Style Guide
by The Economist · first published 2015
50% recommend50% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Concise, practical guide to clear business and journalistic writing. Its plain, versatile advice covers emails, reports, and proposals, and it has paid off over years of use.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
This expanded twelfth edition of the bestselling guide to style is based on The Economist's own updated house style manual, and is an invaluable companion for everyone who wants to communicate with the clarity, style and precision for which The Economist is renowned. --
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> My brain just freezes out whenever I try to write "complicated" sentences which I find extremely irritating. Don't do this. Follow "The Economist Style Guide" instead: "Clarity of writing usually follows clarity of thought. So think what you want to say, then say it as simply as possible."
on “A blogging style guide” ↗Dunno, I like the advice of what I think is one of the most reasonable contemporary English style guides, The Economist Style Guide: http://www.economist.com/research/styleGuide/index.cfm?page=...
on “Stack Overflow Architecture” ↗…You have to write and more importantly, edit what you wrote. Write a blog post, wait a day or so, and edit it — make it as short as you possibly can without losing the message. 2. I found the Economist Style Guide (http://www.economist.com/research/styleguide/) to be quite helpful. Strunk & White is useful, but not as a set of rules to abide by, but as a set of ideas to consider.
on “Ask HN: How do I teach myself better writing skills?” ↗„Clarity of writing usually follows clarity of thought. So think what you want to say, then say it as simply as possible.” (from: The Economist Style Guide) I recommend the whole Guide wholeheartedly.
on “How to Be Clear” ↗I recommend the Economist Style Guide. My friends who are print journalists regard it highly. A slim novella of the guide is available for offline reference. "This guide is based on the style book which is given to all journalists at The…
on “Writing great documentation: you need an editor” ↗Because of my own ignorance, I'd assumed The Economist Style Guide was another tome mainly full of usage rules. Having actually looked at a bit of it now, it seems much more accessible and useful than that.
on “Software engineers should write” ↗…yourself though. Quite often the ornamental form simply hides the lack of intellectual depth in the content. Free yourself from such thoughts and the rest will follow. I really recommend "The Economist Style Guide". Please read through it, then read again to see how it was applied to itself (!). Then write a short passage, and revise it to adhere to the recommendations -- don't be surprised if this will need several…
on “A blogging style guide” ↗That’s a reasonable question. I bought The Economist Style Guide shortly after university and I’ve used its recommendations regularly over many years. It’s had a massively positive payback for me. It’s surprisingly versatile advice, whether crafting emails, reports,…
on “The Economist's Style Guide [pdf]” ↗Don't use fake words like 'upskill' when you have perfectly good words like 'improve.' Get them copies of 'the little book' (Strunk and White) and the Economist Style Guide. Beta test their output by giving it to first-time or newish users. Be willing to accept harsh criticism, because much technical writing is just really bad writing. Minimize the length of sentences.…
on “Ask HN: How do you upskill your teams technical writing?” ↗"The Economist Style Guide" is excellent too.
on “A blogging style guide” ↗Those interested in this may like to know that The Economist publishes a style guide in book form: https://www.amazon.com/Style-Guide-Economist-Books/dp/161039...
on “Five Ways to Write Like The Economist [pdf] (2010)” ↗…Amazon is correct or not, and it is not going to help to cite a bunch of dead people, who, in my opinion, are very clearly responsible for the ills of our current society. Far better, citing The Economist Style Guide, "think what you want to say, then say it as simply as possible".
on “Amazon snubs French free delivery ban with one-cent charge” ↗This is the latest version of the Economist Style Guide - http://cdn.static-economist.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/sty...
on “Writing tools I learned from The Economist” ↗To me, this principles of this style are best described in the Economist's Style Guide: http://www.economist.com/styleguide/introduction "Clarity of writing usually follows clarity of thought. So think what you want to say, then say it as simply as possible." "Pomposity and long-windedness…
on “How New York City Gets Its Electricity” ↗I'm British. (And The Economist's 'Style Guide' 10ed. concurs. (I'm not being selective beyond the extent to which I already am by only having that style guide.) It is of course a global publication, despite 'being' British, but it's entry on 'Americanisms'…
on “Mac Plus made of legos at 1:1 scale” ↗