WFP English Style Guidelines
World Food Programme
Table of Contents
Section 1 - Preface
1.1 - Preface
1.2 - Acknowledgements
Section 2 - Audience; document structure; style; fonts
2.1 - Audience
2.2 - Document structure
2.3 - Style
2.4 - Fonts
Section 3 - Sentence structure; voice
3.1 - Sentence structure
3.2 - Voice
Section 4 - Ambiguity; pairing
4.1 - Ambiguity
4.2 - Pairing
Section 5 - Parallel structure
5.1 - Consistency
Section 6 - Verb tense
6.1 - Verb tense
Section 7 - Usage
7.1 - Prepositions
7.2 - Its and it's
7.3 - Like or As
7.4 - Singular and Plural
7.5 - That or Which?
7.6 - Possessives
7.7 - Split infinitives
7.8 - Verb form taken by determiners
7.9 - Miscellaneous usage notes
Section 8 - Vocabulary
8.1 - Non-English Words
Section 9 - Abbreviations and acronyms
9.1 - Abbreviations and acronyms
Section 10 - Spelling and terminology
10.1 - Spelling and terminology
10.1.1 - Dictionary
10.1.2 - British spelling
10.1.3 - Z versus S
10.1.4 - Proper names
Section 11 - Word treatment; ellipsis
11.1 - Word treatment
11.1.1 - Capitalization
11.1.2 - Job titles
11.1.3 - Programmes, conferences, seminars, workshops
11.1.4 - Bodies proposed but not yet established
11.1.5 - Hyphenated phrases
11.1.6 - References to parts of documents
11.1.7 - Titles of documents and publications
11.1.8 - Government names
11.1.9 - Italics
11.2 - Ellipsis/dots
Section 12 - Punctuation
12.1 - Spacing
12.2 - Full stops
12.3 - Commas
12.4 - Colons
12.5 - Semicolons
12.6 - Hyphens
12.7 - En-dashes
12.8 - Parentheses, or brackets
12.9 - Quotation marks
Section 13 - Lists/bullets
13.1 - Lists/bullets
Section 14 - Detail
14.1 - Detail
Section 15 - Numbers and units
15.1 - General
15.2 - Qualifiers - avoid them
15.3 - Fractions
15.4 - Units of measure
15.5 - Percent
15.6 - Currency
15.7 - Dates
15.8 - Time
Section 16 - Place names
16.1 - Geographical terms
Section 17 - References
17.1 - Footnotes
17.2 - WFP documents
Section 18 - Bibliographies
18.1 - Bibliographies
Section 19 - Tables
19.1 - Tables
Section 20 - Things to Avoid
20.1 - Officialese
20.2 Appendix A5 - Formats
A5.1 - Formats
Appendix A6 - Your document after editing
A6.1 - Your document after editing
Section 1 - Preface
1.1 - Preface
This WFP Style Guide is intended as a resource for authors writing documents for
the Executive Board and papers for consultations and for writers and editors
preparing official WFP publications.
Aim
The aim is to help authors to produce clear, consistent, readable texts that are
accessible to representatives of WFP's Member States, to staff of other United
Nations organizations and to an international readership -- an audience that varies
enormously in terms of language and culture. The guide sets out the style
conventions used in WFP and advises on usage; preferred word forms and
spellings, acronyms and country names may be found elsewhere.
The watchwords are Accuracy, Brevity and Clarity.
Readership
Writers should bear in mind that many of those who read documents in English are
not mother-tongue users of English; and documents have to be translated into the
other official languages – Arabic, French and Spanish – and possibly into Russian
and Chinese. For these reasons, writers should keep their texts as straightforward
as possible; they should keep technical terms to a minimum and should not use
jargon or figurative language (see "Things to avoid").
Formatting
The formatting of original documents should be as simple as possible: documents
for the Board and the Bureau and those for consultations are formatted in the
Document Processing Unit (DPU), where special templates are used. If graphics
are to be included, the original electronic files should accompany any document
that is to be formatted so that they can be inserted.
Text that cannot be changed
If a document contains text that cannot be changed, for example because it has
been agreed with other parties, please make sure that it is clearly indicated.
Updating the Style Guide
This Style Guide is constantly reviewed and updated. Your input as a user is
important: if you find an error or omission or wish to comment on any aspect of
the Style Guide, please contact the English Editor at WFP Headquarters:
telephone: +06 6513 2654
e-mail: Andrea.Stoutland@wfp.org
1.2 - Acknowledgements
The WFP Style Guide was compiled in 2001 by Liliana D'Aniello, the then English
Editor, drawing on United Nations style documents; she was assisted by Maria
Quintili, then an English Text Processor. It was updated by subsequent English
Editors with input from users.
Section 2 - Audience; document structure; style; fonts
2.1 - Audience
Adjust the discourse to the intended reader. Do not assume technical knowledge on
the part of the reader. Avoid technical language and vocabulary.
2.2 - Document structure
With the intended audience in mind, identify the core ideas essential to the
document and the main points you want to make. Omit non-essential material.
Present the core ideas in a logical sequence.
For operations documents, follow the formats found in the Programme Guidance
Manual (PGM).
2.3 - Style
Use direct language. Be brief. Avoid repetition. Aim for clarity, accuracy,
continuity and consistency.
British English is the standard, with some exceptions as set out in this guide (see
especially Spelling and terminology).
The tools of the trade are:



the latest edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary or the Concise
Oxford English Dictionary;
this Style Guide;
List of Acronyms Used in Board Documents;


WFP Structure and Titles of Staff; and
WFP Glossary.
2.4 - Fonts
Use Times New Roman 11 or 12 point for Board documents. Do not use a mixture
of fonts.
Use italic exclusively for book titles and for words and expressions in languages
other than English (which must be explained in brackets):
The following is quoted from The Statistics of Food Aid, second edition:

The Antyodaya Anna Lojana (Food Scheme for the Poor) was introduced in
2000.
Use bold for sub-headings, but NOT where text is highlighted by the formatting,
for example in bulleted lists.
Avoid overuse of italic and bold lettering. Do NOT use italic or bold fonts in text
to denote emphasis, which should be reflected in the phrasing.
For WFP publications follow the branding guidance available at
http://go.wfp.org/web/wfpgo/publishingtools.
Section 3 - Sentence structure; voice
3.1 - Sentence structure
Subject/Verb/Object
In English, the usual sentence structure is subject, followed by verb, followed by
object or complement. Keep the verb and object close to the subject.
For example:
If current trends continue, by the turn of the century tourism [subject] will
displace [verb] agriculture [object] as the island's main industry.
NOT: "Tourism, if current trends continue, by the turn of the century will displace
agriculture as the island's main industry."
Don't appear to change subject in mid-sentence; for example, prepositional phrases
should be adjacent to the noun they refer to:
With its numerous beaches, the island offers good prospects for tourism.
NOT "With its with numerous beaches, tourism has good prospects in the island."
Long Sentences
Avoid long complicated sentences. Short, clear sentences convey meaning more
effectively than a single complex structure.
3.2 - Voice
Choose the active voice over the passive if you can.
WFP responded quickly to decentralization.
NOT "Decentralization was responded to quickly by WFP."
However, if the writer wishes to be impersonal, perhaps to avoid implications of
blame, the passive voice is the better choice.
Section 4 - Ambiguity; pairing
4.1 - Ambiguity
Take care with word order and subject pronouns. Words placed in the wrong order
or the use of subjects such as this or it without a clear referent can lead to
ambiguity.
Remember the famous report in the New Yorker:
"The woman who shot herself in the foot accidentally recovered".
The line should have read: The woman who accidentally shot herself in the foot
recovered.
4.2 - Pairing
Do not pair nouns and adjectives. It is not necessary to write
"... their relevance and significance to planning and implementation ..."; the paired
terms have the same meaning, so one or the other will suffice.
The meaning is clearer in "... their relevance to planning and implementation
...".
The addition of a paired synonym does not strengthen a sentence; it weakens it.
Section 5 - Parallel structure
5.1 - Consistency
Be consistent. When you use a bulleted or numbered list, make sure the items all
follow the same structure - complete sentences or verb phrases or noun phrases.
For example:
Complete sentences:
The project is characterized by the following features:



It will provide a system of management and monitoring that will ensure
sustainable use of the region's natural resources.
It is expected to be self-financing through user fees.
All stakeholders will participate in all aspects of system management.
OR verb phrases (each bullet point begins with a verb):
The project is characterized by features that will:



provide a system of management and monitoring that will ensure sustainable
use of the region's natural resources;
self-finance the system through user fees; and
allow all stakeholders to participate in all aspects of system management.
OR noun phrases (each bullet point begins with a noun):
The project is characterized by the following features:



provision of a system of management and monitoring that will ensure
sustainable use of the region's natural resources;
self-financing of the system through user fees; and
participation of all stakeholders in all aspects of system management.
Do NOT create lists that use all three features, as in:
The project is characterized by the following features:



provision [noun] of a system of management and monitoring that will ensure
sustainable use of the region's natural resources;
the system is expected to be self-financing [complete sentence] through user
fees; and
allows [verb] all stakeholders to participate in all aspects of system
management.
Section 6 - Verb tense
6.1 - Verb tense
Be consistent in the use of tense. When you begin in the past, stay in the past:
The evaluation mission noted that the beneficiary schools had few teaching
materials.
A common error is the use of the present perfect to describe an event that has
already ended. The correct verb tense for this case is past simple:
Between 2003 and 2005, the enrolment rate fell from 54 percent to 43 percent.
NOT: Between 2003 and 2005, the enrolment rate has fallen from 54 percent to 43
percent.
The subjunctive
The subjunctive mood expresses a wished-for, hypothetical or contingent
relationship between subject and predicate, as for example in "... if I were you ..."
or "... be that as it may ...". It is used after verbs such as "recommend" and
"suggest":
The Board recommends that WFP be proactive in developing partnerships.
We suggest that he take leave of absence until the matter has been resolved.
The subjunctive is usually used after "if":
If a further emergency were to occur during this period.
When using the conditional would, be sure to use the subjunctive as well:
If funding were [subjunctive] provided, the project would [conditional] be able
to proceed.
WFP would [conditional] have to end its operations if the
decision were [subjunctive] to be negative.
Section 7 - Usage
7.1 - Prepositions
In formal writing prepositions should not be placed at the end of a clause or
sentence, but there are many circumstances in which a preposition may or even
must be so placed, especially to avoid what Sir Winston Churchill called "the kind
of English up with which I will not put".
It is perfectly acceptable to write:
There are no other problems, at least none that the mission is aware of.
The alternative would be: "There are no other problems, at least none of which the
mission is aware."
7.2 - Its and it's
The word it's is a contraction of it is . The apostrophe does NOT indicate
possession.
The word its is a possessive adjective; it does NOT contain an apostrophe.
Oh, it's [= it is] just the dog wagging its [possessive] tail.

Why is today a holiday? It's for the country to celebrate its independence.
The country office gives its staff extra security training; it's one of the reasons
why people are happy to work here.
7.3 - Like or As
The word introduced by like must be a noun or pronoun; it must not be governed
by a preposition, but by the subject or object of the main verb.
The commodities will be used as a stopgap. (The commodities are the
stopgap.) NOT: "The commodities will be used like a stopgap."

The document looks like an agenda. NOT: "The document looks like it is an
agenda." (The document is not an agenda.)
Be careful with constructions where like or as could be used:
He talks like an expert. (He sounds like an expert but may not be one.)

He is speaking as an expert. (He is an expert and is speaking in that capacity.)
Use such as to give examples.
In mountainous countries such as Peru or Nepal ...

