Writing and Editing Style Manual

A Quick Reference Manual for Business and Report

Writing

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety

2012 Edition

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 Table of Contents

Introduction 3

I Effective Writing 4

II Sentence Style 10

III Punctuation 18

IV Abbreviations 25

V Capitalization 26

VI Acronyms 27

VII Editing 28

VIII Proofreading 31

IX Report Outline 34

X Business Formats 35

XI Forms of Address 45

XII Associated Press Style 46

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 INTRODUCTION

Relax.

This manual isn’t intended to make you tremble with anxiety because you misplaced a modifier
in the last letter you wrote; nor will it tear asunder all the English you learned in high school or
college. Its sole purpose is to jog your memory of some useful tools of the written English
language that may be rusty from lack of use.

Simple, descriptive words are ignored in favor of longer and impressive words. Taxpayers don’t
want to be impressed. They want to be informed.

Most of us who work for government are authors whether we intend to be or not. We compose
correspondence, develop reports, dictate policies, explain procedures and create copy for
publications. The pace of everyday business sometimes forces us to rely on habit and
expedience. Proper grammar gets lost in the shuffle. This has become especially true in the e-
mail age.

The manual steps cleanly through the elements of writing and editing and is sprinkled generously
with examples of usage, both good and bad. An occasional, “Oh, yeah…I remember that now,”
will signal the manual works.

K.I.S.S. (Keep It Short and Simple) is stressed throughout the manual. Short doesn’t have to
mean dull. The focus will be on how clearly you express yourself. Strong verbs, tight sentence
structure, creativity in the use of clauses and phrases, correct punctuation, coherent paragraphs,
and determination to be a good speller makes K.I.S.S. work FOR you.

Prose composition is not governed solely by rules. Rules are only sensible recommendations for
general application. What governs most is the desire to communicate…clearly and precisely;
and to do so with a style that is uniquely your own.

Use this style manual for both e-mail as well as printed correspondence and documents. The
only difference between sending someone a letter printed on agency letterhead via the U.S.
Postal Service or the same information in an e-mail is that it costs the price of a first class stamp
and takes several days to get to the recipient. Whether e-mail or snail mail, follow the same
format and use spell check. It is the difference between being professional and being sloppy.

Let this manual guide you. Use it regularly and you will begin to recognize and eliminate
gobbledygook and jargon. That DEFINITELY will put you in a class by yourself!

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 I - EFFECTIVE WRITING

Effective writing is clear, concise, correct, complete and appropriate in tone. It saves time and
money and contributes to your personal image and that of your agency.

The questions below will help you evaluate your own writing and other writing you must review.

A. IS IT CLEAR?
• Is the purpose stated clearly?
• Will the reader know what response you expect or understand precisely what you
say?
• Is it clearly organized? (Chronological order, sequence, by subject, etc.)
• Are the ideas organized in a way which would persuade the reader to accomplish your
purpose or understand the sequence of events?
• Have you used language that the reader can readily understand?

B. IS IT CONCISE?
• Are most of your letters/reports less than a page long?
• Is your average sentence about 17 words?
• Do you try to keep paragraphs short – between seven and 10 lines?
• Have you eliminated all information which is unnecessary to your reader’s ability
to understand and act on the purpose?
• Have you eliminated all redundant or unnecessary words and phrases?

Preparation should take 50% of your time, and writing and revision 50%.

C. IS IT CORRECT?
Have you checked the accuracy of your information and of your spelling and grammar?
(Always use your computer’s spell check feature.)

D. IS IT COMPLETE?
Does it contain all the information the reader will need to accomplish the purpose?

E. IS IT APPROPRIATE IN TONE?
Is the tone appropriate to the reader’s needs, the image you want to convey, or the context
and form of your communication?

Do you avoid beginning a letter with Reference is made or This office is in receipt of
your letter? (These are very bureaucratic.)

Are your letters/reports written in the first person we/I shall appreciate, rather than the
third person This Bureau will appreciate?

When you have a choice, do you choose little words (pay, help, mistake) rather than big

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 ones (remuneration, assistance, inadvertency)?

Whenever possible, do you refer to people by name, (Mr. Jones, Miss Smith) rather than
categorically (the claimant, the veteran, the applicant)?

***
Whenever possible, begin the letter pleasantly.
If there is a yes answer and a no answer,
give the yes answer first, then the no answer.
***

F. 4-S FORMULA

The 4-S Formula for effective writing is shortness, simplicity, strength and sincerity.

1. SHORTNESS

The length of a letter or report is not measured by the number of lines or pages. A two-page
document may be short, while a ten-line document may be long.

There are two tests for judging whether a letter or report is too long: (1) does it say more
than needs to be said; (2) does it take too many words for what it must say?

a) DON’T make a habit of repeating what is said in a letter that you answer or a
report that you write.

Avoid stilted openings such as “Reference is made to our letter” or “We are in
receipt of your letter.”

Use a subject or reference line for a brief statement of the subject. The date of the
inquiry may be added to the end of the subject line.

b) AVOID needless words and information.

Leave out words that do not add to the reader’s understanding or to the sentence
structure.

c) BEWARE of roundabout prepositional phrases.

USE THESE INSTEAD OF THESE

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 By, From On the basis of
About, In With respect to
When, On On the occasion of
As to In reference to

d) WATCH out for nouns, adjectives and adverbs that derive from verbs.

Many words may be used as a verb, a noun, an adjective or an adverb.

Sometimes the verb and noun forms of words are the same. Other words derive
their noun and adjective forms by adding the endings –ion, -tion, -ing, -ment, -ent,
-ance, -ize, -ancy and ency.

The verbs make, take, give, hold, have and be are used with the noun and
adjective forms of words. These words take the place of the basic verbs that
might be used in this sentence: When we held the meeting (met), the division
chief made the decision (decided) that Mr. Hatcher should take action (act) on the
case at once.

e) DON’T QUALIFY YOUR STATEMENTS WITH IRRELEVANT IFS.

After writing that something is (or more likely may be) so, it is easy to think of
the ifs that stand in the way. If sentences and clauses are often essential to the
reader’s understanding or to the government’s protection, but they can also
become a confused mass of useless detail. Eagerness to be on the safe side can
lead a letter writer to confuse the conditional with the problematical. That’s what
happened to the writer who closed his letter with this sentence:

EXAMPLE: You are advised that this information is furnished on the

assumption that there will be no changes in the law prior to the
time you become eligible for benefits.

One of the best ways to avoid pointless ifs is to avoid explanations that begin by
saying The law provides or Regulations provide. In any general statement under a
law or regulation, you may be forced into a series of ifs to be strictly accurate.

2. SIMPLICITY

One of the complaints about government writing is the use of oversized and showy
words. For example: to do is to effectuate; to issue is to promulgate and to try to find out
is to endeavor to ascertain.

Gobbledygook is the term coined by a former congressman who thought that government
writing sounded like the gobbling of turkeys. The American Heritage Dictionary defines
gobbledygook as, “Unclear, often verbose, usually bureaucratic jargon.”

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 The list below will help you identify common gobbledygook:

Affirmative yes
Facility plant or building
Formulate make
Initiate start
Negative no
Prior to before
Remunerate, compensate pay
Subsequent next
Substantial large
Terminate end
Transmit send
Utilize/usage use
In view of the fact that since, because
In the event of if
In connection with about, regarding
In relation to about, regarding
In the matter of about, regarding
With regard to about, regarding
In order to to
For the purpose of for

Use the following four rules to simplify letter and report writing:

a. KNOW YOUR SUBJECT.

b. USE SHORT WORDS, SHORT SENTENCES AND SHORT PARAGRAPHS.

c. BE COMPACT.

d. TIE THOUGHTS TOGETHER.

3. STRENGTH

A letter with strength is entirely different from a strong letter. A strong letter makes its points
with unpleasant emphasis. The noun strength is almost the same word as strong, but it does not
have an unpleasant meaning. Strength is achieved through the choice of words.

The strength of a letter may be measured by the following points:

a. USE CONCRETE, SPECIFIC WORDS.

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 Concrete words give the reader an exact picture, while abstract words name qualities,
conditions, actions or relations. Choose words that express precisely the idea you wish to
convey.

