A house style guide is an organisation's own rulebook for the choices that grammar leaves open: whether to put a comma before "and", when to write numbers as words, how to set a date, which job titles take capitals, and whether "organise" ends in -ise or -ize. Newsrooms, governments, universities and companies each publish one, and they disagree on almost every point.
EdCitation publishes this guide. We read every source ourselves on 27 September 2026 and compared five: the AP Stylebook, The Economist's style guide, the GOV.UK A to Z, the Guardian's style guide and the University of Oxford Style Guide. Two could only be read in part, and we say where.
EdCitation never writes or edits anyone's document. When a brief sets a house style, Check your paper reads the brief into a checklist, and Cite a source builds the reference when a report cites a style guide. We ran both and quote what came back, including what was set aside.
What is a house style guide?
A house style guide records one organisation's decisions so that every writer makes the same ones. It rarely stands alone. Most sit on top of a larger guide and a dictionary, and only record where the house differs.
GOV.UK says this outright. When a word is missing from its A to Z, writers are told to check the Guardian's style guide, then their own organisation's guide, then other government guides (Government Digital Service, n.d.-b). The University of Oxford names the Oxford English Dictionary as its reference for anything its guide leaves out (University of Oxford, 2026). The Economist's guide opens by noting that every newspaper has its own style book, settling questions such as "e-mail or email" (The Economist, 2018).
Which style guides did we compare, and what could we read?
Each guide below was read at its publisher, and the date is the one it shows.
The AP Stylebook
The Associated Press sells its Stylebook as a print edition, now published every other year, and as AP Stylebook Online, a subscription with the Ask the Editor forum (Associated Press, n.d.-b). The 58th edition was due on 27 May 2026, and that April the AP announced "healthcare" as one word (Bratton, 2026). Most entries are behind the subscription, so our AP rules come only from public pages: the Ask the Editor highlights, which quote entries in full (Associated Press, n.d.-a), the AP Style Blog, and one report that AP's news page links. Where no public page gave a rule, the table says so.
The Economist's style guide
The Economist's live guide refused our reader with a bot check, and we did not get past it. We used two things The Economist itself published: the opening of the twelfth edition (2018), posted as a PDF on its own site, and entries from its online guide in archived copies from 2017. Later archive copies of some of those addresses lead to The Economist's home page or shop instead. The Economist's current rules may differ from these.
The GOV.UK A to Z style guide
The A to Z applies to everything published on GOV.UK, and the Government Digital Service reviews suggested changes once a month (Government Digital Service, n.d.-b). It shows no "last updated" date. Its general writing advice is covered in our guide to plain English at work; this guide takes only its style points.
The Guardian style guide
The Guardian describes its guide as the one its journalists follow, published as one page per letter of the alphabet (The Guardian, n.d.). The page addresses still carry the old Guardian and Observer name. Of the letter pages we used, the newest carried a modified date of 23 September 2026.
The University of Oxford Style Guide
Oxford's guide is for staff writing on the university's behalf, and it says it was not written for public or external use. It was last updated on 18 May 2026, and the Public Affairs Directorate reviews it periodically (University of Oxford, 2026).
How do AP style, The Economist, GOV.UK and the Guardian differ?
The table sets the five guides side by side on twelve points. Each cell comes from that guide's own page; "Not read" means no page we could read gave a rule.
| Point | AP Stylebook | The Economist | GOV.UK | The Guardian | University of Oxford |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serial comma | Left out of most simple series; used if leaving it out would be unclear | None before "and" unless an item contains another "and" | No entry | Not in straightforward lists; used where it helps | None unless needed to prevent ambiguity |
| Numbers one to nine | Words in time measurements, except ages; the full numerals entry is for subscribers | Words for one to ten, figures from 11 | "one" in words; numerals for 2 upwards | Words for one to nine, figures from 10 | No numbers section on its pages; its examples write "3 weeks' time" |
| Percentages | % with a figure, since 2019 | % sign | % with a number | % in copy and headlines | Not read |
| Dates | Feb. 14, 2013, with the year set off by commas | July 5th 2005 | 4 June 2017 | 21 July 2016 | Its examples write 12 October |
| Times | 4 p.m., 3:30 p.m., noon | 11am, 4.30pm | 5:30pm; midnight, not 00:00 | 6.30pm; noon, not 12 noon | Its examples write 8pm and noon |
| Full stops in abbreviations | In most two-letter ones: U.S., U.N. | BBC, NATO; ie, eg | None: BBC, not B.B.C. | None: IMF, Nato, eg | None: DPhil, am, BBC |
| Initials in names | Not read | A.N. Wilson | Not read | AN Wilson | C S Lewis |
| An abbreviation's first use | Spell it out; never the abbreviation in brackets | Full form first, unless very familiar | Full form, then (PIP) | In brackets at first mention, if used again | Full form, then the acronym in brackets |
| -ise or -ize | Merriam-Webster is its official dictionary | -ise, -isation throughout | No entry; its own pages write "organisation" | -ise (exception: capsize) | -ise, unlike Oxford University Press |
| Quotation marks | Not read | Double; single only inside | Double for quotations; single for terms and titles | Double; single inside and in headlines | Single; double inside |
| Job titles | Not read | Capital for a title used as a name, lower case for the office | Specific ones capitalised (Home Secretary); generic ones lower case | All lower case: prime minister | Capital for a named office (Vice-Chancellor) |
| People after first mention | Not read | Mr, Mrs or Miss for the living | Not read | Surname alone, except in leaders | Titles kept: Dr Brown |
Sources: the AP rules are from Associated Press (n.d.-a), Bratton (2025) for the serial comma and Hare (2019) for the % sign; The Economist's from its 2018 edition and 2017 entries (The Economist, n.d.-a to n.d.-f); GOV.UK's from its A to Z (Government Digital Service, n.d.-a); the Guardian's from its letter pages (The Guardian, n.d.; Guardian staff reporter, 2020); Oxford's from its pages on abbreviations, names, punctuation and spelling (University of Oxford, n.d.-a to n.d.-d).
