creamer media a4 style book 2013-08-01

8/22/2019 Creamer Media a4 Style Book 2013-08-01

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Index

Foreword 3

Rationale or a style guide 4

Writing or Creamer Media 4

Structuring your interview and writing 5

Guidance rom A Z 9

Areas o common diiculty 19

Annexures

1. Hyphenation 30

2. Abbreviations o units o measurement 33

3. Commonly used scientiic elements and their abbreviations 36The Periodic Table list 37

4. Commonly used abbreviations 38Commonly used plastics 40

5. Glossary o standards authorities 41

6. Glossary o mining terms 43

7. Currencies guide 55

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Foreword

When it comes to style

When it comes to the style in which one should write for Engineering News and Mining Weekly, one can do worsethan to take a cue from Radio 702 presenter John Robbie.

Those who have listened to Robbie will know that he instructs contributors to his talk shows: Keep it short,he pleads from the outset. If there is the slightest waffle, Robbie adds: Get to the point. The moment there isadulation, he bellows: Cut the slush.

Staff ofEngineering News and Mining Weeklymay benefit from applying Robbies three main lines when they are

putting their reports into readable form.Probably the briefest message of all time was from a British officer whose regiment had conquered Sinde in India;he cabled a one-liner, Pecavi, the Latin for I have sinned.

I recall this to stress the need for brevity.

Most of all, reports in Engineering News and Mining Weekly must be easy reads: they must inform, they muststimulate, they must expose and, where appropriate, yes, also entertain.

Clarity of writing usually follows clarity of thought. Should you not be certain, phone around until you are, thencomplete your work. Your reports must always have meat, but avoid constantly pouring over them the samegravy.

Writer George Orwell is credited with having said that a scrupulous writer will ask himself four questions in relationto every sentence written: What am I trying to say? Which words will express it best? Which image could make it

clearer? Could I reduce it to fewer words?

Test what you have written by handing it to a nonjournalist colleague and then finding out what it has communicated.If communication proves moggy, try again.

I have, however, regularly used this route with a semblance of success: write it, sub it, rewrite it, resub it, submit it.

A stylebook ensures consistent quality; its a newsrooms bureau of standards, a verbal constitution, an arbiterin times of dispute and doubt. Thus, we are indebted and very grateful to all those who undertook the laborioustask of producing this stylebook, and this electronic version.

Martin Creamer

Publishing editor

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Rationale or a Style GuideEven those born to the English language will reely admit that this is not an easy language to speak, let alone write. I you listen tothe language spoken in parts o the UK you would not believe that this, too, is English.

In South Arica, English is seldom a irst language it may only be a ourth or ith language. It is, however, the language obusiness and thats where we come in. Poor language usage can mislead and conuse the reader. We want clarity. A style guideis just that a guide. It does not contain all the answers, but it does have some.

How to use this guideThis is a living document as it constantly evolves as style tips surace. Its purpose is best served as an electronic document, which iseasily updated and, most importantly, searchable! To ensure that the master copy remains an authoritative document, please send alladditions/queries/updates to Chanel de Bruyn ([email protected]). Regular updates o the document will be posted onthe site.

Writing or Creamer MediaGet both sides o the storyWhen you write a controversial article (anything that could/will discredit a company) it is imperative that comment is obtained rom thecompany you are writing about.

As a journalist, you are accountable you need to be sure o your eorts and ensure you are contacting the right people. Thewords substantiation and veriication should be high up on your list when attempting anything o a controversial/ investigative nature.

Do not, under any circumstances, simply use random inormation you got o the Internet or the basis o your argument. Use onlyrelevant, secure sources and always include the other side o the story.

Your job as a journalist is to be objective and you should do everything in your power to get both sides o the story. All sourcesshould have equal opportunity to state their case and it is your job to ensure that they do. However, in the event that is it anews-breaking or extremely important issue that you eel you need to probe and you are struggling to get comment rom a particularsource, please speak to your editor or guidance.

I you have any questions, please speak to your editor.

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Editorial styleThink like a reader

Given Engineering News and Mining Weeklys readership proile, we strive to produce a riveting read or the MD and anintelligible, clear, educational medium or shoploor workers and artisans.

Structuring your interview and writingPART ONE

News story structureGOLDEN RULE: News irst, scene setting second, context third, comment last (pack article with news, limit commentary).

GUIDELINE 1: I you dont understand your sentence/article, no one else will (rewrite it until it is clear dont orgetpunctuation).

GUIDELINE 2: Exhaust your angle beore moving on to a new theme.GUIDELINE 3: Have appropriate joiners to introduce a new theme (meanwhile, urther, in addition, another priority . . .).

GUIDELINE 4: Multisource where appropriate, and always get the other side o the debate i one is raised.

GUIDELINE 5: Clear stories with source and accept reasonable changes, particularly i the article arose rom an unsolicitedapproach by us. Stories arising rom public media events do not need to be cleared, unless you have gained additionalinormation on the side o the event.

GUIDELINE 6: Limit the use o direct quotes and rather interpret or the reader in indirect speech.

GUIDELINE 7 (most important): Read your article through three times beore submission to an editor or a source.

INTRO 1: News irst, then who said it1. Sourced, nonexclusive: State-owned power utility Powerkom approved our new mega-projects, involving a combined

capital investment o R42-billion, CEO Coal Stoberg reported last week. (past tense)2. Sourced, exclusive: State-owned power utility Powerkom has approved our new megaprojects, involving a combined

capital investment o R42-billion, CEO Coal Stoberg tells Engineering News. (present tense)3. Nonsourced, exclusive: State-owned power utility Powerkom has approved our new megaprojects, involving a

combined capital investment o R42-billion, Engineering News can today report. (present tense)4. Nonsourced, nonexclusive: State-owned power utility Powerkom has approved our new megaprojects, involving a

combined capital investment o R42-billion, industry sources reveal. (present tense)

INTRO 2: Describe company generically, then say where it is rom1. Generic description: State-owned power utility . . .

2. Where: Bomber Engineering o Boksburg, on the East Rand, . . .

INTRO 3: Once you have chosen your tense, you have to stick with it throughout the article.

INTRO 4: Try not to start your story with a direct quote.

PARAGRAPH TWO: Scene setting1. Sourced, nonexclusive: Speaking at a results presentation in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Stoberg said the projects were

part o a bigger R97-billion, ive-year capital-investment programme, which had been scaled up rom R84-billion to cateror aster-than-expected demand growth. (past tense)

2. Sourced, exclusive: Speaking exclusively to Engineering News, Stobergreveals that the projects are part o a bigger

R97-billion, ive-year capital-investment programme, which has been scaled up rom R84-billion to cater or aster-than-expected demand growth. (present tense)

PARAGRAPH THREE: Direct quoteWe were asked by our shareholder, the government, to review our planning in light o the accelerated and shared growthinitiative or South Arica, or Asgisa, and this review made us realise that we needed to accelerate our capital programme,particularly with regard to new baseload capacity, Stoberg explains.

PARAGRAPH FOUR: Provide contextThe South Arican utility has been mandated to lead the power-expansion programme, ollowing a decision by Cabinet in2003, not to break Powerkom into its various components o generation, transmission and distribution, so that it couldlead the increasingly urgent security-o-supply initiative.

PARAGRAPH FIVE: More context, i neededFor nearly three decades, Powerkom has not needed to make major investments, given that South Arica had surplusgeneration capacity and had even mothballed several stations. It was also uncertain whether it would be allowed to moveahead with new investments, given that government was considering a new competitive ramework or electricity supply.

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PARAGRAPH SIX: More context, i neededHowever, demand has been rising steadily, given higher-than-anticipated economic growth rates and South Arica isnow expected to run short o generation capacity, particularly peaking capacity, in the not-too-distant uture.

PARAGRAPH SEVEN: More newsThe review concluded that there would also be a shortage o baseload capacity ahead o the initial projected date o2012. For that reason, Powerkom has brought orward the development o a new R26-billion baseload coal-ired station,which will be built in the north o the country.

PARAGRAPH EIGHT: More newsThe our other projects approved relate to a peaking power plant to be built in the Drakensberg, and two major trans-mission lines rom the Mpumalanga region in the north o the country through to the Western Cape and Eastern Capeprovinces, in the south.

PARAGRAPH NINE: This additional news may also need contextThe transmission projects are deemed necessary to strengthen the network supplying the Western Cape, which wasshown up as ragile in December, when the Koeberg nuclear reactor was orced to shut down, owing to a damaged stator. . .

PARAGRAPH TEN: More newsPack the article with acts and igures about the investment programme, the projects, the contractors, the technologies

chosen, etc.

PARAGRAPH 11: A balanced article may want to raise concernsMany observers believe the capex programme is too little, too late. Western Cape DA spokesperson Joe Moan says . . .

