Style Guide

This new, expanded ninth edition of the best-selling guide to style is based on The Economist's own house style manual, and is an invaluable companion for everyone who wants to communicate with the clarity, style and precision for which The Economist is famous. It gives general advice on writing, points out common errorsa nd clichs and offers guidance on vocabulary, the proper use of punctuation and grammar, and much more.

There is a separate section on the difference between British English and American English. The third section contains a range of useful reference material, covering everything from business ratios an stockmarket indices to chemical elements and US presidents and British prime ministers.

An essential book for anyone who writes reports, articles, books, letters or memoranda, The Economist Style Guide will enlighten, educate and amuse.

Some of the numerous useful rules and common mistakes pointed out in the guide include:

Aggravate means make worse not irritate or annoy
Anticipate does not mean expect. Jack and Jill expected to marry if they anticipated marriage, only Jill might find herself expectant
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, as in Shall I compare three to a summer's day?
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
Discreet, discrete means circumspect or prudent. Discrete means separate or distinct.Flaunt flout Flaunt means display flout means disdain. If you flout this distinction, you will flaunt your ignorance.
Forgo forego Forgo means do without it forgoes the e. Forego means go before.
Healthy If you think something is desirable or good, say so. Do not call it healthy.
Hoards, hordes Few secreted treasures (hoards) are multitudes on the move (hordes).
Hyperthermia is what kills old folk in winter. If you say it is hyperthermia, that means they have been carried off by heat stroke.
Jargon Avoid it.
Political Correctness Avoid, if you can, giving gratuitous offence: you risk losing your readers or at least their goodwill, and therefore your arguments. But pandering to every plea for politically correct terminology may make your prose unreadable, and therefore unread
Practicable, practical Practicable means feasible, practical means useful.
Proactive Not a pretty word: try active or energetic. Ring wring (verbs) bells are rung, hands are wrung. Both may be seen at weddings.
Short words Use them.