2. 2
Introduction
THE PURPOSE OF this style guide is three-fold. It is accordingly divided into
three sections.
The first intention is to bring about a measure of uniformity and consistency
across all forms of writing. Whenever or wherever the English language
legitimately allows for variants in spelling, grammar and punctuation, in the
use of capitals, hyphens, abbreviations and so forth, the style guide has made
a conscious choice.
These choices have been dictated chiefly by tradition. The guide merely
codifies stylistic norms that are already are in force in newspapers or other
media platforms, though they may not have been written down before.
In a few areas where no choice had been made so far among existing
alternatives, this guide has plumped for one. The choices made must
henceforth be followed rigorously while writing, editing drafts for press kits,
briefing books, messaging documents, bylines, research papers and other
content for The PRactice and our clients.
The first section is thus called ‘Stylistic Choices’.
The second intention of the guide is to ensure that whenever or wherever the
English language has clearly laid down rules — rules of spelling, syntax and
punctuation — these are strictly followed.
In a permissive, fast-paced age, when people have little time for - or
inclination to obey - rules of any kind, particularly those relating to the
niceties of language, in an age when abbreviated text-messaging is becoming
more and more the norm of written communication, our style book has
chosen to remain reasonably conservative.
The second section will thus provide the correct spelling of words that are
often wrongly spelt, will point to – and correct – common errors in
grammatical usage and punctuation.
3. 3
The second section is thus called ‘Correct Usage’.
The third intention is to provide some guidelines by following which the
quality of prose can be maintained at a consistently high level.
Even perfectly correct English may not always make for good writing. But
contrary to the rules set down in the first two sections, these guidelines are
not absolute.
They are merely helpful hints towards good writing that can always be
ignored in the interests of even better writing.
The third section is called ‘Better Writing’.
Finally all rules are temporal, subject to change or even abolition as
circumstances change.
Our goal is to regularly update this document to make sure that it is in step
with the times.
4. 4
Part One: Stylistic Choices
A.
Abbreviations
By and large the full form of every common – and certainly every
uncommon – abbreviation should be used the first time it appears in the
body copy. If it appears more than once the abbreviation should follow the
full form within brackets at first usage. Thereafter only the abbreviation
need be employed.
Exceptions can be made, with the abbreviation used even at first mention, in
the case of those entities whose abbreviations are more familiar to readers
than their full forms, especially if the full forms are inordinately long. If the
full form comprises just one or two words, there need be no exception. For
instance, body copy should always use ‗the United States‘ or ‗the United
Kingdom‘, the first time these countries are referred to, not ‗the US‘ and ‗the
UK‘.
Full stops are not to be used between the letters, or at the end of,
abbreviations and acronyms. It is PMO and not P.M.O. (Prime Minister‘s
Office), US Embassy, not U.S. Embassy, UFO and not U.F.O. (unidentified
flying object). They are, however, always used after the initials in a proper
name: P. Chidambaram, V. S. Naipaul.
List of exceptions (not exhaustive):
1. Entities better known by their abbreviations than their full forms, provided
they consist of more than two words: (For example: HIV, BBC, CIA, DVD,
NGO, MP, MLA, MLC, km, kg, etc) They can be in capitals or lower case
depending on general usage.
2. National political parties – the BJP, the BSP, the CPI, the CPM; the four
well known regional parties of Tamil Nadu – the DMK, the AIADMK, the
PMK, the MDMK. All other regional parties, even if they are well known –
from the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, to the Telegu Desam Party in
Andhra to the Indian Union Muslim League in Kerala – should be spelt out
in full at first use.
5. 5
Political parties of other countries should always be spelt out at first mention
in the copy, even if they are well known in India (For example: Pakistan
People‘s Party – PPP).
Other points to remember:
The name of a private company, public sector undertaking or any other
organisation should be spelt out at first reference, even if it is very well
known (Advanced Micro Devices, not AMD; Tata Iron and Steel Co, not
TISCO; Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd, not BHEL; Confederation of Indian
Industry; not CII, at first use.) Terms like ‗company‘ (Co), ‗limited‘ (Ltd),
‗public limited company‘ (‗Plc‘) ‗incorporated‘ (Inc) can be used in their
abbreviated forms when they appear at the end of the proper name of an
organisation ( as in the brackets above), but should always be spelt out in
full when they appear all by themselves (For example: ‗X‘ is a public limited
company).
Ranks, designations, positions of any kind, whether civil or military should
be spelt out at first reference and abbreviated thereafter. (For example:
Major-General (Maj Gen), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Chief
Executive Officer (CEO))
Latin abbreviations – eg, ie, op cit, - should never be used, either in body
copy or in the headline.
Abbreviations, if they are well known, may be used in headlines, but they
should be kept to a minimum. Months of the year can be abbreviated in
headlines, but never in body copy. More than one abbreviation in a single
headline is not permitted.
Acronyms
An acronym is an abbreviation which can – and usually is – be pronounced
as a word by itself (For example: Aids, AIIMS, Nato, Noida, Radar, Unesco)
and everything said about abbreviations applies to acronyms as well. If the
acronym is better known than the full form – as in the case of all the six
instances above, the acronym alone can be used. There is only one
difference: our style, unlike with many abbreviations where all the
individual letters are in capitals, with acronyms only the first letter is
capitalised. (Asean, not ASEAN; Unicef, not UNICEF)
6. 6
Age
A person‘s age can be recorded in two ways: ‗Ram Singh, 38‘, or ‗25-year-
old Asha Rani‘. But ‗Rahul Gandhi, aged 34‘, or ‗52 year old Tony Blair‘
(without the hyphens) is not allowed. All other forms of recording age,
specially ‗Thirty something‘, ‗Fortyish‘ etc, are banned.
Ampersand
The ampersand ‗&‘, is not suggested either in a headline or in the body
copy, unless it is part of a proper name (eg Proctor & Gamble, Larsen &
Toubro). The permitted form is ‗and‘.
B.
