First reference for spelling, style, usage, and foreign geographic names:
- The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, revised and updated, 44th edition, Darrell Christian, Sally Jacobsen, and David Minthorn, editors. New York: Basic Books, a member of Perseus Books Group, 2009.
First reference for items not in the AP Stylebook:
- Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition. New York: Macmillan USA, a Pearson Education Macmillan Company, 1999.
Second reference for spelling, style, and usage:
- Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged. Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1961.
Second reference for foreign geographic names:
- National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2004 (many name changes and revised spellings).
First reference for titling and general reference for style issues not covered by above references:
- The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009.
First reference for place names in the United States:
- National 5-Digit ZIP Code and Post Office Directory. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Postal Service, updated yearly.
First reference for official names and spellings of corporations:
- Standard & Poor’s Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives (2 vol.). New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2008.
First reference for musical compositions and composers:
- The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd Edition (29 vol.), Stanley Sadie and John Tyrell, editors. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Other references:
- The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage, Theodore M. Bernstein. New York: Atheneum, 1965.
- The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition, William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. Needham Heights, Mass.: Allyn & Bacon, A Pearson Education Company, 2000.
- Garner's Modern American Usage, Third Edition, Bryan A. Garner. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
- Guidelines for Inclusive Use of the English Language. Chicago: ELCA Commission for Communication, 1989
- The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing, Casey Miller and Kate Swift. New York: Lippincott, 1988.
- Modern American Usage: A Guide, Wilson Follett (edited and completed by Jacques Barzun). New York: Hill and Wang, Division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1965.
- Talking about People: A Guide to Fair and Accurate Language, Rosalie Maggio. Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Press, 1997.
- Wired Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age, revised and updated edition, Constance Hale and Jessie Scanlon, editors. New York: Broadway, an imprint of Random House, 1999.
- Words into Type, Third Edition, Marjorie E. Skillin and Robert M. Gay. New York: Prentice Hall Press, Division of Simon & Schuster Inc., 1974 (unfortunately out of print now).