Where they split hardest
Numbers split the most. GOV.UK uses figures even for 2 to 9 and keeps words for "one" and common expressions; The Economist and the Guardian keep small numbers as words, and the AP's full rule is behind its subscription.
Quotation marks split the British guides. Oxford uses single marks, while the Guardian and GOV.UK use double. And the University of Oxford leaves out the Oxford comma; our guide to the Oxford comma debate covers who keeps it.
People split the papers. The Economist gives the living "Mr" or "Mrs" after the first mention; the Guardian uses the bare surname outside its leader columns.
How to create a style guide for a company
Start small: a company style guide needs a base guide, a dictionary and one page of decisions. The steps below are ours, drawn from how the five guides above are built.
- Choose a base guide and a dictionary. Pick whichever of the five is closest to your readers, and say that anything your guide does not cover follows it, as GOV.UK does with the Guardian.
- Decide the twelve points in the table. Write one line for each, with an example.
- Add your own names. Products, teams, job titles and the company's own name, each spelled exactly as it should appear.
- Show right and wrong. Oxford marks every example "DO" or "DON'T", which settles arguments faster than a rule.
- Name an owner and a review. Oxford's guide is reviewed by a working group; GOV.UK reviews suggestions monthly. Give yours a date.
- Say which citation style reports use. A house style does not set a reference format (see below).
- Put house-style points into every brief. When a brief states them, Check your paper lists the brief's other rules beside the sentences they came from and shows which sentences it set aside, so the writer can see both.
Our house style template
This template is ours, written for this guide. The company in it, Brightwell Supplies, is invented.
Brightwell Supplies house style (invented example)
- Base guide: the Guardian style guide. Dictionary: Collins.
- Spelling: British, -ise (organise, prioritise).
- Serial comma: only to prevent ambiguity.
- Numbers: one to nine in words, 10 and above in figures; always figures with % and money.
- Dates: 4 June 2026. Times: 9am, 5.30pm.
- Abbreviations: spelled out at first use, then initials; no full stops.
- Quotation marks: double, single inside.
- Job titles: lower case (sales director), except in signatures.
- Our name: Brightwell Supplies at first mention, then Brightwell; never BWS.
- References: Harvard (Cite Them Right).
- Owner: communications team. Next review: March 2027.
House style or citation style: which one governs the references?
The citation style governs the reference list; the house style governs the sentences around it. None of the five guides above sets out a full reference format. Oxford's comes closest, with short rules on page references such as "p21" and on "ibid" (University of Oxford, n.d.-a), which is not a reference style.
So a report that cites evidence names a citation style as well. EdCitation's Cite a source builds references in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 (author-date), Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver, and no others. When the two clash, keep the citation style inside the list: an APA 7 entry keeps APA's capitals and italics even if your house style would set a title in single quotes. Our guides to APA 7 paper format and Harvard referencing give each style's rules from its publisher.
Where does EdCitation help with house style?
EdCitation helps with the brief and the references, never with the prose. For reading a brief, Check your paper is, in our view, the best tool for the job: it shows each rule beside the exact sentence it came from and lists the sentences it set aside, as the run below shows. It is free, with no account.
What Check your paper returned for our house-style brief
We wrote a 114-word brief, ours and invented, for a quarterly operations report. It set a house style in one sentence: -ise spellings, no comma before "and" in a simple list, dates written "4 June 2026", and one to nine in words.
Check your paper returned eleven rules, each with its sentence: Arial; 11 pt; single line spacing; margins 0.98 in (our 2.5 cm, converted); 800 to 1,000 words; at least 3 sources; "2020 or later"; Harvard; a reference list; "Word limit · Summary", at most 150 words; and "Required headings", read from "Use the headings Summary, Findings and Next steps, in that order." Two sentences were set aside as not checked, word for word:
Follow the company house style: British spelling with -ise endings (organise, not organize), no comma before "and" in a simple list, dates written as 4 June 2026, and numbers from one to nine in words.
Send the report to your manager by Friday 16 October.
Setting the first aside is right: house-style points are for a human reader to check.
