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United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs STYLE GUIDE

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs STYLE GUIDE United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Edition No. 2 / July 2010 Contents Introduction 1 General writing guidelines 2 Section 1: Grammar 3 Section 2: Punctuation 6 Section 3: Style 12 Section 4: Numbers 22 Section 5: Temperatures and Measurements 25 Section 6: Commonly Misused Words and Phrases 26 Section 7: Avoiding Unnecessary Words 31 Section 8: Spelling List 33 Section 9: Glossary 38 Annexes I. Frequently Used Humanitarian Acronyms 40 II. Footnotes and Bibliographies 44 III. Useful resources 48 For questions or feedback on the OCHA Style Guide, please e-mail the OCHA Reporting Unit at: ochareporting@un.org Style Guide | 1 Introduction As a global organization, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) faces many challenges in presenting a uniform identity in its information products. Some inconsistencies are due to the diverse personnel and practices within OCHA around the world. Projecting a consistent message demands a consistent style. This second edition of the OCHA Style Guide is designed to help and encourage OCHA staff members to develop that consistency. Every organization has its individual stylistic differences, from The Economist, to the BBC to The New York Times. This guide is a quick reference for preferred United Nations style, as well as a reference for English usage. The guide is not intended to impose limits on writers, but to help them produce work that meets professional standards, with a focus on needs for humanitarian reporting. In a working environment where the demand for information is constant, it is each staff member’s responsibility to ensure the quality of his/her work. The quality and consistency of every communication reflects directly on the reputation of OCHA as a whole. This is not a comprehensive manual. The definitive authority on language, style, usage and rules is the United Nations Editorial Manual (http://69.94.137.26/editorialcontrol/index.htm), in conjunction with the Concise Oxford Dictionary, eleventh edition. Any issue not resolved in the OCHA Style Guide should be researched in those sources. This second edition is divided into new chapters and includes updated guidance on grammatical and stylistic issues that often cause confusion. It includes rules on grammar, punctuation, spelling, terminology and usage, as well as advice on how to shorten certain phrases often used in reporting. To complement the Style Guide, the OCHA Reporting Unit has produced a series of relevant training modules that are now available on OCHAnet (see Annex III on page 48 for more details). The French version of the OCHA Style Guide is also now available on OCHAnet. For more comments, suggestions or enquiries on specific issues, or for editorial support, contact the OCHA Reporting Unit at: ochareporting@ un.org. 2 | United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Style Guide | 3 General writing guidelines Written communications can take many forms in the work of OCHA, from high-level reports to official announcements. Some basic considerations will help make your writing more engaging and effective. Think before drafting Why am I writing? What is the subject? Who is the audience? Being able to answer these questions is critical. If any are unclear, try brainstorming on your own or with colleagues to define an approach. When you have identified your objectives, it may help to sketch an outline, especially if you have a complex subject or extensive material. If there is a template and/or a good prior example to follow, use it. Check the templates on OCHAnet under the Reporting Resources section. Aim for clarity Keep sentences short and simple. Use coherent paragraphs to provide structure. Give each paragraph a topic sentence. Consider various methods for structuring your paragraphs, such as by theme, chronology, comparing and contrasting, or by cause and effect. Seven rules for simplicity 1. State a fact or an idea directly. 2. Use concrete rather than abstract words. 3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs. 4. Use the active voice rather than the passive voice (see page 4). 5. Avoid wordy sentences. 6. Use appropriate language. 7. Use verbs that are dynamic and action oriented. Proofread Before you submit your work, read it again carefully for any errors in language or logic. Do not rely on the computer’s spell check to catch every mistake. For example, it will not notice Untied Nations. Practice makes perfect The OCHA Reporting Unit has developed online training modules to help OCHA staff members improve their written communications. The United Nations Editorial Manual Online also contains a series of online writing courses. See Annex III on page 48 for the links. section 1 grammar Collective/Group Nouns When using none or percentages, use a plural verb if the noun is a collective/group noun, such as beneficiaries or households. Examples: None • of the beneficiaries have received information. Twenty per cent of • households have been affected by floods. Karang is one of the few villages in the region that are • (not is) accessible. See also: Singular nouns Dangling/Hanging Participle If the first part of a sentence does not refer to the noun that is the subject in the main part of the sentence, it is a dangling or hanging participle. For example: After being trapped in the rubble for nine days, the USG met the earthquake survivors. After being trapped in the rubble for nine days refers to the earthquake survivors. However, the subject of the main part of the sentence is the USG. To avoid confusion, this can be reworded as: After being trapped in the rubble for nine days, the earthquake survivors met the USG. or The USG met the earthquake survivors who had been trapped in the rubble for nine days. 4 | United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Style Guide | 5 Passive vs. Active Be direct and concise. Wherever possible, use the active voice (A approached B). This is more direct and concise than the passive voice (B was approached by A). Examples: Active: WFP delivered food to 800 refugees. • Passive: Food was delivered to 800 refugees by WFP. • Use the passive voice to emphasize or prioritize. The example below is written in the passive so that the emphasis is on the staff members who lost their lives: Example: Five staff members were killed by members of the Taliban. • Reported Speech Use indirect speech to report something that was said or written, rather than the exact words. Quotation marks are not required. When using indirect speech, use a verb in the past tense to indicate who delivered the information (He said/She stated/They confirmed). A corresponding change must then be made in verb tense in the statement being reported. Examples: Direct: • The OCHA annual report is being launched today. Indirect: • He announced that the OCHA annual report was being launched that day. Direct: • IDPs are in desperate need of clean water. Indirect: • The Secretary-General stated that IDPs were in desperate need of clean water. When reporting on statements that are universally true, keep the statement in its original tense: The speaker noted that, under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has [not had] the right to life, liberty and security of person. Point to Note: Reported speech is used for documents including summary records, reports at the Secretary-General level, and the OCHA “Note for the File”. Singular Nouns When referring to a team, a Government, an organization or a country, use the singular verb. Examples: The team is arriving next week. • The Government has issued a statement. • The United Nations is an international organization. • The Philippines has asked for international assistance. • The noun number is singular if it follows the definite article the. Example: The number of those attending is • estimated at 400. Split Infinitives This is a common example of a split infinitive: To boldly go where no man has gone before. The infinitive is to go. It has been split by the adverb boldly. Use split infinitives only if needed for emphasis or readability. For example: They were advised to regularly check their e-mail reads clearer than They were advised to check regularly their e-mail. 6 | United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Style Guide | 7 section 2 PUNCTUATION Apostrophe For possessives: Add • ’s for singular possessive nouns (the organization’s policy) Add • ’s for plural possessives not ending in s (children’s rights) Add • ’ for plural possessive nouns ending in s (aid workers’ security; farmers’ concerns; refugees’ rations) For singular possessive words and names ending in • s, use -s’s (John Holmes’s speech was prepared using information from Charles’s report. The IRIN story included one witness’s account of the conflict.) Remember: ‘s never indicates plural: Correct: Several NGOs attended the meeting. Incorrect: Several NGO’s attended the meeting. If something belongs to more than one NGO (plural possessive): The NGOs’ decision was explained in the report. If something belongs to one NGO (singular possessive): The NGO’s decision was explained in uploads/s3/ ocha-style-guide.pdf