"STYLE MANUAL" FOR THE SPECIAL REPORTS BRANCH, FBID

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00177R000300460001-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 19
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 11, 2013
• Sequence Number: 1
• Content Type: REPORT

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"STYLE MANUAL" F QAjRORTS BRANCH. FBID
(Note: Our basic reference book on punctuation,
etc. is the Government Style Manual. The
following pages are primarily concerned with
? points that the Government Manual does not
cover; they also d.eal to some extent with pointa
in the Governiitent Planual which are in practice
often overlooked.)
A. BASIC OBJECTIVES
1. Inconspicuousness 1
2. Simplicity 1
3, Accuracy 1
4. Freshness and Variety
B, STYLE IN GENERAL; WHAT TO AVOID
1. Too Long Sentences
2. Unfamiliar or Acadernic.Words;
....e 0
2
2
"Federalesen ***********
3. Flowery Writing 3
4. Conspicuous Colloquialisms 4
5. Cablese 4
C. WORDING
1. Natural Word-Groups
2. When to Use "The"
D. GRAMMAR
1. Number
2. Tenses
3. Split Infinitives
4. Dangling Participles
E. COMMAS
6
7
7
7
1. Separating Natural Thought-Units 7
2. Non-Restrictive Clauses 8
3. Not Between Subject and Verb 8
JO I
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F. OTHER QUESTIONS OF PUNCTUATION
1. Quotation Marks 9
2. Quotes in Relation to Commas, etc 10
3. Parentheses and. Dashes 10
4. Hyphens 10
5. Ellipses 11
G. CAPITALIZATION
1. Official Names of Groups 12
2. Books and. Periodicals 12
H. sPET.T
1. Checking Names and. Places 13
2. Russian Names 13
3. Abbreviations 13
I. CITATIONS
1. Identification of Broadcasts 14
2. Dates 14
3. References to Previous Reports 15
J. MISCRILANEOUS
1. Errors in Translated Material,, 15
2. Authorities on Usage 15
3. Responsibility of Analyst 15
4. Responsibility of Editor 16
5. Responsibility of Typist 16
6. Responsibility of Proofreader 17
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A. BASIC OJECTIVES
Inconspicuousness
Our most general objective with regard to "style" is to keep our readers from
1;)eing aware of it. The method or mechanics of writing should never distract
attention from the subject-natter. Anything that "stops" the reader even
momentarily, and distracts him from complete concentration on the content of the
nOteriall is undesirable.
Ome illustrations of things that might "stofthe reader: (a) a difficult or
familiar word, where a simple one would do just as well; (b) a colloquial
expression of a sort that is rare in semi-formal government writing; (0) anything
that anyone?even fussy readers--would consider ungrammatical; (d) a long or in-
valved sentence that needs to be studied out in order to get its meaning clearly;
(,e) anything that sounds self-consciously grammatical?e.g., some alternatives to
Ef,split infinitive, such as "Moscow continues Vehemently to denounce." The most
2Vtural way of saying something (if it is also grammatical) is nearly always the
hest.
SimplicitE
The need for simplicity is partly a natter of inconspicuousness of style, partly
a. natter of time-saving (our readers are very busy people), and partly a matter
Of clarity. Any needless details or any needlessly involved form of expression
Oy detract from the clearness of the main facts we want to put across.
.
Accuracy
The accuracy of the essential facts and generalizations which we present is of
course far more important than any other single objective. As a group we will be
judged in the long run primarily by our accuracy in "big things." But because
accuracy in big things is so important, we will be judged partly also by our
accuracy in little things. Carelessness in even Such trivial, intrinsically un-
important things as grammar and the spelling of names will raise in some readers,
minds the suspicion that we may also be careless or inaccurate in big things, and
on that account it should be scrupulously avoided.
It is also worth while to take the time that is often necessary in order to figure
out haw to say exactly what we mean. Misunderstandings (such as occurred in ORE
with regard to what we were saying about Soviet and Satellite broadcasts an
Germany) are always possible when what we have to say is rather complicated, and
no pains should be spared in working over our initial statement of a point in
order to forestall such misunderstandings.
Freshness and
Our material naturally involves a high degree of repetition from week to week.
(The Soviets would be poor propagandists if they did not continually repeat them-
selves.) This means that we are in constant danger of boring our readers by
repetition. Freshness and variety ip forme of expression are desirable?although
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. )f course they are far less important than Inconspicuousness, simplicity, and
,Ocuracy, Our job is to present facts -plainly and compactly, not to entertain our
*dere; but if, in addition to presenting facts plainly and compactly, we can
40.ep our readers keenly interested, so much the better.