Look at the difference these concrete, specific words make:

BROAD LIMITING PRECISE

Structure Building Pentagon

Employee Accountant Auditor
Program (in Government) Public Welfare Retirement Benefits
Reproduce Photograph Photostat

b. USE ACTIVE VERBS

Another way to strengthen letters, and at the same time shorten sentences, is to use fewer
passive verbs and more active verbs. The active voice is called the S-V-O pattern – the
subject, verb, object pattern. When a verb is in the active voice, the subject of the sentence
does the acting. In the passive voice the subject of the sentence receives the action of the
verb.

Example: “I shall always remember my first hurricane” uses an active subject-verb

combination, “I remember.” “My first hurricane will always be remembered by me” uses
the passive “remembered by me” verb-subject combination.

c. GIVE THE ANSWER, THEN EXPLAIN

Answer the reader’s question in the first paragraph, and then follow with an explanation
if one is necessary.

d. DON’T HEDGE

By hedging, a letter-writer gives himself a loophole to escape from statements that are
slightly doubtful or not fully inclusive. Hedged statements lose forcefulness.

Try to avoid using: APPARENTLY, GENERALLY, NORMALLY

4. SINCERITY

The last S is sincerity and it is the most difficult to discuss. No one can tell you how to be
sincere, but we can point to things we do unwittingly that muffle the tone of sincerity.

There are four suggestions for improving the tone of a letter:

a. BE HUMAN

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 Write in human terms. Use personal pronouns like you, he, she, we and I. Use the proper
names of the people you write about, James Smith, Mr. Jones and Mrs. Green. Use names
that stand for human beings – child, father, mother, son and daughter. Use words like these
frequently whenever it is natural and fitting to do so.

Write in the active voice with I or we as the subject; or, as a last resort, make your agency the
subject.

I believe
We understand
This board recommends

b. ADMIT MISTAKES

The writer who admits mistakes in plain language can earn the goodwill and respect of the
reader. Don’t try to ignore, gloss over or rectify mistakes by using meaningless words. Admit
the mistake and let the reader know what you are doing to correct the error.

c. LIMIT INTENSIVES AND EMPHATICS

Words that intensify the meaning of a sentence are not as effective in writing as they are in
speech. Intensives include adjectives and adverbs like highest, deepest, very much, extremely
and undoubtedly.

Emphatics call special attention to a statement. Emphatics used in government letters include it
is to be noted, we would like to point out, an important consideration, is a well-known fact and
we call your attention to the fact. An occasional well-chosen emphatic, like an occasional
intensive, will have the desired effect. But useless and repeated emphatics give the reader the
impression you are laboring to get your facts across.

d. DON’T BE SERVILE OR ARROGANT

Strive to express yourself in a friendly way with a simple dignity befitting a governmental
agency.

Don’t appear to argue by point-blank statements that the reader is wrong, misunderstands or has
not made himself clear. Avoid implied criticism and don’t talk down to the reader.

Don’t make high-handed statements that appear to tell the reader to shut up. Don’t say with
scathing aloofness this office has no jurisdiction over. If you know who has jurisdiction, tell the
reader. If you don’t, tell him you are sorry you can’t help.

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 II. SENTENCE STYLE

A. EFFECTIVENESS

EFFECTIVE SENTENCES: An effective sentence must have unity, coherence and emphasis.

1. UNITY requires that the sentence express connected thoughts. The relationship of
thoughts must be clearly shown.

WEAK: Fred Smith visited me last summer, and he once lived in France.

BETTER: Fred Smith, who visited me last summer, once lived in France.

2. COHERENCE requires that the connections between different parts of the sentence be
perfectly clear.

CONFUSING: Betty returned the book which she had borrowed last week this afternoon.

CLEAR: This afternoon, Betty returned the book which she had borrowed last week.

3. EMPHASIS, or force, is given to the main ideas of a sentence by placing them properly
in the position of greatest emphasis – the beginning and the closing. Force is given by
arranging ideas in order of climax, by repetition of words, by the use of figures of speech,
by the addition of modifiers, by conciseness of expression and by variety.

4. A more CONCISE EXPRESSION sometimes adds force. Conciseness, in a statement,

may be gained by changes in form or style.

An appositive may be substituted for a sentence:

John Doe addressed the meeting. He is our president.
John Doe, our president, addressed the meeting.

A participial phrase may replace a clause:

The man who is standing near the desk is the president.
The man standing near the desk is the president.

A participial phrase also may be used to replace a sentence:

The beautiful building was destroyed by fire. It was completed only a year ago.
The beautiful building, completed only a year ago, was destroyed by fire.

A noun clause may replace a sentence:

George is ambitious. The fact is self-evident.
That George is ambitious is self-evident.

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 A gerund may make a sentence more concise:
It is my ambition to achieve merited success.
The achieving of merited success is my ambition.

An infinitive may make a sentence more concise:

That I may win merited success is my ambition.
To win merited success is my ambition.

B. STRUCTURE AND STYLE

1. CONFUSING REFERENCES: a sentence may be faulty because a pronoun is placed where
it may refer to more than one word: There should be no uncertainty as to what word is the
antecedent of a relative or a personal pronoun.

Confusing reference of the relative pronoun:

CONFUSING: She left the book on the table which she had just bought from the publisher.
(The which seems to refer to the table, though it should refer to the book.)

CLEAR: She left on the table the book which she had just bought from the publisher. (The
which clearly refers to the book.)

Confusing reference of the personal pronoun:

CONFUSING: Harry told John that he would become a great musician. (It is not clear whether
he refers to Harry or to John.)

CLEAR: Harry said to John, “You will become a great musician.” OR, Harry said to John, “I
will become a great musician.”

An indefinite antecedent of the pronoun:

CONFUSING: She asked me to help her, but I paid no attention to it. (The it has nothing
definite to refer to.)

CLEAR: She made a request that I help her, but I paid no attention to it. (The antecedent is
request.)

As a rule, avoid using which to refer to a clause:

INEFFECTIVE: My sister came to see me, which pleased me greatly.

BETTER: I was pleased because my sister came to see me.

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Do not misuse them for those:
I think those (not them) roses are lovely.

Do not misuse they with indefinite reference:

People (not they) say he is honest.

2. UNRELATED IDEAS: Unrelated ideas should not be placed in the same sentence.

DISCONNECTED: Fred won the race, and he likes chocolate candy.

3. RUN-ON SENTENCES: A serious and common writing error is the run-on sentence in
which two sentences are written as one without punctuation.

INCORRECT: We rambled through the woods all day we did not reach home till late.

CORRECT: We rambled through the woods all day. We did not reach home till late.

4. COMMA BLUNDER: Two independent clauses not joined by a conjunction should not
be separated by a comma unless they make up a series. They should be separated by a
semicolon or written as two sentences.

INCORRECT: We spent the summer in Colorado, we had a good time.

CORRECT: We spent the summer in Colorado; we had a good time.

CORRECT: We spent the summer in Colorado, and we had a good time.

CORRECT: We spent the summer in Colorado. We had a good time.

5. PERIOD FAULT: Through the misuse of the period, students sometimes write
fragments for sentences.

INCORRECT: We returned home. Hoping to have another picnic soon. (A participle

phrase is written as a sentence.)

CORRECT: We returned home, hoping to have another picnic soon.

INCORRECT: They liked all kinds of games. Especially football.

CORRECT: They liked all kinds of games, especially football.

INCORRECT: We had a good time. When we were in Colorado. (A dependent clause is

written as a sentence.)

CORRECT: We had a good time when we were in Colorado.

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6. AND-AND CONSTRUCTION: It sounds childlike to join many sentences by and as if
all the ideas were of equal rank.

CHILDISH: We finished our work, and we went fishing, and we had a good time.

IMPROVED: After we had finished our work, we went fishing and had a good time.

7. OMISSION OF NECESSARY WORDS: This common fault occurs in several ways.

Subject of sentence omitted: The subject should be expressed in a declarative sentence in

order to make the meaning clear.

FAULTY: Went to the football game yesterday.

CORRECT: I (or He, They, etc.) went to the football game yesterday.

In the imperative sentence the subject is correctly omitted.

CORRECT: Lend me your book.

Subject of dependent clause omitted:

NOT CLEAR: When in Chicago, my father sent me a watch.

CORRECT: When I was (or he was) in Chicago, my father sent me a watch.

NOT CLEAR: When 10 years old, his mother died.

CORRECT: When he was 10 years old, his mother died.

In elliptical sentences, the omission (ellipsis) of words gives strength rather than
weakness, especially in the answers to questions:

Welcome (You are welcome.)

Where have I been? At school. (I have been at school).
Do you like Shakespeare’s plays? Yes. (Yes, I like Shakespeare’s plays.)

