Ten Tips for Success

1. Make friends with The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual and visit it often.
   


2. If something in The BCG Application Guide isn’t clear, "ask somebody" as the Toyota ads say.
   


3. Follow the rules of standard English (Standard 35 in The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual). A mentor can be very helpful here.
   


4. Transcribe documents precisely, paying attention to spelling, punctuation, even initial capital letters. See Standard 11 in The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual.
   


5. There are standard formats for source citations. Read Standards 8 and 36 in The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual, and take time to sharpen the saw!
   


6. Proof summaries make interesting reading. Don’t forget them! See pp. 16-17 of The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual.
   


7. Biographical detail in the Kinship-Determination Project is essential! There’s more to a human life than just birth, marriage, and death.
   


8. If you generate a genealogical "Report" from a database program, move it into word-processing to edit and revise it. Appendixes F and G of The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual and the BCG website provide
   examples. See Standard 52.
   


9. Proofread, proofread, proofread!!! Yes, at least three times!
   


10. Keep basic reference works handy: a dictionary, The Chicago Manual of Style, Evidence!, The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual, and Numbering Your Genealogy: Basic Systems, Complex Families, and International Kin, and use them.