A style guide, or style manual, is a set of standards for the writing and design of documents, either for general use or for a specific publication, organization or field. The implementation of a style guide provides uniformity in style and formatting within a document and across multiple documents. A set of standards for a specific organization is often known as "house style". Style guides are common for general and specialized use, for the general reading and writing audience, and for students and scholars of various academic disciplines, medicine, journalism, the law, government, business, and industry.

Several basic style guides for technical and scientific communication have been defined by international standards organizations. These are often used as elements of and refined in more specialized style guides that are specific to a subject, region, or organization. Some examples are:

Other style guides that cover international usage:

• The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, by Cambridge University Press
• The Global English Style Guide, by SAS Institute

• The Canadian Style: A Guide to Writing and Editing: by Dundurn Press in co-operation with Public Works and the Government Services Canada Translation Bureau. ISBN 1550022768.

• Council of Europe - English Style Guide, by the Council of Europe^[2]
• English Style Guide ("A handbook for authors and translators in the European Commission" – executive branch of the European Union.)^[3]
• Interinstitutional Style Guide.^[4]

In the United Kingdom, major publications, academic institutions and companies have their own style guides, otherwise they would normally rely on New Hart's Rules available in the New Oxford Style Manual.

In the United States, most journalistic forms of mass communication rely on styles provided in the Associated Press Stylebook (AP). Corporate publications typically follow either the AP style guide or the equally respected Chicago Manual of Style, often with entries that are additions or exceptions to the chosen style guide.

A classic grammar style guide is The Elements of Style. Together, these two books are referenced more than any other general style book for US third-person writing used across most professions.^{[citation needed]}

• ACS Style Guide—for scientific papers published in journals of the American Chemical Society.
• American Medical Association Manual of Style—for medical papers published in journals of the American Medical Association.
• American Psychological Association Style Guide—for the behavioral and social sciences; published by the American Psychological Association.
• American Sociological Association Style Guide—for the social sciences; published by the American Sociological Association.
• The Chicago Manual of Style. The standard of the academic publishing industry including many journal publications.
• Geoscience Reporting Guidelines—for geoscience reports in industry, academia and other disciplines.^[30]
• Handbook of Technical Writing, by Gerald J. Alred, Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter E. Oliu.—for general technical writing.
• IEEE style—used in many technical research papers, especially those relating to computer science.
• The Little Style Guide by Leonard G. Goss and Carolyn Stanford Goss—provides a distinctively religious examination of style and language for writers and editors in religion, philosophy of religion, and theology—ISBN 9780805427875.
• A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (frequently called "Turabian style")—Published by Kate L. Turabian, the graduate school dissertation secretary at the University of Chicago from 1930 to 1958. The school required her approval for every master's thesis and doctoral dissertation. Her stylistic rules closely follow The Chicago Manual of Style, although there are some differences.
• MHRA Style Guide—for the arts and humanities; published by the Modern Humanities Research Association. Available as a free download (see article).
• MLA Style Manual, and the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers—for subjects in the arts and the humanities; published by the Modern Language Association of America (MLA).
• Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers—for scientific papers published by the Council of Science Editors (CSE), a group formerly known as the Council of Biology Editors (CBE).^[31]
• SBL Handbook of Style—Society of Biblical Literature style manual specifically for the field of ancient Near Eastern, biblical, and early Christian studies. The SBL Handbook of Style includes a recommended standard format for abbreviation of Primary Sources in Ancient Near Eastern, biblical, and early Christian Studies.
• The Style Manual for Political Science—used by many American political science journals; published by the American Political Science Association.

• Conscious Style Guide^[32] -- A website "devoted to conscious language. My mission is to help writers and editors think critically about using language—including words, portrayals, framing, and representation—to empower instead of limit." Created by author and Robinson Prize winner Karen Yin.
• GLAAD Media Reference Guide, 8th ed., GLAAD College Media Reference Guide, 1st ed., GLAAD Chinese Media Reference Guide, 1st ed. - published by GLAAD to encourage media outlets to use language and practices inclusive of LGBT people. Available as a free download.^[33]

• Association of Art Editors Style Guide^[34]