Published on Jul 16, 2014 by RT America
Many organizations have style guides as a way to keep their customer-facing communications consistent and on-brand. The CIA is no different. They have a style guide, and the legal nonprofit, National Security Counselors, obtained a copy of it through a FOIA request. There were many, many interesting rules in the guide, which shed some light on the CIA’s priorities and agenda. The Resident discusses.
Directorate of Intelligence Style Manual & Writers Guide for Intelligence Publications, Eighth Edition, 2011:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/233259974/Directorate-of-Intelligence-Style-Manual-Writers-Guide-for-Intelligence-Publications-Eighth-Edition-2011
The guide contains the correct spellings for words like death squad (two words) while also using wholesome examples to illustrate correct usage:
“Rodgers and Hammerstein’s only collaboration specifically for a film was on State Fair.” It also includes a Well-Known Abbreviations section, which highlights ABM (antiballistic missile), ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile), SAM (surface-to-air missile), SRBM (short-range ballistic missile), and SLBM (submarine-launched ballistic missile) — just in case you were confused.
The document states that:
“This compilation is meant to provide guidance for writers of intelligence publications as well as writers of intelligence-related administrative papers. All are assumed already to possess the three essentials of intelligence analysis: knowledge, clarity of thought, and good judgment. No writing, however skilled, can conceal deficiencies in these requisites.”
It continues with some sage advice for any writer or editor:
•Keep the language crisp and pungent; prefer the forthright to the pompous and ornate.
•Do not stray from the subject; omit the extraneous, no matter how brilliant it may seem or even be.
•Favor the active voice and shun streams of polysyllables and prepositional phrases.
•Be frugal in the use of adjectives and adverbs; let nouns and verbs show their own power.
•Be objective; write as a reporter or analyst or administrator unless you are entitled to write as a policymaker.
Click the link below to read more…
http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/cia-style-guide