Grammar and formatting

Writing (basics)

Keep these rules in mind to help you write content that works for Growens and for our target audience.

Headings

Headings need to be meaningful. It is the first interaction you will have with your audience.

"You probably have 3 seconds to get my attention, and 5 to keep it." (Sarah Winters)

Write headings in sentence case.
Use them for page and blog titles.
Be clear, concise and to the point.

✅ Apply for membership

❌ How to apply for a membership

Example: Before

Example: After

Subheadings

Subheadings are short, scannable phrases that help the user understand if the content of the page is relevant for them. Subheadings break up the text. Subheadings help you remember and understand.

Write subheadings in sentence case.
Action-oriented headings works well.

Bulleted lists

A bulleted list shows users content that is organized and easy to scan.

Keep bullet lists short (no more than 5 items on the list).
Begin bullets with an initial capital letter.
End a bulleted item with a period if it's a sentence.

Example: Before

Example: After

Keep sentences short

15 word sentences are more likely to be comprehensible
25 words is a good maximum sentence length limit
Above 40 words sentences are hard to comprehend

Be concise

Write UI text in short, scannable segments that focus on a limited number of concepts at a time. Don't list many complex implications when introducing a key action or concept.

Example: Before

Example: After

Write simply and directly

Use simple, direct language that makes content easy to understand. Tell the user how to take action, not that they should or must do so.

✅ Register to vote

❌ You must register before you can vote

Example: Before

Example: After

Avoid complex sentence structures

Understanding complex sentences requires more cognitive effort that simple sentences.

✅ The red fox jumped over the gate.

❌ The fox, which was red, jumped over the gate.

✅ Combining the best of Italian design with a global vision, we are defined by our passion, scalability, and innovative technologies.

❌ Italian design, global vision, attention to local communities – Growens is defined by its people’s passion and competence, by scalability and profitability for its investors, and by innovation for its customers.

Jargon

Avoid technical jargon, unless it’s critical to understanding the context.

✅ Preparing video...

❌ Buffering

Example: Before

Example: After

Use consistent words

Use words in a consistent manner across your UI features.

✅ Remove photo from page?

❌ Delete photo?

Use active voice

In active voice, the subject of the sentence does the action. In passive voice, the subject of the sentence has the action done to it. Active voice also conveys responsibility.

✅ Leonardo logged into the account.

❌ The account was logged into by Marti.

American English

Use American English.

✅ color

❌ colour

✅ center

❌ centre

✅ organization

❌ organisation

Write positively

Use positive language rather than negative language.
Avoid using double negative. A double negative is a statement which contains two negative words.

✅ To get a donut, stand in line.

❌ You can't get a donut if you don't stand in line.

✅ The shopper had no energy left at the end of the day.

❌ The shopper did not have no energy left at the end of the day.

The Oxford comma

Generally speaking, writers should avoid using the Oxford comma. However, this rule only applies to simple lists.
For lists that contain conjunctions, using the Oxford comma is recommended. The Oxford comma is only recommended when it clarifies a specific case.

✅ We have offices in San Francisco, New York and Vancouver.

❌ We have offices in San Francisco, New York, and Vancouver.

✅ Joe ordered a gyro, two orders of fries, and a ham and cheese sandwich.

❌ Joe ordered a gyro, two orders of fries and a ham and cheese sandwich.

Scannable content

Help readers to find what they need quickly. Organize text to support scanning.

Put first things first

Studies have shown that readers look at specific areas of a page first. The Jakob Nielsen eye tracking heat maps show the F-shape pattern for websites on the desktop. The first couple of sentences are at least skimmed.

Be brief, be bold, be clear

Use short, simple words.
Get to the point.
Then stop.

Include navigation within long documents

Break content up into sections so that information is easy to find in the library navigation.
Include a table of contents with links to subheadings.
Add Back to top links at the end of sections.

Establish patterns in content

Lead with what's most important.
Use text formatting consistently.
Apply the same sentence structures to similar information.

Give paragraphs room - and keep them short

Short paragraphs help to break up long passages of text. Three to seven lines is about the right length for a paragraph.

Capitalization

Use sentence-style capitalization. That means:

- Capitalize the first word of a sentence, heading, title, UI label (name of a button or checkbox)
- Capitalize proper nouns.
- Use lowercase for everything else.

✅ Capitalize Stakeholders and the Group only when the words refer to Growens.

❌ Avoid using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. It may present additional difficulty for users with dyslexia or vision impairments.

Sentence-Style capitalization in titles and headings

Use sentence-style capitalization in most titles and headings: capitalize the first word and lowercase the rest.

Exceptions: Proper nouns, including brand, product, and service names are always capitalized.

Dates and numbers

Dates

Use the extended date format in order to prevent any confusion between European and American norms.

✅ September 3, 2023

❌ 06/08/2023

Specific dates should be abbreviated, without suffixes

✅ July 28, 1982

❌ July 28th, 1982

Numbers

Instances in which a writer should always use numerals instead of writing out numbers include: age, date, time, percentages, and monetary amounts.
Use a dot as a decimal separator, never a comma.

✅ 250.000 operation hours

❌ 250,000 operation hours

Numbers less than 10 are spelled out fully. Numbers greater than 10 expressed with numerals.

✅ She projected an increase of 35 clients in nine years.

❌ She projected an increase of thirty-five clients in 9 years.

Ages, dollar, and millions are expressed with numerals. When referring to a person’s age as an adjective, make sure to use hyphens. Millions and Billions can be expressed with a M or B, respectively.

✅ At only 32-years-old he has saved the company $6.2M.

❌ At only thirty-two years old he has saved the company $6,200,00.00.

Formatting

Links and buttons

People scan the page for links to find out where to click next. Use links to point users to relevant content. Links should look different than regular copy. They should have a hover state that communicates they're interactive.

Call to action (CTA) links and button text:

- Start CTA links and button text with a verb
- Use 2 to 4 words
- Aim for link text to make sense in isolation without reading words around it

✅ Book your ticket

❌ "More information" or "Click here"

Translation and localization

In order to make English copy work in other languages, the content is going to change. Word order, grammatical gender and copy lenght will affect the content design. Copy also needs to be culturally appropriate and correct for the region it appears in. The following tips can help:

Word choice

Try to choose one specific term and stick to it.
Use the Growens dictionary and add terms.

Use simple verb tenses

Write in simple tenses (past, present, and future).
Stay away from progressive tenses unless you need to convey ongoing action.

✅ You get a discount for books. (present)

❌ You're getting a discount. (present progressive)

✅ You got a discount for books. (past)

❌ You were getting a discount when you unsubscribed. (past progressive)

✅ You'll get a discount for books. (future)

❌ You'll be getting a discount next year. (future progressive)

Use clear pronominal references

Avoid pronouns that allow for multiple resolutions. Repeat the noun instead of using a pronoun.

✅ To connect a client with an application, enter not only the name of the client but also a password.

❌ To connect a client with an application, enter not only its name but also a password.

Gender

Try to be gender-neutral and inclusive in copy. Be aware that this is challenging in languages that build gender into the grammar.

Metaphors

Some metaphors might not translate well for other languages and cultures.

Consulting the AP Stylebook

Not every scenario that calls for consulting a style guide consultation can be covered here. For more information about grammar, parts of speech, or other writing scenarios that are not specifically covered in Growens Group’s content style guide, users should consult the AP Stylebook for insights.

AP Stylebook Online

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