Gite] by We Borer Style Guide for the More Good Foundation _— Updated: February 13, 2014 LDS.net (http://www.lds.net) is a website associated with the More Good. ~~ = Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Orem, UT. This group is dedicated to putting “more good” on the/nterne} orrecting the views that the world has of members of The Cliurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsand supplying reliable sources of information about Mormon doctrine, practices’and beliefs, Although thes haveséteral websites, the websitechat encourages the most Use Roun, worldwide, non-pative English speakifg-usets LDS.net. LDS.net is useesnot onlyesa source of newsyf8s6ciated with members of the LD$ church buta social media hub, a place to get ideas for Sunday School lessons, to gles acne Sncel \ Authorities areand.whatthey-ere-spealingabeutand a il ‘connect Latter-day Saints from all over the world on-onessebsttest dws ise style guide is weént-owATlowingyfor more understanding an ‘consistency through the More Good Foundation’s online publicatidi§¢6More effectively meet the needs of their global audience. The organization does not currently follow any particular style besides having a few standard rules, but will be following the standards in Chicago Manuel of Style (Sixteenth Edition) and the Style Guide for Publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Powgh-nor comprohensivé; by using this-style-guide-the understanding, consistencyand clarity of the More Good-Foundlation's publications will-be much-more-concrete: This style guide will also acknowledge the decision, that are not covered explicitly by Chicago or are contradictory between Chicago and/or the Style Guide for Publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ine-few-cases, this-style guide emphasizes \- the-commonmistekes-of-writers and editors on-the More Good Foundations Vobe Sbye lees ase nO Webs rte ‘websiteseTo accommodate LDS.net's global audience, this style guide will also incorporateg Global English. Global English decisions draw on John R. Kohl's The Global English Style Guide: Writing Clear, Translatable Documentation for a Global Market (2008, SAS Press: Cary, North Carolina, ISBN 978-1-59994-657-3). Hello kind editors, I still need to put on a few more entries but all of my Kohl entries are there. I'm afraid I'm making them too complicated and giving myself much more work then is necessary. Help me figure out how to cut it down! Thanks!Contents 2 Writing for LDS.net Publications 2.1 Precision in Language 5 Grammar and Usage 5.1 Avording Unusual Constructions 5.2 Passive Voice 5.3 Beating-with:Noun Phrases 5.4 Nouns Used as Verbs, Verbs as Nouns, etc. 5.5 Ambiguous Modifiers 5.6 This, That, These and Those Pronouns 5.7 Clear Pronoun Referents 5.8 Eliminate Idioms 5.9 Commas to Prevent Misreading 7 Spelling, Distinctive Treatment of Words, and Compounds 8 Names and Terms 8.1 Name Consistency 8.2 Religious vs Non-Religious Titles2 Writing for LDS.net Publications 2.1 Precision in Language Kohl 2.1 encourages “logical, literal, and precise” use of language. The Style Guide for (Ul S4iNs)n \ Publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (hereafter-ealied-/ | bd Noa i we | SGLDS) also points out in 2.8 that “sentences communicate most effectively when |< hecdute Were they are easy to read.” Here are a few guidelines from SGLDS to help your wri ed 1) Make sure that each sentence expresses only one well-focused thought. 2) Use familiar, simple sentence structure that sounds natural when read aloud. Difficult and unusual sentence structures hinder communication. The majority of sentences should use the subject-verb-object order. Focusing-on the literal meaning of your words and communicattag-your ideas as precisely as you can isessentiak— D_ {could feel the warmth of the Savior’s love and knew that | needed, not only to trust the Lord, but to study out the problem more in my mind. perspective, I studied the problem again. 5 Grammar and Usage 5.1 Avoiding Unusual Constructions According to Koh! 3.10 there are several constructions that “are unfamiliar to many non-native speakers of English (including translators), or they are problematic for machine-translation systems.” The following sections will give specific instructions on different language construction as found in Kohl, Chicago and SGLDS. At LDS.net, we are attempting to target an expanding global audience and complicating sentences unnecessarily will exclude some of our potential readers. 