# Style guide As of August 31st 2022, this style guide is not relevant anymore, mainly because it is time-consuming to ensure everything adheres to the guide, and the added value is inexistent. I leave the note below untouched, as it might be of interest to grammar nerds like me. --- For the sake of consistency, I have decided that I should write my notes according to an explicit style guide. I have been reading [*The Economist*](https://www.economist.com/) for a few years and I have grown fond of their writing style, so I thought it would be both a tribute to them and a good exercise for me to emulate it. Therefore, I will strive to follow the rules laid out in [“The Economist Style Guide”](https://shop.economist.com/products/the-economist-style-guide-12th-edition). The "Guide" opens up with George Orwell's six elementary rules: 1. _Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print._ 2. _Never use a long word where a short one will do._ 3. _If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out._ 4. _Never use the passive where you can use the active._ 5. _Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent._ 6. _Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous._ It then advocates a few more rules, of which the most important are the following: - _Do not be stuffy._ - _Do not be hectoring or arrogant._ - _Do not be too pleased with yourself._ - _Do not be too chatty._ - _Do not be too didactic._ - _Do your best to be lucid._ I will strive to use British English rather than American English or any other kind. For some more specific rules, see [[Style guide specifics]]. Those guidelines will apply to most of my notes, with the notable exception of source notes. Those are meant to be used as material for other notes, but I thought it would not hurt to publish them too. As for notes in French, I will mostly follow the same guidelines for the content, and adopt the formatting style of the [*Monde diplomatique*](https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/).