AR Writer’s Guide

  • Do not justify text. Use ragged right.
  • Single space text.
  • Use only one space after period, comma, colon, and semicolon.
  • All numbers over 999 (except dates) use commas, as in 14,472.
  • All numbers are spelled out up to “ten,” numerals for 11 and higher. The only exception is percentages, as in “2 percent.” (See next item.)
  • Always spell “percent,” never use % sign.
  • Always put spaces before and after M-hyphens – like this.
  • Commas and periods always go inside quotation marks, as in “Go,” he said.
  • Never use just the last name of a living person. Men are always Mr. Women are Miss or Mrs., if marital status is known, Miss if not known. They are never Ms. If someone has a professional title such as Doctor, Senator, Prime Minister, etc., use it, but only for the first mention of a person. After that, use Mr., Miss, or Mrs.
  • No periods when US is used as a modifier, as in US Army.
  • Do not use the passive voice unless absolutely necessary.
  • Ordinals are 12th, 13th, etc. Do not use superscript for the “th.”
  • Never start a sentence with a numeral.
  • Always spell out the months of the year; no abbreviations.
  • Use Hispanic, not Latino.
  • Use “sex,” not “gender.” It’s the fairer sex, not the fairer gender.
  • When referring to race, do not capitalize black or white.
  • Use 1960s, not 1960’s.
  • Ellipses are period-space-period-space-period-space. Do not use the ellipsis character.
  • Do not use a long word when a short one will do.
  • Make every word carry freight; no padding.
  • Every unnecessary word is an act of aggression against the reader.
  • Do not use clichés, such as “selling like hotcakes,” “complete disaster,” “meteoric rise,” “this day and age,” “like never before,” “connect the dots,” etc.
  • Do not use trendy expressions, such as “weaponize,” “double down,” “Overton window,” “narrative,” “rhetoric,” “virtue signaling.”
  • Do not impute motive. “Media lies” must be deliberate falsehoods, not just something with which you disagree.  You cannot read anyone’s mind.