Grammar Lessons From The CIA.

25 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Grammar, Legal Writing, Plain Language, Punctuation, Style Manuals

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http://mentalfloss.com/article/57743/11-grammar-lessons-leaked-cia-style-book

In 2014, a leaked copy of the Directorate of Intelligence Style Manual & Writer’s Guide for Intelligence Publications found its way to the Internet. That long title belies what it actually is: A well-written style book for the CIA — the Strunk & White for Spies.

Inside the 181 pages (not including the index) is a terrific guide for normal folks, and not just government sleuths. It still offers some unique advice, however, and you won’t find some of these examples in your copy of the Oxford American Dictionary. . . .

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Style Manuals for the CIA and NSA SIGNIT and More.

04 Friday Jul 2014

Posted by Celia C. Elwell, RP in Editing, Fonts, Legal Writing, Proofreading, Quotations, Readability, Style Manuals

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beSpacific Blog., CIA, Grammar and Punctuation, NSA SIGNIT, Sabrina I. Pacifici, Style Manuals, Writing

CIA Style Manual Available Online, by Sabrina I. Pacifici, beSpacific Blog

http://tinyurl.com/mshotwq

If you are not familiar with Ms. Pacifici, I encourage you to check out her blog. She is an extraordinary researcher. These materials are interesting enough on their own, but you will see that the links take you to the FOIA Resources at The National Security Archive. The Government Attic Blog is also worth a good, long look. -CCE

Via governmentattic.org:

‘National Security Counselors law firm has obtained a copy of the CIA Directorate of Intelligence Style Manual, Eighth Edition, 2011. It is entitled Style Manual & Writers Guide for Intelligence Publications. The CIA Guide is not alone. Each of the members of the Intelligence Community IC have one or more Style Manuals to conform the reports and documents of that agency to a consistent writing style and usage. This is highly important to achieving clear and unambiguous communications of such matters.
Here is another example: the NSA SIGINT Style Guide
The National Security Counselors web site publishes a large number of interesting documents released under FOIA, or under litigation arising from FOIA requests.’