usage guides
Writing rule manuals
Usage guides are reference works that offer advice on grammar, style, and word choice.
Unlike dictionaries, which describe how language is used, usage guides prescribe how it should be used—distinguishing who from whom, advising against irregardless, settling debates about the Oxford comma.
Classic examples include Strunk and White's *Elements of Style* and Fowler's *Modern English Usage*.
The authority of usage guides varies; some reflect genuine consensus, others personal preference dressed as rules.
- handbooksCompact reference volumes
- instructionsGuidance on how to proceed
- manualsInstructional reference documents
- conventionAgreed standard of behavior
- guidelinesSuggested rules for behavior
descriptivism · grammar · split infinitives · dangling modifiers · diction · word choice · style · idiom · AP style · directions · orthography · semantics · pronunciation · glossaries · clarity · lexicons · reference manuals · Strunk and White