One thing is worth knowing. The headings came back as two, "Summary" and "Findings and Next steps", since a list without a comma before its last "and" can join the last two into one heading, as "Discussion and Conclusion" often is. Write "Summary, Findings, and Next steps" or "Required headings: Summary, Findings, Next steps." and all three come back. Read the checklist against the brief before relying on it.
Citing a style guide with Cite a source
Given the GOV.UK A to Z's address, Cite a source returned:
A to Z style guide. (n.d.). GOV.UK content and publishing guidance. Retrieved September 27, 2026, from https://guidance.publishing.service.gov.uk/writing-to-gov-uk-standards/style-guides/a-to-z-style-guide/
The page names no author; add the Government Digital Service, as our list does. Given the Guardian's "O" page, it returned:
Guardian staff reporter. (2020, December 23). Guardian style guide: O. https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-style-guide-o
That date is the one the page displays, although the same page says it was first published in April 2025. Add the site name, The Guardian, after the title.
With Pro at $8 a month (pricing), Mechanics QA checks a file's formatting and language slips; Theoretics QA, in Max at $24 a month, judges a paper against its own instructions. For the writing itself, see professional email writing and how to write a press release.
Quick questions
What is AP style?
AP style is the Associated Press's house style, set out in the AP Stylebook, which is sold in print and by subscription. The AP also sells courses on using it for press releases and corporate writing.
Does The Economist use the Oxford comma?
Not usually. Its guide, as archived in 2017, leaves out the comma before "and" unless one item in the list contains another "and".
Can any organisation use the GOV.UK style guide?
Anyone can read it on GOV.UK, and it is written for content published there. For words it does not cover, it sends its own writers to the Guardian's guide.
What should a company style guide include?
A base guide and dictionary, one line each on about a dozen points (commas, numbers, dates, times, abbreviations, spelling, quotation marks, titles), your own names, a citation style and an owner.
Can EdCitation check my document against our house style?
No. Check your paper reads a brief into a checklist and sets house-style sentences aside as not checked. EdCitation never writes or edits a document.
References
- Associated Press. (n.d.-a). Ask the Editor: Highlights. AP Stylebook. https://www.apstylebook.com/ask_the_editors/style_guidance
- Associated Press. (n.d.-b). AP Stylebook. https://www.apstylebook.com/
- Bratton, A. J. (2025, August 27). The em dash: A valid punctuation mark – or artificial intelligence easy tell? AP Style Blog. https://www.apstylebook.com/blog_posts/24
- Bratton, A. J. (2026, April 27). ACES blog entry. AP Style Blog. https://www.apstylebook.com/blog_posts/26
- The Economist. (n.d.-a). Commas. Style guide. Archived September 23, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170923130025/http://www.economist.com/style-guide/commas
- The Economist. (n.d.-b). Dates. Style guide. Archived May 28, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170528152350/http://www.economist.com/style-guide/dates
- The Economist. (n.d.-c). Figures. Style guide. Archived October 16, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171016075817/http://www.economist.com/style-guide/figures
- The Economist. (n.d.-d). Inverted commas (quotation marks). Style guide. Archived May 20, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170520062923/http://www.economist.com/style-guide/inverted-commas-quotation-marks
- The Economist. (n.d.-e). Spellings. Style guide. Archived June 1, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170601232130/http://www.economist.com/style-guide/spellings
- The Economist. (n.d.-f). Titles. Style guide. Archived September 3, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170903225137/http://www.economist.com/style-guide/titles
- The Economist. (2018). Style guide (12th ed., opening pages) [PDF]. Profile Books. https://cdn.static-economist.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/style_guide_12.pdf
- Government Digital Service. (n.d.-a). A to Z style guide. GOV.UK content and publishing guidance. https://guidance.publishing.service.gov.uk/writing-to-gov-uk-standards/style-guides/a-to-z-style-guide/
- Government Digital Service. (n.d.-b). How to use the style guide. GOV.UK content and publishing guidance. https://guidance.publishing.service.gov.uk/writing-to-gov-uk-standards/style-guides/how-to-use/
- The Guardian. (n.d.). The Guardian style guide. https://www.theguardian.com/info/series/the-guardian-style-guide
- Guardian staff reporter. (2020, December 23). Guardian style guide: O. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-style-guide-o
- Hare, K. (2019, March 29). AP says the percentage sign now OK when used with a numeral (that's shift+5). Poynter. https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2019/ap-says-the-percentage-sign-now-ok-when-used-with-a-numeral-thats-shift5/
- University of Oxford. (n.d.-a). Abbreviations, contractions and acronyms. University style guide. https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/the-university/brand/style-guide/abbreviations
- University of Oxford. (n.d.-b). Names and titles. University style guide. https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/the-university/brand/style-guide/names-titles
- University of Oxford. (n.d.-c). Punctuation. University style guide. https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/the-university/brand/style-guide/punctuation
- University of Oxford. (n.d.-d). Word usage and spelling. University style guide. https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/the-university/brand/style-guide/words
- University of Oxford. (2026, May 18). University style guide. https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/the-university/brand/style-guide