Q. This headline appeared in the New York Times on Friday, May 11: “A Tough Fight Still Looms, Cheney Warns G.I.’s in Iraq.”
I thought no apostrophe was necessary here, as the s represents a plural, not a possessive. What’s up at the Times?
A. What’s up is that the Times uses New York Times style, not Chicago style. (Tsk!)
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I am putting together a pamphlet that compiles articles from another publication. To make the signatures come out right,
I’ve put the two-page contents on a spread (pp. iv and v) and put the first article (a two-pager) on
pages 1 and 2. Is there a convention that I should have a blank page between the front matter and the start of the text?
A. It adds some elegance, but it isn’t necessary, especially in a pamphlet. There is, however, a firm
convention that an odd-numbered page goes on the right, and a less strong convention that a table of contents begins on the
right. In your case, p. iv could be a blank left-hand page, the TOC could appear on pp. v and vi, and the first article could
start on p. 1, across from p. vi.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Is footnote numbering allowed in an index along with a page number?
A. Yes. You can refer to a footnote like this: 24n1 (that means “page 24, footnote 1”).
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I have looked online, in your book, in the dictionary, and in numerous textbooks but cannot find the answer to this question:
when correcting proof, what mark should a proofreader use to indicate that a word or words need to be underlined?
A. Since underlining rarely appears in published texts, this is not a common mark for proofreaders, but you can underline the
text and write “underline” or “u.s.”
(for “underscore”) in the margin with a circle around it. (If you underline the
word without the clarification, the typesetters will set it in italics.)
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. The paper I am editing has five tables in the main body (which I am numbering 1 to 5) and one table in appendix 3. How should
the table in the appendix be numbered?
A. You could call it table A.1 or A1, or you might consider leaving it unnumbered.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Can you tell me the indentation for typing endnotes?
A. In Chicago style, we type them the same way we type the rest of the manuscript, double-spaced, with a half-inch indent for
the first line.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I recently began working as a reporter and copy editor at a small weekly newspaper. My editor tells me to correct grammar
and style errors in letters to the editor. This seems strange to me. I think those errors characterize the persons writing
them and we should leave them as is. Who is right?
A. It’s a kindness to save a writer from being characterized as sloppy or ignorant when a letter appears
in print under his or her name. Your inclination not to meddle is well founded, however, since insensitive editing can also
embarrass the writer. It’s best to be conservative with changes. Many newspapers and magazines print
a notice that letters have been edited.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. As a trial attorney, I do many pleadings and briefs, which I think look better in “full justify” (fj) alignment. This troubles my new secretary, who dislikes fj as too “rote and mechanical,” and less reader-friendly. Though I highly value her opinion, am I being too hawkish on this?
A. Chicago doesn’t recommend full justification for typed documents (see CMOS 2.10). Short lines are stretched, creating awkward spaces between words, and full lines are squished. The result is difficult to read. The remedy is hyphenation, but that has its own problems, and I would imagine that legal writers would want to avoid confusion over spelling technicalities. Full justification is practical only when documents are typeset, since sophisticated typesetting applications are able to adjust spacing in ways that more basic word processors cannot. It sounds as though your new secretary knows what she’s doing.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Where should illustrations and the lines of text that refer to them be placed with respect to one another? Should the illustration
be allowed to interrupt the text, say with the last line of text aligned with the bottom of the illustration and saying “as
in the figure to the right”? Or should the illustration always go below an unbroken paragraph?
A. In a manuscript prepared for publication, figure callouts should go between paragraphs so the typesetter will see them. The
typesetter will place the figure; rarely will it fall neatly between paragraphs. Look at any illustrated book and you’ll
see that if paragraphs weren’t allowed to be broken, there would be a lot of white space on pages with
figures. It’s unwise to use words like “above” or “to
the right” in your manuscript unless you are certain where the figure will end up in the typeset book.
Sometimes it’s best to number the figures and refer to them by number.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. In the references section of a paper I’m editing, I found a misspelled word. I checked the original
journal and found that it was published with this mistake. Should I correct the typo or leave it as is? My colleague says
the typo should stay because this is how it appeared in print originally. Thanks a lot!
A. You may correct the typo. If an error has important implications that you want to point out, you can reproduce the error
and write [sic] after it, but it’s not nice to do this just to point out that someone made a mistake. (Of course,
you must be very, very certain that it’s actually a typo before you change it.)
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]