,,:constant search for the precisely accurate word will in itself guarantee a con-
iderable amount of variety. If Ehrenburg is sometimes trenchant, sometimes
atirinal and sometimes ironic, our effort to take into account such fine
40t1nctions will more or less automatically guarantee that we do not bore our
*Oder by using the same word three times. Also, if we are continually alert to
cit is significantly new in the data, we are unlikely to bore our reader by
*king too often "Moscow rehashes the familiar line on such-and-such." If we go
)eyond this and make variety an end in itself, there is a real danger that we will
lerely distract our readers by using an odd expression, or a self-consciously
Iletorical one, where a simple and familiar one would do fully as well, Neverthe-
00s, there is no harm in having in the backs of our minds the general desirability
f".variety. Other things being equal it is better to be interesting than to be
B. STYLE IN GENERAL; WHAT TO AVOID
Too_IEEELSentences
Hmajor factor in simplicity is shortness of sentences. Any sentence that is more
hail, says, three lines long should be examined to see whether it can be broken
ciltOntc shorter sentences with no loss of meaning or of smoothness in style.
'etice the shortness of Ehrenburg's sentences, and the punch that this gives to
tfi style.
308 parenthetical clauses should be avoided in general, since they require the
4acler to hold one uncompleted thought in the back of his mind while paying
Mmary attention to another one. If thought B intervenes between the beginning
f thought A and the completion of A, and if B is at all long or complicated, the
qader may lose track of A. In such a case, it is usually possible to make B
tIto a separate short sentence, or perhaps to finish A and add B as an independent
lause, separated from A by a semicolon.
general, a semicolon is nearly equivalent to a period. What natters is that the
mder should not be given too much to assimilate in one mental effoirt; a semi-
Dion separating independent clauses marks the end of one "mental effort" almost
3 well as a period does.
le same reasoning calls for a fairly consistent use of commas between clauses
mot phrases or adverbial expressions). Any clause except a restrictive clause
?hich constitutes an integral part of the noun it modifies) represents a more or
iss separate mental effort; and ccmmas help the reader to break up the material
to manageable, easily assimilable units, no one of which calls for unduly
mplicated mental processes during one "mental effort,"
Unfamiliar or Academic Words ? "Federalese"
addition to shortness of sentences, the Flesch index of readability includes
lortnese of words, or, more spec1fical4, fewness of prefixes and suffixes.
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Complicated compound words tend to go with abstradthess of thought, and abstract-
decreases readability.
41r readers are considerably above the aVerdge newspaperi-reader in intellectual
level, and there is no need to "talk down" to them in any respect. Also,
apcuracyrrequires that many of our major generalizations should be qualified in
10Ys that are sometires rather complicated. But the -very Complexity of the
Ontent of What we say requires that we should avoid needless complexity in the
4re.forial of its presentation, including the choice of words. There is also
tie danger that a use of rare or academic-sounding words will strike some of our
readers as pretentious. Our Survey has been praised for its freedomfroM-
"IgobbledYgook" Or "Federalese"-the Very tOrrOn tendency it governtefit reports
confuse Official-sounding writing with good writing. It is up to Us to
deserve this praise. When a sirpler or more familiar word is just as accurate as
aqonger or less familiar one, it should always be chosen. For instance:
Federa lea e
Plain English
subsequent to after
prior to before
termination* end
initiation beginning
therefrom from it
Any word so unusual that even ten percent of our readers probably would not
recognize it should ordinarily be avoided. For instance: denigrate, excoriate,
a6imadversion. If a rare word such as these expresses your meaning more precise-
than 6 familiar word, use it; but not otherwise.
The same avoidance of what sounds academic, stilted or artificial applies to
*Ines other than word choice. For instance, it is all right to end a sentence
Ifth a preposition. (See Fowler's "Modern English Usage.")
ElPHELEriting
1:er don't want our readers to think that we are trying to be "literary" either.
Tigures of speech should be used where they really seem to express our meaning
)otter than anything else, but not otherwise.
4etaphors are often useful, but if used indiscriminately they may sound as if we
ire trying to be literary. Indiscriminate use may also lead to mixing them; for
instance:
"The 'definite nazi smell exuding from Western Germenyl is again catapulted
Into the foreground...." (Smells exude, but they are not catapulted.)
"The theme of unity rings uppermost...." (Ringing can be loud or loudest,
but not uppermost.)
There are of course some contexts in which "initiation" would be a more accurate
ford than "beginning," and "termination" a more accurate word than "encl.." This
illustrates the point which has just been rade; a simpler word should be preferred
Dnly at those points where it is "just as accurate as a longer or less familiar
me."