Banned words
Certain overused or excessively colloquial words have been banned from
usage. The list includes: basically, boss, quip (as a verb), flay, slam (in the
sense of ‗criticize‘), doc, mum (for silent) dubbed (for called), fin min (for
finance minister), nab (for arrested, held), Mush (for Musharraf), Prez (for
president), Dubya (for George W. Bush), and Japs (for Japanese), among
others.
C.
Capitals
The first letter of all proper names should obviously be capitalised. This
applies to proper names of people as well as places (including mountains,
rivers, oceans, continents as well as manmade structures from bridges to
theme parks) corporates, institutions, and organisations of all kinds,
including political parties (eg., Amartya Sen, Mumbai, Mount Everest, the
river Yamuna, the Indian Ocean, the Hooghly Bridge, Disneyland, Infosys
Technologies Ltd, the Reserve Bank of India, the Congress, the Lok Sabha,
the Narmada Bachao Andolan, the Khemka Foundation etc, etc). Agencies,
commissions, acts of Parliament should all have the first letters of their
names in capital letter.
7. 7
Months of the year, days of the week, should naturally start with a capital
letter.
Religions, religious festivals, ideologies (political and otherwise), followers
of those ideologies, indeed all labels which stem from a proper noun, should
start with a capital letter (Hinduism, Diwali, Marxism, Maoist, Gandhian,
etc). The same applies to major historical events (the Quit India Movement,
the Partition, and the Emergency, among others)
Ranks, positions, designations should always have their first letters in
capitals, barring the articles, prepositions and conjunctions they may
contain, which should be in lower case (the Prime Minister, the Minister of
State for Heavy Industries, the Chairman and Managing Director).
However, a distinction should be made between a designation and a job
description; the latter should be entirely in lower case. (Thus: ‗The editor of
the newspaper XYZ, but the newspaper Editor XYZ)
Points on a compass, when they are part of the name of any area or a
country, should start with a capital letter (North Korea; East Delhi).
All words deriving from a proper noun should have their first letter in
capitals (Teflon, Xerox, Alsatian, Champagne, etc).
In matters relating to the Internet, the worldwide trend is to use lower case
uniformly, which the stylebook follows. Thus it is ‗e-mail‘, ‗e-commerce‘,
dotcom, laptop, world wide web, etc, except if any of these words occur at
the start of a sentence.
Overall, the trend worldwide has been to reduce the use of capital letters.
Most newspapers/magazines today use fewer capitals than they did 20 years
ago, certainly less than they did 50 years back. (Some internet companies
and many email users seem keen to dispense with capitals altogether.)
However, there is no need to always follow the herd. At The PRactice, the
rule of thumb is: when in doubt, use the capital letter, not the lower case.
In headlines, only the first letter of the first word is in caps, unless any of the
other words fall in the categories referred to above.
8. 8
Captions
Every photograph, unless it is part of an infographic, should have a caption.
Even when photos of extremely well known people are used, they should be
accompanied by captions giving their names. If space is available, the
context of the photo should also be stated – when and where it was taken (if
it is a recent one). If an old photo is being used, the words ‗file photo‘ will
suffice. This is particularly relevant when we put together our post event
documents or even when we put together bio profiles of spokespersons.
If a bigger photograph is being used, and there is space for a long caption,
the caption should say more than whatever is obvious from merely looking
at the photograph. Within the constraints of the space available, captions
should try and go beyond the photograph, explain what readers cannot see in
the picture.
As with headlines, abbreviations may be used in captions if space is limited.
Charts and Tables
Whenever they are used, care should be taken to ensure they are perfectly
comprehensible to the reader without him/her having to go through the story
the charts or tables accompany. Charts and tables should always have
headings that make clear what they are all about.
Colloquialisms and Slang
Colloquialisms are not permitted. (Examples: ‗kids‘, ‗trendy‘, ‗pricey‘
‗cool‘, etc) Exceptions should be made, however, for the lighter content
meant for supplements or specific lighter, anchorish pieces or bylines.
Note: Slang should be avoided even in the lighter sections.
Crowd estimate
As every writer who has covered a public meeting or a protest march knows,
crowd estimates are extremely difficult to make with any degree of
accuracy. It is best to ask – but organisers will invariably exaggerate.
Policemen providing security are a better bet for honest figures. In any case,
it is always better to quote the source while providing a crowd figure.
9. 9
Currency
The first time a sum of money is referred to in foreign currency in any story;
its rupee equivalent must be mentioned in brackets. The commonest
currencies that occur in copy are the US dollar, the British pound and the
European Union‘s Euro, the rough and ready exchange rate for these
presently being: $ 1 = Rs 45, 1 pound = Rs 69, 1 euro = Rs 61. Thereafter, if
more sums of money in the same currency are referred to, no converted
rupee value need be given. But if a different currency is mentioned, a
one-time rupee equivalent must be given.
The ‗$‘ sign refers to the US dollar. If dollars of any other country are
referred to (Australian, Canadian, Singaporean, etc) the appropriate symbol
is A$, C$, S$ etc respectively.
D.
Dates
To avoid confusion, all dates must be set down in the order of Month, Day
and Year, with the month spelt out, and a comma after the day if the year is
mentioned as well. The form is January 16, 2007. The PRactice does not use
January 16th, 2007, or 1/16/2007. Thus the fateful day when the Twin
Towers in New York were brought down must always be referred to as
‗September 11‘. Exceptions to this rule may be made as in 9/11 in a
headline.
Also note: In this example, most Indians would understand by 9/11 as ‗the
ninth of November‘.
Months may be mentioned in their abbreviated form in headlines, never in
body copy.
Dateline
The dateline, giving the spot being reported from, followed by the date,
should be in Roman, just below the byline and above the start of the body
copy. This is another design template and can be altered / tweaked
10. 10
Dateline integrity is essential for news credibility. It is also a guarantee that
the story or byline of the author which appears just above, was at the
specified place on the date given, or in many cases a record of a particular
transaction, announcement or event on a particular day.
