**U.S. Department of Energy** **POLICY**

**Washington, D.C.**

Approved: XX-XX-03

**SUBJECT:** TITLE (all caps, not bolded)

**PURPOSE (or PURPOSE AND SCOPE)**

Policies are issued at the discretion of the Secretary and describe the
philosophies and fundamental values of the Department. Other documents
in the Directives System, such as Orders, Notices, and Manuals, flow
from Policies and must be consistent with them.

The Office of Primary Interest works with the Directives System Manager
to determine the appropriate level of coordination and review and
schedule for issuance of the Policy.

Because Policies are intended to address broad issues within the area of
responsibility of the originator, they should not contain specific
requirements. When writing a Policy, keep in mind that your Policy
should set a framework under which requirements could be established.

The format of Policies is, at the discretion of the writer, a little
less formal than that of Notices, Orders, and Manuals. (Sampling the
Policies currently on line will give you an idea of the styles writers
have used to communicate policies.) You can choose the style that fits
your needs, keeping in mind that, at a minimum, Policies should address
purpose, scope, and policy.

In formulating the purpose and scope statements, you may want to give
readers some background or refer to pertinent legislation, as has been
done in many of the Policies. Consider your readers, their time, and the
most important things for them to know. The following Policies are good
examples of clear, succinct purpose and scope statements and show the
variety of styles used in Policies.

-   DOE P 141.1, *Department of Energy Management of Cultural
    Resources,* dated 5-2-01.

-   DOE P 141.2, *Public Participation and Community Relations,* dated
    5-2-03.

-   DOE P 111.1, *Departmental Organization Management System,* dated
    8-27-96.

**POLICY**

The policy statement should be clear, concise, and straightforward. Use
the active voice (Attachment 1) and strong action verbs. Phrases such as
"the Department is committed to . . . ." and "It is Department policy
that . . ." are good accepted ways to introduce these paragraphs.

The policy paragraph for DOE P 205.1, *Departmental Cyber Security
Management Policy,* dated 5-8-01, introduces the idea of commitment
followed by a policy statement.

**APPLICABILITY**

Applicability statements are not required but can be been used to
clarify or prevent misinterpretation. DOE P 470.1*, Integrated
Safeguards and Security Management (ISSM) Policy,* dated 5-8-01, is an
example of a Policy that includes some of the standard applicability
text for DOE elements and the Deputy Administrator for Naval Reactors.

**RESPONSIBILITIES**

Responsibility paragraphs, while optional, can add clarity to your
Policy by assigning specific duties, often related to implementing a
Policy. The wording you use to describe responsibilities in your Policy
should be similar to that used for Orders, Notices, and Manuals. For
example, DOE P 141.1 introduces responsibilities with a brief summary as
follows.

> *DOE operations office managers, field office managers, and lead
> program Secretarial Officers (LPSOs), including NNSA, assume primary
> responsibility for implementing this Policy.*

**REFERENCES**

References are another optional element of Policies. If you think your
readers may gain a clearer understanding of the Policy and the rationale
behind it, include them. The formatting standards are the same as those
for references for Orders, Manuals, and Notices. As always, consider the
needs of your readers.

1.  You should provide enough information to enable readers to easily
    locate references (if a reference is available online, provide the
    url, too). While we have no set format for references, you should
    try to be consistent.

    a.  Provide the same information for each reference and arrange it
        in the same order in each entry.

    b.  Present your references in some logical order \[alphabetically,
        numerically, by document type (and then alphabetically or
        numerically), or some combination\].

2.  Do not cite draft documents because---

    a.  often draft documents are not readily available and

    b.  if and when they are published/become available, they may no
        longer contain the information you were referencing.

BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY:

KYLE E. McSLARROW

Deputy Secretary

**ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE**

"Voice" is a term used to describe one of the ways verbs are
categorized. There are two voices: active and passive. Active voice
expresses action; someone (the subject of the sentence) performs an
action or acts on something else (the object). In passive voice,
something or someone (the subject of the sentence) is acted upon. While
not technically wrong, passive voice, like anything, can be monotonous
if overdone. Worse, it can be a way of avoiding saying who is
responsible for or must do something and, therefore, can be confusing in
directives. Compare the following. (Note: Passive voice is one of the
few grammar problems grammar checkers are fairly reliable at picking
out.)

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **Passive Voice**                 | **Active Voice**                  |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Procedure manuals must be         | All departmental elements must    |
| developed.                        | develop procedure manuals.        |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| No stone must be left unturned.   | Leave no stone unturned. (The     |
|                                   | subject, you in this case, is     |
|                                   | understood.)                      |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Contractors will be monitored.    | Field elements will develop       |
|                                   | procedures to monitor             |
| (An honest question that might    | contractors.                      |
| arise from a sentence such as the |                                   |
| above is how or by whom. Who is   |                                   |
| responsible?)                     |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| This Order is intended to serve   | We created this Order as an       |
| as an example.                    | example. OR                       |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | We intend to use this Order as an |
|                                   | example. OR                       |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | You can use this Order as an      |
|                                   | example.                          |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| He was upset by the argument.     | The argument upset him.           |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
|                                   |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
|                                   |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
|                                   |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

Today you can find a number of good style guides and other writing aids
online.

The *American Heritage Book of English Usage,*
<http://www.bartleby.com/64/>, and the *Columbia Guide to Standard
American English,* <http://www.bartleby.com/68/>, both available through
Bartleby.com, are particularly good starts.

*Common Errors in English Usage,*
<http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/errors.html>, an online analog
to a popular print publication, is an alphabetical list with short
explanations of common errors (e.g., that famous bugaboo ensure/insure).

NOTE: The Department of Energy Six-Level Directive Format attachment
follows here for other directives. Policies can but usually do not
follow the Order/Notice/Manual format.