How to write like The Economist. (or get your GPT to do it for you)

I am a big fan of the magazine The Economist. I find its analysis and writing style intelligent and balanced. So, I was excited when my father-in-law this week gave me an old book with a collection of some of the publisher's best marketing collateral.

Inside it, I found this gold nugget of a writing style sheet. Not only is it a really interesting description of a tone of voice - but its also very useful as a prompt to AI if you want its output to be more akin to The Economist's writing style.

(Extracts from The Economist style sheet.)

On only two scores can The Economist hope to outdo its rivals consistently: One is the quality of its analysis; the other is the quality of its writing. The aim of this style sheet is to give some general advice on writing, to point out some common errors and to set some arbitrary rules.

The first requirement of The Economist is that it should be readily understandable. Clarity of writing usually follows clarity of thought. So think what you want to say, then say it as simply as possible. Keep in mind George Orwell’s six elementary rules (“Politics and the English Language,” 1946):

(i) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. (ii) Never use a long word where a short one will do. (iii) If it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out. (iv) Never use the passive where you can use the active. (v) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. (vi) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

Metaphors. “A newly invented metaphor assists thought by evoking a visual image,” said Orwell, “while on the other hand a metaphor which is technically ‘dead’ (e.g., iron resolution) has in effect reverted to being an ordinary word and can generally be used without loss of vividness. But in between these two classes there is a huge dump of worn-out metaphors which are merely used because they save people the trouble of inventing phrases for themselves.”

Short words. Use them. They are often Anglo-Saxon rather than Latin in origin. They are easy to spell and easy to understand. Thus prefer about to approximately, after to following, let to permit, but to however, use to utilize, make to manufacture, plant to facility, take part to participate, set up to establish, enough to sufficient, show to demonstrate, and so on. Underdeveloped countries are often better described as poor, substantive usually means real or important, and deem usually means think or judge. (Some of these long words may be necessary for legal or technical reasons, but generally they are not.) Likewise, the longer a word has been part of the English language, the more likely it is to be shorter: one syllable good, four syllables bad.

Unnecessary words. Some words add nothing but length to your copy. Among the commonest of these are appreciably, approximately, basically, completely, extremely, hopefully, literally, really, practically, quite, totally, and virtually. This is not to say that you should never use any of these words, but you should avoid them when possible. They are like weeds in a garden, and you should treat them as such.

Abbreviations and acronyms. Avoid them if you can. When you do use them, spell them out the first time you use them (even the well-known ones) and give a brief explanation of what they stand for. Then use the acronym. Thus: The World Health Organization (WHO) was established in 1948. The WHO’s headquarters are in Geneva.

Punctuation. Use the serial comma: red, white, and blue. But do not use a comma before and or or unless it helps to clarify a sentence. Thus: We will sell the product in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. But: We will sell the product in France, Germany, Italy and Spain (meaning we will not sell it in Spain).

Numbers. Spell out one to nine; use numerals for 10 and above. Thus: There are three reasons for this. There are 10 reasons for this. Use numerals for percentages: 5%, not five per cent. Do not use the % symbol when you are writing about a vague percentage: one percent of GDP, but 1% of GDP. Spell out million, billion, trillion, etc.: $5 million, not $5m. Use words, not numerals, for centuries: the nineteenth century, not the 19th century.

Dates. Write dates in the form: June 29, 2011. When you refer to a century, write: the 21st century. Use BC, AD, BCE, and CE without periods: 300 BC, AD 476, 300 BCE, 476 CE.

Titles. Use Mr., Mrs., Miss, or Ms. with surnames: Mr. Brown, Mrs. Smith, Miss Jones, Ms. Black. Use Dr. with medical doctors only: Dr. Brown. Do not use a title with a full name: John Brown, not Mr. John Brown. Use titles consistently throughout an article.

Quotations. Use double quotation marks for direct speech and single quotation marks for quotes within quotes: “I heard him say ‘I’ll be back soon,’” she said. Do not use quotation marks for indirect speech: He said he would be back soon.

Italics. Use italics for book and film titles, names of ships, and foreign words not yet anglicized: The Economist Style Guide, The Great Gatsby, HMS Victory, bon vivant.

Capitalization. Use capitals sparingly. Capitalize proper names, titles when used with names, days of the week, months, holidays, and historical events: London, President Obama, Monday, January, Christmas, the Second World War. Do not capitalize common nouns: the president, a university, a city, a government.

Dashes and hyphens. Use an em dash (—) with a space on either side for a break in a sentence: The minister was asked — and refused — to comment. Use an en dash (–) without spaces for ranges: 10–20, June–August. Use hyphens for compound adjectives: a well-known fact, a two-year-old child.

Commonly confused words. Affect/effect: Affect is a verb, meaning to influence; effect is a noun, meaning a result. Less/fewer: Use less for uncountable nouns, fewer for countable nouns. Its/it’s: Its is possessive; it’s is a contraction of it is. That/which: Use that for restrictive clauses, which for non-restrictive clauses. Who/whom: Use who as the subject, whom as the object.

Avoid jargon. Some words and phrases that are common in business or government writing are jargon and should be avoided. These include: at this point in time, going forward, in the final analysis, leverage, paradigm shift, proactive, synergy, and utilize.

Be precise. Vagueness is the enemy of good writing. If you do not know the exact meaning of a word, do not use it. If you are not sure of the facts, check them. If you cannot be precise, say so. If you are guessing, say so.

Consistency. Be consistent in your use of language and punctuation throughout an article. If you decide to use American spelling, use it consistently. If you use British spelling, use it consistently. The same applies to punctuation and style.

Sources and references. Attribute all quotations and sources. If you are using information from another publication, give credit to the source: According to The New York Times, ... If you are quoting someone, give their full name and, if relevant, their title: “This is a great opportunity,” said John Smith, CEO of Acme Corp.

Finally, remember that writing is a craft that can be improved with practice. Read widely, write regularly, and seek feedback from others. The more you write, the better you will become