USNORTHCOM/NORAD HINTS FOR CLEARER WRITING
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Write as you talk—if you wouldn’t say it, don’t write it. Generally avoid stuffy terms like: in
regard to, in the final analysis, in terms of, utilize
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Write for your reader, not for yourself: watch acronyms, technical terms, “insider” terms
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Good: Short sentences. Active voice. Specifics. We vs. I, when possible. NC/J34. NNC/J2
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Not so good: Five words when one will do. Passive, vague generalities. Repeating the
same idea. All these indicate lazy thinking. (avoid: “Again, we want to express our
thanks”)
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Precise nouns and verbs work a lot better than mushy adjectives and adverbs. Use active
voice vice passive voice
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Try for excellence. Nobody knows everything—good writers use a handy dictionary often
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You will make typos. Proofread…then ask others to look. Important or negative?--sleep
on it
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Hyphenate multiple-word (compound) adjectives used to modify a noun (pervasive in
military writing)
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Capitalize proper names—not plain words just because somebody made an acronym
(SMAA)
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To say it strongly, use a short incomplete sentence--or a dash…or italics. Underlining =
yelling
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Italics for titles (e.g., books, directives) look classier than “quote marks”
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The word Interagency is an adjective, not a proper noun. Say interagency community, not
“the Interagency.”
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Use an apostrophe to show missing letters: it’s right to use its as the possessive.
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i.e., means in other words; e.g., means for example. Use periods and comma with both.
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Sentence-ending characters like periods and question marks go “inside quotes.”
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U.S. Capitol in National Capital Region.
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Between two people or things; among three or more
JSO 101
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Predict: you expect that it will happen. Anticipate: you think it could happen.
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This everyday adjective is used incorrectly every day. The two usages are different.
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To affect means to influence. Effect can be a noun (result) or a verb (to effect or bring
about).
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As a compliment to Pete, she gave him a blue memento tie, which complemented his blue
shirt.
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In principle, the commander should be the principal strategic communicator for the
command.
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Fewer action officers in the branch caused us to have less impact on the mission.
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Format consistency matters, e.g., fonts, spacing, numbering, bullet punctuation, parallel
statements, lists
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It’s OK to be creative with English. Guess who created the most words…William
Shakespeare
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