×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

IEEE Style Guide??
3

IEEE Style Guide??

IEEE Style Guide??

(OP)
Is there an IEEE publication that is the equivalent of the Chicago Manual of Style?

I just looked at "slash" in the Chicago Manual (14th edition) and did not find any entry that deals with technical specifications.

A document I've inherited says this:

Current probes (20 A / 200 A ranges)

An editor has asked me to remove the spaces:

Current probes (20 A/200 A ranges)

To me, that change diminishes readability. I'm wondering if IEEE publishes a style sheet that addresses this issue.

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

Space or not "/" means "divided by" and should not be used as a separator for a list if items.

You want a semi-Colin, or the word "and".

 

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

Slash also means OR.

As for spaces normally there is no space between letter A and the number. You may want to say (20A to 200A) OR (20A and 200A) as applicable. Perhaps a dash is better to indicate a range. (20A-200A range).

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

(OP)
Thank you, clindeman! I am printing it out.

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

(OP)
Hi, rbulsara. What reference book or resource do you rely on? Where would you find the citation that says not to put a space betwee the letter A and the number (20A, for example).

I'm looking for official style sheets that I can point to to justify why I'm doing things a certain way. I've been looking at the IEEE Standards Style Guide that another poster mentioned, as well as other publications, but they don't get to that level of detail.

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

Nancy:

I was just stating the obvious. If you already know or got what you need, you are all set.

I do not need style books to tell me how to write 20A.

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

(OP)
Hmmm.

rbulsara, here's the issue I am dealing with:

Person A: "Write it 20 A. Everbody knows this is right."

Person B: "Write it 20A. Everybody knows this is right."

Both A and B conclude, "I do not need style books to tell me how to write this."

I assure you, in this case, Person B actually does exist and says the opposite of what you say. I am trying to find an authoritative source to resolve such contradictions.
 

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

Nancy,

I think the problem is that your CMoS is out of date. 6.113 in the 15th Edition: "Technical Use. A slash is used in certain contexts to mean and."  The examples that follow all omit the space. (I agree that writing out "20 A and 200 A ranges" is probably clearer.)

Incidentally, 15.55 in the 15th Edition says, "A word space usually appears between a numeral and an abbreviation."

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

American Institute of Chemical Engineers disagrees with Rbulsara, in fact in a quick google most seem to have a space.

http://www.aiche.org/uploadedFiles/Publications/DepartmentUploads/PDF/siunits.pdf

While I don't see it listed as a 'rule' when 14.5 gives units there is a space between the digits and the unit.

Can't be too sure about the "/" however, ASME Y14.38 ABBREVIATIONS dropped most of the "/" at the last version as I recall.  I think because / can be ambiguous it's perhaps best avoided where possible.

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies recently, or taken a look at posting policies: http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

(OP)
OK, one and all, another source has sent me a document that I hereby recommend to you:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 811 Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty (http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/pdf/sp811.pdf)

I notice that copyediting principle #10 states:

There is a space between the numerical value and unit symbol, even when the value is used in an adjectival sense, except in the case of superscript units for plane angle. (See Sec. 7.2.)

a 25 kg sphere      but not :  a 25-kg sphere

If the spelled-out name of a unit is used, the normal rules of English are applied: 'a roll of 35-millimeter film.'

I've just searched for "slash" and not found anything. However, wherever they use a slash in the text, they do not leave spaces around it. I guess I'll take this as my model.
 

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

Ahh, if this is an issue for you folks to lose sleep over, God bless you!

 

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

Kenat:

That still does not change the fact that I have yet to see breaker ratings stated as 20 A or 100 A  in more than two and half decade of being in this business. They all have been 20A, 100A etc.

Perhaps it's time to update those Styles.smile
 

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

Promote space removal as Green idea. Save space and paper!

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

Kenat:

I meant the drawings produced by A/E firms and most catalogs!
I do agree that IEEE documents like NEC do use a space between the numerals and units like 12.5 A.

I will still continue to use 12.5A on my drawings though!tongue

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

Now just to confuse things, what would you show ten degrees Celcius as?

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

10°C

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

(OP)
Kenat: In NIST Special Publication 811, 2008 Edition, page vi, (part of "Checklist for Reviewing Manuscripts") step 10 says "There is a space between the numerical value and unit symbol, even when the value is used as an adjective, except in the case of superscript units for plane angle." This doc is easily downloadable if you google for it. I have added it as a standard for my tech writing, because it seems pretty authoritative.

tickle and Graham Bennett: Same document, bottom of page 5 and top of page 6, shows degree Celsius printed as °C. So, following the standard given in the reviewing checklist, ten degrees Celsius should be written as 10 °C (and not 10°C as given by Graham Bennett).

Undoubtedly, if we all rooted around in our bookshelves, we would find different standards and very likely some will support having no space. I just wanted to find an up-to-date, reasonably authoritative standard that most people would accept, when I am the sole tech writer in a company that does not have any formal standards, and the NIST doc is fulfilling that function for me.
 

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

Having worked for UK, German, American, Japaense, Malaysian and South African companies, I have always used 10°C (for example)and no one has ever said a dicky bird about this style.

This contributor is now officially chastised and is standing in the naughty corner and hanging his head in shame.

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

(OP)
Graham: Ha! You see, there is always a standard somewhere that can make you (very temporarily) miserable  . . . that's what they're for!

Even going into a company, I wouldn't try to change what other people were doing. It's just that, the first time I send a document out for review, I need to be able to back up why I do things a certain way.

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

Life miserlable because of a writing style???? Come on!

Why can't we set our own standards? Not all so called standards are laws. Even laws are subject to change and challenged. Just because someone or a group thought one way does not make it a gospel.

Language, grammar and writing are ever changing phenomena. Trying to arrest them would be naive. I am sure for most of us there are better things to worry about, but I don't speak for everyone.

 
 

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

Wrong is relative to what is right. In this case its all arbitrary.

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

Wow. I thought I was picky. At least I am only picky about what work goes through me. wink

I have to say that I agree with the arbitrary part though.
And keep the / as divided by, otherwise we will end up getting hairpull3/curse

Fe

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

Boy, it's hard to accept being wrong for most of your life... I guess I'll have to start using 5 ' 11 " for my height instead of the 5'11" I've been used to.  Or, better yet, deny following those standards!  I think rbulsara is on to something - all of these extra spaces are a green issue!

"Good to know you got shoes to wear when you find the floor." - Robert Hunter
 

RE: IEEE Style Guide??

If this is a heart breaking issue for some, wait until the instant messaging lingo takes over the normal writing!
poke

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources