CMOS FAQ Questions

Wed, 01 May 2013 22:19:37 GMT

Q. My friend Ed says that there is a problem with the sentence “An error occurred while processing your request.” More specifically, he says that it sounds like the error is processing the request. Do you see what he is talking about? Is this a legitimate criticism? The sentence in question is a common message from computer systems, and when we asked around, no one could see a problem with it. I wondered if there might be some underlying grammatical exception that explained why the message seemed so clear (despite the error Ed perceived). But I guess it is just one of those things that people understand unambiguously because of its context.

Wed, 01 May 2013 22:17:53 GMT

Q. Under what circumstances should “per annum” be used preferentially to “per year”? Do they have different meanings or are they interchangeable?

Wed, 01 May 2013 22:16:30 GMT

Q. In alphabetizing a list of donors that includes both foundations and individuals, is there a rule? The foundation would typically be ordered by the first word, but names by the last word. What do you do when they are combined in the same list?

Wed, 01 May 2013 22:15:14 GMT

Q. How would I cite from a curator’s statement of an art exhibit and specifically note that the curator’s statement is included in the exhibit, and is not simply a statement made in an article or interview? Perhaps something like this? Ann MacDonald, curatorial statement, Souvenir involontaire, by Melanie Rocan (Saskatoon, SK: Kenderdine Art Gallery).

Wed, 01 May 2013 22:13:57 GMT

Q. I work for a company that says they’re focused on building client relationships. However, they insist when we address an email to one of our own clients whom we know well that we put a comma in hi, hello, or good morning, Joe. I have been told that this is a very formal way of addressing someone. Help!

Wed, 01 May 2013 22:11:01 GMT

Q. I have read section 14.29 on how to use the term ibid. in footnotes, but I would appreciate some clarification on the following: is it required to use ibid. rather than the shortened citation? Suppose I have:

Malcolm Lambert, Medieval Heresy: Popular Movements from the Gregorian Reform to the Reformation (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1998), 174.

And then later on I have:

Lambert, Medieval Heresy, 173.

If I deal with that same source in the very next footnote, may I use that shortened form again (with a respective page number) or am I actually required to use ibid.? One of my professors said that I had to.

Wed, 01 May 2013 22:09:26 GMT

Q. CMOS recommends spelling out terms on first mention in each chapter. I’m considering spelling out my commission’s name on first mention in each section and subsection. Do you think that’s overkill? I’m thinking about spelling it out in sections that stand out, such as text boxes or highlighted bullets, because I think the reader would be better served to see the whole name in such isolated cases. We have about a hundred mentions of this long name, so I do want to abbreviate as much as possible.

Wed, 01 May 2013 22:07:33 GMT

Q. One of my professors insists on using the Chicago style when writing papers. The problem is that what he says often sounds like a CMOS truth from an edition that has not been in use for years. He wants single-spacing on things that according to the 16th edition are now double-spaced. And worse, he is an anti-Internet Luddite who will not make the effort to confirm what classmates and I insist are the current CMOS standards. Any helpful suggestions on handling something like this?

Wed, 01 May 2013 22:04:12 GMT

Q. What do you say (or do) to an author who makes extensive revisions (without tracking) to his original manuscript after you have sent him the copyedited version? Just wondering . . .