PARAGRAPH 12: Direct quote or concerned partyThere is little doubt that the power-supply shortage currently being aced comes down to poor policymaking rom thenational government and bad planning on the part o Powerkom, Moan argues.

PARAGRAPH 13: Get a responsePowerkom, though, is sanguine about its ability to deal with the challenge . . .

PARAGRAPH 14: Another direct quote, possibly to concludeWe believe we have the structures and systems in place to deliver on this ambitious capex programme, Stobergconcludes.

PARAGRAPH 15: May want to end with summing up, or a act1. All eyes will be on Eskom and the executive team to see whether they will be able to translate the paper plans into reality.

2. Tenders are out or the coal-ired power station and construction is expected to start next week.

TYPES OF STORIES

Project story

Name o the project and location Project description (brownield or greenield) Mine project 1: (expansion or replacement) Mine project 2: (output, when commissioned, when at ull production) Value Duration Breakdown o main contracts Client Latest developments Companies awarded contracts Any challenges Any unique eatures or technology Will the project require the use o structural steel and, i so, how much? On budget and on time?

FINANCIAL PRESENTATION

Always look or an angle beyond the results (new projects, new strategic direction, views on the business environment)But also include: Earnings (net proit/loss ater tax in R-million rather than earnings a share) Can also include operating proit/loss as nonoperational issues oten aect the bottom line.

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I the company is looking to raise inance there are three issues to look at:1. I it is debt inance: Is it project inance or will it involve the issue o a bond?2. What is the companys current gearing (debt:equity ratio) Do observers believe it has the capacity to raise more debt?3. I it is equity inance: What is the dilution actor on other shareholders and is there any attempt to limit dilution?

BEE DEALS Give a context o why the BEE deal is necessary (the company needs a licence to operate or the company wants to

secure its position as a supplier to a company that has a BEE procurement policy). Give details o the nature o the consortium. Who leads it? Is it broad based and how is it structured? How will the deal be unded? Will banks und it, will shareholders und it (through dilution), or will the company act as

a under through vendor inance? Is the deal expansionary? In other words, will the proceeds go into expanding the operation in some way?

COMPANY PROFILES Get a good generic description o the company. How does it describe itsel? Try to understand what the company actually does (we avour manuacturers over traders, but both have their place). Does the company do any R&D? Does it have any o its own commercial innovations on the market? Is it simply a conduit or imports? I so, what value does it add to the economy and its client base? How is it being aected by macroinancial (interest rate, rand), economic (growth rate, importation), and social trends

(BEE, social development)? What new projects does it have on its book? Then use project questions. What new products and services is it pursuing? How many people does it employ? What raw materials does it use in its business process? Who is the leader?

NOTE 1: When you write up these types o interviews, look or hard news in the orm o projects, innovation or businessdevelopment irst. I there is nothing there, then move to issues conronting the industry as a whole.

NOTE 2: I it was an exclusive interview, dont hold the person to his exact quotes. I the language was a little rough, tryto interpret it through indirect speech or inesse them into direct quotes that are more readable.

NEW PRODUCTS/NEW TECHNOLOGY

Be circumspect about the use o words such as revolutionary, world-irst, unless you can veriy that. Try to write using as ew adjectives as possible. Be careul in making big changes to releases other than simpliying the language. Make sure you know what the product does and or which sector it is appropriate purely by reading your text. I it is a locally developed innovation, you can go a bit bigger. Get chapter and verse on what has been spent, who the researchers were, who veriied the products eicacy, where

it has been sold, whether it has export potential. You could even do a sidebar on the innovator him/hersel.

UNSOLICITED NEWS LEADSThe South Arican business environment has become prone to the emergence o individuals who attempt to create aproile or themselves in the media despite the absence o sound underlying business structures and/or experience. Theseindividuals use that proile to tap into deal low that would otherwise be out o their reach. Thereore, it has become necessary

or Creamer Media to tighten procedures regarding its handling o unsolicited news leads. These procedures are:1. Should a journalist receive an unsolicited news lead, she or he should immediately approach her or his editor to assess

whether the story should be pursued at all.2. In instances where the source is unknown to the editor, the journalist will be asked to do a preliminary Web-based

investigation o the company and report back. During that preliminary probe, the journalist must assess what otherreportage there has been on the company and individual, whether the company has a Web presence, and he or sheshould also phone the company switchboard to assess whether there is in act more than a Web presence.

3. Once that has been done, the responsible editor will either approve that the story be ollowed up, or will suggest thatwe politely decline the interview.

4. I the editor remains uncertain, there should be a meeting with other editors beore the journalist is given permission toollows up.

5. Following the interview, the story should again be given to an editor beore it is sent or clearance. I there are assets(such as a mine or a actory) or partners (such as a inancier or a technology provider), the editor will ask the journalist

to do another Web search to ascertain their existence. He or she will also ask the journalist to make a ew calls to thosecompanies to enquire about the company and its relationship with the source.

6. I satisactory answers are not orthcoming, the story will be put on hold. I the answers are satisactory, we willproceed.

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7. The journalist is also encouraged to write the piece in a manner that avoids editorialisation and/or commentary.The article should merely state the position o the source and, i possible, should include comment rom businesspartners and third-party analysts. In other words, adjectives should be limited to generic descriptions rather than tooering any value assessments.

8. The same applies or the way we write about new products and services. Unless you are 100% certain that theproducts is truly a breakthrough, do not use the words such as breakthrough, world irst, revolutionary, etc.

9. Should you have any urther questions in this regard, please approach your editors.10. Golden Rule: Research and Check the Facts Beore you Write!

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GUIDANCE FROM A TO ZAbbreviationsAlways write the ull orm on irst appearance; or example, extensions are under way at the South Arican Bureau oStandards (SABS); the bracketed abbreviation ollows immediately. Try not to use the abbreviation too requently bysubstituting a generic, or example, the bureau instead o SABS.Remember there is no need to abbreviate i the organisation is only mentioned once.

Do abbreviate: Chie executive oicer, managing director, general manager, chie inancial oicer and inancial director in body text as

CEO, MD, GM, CFO and FD respectively. It is not necessary to write out in ull at the irst time o mention. Director-general and deputy director-general are not abbreviated to DG and DDG respectivelyExceptions: Write out Member o Parliament (MP) at the irst time o mention. Use only the abbreviation CIO when reerring to chie inormation oicer. However, when this abbreviation reers

to chie investment oicer, we spell it out at irst mention and abbreviate it as CIO thereater. I used in a title o anevent, or example, the Arica CIO Summit, the acronym is to be used as is, as it is the name o the event.

Chie technical oicer must also be written out at irst mention and abbreviated as CTO thereater.

Avoid using Pro, Gen and Col, but Dr is acceptable.

Do not abbreviate in body copy (although it is acceptable in headlines): South Arica (SAin heads). Million and billion in body copy or example, $46-million ($46m in heads).Familiar abbreviations, such as GDP or Scada, must be written out on irst mention, but may be used in headlines.For inormation on abbreviations used in units o measurement, see Annexure Four.

AcronymsI an abbreviation can be and is pronounced, or example, Numsa, Nato, Seisa and Gatt, then it is written in upper andlower case and urther reerence takes the ollowing orms: . . . it was reported that Numsa . . . the Numsa delegates . . ..

In cases where it cannot be or is not pronounced, capitals are used, or example, SABC and GDP and urther precededby the, or example, the SABC will operate . . .

Note that the NUM and DIN are written in capitals because this is the way in which they are commonly reerred to,Arican Rainbow Minerals is shortened toARM, Kumba Iron Ore is reerred to as Kumba when mentioned a second

time andArcelorMittal South Arica asAMSAAgreement between subject and verbEngineering News and Mining Weekly always reer to companies in the singular: De Beers Consolidated Mines hascompleted its easibility study.

The building contractor, Buildright Engineering, reuses to comment on the allegations.In general, two ordinary nouns joined by the word and take the plural orm o the verb: Time and tide wait or no manWhen the subject reers to one concept, notion or idea, it takes the singular orm o the verb. It is important to establishthe way in which the subject is perceived: The wages o sin is death. Fish and chips makes the perect meal.

There are some words that reer to a group, and can take either the singular or plural orm, depending on the context

o the sentence. When the noun reers to separate members or individuals, the plural orm is used, but when the entityis meant, the verb takes the singular: Our team has lost every game. The board has reached a conclusion.

Words that reer to pairs take the plural orm, but not when the word pair is actually used: Pliers were needed to lit the lid. Where is my new pair o scissors?

Anybodyreers to one person; thereore it always takes the singular orm o the verb.Each always takes the singular, or example, Each o the men is going to succeed. But when each ollows a plural word,use a plural verb: the workers are each expected to . . .None usually takes the singular orm o the verb, or example, none o us understands his motivation. However, in somecases, the plural may be possible, or example, none o the tools are in good condition. Many is plural and uses theplural verb.

