THE KANSAS CITY STAR.

This facsimile of The Star Copy Style sheet is one of the

most often-requested pieces of memorabilia relating to
the history of The Kansas City Star. This is the document
that Ernest Hemingway would have been given during his
tenure writing police and emergency-room items at The
Star in 1917 and 1918. Hemingway later remarked to a
reporter that the admonitions in this style sheet were the
best rules I ever learned in the business of writing.

This early Star style sheet exists today in two different

versions, but neither can be dated definitively. The ver-
sion reproduced on the reverse of this page is believed to
be the one used at the newspaper around 1915. It is like-
ly that Hemingway used either this rule sheet or another
very similar version.

This reproduction is the best available copy of the origi-

nal deteriorated document.

The Kansas City Star 1729 Grand Blvd. Kansas City, MO 64108
 The Star Copy Style
Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Dont say He had his leg cut off in an acci- Twenty attended the meeting among others,
Use vigorous English. Be positive, not negative. dent. He wouldnt have had it done for anything C.W. Armour, J.C. Nichols. The word others
The style of local communications is To The He suffered a broken leg in a fall, not he implies that the persons mentioned are apart from
Star: in italics, out-of-town communications in broke his leg in a fall. He didnt break the leg, the persons already mentioned, but the implication
this form. Salina, Kas. To The Star: fall did. Say a leg, not his leg, because presumably does not hold true. The sentence should read:
Never use old slang. Such words as stunt, cut the man has two legs. Twenty attended, among them, C.W. Armour and
out, got his goat, come across, sit up and take The work began, not the work was begun. J.C. Nichols.
notice, put one over, have no place after their use He was graduated from Manual, not he grad- He died of heart disease, not heart failure
becomes common. Slang to be enjoyable must be uated from Manual. everybody dies of heart failure.
fresh. Say Mary went shopping with Mabel not in Representative Bland, not Congressman
Use Kas., not Kan. or Kans., as an abbreviation company with Mabel. Bland. The members of both the house and senate
for Kansas: use Ok., not Okla., for Oklahoma, Honor the memory of J.V.C. Karnes not are Congressmen. The titles Representative and
Col., not Colo., for Colorado; Cal., not Calif., for honor J.V.C. Karnes after his death. Senator distinguish them.
California. Say John Jones of St. Louis, no comma He suspected the negro was guilty, not He
Watch you sequence of tenses. He said he between Jones and of. suspicioned the negro was guilty. The police
knew the truth, not He said he knows the truth. Mr Roosevelt is a leader who, we believe, were suspicious of him, not The police consid-
The community was amazed to hear that Charles would succeed, not whom, we believe, would. ered him suspicious. Do not use suspect as a
Wakefield was a thief, not was amazed to hear Mr. Roosevelt is a leader whom, we believe noun.
that Charles Wakefield is a thief. the people will choose, not who, we believe. The words donate and donation are barred from
The style of The Star is 9:30 oclock this after- None saw him except me, not none saw him the columns of The Star. Use give or contribute.
noon or this morning or tonight; not 9:30 this but me. Dont use but as a preposition. The use of raise in the sense of obtaining money
forenoon, 9:30 p.m. or 9:30 this evening. Also let Use or after either, nor after neither, as a gener- has been forced into usage where no other word
the hour precede not this morning at 9:30 al rule. Certain deviations from this statement are seems to do as well. But raise is not a noun.
oclock. He walked twelve miles, not a distance of good English, but extreme care in usage is best. Dont confuse the words habit and custom as
twelve miles; he earned $10, not he earned the Indorsement of a candidate, not endorsement. John Jones was a victim of the drug habit. It
amount or sum of $10; he went there to see his Say Chinese, not Chinamen. was the custom of John Jones to go to the bank at
wife, not for the purpose of seeing his wife. He Bodies are not shipped or sent say The bur- 11 oclock each day.
was absent during June, not during the month of ial will be in Ottumwa, Ia. A man is not arrested for investigation. There
June. Several persons were in the room, not sever- is no such charge as investigation.
Goods valued at about $25 were stolen, not al people. The people of Kansas City is correct. The Star does not use dope or dope fiend.
about $25 worth of goods were stolen. Both persons were pleased, not both parties Use habit forming drugs or narcotics and addicts.
Several fountain pens were stolen, not a were pleased. Both parties to the contract is Dont say: Three men put in an appearance.
number of fountain pens if you know the num- correct. Just let them appear.
ber, specify. He knew no good reason that he should not Do not use picnic as a verb.
Eliminate every superfluous word as Funeral run is better than he knew no good reason why Say luncheon, not lunch.
services will be at 2 oclock Tuesday, not The he should not run. You expect a record crowd, not anticipate it.
funeral services will be held at the hour of 2 He threw the stone, not He threw the rock. But you can anticipate some legal action, for
oclock on Tuesday. He said is better than he said Rock is unquarried stone. example, by taking some step of precaution, and
in the course of conversation. Write 250,000, 500,000, 750,000 and be correct in usage.
In reference to specified time the word on is 1,000,000, 1/4 million, 1/2 million, 3/4 million Portion in almost all cases refers to food.
superfluous. Why write on January 16; on and 1 million respectively. Portion of an estate is correct, however.
Tuesday? January 16 and Tuesday are enough. Numbers less than 100 should be spelled out, Watch for plural collective nouns; they take sin-
Dont split verbs: He probably will go, not he except in matter of statistical nature, in ages, time gular verbs. The committee was discharged.
will probably go. It previously had been shown of day, sums of money and comparative figures or The company was solvent. Three thousand dol-
better; not it had previously been better shown. dimensions. lars was stolen.
The verb precedes the time: He sold yesterday In writing of animals use the neuter gender Spell it program, quarter, quintet, etc.