8. PARALLEL STRUCTURE: Parallel thoughts should be expressed in terms that are

grammatically parallel.

FAULTY: Swimming is more enjoyable than to row. (One is a gerund and the other is an
infinitive.)

BETTER: Swimming is more enjoyable than rowing. (Both are gerunds)

BETTER: To swim is more enjoyable than to row. (Both are infinitives).

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9. DANGLING MODIFIERS: Modifiers should not be left dangling – with nothing to
modify. A participial phrase or a prepositional phrase at the beginning of a sentence
relates to the subject of that sentence and is followed by a comma.

FAULTY: Walking down the street, the beautiful building was admired. (The building
did no walking.)

CLEAR: Walking down the street, we admired the beautiful building.

FAULTY: On entering the room, the picture is seen. (There is nothing for the phrase to
modify; the picture does not do the entering.)

CLEAR: On entering the room, one may see the picture. (The introductory prepositional
phrase which contains a gerund modifies one.)

10. MISPLACED MODIFIERS: Modifiers – whether they are words, phrases, or clauses –
should be placed so that their meaning is immediately clear to the reader.

CONFUSING: She almost spent a hundred dollars.

CLEAR: She spent almost a hundred dollars.

CONFUSING: We saw a man on a horse with a wooden leg.

CLEAR: We saw a man with a wooden leg on a horse.

CONFUSING: Jane saw a hat in a window which she liked.

CLEAR: Jane saw in a window a hat which she liked.

11. SHIFTS IN STRUCTURE

Avoid needless shifts in person:

One must work if one (not you) would succeed.

Avoid needless shifts in number:

One should do one’s (not their) duty.

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Avoid needless shifts in voice:

As we went up the path, we saw a snake (not a snake was seen).

Avoid needless shifts in tense:

The hunter went into the woods and there he saw (not sees) a deer.

Avoid needless shifts in subject:

Ted’s letters are interesting, for they are cleverly written (not he is a clever boy).

Anticlimax: The sentence may lose effectiveness from anticlimax, the reverse of climax,
arranging ideas in the order of descending importance.

Flood has brought to these people death, disease, hunger.

EFFECTIVE REPETITION: Repetition of words may either strengthen or weaken a

composition, depending upon whether important or trivial ideas are repeated.

A sentence may be strengthened by repetition of important words or ideas.

MONOTONOUS REPETITION: Avoid the careless repetition of words.

Monotonous: Autumn is the most enjoyable time of year, for it is in autumn that the
weather is most enjoyable.

Improved: Autumn is the most enjoyable time of the year, for it is the season when
the weather is most pleasant.

WORDINESS: A sentence may lose some of its effectiveness through wordiness –

lack of economy in the use of words.

Wordy: He spoke in a very enthusiastic manner to the boys and girls of the high
school about the wonderful opportunities of the future which lay ahead of them.

Concise: He spoke with enthusiasm to the high school students about the
opportunities of the future.

REDUNDANCY denotes the use of unnecessary words:

Example: Joe, he works fast. This here book is good.

TAUTOLOGY is the needless repetition of an idea in different words:

Example: She is a widow woman. It is an ancient, old castle.

ARTIFICIAL EXPRESSION: A sentence may lose strength because of artificial

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 expression.

Artificial: A vast concourse of those amicably inclined toward him assembled to do him
honor on his natal day.

Natural: Many of his friends came to celebrate his birthday.

Check for Ease of Understanding

Many computer word processing programs have the capability of evaluating what you have
written and will tell you how easy, or difficult, it is to understand. Some of these programs use
Gunning’s Fog Index; others use the Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level or Flesh Reading Ease
indicators. The principle is the same – they analyze what you have written and draw attention to
potential problems in grammar and syntax.

In Microsoft Word, click on Tools, then Word Count for the number of pages, words, characters,
paragraphs and lines in your document.

Also, when Microsoft Word finishes checking spelling and grammar, it can display information
about the reading level of the document. Each readability score bases its rating on the average
number of syllables per word and words per sentence.

Flesch Reading Ease score

Rates text on a 100-point scale; the higher the score, the easier it is to understand the document.
For most standard documents, aim for a score of approximately 60 to 70.

The formula for the Flesch Reading Ease score is:

206.835 – (1.015 x ASL) – (84.6 x ASW)

where:

ASL = average sentence length (the number of words divided by the number of sentences)

ASW = average number of syllables per word (the number of syllables divided by the number of
words)

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Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score
Rates text on a U.S. school grade level. For example, a score of 8.0 means that an eighth grader
can understand the document. For most documents, aim for a score of approximately 7.0 to 8.0.

The formula for the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score is:

(.39 x ASL) + (11.8 x ASW) – 15.59

where:

ASL = average sentence length (the number of words divided by the number of sentences)

ASW = average number of syllables per word (the number of syllables divided by the number of
words)

Robert Gunning’s Fog Index

Robert Gunning’s Fog Index also measures the readability level of written material, and is a little
easier to use than the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formula. To determine the Fog Index of a
section of writing, choose a sample of 100 words, or more, that is free of quotations from other
writers, then follow this simple formula: (average number of words per sentence) + (number of
words with three or more syllables) x .04 = Fog Index. The Fog Index is the approximate grade
level the reader must have to understand what you wrote.

Keep It Simple
An average sentence should have 17 words and an average paragraph should have three
sentences. Some government documents have contained sentences that ran for 45, 50, 60 and
even 80 words, and had single paragraphs that were longer than a page. Be sure your documents
don’t do that!

Remember, someone with a Ph.D. can understand what is written for an eighth grader; but the
person with less than a high school education will probably not comprehend what is written at
the Ph.D. level. (And even if all the members of your intended audience each have four masters
and two doctoral degrees, why make it hard for them to read and understand your writings?)

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 III – PUNCTUATION…,-;:.!%&*””/?\
We write to communicate.
Not much punctuation in that sentence – one period and you can move on to the next thought.
But, if that sentence were spoken, the eye would register the facial expression, the ears would
pick up tone and dialect, and the brain would sort out innuendos.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had all those tools working for us when we write?

We don’t. When we write, we make a sound in the reader’s head. That sound can be a joyful
noise, a sly whisper, a throb of passion or a dull rumble (like so much of the government prose
that puts people to sleep).

Learn to listen to the sounds your words make. One of the most important tools for making
paper speak in your own voice is punctuation. We rely on punctuation to do for us what pauses,
stresses and inflections do for talking. Recognizing that reality underscores the necessity for
correct punctuation, all punctuation serves one of four purposes:

To terminate, use a period, a question mark, and exclamation point, or sometimes a dash, ellipse
or colon.

To introduce, use a comma, a colon or a dash.

To separate, use a comma, a semicolon or a dash.

To enclose, use a comma, a dash, full quotation marks, a single quotation mark, a parenthesis or
a bracket.

Knowing which punctuation mark does what and when to use which one is the signature of a
good writer. Knowing the effect any punctuation mark has on a sentence marks an even better
writer.
Let’s sketch the basic punctuation marks one by one.

A. The period is simple – it ends a sentence.

B. The comma is used for brief pauses in thought, to separate short groups of words.

C. The semicolon accentuates word groups more forcibly than a comma, divides a sentence
into logical clauses or separates items listed.

D. The colon sets up what is to follow (and what follows elaborates, emphasizes or explains
what went before).

E. The dash summarizes or echoes whatever precedes it.

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 F. The parenthesis encloses a word or groups of words as a point of emphasis, explanation
or repetition.

G. The ellipse indicates a word or words omitted. The words replaced by an ellipse must be
one or more of those in the same sentence. Use the ellipse sparingly. Several ellipses in
a sentence or paragraph look bad; they also talk down to the reader, as if you know
something he doesn’t. Be sure those ellipses don’t hide more than the customary inane
words and phrases they replace.

H. The exclamation makes a point as forcibly as possible.

We can dispense with any discussion of the period, parenthetical marks and the exclamation
point. Their use is so specific, they beg no clarification.

Most of the punctuation problems focus on the comma, the semicolon, the colon and the dash.
They deserve the most attention.

1. The comma(,)
Few things will do more to improve your writing than confident, correct use of the comma. Its
misuse, on the other hand, can obscure and confound like no other punctuation mark. Gather any
number of people in a room. Give them a series of long sentences to punctuate. When the dust
clears, half will have used too many commas, the other half not enough. It boils down to when
to and when not to.