Designations, Positions held, Titles
If a designation is short, comprising one or two words, it can precede the
name of the person who holds it. Thus it is Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh, Defence Minister A. K. Anthony, Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental,
etc. But if the designation comprises more than two words, or even needs to
be elaborated upon, it should always come after the name. Examples:
Renuka Chowdhury, Minister for Woman and Child Development, Deepak
Pental, Vice Chancellor of Delhi University, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman
and Managing Director of Reliance Industries. If a short form is used – PM,
SSP, CEO, etc – it can precede the name, except for ‗MP‘ and ‗MLA/MLC‘,
which always goes after the name.
The first letter of every important word in a designation or position should
be in capitals. For example, Lord Meghnad Desai, Commerce Minister
Kamal Nath, and so on.
H.
Headlines
Headlines are read more than anything else in a news copy, press release or
bylined article. Obviously as much care as possible (given the inevitable
time constraint!) should be lavished on them.
Most important: a headline should faithfully reflect the content of the body
copy. Smart, pithy headlines are certainly welcome, but not at the cost of
accuracy.
Above all, responsible headlines ensure we never exaggerate or
sensationalize and boost credibility. In the matter of the death tolls in
particular, following a natural disaster, accident, riot or a huge business
deal/transaction or market movement and such similar examples, it is better
to err on the side of caution.
11. 11
Clichés and worn out catchphrases in headlines should be avoided at all
costs.
In two-tier or three-tier headlines, appropriate words should be used so that
very little white space (or none) is left over in each line.
Hindi (Indian) Words
The use of Hindi words – and those from other Indian languages – without
putting them in italics, or providing a glossary, has grown increasingly
prevalent in Indian writing of late, especially the writings of successful
Indian-English novelists. At The PRactice, however, the rule is: only those
Hindi words are permissible which have no exact equivalent in English.
There are many such. To list some at random: names of flowers, trees,
animals, birds peculiar to India; names of culinary dishes, items of clothing,
religious rituals, religious figures, religious expressions, festivals, wedding
rituals, which originated in, or belong to India alone; names of castes, tribes
and ethnic communities, of art forms, musical instruments and musical
forms, market jargon/lingo peculiar to Dalal St etc, etc. Kinship terms are
another vast area – English has very few of them.
If the word used is part of everyday ‗Hinglish‘ speech, it can be put in
without italics or explanation. If it is not, italics should be employed and the
word‘s meaning explained in brackets.
When there does exist an exact English equivalent to the Hindi word, it
should always be preferred. ‗Maternal uncle‘ should prevail over ‗mama‘.
The use of Hindi words merely to convey the ambience or flavour of the
scene being reported on is not encouraged. If at all they are used – while
reporting direct speech, for instance – they should be in italics, and their
English meaning should be provided in brackets. ‗Stardust-lingo‘ is an
absolute no-no.
For headlines and straplines, the above rules can be relaxed a bit, especially
if this results in creative word play.
12. 12
Hyphens
There are no fixed rules to decide which words should be hyphenated and
which should not. It is best to consult a standard dictionary. In any case,
present day writing allows much flexibility and choice in the matter of
hyphens – there are writers who simply turn the hyphenated word into one
word (or two!) and have dispensed with the hyphen altogether (and their
writing is none the worse for it).
A few broad guidelines on hyphens are given below, but there are exceptions
to each rule, nor are the guidelines exhaustive.
1. Words beginning with the following usually use a hyphen: agri, anti,
counter, extra, half, inter, mid, multi, non, post, pre, semi, ultra. (But then
there is ‗agriculture‘, ‗antiseptic‘ etc – without hyphens!)
2. Certain titles: Field-Marshal, Secretary-General, Vice-President.
3. Adjectives comprising two or more words: 30-year-old businessman, left-
wing propaganda, value-added tax.
4. Words in which two identical letters occur one after the other and need to
be kept separate: book-keeping, co-operate, pre-empt, etc (But what about
overrule, withhold?)
5. Three words which go together: mother-in-law, commander-in-chief.
6. Nouns formed by prepositional verbs: buy-out, stand-off
Hyphens are a very confusing area of the English language, where rules are
constantly changing too. ―If you take hyphens seriously, you will surely go
mad,‖ says the Oxford University Press style manual. The bottom line
(bottom-line?) at the newspaper is that no heads will roll if hyphens are
found missing, or even if one has been used where it should not have been.
13. 13
I.
Impartiality
Innuendoes have no place in The PRactice stylebook. If a charge cannot be
made outright, it should not be made at all.
Indianisms
Some of the uniquely Indian usages of the English language are finding their
way into dictionaries and scholarly dissertations, but the newspaper would
still prefer to maintain its distance from them. Expressions like ‗prepone‘,
‗pin drop silence‘, ‗serious‘ (for seriously ill), ‗wheatish complexion‘ (there
are many dozens more) still do not look respectable in print, and should be
avoided.
So too the last remnants of archaic, colonial-era English – which the British
themselves have long discarded – persist in India and Indian journalism,
though less so than in the past. Care should be taken to see that words like
‗miscreants‘, ‗eve teasing‘, ‗concubine‘ and so on, never find place in The
PRactice content.
Italics
All words from languages other than English should be in italics, except – as
noted earlier – Hindi words which have no English counterpart, and are also
easily understood by the majority of people. Words originally from foreign
languages, but now entirely Anglicised – restaurant, rendezvous, bourgeois,
and so forth – should obviously not be italicised.
Technical and scientific names, of trees or viruses or whatever, usually come
from Latin and should be in italics. So too should other Latin expressions
often used in English like Homo sapiens and E. coli.
All names of newspapers and magazines should be in italics. For a
newspaper, generally, a definite article should precede its name, which
however, should be in plain roman script (without italics).
Thus: the Indian Express, the Times of India, the Hindustan Times etc, etc.
For magazines and other publications, however, the definite article is
14. 14
dropped, unless it is part of the periodical‘s name, when it too should be in
italics. Thus: India Today, Outlook, The Week.
All names of books, pamphlets, films, radio and television channels, radio
and television programmes and shows, should be italicised.
