Assessment Style Guide
Write in clear, disciplined prose. The tone should be sober, direct, and human: more like a serious defense assessment than a generic report.
UNCLASSIFIED//OPEN SOURCE
Standard ID: WI-STD-003
Prepared UTC: 2026-06-12T23:20:35Z
Voice
Write in clear, disciplined prose. The tone should be sober, direct, and human: more like a serious defense assessment than a generic report.
Use active sentences where possible. Avoid slogans, hype, filler, and theatrical language. Explain why a fact matters, but do not drift into policy advice.
Structure
Lead with the bottom line. Then present key judgments, evidence, analysis, indicators, and source base.
Separate:
- What is known.
- What is assessed.
- What is uncertain.
- What would change the assessment.
No Recommendations
Do not write "the United States should" or equivalent prescriptive language in assessment products. Preferred alternatives:
- "Decision relevance:"
- "Strategic significance:"
- "Implication for U.S. interests:"
- "Indicator to monitor:"
- "Information gap:"
Treatment Of Adversaries
Use precise actor names. Avoid caricature. Identify stated objectives, capabilities, constraints, and behavior. Strategic clarity is more useful than emotional language.
Dates
Use UTC timestamps for product metadata. Use absolute dates in the body when describing events. Avoid unsupported phrases such as "recently" unless the date is also provided.