ApostropheThe apostrophe is usually used to indicate possession, or example, the gold mines proits.Names that end in s, or example, James and Jones become Jamess and Joness when denoting possession.

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Euphony may decide the addition or omission o s, although it is oten omitted when the last syllable o the name ispronounced iz, and in Bridges and Moses. Plural-sounding company names that end in s, take an apostropheater the s when denoting possession: De Beers exploration tenements.

Plural possessives ending in s are written as bosses, dogs, directors, countries.

Apostrophes are not used in the plurals o abbreviations such as PCs and PLCs.

There is no apostrophe in 1980s, the 20s.

The towns Jereys Bayand Richards Baydo not take apostrophes, but Simons Town and King Williams Town do,

however.Apostrophes also indicate the place where a letter is missing rom a word: Its wrong to judge = it is wrong to judge

Compare this to the possessive its: Its proits have increased.

The apostrophe when used to mark the omission o a letter or numeral: Dont (do not) Thats (that is) Rock n roll (rock and roll) Its (it is) In 94 or 95 (1994 or 1995).

ArticlesUsed in every sentence, articles are an integral part o the English language. Oten misapplied, a and an are usuallyreerred to as the indeinite articles. In general, an is used beore a vowel while a appears beore a consonant. An is alsoused beore a silent h (but not beore the words hotel and hospital since the h is pronounced). In addition, words whichbegin with u but are pronounced as though the begin with a y are preceded by a, or example, a utensil, a useul idea;but an ugly gesture, an upstart. The deinite article the generally points to some particular subject, thereby distinguishingit rom others named in the sentence. The eect o the is stronger on a singular noun than with a plural: The engineer will notice a dierence in engine perormance. Engineers notice slight dierences in engine perormance.

Note that the deinite articles should be used only when the purpose is to draw attention to a noun and it cannot be usedinterchangeably with a or an.

When adjectives that denote quantities belonging to dierent things are connected, the article should be repeated: Ablack and a blue vehicle passed the test. (This means two vehicles.)When connected adjectives relate to the same thing, the article must not be repeated: Ablack and blue vehicle passed the test. (This means one vehicle.)

BoldThe ull names o people are written in bold on irst appearance in an article. Thereater, use only the surname in mediumont. Headings, crossheads and questions are also in bold.

Brackets and parenthesesPhrases can be inserted into a sentence in parentheses ( ) as an explanation or qualiication. A phrase inserted inparentheses must make complete grammatical sense on its own and must not have any grammatical connection withthe main sentence. Phrases used in parentheses must be kept short. Where possible, insert commas in place o thesepunctuation marks.

Square brackets [ ] are used to enclose an explanation by the writer in clariication o a quoted source.

CapitalsGeneral rule i in doubt, use lower case

All private appointments are written in lower case, or example, marketing manager and operations director. ButCEO, MD and GM are never written out in ull. Ranks and titles are written with a capital letter, but only when writtenin conjunction with a name, or example, President Jacob Zuma. When a title appears on its own, it is written in lowercase, or example, the President. Note the capitalisation opolitical titles Finance Minister, Cabinet Minister, Consul-General, (but Botswana Democratic Party secretary-general Daniel Kwelagobe); military titles Colonel, Vice-Admiral;academic titles Dean o the Faculty o Engineering, Vice-Chancellor, Proessor; plus, Pope Benedict XVI, QueenElizabeth and God.

Also capitalise: Councillor. However, US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice says . . . .

Write: undersecretary-general

Also note the capitals in State (as in government, but not in state o the economy), Internet, Web (but website) andEthernet. Do not upper-case government when reerring to, or example, the government o Mozambique.

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When the name, Jan van der Merwe is written in ull, van is lower case, but it takes a capital letter when the surname isused on its own or with a title, or exampleVan der Merwe or Proessor Van der Merwe.

The names o race groups are not written with a capital letter but Asians, Europeans, Aricans and other group names,which are derived rom the names o continents, are.

Deinite geographical places, regions areas or countries take initial capitals. These include Western Cape, South EastAsia, Middle East, South Atlantic, the West. Use lower case with east, west, north or south when it is used as anadjective, or example southern Free State and northern Canada, but South Aricas West Coast.

Use lower case or province, city or state when it is not strictly part o a name, or example, Kuwait city, New York city,Washington state, Eastern Cape province.

The same applies to streets, rivers, dams and project names, or example, Smith street,Van Riebeeck avenue, Fishriver, Katse dam, Alusa Hillside smelter project, Kendal power station, but the Lesotho Highlands WaterProject.

The names o programmes or developments, which are not proper nouns, take lower case, or example, mine extensionprogramme.Dont be too liberal with caps.

Names o seagoing vessels should be in italics, or example, MSC Catania or MV Peace in Africa.

Common errors Paciic Ocean, not Paciic ocean. Lowercase website. Lowercase doctoral, as in doctoral research.

ClichsClichs become clichs because they are useul in the irst instance; but although they can ind a new lie rom the very actthat they are amiliar expressions, they should be avoided. However, use a amiliar phrase i it expresses meaning correctly,not just because it is easily recognised.

Collective nounsWords that reer to a group or collection o elements, or example: Team, sta and joint venture, take the singular orm: The board has reached a conclusion.

However, in some cases, the sense may not lend itsel to the singular: The stahave collected money or the Christmas party.

A sae rule when using the word number: The number is . . .Anumber are . . . (when number means many).

A pair and a couple are plural.

Think careully beore using the plural orm.

ColonsI a colon does not add to the clarity o the wording, then it should be omitted. For example: The manuacturing acility has the ollowing eatures: a tool shop, a spray booth and a training centre or artisans. I the

colon is removed, the sentence is still perectly understandable. Writers are oten tempted to add a colon ater including, and the same rule applies. Beore a whole quoted sentence, but not beore part o a quoted sentence, or example, She said: I need to hone my

gardening skills. However, I need to hone my gardening skills, she says is preerred by Engineering News andMining Weekly.

The colon is used to precede an explanation or to expand on what has gone beore, or example, the cause o the irewas obvious: the wiring o the entire building had long been a reason or concern.

CommasUse commas sparingly. Short sentences are easier to read than long ones interspersed with many commas. EngineeringNews and Mining Weeklystyle is that i a sentence may be understood without using commas, they should be omitted:

Use: Engineering Anonymous contract manager Piet Smith says the plant is operational.

Rather thanPiet Smith, contract manager or Engineering Anonymous, says the plant is operational.Commas are used to separate phrases or clauses. When a sentence begins with a subordinate clause, a comma mustappear ater the clause, that is, beore the main clause:

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While the our sets at Morupule were being phased in, the supply rom Gaborone was phased out.

Two commas must be used when a phrase is inserted into a sentence parenthetically:Large power stations, we have come to realise, require a lot o maintenance.

Not: Large power stations, we have come to realise require a lot o attention.

The use o commas is required when several items are listed in a sentence:

The local agency stocks valves, bolts and nuts. Dont use commas beore and at the end o a list.

The use oa decimal point is mandatory, or example 2.6 and not 2,6. Also note that a space (and not a comma) is

used to separate thousands rom hundreds, or example, 3 400.

CompaniesCall companies by the names they call themselves, but omit (Pty) Ltd, Limited and cc unless the name is used in anEngineering News plant proile when we speciy Ptyor Limited, but never (Pty) Ltd on the basis that i it is Pty it mustbe Ltd and i it is Limited it is a public company as opposed to private one. Other abbreviations omitted ater a companyname are AG, SA or Gmbh. However, in Coal o Arica Limited and South Arican National Roads Agency Limited, the wordLimited remains because this is part o the name.

The names o companies may be abbreviated ater irst appearance, or example,Atomic Energy Corporation (AEC).

Compound modiiersTwo words unctioning as a single adjective should be hyphenated to ensure clarity, or example, long-term growth andtwentieth-centurytechnology.

Generally, no hyphen is needed between an adverb and an adjective: A careully researched article.

Neither is a hyphen required when single adjectives ollow a noun: The proposal was ill considered (but: an ill-considered proposal).

CurrenciesThe commonly used currencies orand, dollar, pound,yen do not take initial capitals. When beore a igure, currencyabbreviations are used without a space, or example, 40 and $400. Other examples o usage: The European benchmark errochrome price has increased by 16%, to $1,03/lb, which is $0,14 higher or the ourth

quarter rand:dollar exchange rate

Countries:In most cases the names o countries should be written out in ull. Exceptions are the UKor the United Kingdom andthe US or the United States o America.Note that Russia, oten used interchangeably with the ex-Soviet Union, is only one o the republics that make up theCommonwealth o Independent States (CIS).Remember the use o capitalisation in country names, such as Far East, South America and sub-Saharan Arica.In cases where a country is know by more than one name, we use the United Nations list o member states as a reerenceor oicial names. For example, we reer to Cte dIvoire rather than Ivory Coast.

Use http://www.un.org/en/members/index.shtml to check the accuracy o country names.