Do NOT write "... countries like Peru or Nepal ...".
7.4 - Singular and Plural
The verb follows the number of the subject, NOT of the complement:
A secondary target group [subject] for the project is [NOT are] the rural
communities [complement] in which the very poor primary target group lives.
Don't be drawn off track by a clause:
WFP, in addition to the other agencies mentioned, is [NOT are] looking into
the possibility.
Exception: a subject that is singular in sense though plural in form:
Twenty miles is a long way to walk.
Six months was the time allowed for completion.
Fish and chips is a popular dish.
Countries that are plural in form take singular verbs:
The United States has the world's most powerful economy.
A singular verb is used when the group is seen as a unit:
The team is currently based at Brindisi.
The staff consists entirely of locally employed people.
A compound subject (with and) is normally plural:
Their lives, their liberties and their religion are [NOT is] in danger.
When alternative subjects (with or) are both singular, the verb is singular:
United Nations troops have been ordered to shoot if life [subject 1] or
property [subject 2] is [NOT are] in danger.
However, if one subject is singular and one is plural, the verb is plural:
The registered woman head of household [subject 1, singular] or her
children [subject 2, plural] are allowed to receive the food ration.
The plurals men and women, not "male" and "female", are used as adjectives when
referring to people, e.g. women farmers. Use households headed by women,
NEVER "female-headed households".
The following determiners require a verb in singular:
Anybody, anyone, somebody, someone, nobody, no one, everybody, everyone;
each, every, either, neither; more than one; much, little; one of (plural noun but
singular verb: one of the projects is ....); the number of.
But note that with defining relative clauses introduced by “who” or “that” the verb
agrees with the subject of the clause:
"The unit is one of the teams that are (NOT is) excluded from the survey".
“That” refers back to “teams”, not to “one of”, and thus the verb is plural.
The following determiners require a verb in plural:
a number of, a group of; many, few, both, several; each (after a noun or
pronoun: "They each play several instruments.").
The following determiners require either singular or plural, depending on the
number of the noun:
a lot; most, some, any, half; none; the majority; percent; that, which, who.
Certain cases depend on the numerical sense of the sentence, e.g. singular words
that refer to groups or plural words that express a singular notion or unit.
With any/either/neither/none of, use a singular verb where possible, but a plural
verb if the notion of plurality is present: "None of the suggestions was very
interesting"; but "None of our problems have been solved" is acceptable.
7.5 - That or Which?
Contrary to common belief, there is a difference between that and which. Using
one rather than the other can mean the difference between clarity and confusion.
That (restrictive) is defining:

The northern regions that are prone to drought are the ones WFP will
target. (There might be other northern regions, but it is only those that are
susceptible to drought that are being targeted for aid.)
Which (non-restrictive) is not defining; it gives additional information that could
be omitted and not affect the intended message of the sentence.
The northern regions, which are prone to drought, will each receive 450
mt of food. (Being drought-prone is a characteristic of the northern regions.)

That , as a relative pronoun, is not preceded by a comma; which , as a relative
pronoun, normally is.
7.6 - Possessives
There are three main forms of possessive:



possessive in ' s (or s' if plural): the project leader's objectives, water users'
association;
possessive with of: the objectives of the project leader, association of water
users;
possessive used with gerund to form a noun: as in "He did not approve of
his daughter's going to school."
The sense of the possessive can also be conveyed by using an adjective/noun
construction: e.g. "office equipment", "project objectives"; the adjective is singular.
Do NOT use the 's form of possessive with inanimate things: use "the capacity of
the trucks", not "the trucks' capacity".
7.7 - Split infinitives
A split infinitive is the separation of the verbal part of an infinitive (e.g. "to
understand") from its particle "to". Do NOT split infinitives: place the adverb
before or after the infinitive it modifies or use a structure that avoids a split
infinitive. For example:
WFP intends to develop the project further in the next six months. (NOT
"WFP intends to further develop ...")
The document will help the Board to enhance its understanding of the
matter. (NOT "The document will help the Board to better understand ...")
Section 8 - Vocabulary
8.1 - Non-English Words
If necessary, briefly explain local terms in a footnote when they're first mentioned,
for example "walo1 (1 low-lying land flooded during part of the year)", "woreda
(administrative district)".
Some Greek and Latin words have passed into common usage in English – but be
careful with the plural forms:
phenomenon/phenomena;
criterion/criteria;
genus/genera;
datum (rare in the singular)/data;
forum/fora;
medium/media.
Avoid Latin and Greek expressions – use the English equivalents.
For example, use "among other things", NOT inter alia. If you are determined to
use a Latin or Greek expression, check the Shorter or the Concise Oxford English
Dictionary: some have passed into common usage and are set in roman (ad hoc),
while others are italicized and may be transliterated (intuitu personae, hoi polloi).
Section 9 - Abbreviations and acronyms
9.1 - Abbreviations and acronyms
Keep the use of abbreviations and acronyms to a minimum.
Acronyms should be spelt out in full at their first occurrence in text. A list of
acronyms must be attached to documents in which acronyms are used. No
acronyms should be used in the executive summaries of Board documents,
except for WFP and HIV/AIDS.
If a name appears in the text only once, write it in full.
NB: World Bank is never abbreviated.
Use the form e-mail(s), lowercase (unless the term is the first word in a sentence)
with hyphen.
When referring to US dollars use USD with a hard space between the letters and
the number and between the numerals and the word "million" –
e.g. USD 43.2 million. For the Euro use EUR.
The only countries referred to by an acronym are the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea (DPRK) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). For doubts
about country names, refer to the online FAOTERM List of Countries.
Acronyms do not have full stops – e.g. WFP, not W.F.P.
Never use acronyms for governments – e.g. the Government of Pakistan, not
"GOP" – or ministries – e.g. the Ministry of Agriculture, not "MOA" – or the
names of countries – e.g. United Kingdom, not "UK".
Never use acronyms to refer to people or staff positions – e.g. Country Director,
not "CD".
Omit the article before acronyms used as nouns – e.g. FAO, not "the FAO".
Non-English acronyms should be spelt out on first use in text in the same way as
other acronyms but in italic, followed in brackets by the acronym and its English
equivalent or a translation in roman type. In the acronym list, give the full name in
the original language in italics, with the English equivalent or a translation in
roman type. For example:
Text:
The operation is supported by Stichting Nederlandse Vrijwilligers (SNV,
Netherlands Development Organization) and local organizations.
Acronym list entry:
SNV Stichting Nederlandse Vrijwilligers (Netherlands Development
Organization)
Section 10 - Spelling and terminology
10.1 - Spelling and terminology
10.1.1 - Dictionary
Follow the first spelling listed in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary or
the Concise Oxford English Dictionary. Another useful tool is the Oxford
Dictionary for Writers and Editors.
10.1.2 - British spelling
Ensure that the default language for your document is set to English (UK), by
selecting Language from the Tools menu; note that some WFP terminology differs
from this standard.
10.1.3 - Z versus S
Use z (not s) in such words as realize, organization and mobilization.
Use s in words such as advertise, merchandise, analyse, catalyse, exercise,
paralyse, hydrolyse.
If in doubt, follow the first spelling given in the Shorter Oxford English
Dictionary. Follow an organization’s spelling of its own name, e.g. Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development.
10.1.4 - Proper names
For names of countries, adjectives of nationality and denominations of currency,
consult the FAOTERM Names of Countries.
In text, list countries in alphabetical order, except when the order in which they
appear serves the discussion, for example when listing countries in descending
order of malnutrition rates.
Section 11 - Word treatment; ellipsis
11.1 - Word treatment
11.1.1 - Capitalization
Use capitals sparingly. Write Member State(s) of WFP, but member
state(s)/country(ies) if it's another institution or undefined.
11.1.2 - Job titles
References in text to WFP job titles such as budget officer, project director and
accountant are NOT given as acronyms or capitalized. The following titles are
capitalized: Secretary-General, Executive Director, Assistant Executive Director,
Regional Director, Country Director, President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Chief,
External Auditor, Chief Financial Officer.
11.1.3 - Programmes, conferences, seminars, workshops
Once the full title is given, references to the programme, the conference, etc. are
NOT capitalized.
11.1.4 - Bodies proposed but not yet established
These are NOT capitalized. The same holds true for references to draft conventions
and treaties that do not yet exist.
11.1.5 - Hyphenated phrases
The second word in a hyphenated phrase (and third if there is one) is also
capitalized: e.g. Inter-Agency Standing Committee, After-Action Review.
11.1.6 - References to parts of documents
Do not capitalize paragraph, e.g. "In paragraph 12, reference is made to ...".
However, Annex is capitalized, e.g. "See Annex IV". Annexes should be numbered
in roman capital numerals I, II, III, etc.
11.1.7 - Titles of documents and publications
The titles of documents are set in roman in quotation marks, with capital initial
letters except for articles and prepositions:
Committee members will need a copy of "Joint Evaluation Report on the
Business Process Review" for reference.
For publications, use capitals for the initial letters except for articles and
prepositions, and set the title in italics:
Committee members will need copies of Eradicating Swine Fever: a Field
Manual for Practitioners at the meeting.
11.1.8 - Government names
When referring to a government, use a capital letter:
The French Government ruled that ....
When referring to more than one government, use a lowercase letter:
The governments of France and Morocco were asked to comment on the
ruling.
Words such as committee and commission take a capital letter only when used as
part of a proper name. The word Secretariat takes a capital letter when referring to
WFP.
Do not use acronyms to refer to governments or ministries.
11.1.9 - Italics
Words referred to as words are italicized; phrases are set off by quotation marks.
The word synergy is often used incorrectly .
The expression "touch and go" has its origin in naval terminology.
Words quoted from languages other than English are italicized and should be
followed by a brief explanation in brackets:
Discussions with beneficiaries were held at the woreda (administrative district)
level.
11.2 - Ellipsis/dots
When indicating an omission in text, use three ellipses and a space, or four to
include the full stop at the end of a sentence.
Representatives drew attention to the provision "... WFP will ensure that fullcost recovery is applied in operations ... and that partners are so informed
…."
Section 12 - Punctuation
12.1 - Spacing
Leave only one letter space after a full stop at the end of a sentence. This rule
applies to all punctuation.
12.2 - Full stops
Use full stops in contractions such as e.g. and i.e. and in abbreviations such
as M.Sc. and Ph.D.
Do not use full stops:



after people's titles, e.g. Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr; spell out Professor;
in acronyms, e.g. WFP, DPRK, ODOC;
when the last letter of an abbreviated word is the same as that of the original
word, e.g. Ltd (limited), St (Saint).
12.3 - Commas
Use commas to separate elements in a sentence to improve clarity. Avoid overuse
of commas.
When to use a comma
To separate clauses in a compound sentence, especially when the subject changes
in mid-sentence.
The Chairman [subject 1] selected the representative of the Netherlands to
lead the subcommittee, and the committee [subject 2] agreed.

When subordinate phrases or clauses are used that are separated by commas from
the main part of the sentence, it should always be possible to lift the clauses or
phrases out, leaving the rest of the sentence complete.
At the start of the year, the crop looked promising.

We feel, whatever others may think, that the project is a good one.
Between adjectives. Use a comma between adjectives that give similar kinds of
information.
It was a well-planned, effective project.

When NOT to Use a Comma
In lists, omit the comma before the and (or before the or) preceding the last item.
The rations included corn-soya blend (CSB), rice, oil and salt.

Food-for-work activities take place on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays .
Exception:
Use a comma if the penultimate item also contains an "and" or is necessary to
avoid ambiguity.
The workshop covered orientation, monitoring and evaluation, and
feedback.

