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.