Review these basic guidelines to help you find the balance.

a) Use a comma to separate lengthy, independent clauses in a compound sentence.

Ex: They have not responded to our orders, nor do I think they ever will.

b) Use a comma to set off a lengthy introductory phrase or clause (usually a

prepositional phrase) from the subject of the sentence.
EX: Although they obviously intend to follow company policy, they have yet to
complete their filing for the month.

c) Use a pair of commas to set off a word or group of words which serve to emphasize.
EX: On that occasion, it seems, he was careless. (Remember, it’s always a pair of
commas.

d) Use commas to divide elements in a series.

EX: She blushed, stammered, sneezed, shook her head and burst into tears.
The English language is forever changing; so go with the flow, not against it. Most of us
were taught in school NOT to use a comma before conjunctions (and, but, because & as).

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In today’s writing, comprehension is nudging aside strict adherence to that comma rule.
Here’s how it works today:

If the number of words following the conjunction are few (1-7) then you do not need to
put a comma before the and, but, because or as. (The OLD way of doing things.) If the
number of words following the conjunction are NUMEROUS and likely to involve one
or more phrases or even a clause or two, a comma before the conjunction helps
comprehension. So, use one.

*******
The goal of punctuation is comprehension.
If you have to bend an old rule to make that happen, so be it.

*******

e) Use commas with transposed initials, with titles and always in dates.
EX: Dexter Lenci, M.D. or Jones, B.W. The boys sailed for Europe on June 22, 1962.

f) Use a comma, or commas, to prevent misreading.

EX: The morning after, a policeman came to the door. In 1942, 361 men from this town entered
the Army.

That’s a basic example of when to use commas. Let’s look next at when not to use them.

g) Don’t use a comma before the first or after the last member of a series.
EX: (Correct) The forest ranger was looking for tree stumps, fallen branches, trampled flowers
and loose rocks. (No comma after for and none before and.)

h) Don’t use a weak comma when a stronger semicolon or colon is needed. The stronger form
of punctuation is appropriate when you list several thoughts or if you are making an emphatic
point. A comma simply won’t do that effectively.

INCORRECT: The orders were specific, keep the motor running, remove the tarpaulin from
the truck bed, raise the lift and secure the wench to the bumper.

CORRECT: The orders were specific: keep the motor running; remove the tarpaulin from the
truck bed; raise the lift; and secure the wench to the bumper.

i) Don’t use the comma to separate a word in apposition that really needs to be strong, i.e., no
comma is needed before or after Margaret in: My sister Margaret is a lovely woman. (That may
not be the way you were taught in school, but it is today’s approach to good grammar.)

j) Don’t use a comma to replace such pronouns as it, they, who, whom, which.

k) Never use a comma and a dash in combinations; they do different things in a sentence.

20
l) Never use a comma before the ampersand (&).

m) No comma is needed between a month and its year; i.e. March 2008, NOT March, 2008 or
when using military dates; i.e. 14 March 2008.

Entire books have been written about when and when not to use the comma. Most of us will
never encounter many of those conditions; so don’t worry about them.

Take a different, and more effective, approach to the use of commas. Recognize that a comma
breaks the flow of thought, if only briefly. Since reading comprehension demands consistent
thought with as few interruptions as possible, keeping the number of commas per sentence to two
or three is a good rule.

2. The semicolon (;)

The semicolon is nothing more than a mark of separation or division – stronger than the comma,
but weaker then the period. Use it wisely, but be cautious not to over-use commas.

A suggestion was made in the discussion about commas – use no more than two or three commas
per sentence. Comprehension survives by keeping the number of semicolons in a sentence at
that same level – two or three. The logic for that relates to comprehension.

Create a sentence using several semicolons, and listen as the mind jumps from clause to clause.
Too much of that and the original point of the sentence becomes hazy. It’s far easier on the
reader to digest another sentence rather than struggle over a string of semicolon phrases before
the period comes into view.

If what you have put inside a semicolon phrase is strong enough by itself, toss in a period and
begin a new sentence. The changeover could work like this:

FROM THIS: The agency’s policy on travel is based on necessity; the necessity to be
outside the office to carry on state business; the impracticability of such business being
conducted in the office; and the availability of funds to cover travel expenses.

TO THIS: The agency’s policy on travel is based on necessity and the availability of
funds to cover expenses. Travel expenses are paid when agency business requires the
work be done outside the office.

A semicolon is effective when used to separate two or more complete thoughts (make sure the
two are close in meaning or provide similar information). That creates a strong compound
sentence.

Example: Don’t guess at spelling; you rarely win.

21
Use a semicolon to divide complete statements tied together by a conjunctive adverb (also,
anyhow, besides, otherwise, etc.)

Example: Don’t guess at spelling; otherwise, you open yourself to correction.

3. The colon (:)

The colon is the best warning signal we have in writing. The colon anticipates; it says watch for
what is coming. What is coming usually is explanatory or illustrative material set up by a word
or words which precede the colon.

The colon can be an effective punctuation tool, but use it sparingly. Don’t set one up, then
follow with a string of semicolon phrases that stretches line after line before you stop. Do that,
and it’s guaranteed that long before you get to the period, you’ve already forgotten what the
sentence was going to say in the first place.

Use the colon:

To introduce something
Example: Several things could have caused the damage: heavy winds blowing from the sea,
termites, an explosion or sabotage.
To separate
Example: 10:45 a.m. or John 3:16

For clear writing, avoid a love-hate relationship with the colon. Don’t use the colon in lieu of a
dash. Remember the difference – the basic use of a colon is to anticipate, while a dash
summarizes or accentuates what has gone on before.

a) Don’t use a colon if only one clause or phrase follows before the period ends it all.
You’ll discover that usually is the perfect spot for a semicolon, NOT a colon. Better yet,
consider forming two sentences.

b) Don’t use the colon after namely or for instance. It is good grammar to set up as
follows and the following with a colon.

c) Do not use a colon directly after the conjunction that or which.

Any discussion of the colon leads to its proper use as a listing tool. Once you set up a sequence
of information with a colon, separate each item with a semicolon, use and after the last phrase
and close it out with a period.

Example: The division’s goal is:

to provide sufficient services to the public;
to establish and enforce regulations which govern mining operations;
to record all permits requested and granted for mining operations; and
to report annually the results of services provided.

22
Remember – the colon is strong medicine and should be used carefully. It automatically causes a
break in reading, so be sure that’s what you intend.

4. The dash(--) and hyphen (-)

The dash is a good punctuation device. A dash summarizes or accentuates what has been said in
the first part of the sentence. Use it correctly, but seldom.
Example: The hurricane was awesome – expanding and increasing in intensity.

The hyphen looks somewhat like the dash. But it is only one dash ( - ) and it serves a primary
purpose, e.g., to break a word at the end of a sentence. Of course, you also use a dash to connect
compound words; e.g., spell-binding, 66-year-old man, well-written.

Use hyphens:
a) to avoid confusion.
Example: He recovered his health, but couldn’t re-cover the leaky roof.

b) for compound modifiers that precede a noun.

Example: full-time job.
bluish-green dress
first-quarter touchdown.
Do not use a hyphen when the compound modifier follows the noun.

c) for compound modifiers used after forms of the to be verbs.

Example: The man is well-known.
The play was second-rate.

d) to express two thought compounds.

Example: socio-economic

e) to separate figures in odds, ratios, scores and numbers ending in y.

Example: The horse is running under eight-to-one odds.
UNC beat Duke 100-87.
The iodine is mixed with water in a four-to-one ration.
He turns twenty-one years old on Friday.

Do not use a hyphen with adverbs ending in ly.

Example: Her skills are markedly superior to his.

It is suggested that writers DO NOT hyphenate any of the words of a government agency, i.e.
Department of Environment, NOT Department of Environ-ment. It’s better to have a little extra
white space hanging at the end of a sentence than to cause confusion. This holds particularly
true for correspondence.

23
5. Quotation marks (“ “)
Quotation marks precede and end. A few pointers are offered.

a) For the sake of comprehension, it’s best to break a quote into two or more paragraphs
if the quote is lengthy. Begin the quote with (“), omit it at the end of the first paragraph,
repeat the (“ )as you continue to quote in the succeeding paragraph(s), then be sure and
close the quote with (“).

Example: “As I said before,” Governor Easley told the mayors, “local and state
governments must forge a partnership.
“To fail to do so will unravel the good will and understanding that is needed for the
programs demanded by the public.”

b) Quotes within quotes are tough. Remember that any computer has one or more single
quote keys. Alternate between double quotation marks and single marks.