afternoon; not he yesterday afternoon sold. In cer- except when you are writing of a pet that has a Call it parent-teacher association.
tain instances, euphony or smoothness may admit name. Then it is permissible to use the masculine Do not use the term squad in referring to motor
a deviation from this rule. or feminine cars or traffic policemen. Write Sergeant Jones of
Be careful of the word also. It usually modifies The man left the car while it was in motion is the motor cycle police, or Lieutenant
the word it follows closest. He, also, went simpler and better than alighted from the car. McCormick of the traffic police. A squad is a
means He too went. He went also means he The man was sentenced to be hanged, not to fixed and limited number of men.
went in addition to taking some other action. be hung. In Jefferson City, preferable to at Jefferson
Be careful of the word only. He only had The death sentence was executed, not The City.
$10, means he alone was the possessor of such man was executed. Probably with not likely will.
wealth. He had only $10, means the ten was all The execution of the death sentence, not the As to use of state after name of a city. Use state
the cash he possessed. execution of the man. except where city is so well known as to make the
The Rev. Q.Z. Smith, D.D., not the Rev. Dr. The prisoner was electrocised, not electrocut- name of the state entirely superfluous. Use state
Q.Z. Smith. ed. where there are two or more cities of that name. In
Mr. Smith or Dr. Smith; not the Rev. Smith or None of them is so sorry as myself, not none connection with this, however, use Independence,
the Rev. Mr. Smith or the Rev. Dr. Smith. Never of them are so sorry. when Independence, Mo., is meant; use
call a minister a doctor unless he is a doctor of He was eager to go, not anxious to go. You Independence, Kas.
divinity. are anxious about a friend who is ill. Avoid using that too frequently, but govern use
He went to police headquarters, not he came to If I were king, not if I was king. largely by euphony, and strive for smoothness.
police headquarters. He came to the office of The The building was partly insured, not partial- Say the morning edition of The Star.
Star would be correct. ly insured. In most cases, desire is preferable to want.
The police tried to find her husband, not tried It seemed as if he meant business, not as Say crippled boy, but not a cripple.
to locate her husband. To locate, used as a transi- though he meant business. Do not say she Each other applies to two, one another to three
tive verb, means to establish. looked like she would faint. Say as if. or more.
He was ill in February not He was ill during A long quotation with out introducing the Latter applies to one of two. Where more than
February. During February would mean every speaker makes a poor lead especially and is bad at two are considered, last is the word.
fraction of a second of the months time. A body any time. Break into the quotation as soon as you If is used to introduce a supposition clause, as,
may deliberate during the day, but that means no can. thus: I should prefer, the speaker said, to I shall not go if it rains. It is incorrect to say: I do
recess was taken in the entire period. let the reader know who I am as soon as possible. not know if I can go. The correct form is whether:
Dont split infinitives He wanted to live Try to preserve the atmosphere of the speech in I do not know whether I can go.
longer, not to longer live. your quotation. For instance in quoting a child, do Resolutions are adopted, not passed. Bills are
Avoid the use of adjectives, especially such not let him say Inadvertently, I picked up the passed and laws are enacted. The house or senate
extravagant ones as splendid, gorgeous, grand, stone and threw it. passed a bill; congress or the legislature enacted a
magnificent, etc. He saw more than one thousand ducks flying law.
Say the girl was of light complexion, not light not over one thousand ducks. Also say fewer Do not use evidence as a verb. This wrong use
complected. than instead of less than, when numbers, not is especially common and the past tense form .
Say evening clothes, not full dress. quantity, are considered. It is proper to write He Burglarized and jailed are equally objectionable.
Say patrolmen not in uniform, not plain clothes had more than $10. Both simplicity and good taste suggest home
men. Do not use cop. He was made unconscious, not he was ren- rather than residence, and lives rather than resides.
A burglar enters a building where persons are dered unconscious. John Jones, who was arrested yesterday, and
sleeping use thief or robber in other cases. He died on the sidewalk, not He fell dead on who furnished release bond, was arrested again
Use revolver or pistol, not gun, unless a shot- the sidewalk. today. The second who is superfluous.
gun is meant. Never say The deceased. Equally As - The as is superfluous.
The thief seized her purse, not grabbed or Such words as tots, urchins, mites of He Was Presented With - This is an old
snatched. humanity are not to be used in writing of chil- offender, which gets in despite all injunctions and
State things in writing, otherwise say, assert, dren. In certain cases, where kids conveys just a general knowledge that the with is entirely
declare, etc. the proper shading and fits the story, it is permis- superfluous.
Say, She was born in Ireland and came to sible. A Woman of the Nam e of Mary Jones -
Jackson County in 1874 not but came to Watch out for trite phrases such as Burly Disrespect is attached to the individual in such
Jackson County. She didnt come here to make negro, crisp bank note, cold cash, hard sentences. Avoid it. Never use it even in referring
amends for being born in Ireland. This is common cash, etc. to street walkers.
abuse of the conjunction. Avoid expressions from a foreign tongue He Admittance and Admission - Admittance is
Smith asserted he had been arrested falsely, received $2 a day is English, not received $2 better than admission in relation to admittance
not claimed he had been arrested. per day. fees and admittance to places, lodges, etc.
Use we should, they would. For instance, not, A man marries a woman :she is married to him. Motor car is preferred but automobile is not
We would like to see these abuses corrected. The voters will choose among the several can- incorrect.
That would be an appeal. The simple statement is, didates, not between the several. Choose In marking typographical style in copy, con-
We should like to see these abuses corrected. between two candidates is correct. form to the adopted style sheet of The Star.