12.4 - Colons
A colon is generally followed by a lowercase letter and is usually used to introduce
a list or a definition.
The programme materials will include: the agenda, a handbook, work sheets,
etc.
However, an initial capital letter is used when a colon is followed by a complete
sentence:
The committee posed the following questions: What are the constraints on
development? What will be the benefits?
A colon is used to separate one clause from a second clause that contains an
illustration, explanation or amplification of the first:
The delivery of rations was interrupted for two days: roads and bridges had
been washed away in the rains and subsequent flooding.
12.5 - Semicolons
Semicolons are used to mark independent clauses in a sentence. Information in the
second clause is added to that in the first; it does not explain or amplify (see
"Colons" above).
The delivery of rations was interrupted for two days; alternative means of
transport had to be found to resume the shipments.
Compare:
The water was as smooth as glass; the further bank was perfectly reflected in
it. (Semicolon – the second clause adds related information to the first.)
The water was as smooth as glass: not a breath of wind was stirring. (Colon –
the second clause explains the first.)
Admire:
"It is the fate of those who toil at the lower employments of life to be rather
driven by the fear of evil than attracted by the prospect of good; to be exposed
to censure without hope of praise; to be disgraced by miscarriage or punished
for neglect where success would have been without applause and diligence
without reward. " (Samuel Johnson, 1755)
Semicolons may be used to separate items in a list that are sentences or clauses
(and that could be a bulleted list):
The project achieved the following: i) it reached 160,000 beneficiaries; ii) its
costs were within the estimated budget; and iii) it provided experience for
future interventions.
Semicolons separate the entries of a numbered or bulleted list:



assess needs;
train workers; and
monitor progress.
12.6 - Hyphens
There is a distinction between a hyphen and an en-dash (–). Apart from the
difference in length, there is a difference in purpose.
Follow the Oxford Concise English Dictionary or the WFP frequently used word
list.
When to Use a Hyphen
The hyphen is designed to link two words to form a compound, usually an
adjective. “Capacity-building” is always hyphenated.
Adjectives. The hyphen is used to form a compound adjective out of two linked
words modifying a noun: "long term", "grass roots", "civil society", "private
sector", “food for work” when used as adjectives before the noun they qualify
become "a long-term programme", "grass-roots support", "civil-society
organizations", "private-sector involvement", “food-for-work activities”.
Adverbs. With adverbs, no hyphen is needed, particularly with adverbs ending in ly. But one is needed when the adverb might be mistaken for an adjective. For
example, a "little, used car" is not the same as a "little-used car".
Pendent hyphens. "... two-, three- or four-year periods" is technically the correct
form. But avoid the construction where possible; "periods of two, three or four
years" is clearer.
When NOT to Use a Hyphen
The tendency in English is not to hyphenate compound nouns or prefixes where the
sense is clear, as for example in subeditor, overuse, database, germplasm,
proofreader.
Do NOT hyphenate adjectives modified by adverbs such as "locally purchased
food" or "environmentally sound development".
12.7 - En-dashes
An en-dash is used to connect spans of numbers or dates (e.g. 2005–2006) and
where the second word in a group does not modify the first one, as in "a WFP–
FAO project". It is also used to separate an interjected phrase from the main
sentence, in which case it is used with a space before and after it. As with commas,
it should be possible to lift out the part of the sentence within dashes, leaving the
rest of the sentence complete.
This donation – the largest received so far – will enable WFP to buy extra
food.
12.8 - Parentheses, or brackets
(When a complete sentence is enclosed in parentheses, its punctuation is also
enclosed.)
When only part of a sentence is enclosed in parentheses, punctuation is placed
outside (as in this example).
Avoid parentheses/brackets wherever possible. Sentences are much clearer without
them.
(Use square brackets [if needed] within parentheses.)
12.9 - Quotation marks
Double quotation marks are used for quoting sentences, phrases or words.
As with parentheses, punctuation marks are placed inside the quotation marks only
if they belong to the quotation; otherwise they are placed outside. When a full stop
or other punctuation mark would apply both to the quotation and the sentence, it’s
placed outside the quotation marks.
Reported speech is enclosed in double quotation marks.
Where one quotation appears within another, the inner quotation takes single
quotes:
"When we say 'urgent', we mean the day before yesterday," said the editor.
Punctuation not referring to the quote itself falls outside the quotation marks:
Mr Smith was said to be "resigned to his fate".
However, where a complete sentence is quoted, it takes its own punctuation:
Mr Smith was said to be "resigned to his fate in the restructuring. He did not
expect miracles."
When a quotation is interrupted by words such as she said, commas separate the
interjected phrase:
"We will do it by Friday," she said, "so the deadline will be respected."
Section 13 - Lists/bullets
13.1 - Lists/bullets
Lists are not punctuated if the entries are very short:



radios
televisions
cameras
When entries are more complex:





introduce the list with a colon, as here;
use initial lowercase letters;
end each with a semicolon;
put and after the penultimate semicolon; and
close the final entry with a full stop.
When entries consist of complete sentences, begin each with a capital letter and
end each with a full stop.
If the list consists of names of countries, make sure they are in alphabetical
order.
Section 14 - Detail
14.1 - Detail
Include only relevant detail needed to make your point. Too much information will
weaken or obscure your argument.
Consider these two sentences, which say the same thing:
(i) "Food rations, including the planned quantities of fortified food commodities
such as corn-soya blend (CSB) and high-energy biscuits (HEB), grain-based food
items such as wheat flour, barley and rice, pulses such as beans and lentils, sugar,
locally baked bread products including loaves, rolls, small pastries and traditional
cakes, vegetable oil such as regionally procured olive oil and locally-produced oil
pressed from sunflower seeds, and iodized and non-iodized salt were distributed
fully, equitably and in a timely manner by WFP field and country office staff
assisted by locally employed workers, both women and men, staff of partner and
non-partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government counterpart
staff and personnel representing selected implementing partners (IPs), to the full
caseload of all refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other specific
beneficiary groups, with due attention to specially targeted vulnerable groups such
as pregnant and lactating women, children under 5, disabled people, women heads
of households, chronically sick or elderly people and people suffering from or
affected by HIV/AIDS, and in line with the objectives of the protracted relief and
recovery operation (PRRO) as agreed with government representatives from
ministries such as the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Ministry of Food
Supply and the Ministry for the Coordination of Health, Social Welfare and Food
Supply." (204 words)
(ii) "Rations were distributed." (3 words)
Sentence (i) contains all possible detail, so anything of significance is obscured in
the mass of information;
Sentence (ii) contains no detail at all, so nothing of significance is conveyed to the
reader.
Neither sentence makes a clear point.
Section 15 - Numbers and units
15.1 - General
Numbers from one to ten are written in text as words. The numbers 11 upwards are
written as numerals. Exceptions to this are:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
A number that begins a sentence is always written out as a word, e.g. Fifteen
NGOs were present.
A number accompanying a unit is always written as a numeral, e.g. 5 km,
8 percent, USD 2 million.
A number used as a person's age is written as a numeral, e.g. children under
5, the 6–10 age group.
If numbers from both groups are used together, numerals are used, e.g. "... 5
skilled and 27 unskilled workers participated ...".
In regular text, use commas to denote thousands: e.g. 100,000 or 51,357. Write
numbers in millions as a numeral, with one decimal place if necessary, followed by
a hard space and the word million – e.g. 2.6 million mt.
In tables, thousands and millions are denoted by a hard space – e.g. 6 234 859.
For telephone and fax numbers, be consistent in the use of hyphens, parentheses
and spaces.
15.2 - Qualifiers - avoid them
Do NOT qualify numbers with "some", "over", "more than" "less than" or
"approximately". If it is important to give an exact number, do so; otherwise use
the formats set out here. Hence:
"... the operation requires 4,000 mt of food ..." NOT "... the operation
requires some 4,000 mt of food ..."
"... targeting 600,000 refugees ..." NOT "... targeting more than 600,000 refugees
..."
It is obvious that the numbers are approximations.
15.3 - Fractions
Write fractions in words. Fractions are not hyphenated: two thirds; four fifths.
They are hyphenated, however, when used as compound adjectives, e.g. "a twothirds share".
15.4 - Units of measure
The standard abbreviations for metric units of measure are used, for example m for
metres, km for kilometres, ha for hectares, g for grams, mt for metric tons (do not
use "tonnes"). Square kilometres is written as km2 and cubic metres as m3 , lower
case/superscript and preceded by a non-breaking space.
These abbreviations are NOT spelt out.
If the use of local units of measurement cannot be avoided, provide the equivalent
in units that are easily understood by the reader.
Do NOT use punctuation with such measurements (e.g. 1 cm, 6 km, 5 g, 10 ha).
Do NOT abbreviate the word litre.
15.5 - Percent
Use percent (NOT per cent or %) in text. The use of % is acceptable only in tables
and graphs. When using the percentage sign in a table, do not use a space (e.g.
16%, NOT 16 %).
15.6 - Currency
Use the abbreviations USD for United States dollars and EUR for Euros.
In text, one decimal place is preferred for all amounts in millions:
Food-for-work activities totalled USD 23.2 million.
Two decimal places are preferred for all amounts in billions:
The programme of work is expected to total 4.21 billion.
There will be exceptions to this in financial documents, in which amounts are
given in full: e.g. USD 23,231,059.
In text, amounts under 1 million are written in hundreds of thousands (without
decimal places) rather than using the million unit measure:
USD 873,300 will finance technical assistance and special studies. (NOT
USD 0.873 million.)
15.7 - Dates
WFP uses the international day/month/year format for dates (e.g. Monday 3 July
2006). Note that there is no comma between the month and the year and no "th" or
"rd" after the date numeral.
Write a period covering a number of days as follows:
from 10 to 20 July 1997 OR 10–20 July 1997
from 15 October to 1 November OR 15 October – 1 November
Do NOT mix them.
Crop, fiscal or school years
Use a slash (/) between years to indicate a period beginning in one calendar year
and ending in another – e.g. "…the 2003/04 school year…" Calendar years. Use an
en-dash (–) between years to indicate calendar years. Thus 1995–1999 would cover
the five-year period including both 1995 and 1999.
Centuries
Write out centuries in full (e.g. “twentieth century).
Decades
Decades should be written using numerals. For example, "In the 1990s ...". Do not
use an apostrophe (NOT "the 1990's").
15.8 - Time
The 24-hour system is used: 11.00 (NOT 11 a.m.); 17.45 (NOT 5.45 p.m.) Do
NOT use the word hours: e.g. "13:00" (NOT "13:00 hours").
Section 16 - Place names
16.1 - Geographical terms
Check the names of countries, towns etc. in an atlas, on WFPgo, the internet or in
this guide.
Use e.g. "the north" (noun and direction) and "northern" (adjective).
When a foreign term forms part of a geographic name in English, the meaning of
the foreign term should be observed:
i.
ii.
Rio Grande (NOT Rio Grande River)
Mauna Loa (NOT Mount Mauna Loa)
The only countries referred to by an acronym are the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea (DPRK) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Political divisions
Words such as empire, state, country, city, kingdom, colony and territory are
capitalized only when used as part of a proper name. For example:


Bie Province, but "the province"
Kweneng District, but "the district"


