TarValon.Net Library Manual of Style

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Latest Update: April 25, 2022

What is a Manual of Style?

A manual of style, sometimes called a style guide, is a reference work that sets standards for document writing, formatting, and design. A manual of style can be designed for anything, from business communication to blog writing. The manual typically does not focus on what is grammatically "correct" or "incorrect" in an absolute sense. Rather, it provides guidance for best practice and consistency.

Currently, this manual of style applies only to TarValon.Net's Library and the articles contained within it. Other TarValon.Net materials may follow a different guide.

Why does the TarValon.Net Library Need a Manual of Style?

Although every contributor to our Library has their own writing style and preferences, a high degree of variation can make the Library's materials less cohesive and consistent, and will often introduce issues with accuracy and readability. A manual of style helps ensure all of the Library's articles meet a uniform standard in punctuation, capitalization, citation, language, and typography.

Over time, Library contributors have established some unspoken or unwritten rules for Library materials, but having an official document ensures future writers and editors compose, format, and edit articles as consistently as possible.

Who Should Use the Manual of Style?

We understand that for many Library contributors, a significant amount of time may be required to read and apply the guidelines in this manual. However, we request all writers and editors make their best effort to do so. The style guide is here as a point of reference and key resource, and it can be an invaluable tool in settling disputes between editors, or answering questions that may arise.

Do I Need to Follow the Manual to Submit Articles to the Library?

Please do your best to apply this guide to any submissions to the Library. We understand that learning to use a style guide can be an involved process, but it is crucial to ensuring the consistency and clarity of the Library's materials. A Library editor will review your submission(s) and suggest useful changes, particularly those necessary to ensure compliance with the style guide.

Spelling and Grammar

Most articles in the Library are written in English, so the majority of this manual's guidance for grammar, mechanics, spelling, and terminology will be based on English conventions from the United States. TarValon.Net is incorporated in the U.S.A., with U.S. standard English required for all legal documentation, so likewise U.S. spelling and punctuation will be used by default in the Library.

Articles written in other languages will be edited according to the prevailing rules for those languages. Whenever possible, native and/or fluent speakers of each language will be asked to edit such articles.

Articles submitted in British English or other non-U.S. English dialects will be edited to conform to U.S. conventions, but please make your best effort to use U.S. conventions in your submissions.

To avoid any confusion over spelling and word definitions, the Library's preferred dictionary is the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

Avoid Using Slang

In general, avoid using slang terms and other informal expressions in articles you submit to TarValon.Net's Library. Such terms often vary in meaning depending on location, and could therefore be difficult for readers from diverse backgrounds and locations to understand.

When editing or submitting articles, slang words may be allowed in the following cases:

However, in such cases slang terms should not be offensive in nature and will be edited if determined to be so.

Avoid Using Contractions

Formal and scholarly writing typically avoids the use of contractions to ensure greater clarity. The exceptions are direct quotations and the above mentioned Who's Who personal pages. In general, please avoid the use of contractions in submissions to the Library. For instance, use "I am not" instead of "I’m not," or "we are" instead of "we're."

Abbreviations

Avoid abbreviations when they may be unclear, interrupt the flow, or appear informal. Also avoid devising new abbreviations, especially acronyms.

Exceptions:

  • Shortening of "Chapter" to "Ch." when referencing a chapter from a book
  • The Wheel of Time book titles are shortened to acronyms in TarValon.Net's Library whenever they are referenced inline
  • Staff and administrative positions at TarValon.Net that are commonly referred to by an acronym

Please consult with the following list when in need to use abbreviations - Manual of Style/Abbreviations.

Serial Comma (Oxford Comma) Use

TarValon.Net's Library uses the serial/Oxford comma except when doing so would make the meaning of a sentence unclear. This is the placing of a comma before the final item in a list.

Lists

Lists are commonly used to organize information of a similar kind.

TarValon.Net's Library uses unordered or bulleted lists by default with each list item being a complete sentence. Use sentence case by default for list items.

Sometimes a list may be a part of the sentence, in which case when such a list contains as one of its elements a secondary list, a semicolon is used to divide the elements of the outer/main list. Read more examples about this rule at Merriam-Webster.com A Guide to Using Semicolons in the section Semicolons Separate Phrases or Items in a List or Series.

