"E 25 degrees S" is the same as "25 degrees S of E": If "East" is to the right, then "E 25 degrees S" is at an angle 25 degrees below the horizontal. You can interpret "E 25 degrees S" as "first go E then go S until you reach an angle of 25 degrees".
Yes, it's just two different ways of writing vectors. It can be frustrating to new students of vectors. In my school, the math teachers write E25S but I usually write 25 S of E. I'm not sure which is better, sometimes I think I should just do it the way the math teachers do.