Example: She said, “I quote from AC Snow’s book, ‘I’m not ashamed to admit that some
of my best friends used to be Yankees,’ a remark from A Dust of Snow.”

Inside or Outside – Deciding where to properly include quotation marks can be confusing:

The comma and period always are enclosed within the quotation marks; but the colon and
semicolon are never enclosed with quotation marks.

Inside – “Men will walk on the moon before this decade comes to a close,” said the President in
1961.
“Our venture into space,” President Kennedy said, “is a test of will as well as science.”

Outside – “He moved the vehicle off the road after carefully removing the ‘dead and injured’: yet
his instincts told him this was an exercise, not reality.”

6. The apostrophe (‘)

The apostrophe indicates an omission of a letter or letters from a word. The most common use is
as a contraction; e.g., aren’t. The apostrophe forms possessives of nouns and certain pronouns;
e.g., men’s, or doctors’ (when it is used to apply to collectively plural nouns or pronouns). It
indicates plurals of letters, numerals, symbols, and certain abbreviations; e.g., 8’s.

Writers are often confused about whether or not to use an apostrophe when expressing a decade
or century. Most of us were taught to always express it as 1890’s or the 1900’s. Times change;
and grammar flows with it. Style editors now say that use of an apostrophe in that case is
outdated. The correct form is 1890s or the 1900s.

24
 IV. ABBREVIATIONS
The best style advice about abbreviations is to avoid them. If you must abbreviate, be sure the
abbreviation has universal understanding, don’t make them up on your own. You, the writer,
may know what you mean, but your reader probably won't.

If you feel compelled to abbreviate, keep these points in mind:

A. Don’t trust your memory of how a word is abbreviated – check the dictionary.

B. If there’s any doubt about the correct abbreviation of a word or title, spell it out.

C. Stick to standard address abbreviations: Ave. (Avenue); Blvd. (Boulevard); Bldg.

(Building); Ct. (Court); Dr. (Drive); Ln. (Lane); Pl. (Place); Rd. (Road); Sq. (Square); St.
(Street); and Ter. (Terrace).

D. It’s best not to abbreviate county as co. (it could also mean company) ; and always capitalize
it when it follows the county name (Lincoln County).

When you list several counties, that guideline changes, so be careful:

Example 1: The river meanders through the counties of Martin, Pitt and Bertie.
Example 2: The river meanders through Martin, Pitt and Bertie counties.

E. Consistency is the byword for abbreviating south, north, west, and east. You can abbreviate
them as part of an address, e.g. S. Elm St. Beyond that, it’s better grammar to spell them, e.g.
West Indies, He lives west of here. To describe geographical regions, capitalize them, e.g. The
South is known for its hospitality.

F. Be consistent in abbreviating academic titles and degrees: B.A. (Bachelor of Arts); B.S.
(Bachelor of Science); M.A. (Master of Arts); M.S. (Master of Science); PhD (Doctor of
Philosophy). To express academic achievement in terms of Master’s Degree in Biology or
Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, be sure and capitalize the subject of the degree.

G. For clarity, do not abbreviate days of the week or months of the year in text.

H. When referring to decades, spell out the period, E.G., in the eighties, or as contractions, e.g.
in the 1890s.

I. For measurements, use figures rather than words; e.g., 100 miles. When estimating
something, use the correct punctuation; e.g., approx., or av. (for average).
The caution on use of abbreviations needs emphasis: Don’t abbreviate unless the abbreviation
has universal clarity.

Again, exercise great caution when using abbreviations: Don’t abbreviate unless the
abbreviation has universal clarity.

25
 V. CAPITALIZATION

Correct capitalization requires common sense and knowledge of basic rules. Following are some
capitalization pitfalls most often encountered in government writing.

Titles – Director of when it precedes the name, but not when it follows the name, e.g. Division
Director Joe Smith; but Joe Smith, director of the Division of Criminal Investigations.

Agency descriptions – lower case department, division, section or branch in reference, e.g. work
of the division. Capitalize when citing the full name, e.g. Water Measuring Section of the
Division of Environmental Awareness.

State – capitalize only when the word is part of a formal title, e.g. The State Parole Commission,
the Dept. of Crime Control and Public Safety. Lower case the word at all other times (even if it
goes against the grain to do so). Example: state of North Carolina.

26
 VI. ACRONYMS

An acronym is created by assigning letters to represent words. They enable quick reference to a
collection of words that would otherwise be laboriously repeated ad nauseam. However, they
can also make a document confusing when overused. Unfortunately, acronyms have become so
imbedded in government writings that many documents are ineffective.

Our state government takes a back seat to no one in creating the using acronyms.
Alcohol Law Enforcement becomes ALE.
State Highway Patrol becomes SHP.

Since we can’t completely avoid acronyms, at least we can make them manageable.

A. Spell out the words in the first usage and follow immediately with the acronym in all caps in
parenthesis – Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

B. Once established, the acronym can subsequently be used in lieu of spelling the words each
time.
Example: Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) competes for
funding in the General Assembly like all other state agencies. DENR, however, is more
successful than some agencies.

C. Write acronyms in all caps, never caps and lower case or all lower case letters.

D. Each letter of an acronym represents a word; e.g. in DENR, the D represents Department, E
represents Environment, N is Natural and R represents Resources. The acronym should never
include a, the, or and.

E. Not ALL running capital letters bunched together are actually ACRONYMS. Most are
simply abbreviations.

A true acronym is an abbreviation that creates a word that must be pronounceable, i.e. APES and
snafu. So, LPACRSF (Local Programs to Assist Children at Risk of School Failure) is NOT an
acronym; it’s simply an abbreviation. So is CCPS. Good editors recognize the difference. They
never let an acronym nor an abbreviation stand without being explained.

27
 VII – EDITING

A. Introduction to Editing
Editing is confirming, changing, cutting, expanding or rearranging words. To edit is to polish, to
put in the best form possible. The instinct to edit is stronger in some people than in others.
Some even turn that instinct into a fetish.

If you doubt that, type something and purposefully make mistakes in usage, punctuation or
spelling. Tape it to your office door and see what happens. Long before the paper can become
faded with age, some mysterious person or persons will have come by and marked up your
words – confirming, changing, cutting, expanding or rearranging.

Editing requires knowledge of grammar and basic sentence structure, insight into what the writer
intended to say, and the ability to improve the author’s writing. Editing embraces a little of
everything in this manual. The principles of sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, and
writing style – they all apply, whatever is being edited. In our work as information processors,
two basic types of editing are involved – copyediting and substantive editing.

1. Copyediting
Copyediting is the most common editing process. It simply means to review a manuscript for
grammar, spelling and punctuation. That’s usually the most attention we give to our writing or
to that of others.

Copyedit with confidence and accuracy and most of the bad grammar will evaporate. But, if
you’re still reading this manual and need help on communicating beyond accuracy, the next step
opens the door to creativity.

Copyediting does not mean rewriting or reorganizing what someone else has written. That’s
called substantive editing.

2. Substantive Editing
Substantive editing involves writing, editing and proofreading. It is the whole ball of wax.
Substantive editing can include copyediting, rewriting, reorganizing, writing transitions and/or
summaries, eliminating wordiness, reviewing content for accuracy and logic, and developing a
consistent tone and style. It can even expand to planning the publication and supervising the
production.

To be professional at substantive editing, author and editor must communicate. The author must
give you full authority to improve what has been written. Without an understanding of what
substantive editing entails – by both parties – conflicts arise and blame starts to flow.
Once substantive editing has been completed, be sure to review the result with the author –
before proofreading begins.

28
B. Editing Procedures

1. Prior Knowledge

• Do not begin editing until you have all of the information and it has been checked by the
author for spelling of names and titles, facts, dates and figures.

• Know the purpose, the audience, the timetable for production and the intended use of the
material BEFORE you begin to edit.

2. Editing Methods

• Editing is not easy. It requires concentration, an instinct for spotting errors, a conviction
to make words work properly and a determination to make the copy simple and clear. Of
all the above, none is more important than concentration.

• Read the copy through one time without applying the editing pencil. A first reading will
let you know the degree of editing that will be needed. You most likely will spot some
obvious errors that proofreading will take care of later.

• Keep a note pad handy to jot down points to raise with the author.

• As you edit, play each sentence very simply – subject, verb, object. Don’t be misled by
flowing prose. Hidden somewhere in there is a subject, verb and object. Any one of
them may be implied from a prior sentence, but they still exist for the sentence with
which you are working.

