Spelling Authority: Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary

1. Italicize titles of albums, movies, podcasts or television series, as well as the titles of all publications (books, magazines, periodicals, newspapers, etc.). Titles should be fully spelled out on first occurrence, but may be shortened on subsequent mention. Shortened versions or subsequent mentions of titles should also be italicized. (i.e. Winter in the Blood or Winter)

2. Place song titles and lyrics, television episode titles, book chapter or section titles, and article titles in quotes, not italics.

3. For Q+A articles, separate questions from responses by space and typeface (either bold or italicized). Ideally, questions should be preceded by a “V:” and responses should be preceded by the respondent's initials and a colon. On first occurrence, spell out “Variance” and the respondent’s name.

4. One space between sentences.

5. Refer to AP style for comma and other punctuation guidelines. In most cases, punctuation should be included inside quotation marks.

6. Reading The Elements of Style may be helpful. A few select tips from Strunk and White:

- Avoid too many introductory phrases
- Vary your sentence length
- Choose active, colorful verbs over adjectives or adverbs when possible
- Edit for repetitive constructions, words, and phrases
- Maintain a consistent tense, usually present unless you’re telling a specific story that happened in the past
- Omit unnecessary words wherever you can. “That” is usually one of them.
- Remember: Specific > General; Definite > Vague; Concrete > Abstract

7. All other questions should be directed to the AP Stylebook and Gregg’s Reference Manual. If you have a specific question you can’t find a reasonable answer for in either of those, contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

8. Just for kicks, here are a few commonly confused words to avoid, as well as correct spelling/capitalization/usage of other common words/terms:

- “entitled” vs. “titled”: Millennials often stereotyped as being an entitled generation. Grandchildren are often entitled to their grandmother’s china. But Drake will never have a song entitled “Hotline Bling.” Albums, songs, movies, books and anything else that has a TITLE is, therefore, titled.
- “who” vs. “that” vs. “which”: “Who” and “that” are used when referring to people. “Who” is your choice for describing individuals or the individuality of a group. “That” is your choice to describe a group or type. “Which” refers to places, objects and animals, but is always used to introduce non-essential clauses. “That” also refers to places, objects and animals, but introduces essential clauses. (Gregg 1062)
- Google can be used as a verb.
- Mic is shortened form of microphone.
- On-screen, smartphone (one word), social networking, hip-hop, 3-D, OK (instead of "okay"), emcee instead of MC (an alternate description for rapper)
- As of March 2016, Variance no longer capitalizes "internet" or "web."
- Dates: "July 4" not "July 4th" (and if it's this year, no need to say 2017). 
- In general, the writer doesn't say "you," but we've become less restrictive about this.
- Just a preference, but avoid using someone's name numerous times within a small paragraph. Try to use a nickname or other descriptor (artist, actor, songstress, star, etc.).
- Use last names instead of first names in repeated mentions.
- Do not use "tells" when quoting your subject. (i.e.: "I was so happy," tells Sam. "It was the most exciting day!") Although it's present tense, use "says" or "reveals" or something or than "tells."
- As of June 2019, Variance stylizes "Jay-Z," with a hyphen.

Variance Style Sheet:
1. Documents should be submitted in minimum 12 point typeface, left justified
2. Use single spacing within paragraphs
3. Leave a line of space between paragraphs
4. No need to indent paragraphs
5. Article titles should be left justified and bold (or somehow differentiated)
6. Post the article’s word count in parentheses, excluding the title’s word count, at the end of the document 

(Updated March 2019)