N.
Names and titles
The PRactice sets down a person‘s full name at first reference in a story, and
thereafter use the surname. The surname alone must be used, and not the
first name, except if – as is often the case with people from the world of
entertainment – the first name is more familiar to readers. (Thus it is
‗Hrithik‘ for Hrithik Roshan, ‗Aishwarya‘ for Aishwarya Rai.) Even alleged
or convicted criminals – Dawood Ibrahim, Moninder Singh Pandher, and
Manu Sharma – should be referred to by their surnames after first mention,
not their first names.
An exception, however, has to be made in stories about people from the
same family (say a piece on Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka
Gandhi) when first names may be used to distinguish between them. If two
or more people in a story merely share the same surname – say, Manmohan
Singh and Arjun Singh, or Aamir, Shakhrukh, Salman and Saif Ali Khan –
the entire name must be used each time, first name alone will not do.
In the case of headlines, exceptions can be made, especially when referring
to movie or television stars (‗Abhi-Ash‘ and so forth).
As for titles, courtesy titles like Mr, Mrs, Ms, Prof, etc are used either at first
reference to an individual and not at any point thereafter. The only
exceptions are medical doctors whose names should be prefixed with Dr.
(Ph. D. holders are not entitled to this privilege.)
Numerals
Numerals from one to nine must be written out in words; 10 and above, in
figures. If a sentence begins with a numeral, the latter has to be spelt out in
words, no matter how large it is. If a number has a decimal point, it should
always be represented in figures, even if it less than nine (Example: 6.8) If
15. 15
the number is less than one, the decimal point should have ‗zero‘ before it
(Example: 0.89).
When setting down percentages or ratios, whole numbers below 10 can also
be written in numerals: ‗6 per cent‘, not ‗six per cent‘, ‗3:5‘, not ‗three is to
five‘.
In our content, ‗lakh‘ and ‗crore‘ when preceded by a numeral, do not take
the plural form, the same way ‗thousand‘ or ‗million‘ do not. (It should
always be 20 lakh, not 20 lakhs.) However, when there is no specific
numeral, the plural form is used (Example: crores of rupees were lost).
The same applies to ‗kilometre‘ and ‗kilogram‘; an example here is ‗25 km
away‘; not ‗25 kms away‘.
The metric system of measurement is followed. All distances should be in
centimetre, metre and kilometer, all weights in gram and kilogram, all
volumes in millilitre and litre, all areas in acre or square metre or square km.
Mathematical symbols should be avoided as far as possible. When providing
percentages the symbol should never be used, not even in a headline or an
infographic. It should always be ‗per cent‘, or if abbreviation in a headline is
required, pc.
O.
Obscenity
The PRactice is not prudish. Anything and everything can be discussed, be it
sexual behaviour, censorship, advances in biological sciences, or sex crimes.
But the language employed will always be clinical, not coarse. Offensive
words, four-lettered or otherwise, are not permitted. On photographs,
editorial decisions will be taken on a case by case basis whenever the need
arises.
16. 16
P.
Political Correctness & Social Sensitiveness
Political correctness is desirable. Even 15 years ago, the Scheduled Castes
were routinely referred to as ‗Harijans‘; that term is now redundant and
found patronising, they prefer to call themselves ‗Dalits‘. The physically and
mentally handicapped now prefer to call themselves physically or mentally
‗challenged‘. The PRactice must adjust its terminology accordingly.
The names of some Indian cities too have lately been altered, the latest being
a number of changes in Karnataka, led by ‗Bangalore‘ turning into
‗Bengaluru‘. It happens worldwide as well – Peking becoming Beijing,
Rangoon, Yangon. The Congo Republic changed its name to Zaire, and is
now back to calling itself ‗the Democratic Republic of Congo‘. Such
changes are invariably in response to regional or national sentiments and
should be respected. The PRactice must adopt all the new names.
In reports of communal clashes, it has for long been a convention in India to
use the term ‗members of a particular community‘, without specifying if
they are Hindus or Muslims, while discussing the cause of rioting, or the
death toll. This does lead to some obfuscation, and has been discarded lately
by certain publications, but The PRactice, given its persistence to remain
sensitive to all issues will continue with it.
In general, pejorative or derogatory references to any group or community,
including those the progressive sections disapprove of – politicians, large
business houses, upper castes, rural landlords - should be strictly avoided. It
is important to keep a sharp eye out for statements – even if they are
attributed to named sources – which reinforce stereotypes or perpetuate
prejudices, and remove them before a story is printed.
Similarly, an individual accused of a crime is merely a suspect until he has
been convicted. Reports of crime or criminal trials must remain forever
conscious of this, with the term ‗alleged‘ being frequently employed in
them.
17. 17
Punctuation
Full stop:
Apart from ending a sentence, a full stop should be used after every initial in
a person‘s name. Full stops should not be used after every individual letter in
an abbreviation or acronym, or even at the end. An abbreviated title like ‗Dr‘
(for Doctor) need not have a full stop after it. Contractions of words – Jan,
govt – are only allowed sparingly in headlines, not in body copy of press
releases. But they too need not have full stops after them.
Apostrophe:
Word (or figure) contractions that require the use of an apostrophe to
indicate missing letters (or numbers) are not permitted, either in headlines or
body copy. (Expressions like ‗can‘t‘, ‗shouldn‘t‘, ‘07, should be used as
sparingly as possible, except when reproducing direct speech – it should
always be ‗cannot‘, ‗should not‘, ‗2007‘.) In most print platforms, an
apostrophe is only used to indicate possession (Ram‘s book, Jones‘s house).
Inverted Commas:
Double inverted commas should be used only when reporting direct speech.
In all other cases, single inverted commas should be employed. In headlines,
single inverted commas alone should be used.
Q.
Quotes
Direct quotes are essential in news stories, but they should be used to take
the story forward. They should not merely repeat what the writer has set
down as factual information in the preceding sentence. They should also
sound like direct speech. Complicated figures, complex technical details,
convoluted legal arguments, should not be put within inverted commas, but
set down as information, with the source identified.