• Look for active, strong verbs in ANYTHING you edit. If they don’t exist, it’s your
responsibility as a substantive editor to create them for the author. Passive expression not
only wastes paper, it lulls the reader into boredom.

Example: Rather than say, “The meeting was called by the secretary,” be far more
active by saying, “The secretary called the meeting.” Recognize the difference?

• Watch constantly for syntax pitfalls: misplaced modifiers; noun strings; subject-verb
tense mismatches; personal pronouns that don’t match; split infinitives; dangling
participles; redundancies; or wordy clauses that run on and on and say nothing.

• Keep spelling and punctuation in mind at all times.

29
C. Editing tips
1. Concentrate. Good editing cannot be rushed; nor should it be. Develop a routine that
allows for isolation or as few interruptions as feasible. Distractions while you are editing
often allow mistakes to float by without being recognized.

2. Trust Your Instincts. As you read, listen to that alarm bell going off in your head, then
stop and check it out. (Keep a current dictionary handy and learn to use the spell check
feature of your computer.)

3. Talk to the author if you can’t understand what you are editing. If YOU can’t understand
it, neither will the reader.

4. Look for the obvious: misspelled words, spelling of names and titles, punctuation and
acronyms that go unexplained.

5. Use any and all reference guides you need as you edit (dictionary, thesaurus, spelling
guide). Let them be the final authority – not what someone swears is right or wrong.

6. Don’t change anything unless it is “broke.” The copy belongs to the author. The author
wants you to get it in the right shape, not alter the facts or change the purpose.

7. Ask someone unfamiliar with the copy to take a cursory look at your editing job. They
just may see something you’ve missed.

30
 VIII – PROOFREADING
Proofreading basically is comparing copy and marking corrections. Sounds simple enough, but
it’s a critical step because it usually is the final stage. Anything that slips through at that point
will surely come back to haunt you. There are some basic remedies which will protect any
proofreader.

A. Be sure you have ALL the copy to be proofed before you start. Proofing, without copy to go
by, limits the effort to check for typographical errors and obvious misspelled words.

B. Concentration, as it is in editing, is the meat and potatoes of proofreading. Don’t apologize

for it; to allow interruptions as you proofread is to open the door to sins of omission.

C. Trust your instincts. Typos, broken type, misspelled words and hazy punctuation should
stare at you. Faith in your knowledge of grammar will give power to your instincts.

D. If possible, make proofreading a two-person operation. One reads the copy while the other
proofreads. (Let the best speller of the two proofread the manuscript.)

E. If you proofread alone, place the copy and the proof sheet side by side. Then compare word
by word or phrase by phrase.

F. Don’t let the copy’s author do the proofreading. It’s the author’s natural tendency to read
what the copy is supposed to say, rather than what it does say.

Proofreading Tips

A. Let the author check the copy before you start proofreading.

B. Avoid making lengthy notes in the margins. If copy additions or changes stretch to a dozen
words or more, key the location with a letter or number and type the new words on a separate
sheet of paper and attach it. Be sure and use the same key.

C. PRINT corrections or additions. Unfortunately, most of today’s cursive writing is pitiful.

Remember, if the printer cannot read your changes, the printer will guess at it; and you can
imagine what THAT will create.

D. Sidestep the tendency to take small words for granted (prepositions, articles, etc.).

E. Carefully proofread numbers in the text and in tables.

F. Be consistent in proofreading. Don’t mark a punctuation error one way on page two and a
different way on page five.
Example: Use the # symbol to indicate space is needed or if space is to be deleted. Don’t
use # in one place, and write out the word space the next time it happens.

31
G. Look closely for mistakes in titles, headings and page numbers. Those miscues are the ones
often overlooked.

H. Proof the table of contents against chapter headings, subheads and page numbers to ensure
they conform.

I. If time is available, have someone unfamiliar with the copy read it before you pass it on to the
printer or walk to the copy machine. Often, they can spot mistakes simply because they know
nothing of the subject matter.

J. Don’t assume spell check will catch and correct all errors. The copy still should be
proofread. Eg. From and form are not interchangeable, yet spell check will not highlight the
mistake.

Proofreading Symbols
Printers rely on standard proofreading symbols to interpret copy changes. They may look like
hieroglyphics, but they do the job well. Become familiar with the most often-used ones and keep
a list handy. The following two pages show the most often used symbols and how they are used.

Instruction Mark in Mark in Type Corrected Type

Margin

Delete the good word the word

Insert material the word the good word

Let it stand The good word the good word

Make capital the word the Word

Make lower case The word the word

Set in small capitals See word See WORD

Set in italic type The word is word. The word is word.

Set in roman type the word the word

Set in boldface type the entry word The entry word

Set in lightface type the entry word the entry word

Transpose the word good the good word

Close up space the word the word

32
Delete and close up space the word the word

Spell out 2 words two words

Insert: space theword the word

period This is the word This is the word.

comma words words, words words, words, words

hyphen word for word test word-for-word test

colon The following words The following words:

semicolon Scan the words skim words Scan the words; skim the words.

Apostrophe Johns words John’s words

Quotation marks the word word the word “word”

Parentheses The word word is in parentheses The word (word) is in parentheses

Brackets He read from the Word the Bible. He read from the Word [The Bible].

En dash 1964 1972 1964-1972

Start Paragraph “Where is it?” “Where is it?”

“It’s on the shelf.” “It’s on the shelf.”

Run in The entry word is printed The entryword is printed

in boldface. in boldface. The pronunciation
The pronunciation follows. follows.

Move left the word the word

Move right the word the word

Align the word the word

the word the word
the word the word

Wrong font the word the word

33
 IX- Report Outline
For most short reports and documents, numbering subject areas or paragraphs with simple 1, 2, 3
or A, B, C is sufficient. For long or involved documents a standard system of numbering is
required. This manual is laid out using the numbering system recommended in the Chicago
Manual of Style. The numerals are aligned on the periods that follow them, and are either set
flush with the text or indented. In either case, carryover lines are best aligned with the first word
following the numeral.

In the following example from the Chicago Manual of Style note that the numerals or letters
denoting the top three levels are set off by periods and those for the loser levels by single and
double parentheses:

I. Historical introduction
II. Dentition in various groups of vertebrates
A. Reptilia
1. Histology and development of reptilian teeth
2. Survey of forms
B. Mammalia
1. Histology and development of mammalian teeth
2. Survey of forms
a) Primates
(1) Lemuroidea
(2) Anthropoidea
(a) Platyrrhini
(b) Catarrhini
i) Cercopitecidea
ii) Pongidea
b) Carnivora
(1)Cresodonta
(2)Fissipedia
(a)Ailuroidea
(b)Arctoidea
(3)Pinnipedia
c) Etc.

In the example above note that roman numerals are aligned on the following period or
parenthesis. Any run-over lines would be aligned as the copy is in this manual.

Many of the computer word processing programs in use are equipped with an outline feature.
The key to successfully numbering a publication is consistency! Whether you use the system
recommended here, one that comes on your computer or design your own, be consistent in its
use.

34
 X – BUSINESS FORMATS
BUSINESS LETTERS

Since the initial impression a reader receives is strongly affected by the appearance of a letter,
the arrangement of the parts of a business letter on letterhead is important.

A. STATIONERY

Quality and simplicity are the major factors in choosing stationery for most business letters.
Simplicity means the opposite of eye-catching –you do not want your stationery to catch the
reader’s eye and detract from the message. Standard size of a business letterhead is 8 ½ by 11
inches. White is the standard color. Standard size of the envelope for standard letterheads is No.
10.

B. TYPE STYLES
There are many type-styles from which to choose. Probably the most-used is Times New
Roman, Arial, Verdana and Courier. Unless you are preparing invitations, stay away script
writing such as Script MT Bold.

Typefaces can be divided into two main categories: serif and sans serif. Serifs comprise the
small features at the end of strokes within letters. The printing industry refers to typeface without
serifs as sans serif (from French sans: without). Typefaces with serifs are often considered
easier to read in long passages than those without. However, sans serif has been determined to
be easier to read on a computer.

Here are four common type styles:

Arial is a sans-serif typeface.

Courier, also known as Pica, was designed to resemble a

typewriter strike.

Times New Roman is a serif typeface, developed for legibility and economy of space. The font
is a modern day pencil font.