General Formatting Rules

Page and Category Titles

The title of a page or category in the Library should be written in title case.

Avoid using A, An or The as the first word in an article title ("Keeper of the Chronicles" instead of "The Keeper of the Chronicles" or "A Keeper of the Chronicles").

Headings

All headings in TarValon.Net Library articles should be written in title case.

There are four levels of headings in the Library articles.

  • A Level 1 heading is the title of the page itself.
  • A Level 2 heading is the highest level of heading on the page.
  • A Level 3 heading is a subheading under a Level 2 heading.
  • A Level 4 heading is a subheading under a Level 3 heading.

Each level of heading should be organized beneath a heading of the previous level. Thus, a Level 4 heading should appear only below a Level 3 heading.

Never use a level 1 heading on a page.

Numbers and Dates

Numbers from one to nine should be spelled out as words, and numbers 10 and above should be written as numerals.

Exceptions would include:

  • Decimal numbers
  • Chapter numbers (in titles or in text)

Exceptions involving dates:

  • Days should always be written using numerals.
  • Months should be spelled out fully and should not be abbreviated. For instance, write "March" rather than "Mar."
  • Years should always be written using numerals.

Real-world dates that appear on Tower related pages should be written using the following format:

Month Date, Year

Example: September 4, 2021

Wheel of Time related dates should be written using the following format:

Month Date, Year

Example: Aine 4, 998 NE

Please note that there are several ways of spelling the calendar year that an event in the Wheel of Time world took place in:

  • For years from the Toman calendar, After the Breaking ( abbreviated as AB) - Year AB
  • For years form the Gazaran calendar, Free Years (abbreviated FE) - FE Year
  • For years from the Farede calendar, years of the New Era (abbreviated NE) - Year NE

Wheel of Time Specific Words and Phrases

There are some words and phrases that are "special cases", because of how Robert Jordan has decided to write them in his works The Wheel of Time. To continue the consistency, the TarValon.Net Library follows the same formatting of those words and phrases.

The following format should be used in text, but not in page, category, or section titles.

On general principle, country, town, city, and personal names should always be capitalized; official titles should always be capitalized; weave names should always be capitalized.

Please consult with the following list when in doubt how to format Wheel of Time words and phrases - Manual of Style/Wheel of Time Words and Phrases.

Punctuation

Apostrophes

Use straight apostrophes ('), not curly apostrophes (’). Do not use accent marks or backticks (`) as apostrophes.

Quotations

Use "straight" double quotation marks, not “curly” ones.

Do not use accent marks, backticks (`text´), low-high („ “) or guillemet (« ») marks as quotation marks.

For a quotation within a quotation use single quotes:

Bob asked: "Did Jim say 'I ate the apple' before he left?"

Spacing

A space should be omitted before a comma, semicolon, colon, period/full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark. A single space should be added after each of these punctuation marks.

Some editors may prefer to type two spaces after a period/full stop, however the software will render only a single space so what the reader sees is not affected.

Citations

The source material used in TarValon.Net's Library articles comes from the work by Robert Jordan The Wheel of Time, and its accompanying works, such as The World of Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" and The Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game. The Wheel of Time Companion is not used as a source for articles submitted to TarValon.Net's Library.

All statements and quotations in an article must be followed by an appropriate reference to one of the books of the The Wheel of Time. The TarValon.Net Library has templates linking to a book, and a chapter of that particular book, which you may use to include your references - Category:Chapter Templates.

There are different templates, which you should use for different purposes. For more information on citations, check out the manual on Citations.

Categories and Pages Which This Manual Excludes

In general, all articles under the Category:The Wheel of Time and Category:The Wheel of Time TV Series should follow this manual.

However, there are several categories that either follow other manuals, or are written in free style and are not academically written articles. Therefore, those articles are exempt from following this manual, which does not mean that they cannot, but it is not mandatory.

Revisions

Revisions to this document will be done on a yearly basis.

Revisions will also be made whenever there is a need to change, or add a section or a rule.

Latest Revisions
  • First published - April 25, 2022.