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There are also sote Words which; thaUgli lietfebtly intelligible, have an archaic
or bookish flavor which makes them not stlited for frequent use in our kind of
Writing. For instance: lauds, decries, to wit, chides, amongst, albeit, erst-
Conspipuoue Colloquialisms
Some Words and phrases which seem natural in informal conversation do not seem
natural in businesslike writing; in view of the general principle of inconspicuov
iless, they should therefore be avoided. For instance: "Moscow really goes to
town on the subject of..."; "the editorial lands on certain coal pits in the
Talzbas for not having fulfilled their targets." "Did not" is better than "didn't
!'al quotation" is better than "a quote." Other examples: quite some, pretty muoh,
phony, goings-on, not a bit, quite a bit, up to snuff.
Cablese
Another specialized style that is conspicuous and should usually be avoided is ti'
Oondensed, telegraphic style of newspaper headlines. In our headlines compact-
4ess should be considered, but not at the cost of a reasonably natural wording.
"Aim of Secret Meeting To Destroy Communise (Insert the word "Is" after
"Meeting." There is room enough for it. On the other hand, articles
can usually be omitted in. headlines. For instance, in the above headline
it is all right to say "aim" instead of "the aim.")
In the body of our writing, where compactness is not as important as inconspic-
uousness of style, we should not omit articles where they would:13e natural in
ordinary speaking. There is no need to adopt the clipped TIME-magazine style
in this respect. We can say "the well-known commentator Elmer.Davis" instead
of "well-known commentator Elmer Davis."
C. WORDING
1. allana-Kal:2119.21211
A verb and its object usually form a natural thought-unit which is destroyed
when there are several intermediate words. For instance:
"The British came back in 1945 only to make, with the help of the Americans,
Greece economically and politically dependent on foreign imperialists."
(Some awkwardness is unavoidable here, but it could be minimized. The
natural thought-unit is "to make Greece dependent"; the word "make" has
no real meaning until it is completed by the words "Greece" and "dependent."
It can be brought nearer to these words by =king the sentence read as
follows: "The British came back in 1945 only--with the help of the
Americans--to make Greece economically and politically dependent on foreign
Imperialists.")
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Similarly, there are many other natural word-combinations, the completion of
which cannot be delayed too long without making the whole construction awkward.
For instance, the article "the" should not be separated from the noun which it
modifies by too many intermediate words.
"The to-be-announced but not yet definitely settled upon date of the
Congress will be SOMB time in March." (Here there are nine words between
"the" and "date." The intervening words can nearly always be made into a
subordinate clause following the noun: "The date of the Congress, which
is to be announced but has not yet been definitely settled upon, will be
SOMB time in March.")
"Propaganda plans are discussed to use the occasion to mobilize opinion..."
(The natural unit here is "plane to use." It would be better to say
"There is discussion of plans to use...")
Other instances in which a natural word-group has had its completion postponed
1# a needlessly large number of intervening words:
"Moscow gets finally around to discussing...." (The natural word group is
"gets around to." Change to "Moscow finally gets around to discussing.if)
"American companies have also control of..." (Change to "also have control
of.
"Praise is heard of the Increase in Cattle-breeding..." (Change to "there
is praise of...")
"The Saar question comes also in for attack." (Change to "The Saar question
also comes in for attack.")
2. When to Use "The"
the U.S.
the U.N.
the USSR
the NEW YORK TIMES
the WASHINGTON POST
the NEW YORK DAILY COMPASS
the LITERARY GAZETTE
the Netherlands
the Ukraine'
the Vietnam Republic
the U.S. economy
the French economy
PRAVDA
IZVESTIA
TRUD
L'HUMANITE
LAND OG FOLK
SOZIALDEMOKRAT
REUES DEVEFXHLAND
NEW TIME9
CULTURE .LT) LICE
RED STAR
Vietnam
ECOSOC
UNESCO
OEEC
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the WFTU CoMisco ?
the WY Radio Moscow
the Comdnform
the Moscow radio
The Sole criterion here is inconspicuousness; we should follow common usage at
411 points, and if usage changes we should.change with it. The question is too In
important to warrant the application of any other criterion that might conflict
Wlth usage.
When in doubt about usage, however, we can often apply one criterion which
sage has sanctioned: the word "the" is usually used before an adjective which
143 followed by a noun. Terms like the United States, the United Nations, the
World Federation of Trade Unions, the Vietnam Republic, and the REW YORK TIMES
Ilave this structure. The meaning is restrictive: there is more than one
liepublic, but we are now talking about the Vietnam. Republic; there is more than
One TIMES, but we are now talking about the NEW YORK TIMES. This generalization
also justifies "the U.S," and. "the WFTU," since they are abbreviations of longer
terms to which the generalization applies directly. It also justifies "the
LITERARY GAZETTE"; there is more than one gazette, but We are now talking about
the LITERARY GAZETTE. NEW TIMES is a borderline case; usage probably favors
oltgitting the article in this case, and there is some logic in it, since it is
npt a new version of an earlier TIMES.magazine; it is simply the title of a
MOgazine, as CULTURE AND Lin; is. (The Russian title gives us no help on this
pint, since the Russian language contains no articles, even where a good
English translation clearly calls for them,)
Publications with foreign titles which are unintelligible to the ordinary reader
Should not be preceded by "the." For instance, we can say "BERLINER ZEITUNG,"
and not "the BERLINER ZEITUNG," even though this might seem analogous with "the
NEW YORK TIMES."