Quotes should also be handled with great care and respect. They should
never be distorted. What a person actually utters can of course be shortened
in the interests of brevity, but not even a shade of meaning should be altered.
18. 18
When quoting from a printed text or any kind of document, the breaks
should be made very clear with the use of three dots. If explanatory words or
phrases need to be inserted, these should always be in brackets.
S.
Spellings
The PRactice follows British spellings, not American. The main differences
are:
(a) Words in British English may contain composite vowels ‗ae‘ or ‗oe‘ – as
in diarrhoea, gynaecology, and homoeopathy – which American English
rarely does. In the latter form, these words would be ‗diarrhea, gynecology,
and homeopathy.
(b) British English prefers ‗ce‘ even when the pronunciation is ‗se‘ as in
offence, defence, advice, and practice (as a noun); with ‗se‘ as a verb.
American English has ‗offense‘, ‗defense‘, advise, ‗practise‘ (both as noun
and verb)
(c) One glaring difference is over ‗ise‘ (or ‗yse‘) and ‗ize‘ (or ‗yze‘) –
British English uses the former, American English the latter. ‗Realise‘,
‗paralyse‘, ‗sensitise‘ etc are British spellings, ‗realize‘, ‗paralyze‘,
‗sensitize‘, American. (Of course there are some words ending in ‗ise‘ which
remain the same even in American English – advertise, revise, etc.)
(d) British English often has superfluous letters (which contribute little or
nothing to the pronunciation) within or at the end of words, which the
American version excises. It is ‗programme‘ ,‗catalogue‘, colour, likeable,
demeanour etc in British English, ‗program‘, ‗catalog‘, color, likable,
demeanor in American. However, ‗computer program‘ is spelt just that way,
even in British English.
(e) Words ending in‗re‘ in British English change to ‗er‘ in American:
theatre, centre, become ‗theater‘, ‗center‘.
(f) ‗Gray‘ is American spelling, ‗grey‘ is British.
19. 19
Part Two: Common Errors
A.
Articles
Whenever the indefinite article has to be employed, ‗a‘ is used before words
beginning with a consonant, and ‗an‘ before words beginning with a vowel.
Errors arise because of the exceptions.
(a) Words starting with a silent ‗h‘ are preceded by ‗an‘, though ‗h‘ is a
consonant - an heir, an hour, an honour.
(b) Certain words starting with vowels still require ‗a‘, not ‗an‘ before them,
specially when the starting letter has a ‗y‘ or ‗u‘ sound – ‗a ear‘, a European,
a university.
The real challenge, however, is deciding when to use an article before a
noun, and when not to. The problem is compounded by the fact that there are
no articles in most of the Indian languages; our mother tongues provide no
guidance or pointers. Should we say ‗Police have caught the thieves‘ or ‗the
police have caught the thieves‘? The latter is correct. Should we say
‗Inflation was 6 per cent last week‘ or ‗the inflation was 6 per cent last
week‘? The former is correct.
It is simply a question of usage. Some English grammar books provide a
welter of innumerable rules on the use of articles, but ultimately one has to
go simply by what sounds right.
Accept, except
‗Accept‘ is to take or receive, ‗except‘ is to leave out.
Advice, advise
‗Advice‘ is the noun, ‗advise‘ is the verb; so too with ‗practice‘ and
‗practise‘.
20. 20
Affect, effect
‗Affect‘ means to influence; ‗effect‘ means outcome or consequence.
Allude, refer
‗Allude‘ means to refer to in passing, ‗refer‘ means to make a direct
reference. So too ‗allusion‘ means a passing reference, ‗illusion‘ is a
mistaken impression.
Alternate, alternative
‗Alternate‘ means two people taking turns at doing something; ‗alternative‘
means a choice between two options.
Among, between
‗Between‘ is used while referring to just two choices; ‗among‘, when the
choices are more than two.
Anyone, any one
Is that one word or two? Depends on the context. Eg ―Anyone can criticize,
but it has to be seen if any one of those who do, can perform better.‖ Same
goes for ‗every one‘ and ‗everyone‘.
Appeal
The verb always takes a preposition. One appeals against something, or
appeals to someone, one does not simply appeal (except while bowling or
fielding in cricket).
B.
Beside, besides
‗Beside‘ means ‗by the side of‘ or ‗next to‘. Eg: He sat beside me. ‗Besides‘
means ‗in addition to‘. Eg: He is an excellent worker; besides he is always
punctual.
21. 21
Billion
Billion is 1000 million, or 100 crore
Both
‗Both sides agreed‘ is a tautology (like ‗6 pm in the evening‘). It should be
‗both agreed‘ or ‗the two sides agreed‘.
C.
Canvas, canvass
One paints on a canvas, but one has to canvass for votes.
Collective Nouns
Most collective nouns take singular verbs – ‗The crowd is large‘, etc – but
there are a few exceptions: ‗a couple‘, ‗the police‘ ‗Team India‘ (the Indian
cricket team), though usually ‗team‘ takes a singular verb.
Comparisons
Comparisons should be exact, like with like. ―The power crisis today is more
acute than 10 years ago‖ or ―Air fares now are often lower than second class
AC train travel‖ are wrong usages. They should read ―The power crisis
today is more acute than it was 10 years ago‖ or ―Air fares now are often
lower than second class AC train fares‖.
Comprise
The use of the preposition ‗of‘ after ‗comprise‘ is incorrect.
Consult
The use of the preposition ‗with‘ after ‗consult‘ is incorrect.
22. 22
Continual, continuous
‗Continual‘ means frequent or repeated. ‗Continuous‘ means without
stopping even once, uninterrupted. There is a big difference, for instance,
between ‗continual rain‘ and ‗continuous rain‘.
Credible, credulous
‗Credible‘ means believable, and is the antonym of ‗incredible‘. ‗Credulous‘
means naïve, one who will believe anything.
D.
Device, devise
‗Device‘ is the noun; ‗devise‘ is the verb.