DashThe dash () must not be conused with the hyphen (-). The hyphen links words whereas the dash separates groups owords. The presence o a dash indicates a slight pause.

DatesThe acceptable style or dates is October 27, 2009. Dates are always written out in ull. Note that when a date is writtenout in midsentence, a comma ollows the year, or example, on September 3, 1939, Great Britain and France declaredwar on Germany. Use twentieth century rather than 20th century. Wherever possible, use exact dates rather than the mid-1920s. Likewise, avoid the use o hyphens between two dates, or example, 1995-96. Use a slash instead, or example, 1995/6 2008/9, not 2008/2009 August 2009, not August, 2009. On June 2 and 3, Nersa held hearings

Deamation

We need to be very careul to avoid a situation where we ind ourselves in hot water or deaming any individuals orcompanies, or making ourselves vulnerable to any claims that we have deamed anyone. It was not long ago that anothermining publication rom South Arica suered a heavy blow when it was taken to court in London or the alleged deamationo a Russian mine owner. The settlement cost them millions o rands.

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I you are ever in doubt as to whether an article is deamatory, get it checked beore we publish it on our website or in ourmagazines. We really cannot aord to make any mistakes in this regard. As Martin Creamer always says, I in doubt,ind out or leave it out.

Webber Wentzel deines deamation law as a branch o the law o delict (or tort), which protects a persons reputation.The law o deamation seeks to ind a workable balance between two conlicting rights: the right to an unimpaired reputation (the right to dignity); and the right to reedom o expression.

The law o deamation protects the reputation o a person; reputation is deined as the estimation or good opinion,which an individual has in the eyes o society. All natural persons are entitled to sue or deamation, as are trading andnon-trading juristic persons.

The law allows a plainti to claim against a deendant i the plainti is able to prove three elements: that the deendant (a)published, (b) deamatory matter, (c) reerring to the plainti. In respect o deamatory material published on the Internet,the High Court has held that publication takes place where the material is accessed (i.e. where the content o the websiteis downloaded). On proo o the above three elements, the deendant is presumed to have published the matter wrongullyand with the intention o deaming the plainti.

It is then or the deendant to rebut either o these presumptions by relying on a deense. There are three traditionaldeenses: Truth in the public interest. Here, the deendant argues that the material allegations contained in the deamatory

statement are substantially true and were made in the public interest; The deamatory statement amounted to air comment on a matter o public interest (e.g. an editorial or a satirical

cartoon); or Qualiied privilege. The deendant will escape liability in the absence o malice i he or she is under a legal, moral

or social duty to publish deamatory matter, and the recipient has a similar interest or duty in receiving it (e.g. anemployment reerence). This deence also extends to the air and accurate reporting o the proceedings o Parliament,courts and certain other public bodies.

It is also possible to be sued or deamation or comments made on the social web, such as Twitter or Facebook or onblogs, orum discussions or in messages sent by email. So think beore you vent.

EllipsesThe ellipsis (. . .) should be used only to mark the omission o a word or phrase rom a quoted source.

Ethnic groupsAvoid distinguishing dierent races. Since South Aricas move to democracy and the announcement o the Reconstructionand Development Programme, many companies have invested in small business, rural and human resource develop-ment. This has sparked the use o racist classiications or projects, such as the black managers programme or under-privileged housing subsidies (note the use o lower case). Avoid mentioning race i it does not detract rom the story.

Foreign wordsTry not to use oreign (anything not English) words and phrases. Avoid Latin phrases in particular. Use: on site rather thanin situ, i you mean the machine was assembled on site, but usein situ i you mean thein situ ore

reserves the ore reserves in the ground, prior to mining a year rather than per year the rule with the use o per is that it can be used i substituting a or or each does not

read well, or example, . . . about 441 a year per person is better than . . . about 441 a year a person. year rather than annum through or byrather than via

However, in South Arica: Lekgotla, which translates as meeting place, in Tswana is italicised, but indaba, which is Zulu and means a

conerence, a council or a matter or discussion, is not. Judging by the number o search engine hits, Indaba is, by ar,the more commonly used o the two, and is widely adopted at least in South Arica.

Names o languages. Use Zulu, not isiZulu

Forward slash is the name o the / character on the computer keyboard. Examples o common usage: quartz/magnetite/chalcopyrite veins.

GenderAvoid dierentiating between the sexes. Use: chairperson not chairman businessperson not businessman draughtsperson not draughtsman; draughtsmen becomes draughtspeople work hours not man hours

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work years not man years labour not manpower workers compensation not workmans compensation spokesperson not spokesman or spokeswoman ireighters, not iremen or irepeople service personnel, not servicemen women-owned, not emale owned

Where this rule doesnt work that well is when using middleman or middlemen, which would, i this rule is ollowed, bechanged to middleperson or middlepersons, ie, the iron-ore is sold at low prices and the middlepersons make a big proitselling on at inlated prices. Middlepersons just doesnt work. For the same reason, oundrymen remains oundrymen.

Hanging clausesWatch out or hanging clauses when beginning a sentence with an adjectival or adverbial phrase. Ensure that the phrasequaliies the subject o the sentence.

Avoid at all costs: A specialist o extensive experience, the board entrusted him with the project.

HyphenationSee Annexure One

InitialsThe initials o peoples names are never used in body copy. Always write irst names and surnames and not initials, orexample, William Jones not WH Jones. The initials o directors are, however, used in company proiles, or example,marketing director WH Jones, not W.H. Jones.

The acronyms o companies or initials in company names are also used without points or spaces, or example, AEC notA.E.C. Remember to spell out the companys name at irst mention in an article.

Inverted commasDouble inverted commas are used in direct speech:The state o the industry is more positive since the elections, says Engineering Anon MD Burt Smith.I certain words are quoted as they appear, double inverted commas are necessary: MacGregor remarked that the Ministerhad ervently promised some sort o remuneration.

Single inverted titles are used to enclose the titles o articles or reports, or example, Wheels within Wheels.Single inverted commas are used to indicate a quotation within a quotation:

The president o the association has agreed to challenge imports head-on and will be announcing a plan early nextyear, reports SAACE member John Brett.Single inverted commas are also used to indicate an unusual word or phrase:

The advent o chronobiology could change the world.They are also used to indicate a quote in a headline or in a pullout quote.

JargonAvoid at all costs. Technical terms work well in proper context and should be deined or briely explained early in the article.In many instances a simpler synonym is the harder-working word. Remember, you dont sacriice precision when omitting

jargon.

Legal aspectsThere are three legal pitalls into which journalists can all: deamation, contempt o court and interering with sub judicematters.

Deamation is the publication o any injurious statement in respect o another person or class o persons with the intent ocausing disrepute to his or her name, company credit or reputation.

Contempt o court includes irresponsible reporting to the extent that the judge or magistrate has reason to consider thereport an intererence with the process o the law. Matters under consideration by a court are sub judice until evidence isheard. Any report written on the case must not impute blame to any party. Report dont judge.

ListsNo colons in ront o lists, unless the list is bulleted.

Lower caseReer to the section on capitals. I in doubt as to whether to use capitals or lower case, opt or lower case.

MetaphorsAlthough a skilully used metaphor can evoke a visual image, adding this new dimension to a story can be tricky. To use

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this igure o speech without loss o vividness steer clear o dipping into the well o worn-out metaphors, which will only tirethe reader and orce him or her to move on to another story. Use all metaphors sparingly. Strive or accuracy, not ambiguity.

NamesThe names o people are written out in ull and appear in bold on irst appearance. Thereater, only the surnames are usedwhen using direct or reported speech.

Numbers

Never start a sentence with a igure; write out the number in words. Numbers one to ten are written out in ull, unless the number is a decimal, or example, 4.6 and 5.9 or precedes a unito measure, or example, 4%.

Use two-billion and ten-million, but R10-million, not ten-million rands. Fractions should be hyphenated when spelled out in ull, or example, two-thirds, even when the number is higher

than ten. The same applies to igures used as adjectives: He gave a tenth (not 10th) o his salary to the poor. When to is being used as a ratio it is best to spell it out rather than use a colon: They voted nine votes to two,

to abandon the project. However, ratios expressed as percentages can be reerred to in igures, or example, theshareholding was 50:50.

It is acceptable to have 22 000 but million and billion must be written out in ull and with a hyphen, or example,R22-million, R2 689.5-million.

Do not use a hyphen in place o to when using two igures: the project will take 12 to 18 months (not 12-18 months)to complete.

When million is used, or example one-million tons, it has to be written out in ull i the number is below 11. Do not use1-million tons. However, 3.2-million tons and 1 t is acceptable, as is 4 c/t. I there is a sequence o numbers, use igures as in 9 o the 11 units, or by 10-million to 13-million tons.Use: itieth not 50th anniversary; however, i the number is too long, or example thirty-thousandth, rather use 30 000th. 20 m a minute, not 20 m/m 20 angle, but 30 C twelve 200 mm pinch valves one metre to ten metres is written in words, thereater 11 m is used ive-thousandths o a millimetre (.005 mm) the project is expected to take 24 to 30 months, not take between 24 months to 30 months.

