MHRA Style Guide

Second Edition

Style Guide cover image

The MHRA Style Guide, like the Style Book before it, has become a standard work of reference in the humanities and has been adopted by many authors, editors, and publishers. The current edition (April 2008) takes account of comments and suggestions made by users of its predecessor, the Style Guide of 2002, and the editors are grateful for these.

It has been updated, especially in order to take account of the widespread use of electronic means of text preparation, submission, and publication. Some sections have been revised or expanded for the sake of clarity and completeness, and new ones have been added; in this process, the previous Chapter 2 has been divided into a revised chapter on Spelling and Usage and a new Chapter 3 on Names. Material that seemed redundant has been removed.

Chapter headings:

Preparing material for publication
Spelling and usage
Names
Abbreviations
Punctuation
Capitals
Italics
Dates, numbers, currency, and weights and measures
Quotations and quotation marks
Footnotes and endnotes
References
Preparation of Indexes
Preparation of theses and dissertations
Useful works of reference
Proof correction

History

The first edition of the Style Book was published in 1971. Though originally designed for use in connection with the publications of the MHRA, it quickly proved to be of value to authors and editors of other publications.

The second, third, and fourth editions (1978, 1981, and 1991 (reprinted with amendments 1995)) broadened the scope with the addition of an index and glossary. The fifth edition (1996) was revised to take account of changes in printing technology and modern editorial practice, and added guidance on: preparation of copy on computer disk; preparation of camera-ready copy; and electronic publishing. The next edition was published in 2002 as the Style Guide, reflecting the move to simultaneous publication in print and online. Over 40,000 copies (all editions) have been sold worldwide.

Order

The MHRA Style Guide Second Edition (978-0-947623-76-0) is available in book form from all good bookshops and online retailers.

Download

The MHRA Style Guide may also be downloaded without charge as an Adobe® Acrobat® PDF file.

Please note:

For licensing reasons the BSI proof correction marks which appear in Chapter 15 of the printed version of the Guide could not be reproduced in this version.

Suggestions

Suggestions for amendments or additions that might be incorporated in future editions are welcomed and may be sent to: style@mhra.org.uk

The MHRA regrets that it is unable to enter into private correspondence about questions of style.

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MHRA Style Guide

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