5.2 Passive Voice ne dyfincs pone a jt Clamnerhiog ¥ AithoughKohl 3.6 suggests lilting Hesassive voice, SGLDS-2.5 su usingthe | Glidh ¥ aetive-veiceas much as possible, Fhe-passive voice is LineChicagos.115asthe ! subject receiving the action of a verb rather than the performing the action of the | \_ i verb. Using-+he“active voice makes the sentence muchmoréelear_because it wean” to,how the subject connects to the verb which is a-big/heljfto non-native English speakers. D_ Over the years, many mistakes were made by the enemies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in their constant attempts to discredit the Church.O Over the years, the enemies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made many mistakes in their constant attempts to discredit the Church. 5.3 Dealing with Noun Phrases Io i nal Noun phrases are tricky for non-native speakers of English so it is absolutely necessary to revise and edit these to make them easier to understand. Kohl 3.7 SGLDS 2.9 0 The location of the new Provo City Center temple and visitor's center is/ Cuil) Wa, directly in the center of Provo, Utah’s downtown, { 0 The Provo City Center Temple and visitor’s center will be in the middle of downtown Provo, 5.4 Nouns Used as Verbs, Verbs as Nouns, etc, y According-to-Koht2-27 consult a dictionary (Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary isa fine example) to make sure you use words in accordance to their standard definition and classification. Using more words is better for the sake of clarity. 0 Googling various parts of LDS Church doctrine is becoming easier and more reliable with the More Good Foundations’s work. 0 Looking up various parts of LDS Chfyeh doctrine on the internet is becoming’éasier and more reliable thanks to the More Good Foundation. 5.5 Ambiguous Modifiers 5 J Sometimé, noun phrases joined by conjunction, have modifiers that are not clear as to which part of the noun phrase they refer. Using Koh4.6, employ suctrideas as" inserting the before each noun phrase, using parallel grammatical structures, inserting an article before the noun phrase, reversing the order of the noun phrases, ete, (See [dal | ale: 0 £ Fhe Brethren are excited to announce the continuation of a few favorite Church programs and traditional teaching methods 0 The Brethren are excited to announce the continuation of a few of the favorite Church programs and the traditional teaching methods. ital 5.6 (This, That; These and(Those Pronounswk Do not use this, that, these, and-those as pronouns. In accordance to Kohl 5.2, use these words only as adjective followed by‘houn to make sure their referents are clear. - % 0 Many new members of the Church struggle to understand complicated doctrine. These are just part of the leap of faith in converting to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 0. Many new members of the Church struggle to understand complicated doctrine. ‘These yénfusing principles a#ejust part of the leap of faith to converting’fo ‘The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 5,7 Clear Pronoun Referents When using pronouns, follow the guidelines set in Kohl. §.1-andmake sure what the pronouri ig referring to ‘5 absolutely clear. Be careful with the use of i, its, they, them, or their. (ex We! $! D When you remember the gospel of Jesus Christ is simple, understanding it becomes even more powerful. 0 When you remember the gospel of Jesus Christ is simple, understanding the gospel becomes even more powerful. 5.8 Eliminate Idioms Idioms not only cause confusion among non-native-English speakers, but “Mormon, idioms" cause confusion for those not of the LDS faith. Although thes are catchy and memorable, eliminate them from your writing to make sureyour meaning clear to every potential reader since “non-native speakers and translators cannot be expected to understand all of the idioms used in English (or the Church)” (Kohl / 9.18). 0 I would hie to Kolob twice if it meant I got to go to the Provo City Center temple open house. ep la 0 Iwill do everything | possibly can to attend the Provo City Center temple open house, 5.9 Commas to Prevent Misreadings Although unconventional, commas cap be used to prevent misreadings by nase separating main clauses and cdluinzbetgaebecause or such as (see Kohl 8.2).