Ongoing, one word

Omitted wordsPassages omitted rom a quotation must be indicated by three dots (. . .) or our dots (. . . .) to indicate a ull stop.Please note the space between the dots.

PercentageUse the sign % instead o per cent wherever possible. Write 5%, 30% but ive per cent and thirty per cent when startinga sentence with a percentage.When hyphenating, use: 26%-owned by . . .

The Four PsEngineering News and Mining Weekly have their own unique hierarchy o subject importance. These are, in order opreerence: Projects (major developments, their values and the companies involved) Products (introduction o innovative technology in products and its eatures) People (whos making the news) Policy(government regulations in industry) These can be extended to include: Polemic (debate the issues, present both sides o the story) Probing (this is what investigative journalism is all about!) Prodding (encourage ormal institutions to take action) Praise (acknowledge creditworthy perormance) Please (give the reader what he or she wants)

And theres another P Priority. Journalism has evolved with the advent o online reporting, which needs to be brie andto the point. The inverted pyramid is a metaphor used to illustrate how inormation should be arranged or presented ina report; the most important acts irst and less important detail tapering to the inverted point o the pyramid. This historicorm o news writing is ideally suited to the web and also suits many o the articles written or Creamer Media publicationsas it makes editing easier when text needs to be cut or layout purposes.

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Pyramid ormat writing is more suited to academic papers, where a oundation is supported by research indings, data andextensive summaries. It is unsuited to journalism.

Feature writing results in several pages o articles, supported by photos and advertising, providing an overview o an engi-neering or mining aspect. It is vital to ensure that writing is inormative, interesting and relevant in support o the EngineeringNews and Mining Weeklystatus as an essential source o inormation or those involved in the engineering and miningsectors. To this end, the inverted pyramid ormat is oten best suited to eature writing, but the low o inormation maydictate the use o other ormats.

The question and answer ormat is also used to bring variety and interest to the publications. It is also suited to online

journalism and is popular in personality proiles.Cover stories or Engineering News and Mining Weeklytypically begin with a scene-setting opening paragraph and thenpresent various points o view on the topic setting out the challenges, successes, dilemmas and other aspects, andending with a thought-provoking concluding paragraph.

The more interpretive narrative orm o writing is not a style associated with Creamer Media but is oten used in magazines,where the article opens with a human-interest story designed to catch the readers attention. The writer presents the actsor views by crating these around this story and other illustrative stories. The key message or messages unold throughoutthe piece and may or may not wrap in a punchy conclusion.

Most published columns ollow a ormat o writing and columnists are eatured in Engineering News and MiningWeekly. There are many ine examples o this ormat in a myriad o publications and many talented writers who havebecome esteemed columnists, some who have become powerul opinion ormers in arenas rom politics and sport toentertainment and ood.

QuotationsQuotations are not something written but rather something that is spoken. Hence, make a quote less ormal and moreriendly. Strive to relect the speakers character. Quote only when imperative.

Quotation marksQuotation marks are used in direct speech: Tourism will beneit rom the 2010 FIFA World Cup , says Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk

They are also used when quoting phrases within a sentence: We are warned that the legislation will orce industry to evaluate its production processes.

Note the relative placing o quotation marks and punctuation: i a complete sentence is quoted, the inal stop should beplaced inside the quotation marks and, i the quotation orms part o a sentence, the quotation marks should precede any

punctuation marks.

Relative pronounsIn short, who, or whom is used or people while which or that is used or animals and inanimate objects. Note that acompany is not human and thereore it does not take who:

The company that survived . . .

not

The company who survived . . .

Note also:

The company, the premises o which are situated in . . .

rather than

The company, whose premises are situated in . . .Reported speechEngineering News and Mining Weeklystyle is to report beore attributing the speech: The product has enjoyed unprecedented success, reports Engineering Anon sales manager Joe Myburg.rather than Engineering Anon sales manager Joe Myburg says: The product has enjoyed unprecedented success.Note that the attributive verb is always in the present unless reporting on a speech or presentation. Use says not said,explains not explained, reports not reported.

Semicolons and colonsSemicolons mark a pause longer than a comma but shorter than a ull stop. They can be used to distinguish phrases listedater a colon i commas will not do the job clearly. Dont overdo. The colour patterns are red, white and blue; silver, green and purple; gold, black and yellow; and grey, brown and

orange. They agreed on only three points: that the ceaseire should be immediate; it should be internationally supervised,preerably by the AU; and a peace conerence should be held, either in Geneva or Ouagadougou.

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SlangSlang, like metaphors, should be used only occasionally i it is to have any eect. Even then, slang should be used withcaution.Examples o South Arican slang include bakkie (pick-up), dorp (town), dwaal (lost), undi (rom the Nguni umundisi,meaning teacher or preacher), gogga (insect), howzit, just now (shortly), muti (medicine) platteland (countryside), takkies(as in wheels or running shoes) and vrot (rotten or smelly).

Avoid using expressions such as thumbs up or thumbs down, guesstimate, massive. As an alternative, always opt or thesimpler, clearer word.

SpacingA space must be let between a igure and its unit o measurement: 26 m, 32 km, 12 and 30 C (temperature) is thecorrect style, but 24% and 16 (angles).

Split ininitivesSplitting o ininitives is justiied only when avoiding ambiguity. Compare: Our object is to urther cement trade relations(split ininitive), and Our object is to cement urther trade relations.He wanted to desperately expand his business. (wrong)He desperately wanted to expand his business. (right)

StyleGolden rule: News irst, scene-setting second, context third, comment last. (Pack article with news, limit commentary.)

Guidelines:1. I you dont understand your sentence or article, no-one else will. Rewrite it until it is clear. Dont orget punctuation.2. Exhaust your angle beore moving into a new theme.3. Have appropriate joiners to introduce a new theme (meanwhile, in addition, another key priority . . .)4. Multisource where appropriate and always get the other side o the debate i one is raised.5. Limit the use o direct quotes and rather interpret or the reader in indirect speech.6. (Most important) read your article through three times beore submission to an editor.

TensesThe present tense is the norm when writing an article: Johansen says that building will start in two months time.

The past tense is used only when reporting on a speech which has already occurred: MacKenzie said in his inaugural speech that he was looking orward to his term o oice.Note that was and not is is used ater the word said. The past tense will ollow throughout the rest o the reported speech.

For the sake o immediacy it is better to say:Retecon has been commissioned as main contractor rather than Retecon was commissioned.

TimeTime should always be given in igures according to the 24-hour clock without speciying am or pm or using an h: A decision is expected by 14:00 on Monday Dont use three years to ive years. Use three to ive years

TitlesAlthough the overriding principle is to treat people with respect, do not indulge peoples sel-importance unless it is insulting

not to use the titles they themselves adopt.Titles are used only to indicate positions o importance, or example, Proessor Jan Goldblatt; Dr Jack Mulder, Sir ErnestOppenheimer.Mr, Mrs and Miss are not used in Engineering News and Mining Weekly. First names and surnames are used on irstmention: Nols Oliver not Mr Nols Oliver. Ater having used a persons irst name and surname once, just his surname isnecessary thereater: Oliver not Mr Oliver, Mulder not DrMulder and Goldblatt not Proesssor Goldblatt.

The only time Mr is used is or the names o judges, or example Mr Justice J McArthur.Peoples designations in a company are rarely written with capitals.Note: For the sake o brevity and ease o reading, use Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies rather thanMinister o Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies.

Book titlesWhile newspaper and magazine titles are not written in Italics, with the exception o our own publications, Engineering

News and Mining Weeklyor the online Polityand Research Channel Africa, book titles are italicised, or example, The LongWalk to Freedom. Titles o articles appearing in a book, newspaper or magazine, and titles o reports, are enclosed insingle inverted commas, or example, Wheels within wheels, Gold hits new high and World Competitiveness Report.

Song and movie titles are Italicised no quotes or example Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika and District Nine.

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Italics are used or the titles o books or poems, or example, Oliver Twist; the titles o ilms, or example, White Wedding;names o ships and aircrat, or example, Destinyand Challengerand words rom another language, or example,lekgotla.

Units o measure see Annexure Two

Unnecessary wordsSome words, while adding length to an article, do nothing or journalistic style. Adjectives can be used to make yourmeaning more precise but you should guard against those that serve only as decorations. Prime examples are veryand

wide.Deleting these rom a phrase rarely detracts rom their intended meaning: The chances o inlation increasing in the next two years are (very) good. The company oers a (wide) range o petrochemical products.

Other examples include strike instead ostrike action; cuts instead ocutbacks; record instead otrack record; soldinstead osold o.