Roman Empire, but "the empire"
Washington State, but "the state"
Section 17 - References
17.1 - Footnotes
Footnotes should be brief, limited to providing references or extra information that
would be out of context in the body of the text.
The accepted footnote style for published references is:
Smith, J. & Brown, J.B. 2001. The School Feeding Handbook. New York,
HarperCollins.
Smith, J. 1999. Feeding Children. Journal of Nutrition 8(6): 22–23.
Note that articles are set in normal roman font. The titles of books and book-length
documents such as manuals and handbooks are italicized.
Footnote numbering
Footnote numbers should be in superscript and attached to the word(s) or phrase to
which they refer, for example:
The programme7 will run from ....
If the word(s) or phrase is followed by punctuation, the footnote number is
placed after the punctuation mark, for example:
... at the end of the programme,7 when ...
... at the end of the programme.7
17.2 - WFP documents
WFP documents should be referred to by the full title in roman font inside
quotation marks, followed by the reference number in brackets. For example:
"Thematic Review of Targeting in Relief Operations: Summary Report"
(WFP/EB.1/2006/7-B)
Section 18 - Bibliographies
18.1 - Bibliographies
Published sources
All references must include: i) books – name of author(s) in bold, year of
publication, title, place of publication and publisher; if the place of publication is a
national capital, there is no need to include the name of the country; ii) articles –
author, article title (in normal roman font), journal title (italic), volume (issue no.
in brackets) and pages.
Give the names of all the authors of a work. When an author has written more than
one work in the same year, use a, b, etc. to differentiate, e.g. 1996a, 1996b.
Use the ampersand (&) between the names of the last two authors in the
bibliography but use and in the text.
Titles of books and journals are italicized. Titles of articles and chapters are set in
roman. The principal words are capitalized.
Some examples of bibliography entries:
Hobbs, J.B., Sutcliffe, H. & Hammond, W. 2005. The Statistics of Emergency
Aid. Bristol, UK, University of Wessex Press.
(NB: In bibliographies "UK" and "USA" are acceptable.)
Haines, S. & Hunter, C. 1996. Exocortis Virus of Citrus. Citrus Ind., 49(1): 13–
17.
McKenzie, J. & Gilbert, J.R. 1990. Editorial Guidelines. In J. Wright & L. Cole,
eds. Points of Style, p. 123–146. Washington, DC, World Resources Institute.
Unpublished sources
For unpublished documents, use the following formats.
Board documents:
“Food Aid for All” (WFP/EB.1/2007/5-A).
Non-Board documents:
WFP. 2007. Fundraising: Challenges and Opportunities. Internal report,
unpublished.
Other documents:
Pietersen, K.P. 2007. World Hunger - a Statistical Analysis. Ph.D. thesis,
unpublished.
Compton, D.C.S. 2007. Hybrid Crops for Food Production. London, forthcoming.
Section 19 - Tables
19.1 - Tables
Number tables in sequence. Each table should have a title that describes it
accurately and briefly.
Material that would be better off in two separate tables such as data that, although
related, are organized differently and have different column headings should not be
put in a single table to save space.
Data adequately treated in the text or in a figure should not be repeated in tabular
form. Similarly, there is no need to create a table if it would consist of only one
column or row of data; such data should be described in the text, as in the
following example:
The increases in recent years were 10.9 percent in 2003, 10.1 percent in 2004
and 9.7 percent in 2005.
A table must be placed immediately after the paragraph in which it is mentioned.
The staff of the Document Processing Unit are available for any technical
assistance required with the creation or layout of tables.
Section 20 - Things to Avoid
20.1 - Officialese
Avoid jargon, buzzwords and buzz phrases. They obscure meaning and make
documents more difficult to understand and to translate.
Redundant words and words to avoid
Avoid unnecessary adjectives and adverbs: they add to the length of a document
and usually impede communication.
Some examples of words and expressions to avoid:
key. A key decision is an important or significant decision; key personnel are
essential staff. In most cases there is no need to use a qualifier at all.
strategic. "Strategic" can be used to mean "affecting WFP as a whole", but do
NOT write expressions such as "…a strategic policy decision…", because a
decision on policy is by its nature strategic.
due to, owing to. Use "because of", "caused by" or "resulting from
above-mentioned. Leave out.
activities. Leave out. NOT "training activities", "school feeding activities",
"advocacy activities" or "emergency response activities".
a total of. Leave out. NOT "The operation cost WFP a total of USD 743,200
..."; NOT "WFP will require a total of 45 trucks ...".
better; further, as in "… to better understand…" or "… to further develop …".
Use "… to enhance understanding of …", or "… to continue development of …".
Split infinitives such as the ones quoted should in any case be avoided.
both ... and. "And" by itself is sufficient.
brief(ly), especially with "summary". A summary is an abbreviation of a text, so
"briefly" is redundant.
careful(ly) . Leave out. NOT "…the rations are carefully calculated on the basis
of…". (They would not be calculated carelessly.)
closely. To say that "WFP will work closely with its partners" or "... is
collaborating closely with ..." implies that there are circumstances in which WFP
could work "distantly" with them.
concrete. Unnecessary. NOT "… the department has made concrete proposals for
developing …".
corporate-wide, as in"…a corporate-wide policy decision…". Any decision on
policy will by its nature affect the whole organization -- and WFP is not a
corporation.
detailed (analysis). An analysis must by nature pay attention to detail.
duly, as in "... duly authorized ..." or "... duly signed ...". Unnecessary.
effective(ly), as in " … proposals for effective strategies to address the problem
…". Avoid. Nobody is going to propose ineffective strategies; in any case,
effectiveness is determined after the event.
efforts, as in "… WFP will continue its advocacy efforts for …". Unnecessary.
events, as in "… is affected by recurrent flood events …". Unnecessary.
food commodity. Do not use commodity as a synonym for "food". Use "food
item(s)" if you need to specify, just as "non-food item(s)" is used. The OED
defines a commodity as "... a thing that is an object of trade, esp. a raw material or
agricultural crop".
furthermore, in addition, moreover, similarly. Usually redundant.
including, as in "… all beneficiaries, including women and children …".
Unnecessary.
mutual (agreement). An agreement is by definition mutual.
necessary, as in "… ensure that staff have the necessary skills to …". Unnecessary.
respective(ly), as in "… will report to their respective departments …". Avoid
