(This document is a work in progress: may contain errors or outdated guidance)
Summary
Our style focuses on being concise and accessible.
We write in formatted text:
- bullet-points are used to streamline the text and avoid complex grammar
- bold font highlights key information and makes the text skimmable
Our texts come in short sentences and short paragraphs.
This style is inspired by outlets like Axios, who developed their signature ‘Smart Brevity’ approach.
Our writing is best exemplified by our recent publications, however.
Post factum’s approach is specifically defined, and we aim for all our publications to follow our general principles for delivering value to the reader, outlined below.
Our style and philosophy
- Factual — build the text from facts and data. Allow the reader room to interpret these facts, without presenting any opinions.
- Neutral — avoid value judgements or emotional arguments and characteristics.
- Visual — consider and conceptualise the visuals and infographics illustrating the text.
- Explanatory — assume reader has little prior knowledge of the topic, introduce all issues from the ground up, defining key terms.
- User-oriented — be concise, straight-to-the-point and share the most important information early on, prioritising the ease of learning for the reader.
- Accessible — keep the text fully understandable to a lower-intermediate English speaker who is also a beginner newsreader.
- Systematic — approach issues holistically and with a goal to present them comprehensively, to avoid selection bias.
Language
Use simple, concise and direct language. Do not be afraid to sound dry or too factual.