Watch points(Engineering News and Mining Weeklyno-nos)

There are several words and phrases that Engineering News preers not to use. According to Tom Ansley says is preerred Address/ed Do not use address or addressed as a verb. Substitute with words like conront, consider, promote. Almost all Most is more concise, although an exact igure would be even better Annuallyand per annum useyearlyor a year instead o Latin words. Anticipates rather use expects ApproximatelyAbout or almost is preerred. At the same time Simultaneouslyis preerred. Company location do not write Endenvale-based Acme Props but Acme Props, o Edenvale. In situ On site is preerred. Intros Do not start introductions with company names unless the alternative is grammatically incorrect or very

cumbersome. Now Avoid using unless its omission changes the meaning o a sentence. Number o Several is preerred. Per Use o this word should be avoided. For example, eight hours per daycan be replaced by eight hours a day. Percentage When writing percentages use per cent rather than percent. Presently means soon, not at present. Avoid. Quantity Please distinguish between amount, number and quantity(and ewer and less). Recently Avoid using as the word is vague and, in some cases, redundant. Rather use the exact date or nothing at

all. On his visit to South Arica . . . not . . . On his recent visit to Arica. The building has been inished . . . not . . . The building was recently inished. S vs Z The letter s is preerred to the letter z as a verbal ending: emphasise rather than emphasize; specialise

rather than specialize. Use horizon, not horison. Today do not use, except in cases such as . . . Engineering News can today report.

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Areas o common diiculty

AAbility, CapacityAbilityis physical and mental power, particularly the power to plan and execute, while capacity is the power to receive: The MD has the abilityto carry out the companys rationalisation plans. The MD has a great capacityor technical equations and mathematical calculations.

The plant has a production capacityo 500 t/y.Academic qualiications should be mentioned in chronological order, or example, BA, MA.Act and Bill as in legislation, are cappedAccording to Tom Ansley says is preerred.Advertisement, is preerred to advertAddress/ed do not use address or addressed as a verb. Substitute with words like conront, consider, promote.

Addressing issues rather use tackling or dealing with

Adviser, not advisor

Aect/eect.Aect and eect as verbs are requently conused. Eect is to bring about, to accomplish, aect is to producean eect on, to attack, move or touch. The majority o the time you useaffectwith an a as a verb and effectwith an eas a noun.

Examples rom the CM style guide: The struggling economy had a disastrous eect on the gold price The struggling economy aected the gold price terribly. The Chinese and South Arican markets had been impacted on to a lesser extent. Replace impacted on withaected.

Aims, ObjectivesAims are the goals set and objectives are the measurements we undertake to achieve the aims.

Almost all most is more concise, although an exact igure would be even better.

Allow, enable and aord

allow means to: give permission or something to happen or somebody to do something, or take no action or make no rule to prevent it let somebody or something enter or be present in a place let somebody or yoursel have something, oten a beneit or pleasure o some kind give or credit somebody with an amount o money as a discount or in exchange or something set aside or make available something such as a period o time or amount o material or a particular purpose take something into consideration or make provision or it when making a plan or decision admit something or accept it to be true or valid (ormal) present something as possible or reasonable (ormal) US usage means to state or suppose

Enable means to: provide somebody with the resources, authority or opportunity to do something make something possible or easible (note: this deinition is not given or allow.)

Aord means to: be able to meet the cost o something without unacceptable diiculty be able to do or provide something without unacceptable or disadvantageous consequences. Do not use allow when

you mean aord as in to to do or to provide. be able to spare something without unacceptable or disadvantageous con-sequences supply or provide something

Allusion, illusion, delusionThe irst two especially are requently conused. An allusion is an indirect or covert reerence to something. An illusion isa alse or mistaken conception. Adelusion is a view o belie so utterly alse that it suggests insanity: In the irst stanza, the poet makes several allusions to the works o earlier poets. The author alludes to Hamlet but

nowhere names the play. Though he had never managed to publish anything, he was under the illusion that he was a poet. In his amous speech in the ourth act o the Tempest, Prospero presents the world as a vase illusion

The belie that he and his soldiers could not be harmed by the enemys bullets was only one o the delusions hesuered.

Allusive, elusive, elusory, illusory

Allusive is the adjectival orm o allusion. When poets make requent allusions, we

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speak o their style as allusive. I we call something elusive or elusory, we mean that it is perplexing, diicult to grasp (iteludes us). Illusoryis the adjectival orm o illusion. To call something illusoryis to say that it is deceptive, that it has thecharacter o an illusion.

Alternate(ly), alternative(ly)

Alternate(ly) implies irst one, then the other.Alternative(ly) traditionally reerredto a choice between two, but its use in reerring to a choice among several possibilities is now irmly established: They marched and rested on alternate days. They worked and played alternatelyand never became bored. They could surrender; alternatively, they could retreat and wait or another opportunity to attack. The generals had several alternatives to choose rom in deciding on a course o action.

Annually. Useyearlyor a year instead o Latin words.

Anticipate, expect use expect instead where appropriate

Anticipate means to:1. imagine or consider something beore it happens and make any necessary preparations or changes.2. think or be airly sure that a certain thing will happen or come.3. eel excited, hopeul, or eager about something that is going to happen.4. imagine or consider something that might happen and take action to prevent it.5. say or do something beore it becomes ashionable or comes into widespread use (ormal).6. make use o something beore it has actually been received (ormal).Expect means to:1. believe with conidence, or think it likely, that an event will happen in the uture.2. wait or, or look orward to, something that you believe is going to happen or arrive.3. demand or anticipate receiving something because o a perceived right to it or because it is somebodys duty to give it.Amend, emendAmend means to alter, usually in the sense o improving something. Emend means to remove errors rom: The legislature met to amend the countrys constitution. Several amendments to the motion were passed. The writer emended two passages in the typescript The manuscript shows that the writer made several emendations beore submitting the article or publication.American spellingThe only time this is not changed to UK spelling is when it is the name o an American organisation, or example: TheCenter or Disease Control.

Among (not amongst), betweenTraditionally between and among were careully distinguished in both speech and writing. Something could be dividedbetween two people or among more than two.Among continues to imply more than two, while between has come tobe permitted when more than two are indicated. Even in ormal writing, between can be used with more than two whenit is used spatially or geographically: Their house was situated between the railway, the road and the shopping centre. Apart rom this exception, unless your phrasing lands you in diiculties, you should observe the distinction in ormal

writing. The correct expression is between you and me (between us) and not between you and I.Ante, Anti ante means beore and anti means against: An antecedent is a preceding thing or circumstance. An antidote is a remedy against poison.Approximately about or almost is preerredArchaismsArchaic r-k-ik, adj. ancient; savouring o the past; not absolutely obsolete but not longer in general use;

old-ashioned.Examples: Coolth = coolness Proven = proved Thereater = ater that Therein Thereo = o that Whilst = while Amid = among Amongst = amongNot archaic but a nonword: TelephonicAt the same time simultaneously is preerredArtisanal mining, not artisinal miningAutocatalyst, not auto catalyst.Aside and Apart.Aside means to or toward the side, or example, he stepped aside; away rom others or into privacy,or example, she pulled him aside; out o the way especially or uture use, or example, they are putting aside savings.

Apart means at a little distance, or example, he tried to keep apart rom the amily squabbles; or away rom one another,

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as in space or time, or example, they lived in towns 20 km apart.

BBackup, not back-upBail-out, as in ollowing a bail-out by JSE-listed company Zambia Copper Investments.Baseload, not base load. Use baseload expansion, baseload generation capacity.Basin is lowercased (like ree) or example, the Witwatersrand basin or the Eastern, Western and Central basins.Geologically, a basin is a broad tract o land in which the rock strata are tilted toward a common centre, or a large,

bowl-shaped depression in the surace o the land or ocean loor. It is also the catchment area o a particular river and itstributaries or o a lake or sea.Beside, besidesBeside is a preposition while besides is a conjunction or an adverb meaning as well as: He sat down beside the toolbox. Besides gaining a head start in the local market, the company ound success in the export market.Biannually twice a year. One word. See also Biennially.Biennially occurring every two years. One word.Bloc: a bloc is a group o countries or people with a shared aim.Born, borne

A child is born but the burden o birth is borne by the mother. I what you wish to express is not related to birth, the wordyou should use is borne. Borne reers to burdens, insults and responsibilities.Breakthrough, not break through

By-product, not by product

CCalled/known as be careul about using either. You may have called someone an expert, but the person may not beknown as one. A current trend is to write: the R5-million machine, called Mighty Mouse, has . . . , when the R5-million,machine, Mighty Mouse, has . . . would be acceptable!Both cannot and can not are acceptable spellings, but the irst is much more usual. You would use can not when thenot orms part o another construction such as not onlyCapex, is an abbreviation or capital expenditure; however, use was spent on capital projects instead o was spent oncapex.Cause, reason the cause o an event is the power or agency that brings about its circumstance, while its reason is anexplanation ormulated in the human mindCautionary. We do not need to write cautionary announcement or notice when the phrase the company issued acautionary yesterday morning, prior to the announcement o its quarterly results is understandable.Cash low, not cashlowCentury twenty-irst century, twenty-irst-century skillsChannel, as in Maputo channel, is lowercasedCity, we uppercase City o Johannesburg, but city on its own, is lowercasedCoalield, one word but coal bed is two words, or example the coal bed is to be mined.Co the use o the preix co is conusing. Here are some examples o when to use a hyphen: Cochairperson, not co-chairperson Co-opt Co-owner

Cooperation Coordination Co-suppliers Co-modality Co-investors Co-author Coiring boilers, not co-iringColour, lower case blue, green, yellow etcCommonwealth, not Common WealthCompare to, compare with Compared to is used when the subjects are o dierent orders, or example: International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) compared to US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US

GAAP). Recent climate observations compared to projections But developments in diesel technology have to be compared to continuing advancements in gasoline-powered

vehicles. Compared with is used when the subjects are o the same order, or example:

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Cash generated rom operations increased by 134% to R147.3-million compared with R62.9-million theyear beore.

