THE Economist style guide notes

compare A is compared with B when you draw attention to the difference. A is compared to B only
when you want to stress their similarity.
comprise means is composed of
contrast, by or in see by contrast, in contrast
continuous describes something uninterrupted. Continual admits of a break. If your neighbours play
loud music every night, it is a continual nuisance; it is not a continuous one unless the music is never
turned off.
convince Dont convince people to do something. In that context the word you want is persuade. The
prime minister was persuaded to call a June election; he was convinced of the wisdom of doing so only
after he had won.
different from not to or than.
discreet, discrete Discreet means circumspect or prudent. Discrete means separate or distinct.
Remember that Questions are never indiscreet. Answers sometimes are. (Oscar Wilde)
due to when used to mean caused by must follow a noun, as in The cancellation, due to rain, of ... Do
not write It was cancelled due to rain. If you mean because of and for some reason are reluctant to say
it, you probably want owing to. It was cancelled owing to rain is all right.
effect the verb, means to accomplish, so The novel effected a change in his attitude. See also affect.
effectively, in effect Effectively means with effect; if you mean in effect, say it. The matter was
effectively dealt with on Friday means it was done well on Friday. The matter was, in effect, dealt with
on Friday
fewer than, less than Fewer (not less) than seven speeches, fewer than seven samurai. Use fewer,
not less, with numbers of individual items or people. Less than 200, less than 700 tonnes of oil, less
than a third, because these are measured quantities or proportions, not individual items.
figures Never start a sentence with a fi gure; write the number in words instead. Always use numbers
with units of measurement, even for those less than ten: 4 metres, but four cows
Latin usage It is outdated to use Latin words. So, with fi gures, do not write per caput, per capita or
per annum. Use:
a head or per head
a person or per person
a year or per year
2 litres of water per person
prices rose by 10% a year
prefer:
hectares to acres
kilometres (or km) to miles
metres to yards
litres to gallons
kilos (kg) to lb
tonnes to tons
Celsius to Fahrenheit, etc
finally Do not use finally when you mean at last.
free is an adjective or an adverb (and also a transitive verb), so you cannot have or do anything for
free. Either you have it free or you have it for nothing.

THE Economist style guide notes

get is an adaptable verb, but it has its limits. A man does not get sacked or promoted, he is sacked or
promoted. Nor does a prizewinner get to shake hands with the president, or spend the money all at
once; he gets the chance to, is able to, or allowed to.
If you have a sentence that contains the words firstly, secondly, more importantly, etc, they almost
certainly ought to be first, second, more important. Adjectives qualify nouns, adverbs modify
collective nouns singular or plural? There is no firm rule about the number of a verb governed by
a singular collective noun. It is best to go by the sense that is, whether the collective noun stands for
a single entity:
The council was elected in March.
The me generation has run its course.
The staff is loyal.
The council are at sixes and sevens.
The preceding generation are all dead.
The couple are now living apart is
preferable to The couple is now living apart.
pair and couple Treat both a pair and a couple as plural.
majority When it is used in an abstract sense, it takes the singular; when it is used to denote the
elements making up the majority, it should be plural.
A two-thirds majority is needed to amend the constitution
but A majority of the Senate were opposed.
number Rule: The number is ; A number are
comparisons Take care, too, when making comparisons, to
compare like with like:
The Belgian economy is bigger than Russia should be Belgiums economy is bigger than Russias.
An advertisement for The Economist recently declared,
Our style and our whole philosophy are different from other
publications.
contractions Dont overdo the use of dont, isnt, cant, wont, etc.
false possessive Avoid the false possessive: Londons Heathrow Airport.
genitive Take care with the genitive. It is fi ne to say a friend of Bills, just as you would say a friend of
mine, so you can also say a friend of Bills and Carols. But it is also fi ne to say a friend of Bill, or a
friend of Bill and Carol. What you must not say is Bill and Carols friend. If you wish to use that
construction, you must say Bills and Carols friend, which is cumbersome.
Gerund use the possessive adjective rather than the personal pronoun with gerund- Please forgive me
coming late.(wrong)-my
passive or active? Be direct. Use the active tense. A hit B describes the event more concisely than B
was hit by A.
plural nouns
1. The -ics words above are plural when preceded by the, or the plus an adjective, or with a
possessive.
The politics of Afghanistan have a logic all their own.
The dynamics of the dynasty were dynamite.
The economics of publishing are uncertain.
The athletics will take place in London.