D. GRAMMAR
1. Number
Be careful that the number of a verb agrees with the number of its actual subject,
and not with BOMB words which intervene between it and the subject.
"This week the brunt of Moscow's attacks are borne..." (Change "are" to
"is." The subject is "brunt," not "attacks.")
"The number of mass disturbances and incidents are .),-;17emstng, (Change
"are" to "Is." The subject is "number," not "incidc.")
word "data" is properly plural: "the data are extensive," not "the data is
extensive." But many readers who are used to "data is" would be stopped by ?
data are." The only way to avoid this dilemma is to use another word such as
"facts" oribvidenoe."
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. Tenses
Use present tense ordinarily, for ant6hing broadcast during the week which is
being covered; 'Moscow says," not NoScOgaid." Use past tense where an
Oarlier broadcast is contrasted with a laier one; "On 3 January Moscow said...,
but a 6 January commentary says..."
?3. 81313-6 infinitives
Some readera are stopped by any split infinitive; they would never be caught
Oaying "to needlessly avoid." On the other hand many other readers Would feel
that 'ineedIesay to Aioid $tuandtk artificial and overr.grannatical. Sonetines
this diletna can be avoided by puttifig the adverb after the verb: go fight
OirageoublY" instead of either "to courageously fight" or "courageously to
-fight." And sometimes it can be avoided only by recasting the whole sentence:
needless avoidance of...", or "a courageous battle." In any case, try to
avoid both split infinitives and any unnatural alternative to a split infinitive.
Dangling Participles
A participle like "accusing" makes the reader start watching for the name of
the person who does the accusing; if he doesn't find it he is likely to be
momentarily perplexed. For instance:
"Accusing the imperialists of allotting to Africa the role of spring-board
in their aggressive plans against the Soviet Union, Britain and America
are denounced for terrorizing and oppressing the native population."
(Here the writer apparently started off intending to use the word "Moscow"
as the main subject of the sentence, but forgot about this end put the
main part of the sentence in the passive voice--"are denounced"--without
saying either who does the accusing or who does the denouncing. If the
sentence is taken literally it means, of course, that Britain and America
did the accusing.)
E. COMMAS
1. ?222nIgal_atE1111_21SLVOIL:PIIISE.
As indicated above, one major reason for commas is the same as the reason for
shortening sentences--to break up the material into natural units, each of which
is short enough to be easily assimilated. For instance:
"The Free Greece radio, on the other hand, broadcasts a vitriolic attack
on the care-taker Government declaring that it consists of 'smugglers,
generals, and monarcho.fascist dignitaries...the darkest countenances of
the monarcho-fascist world...with the Prime Minister,the well-known
collaborator Theotokis.'" (Insert a comma after "Government." Here the
comma is desirable in order to give the reader a chance to catch his mental
breath before the new long thought which begins with the word "declaring";
and it is desirable also to prevent confusion. Without it, the reader may
at first think that the word "declaring" goes with "Government" end that
the Government has been declaring something.)
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By the same token:) hoWeVe; it 16 u611611y not necessary to Use COMMBEJ to set off
smaller thoughtlinit64 iUdh as phrases or adverbial expressions. This is a
patter on which wide legitinate differences of preference exist, but probably
a tajori.0y of contemporary writers would usually omit commas around expressions
such as "this week," "in this connection," and 'in the first place."
?. Non-Restrictive Clauses
gomeethings about OomPasare a patter of personal preference: Whether to Use,
Ole between two claUsea connected by "6ticW or. Whether to ase theb03tound Such
On eipresaion as "this weeks" On theOther hand, one thing which is very often
OverloOked is not a matter of f)referende bitt a matter of definite right and
Vrongi the Use of 6 ditano to set off a non-restrictive clause. It is incorrect
tO aMit the comma in this case--according to the Government Style Manual and
eVery other authority we have consulted. Yet this continues to be by far the
Most frequent technical mistake In the work of the Special Reports Branch. It
0 urged, therefore, that all analysts make sure they understand the distinction
and consistently try to observe it.
