/11 "2006-03-04T02:10:06Z")
Chicago. But for no better reason than that’s what I was taught. I don’t really have any preference. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845/12 "2006-03-04T21:35:36Z")
I use them both. Chicago is generally better for books; AP for newspapers and articles. And thg GPO Style Manual for the nitty gritty like abbreviations. But the AP gets extra points for their way to differentiate “burrow” and “burro” (alas, deleted once they started selling to the general public): > [@](#): > > **Burro, Burrow**. A burro is an ass. A burrow is a hole in the ground. As a reporter, you’re supposed to know the difference. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845/13 "2006-03-04T22:13:25Z")
Great cite, **RealityChuck!** Does anyone know who gets the credit for the argument _for_ serial commas, that it clarifies sentences like “I’d like to thank my parents, God and Ayn Rand.”? ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845/14 "2006-03-05T08:25:26Z")
I liked AP because you looked up the word and AP gave you the usage. It also sometimes gave examples of the word used incorrectly (apparently “teenage” is a kind of shrubbery? Who knew? Therefore it called for a hyphen when referring to someone between the ages of 12 and 20). It’s also much skinnier than Chicago. And like **Realty Chuck** I liked the burro/burrow thing although I remembered it being longer (it doesn’t appear in the AP stylebook that’s on my desk at work right now, though). The serial comma quote I like is “The combo consisted of two guitars, a banjo, and a mandolin.” That came from some pro-serial-comma argument but I don’t think it was in one of the many stylebooks I have; I think it came from some copy-editor newsletter. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editors-and-other-prose-stylists/346845/15 "2006-03-06T20:10:11Z")
Chicago is my default setting. So many of my clients wanted me to use Chicago, that I just got used to it.