Differ with, differ from
‗Differ with‘ is only used in the context of having a difference of opinion
with another person. ‗Differ from‘ can also be used in this context, as well as
in the sense of being different from somebody else. ‗I differ from my brother
in that he is very loquacious, while I am not.‘ ‗Differ with‘ cannot be used in
this context.
Disinterested, uninterested
‗Disinterested‘ means ‗impartial‘, ‗neutral‘. ‗Uninterested‘ means ‗not
interested‘.
Dispatch, despatch
‗Dispatch‘ can be used both as noun and verb. ‗Despatch‘ is used only as a
verb. It is preferable to use ‗dispatch‘ at all times.
Distinct, distinctive
‗Distinct‘ means ‗clear, separate, and well defined‘. ‗Distinctive‘ is a quality
that distinguishes a particular thing from all others.
23. 23
Due to
‗Due to‘ can only modify a noun or pronoun, not a verb. Thus ‗My absence
(from work) was due to illness‘ is correct, but ‗I was absent (from work) due
to illness‘ is incorrect. ‗Owing to‘ or ‗because of‘ should be used in the
second instance.
E.
Each other, one another
‗Each other‘ is used when only two people or groups are referred to; ‗one
another‘ when there are more than two. ‗Ram and Shyam did not speak to
each other‘; ‗Ram, Shyam and Hari did not speak to one another‘.
Either
‗Either‘ can be used only when there is a choice between two alternatives,
not more than two. ‗You can either walk or take a bus‘ is fine, but ‗you can
either walk, or take the bus, or go by auto‘ is wrong.
Emerge
News does not emerge, so expressions like ‗It has emerged that…‘ should be
avoided.
Emigrate, immigrate
To ‗emigrate‘ is to leave a country permanently. To ‗immigrate‘ is to enter
into a new country permanently.
Equal
Two things are either equal or they are not. It is incorrect to say ‗more or
less equal‘.
24. 24
Ever
Should not be used with a superlative (‗longest ever‘, ‗best ever‘, etc) since
that amounts to a tautology.
Every day, everyday
Two words or one? Usually two, but one if the expression is used as an
adjective. ‗Their fights are an everyday affair.‘
Evoke, invoke
‗Evoke‘ is to bring to mind (‗It evoked memories of…). ‗Invoke‘ is to
solemnly call upon (‗Invoke the name of the lord‘)
F.
Fewer, less
Depends on usage, though usually ‘fewer‘ is used when referring to
numbers, ‗less‘ when referring to quantities. Eg: ‗There were fewer than 10
people in the room‘; ‗They will not sell less than a kilo‘.
Fortuitous
‗Fortuitous‘ means ‗by chance‘, it does not mean ‗by lucky chance‘ or
‗fortunate‘.
Future plan
A tautology. ‗Plan‘ is enough.
I.
Include, comprise
‗Include‘ is used when only some of the elements or components of a group
or a body are mentioned; ‗comprise‘ when all of them are. Eg: ‗The seven
sisters of the North East include Nagaland and Mizoram‘, but ‗The seven
sisters of the North East comprise Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland,
Mizoram, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh.
25. 25
Its, It’s
‗It‘s‘ is a contracted form of ‗it is‘. In all other cases, the apostrophe is not
used.
L.
Licence, license
‗Licence‘ is the noun (‗driving licence‘), ‗license‘, the verb (‗licensed to
kill‘).
Like, as
‗Like‘ is used while comparing nouns or pronouns: ‗He acted like a fool‘.
‗As‘ is used when comparing verbs: ‗He acted as fools do.‘
Like, such as
In this context ‗like‘ means ‗similar to‘. ‗Such as‘ is used while offering an
example. There is a difference in meaning for instance, between the sentence
‗Politicians like Lalu Prasad always offer good sound bytes‘ and ‗Politicians
such as Lalu Prasad always offer good sound bytes,‘ though both are
grammatically correct. (The second implies all politicians give good quotes.)
M.
May, can
‗May‘ is used while seeking permission, ‗can‘ relates to the ability to do
something. There is a big difference in meaning thus between ‗May I sit
down?‘ and ‗Can I sit down?‘
N.
Names
It is extremely important to ensure that every name that appears in the
newspaper or documents is spelt correctly – that is, in just the way the
person named spells it. Thus it is Shashi Kapoor, but Shekhar Kapur – and
so forth. If a person chooses to change the spelling of his or her name – for
26. 26
numerological or whatever reasons, we follow suit whenever it names him.
For instance: Laloo Prasad Yadav to Lalu Prasad Yadav to just Lalu Prasad.
There are reliable sites on the Internet at which the names of all well known,
important or powerful people – the kind that mostly figure in newspaper
columns – can be checked. Whenever in doubt, it is important to do so.
The same goes for the proper names of places, mountains, rivers, etc, etc.
Neither, nor
If ‗neither‘ is used in a sentence, ‗nor‘ must follow at some point soon after.
The use of ‗or‘ in this context, instead of ‗nor‘ is incorrect. ‗Neither …nor‘
can govern only two elements, not more. For instance: ‗Neither Yadavs nor
Dalits voted for the Congress in UP‘. To say ‗Neither Yadavs nor Dalits nor
Muslims voted for the Congress in UP‘ would be incorrect.
O.
Only
‗Only‘ is used only (!!) before the word or phrase it qualifies. It should not
come after. It should not end a sentence. It is easy to mock Indian English
expressions like ‗We are like that only‘, but even saying ‗I want one
sandwich only‘ is wrong. It should be ‗I want only one sandwich‘.
P.
Past
The word is often used when it is actually redundant. Eg: past history, past
record.
It is also not a synonym for ‗last‘. ‗I have been depressed for the past two
days‘ is strictly speaking, incorrect usage.
Pressure
The verb relating to ‗pressure‘ is ‗pressure‘, not ‗pressurise‘. ―He was
pressurised into signing the document‘ is wrong, it should be ‗he was
pressured into signing the document‘.
27. 27
Protest
It is better to avoid expressions like ‗holding a protest‘ or ‗staging a protest‘.
