--American Memory--

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1. Introduction

2. Substantive Writing
3. Mechanics of Writing
3.1 Abbreviations and Names
3.2 Illustrations: Captions and Legends
3.3 Notes and Bibliographies
3.4 Numbers and Dates
3.5 Punctuation
3.6 Spelling and Special Terms
 
4. Editorial Process
 
5. Editorial Support
 
6. Collection Framework
6.1 About the Collection
6.2 Acknowledgments
6.3 Building the Digital Collection
6.4 Cataloging the Collection
6.5 Copyright and Other Restrictions
6.6 Related Resources
6.7 Scope and Content Note
6.8 Selected Bibliography
6.9 Special Presentations
6.10 Other Components
 
7. Learning Page
 
8. Today in History
 
9. Glossary

2. Substantive Writing

Good writing depends on good style and good writing for an online environment should be clear, lively, and easy on the eye. Outlined below are guidelines for writing American Memory collection framework documents so that they will reach the desired audience with the appropriate focus and tone. NDLP house style is outlined in the Mechanics of Writing subsections. See Editorial Process for further information about how documents are edited and revised during the production cycle.

Substantive Writing for the Web

The writing should be:

  • Appropriate in tone and language for a wide-ranging audience, from students to specialists;

  • Informed, accurate, and balanced;

  • Clear, coherent, and easy to understand;

  • Mechanically correct and consistent in every respect.

To be appropriate in tone, NDLP documents should:

  • Be neutral and factual;

  • Use diction appropriate to a general audience;

  • Use any editorial conventions and spellings that may be appropriate to a particular field of specialization;

  • Explain specialized or unfamiliar historical terms in cases where using them is necessary;

  • Avoid rhetorical flourishes, colloquialisms, and unnecessarily fancy vocabulary;

  • Never use "we" or "our" (e.g., "Our collection includes four hundred photographs.").

To be informed, accurate, and balanced, NDLP documents should:

  • Convey an awareness of the collection's current and enduring importance;

  • Express perspectives on collection content that reflect contemporary research and discourse about the subject;

  • Cite major sources used in preparing framework materials and give sources for any debatable statements made about the collection;

  • Acknowledge briefly in a low-key, neutral manner collection materials that may be offensive to some readers.

To be clear, coherent, and easy to understand, NDLP documents should:

  • Use short paragraphs;

  • Contain no unnecessary words or sentences;

  • Use linking capability to avoid repetition (see "linking in text" below);

  • Divide longer documents into separate linked sections, each with a descriptive subheading.

For information on mechanical correctness and consistency, see Mechanics of Writing.

Linking in Text

Writers of collection framework documents should keep in mind that the Web design team will be adding hypertext links. Using links can improve the navigation of the framework and make both writing and viewing easier. Dividing long documents into sections with linked subheadings is one way to take advantage of the linking capability. Another possibility is the use of a hierarchical presentation that guides the user first to an overall view and then offers levels of greater detail through links. Links to related documents in a collection framework can make pertinent information available without having to repeat it in each document. Care should be taken, however, that a given paragraph or section is not overlinked. Final decisions on linking will be made in cooperation with the Web design team during the final phase of production.

When linking to a Web page outside of the Library of Congress site, for example, in a bibliography or Related Resources page, select only stable pages with verifiable content. Relatively safe examples include government-agency or educational-institution sites.

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September 1999