IT Communication Assignment: Documentation Conventions

Identify the four most widely accepted style conventions for professional paper documentation. What purpose does each of these conventions serve, and which is most appropriate for technical writing? Explain why.

There are primarily four accepted style conventions for professional paper documentation. The four main style conventions are the American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA), various Number styles, and Chicago Style.

APA formatting is used in most academic writing and is the most preferred writing documentation style. One of the main stipulations of APA formatting is the use of the author / date system; this is a method of organizing citations in a paper making everything uniform. APA is used for social sciences, biological and earth sciences, education, linguistics, and most importantly, in business.

MLA is a format that is used primarily in writing in the humanities, especially literature and language. MLA is typically simpler and more economical than other documentation conventions.

There are numerous different sub-categories of the number system of citation including the American Mathematical Society (AMS), the Council of Biology Editors (CBE), the American Chemical Society (ACS), and finally the American Institute of Physics (AIP). As the title of each organization suggests, these documentation conventions are all involved with math and the sciences with each writing format being curtailed to the specifics of that organization.

Finally, the Chicago style of formatting is a variant of the APA format and is used primarily for the humanities and fine arts.

The style that is the most appropriate for technical writing would be APA format. While this style is used for education, it is also used for many sciences (both physical and social), languages, and is widely accepted in the business sector – where the majority of technical writing occurs.