It should be ‗holding a demonstration‘ or ‗staging a protest rally‘ (or ‗protest
march‘)
S.
Silicon, silicone
‗Silicon‘ chip, but ‗silicone‘ implants
Single out
Should refer to only one person or thing. ‗He singled out Chappell and
Dravid as the main culprits for our World Cup fiasco‘ is wrong.
Spellings
With ‗Spell check‘ and ‗dictionary.refernce.com‘ available at the click of a
mouse, spelling errors are now utterly inexcusable. Even so, a list of a few
commonly mis-spelled words is given below.
Incorrect Correct
Argueable arguable
Absess abscess
Accessable accessible
Aging ageing
Alright all right
Ambiance ambience
Anymore any more
Any where anywhere
Bellweather bellwether
Best seller bestseller
Convenor convener
Desperete desperate
Indispensible indispensable
Keeness keenness
Labelling labeling
Likable likeable
28. 28
Milage mileage
Occured occurred
Sieze seize
Threshhold threshold
Withold withhold
V.
Valuable, invaluable
They are not antonyms. ‗Valuable‘ means something of high worth,
‗invaluable‘ means something of still higher worth, priceless, whose value
cannot be measured.
Part Three: Better Writing
Grammatically correct English is only the starting point for good writing. It
is necessary, but by no means sufficient. Good writing calls for much more:
clear thinking; complete mastery over the subject being written about; a
sharp ear for the sounds of words (‗euphony‘) while stringing them together
into sentences; a flair for the arresting, original turn of phrase; for the apt
image or metaphor; an ability to pin down and use the precisely apposite
word in a particular context, and none other (which in turn requires a
substantial vocabulary), and so on. It is impossible to compile a
comprehensive list of the ‗rules of good writing‘.
However, aiming at excessively high standards while writing – or editing – a
newspaper report is neither necessary nor desirable. Meeting the deadline is
far more important than producing clever turns of phrase or euphonic prose.
Only two features of all good writing are essential in news writing – clarity
and conciseness. Given our fast paced, distraction-ridden age, the meaning
of every sentence in a newspaper report must be crystal clear to the reader
even at a first, hurried reading. For the same reason, whatever information
has to be conveyed must be done in the fewest words possible.
A few pointers towards improved writing follow, with the caveat that these
are only guidelines, not instructions. As the last rule in George Orwell‘s
much quoted six rules for good writing goes: ‗Break any of these rules
sooner than say anything utterly barbaric.‘
29. 29
1. Avoid repetition
The first step to concise writing is avoiding repetition. Care should be taken
to see that no fact, however crucial, is mentioned more than once in a news
story, even for emphasis. Even insignificant facts should never find place in
a report more than once.
In particular, no part of the information already provided in the first para of a
news report, for instance, should be repeated while adding background and
context or quotes a few paras later.
Again (as noted in the first section) direct quotes should take a story
forward. All too often a direct quote attributed to a source, merely repeats
information that has already been provided by the author of the report – in
paraphrased form, minus the quotes – in the preceding sentence. This should
be avoided.
Not only facts, but also the same words and expressions should not be
repeated too often, too close to each other, in a news report, barring the
smaller prepositions and conjunctions. Synonyms, if available, should be
employed (obviously taking care not to distort meaning), or else sentences
can be recast to prevent key words from recurring in the copy.
(The only exception is the verb ‗said‘ or ‗says‘, used while quoting a source.
Although there is no ban on using synonyms for ‗said‘ – stated, noted,
declared, maintained, pointed out, etc, etc – the repeated use of ‗said‘ is
perfectly okay.)
Where headlines are concerned, this particular guideline has to be taken
much more seriously. No exception can be made even for ‗said‘ or ‗says‘.
Unless deliberate wordplay is intended, the same word (barring at best
articles or two letter words) should never be used more than once in a
headline. If a story has a slug, strap-line or short introduction as well as a
headline, care should be taken to avoid using the same word in any of these.
Indeed it is preferable that the individual words used in one headline on a
newspaper page are not repeated in any of the other headlines on that
particular page as well.
30. 30
2. Avoid superfluous words
Lean, mean writing is essential to reporting. Every piece of information
should be provided in the fewest words possible. Any word or expression
that can be dispensed with, without sacrificing meaning or grammar or
information, should be. The effort should be to write – and edit – stories in
such a way that they simply cannot be condensed further, even by a single
word.
Listed are a few representative examples of how expressions can be
shortened and superfluous words excised.
An expert in the field of macroeconomics – a macroeconomics expert
The process of industrialisation has taken its toll – industrialisation
has taken its toll
The volume of demand has fallen – demand has fallen
Demand has a tendency to rise in the festival season – demand rises in
the festival season
It is necessary to make reductions in energy consumption – it is
necessary to reduce energy consumption
We need to provide a summary of the day‘s events – we need to
summarise the day‘s events
There are some people who never listen to others – some people never
listen to others
It appears that North Korea will eventually compromise – North
Korea will eventually compromise
The people who are located in that village have no choice – the people
in that village have no choice
The tasks that are involved in bringing out a paper are many – the
tasks in bringing out a newspaper are many
And so forth.
3. Choose the better word
When there are many synonyms to choose from, here a few broad
guidelines:
(a) Choose short words over long:
31. 31
* Instead of ‗accomplish‘, use ‗do‘
* Instead of ‗several‘, use ‗many‘
* Instead of ‗component‘, use ‗part‘
* Instead of ‗facilitate‘, use ‗help‘
* Instead of ‗manufacture‘, use ‗make‘
(b) Use concrete words instead of abstract ones
* Instead of ‗motivation‘, use ‗drive‘
* Instead of ‗population‘, use ‗people‘
* Instead of ‗vehicle‘, use ‗car‘ (or truck or bus)
(c) Prefer familiar words to unfamiliar, everyday language to jargon (even if
the former, in both cases, is the longer word)
* Instead of ‗prioritise‘, use ‗give priority to‘
* Instead of ‗amentia‘, use ‗mental retardation‘
However, there can be contexts in which the longer, the unfamiliar or the
abstract word turns out to be the apposite one. In such cases, exceptions
should be made.
