GINC's Master Style Guide

GINC's Golden Rule

Core Principles

• Clarity above all: Be clear, concise, and direct
• Simple language: Prefer short words over long ones, familiar over obscure
• Active voice preferred: Write "GINC measures national capability" not "National capability is measured by GINC"
• Brevity: Cut unnecessary words ruthlessly
• Precision: Say exactly what you mean
• Conversational but serious: Write as you would speak to an intelligent friend
• Consistency within documents over rigid adherence to any single rule

Structure & Flow

• Front-load information: Put the most important point first
• Short paragraphs: Generally 2-4 sentences
• One idea per sentence: Complex ideas should be broken down
• Logical progression: Each paragraph should flow naturally to the next
• Maximum 3 header levels (H1, H2, H3)

Authority & Tone

• Confident but not arrogant: State facts authoritatively without overstatement
• No unnecessary hedging: Avoid "somewhat optimistic" → "optimistic"
• Let facts speak: Don't say "very unique" (unique is absolute)
• Good writing is invisible: Readers should focus on ideas, not style

Spelling & Usage

• British English spelling: -ise not -ize (organise, realise), -our not -or (colour, favour), -re not -er (centre, metre)
• Double consonants: travelled, focussed, modelling
• -ement forms: judgement, acknowledgement
• Practice/practise: Practice (noun), practise (verb) - same for licence/license, advice/advise

Word Choice

• Prefer Anglo-Saxon words over Latin/French derivatives (use "help" not "assist", "buy" not "purchase")
• Avoid euphemisms: Say what you mean (layoffs not "rightsizing", poor not "economically disadvantaged")
• No unnecessary adjectives: Let facts speak (avoid "very", "extremely", "incredibly")
• Concrete over abstract: Use specific examples rather than vague generalisations
• Minimize jargon and define technical terms on first use

Grammar & Usage

• That vs. which: "That" for restrictive clauses (no comma), "which" for non-restrictive (with comma)
• Between vs. among: Between for two items, among for three or more
• Fewer vs. less: Fewer for countable nouns, less for mass nouns
• Use parallel structure in lists and series
• Avoid weasel words: Don't say "some say" or "it is believed" - be specific about who

What to Avoid

• Clichés: "At the end of the day", "level playing field"
• Buzzwords: "Synergy", "paradigm shift", "leverage" (as a verb)
• Business jargon: "Going forward", "touch base", "circle back"
• Padding: "It is worth noting that", "It should be emphasised that"
• Unnecessary qualifiers: "Quite", "rather", "somewhat", "fairly", "very"
• Tautology: "Past history", "future plans", "end result"
• Contractions in formal writing (cannot, not can't)

Punctuation

• Serial comma: Generally omit (red, white and blue) unless needed for clarity
• Quotation marks: Single quotes for primary quotations, double for quotes within quotes
• Punctuation with quotes: Place outside unless part of the quoted material
• Hyphens: Use for compound adjectives before nouns (well-known author) but not after (the author is well known)
• En dash (–): For ranges (2020–2024), not hyphen
• Em dash (—): Do not use; use parentheses or commas for asides
• Colons: Introduce explanations or lists
• Semicolons: Use sparingly; mainly to separate items in complex lists
• Ellipsis: Three dots with spaces before and after ( ... ) or use the ellipsis character (…)

Numbers & Data

• Spell out: One to nine; use numerals for 10 onwards
• Exception: Always use numerals for statistics, percentages, and technical specifications
• Round figures: Use "about 100" rather than "97.3" unless precision matters
• Percentages: 45 per cent (spelled out in text), 45% (in tables/figures)
• Context matters: Always explain significance ("a 5% increase" - is that good or bad?)
• Thousands: Use commas (10,000 not 10000)

Dates & Time

• Dates: 5 January 2025 (no commas, no 'st/nd/rd/th')
• Decades: 1990s (not 1990's)
• Centuries: 20th century (not 20th Century)
• Time: Use 24-hour clock (14.00) or 12-hour with am/pm (2 pm, not 2PM or 2:00pm)

Capitalisation

• Titles: Capitalise main words in titles, lowercase articles/prepositions (The Future of National Capability)
• Job titles: Lowercase unless directly before a name (the prime minister; Prime Minister Smith)
• Institutions: Capitalise full names, lowercase when generic (the University; Oxford University; the Treasury; Parliament)
• Government: Lowercase (the government, parliament) unless part of formal name

Abbreviations & Acronyms

• First use: Spell out with acronym in parentheses (artificial intelligence (AI))
• Well-known acronyms: UN, US, UK, EU, NATO don't need spelling out
• Full stops: Generally omit in acronyms (UK, US, EU, NATO)
• Latin abbreviations: Use full stops (e.g., i.e., etc.) and use sparingly

Typography

• Italics: Foreign words not naturalised into English, titles of books/journals, emphasis (sparingly)
• Bold: Avoid in body text; use for headings only
• Metaphors: Use sparingly and only when they genuinely clarify; stay consistent and be original

References & Citations

• Footnotes preferred over endnotes or parenthetical citations
• Cite sources: Be clear about where information comes from
• Author-date system: If used, no comma (Smith 2024, not Smith, 2024)
• Ibid.: Acceptable for immediate repetition of same source
• Distinguish fact from opinion: Make it clear when you're interpreting

Country & Regional Names

• Use official names on first reference, common names thereafter
• America/American: Acceptable for United States/US
• Britain: Acceptable for United Kingdom (unless specifically England/Scotland/Wales)
• China: Not "The People's Republic of China" unless in formal context

Common Errors

• ❌ "In order to" → ✅ "To"
• ❌ "Due to the fact that" → ✅ "Because"
• ❌ "More than" (with numbers) → ✅ "Over" (in informal contexts)
• ❌ Overuse of "significant", "important", "critical" → ✅ Be specific about why