THE Economist style guide notes

2. These are plural:
Antics histrionics
atmospherics hysterics
basics tactics
graphics statistics
Specifi cs are discouraged (try details), as are
demographics.
3.
4.

Data and media are plural. So are whereabouts.

Elections are not always plural. If, as in the United States, several votes (for the presidency,
the Senate, the House of Representatives, etc) are held on the same day, it is correct to talk
about elections. But in, say, Britain parliamentary polls are usually held on their own, in a
single general election.

The opposition demanded an election is often preferable to The opposition demanded fresh
elections. And to write The next presidential elections are due in 2010 suggests there will be more
than one presidential poll in that year.
Kogalym today is one of the few Siberian oil towns which are [not is] almost habitable.
What better evidence that snobbery and elitism still hold [not holds] back ordinary British people?
singular nouns
1. A government, a party, a company (whether Tesco or
Marks and Spencer) and a partnership (Skidmore, Owings
& Merrill) are all it and take a singular verb.
2. Brokers are singular.
Legg Mason Wood Walk is preparing a statement.
So avoid: stockbrokers Furman Selz Mager, bankers Chase Manhattan or accountants Ernst & Young.
3. Chemical, drug, pension: prefer the singular when referring to:
chemical (not chemicals) companies
drug- (not drugs) traffi ckers
pension (not pensions) systems
4. Countries are singular, even if their names look plural.
The Philippines has a congressional system, as does the
United States; the Netherlands does not. The United Nations is also singular.
5. Abstract nouns that look plural:
acoustics mathematics
athletics mechanics
ballistics physics
dynamics politics
economics propaganda
kinetics statics
when being used generally, without the defi nite article, are singular.
Economics is the dismal science.
Politics is the art of the possible (Bismarck).
Statics is a branch of physics.
6. Some games are singular:
billiards darts
bowls fives
But teams that take the name of a town, country or
university are plural, even when they look singular:
England were bowled out for 56.
7. Law and order defies the rules of grammar and is singular.
split infi nitives ( wrong to split an infinitive)
Subjunctive page 73 The Economist guide.

THE Economist style guide notes

Tenses:-If you use the past simple use time or date, if you do not want to use use the perfect tense:
He has died, or the present,He is dead.Past perfect- when 2 events in the past happened one after the
other
Reference page 79 on hyphens
Avoid from 1947-50 (say in 1947-50 or from 1947 to 1950) and
between 1961-65 (say in 196165, between 1961 and 1965 or from 1961
to 1965).
identical with not to.
important If something is important, say why and to whom. Use sparingly, and avoid such
unexplained claims as this important house, the most important painter of the 20th century.
impractical, impracticable If something is impracticable, it cannot be done. If its impractical, it is
not worth trying to do it.
including When including is used as a preposition, as it often is, it must be followed by a noun,
pronoun or noun clause, not by a preposition. So Iran needs more investment, including for its tired oil
industry is ungrammatical. The sentence should be rephrased, perhaps, as Iran, including its tired oil
industry, needs more investment.
initially Try at fi rst.
foreign words and phrases Set in italics:
Do not be too free with slang like He really hit the big time in 1994. Slang, like metaphors, should be
used only occasionally if it is to have effect. Avoid expressions used only by journalists, such as giving
people the thumbs up, the thumbs down
or the green light.
And avoid words and expressions that are ugly or overused, such as:
the bottom line
crisis
guesstimate (use guess)
key
major (unless something else nearby is minor)
massive (as in massive infl ation)
meaningful
perceptions
prestigious
schizophrenic (unless the context is medical)
signifi cant
continue from page 95 the economist