4. Keep sentences short
The objective – as noted earlier - is to make every news report perfectly
intelligible at first reading. This is much easier to do if individual sentences
are kept short. It is true that the works of many great writers are full of
extremely long sentences, stretching sometimes across half the page of a
book or more. Yet the writing remains perfectly lucid. But that is because
they are great writers; pulling this off calls for enormous talent and writing
skill. It is safer for us lesser mortals - working under deadline pressures to
boot - not to try and emulate them.
Too often peoples are tempted to try and include all the crucial newsworthy
facts they have unearthed in the very first sentence of their copy. This is
based on the belief that this creates maximum impact. But usually the
opposite occurs - the first sentence stretches interminably, leaving the reader
breathless and confused. There is no need for this: it is enough if all the
newsworthy points in the story are included in the first paragraph .
32. 32
There are some publications – and teachers in journalism schools – who
believe that a word limit should be imposed on sentences. Some suggest 16
words per sentence as the maximum that should be permitted; some bring
the figure down to 10. While there is no need to be so rigid, short sentences
should be the norm.
5. Prefer active to passive voice
If the subject of a sentence acts, the voice is active. If the subject is acted
upon, the voice is passive. The active voice is usually livelier, shorter and
more direct – and thus much better at grabbing eyeballs than the passive one.
Examples:
Passive voice:
The CBI said the Nithari murders were committed by Surendra Koli alone,
not by Mohinder Singh Pandher.
Active voice:
The CBI said Surendra Koli alone committed the murders, not Mohinder
Singh Pandher.
Passive voice:
The bill will have to be approved by both houses of Parliament before it
becomes law.
Active voice:
Both houses of Parliament will have to approve the bill before it becomes
law.
And so forth. The telltale signs for recognising the passive voice are the use
of some variation of an auxiliary verb (was, will be, have been, is being) and
a past participle.
6. Avoid using clichés
33. 33
Clichés make for perfectly correct English, and often fit very well into a
particular context. Yet they are to be avoided as much as possible, because
due to their overuse, they have long ceased to make any impact on the
reader. Headings in particular should be totally cliché-free.
Clichés, however, are not only the traditional, hoary ones, which everyone
recognises (‗leave no stone unturned‘, ‗lock, stock and barrel, etc), but also a
host of expressions coined in recent times and thereafter mercilessly
overused. The Guardian’s style guide, for instance, even lists the following:
‗back burner‘, ‗boost‘ (massive or otherwise), ‗bouquets and brickbats‘,
‗major‘ (both ‗major‘ development as well as steel ‗major‘) ‗massive‘,
‗politically correct‘; verbs like ‗bid‘, ‗fuel‘, ‗hike‘, ‗signal‘, ‗target‘, ‗set to‘;
expressions like ‗touch base‘, 24/7s. The Reuters style guide mentions,
among others ‗top level meeting‘, ‗landmark agreement‘, ‗lone gunman‘,
‗strife torn province‘. Other British and American newspaper style guides
even knock expressions like ‗think out of the box‘, ‗it‘s not rocket science‘,
‗Generation X‘, ‗empowerment‘, ‗affirmative action‘ and many more, all of
which they hold have turned into clichés.
The fifth rule in George Orwell‘s set of six rules for good writing goes:
―Never use a metaphor, simile or any other figure of speech, which you are
used to seeing in print.‖ This is difficult under deadline pressure, but it is the
only sure-fire means of avoiding clichés.
7. Use similar constructions
When a number of words, or a number of groups of words, do the same
work in a sentence, similar constructions should be used in each case, as far
as possible.
Example:
―Jumping a red light, the use of a mobile phone while driving, tinted glasses
on car windows, all violate traffic rules.‖
Would read more smoothly as: ―Jumping a red light, using a mobile phone
while driving, tinted glasses on car windows all violate traffic rules.‖
Example:
34. 34
―The Prime Minister, the Minister for Human Resource Development and
the Secretary in the Department of Higher Education were all present.‖
Would read more smoothly as: ―The Prime Minister, the Human Resource
Development Minister and the Higher Education Department Secretary were
all present.‖
8. Use adjectives and adverbs sparingly
It is always better to show, than to tell. Greater impact is achieved if, rather
than using expressions like ‗glowing tribute‘ or ‗defiant gesture‘, one quotes
a few apt words from the tribute are quoted to bring out its quality, or
describe the gesture. Two or more adjectives before a single noun can get
positively confusing.
So too with adverbs – instead of ‗she spoke strongly‘ (against female
foeticide or caste oppression or whatever), it is better to use a direct quote
from what she said. Adjectives and adverbs both involve some measure of
being judgmental, which must be avoided.
10 COMMANDMENTS
1. Always hold accuracy sacrosanct
2. Always strive to correct an error openly
3. Always strive for balance and freedom from bias
4. Always reveal a conflict of interest to a manager
5. Always respect privileged information
6. Always protect their sources from the authorities
7. Always guard against putting your own opinion in a story without
ascertaining the client‘s view or opinion
8. Never fabricate or plagiarise
9. Never alter a still or moving image beyond the requirements
10. Never pay for a story and never accept a bribe
References:
35. 35
Copying from one book is plagiarism. Copying from half a dozen is
research. By that yardstick, this style guide is the result of research!
The books the guide is indebted to are the following:
1. A Handbook of Reuters Journalism – A guide to standards, style and
operations.
2. The Guardian Style Guide
3. The Economist Style Guide – the Bestselling Guide to English Usage.
4. The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage
5. Edit Yourself: A manual for everyone who works with words by
Bruce Ross Larson, W. W. Norton and Co.
6. Grammatically Correct : The writers essential guide to punctuation,
spelling, style, usage and grammar by Anne Stillman
The PRactice Strategic Communications Private Limited
Compiled by Gaurav Bhagowati
Account Director
New Delhi – India
2010
***
