Features of the New Edition

The tenth edition of The Gregg Reference Manual has been revised and enhanced to satisfy the continually evolving demands of business and academic writers. Here are some of the key features.

Electronic Index. On the Web site that has been created for the tenth edition of the Gregg manual, <http://www.gregg.com>, you will find a greatly expanded index, one that is not limited by the restricted number of pages available in a printed book. This new index will now make it easy for you to locate not only a particular rule but also the specific words and phrases that have been used to illustrate that rule. As an additional convenience, you will be able to download this electronic index from the Gregg Web site and install it on your computer.

As in previous editions, you will find (1) a topical index on the inside front cover, (2) detailed outlines at the opening of each section in the manual, (3) a comprehensive index at the back of the manual, and (4) marginal tabs that identify all the pages in a specific section. Given the electronic index plus all of these options, you will find it easier and faster to locate the answers you are looking for.

Expanded Treatment of E-Mail. The four-page discussion of this topic in the ninth edition now receives a detailed fifteen-page treatment. (See pages 426–441.) Among other things, it addresses the commonly asked question of whether e-mail messages have to follow the same rules that apply to other business documents. In view of the importance of e-mail in today's business world, this topic has been advanced in the sequence of sections to take its proper place alongside the discussion of letters and memos in Section 13.

Expanded Discussion of Electronic Sources. The tenth edition offers an expanded discussion of how to deal with source materials that appear online. Gregg gives precise guidelines on how to construct footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographic entries that refer to online books, magazines, journals, and newspapers as well as e-mail messages and other electronic sources. Moreover, the manual suggests precautions to observe when citing electronic material (which can suddenly change, move to a new location, or completely disappear). Also included in the tenth edition are some basic guidelines on how to avoid plagiarism.

Expanded Patterns for Footnotes and Endnotes. In addition to the patterns for citing electronic sources, the tenth edition now provides models for citing material derived from personal interviews and conversations, television and radio interviews, speeches and papers read at professional meetings, as well as reports, letters, and memos.

New Material on Style, Grammar, Usage, and Formatting. The treatment of style, grammar, usage, and formatting has been expanded (1) to address the many questions and suggestions submitted by readers over the past few years, (2) to reflect the changes in style and format created by continually evolving computer technology, (3) to incorporate new terms and phrases in the examples to reflect how people now speak and write, and (4) to address the usage questions that are created by this new vocabulary.

The Gregg manual continues to highlight the basic rules of style, grammar, and usage—those that apply to the problems that most frequently arise. The numbers for these basic rules appear within a red panel for ready identification.

The Gregg manual also offers updated coverage of the fine points—those problems that occur less often but cause even more trouble when they do. It is this extensive coverage of the fine points that distinguishes Gregg from comparable works and makes it possible for readers to find answers that they cannot find anywhere else.

As in previous editions, Gregg offers updated advice on dealing with style and usage problems related to computer technology: Is it one space or two after the end of a sentence? (See ¶102.) Is it e-mail or email? Is it Web site or website? (See ¶847.) And how do you divide a URL or an e-mail address at the end of a line? (See ¶1510.)

Ask the Author. There will always be unusual situations and those once-in-a-lifetime questions that no reference manual could possibly anticipate. The Gregg Web site, <http://www.gregg.com>, provides a unique feature—"Ask the Author"—that will enable you to get quick guidance on how to deal with situations like these.

Essays on the Principles of Style. The six informal essays in Appendix A set forth the principles that underlie the specific rules on matters of style. Once you understand those principles, you can manipulate the rules with intelligence and taste.

Easy-to-Follow Models. The rules on grammar, style, and usage are accompanied by numerous examples, so you can quickly find models on which to pattern a solution to the various problems you run into as you're writing or editing.

The Gregg manual offers an abundance of illustrations of documents—for example, e-mail messages, letters, reports, tables, plus scannable résumés and other employment documents. Using these illustrations as models, you can easily create and format all kinds of written communications.

In discussing the special features of word processing software that make it easy to format various elements in business documents, Gregg notes ways to overcome the problems that these time-saving features can create.

Enhanced Web Site

The Web site for the tenth edition does more than provide access to the new electronic index and to the "Ask the Author" page. It offers these additional features:

Glossary of Computer Terms. This updated, 25-page glossary of computer terms is now located on the Gregg Web site, where it can be expanded as new terms and acronyms appear on the scene. You can download this glossary and install it on your computer.