The basic rule is: siva?s use a comma to set off a non-restrictive clause. A
non-restrictive clause is one that does not restrict the scope of the noun that
ts modified, but merely adds a new comment about it. Take the sentence "There
are the inevitable comparisons with capitalism where 'millions are doomed to
penury and hunger." In this case the word "where" introduces a non-restrictive
qlause. It adds a new comment about capitalism without restricting the scope
0' the noun, capitalism, that is being discussed. Therefore there should be a
46muo after "capitalism."
Sce-camilary of the basic rule is: always use a comma between a singular proper
name and the clause that follows it. This Is true because a clause following
adinguler proper name is always a non-restrictive clause. For instance: "The
evidence presented to Congress is ignored by Moscow which tends to confine its
references to..." Here there should be a comma after "Moscow," which is a
Singular proper name.
3. Not Between Subject arid Verb
There should be no comma between the subject of the sentence and its verb, even
when the subject contains several words:
"But what really came of these pseudo-elections, was the gratifying
realization that..." (Take out comma after "pseudo-elections.")
"That the American imperialists mean war, is brought out even more
explicitly..." (Take out comma after 'war".)
"The recent amendment which passed the House of Representatives to suspend
aid to Britain until Ireland is unified, is picked up by Moscow." (Take
out comma after "unified.")
Of course this does not apply when parenthetical or non-restrictive material,
set off by two coupes, intervenes between subject and verb.
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OTHER QUESTIONS Of PUNCTUATION
.
Quotation Marks
lpince quotation marks (like commas) attract a certain amount of attention each
time they are used, they become a mere distraction if they are used needlessly.
This problem is a recurring one in our material, since we are continually
passing back and forth from quoted material to out own wording. The general
rule is that everything which is actually quoted from the text of a given
week's Soviet broadcasts should be put in quotes. (Material fran summaries
tpould never be put in quotes.) On the other hand:
4. Continually recurring words or phrases such as "reactionary" and
!democratic" do not need to be put in quotes when they are used in a paraphrase
by us:
"According to Moscow, the 'democratic' forces in Greece are continuing
their 'struggle' against the 'monarcho-fascists.'" (Eliminate quotes
around 'democratic,' 'struggle;' and imonarcho-fascists.')
This applies especially to the main heads in the table of contents. Familiar
4Oviet terminology does not need to be put in quotation marks, if the wording
Of the heading as a whole shows that we are paraphrasing a Soviet theme. For
instance:
7
"U.S. Affairs: The 'Advancing Crisis'; Phrenburg's 'American Superman'
....I 1" (Eliminate quotes around "Advancing Crisis," since it is a
familiar thought and the choice of words is of no special interest;
leave them. around "American Superman," since it is not familiar end
there is some point in making it clear that these were Elarenburies
exact words.)
b. Quotation marks generally should not be used around a word merely be-
cause it is a colloquialism or because we want to disclaim responsibility for its
accuracy. For instance:
"Comment on the Coplon-Gubichev trial appears only in the form, of
'factual' news reports." (This might create momentary doubt as to
whether the Soviet radio itself had used the word "factual"--since
our quotation marks nearly always do imply that we are quoting the
Soviet radio. In this case we do not want to dignify the colored news
item by calling it "factual" ourselves; it would be better, then,
simply to call them "news reports" or "rAss reports.")
c. After the source of a given quotation has once been identified, it is
utneceseary and undesirable to break into it with expressions such as "he says.,"
*"he continues."
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2. Quotes in RelationtOOOmm084etC;
Always place the (pate (single or tibtible) OUtside the comma or period:
The Government Will be formed of "extreme reactionary elemental"
In presenting hiS five "demands," he laid down the official SoViet line.
(Mid ilant logical, but it seems to be the geherialiy acoopted ileege in the
ntw -koRk TIMES, the WASHINGTON POST, etc.)
Pn the other ham', quoted Shdaid be inside a semicolon:
The step is described as "splitting Germany"; no other comment is made.
Parentheses and Dashes
;ong parenthetical parts of a sentence, especially if they have comas within
them, sometimes need to be clearly seen as units, and in such cases separating
them from the rest of the sentence by camas may not be enough. Dashes or .
parentheses can then be resorted to; they are more conspicuous then commas, and
Clearly set off, from everything else, the Words that lie between them. Dashes
are particularly conspicuous; they do not, like parentheses, more or less imply
that what is enclosed is of minor importance.
Ant, by the same token, neither dashes nor parentheses should be used needlessly.
or instance:
"One (anonymous) commentator asserts..." (Remove parentheses and don't
insert commas; the word "anonymous" isn't separate enough or important
enough to be worth stopping the reader at all.)
"Another broadcast--to Rumanian listeners--brings in the idea of..."
(If there is a reason to think that there was special significance in
broadcasting it to Rumanian listeners and not to others, this reason
should be made explicit or suggested in some way. If not, the whole
phrase should probably be omitted.)