Verdana, a sans serif type, was designed to be readable at small sizes on a

computer screen. The letters are large, x-height (heights of lower-case
letters, as scaled to the letter x being exactly equal to one), and have wide
proportions and loose letter-spacing.

The size of typefaces and fonts is traditionally measured in points. The most popular is the
Desktop Publishing point of 1/72 inches.

35
 *****
Write to inform, not impress
*****

C. LETTER STYLES

The two preferred basic letter styles are: BLOCK and MODIFIED BLOCK. In the block
style, all lines start at the left margin. In the modified block style, the date and closing lines
are started at the center point and the paragraphs are indented or blocked.

D. THE PARTS OF A LETTER

1. THE DATE

When you use a letterhead, type the date at the left margin or begin at the center of the page
(depending on the letter style). It should be at least a triple space below the letterhead and about
four lines above the inside address, according to the policy of your department or the length of
the letter.

a) When typing the date, do not use an abbreviated style, such as 5/12/2010. This may mean
May 12, 2010 to you, but to a military person or a European, it means December 5, 2010.

b) Don’t abbreviate the month, either in the date of in the body of the letter. Do not use th, st,
nd, or d after the date. February 5, 2010, is clear and acceptable. Note that the comma must be
inserted before the year. In the instances where the form is reversed, such as 5 February 2010
(military or European usage), the comma is omitted.

2. ADDRESSEE

a) Use a courtesy title such as Mr. Mrs., Miss or Ms. With the name of every person to whom
you write, with one exception: If you do not know whether the addressee is a man or a woman,
omit the courtesy title.

b) If the person has a business or an executive title, use the title in the inside address – Mr.
William S. Thompson, assistant secretary, or Ms. Sally Harris, personnel officer. (This applies
only when using titles in addressing correspondence).

c) Where possible, the lines in the inside address should be fairly equal in length. If the
addressee’s name is shorter than the firm name, type the title on the line with the name preceded
by a comma.

Mr. Willis Goldston, President

Goldston Construction Company
6502 Taylor Lane
Bonlee, NC 27651

36
If the firm name is short, you may type the addressee’s title on the second line preceding the firm
name, with a comma after it.

Mrs. Sally Hellekson

Manager, Sally’s Interiors

If the addressee’s title is of such length that it would seriously unbalance the address, type the
title alone on the second line.

Dr. Clifford B. Morrison

Supervising Resident Physician
Lane Memorial Hospital

For the company name, follow the style used in the addressee’s letterhead. If abbreviations are
used in the addressee’s letterhead, they should be used in the inside address of your letter.

3. STREET ADDRESSES

The following styles are standard for street addresses:

a) Write the house numbers without a prefix – 2058 Waring Road (NOT: No. 2058 Waring
Road or #2058 Waring Road.

b) Write street, avenue and similar designations in full unless you must abbreviate to save
space.

c) For easy reading, spell out street names from First through Tenth. Use figures for numbers
from 11th on. Omit the ordinals st, d and th when a word like North or South separates the two
numbers: 206 North 32 Street.

d) In street names, write out North, South, East, West, Southeast and Northwest unless it is
necessary to abbreviate to save space.

e) Type abbreviations for sections of a city this way:

6156 Queen Avenue, N.E. (note comma).

4. CITIES, STATES AND ZIP CODES

In writing the city, state and ZIP Code, follow these recommendations.

a) Always write the city, state and ZIP code on one line.

b) Do not abbreviate the name of the city unless it is customarily written with an abbreviation.
For example, St. Louis and St. Paul should be written with the word Saint abbreviated.

37
c) Write the name of the state in full or use the two-letter abbreviation recommended by the U.S.
Postal Service and written without periods or space between the letters. A list of state names and
two-letter abbreviations is given on page 39.

d) Do not use a comma between the state and the ZIP Code, but leave two spaces between them.

Moore’s Gift Shop

818 Grace Street
Raleigh, NC 27612

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ABBREVIATIONS OF STATE NAMES AND CANADIAN PROVINCES

US States and Territories Oregon OR

Pennsylvania PA
Alabama AL Rhode Island RI
Alaska AK South Carolina SC
Arizona AZ South Dakota SD
Arkansas AR Tennessee TN
California CA Texas TX
Colorado CO Utah UT
Connecticut CT Vermont VT
Delaware DE Virginia VA
Florida FL Washington WA
Georgia GA West Virginia WVA
Hawaii HI Wisconsin WI
Idaho ID Wyoming WY
Illinois IL Canal Zone CZ
Indiana IN District of Columbia DC
Iowa IA Guam GU
Kansas KS Puerto Rico PR
Kentucky KY Virgin Islands VI
Louisiana LA
Maine ME
Maryland MD
Massachusetts MA
Michigan MI Canadian Provinces
Minnesota MN
Mississippi MS Alberta AB
Missouri MO Manitoba MB
Montana MT Newfoundland NF
Nebraska NE Nova Scotia NS
Nevada NV Prince Edward Island PE
New Hampshire NH Saskatchewan SK
New Jersey NJ Labrador LB
New Mexico NM British Columbia BC
New York NY New Brunswick NB
North Carolina NC Northwest Territories NT
North Dakota ND Ontario ON
Ohio OH Quebec PQ
Oklahoma OK Yukon Territory YT

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5. ATTENTION LINE

The attention line is not used frequently in business letters. When it is used, it is usually
typed on the second line (a double space) below the address at the left margin. The word
attention may be typed with each letter capitalized or with only the first letter capitalized
and may or may not be followed by a colon.

Automobile Insurance Company

3927 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60640

ATTENTION: Mr. Sheldon R. Franklin

Gentleman:
First paragraph of your letter starts here…..

6. THE SALUTATION

The salutation is the greeting to the reader and helps set the tone of the letter. Gentlemen,
Ladies, or Ladies and Gentleman is acceptable in greeting a company and Dear Mr.
McGhee in greeting a person named Travis McGhee. If the reader is a personal friend,
however, Dear Travis is acceptable.

In typing salutations for business letters, you will find the following suggestions helpful:

a) Use a double space above and below the salutation,

b) Abbreviate the titles Mr., Mrs., Ms. and Dr. Spell out titles such as Professor,
Reverend and Major.

c) Capitalize the first word and any noun or title in a salutation: Dear Sir: My dear miss
Phillips; Dear Father Whitaker; Dear Senator Bryant.

7. THE SUBJECT LINE

A subject line enables your reader to grasp the content of the letter quickly. In one glance
he or she can see what the letter is about. Since the subject line is part of the body of the
letter, it is typed a double space below the salutation and is followed by a double space
before the first paragraph of the message. The subject line may be typed in capital and
small letters and underscored, or it may be typed all in capitals. It may be centered,
begun at the left margin or indented (if the letter has indented paragraphs), depending on
the letter style that you are using.

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 Miss Ann Parker
Martin Health Food
3601 Fuller Street
Fayetteville, NC 28132

Dear Miss Parker:

Subject: Federal Regulations on Food Labeling

The word Subject may be omitted. RE and In re are used only for legal correspondence.
The subject line replaces the salutation in the simplified letter style.

Mr. Ivan B. Hill

Lockman’s Shoe Store
6532 Lynnfield Road
Cary, NC 27632

Dear Mr. Hill:

SPRING SHOE LINE

8. THE BODY

Since you understand how important the appearance of the body of the letter is, you
should observer these principles in typing the body.

a) Keep the left margin of the letter even. Though not justified, the right margin
should be as nearly even as practical without dividing too many words.
b) Start the body of the letter a double space below the salutation; or if no salutation
is used, begin the body a double space below the last line of the inside address.
c) Single space all business letters. (Double-spacing is acceptable only in extremely
short letters. Whenever you must double space, be sure to indent all paragraphs).
d) Always double space between paragraphs in single-spaced letters.
e) Either indent or block single-space paragraphs, according to the letter style you
are using. If you indent paragraphs, the first line usually begins five spaces in
from the left margin.

9. THE COMPLIMENTARY CLOSING

The complimentary closing should match the salutation in its degree of formality. If you
have greeted your reader with Dear Jack, you will probably close with Sincerely. Here
are some typical closings:

FORMAL: Yours truly

Respectfully yours,

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 Yours very truly,
Very truly yours,

INFORMAL: Sincerely yours,

Cordially yours,
Sincerely,
Cordially,

Remember the following points when typing a complimentary closing.

a) Capitalize only the first word

b) Place a comma after the complimentary closing unless you are using open
punctuation (in the open punctuation style, omit both the colon following the
salutation and the comma following the complimentary closing).

c) Start the complimentary closing at the center of the page, a double space below
the body of the letter, unless you are using the full-block style. With this style,
start the closing at the left margin.

