Writing
Style guide
On page 4, Math:
Variables are set in italic; vectors and matrices are usually boldface italic.
Remove commas around variables in text.
Always add a zero before decimals, but do not add after (e.g., 0.25).
Spell out units in text without quantities (e.g., where the noise is given in decibels).
Numbers and units used as compound adjectives should be hyphenated only if needed for clarity (e.g., 10-kV voltage; 5-in-thick glass).
Use thin spaces (instead of a comma) between numbers in tens or hundreds of thousands (e.g., 60 000, 100 000, but 4000).
Use zeroth, first, nth, (k+1)th, not 0th, 1st, 2nd, 99th, nth , (k + 1)st.
Use the word “equation” at the start of a sentence only, but in text just use the number [e.g., in (1)], unless describing an equation, e.g., see “Darlington equation (1).”
The slash is used in place of the word “per” when it leads to the clarity of the sentence (e.g., the ratio of 16 samples/s to 35 samples/s as compared to…).
Use “indices” instead of “indexes” when referring to subscripts.
Plural variables have an “’s”.
On page 3, Footnote:
Footnotes should be numbered in consecutive order throughout the text. The footnote numbers are superscripts in text and in the actual footnotes. In text, place the superscript footnote numbers after the punctuation such as periods, commas, and parentheses, but before colons, dashes, quotation marks, and semicolons in a compound sentence. The footnotes should be placed at the bottom of the text column in which they are cited.
Common mistakes to avoid
Comma after 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'
The Chicago Manual of Style states that i.e. and e.g. should be “confined to parentheses and notes and followed by a comma.”
The AP Stylebook, whose “punctuation-pitch” leans generally to the side of “the fewer commas the better,” is pro-comma when it comes to i.e. and e.g. According to AP, both abbreviations are “always followed by a comma.”