ClearTips: Edit yourself
10. Consistency
Consistency is one of the main things an editor looks for
in a piece of writing, consistency in the style of spelling, of punctuation,
and of writing numbers as words or figures. To be inconsistent is to be
sloppy—say, by alternating between travelled and traveled,
10 and ten, or % and percent. So, above all,
be consistent, even if eccentric. The idea is to pick one style and stick
to it. The best way to keep track of the styles you have chosen is to
write them on a style sheet.
In the examples that follow, the styles consistently chosen
in the right-hand column reflect the preferences of most
editors today. In most of the examples, it would have been
acceptable (but not preferable) to have consistently chosen
the alternative style.
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