Find it. Write it. Cite it. | Send style questions to https://xitter.cf/t.co/15DfeEnD3d. Other queries? Please email us at [email protected].
Chicago, IL, USA
Joined April 2010
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A word introduced by “called” or the like doesn’t usually need to be put in quotation marks or italics (e.g., those are called potatoes). Details in the Q&A. chicagomanualofstyle.org/qan…
What do you do with needlessly long, unfriendly URLs? Learn some strategies for taming them, in the latest update from CMOS Shop Talk. cmosshoptalk.com/2021/07/13/…
In American English, “traveling” is spelled with one el but “excelling” with two, a difference that depends on whether the first or second syllable is stressed. In British English, both words get two els. Details in the Q&A. chicagomanualofstyle.org/qan…
Q. Is s’s’ the correct plural possessive form of s?
Q. Is there such a thing as a suspended en dash?
Q. How do you cite syndicated newspaper articles?
We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the October Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA
Our free Q&A archive features nearly thirty years’ worth of answers to your questions, now updated to reflect the latest Chicago style. Visit CMOS Shop Talk for more details. cmosshoptalk.com/2026/09/29/…
Write “painter’s tape” rather than “painters’ tape” or “painters tape.” Details in the Q&A. chicagomanualofstyle.org/qan…
Chicago’s most popular citation style is also its most flexible. Explore how it works—and why footnotes are styled differently from bibliography entries—in the latest update from CMOS Shop Talk. cmosshoptalk.com/2020/05/19/…
Q. Is “roadtrip” ever correct?
Q. Would you hyphenate “almost encyclopedic” before a noun?
Q. How do you cite an article in a double issue of a magazine?
We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the September Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA
ALT Close-up of a Jack Russell terrier in orange sunglasses and a blue collar driving a modern sedan, its left paw resting on the door frame while announcing the CMOS Q&A.
In most types of prose, common names for birds can usually be spelled without initial caps (e.g., blue-footed booby). Details in the Q&A. chicagomanualofstyle.org/qan…
ICYMI: A comma is usually optional after a word like “today” or “yesterday” at the beginning of a sentence. Details in the Q&A. chicagomanualofstyle.org/qan…
What does “the 2000s” mean to you, the decade or the century or the millennium? What about “the 1900s”? Our latest update at CMOS Shop Talk considers the challenge of writing about first decades. cmosshoptalk.com/2019/09/10/…
Q. Would “as well as” be lowercase in a title?
Q. What’s the rule for hyphenating a letter plus a noun?
Q. How should timings be formatted in source citations?
We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the August Q&A at CMOS Online. cmos.style/QandA
ALT A brown-and-white Chihuahua announces the August Q&A. The dog, wearing sunglasses, sits on a strip of sand against a deep-blue background, its long hair blowing sideways in the wind.
In Chicago style, “time-clock-punching employees” (with two hyphens) would be preferred to “time clock–punching employees” (with an en dash) and “time-clock–punching employees” (with a hyphen and an en dash). Details in the Q&A. chicagomanualofstyle.org/qan…
Curious about spaces before punctuation marks in French text? Change your proofing language to French in Microsoft Word and watch what happens as you type. Details in the Q&A. chicagomanualofstyle.org/qan…
Chicago style for abbreviating number ranges is efficient and (once you get the hang of it) easy to apply. For a quick refresher, check out this post from CMOS Shop Talk. cmosshoptalk.com/2018/04/10/…
When naming the title of a book or an article or the like, either “titled” or “entitled” is correct, though the former is usually preferred. And don’t use a comma after either one. Details in the Q&A. chicagomanualofstyle.org/qan…
Q. Do you need a comma before “then” when it means “in that case”?
Q. Is it “the angel Gabriel” or “the Angel Gabriel”?
Q. Do typefaces/fonts need to be credited?
We answer these and other questions about Chicago style in the July Q&A at CMOS Online. chicagomanualofstyle.org/qan…
ICYMI: The phrase “dogs have tails” is generally preferred to “dogs have a tail,” but either one depends on readers knowing something about dogs and tails. Details in the Q&A. chicagomanualofstyle.org/qan…
ICYMI: An em dash can be used in place of almost any mark of punctuation in a sentence—for better or worse. Details in the Q&A. chicagomanualofstyle.org/qan…
ICYMI: When the name of a friend follows the word “friend,” a comma is rarely required (“my friend John”); with spouses, commas are the default (“my husband, John”). Details in the Q&A. chicagomanualofstyle.org/qan…