4, Hyphens
Where two words function together as if they were a single adjective, they
Should be linked by a hyphen; this aids the reader by giving a cue as to the
natural grouping. For instance: right-wing Socialists, the West-German
population, the so-called democracy of the West. The hyphen is apparently
obligatory, or almost obligatory, in cases where the second word is 8 noun: a
three-line report, mess-destruction methods, the post-war Five-Year Plan. As
e4 exercise, use your own judgment as to which of the following expressions
a:0 not call for inserting a hyphen:
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An Albanian language broaddest
The two camp condePt
The peverty stricken Egyptians
Coal production plan
Publicly owned industries
All Union Radio Committee
Working class organizations
Recent specific instances
A 400 word article
Strike breaking organization
A follow up of last week's charge
Long term trade agreement
The money collecting campaign
Modern production methods
A two faced policy
Dyed in the wool pro-fascists
Unheard, of iniquity
Monarcho fascism
There should be a hyphen in the expressions: Albanian-language, two-camp, poverty
Stricken, dyed-in-the-wool, unheard-of, etc. The three cases above which
should not have a hyphen are "recent specific instances" "modern production
Methods," and "publicly Owned industries."
Chinese names regularly call for a hyphen between the second and third words,,
With a lower-case letter as the initial of the third word: .Melo Tse-tung,
Chiang Kai-shek, Chou En-lail Sun Yat-sen. But this does not apply to lade-
Oinese names (a? Chi Minh) or Korean names (Kim Il Sung).
(There are even Chinese exceptions; Air Boon Ea, Tan Kah Kee.)
4pressions like "anti-Wall Street" or "United States-inspired" should be avoided.
The reader's eye is likely to be caught first by the incongruous combination
"enti-Wall" or "States-inspired." Wherever two words (such as Wall Street)
nOrmally appear in combination without a hyphen between them, it is slightly
incongruous to attach one of the words to another word or prefix by means of a
hyphen, and leave the, other unattached. But it would be just as bad to say
'anti-Wall-Street," inserting a hyphen where it is normally absent. Wherever
possible, the- sentence should be recast: "opposed.to Wall Street," "inspired
by the United States," etc.
.5, Ellipses
End of Sentence: "The Ruhr concerns all of Germany...."
Beginning of Sentence: "...the Conference proposed to support Chine's labor
unions."
Within Sentence.: "The Conference sent a note... asking that steps be taken:"
Between Sentences: "The labor situation in China was brought up as a question
for special discussion. ... The Kuomintang has refused
to recognize bona fide labor unions in China.
End of) and between Sentences: "The labor situation in China was brought up....
The Kuomintang has refused to recognize bone
fide labor unions.in China."
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'G. CAPITALIZATION
I. Official Names of Groups
capitalize the official, self-accepted name of any group or movement, e.g.,
Communism (as a movement), Fascism (in Italy, referring to the Fascist Party).
410 not capitalize a name that is not official (e.g., the Inonarcho-fasciats" in
OTeece), or the name of a political system or technique (e.g.',..communism as a
Stage following socialism, fascism as a tendency found in countries other than
'Ttaly).
Many persOns capitalize Socialism: and Communism uniformly, regardless of whether
they refer to a group or a system, but we have the sanction of the Government
*le Manual for our more consistentand logical usage.
Pere are borderline cases of semi-official titles, such as. Western Germary,
Western Europe, and East Vs. West. In these cases we put them up. Other
instances:
West-German
West-European
the Satellites
the Satellite sphere
People's Democracies (note position
of apostrophe)
Western Powers
Nazism
Socialists (Party or group)
anti-Nazi
right-wing Socialists
Communism (Party or movement)
Communist
Fascism (in Italy)
democracy
imperialism
fascism (in general)
monarcho-fascists
capitalism
socialism (contrasted with
capitalism)
communism (stage following
. socialism)
Second World Wer
the Government (in any specific country)
Books and Periodicals
ur proaedure is to capitalize all letters of the name of a book or periodical:
TIMES, PRAVDA, NEW YORK TIMES, FOR A LASTING PEACE, FOR A PEOPLE'S DEMOCRACY,
tc. Russian names (with the exception of PRAVDA, IZVESTIA, and TRUD) are
Oinslated: EPASNAYA ZVEZDA becomes RED STAR, NOVOYE VRENUA becomes NEW TIMES,
ITERATURNAYA GAZETA becomes LITERARY GAZETTE, etc.
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Where possible) the Party.alignbent,of a newSPSPO should be mentioned in
"Parentheses: L'HUMANITE (CoMbunist); LAND G EOLK,(Commuhist), etc. This
does not apply to the DAILY WORRER oil to tUSaian publications. But where it
is relevant identify the professional go etc associated with the public-
ation., even if it is Russian.
