Welcome to this last reflection in the mini-series on the basic elements of an index! Over the last three months I’ve discussed entries and arrays, main headings and subheadings, locators, cross-references, and format. Today I look at sorting. Sorting and format are like twins. They both have to do with… Read More »Sorting: Putting Entries in Order
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been exploring the components of an array—main headings and subheadings, locators, and cross-references. It’s time to now look at how these are all held together. Formatting the index, by which I mean either run-in or indented format, along with punctuation, has to do with… Read More »Format: Pulling the Index Together
Welcome back to the mini-series on the basic elements of an index! I previously discussed entries and arrays, main headings and subheadings, and locators. Today I am writing about cross-references. Cross-references are a type of locator, but instead of directing readers to the text, cross-references redirect readers to a location… Read More »Signposts within the Index
My original plan for today was to write about indexing Oxford University Press (OUP) titles, of which I recently indexed two. I will still reflect on OUP, but as I was writing this, I realized that my main issue with OUP’s system is its impact on cognitive load. So partway… Read More »Cognitive Load and Indexing Oxford UP Titles
Welcome back to this mini-series on the basic elements of an index. I’m currently looking at what makes up an entry, which I described as “what this thing is + where to find it.” In my previous post I discussed main headings and subheadings, which form the first part of… Read More »Pointing Readers in the Right Direction
In my last post I wrote about entries and arrays, which I described as the building blocks of an index. I defined an entry as “what this thing is + where to find it.” Today I’m going to expand on “what this thing is,” also known as main headings and… Read More »Telling Readers What This Thing Is
An index is a document that is scanned to find information. It usually spans several pages. But if you had to break an index down into its smallest part, what would that be? An index is not like most books or documents in that it does not contain a narrative.… Read More »The Building Blocks of an Index
Happy New Year! How is this first full week of 2025 shaping up for you? I am having a slow start. I enjoyed unplugging from email and work for two weeks. I’m also recovering from a cold. December was crazy busy, wrapping up nine indexes, which included a children’s book,… Read More »Goodbye 2024, Hello 2025
So the 18th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style dropped in September. I have to admit I have not bought a copy. While I think their recommendations are solid, I find I don’t use it very much, since I only index and not edit. But I do know some… Read More »Making the Index Invisible
I am writing today about some decisions that I needed to make on a recent index. In the grand scheme of the index, these decisions only affected a few entries. I am tempted to brush these off as not very important and not worth discussing. Yet much of indexing is… Read More »Paying Attention to Terminology