constructions such as "… rose by 2.5 percent and 3.6 percent in 2004 and
2005 respectively …". Use "… rose by 2.5 percent in 2004 and by 3.6 percent in
2005 …".
some, approximately, more than, over, as in "... targeting approximately 600,000
beneficiaries ...". Unnecessary.
specific, as in "... must give specific reasons ..." or "... in the specific event of an
emergency ...". Unnecessary.
to the extent possible, as in "... WFP will support the project to the extent possible
...". If you have to qualify, be precise, as in "as long as resources are available ..."
or "provided access is granted ...".
Generic + specific
Do not use a generic term followed by examples, or an example followed by a
generic term, as in "... natural disasters (flood, drought, earthquake etc.) ..." or "…
in a fire or other emergency …".
Some examples of words to avoid:
including, as in "... vulnerable refugees, including women and children ...".
namely, as in "... the project will require a number of inputs, namely additional
project staff, more training activities for partner staff and increased space in the
existing offices ...".
Metaphors
Metaphors are unlikely to convey meaning to non-native speakers of English and
are not readily translatable.
Some examples of metaphors and other words/expressions to avoid:
bolster. Prefer "supported", "increased", "enhanced", etc.
bundling. Prefer "combining".
dashboard. In corporatespeak it means "a set of" or perhaps "a system of".
framework. Use "office", "structure", "organization", "system", "process", "plan",
"table", "project", as appropriate. Exception: United Nations Development
Assistance Framework (UNDAF).
methodology. Prefer "methods".
prior to. Use "before".
role, as in "... WFP will play the role of facilitator ..." or "... in this operation, the
role of WFP will be to ...". Prefer "WFP is to be the facilitator" or "WFP will ...".
strengthen. Prefer "enhance", "improve", "increase" etc. as applicable. For
example "... to increase coverage ...", "... to improve understanding ...", "... to
enhance its nutritive value ...".
talk the talk/walk the walk. Difficult to translate.
traffic lights. The term means "a system to identify different states or situations";
prefer "monitoring system" or "early-warning plan" or whatever accurately
conveys your meaning.
window, as in "window of opportunity". Commonly misused.
Expressions in Latin and other languages
AVOID
USE
ad hoc (= for this purpose)
as required
e.g. (exemplum gratis)
for example; for instance
i.e. (id est)
that is; in other words
inter alia
among other things (it's almost always redundant)
modus operandi
way of working; method of implementation
post-
after; subsequent
vis- à-vi s
with regard to; regarding
20.2 – Miscellaneous
As, since, because and for. As and since are used when the reason is already well
known or is less important than the rest of the sentence; they often begin the
sentence. Use because to avoid possible confusion with the notion of time.
Because is generally used when the reason is the most important part of the
sentence. Use it rather than as or since. For suggests that the reason is given as an
afterthought, and its clause never comes at the beginning of the sentence. Avoid it.
As well as. As well as means and not only; it does not mean and additionally;
therefore the phrase that follows must be the most important or basic element: "The
programme will accomplish A and B as well as [i.e. and not only] C." It is NOT a
solution for adding a last item after a penultimate item containing the word and.
Use it sparingly; and is usually sufficient.
Association, group, organization. Don’t alternate these terms for the same
entities; choose whichever is appropriate and stick to it.
Biennial, bi-annual. Biennial clearly means "once in a biennium" or "once every
two years". But DO NOT use the ambiguous bi-annual: it can be taken to mean
either "twice a year" or "once every two years".
Bi-monthly, bi-weekly. DO NOT use these ambiguous terms: bi-monthly can
mean either "twice a month" or "once every two months". The same applies to biweekly.
Between or among. Between can only be used with two factors. When you have
three or more factors, use among.
Compared with or compared to. Use compared with when comparing like things:
"When compared with last year’s yield, this year’s harvest shows a 10-percent
increase." Use compared to when comparing unlike things: “Shall I compare
thee to a summer’s day?” (Shakespeare).
Concerned. Putting concerned before the noun risks conveying the sense that the
parties etc. are worried. The preferable placement is after – the parties
concerned, the countries concerned – because the meaning is "the parties that are
concerned".
False intensifiers. Do not use very, particularly, extremely, etc. with words such
as critical, crucial, decisive, fundamental, unique or usual. Something either is
crucial, unique, etc. or it is not; there’s no degree and therefore no need for
intensifiers. In general, avoid intensifiers: they are subjective terms that dilute
meaning.
Fewer or less. Use fewer only when referring to items that are countable: "There
are fewer people here today than there were yesterday." Less is used
for uncountable quantities: "He has put less effort into this job."
Level. Use the before an adjective qualifying level, as in "At the national level",
not "at national level".
Male/Female. Use men and women as adjectives when referring to people,
not male and female (exception: male or female members of a family or
household): “household headed by women” (NOT “female-headed household”).
Mobilize. Does NOT mean animate, encourage or stimulate. It means "organize
for service or action", "render movable", "bring into circulation".
Nouns in apposition. The treatment depends on whether the item cited is the only
one of its kind: "My sister, Barbara, has arrived" (commas before and after the
noun in apposition; implies you only have one sister) or "My sister Barbara has
arrived" (no commas; implies you have several sisters and the one called Barbara
has arrived).
Prepositions. Avoid common mistakes in the use of prepositions by following
these general rules:





assist in + gerund (e.g. “assist in planning”; NOT “assist to plan”)
help + infinitive (e.g. “help to develop”)
integrate into (NOT in)
suggest + gerund (e.g. “suggest using”; NOT “suggest to use”)
to target - no preposition (e.g. "... will target children under 5 ..."); but NB
"... targeted to children under 5 ..."
Such as, including. Such as or including implies that you’re listing only some of
the items, so there’s no need to add etc. at the end.
Synergy. Synergy means: “i) the interaction or cooperation of two or more drugs,
agents, organizations, etc., to produce a new or enhanced effect compared with
their separate effects; ii) an instance of this”. Don’t use synergistic as a synonym
for "cooperative", "interconnected" or "interrelated".