A
t The Michigan Daily copy
desk, we contour articles
before they’re presented to
the public — or, rather, the Daily
Stylebook does. We comb through
each article, checking for every-
thing as obvious as getting the facts
right and as seemingly insignificant
as the use of a semi-colon, pausing
repeatedly to consult the Stylebook.
The final product stands alone,
though stripped of Oxford commas
and laced with abbreviated titles,
and almost always at least slightly
different from how it came in.
Between the reliance on the style
guide and the precision of the end
product, I’ve realized copyediting
an article isn’t so different from
copyediting yourself. Think before
you speak, check yourself before
you wreck yourself — however you
want to say it, everyone has a meth-
od for filtering their actions and
words. We work hard to create and
maintain an image for ourselves,
constantly building from and refer-
ring back to our own personal style
guides.
What makes up a style guide,
though? Clearly, not everyone fol-
lows the same one. And it’s not
possible for everyone to follow the
same one, since different back-
grounds and opportunities deter-
mine what different people have
been exposed to. But we build onto
these when we start to choose our
own experiences and communities,
and we adjust the way we filter.
One of my chosen communities
was the Residential College. My
first semester there, I had a nagging
worry that the things I was doing
and saying weren’t quirky or pro-
gressive or eco-conscious enough.
These traits, which the people
around me seemed to have in abun-
dance, worked themselves into an
RC Style Guide, which I worked into
my own. I started tailoring specific
actions to it, and they’ve become
ingrained in me the same way rules
regarding when a certain hyphen
is appropriate or when to write out
numbers have become ingrained in
me at the copy desk — I don’t look it
up, I just fix it.
Individuality, forward thinking
and creativity are all characteris-
tics I found in the RC that I valued
highly before college. By purpose-
fully putting myself in a setting
where those traits became part of
my filter, I’ve been able to strength-
en them. In turn, being aware of
the way they’ve affected me has
allowed me to challenge and devi-
ate from certain ones. Likewise,
the Daily uses the AP Style Guide
as a base, and though we revere it,
it’s been necessary to make certain
changes and additions to fit our
own Stylebook. We have different
guides, specific to the University of
Michigan setting, playing into the
equation.
The importance of realizing the
guidelines we choose for ourselves
is not a new idea, and neither is the
importance of finding ourselves
within them. But they’re both ideas
I tend to forget. When I think about
why I present and filter myself
the way I do, I remember to make
adjustments, to pick and choose
for my own style guide instead of
completely adapting to another. So
think about it. What makes up your
Stylebook?
2B
Magazine Editor:
Karl Williams
Deputy Editors:
Nabeel Chollampat
Lara Moehlman
Design Editor:
Shane Achenbach
Photo Editor:
Zoey Holmstrom
Creative Director:
Emilie Farrugia
Editor in Chief:
Shoham Geva
Managing Editor:
Laura Schinagle
Copy Editors:
Emily Campbell
Alexis Nowicki
Taylor Grandinetti
the statement
Wednesday, September 21, 2016 / The Statement
Copy That: My Stylebook
B Y M A R I S A F R E Y
the
tangent
EMILIE FARRUGIA/DAILY
T H O U G H T B U B B L E : CHALLEN GE S
“I’d say the biggest challenge this year will be
managing all of the different things I need to do
before I graduate, like making an awesome thesis,
getting a job for post-grad (a girl can wish), earning
decent grades, the list goes on. All this while still
having fun in final year of college!”
– Art & Design Senior Jacqui Frey