City names which are necessary for identification should also be up: LONDON
TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, NEW YORK DAILY WORKER.
H. SPELLING
I. chepking Names ndKoop
If you aren't sure of the spelling of any word, especially an unfamiliar place
Or person's name, look it up. If it isn't in any book in the office, call
the Technical Information Section. If any exceptions to this procedure occur,
they should certainly not occur in the Summary. The number of readers of the
Summary is probably much greater than the number Of readers of any one article
In the body of the Survey; it should therefore be absolutely accurate.
The accuracy of the Summary (and of the table of contents) takes precedence
Over any question of self-consistency. If an error has somehow occurred in
the body of the Survey and is discovered before the Summary or Table of Contents
ie written, it should be corrected in the latter, even though this =Bane that a
Vary careful reader may discover that we have been inconsistent.
R.. Russian Names
Here the only criterion is inconspicuousness (i.e., common Journalistic and
governmental usage), rather than "correctness.'", Tentatively, the following
aijellings are recommended:
Vlshinsky
Andreev
Fadeev
Leontiev
Sergeeva
Beria
Belorussia
Politburo
not
ft
It
It
Vyshinsky
Andreyev
Fadeyev
Leontev or Leontyev
Sergeyeve
Beriya
Byelo-Russia
Politbureau
When a Russian name is spelled both with a Le_ and with an el and where you are
in doubt about which is commoner, use e. In Russian this is pronounced "ye," but
the Government Style Manual and Library of congress use e.
3i: Abbreviations
0Mit periods after initial letters If there are more than two: U.S? U.N., but
USSR, AFL, CIO, WFTU. In the case of any abbreviation with which the reader
Miy not be familiar, the full name should be written out the first time it is
used in a given article, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses': e.g.,
World Federation of Democratic Youth (WEDY), NEW CHINA NEWS AGENCY (MNA).
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I. CITATIONS
I. Identification of Broadcasts
Our readers are ustiek tot Much cohderned with the precise date or langUage
of a given broadcast. To indlude these in the body of the text is therefore,
as a rale, heedleealy time-consuming and distracting. The longer or more
1Mportant quotations (especially those which are indented) should ordinarily
'include beam. and date (e.g., "in English to North America, 6 January 1950"),
but it should be placed at the end,. so that the reader who is not interested
in it can ,get the habit of skipping it and going on immediately to the content
Vhich interests him. It is then available if for any reason he is interested
4n the beam, or wants to compare our version with the version in the Daily
Report, or has some reason to be interested in the precise date of the broad-
Cast
When something is broadcast in several languages, that fact can be indicated by
Stating the number of languages, without listing them.
If the analyst sees any reason why the beam may be of interest, he should make
explicit his reason for thinking so (and not be content with merely calling
attention to the beam) in the text of his article.
If transmitter is Moscow, identify language, (beam, if relevant), and date.
In other words, continues Orlov, "the Americans wished to prevent the
security of the economic bases of the Three-Year Plan." (in Hungarian,
18 August 1947)
If transmitter Is some other station than Moscow, identify transmitter, language
beam, if relevant), end date.
(Khabarovsk, in Russian to the Soviet Far East, 18 August 1947)
Moscawfs domestic broadcasts:
(Soviet Home Service, 18 August 1947)
TASS:
(rAss, in English More to North America, 18 August 1947)
(TABS, in Russian at Dictation Speed to the Soviet provincial press,
18 August 1947)
(TASS,-in Russian Hellschreiber, Abroad, 18 August 1947)
2. Dates
Use military style--e.g., 18 August 1950.
Spell out names of months.
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4 'L.
3. References to Previous Reports -
In general, use the following condensed form: (SURVEY, 11 July, A 1-3)
InClUde the year-11 July 1949?only if It differs from the current year, or
tf the context does not make it clear that the current year is implied.
J. MISCELLANEOUS
1, Errors in Translated Material
It is legitimate to correct obvious errors of grammar, etc. in translated
#aterial; they are a needless distraction to the reader, and in all probability
they are the fault of the translator rather than of the original writer. TASS
material in English, however, should rarely be tampered with.
?, Authorities on Usage
For the things which it covers (usually the simpler points of punctuation, etc.)
We consult the Government Style Manual. On the finer points Fowler's "Modern
English Usage" is very useful. If there is any controversy over whether to
accept Fowler, or if there is a point he doesn't cover, our court of final
Oppeal is common usage in such familiar publications as the NEW YORK TIMES, the
WASHINGTON POST, and the publications of CIA and the State Department. Since
Our chief principle of usage is inconspicuousness, we don't want to depart from
What our particular group of readers is used to, unless there are particularly
good reasons for doing so.