10. THE WRITER’S IDENTIFICATION

The handwritten signature of the writer appears immediately below the complimentary
closing or the typed department name, if used. At least three blank lines are allowed for
the signature, below which is then typed the writer’s identification, consisting of the
person’s typed name, title or department or both.

11. REFERENCE INITIALS

The reference initials are typed at the left margin on the second line below the typed
name or official title.

Some popular styles are:

GRP: EMS LVM/d

FBGray:rm Celia Brown/d
nyb (typist’s initials only) JMB/CAM:dc

12. ENCLOSURE NOTATION

An enclosure is indicated by the word Enclosure or the abbreviation Enc. typed on the
line below the identifying initials. If there is more than one enclosure, the number is
usually indicated.

Enclosure Check enclosed

42
2 Enc. Enclosures
1. Catalog
Enclosures 2 2. Reply Card

Since the enclosure notation is usually the last thing typed, it helps remind the secretary
to put the enclosure in the envelope.

13. CARBON COPY NOTATION

If you wish the addressee of the letter to know you are sending a carbon copy to
someone, type a carbon copy notation one line below the identifying initials. Use one of
the following styles:

Cc: C&L Marina cc: Ms. A.B. Lee

Cc: Sam Harrison CC Mr. Burns

Ellis Parker

If you do not want the addressee to know you are sending a carbon to someone, type the
notation bcc (for blind carbon copy) at the upper left of each blind carbon and your file
copy only. The bcc notation does not appear on the original copy.

Bcc: Bill Smith bcc A. Jones

Pat Little

14. SECOND PAGE HEADING

If a letter is more than one page in length, each page after the letterhead should have a
heading giving the name of the addressee, the page number and the date.

Start the second page heading one inch from the top edge of the paper (on line seven) at
the left margin. Leave two blank lines between the heading and the first line of the body.
The following are two acceptable forms:

Mr. James P. Crouse

Page 2
July 3, 2015

Dr. William Bailey 2 July 3, 2013

In typing second pages, remember these suggestions for attractive placement and easy
reading.

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 a) Carry at least two lines of the body of the letter to the second page; do not type
only the closing lines of the letter on the second page.

b) If a paragraph is divided at the end of a page, leave at least two lines at the bottom
of the first page, and carry at least two lines to the top of the second page. Do not
divide a paragraph containing fewer than four lines.

c) Never hyphenate the last word on a page.

d) If the letter continues on a third page, the bottom margin of the second page
should be the same as the bottom margin of the first page.

E. Memorandum
A memorandum is a short, informal, personal communication from one person to another
within the same agency. As computerized local area networks, modems and E-mail
become more common, the use of handwritten or typed memos has changed. The format
used by these electronic messages was taken from the long accepted style: DATE, TO,
FROM, and SUBJECT. Memos generally are written on plain paper. Save the
department letterhead for the formal business letters.

1. Type the MEMORANDUM heading in all capital letters. For plain paper, center
the heading on line 7 (leaving a one-inch margin at the top). If you must use
letterhead stationary, center the heading on the third line below the letterhead.

2. On the third line below the heading MEMORANDUM, type the guide words
DATE; TO:, FROM; , and SUBJECT: (plus any others you may wish to add)
double-spaced and flush left margin. Use all capital letters, and follow each guide
word with a colon. (See note at end of this chapter concerning addressees).

3. Type all entries that follow the guide words so that they are flush left, two spaces
after the longest word (plus colon). If SUBJECT: is the longest guide word, a tab
stop ten spaces in the left margin will give the proper vertical alignment.

4. Begin typing the rest of the memo on the third line below the final guide word.

5. Type the writer’s name or initials on the second line below the last line of the
message, beginning at center.

6. Type an enclosure notation, if needed, on the line below the reference initials,
beginning at the left margin.

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NOTE about addressees

After the guide words TO and FROM, the names of the addressee and the writer are
usually given without personal titles (Mr., Miss, Mrs., and Ms.). When a memo is
done to someone within your immediate unit, the use of initials or a first name may
suffice. The way these names are treated will depend on the formality of the
occasion.

If the memo is being sent to more than one person in another department, it may be
possible to fit two or three names in the space following TO.

If it is not possible to fit the names of the addresses in the memo heading, then after
the guide word TO, type Distribution. Then on the third line below the reference
initials or the enclosure notation (whichever comes last), type Distribution. (Use
capital and lower case letters, and underline the word for special emphasis.) Leave
one line blank, and then list the names of those who are to receive a copy of the
memo. Arrange the names either by rank or alphabetical order, and type them
blocked in the left margin. If space is limited, names may be arranged in columns.

XI – Forms of Address
The information on the following pages is from the United States Office of Protocol
and contains the accepted forms of address for everyone from the President of the
United States, through a variety of state and local officials, plus members of the
armed forces, various church dignitaries and college/university officials.

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 XII Associated Press Style

The following are a few helpful guidelines from the Associated Press Stylebook.
Journalists, public information officers and other writers use the stylebook as their
guide to clear writing.

Numerals
In general, spell below 10, use numerals for 10 and above.

Dates
Do not use military time, and do not reverse the numbers:

CORRECT: The seminar concluded at 3:46 p.m. on August 11, 2008.

INCORRECT: The seminar concluded at 15:46 on 11 August, 2008.

Captialization

1. CAPITALIZE titles preceding a name: Commerce Secretary Sarah Finn.

LOWER CASE title standing alone or following a name: Sarah Finn, secretary of
the Department of Commerce. (Long titles should follow a name: John Jones,
executive director of the commercial department of Sands & Co.)

2. CAPATALIZE common noun as part of formal name: Wylie Dam, Neuse River,
Mecklenburg County Courthouse. LOWER CASE dam, river, courthouse, etc.
when standing alone.

3. CAPITALIZE names of races: Caucasian, Chinese, Indian, etc. LOWER CASE

black, white, red, yellow.

4. CAPITALIZE the first word of a quotation making a complete sentence after a

comma or colon: Benjamin Franklin said, “A penny saved is a penny earned.”

Quotation Marks
Do not use quotation marks to report a few ordinary words that a speaker or writer has
used:

INCORRECT: The Senator said he would “go home to Michigan” if he lost the
election.
CORRECT: The senator said he would go home to Michigan if he lost the
election.

Te period and the comma always go within the quotation marks.

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Punctuation

THE COMMA
The Comma separates words: What the solution is, is a question.
In a series: The woman was short, slender, blonde, well-dressed and old.
X,Yand Z.
1,2 and 3.
The Selma, Ala., group saw the governor.

Newspaper usage has, in most cases, eliminated the comma before “and” and “or” but
this practice does not lessen the need for the mark in:
Fish abounded in the lake, and the shore was lined with deer.

THE SEMI COLON

The semi colon separates phrases containing commas to avoid confusion, and separates
statements of contrast and statements too closely related:
The draperies, which were ornate, displeased me; the walls, light blue, were
pleasing.
The party consisted of B.M. Jordan; R.J. Kelly, his secretary; Mrs. Jordan; Martha
Brown, her nurse; and three servants. (Without the semi-colons, that could be read as
nine people).

THE DASH
The dash indicates sudden change.
He claimed –no one denied it—that he had priority.
It can be used instead of parentheses in many cases: 10 pounds--$28 –paid.

THE HYPEN
The hypen is used to form compound words: secretary-treasurer, south-southwest.

When used as an adjective the use must be clear:

The six-foot man eating shark was killed (the man was).
The six-foot man-eating shark was killed (the shark was).

NEVER use the hyphen with an adverb ending in ly: Badly damaged, fully informed,
newly chosen.

Miscellaneous

There are policemen, troopers, detectives, deputies, investigators, etc., but not
“lawmen.”

Redundancy – If a record is set it is new –“new record” is redundant.

If describing someone or something from Washington, make clear it is the city,

state or District of Columbia.

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 Acknowledgements
This style manual was produced in 1988 by Ben Taylor who was a public information
officer for what was then called the Department of Natural Resources and Community
Development.

Ben, a former reporter for the Greensboro News and Record and a former magazine
editor, retired from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 1999.

In 1996, Tom Hegele, public information officer for the Department of Crime Control
and Public Safety, updated and revised the manual.

Now, twenty years later in 2008, the manual remains nearly intact. Most references to
typewriters have been removed.

48