Overview of the Components. The new Web site will make it possible for you to get a perspective on all the components of the Gregg program, order them if you wish, and easily contact editors and marketing personnel when you have questions about the Gregg program. And as previously noted, you can always reach the author by means of the online "Ask the Author" service.

Readers' Comments. This new feature presents the unsolicited opinions of more than thirty people who describe the role that the Gregg manual has played in their success. Their comments can give you a real sense of how Gregg could help you achieve your goals.

An Overview of the Organization of the Tenth Edition

This edition of The Gregg Reference Manual consists of 18 sections and 4 appendixes, organized in three parts:

Part 1 (Sections 1–11) deals with grammar, usage, and the chief aspects of style—punctuation, capitalization, numbers, abbreviations, plurals and possessives, spelling, compound words, and word division.

Part 2 (Sections 12–18) deals with editing and proofreading techniques and the procedures for creating and formatting all kinds of written communications—letters, memos, e-mail messages, reports, manuscripts, notes and bibliographies, tables, agendas, minutes, itineraries, fax cover sheets, news releases, outlines, and résumés and other employment communications. It also provides detailed guidelines on forms of address.

Part 3 (Appendixes A–D) provides a series of essays on the nature of style, a discussion of troublesome pronunciation problems, the rules for alphabetic filing, and a glossary of grammatical terms.

Other Components of the Tenth Edition

A number of supplementary components are available for use by trainers and instructors in the courses they teach.

Basic Worksheets. This set of worksheets focuses on the basic rules highlighted in Sections 1–11. These worksheets have been designed to build three critical skills. First, they will familiarize students with the common problems they are likely to encounter in any written material they have to deal with. Second, these worksheets will direct students to the appropriate rules in Sections 1–11 so that later on, when they encounter similar problems in their own work, they will know where to look. Third, these worksheets will sharpen students' ability to apply the rules correctly under many different circumstances.

This set of worksheets begins with a diagnostic survey of each student's editing skills at the outset. Then after students have completed a series of 21 worksheets, they will encounter a parallel survey at the end that will show how much their editing skills have improved. In most of the intervening worksheets, rule numbers are provided alongside the answer blanks so that students can quickly locate the answers they need to complete each set of exercises. At the end of each of these worksheets is an editing exercise that requires students to identify and correct the implanted errors on their own, without the help of rule numbers alongside. Interspersed within this sequence of worksheets are three editing surveys that will periodically help students integrate all the things they have been learning in the preceding worksheets.

Comprehensive Worksheets. This set of worksheets, like the Basic Worksheets, has been designed to build the same three skills. However, this comprehensive set draws on material from the entire manual and not simply from Sections 1–11. Moreover, these worksheets deal with problems of formatting letters, memos, and other business documents.

This program begins with a diagnostic survey and then, after a series of 31 worksheets, concludes with a parallel survey that allows students to demonstrate how much their editing skills have increased. Interspersed within this sequence of worksheets are four editing surveys that will periodically help students integrate all the things they have been learning up to that point.

Instructor's Supplements

The resource manual that previously offered teaching suggestions and keys to the two sets of worksheets will now be published in two versions—one for academic instructors and a second for independent training consultants and corporate training personnel.

The Instructor's Resource Manual. This manual provides helpful guidance on how the Gregg manual and a set of the worksheets can be used to create effective courses of varying duration. Instructors will find specific recommendations on which topics to cover in light of the number of hours allocated to a particular course.

The Trainer's Resource Manual. This manual advises corporate training personnel on the best way to set up and run an in-house English skill-building program. It shows independent training consultants how they can custom-tailor a comparable program that meets the particular needs of each of their clients. Here again, trainers will find specific recommendations on what material to cover in the Gregg manual and the worksheets in light of the number of hours specified by the client.

Both resource manuals now contain graphic instructional materials that were previously published as a separate item titled Classroom Presentations. PowerPoint slides on a CD-ROM provide a helpful overview of the basic rules in Sections 1–11 (on style, grammar, and usage). Transparency masters display many of the model documents discussed in Sections 12–18. All of these graphic materials can be effectively used to introduce and reinforce the key topics presented throughout the Gregg manual.