A NOTE ON THE STYLE SHEET BY S. MARIELLE FRIGGE As noted in the editor’s Foreword, this year’s edition of 4 P.M. Count includes the Style Sheet for the Creative Writing class in use for the last decade here at Federal Prison Camp Yankton. I have been copy editing this journal since its inception, and after a year or two began to believe that many of the men in the Creative Writing class could benefit from having written guidance on use of Standard English at hand. As anyone might imagine, many of these students have little or ineffective educational backgrounds. On the other hand, as I often emphasize, upon their release, these men will be job hunting, which will require writing applications, cover letters, and the like. Besides this practical reason, ability to use written Standard English can help students to communicate clearly and effectively in their creative writing efforts at present. The Style Sheet is certainly not exhaustive. I was guided by what I was reading, that is, I included elements of style that were most often misused or that caused confusion for some students. Throughout the class and in the Style Sheet, I emphasize two things necessary for both good writing and for daily life: an ability to communicate clearly, and consistency. In some cases, more than one rendering might be considered acceptable Standard English; in such instances, I designated one usage for the sake of consistency. Because more prisons at various levels across the country have begun or are considering writing classes, the FPC Yankton Style Sheet appears in this issue of 4 P.M. Count as a possible aid for such endeavors. In addition, it might help current students who are still in lockdown due to Covid-19 and unable to conduct in-person classes.
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