Reracting telescopes compared with relecting telescopes, When discussing climate Japan is oten compared with Caliornia because o its north-south placement.

An easy way to remember is that you can compare one type o apple with another type o apple, but you would comparean apple to an orange.Competence The state or quality o being adequately or well qualiied; ability. The plural is competences, as in Aureconwill be exhibiting its mining competences.

Compliment, -ary (lattering), is oten conused with complement, -ary (in completion o) or orm a complement to as inher scar complements her dress.Complex, as in Bushveld Complex, is capped.Complete/CompletedThe project is 80% complete, but the shat itting has been completed.Compound modiiers Two words unctioning as a single adjective should be hyphenated to ensure clarity, or example,long-term growth and twentieth-century technology. Generally, no hyphen is needed between an adverb and an adjective,or example, a careully researched article. Neither is a hyphen required when single adjectives ollow a noun, or example,the proposal was ill considered (but, an ill-considered proposal).Concentrated solar power not concentrating solar powerContemporary (noun and adjective) means both belonging to the same period o time and current, o our own time.

This can lead to conusion. Icontemporary is used in a sentence that reers to an earlier period or a particular person,it means o that period or that persons period. It is thereore incorrect to write: Shakespeares plays are relevant tocontemporaryproblems, i what you mean is that his plays are relevant to problems o our own time. As a rule, i you

reer to an earlier period or a particular person who lived in an earlier period, and you want to relate that period or personto our own time, avoid using contemporaryin your sentences. Find an acceptable substitute to express what you wantto say. The ollowing show some o the correct uses ocontemporary:Shakespeares plays surpass even the best works o his contemporaries.Blakes poetry is signiicantly dierent rom the work o contemporary poets.Ben Jonson was a contemporaryo Shakespeare.Emily Dickinsons poetry was largely ignored by contemporary writers and critics.Continual, continuous Continual implies a recurrence at requent intervals; continuous means extendinguninterruptedly, unbroken and connected. The best way to remember the dierence between these words is to make upa saying along the lines o the ollowing: You can learn to play a musical instrument by continual practice; but your eortcannot be continuous.Contracts are awarded, not rewarded.Copperbelt is one word and capped.Crosscuts, not cross cuts.CurrencyWhen speaking it is acceptable to say ten rand or a million rand we all do it; but when writing especiallyor publication we must write ten rands or a million rands. However, i rand is used adjectivally, then it remains randand may need to be hyphenated, or example, a multibillion-rand initiative.Cuto, not cut-o

DDataIn Latin, data is the plural odatum, meaning, one piece o inormation. Datum is inrequently used. When it is used, ittypically means thing known or granted, unquestionable act.

The word data is oten used with a plural verb; however, increasingly it is used as a collective noun denoting a single bodyo acts or inormation. In such constructions it takes a singular verb. It is correct to use the singular construction unless it

seems awkward in the particular sentence you are writing:The available data are insuicient to draw any conclusionsThe data on the subject is rather meagreDatabase, not data baseDependant, dependentDependant is the noun, while dependent is the adjective.Dependence is a state o being dependent on somebody.Dependency a territory subject to nonadjacent country, or overreliance on a drug.Die casting is not hyphenated, or example die casting technology.Dier with, dier romNormally a distinction is drawn between dier with and dier rom. We dier with eople when we do not agree withthem. Dier rom is used in the sense o be dierent. The conusion arises because although I may dier with you (ordisagree with you) my ideas would be said to dier rom yours.Dier with is the more requently used expression. In present usage, dier rom is oten replaced by phrases usingdierent:He diers with those historians who think o history as the actions o amous people.His description diers rom the accounts o other anthropologists.

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Dierent rom/to/thanAlthough dierent has been used variously with rom, to and than since at least the seventeenth century, expressionsusing dierent can trigger o heated disagreement among grammarians. Many writers continue to insist that dierentrom is the only permissible construction, though more recently some have been prepared to tolerate dierent to inspeech and even in writing.Directions:North-west JohannesburgNorth-western bypass route

North-northeast o SishenUnless a town is very small, it is not necessary to write the mine is situated 25 km west o the town o Musina,when 25 km west o Musina would suice.Diversiied, as in a diversiied mining company. To be classed as a diversiied mining company, the company needs tomine at least three dierent minerals, or example, gold, coal and iron. An example is BHP Billiton.Downtime, one word.Drat, an air current, the order to join the armed services, a preliminary sketch or plan, a preliminary report or speech, awritten order to pay money, a drink, a dose o medicine, the depth required or a ship to loat.Draughting, not drating, services. Draughtsperson or draughting technicianDue diligence, not due diligence studyDue to, owing to see O

EElectricity. We use electricity, not electrical power.Electromechanical, not electro-mechanicalEn dash

The en dash is used instead o a hyphen to indicate a break in a sentence ollowed by inormation, which adds to orclariies the irst part o the sentence, sometimes as an alternative to using brackets. It is also used in lists to avoid usingtoo many commas. Other uses include:A publicprivate partnership, where the use o a hyphen may be deemed adjectival when, instead, the two entities haveequal weight.Lloyd-Jones (one person), but a LennonMcCartney composition (two people).ParisDakar Rally.JohannesburgLondonCairo trip.Waterval-BovenWaterval-Onder railway line.EndDoes in the end and at the end mean the same thing? In the end is most commonly used to mean inally or ater along while. At the end is generally used to mean the point where something stops.End-user is hyphenated. Collins does not hyphenate this, but we do.Enormitymeans extreme evil or moral oensiveness or a very evil or morallyoensive deed. An enormity can mean sheer size, terrible nature or atrocity, so be careul in its usage, or example:

The enormity o war crimes.The bombing o the deenceless population was an enormity beyond belie.When reerring to size, cope, extent, inluence or immensity, examples include:

The enormity o the task.The enormity o such an act o generosity is staggering.eresearch, not e-research

FFarther, urther arther has reerence to distance; urther to continuance:He rode artherFurther to our conversationFast-tracking is hyphenatedFibre-optic cable, not ibre-optics cableFollow-up is the noun, ollow up is the verbForklit, one wordFundraising, one wordFurther, not urthermore

GGasields, not gas ieldsGoing orward is one o those phrases people like to use; however, i dropped rom a sentence and the meaning isunchanged, it is best deleted.

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Government, it is not necessary to use the in ront o government use . . . commitment to governmentseconomic agenda, rather than . . . commitment to the governments economic agenda. Similarly, do not use the inront o Cabinet.Groundwater, one word.Groundwork, one word.

HHappen, occur, take place

Happen and occur usually reer to circumstances beyond control whereas take place reers to things that are doneintentionally:The accident occurred in the plant.The meeting will take place tomorrow.What happened to Europes winter?Something really pivotal has happened to South Aricas public inances; they have collapsed and the ault does not lieentirely with the global recession.Hard wearing (two words), as in hard wearing and corrosion resistantHealthcare, one wordHematite, not haematiteHowever Many o you have trouble using the word however, which is usually ollowed by a comma when used as theirst world o a sentence, and preceded and ollowed by a comma when used later in a sentence. For instance: In anycase, however, the siphon may be illed.

When it means to whatever extent however needs no ollowing comma, or example, Bring the drum, however ull it is.However can come at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end o a sentence, but it is best positioned immediately aterthe item that is held up or contrast: In the morning, however, nothing was done (in contrast to the preceding aternoon).It should be surrounded by commas unless it means no matter how, as in however hard I work.The use o a comma or semicolon beore however: However is preceded by a semicolon only when the semicoloncan be replaced with a ull stop and the resultant two sentences still make sense.For example: My child has always been a hard-working learner; however, she has never passed any exam with lying colours. My child has always been a hard worker. However, she has never passed any exam with lying colours.

