This is a simple stylesheet to help learners write stories to professional standards in English. The stylesheet contains basic topics and guidelines.
Names and designations
Always use a person's full name when using it for the first time in the copy and only the second name when it is repeated in the story.
Example First time: Donald Trump or President Donald Trump
Second time: Trump / President Trump / Mr Trump / or (just) Trump
President Donald Trump has said the US military carried out strikes on Iranian targets in the Persian Gulf.
President Trump said the strikes were in retaliation for Iran's role in drone attacks in Saudi Arabia.
Names with initials
Remove space between initials in people's names
Example:
Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister MK Stalin arrived in Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of a key meeting of regional politicians on Saturday.
Dates
1. Write month first followed by date / or just the day if the date is within the current week
Sri Lanka's New Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will take office August 9 (if the date is outside the current week)
Sri Lanka's New Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will be sworn in on Sunday (if the date is within the week - either side)
2. Do not write 'tomorrow' or 'yesterday' instead write the day: The police tightened control on highways after the assault on drivers by unidentified men on Saturday (not yesterday).
There has been a major security operation in Tokyo ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony on Monday (not tomorrow).
If not sure of the date - put it as - In March / next week / next month / so on ..
Time
Do not specify the time such as 'evening or morning' unless it is relevant to the incident
1. A meeting of south Asian foreign ministers is set to open in Delhi on Saturday.
In the second example below some indication of the time is necessary.
2. The earthquake struck the border between Afghanistan and Iran early on Friday / Friday morning Numbers
Follow these rules while dealing with numbers in a news report.
A single-digit number is always written in words.
Example
There were seven people on board the jet when it crashed in the Hudson River.
Double-digit numbers are always written in numerals
Example At least 12 gunmen are thought to be involved in the night-time raid on the busy Savoy pub in Colombo.
Do not start a sentence with a numeral - single or double-digit.
Example Seven people were swept away by a landslide in Kerala's Idukki district. Do not write: 7 people were swept away ....
Ten cars were involved in a pile-up on the snow-covered highway to Sri Nagar.
Do not write: 10 cars were swept away ...
Location
Do not use dateline for stories posted online
Example
Washington: President Trump has denied calling fallen US soldiers as losers during a visit to a war cemetery near Paris ..
Instead, write name of country or state in the first line and city or town in the following lines.
Example
An Air India jet carrying 190 people has made a crash landing in India killing 18 people, the local emergency service said
The Boeing 737 touched down in extreme bad weather at the airport at Calicut in Kerala state, according to officials.
We are adding more to this style sheet, do visit us again.
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