Of these various publications used as criteria of common usage, our own DAILY
REPORT is of course the most important. We should consult with the editor
on all points of difference and try to arrive at an agreed policy; in case of
doubt, and if they have not yet been consulted, we should conform with their
usage unless there is an especially good reasonfor not doing so.
3. ResponeibilitLIURIIIEL
It is the analyst's responsibility to make his copy as nearly perfect as he
reasonably can, This ordinarily means rereading it once with a concentration
on technical points?Le., with a proofreader's attitude?and at the same
time with an eye to smoothness of style. This may seem like a waste of time,
in view of the fact that editor, typist and proofreader stand between the first
draft of the copy and its final publication. But it saves a lot of the
editor's time (which he thinks is valuable); it makes things pleasanter for
both editor and typist; and it proves to the editor that the analyst Is
qualified to fill his shoes in a pinch. (Ideally, every analyst should be
competent to edit every other analyst's copy if necessary.)
The time-saving advantage is especially important in matters of style and
sentence-construction. Putting in commas is easy, but changing the whole
construction of a eentence is hard, and an editor always hates to do it,
especially if he is in a hurry, and especially if he knows the analyst is
sensitive about changes in his copy.. Both time and emotional wear-and-tear
are saved if the analyst makes it unnecessary for the editor to recast his
sentences or reorganize his paragraphs.
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. Responsibility of Editor
It is the editor's job to make the copy Nat as nearly perfect as he can, within
limits of common sense in terms of time-expenditure and the danger of irritating
the analyst by changing his copy needlessly. Vibere an alternative way of saying
Oomething seems only slightly better, the wise editor will save his awn time
(and the feelings of the analyst, and the time that might later be lost in
Orgaing the point) by letting the copy stay as it is. But wherever something
aeems definitely incorrect, or wherever he thinks an alternative way of putting
it would be decidedly better, it is his reaPonsibility to change it.
4nything which Involves changing the meaning of the copy, or making clear a
Point which was initially ambiguous, should go back to the analyst for his
approval before it is typed. If the analyst wishes, he can also have the
privilege of seeing all of his copy before. it is typed, so that he can challenge
the editor's judgment on smaller points. .But--especially if a deadline is near--
the wise analyst will try to save his own and the editor's time by letting
little disagreements go. And even if he has what he thinks is a major disagree-
ant, he will not prolong an argument with the editor. He will make his point
briefly, and if the editor does not agree with it he will accept the editor's
judgment without further protest. Prolonged arguments are a needless waste of
time; in order to avoid them it must be decided beforehand that someone's judgmen4
is final; and in the nature of things that one can be only the editor.
It should also be clear that the editor's responsibility includes questions of
style, as well as technical points such as grammar and punctuation. If he sees
en alternative way of expressing something, which in his judgment is definitely
smoother or clearer or more forceful or more compact than the original, and if
be is willing to take the time to work out the alternative form of expression,
'this is part of his legitimate and necessary role. It is inevitable that this
will often irritate the analyst, who will often continue to prefer his original
Way of putting it. On that account, as indicated above, the wise editor will
restrict his changes (on natters of personal preference) to those that he
thinks will make a very definite improvement. But the analyst on his part
should do his best to accept the changes philbsophically and without resentment,
recognizing that the editor feels obligated to put the excellence of the product
ahead of personal feelings, and recognizing also that the editor necessarily
relies in the last analysis on his own judgment as to what is excellent and
what is not.
5. Responsibility of Typist
Our typists are almost our last line of defense against errors and inaccuracy.
They cannot be expected to catch many errors which the writer and editor have
both missed, but if they do notice anything that seems questionable for any
reason, it is their responsibility at least to raise the issue with an editor
0 analyst. .(If they feel sure that the thing is an error, they can correct it
Without consulting anyone.)
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. Responsib11iI2_21212.511129der
Our actual last lite of defense is CP coui4Se the proofreader. He should be
meticulous it picking up any Item, no matter how small, that is definitely
incorrect., On the other hand, where something (such as the insertion of a
comma or changing of a word) is a matter of legitimate personal difference of
cpinion, or where the advantage to be gained by a change, although clear, is
6hly slight in degree, he should let well enough alone. The typist's labor
14 changing the final copy is a good deal more than the editor's labor in
Ohanging the first draft, and there Is also the chance that a last-minute proof-
reader's change may be contrary to the considered judgment of the editor. In
Ouch a case the proofreader should consult the editor, and of course that takes
time.
The case is somewhat different In the proofreading of the Summmry. The need
tc. have the Summary letter-perfect is considerably greater than the need to
have the body of the report letter-perfect. If time permits, it is therefore
worth while for a proofreader of the Summary to consult the editor on any point
at all, no matter haw trivial or controversial, that he thinks might improve it.
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