Grammar Girl here, today's topics are style guides and how to deal with book titles.

Joe called in with this question.

With all of the style guides that are out there, APA, MLA, why would anyone use Chicago?

I was finding it very hard to believe when I first looked at the Chicago style guide

after the APN MLA, that the Chicago style was something that was used by anything less

than a commercial writer.

Probably on someone's doctoral thesis, but for an undergraduate to have to deal with

that kind of detail just seems ridiculous, just wanting to hear your opinion on this.

The Chicago Manual of Style is one of the oldest and most comprehensive style guides on the

market.

The fact that it's so comprehensive can be both a strength and a weakness, and Joe points

out the weaknesses.

It can take a while to find what you're looking for, and the size of the book can be intimidating

to students.

Nevertheless, I find it indispensable because it has so much information I can't find anywhere

else.

A huge recent change that makes Chicago and many other style guides easier to use is the

availability of online and digital versions of the books.

I used to use the print books, and I often had a hard time finding the information I needed.

But a few years ago, I started subscribing to the online versions of the Chicago Manual

of Style and the AP Style book.

And now I can search and find the answers I'm looking for in seconds.

...