The ollowing is incorrect because the two clauses are complete sentences in their own right. A punctuation mark that isstronger than a comma should be used ater learner: My child has always been a hard-working learner, however, she has never passed any exam with lying colours.Hyphenation. See Annexure One

IImpact or impacted is ollowed by on, as in China and South Arica have been impacted on to a lesser extent.However, the meteriorite impact was elt . . . is not ollowed by on as, in this case, impact implies orce.Indicate/suggest sometimes used incorrectly. You can indicate your approval with a nod; indicate the rightroad or have the irst rains indicate the start o summer. You can put orward a suggestion, see a cloud thatsuggests a mushroom, endure a silence that suggests disapproval or eel that such a crime suggests aptpunishment.Independently, not independantlyInormation technology sectors, not inormation-technology sectorsIndependencies and independencesThe ormer is the plural rom o independency, an independent territory or state,while the latter is the plural orm o independence.Input, one word.InquiryInquiry is correct when used to indicate an investigation, or example, a Court o Inquiry. Enquiry would be used inthe sense that is it a request or inormation.Internet Internet is always captatilised.

JJunior minerWhat is a junior miner anyway?Juniorminers.com set out to ind what the deinition o a Junior Miner was. So we contacted the nice olks at the PDAC(Prospectors and Developers Association o Canada) and asked them or their deinition o a junior mining company. Theirresponse was this:Mining companies are deined largely by the way in which they derive their revenues. A senior producer or operatorgenerates its revenues rom the production and sale o the commodity it is mining. A junior mining company has nomining operations and is essentially a venture capital company. It must rely almost entirely on the capital markets to inanceits exploration activities [I say almost entirely because some juniors derive their inancing rom private sources]. Thereis another category: midtier producers. These are generally junior companies that have decided to go into production onproperties that they have discovered.We then asked the olks at the TSX and their response was:

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Everyone has their interpretation o the deinition o a junior mining company. We see most o them as being listed on TSXVenture Exchange instead o on the TSX.Judgement,judgmentUse judgment notjudgement.

KKeeps up. Rather use maintains ie He maintains morale.Kick-o, not kicko as in 100 days to kick-o.

LLandill, not land ill.Landmark, not land mark.Largest, rather use biggest.Lend, loan, borrowLend is the verb while loan is the noun:

The company lent the entrepreneur R50 000 and he was grateul or the loan. The entrepreneur borrowed R50 000 romthe company.Learn, learned, learntLearn acquire knowledge or skillLearned is the past tense and past participle o learn (also learnt, which is a variant o learned).Learned having great knowledge or characterised by scholarship (not learnt).

The dierence between learned and learnt is the tenses:I learned something yesterday. (Past tense)I have learnt my lesson. (Past participle)

There is a lesson to be learned/learnt in the smallest and simplest things in lie each day. (Both orms are correct.)Learning diiculties, use instead o mental handicap or retarded to avoid giving oence, as in people with learningdiiculties, her son has learning diiculties (also learning disabilities).Less, ewerLess reers to degree or quantity; ewer to number.Licence, license

The letter c reers to a noun, while the letter s reers to a verb. Hence, licence is a noun and license is a verb:The company manuactured the produce under licence to its overseas principal. (noun). I you use card, contract orpapers instead o licence and the sentence still makes sense, then licence is correct.

The company had the product licensed. (verb) In this case, i you can use the verb to allow, which is a verb, in its vari-ous orms (allowing, allowed, allows) instead o license, then license, is correct. I you use allowance and the sentencemakes sense, then you should be using licence.Hana Botswana holds 11 prospecting licences.Licences are revoked, not taken away.Lie-o-mine is hyphenated unless used as the lie o the mine.Lie span, not liespan.Liestyle, not lie style.Lie cycle, two words, but lie-cycle costing.Lightweight, not light weight.Line-up is hyphenated, as in part o the line-up or the day.Load-shedding is hyphenated when used as an adjective, noun or verb.Location I, or example, you are reerring to a company that is based in France, it is France-based the geographical

location. To use French-based means that it may have originated in that country, or example, French is widely spoken inArica. Write:Australia-based.England-based.However, we would reer to South Arican-produced motor vehicles.London Metal Exchange is written as LMELooking at, rather use considering.

MManhours. Rather use work hours, or example . . . including engineering work hours . . .Manmade, rather use artiicial or synthetic, i appropriate.Majority, on its own, is singular. (However, i you write about a majority o some speciied group, such as a majority oemployees, you should use the plural orm, are.)Many, muchManyreers to number, much to quantities:

There must have been as many as a hundred at the conerence.The company was willing to spend as much as R2-billion on the project.

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MeasurementsThe use o centimetres is, or some peculiar reason, restricted to textiles and garments. In all other instances, please usemillimetres.

All imperial measurements must be converted to the metric equivalent. Thus, use hectares instead o acres,kilometres instead omiles, metres instead oyards, litres instead ogallons, kilograms instead opounds andnote: tons instead otonnes. The exception is nautical miles, which remain the same.Metaphors

Although a skilully used metaphor can evoke a visual image, adding this new dimension to a story can be tricky. To use

this igure o speech without loss o vividness steer clear o dipping into the well o worn-out metaphors, which will only tirethe reader or orce him or her to move on to another story. Use all metaphors sparingly. Strive or accuracy, not ambiguity.Marketplace, not market place.Mount Moreland, not Mt Morland.

NNone is or are? Not one is = none. So, none is. When used with a plural noun, however, opinions begin to dier, orexample, none o my colleagues is does not read as well as none o my colleagues are. In this case the most naturalusage would be acceptable.Now avoid using unless its omission changes the meaning o a sentence.Nuclear-1, not Nuclear One.Number o several is preerred.

OObligate is an ugly and unnecessary word. Use oblige.O the shore o Cte dIvoire, not oshore o Cte dIvoire, but maintenance o the oil rigs (two words) oshore o

Angola.Otake, one word otake agreement.OK, not okay, but rather use acceptable.On line, but online when reerring to the Web or an online account.On site,istwo wordsOn to, is two words.Ongoing, is one wordOpenpit, not open pit.Opencast, not open cast.Orebody, not ore body.Orepass, not ore pass.Output, one word.Overperormed, overcommitted, overstressed and oversold (one word, not two words).Owing to is always used as a conjunction, or joining word. For example: Owing to his lack o qualiications, he couldnot be employed which can also be written as: He could not be employed, owing to his lack o qualiications. I youcan change a sentence around like this, then you should deinitely use owing.Due to examples:

The urnace was due to be shut down in April.The employee wants payment o money due to him.The plane is due to arrive at noon.

P

Paper use Green Paper or White Paper, not green paper or white paperPast, lastThese words are oten conused. For the sake o clarity, use past when reerring to a historic event and last when youmean lately:

The company manuactured carbon steel in the past.He has been away the last three days.Last can mean the inal (as in He ate the last remaining sweet) or, in this context, the most recent, as in Last week wewent to the beach or Last time I saw him, we went to the cinema.Past is more vague and can be used to reer to a nonspeciic period millions o years ago or a couple o years back,although it tends largely not to be used or more recent events, ie. In the past, dinosaurs roamed the earth or In thepast, we used to go to the air together.Per should be avoided, use each, or example each year. Per annum should also be replaced by a year. There are,however, acceptable uses o per:

Per capita.100 carats per hundred tons (cpht).When used in a quote.Phase 2, not phase 2.

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Pilanesberg, not Pilansberg.Platinum-group metals (PGMs), not platinum group metals, but a platinum-group metal (PGM).Platework, not plate work.Policymaking, one word as in the policymaking process.Polokwane, not Pietersburg.Ponder, rather use considerPort is lowercased, or example, the Beira port but Port o Beira.Post usually attached without the hyphen when reerring to the past, except when the next word begins with t or a

capital letter.Postelection, not post-election.Postwar, not post-war ie postwar Japan.Practice, practise

The letter c is used in the noun while the letter s is used in the verb. Hence practice is a noun and practise is a verb:He opened his own practice on the Rand. (noun)He practised his putting daily. (verb)Presently. There are still those among us using the word presently to mean now. It does not: it means beore long,soon or shortly. Currently is preerred.Principal, principlePrincipal is the main, head or chie or an organisation while principle reers to values or eatures. Principal may be anoun or adjective, principle is always a noun.

The principal shareholder has a major say in the day-to-day workings o the company.

The principle behind the workings o the lathe is simple.Pumpstation, one word.

QQualiicationsWrite:PhD, not PHD.BSc (Hon), not B. Sc. (Hons).Quantity distinguish between amount, number and quantity (and ewer and less). Use:

A small quantityo ore or goods.Pilbara blend comprises the dierent qualities o iron-ore blended in speciic quantities.Quick. There is some debate surrounding the degree o comparison (adjective or adverb [the positive], comparative andsuperlative) or quick, quicker (or the preerred more quickly) and quick

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