Why have a style guide?
The council has a key role in communicating with and engaging people effectively. We need to ensure that what we write on our website/s is consistent, easy to understand and robust. A style guide sets out our writing style and use of grammar
Communicating well with people is the responsibility of us all. Please make sure that you are familiar with this style guide if you are a website author or content creator. The style guide must also be read in conjunction with our accessibility guidelines and content design and structure pages in this playbook.
We know that every circumstance is different (be consistent, not uniform), so the style guide is not a rule book, but a set of principles that guide our work.
Our core aim is to write accessible content in Plain English, with a reading level of a 9 to 13 year old. We should avoid jargon and technical terms - if you must use them, explain them. The following style guide should help you achieve this.
Plain English
First let's say what plain English isn't and destroy some of the myths about it.
- It's not 'cat sat on the mat’ writing. Almost anything - from leaflets and letters to legal documents - can be written in plain English without being patronising or oversimplified.
- It doesn't mean weakening your message or changing its meaning.
- It is not an amateur's method of communication.
- And finally, it is not as easy as we would like to think.
The main advantages of plain English are:
- it is faster to write;
- it is faster to read; and
- you get your message across more often, more easily and in a friendlier way.
- translation into other languages is more accurate
Plain English main concepts
- Write for your reader not yourself, meet your users needs. start with the same question every time: what does the user want to know
- Prefer short words. Use words that are three syllables or less. We don’t use formal or long words when easy or short ones will do. For example, we use ‘buy’ instead of ‘purchase’, ‘help’ instead of ‘assist’, and ‘about’ instead of ‘approximately’.
- Use everyday words whenever possible. Avoid jargon and legalistic words, and always explain any technical terms you have to use. We also lose trust from people if we write government ‘buzzwords’ and jargon.
- Do not use clichés or idioms. These may not be understood or could be misinterpreted. For example, clear as crystal, at the end of the day, back to the drawing board.
- Keep your sentence length down to an average of 15 to 20 words. Avoid making more than three statements within a single sentence.
- Use active verbs as much as possible. This difference between active and passive verbs is not easy to understand - see 'Active voice' in house style below.
- Structure your content - Use headings, subheadings, accordions, and lists to make reading easier. Include the important points, actions first (front load) tapering down to lesser detail.
- Be concise. Publish only what someone needs to know so they can complete their task. Nothing more. Having less information means the reader will read and understand more of what you want them to. be specific, informative, clear and to the point.
- Imagine you are talking to your reader. We write conversationally – picture your audience and write as if you were talking to them one-to-one but with the authority of someone who can actively help.
Good online content is easy to read and understand. This helps people find what they need quickly and absorb it effortlessly. The main purpose of the council website is to provide information - there’s no excuse for putting unnecessarily complicated writing in the way of people’s understanding.
Experts often say that because they’re writing technical or complex content for a specialist audience, they do not need to use plain English. This is wrong. Research shows that higher literacy people prefer plain English because it allows them to understand the information as quickly as possible.
The readability of content is categorised by age, this is the level of education required for someone to understand the content, and not the age of the person the content has been written for. The average reading age of an adult in the UK is 9 years old. Whilst it may not always be possible to reach this reading age, you should aim for a reading age of 9-13 when writing content for websites or documents to be published online.
Crafting and proofing your content
Simplifying what you want to say can sometime be challenging!
We recommend using the Hemingway app. (This web app works directly from within your web browser). This analyses text for its level of complexity and then helpfully highlights what you could change or simplify. The score tells you how easy your content is to read (lower is better), and the colours show sentences which are difficult and words you should consider changing.
Microsoft editor - spelling and grammar checker (Chrome Extension) - Have this running while you are in the Contensis CMS for contextual spell check and basic grammar checks.
Proofing
- On the first read through, check the content is correct.
- On the second read through, check the grammar and structure.
- Test out what you have written, especially with someone who knows nothing about the subject matter. Reading it aloud helps, as this picks up things you’ve missed, and whether the punctuation is right.
- Ask a colleague to proof-read it.
- Always re-read what you have written, even after it has been proof-read by your colleague.
Our house style in detail
Further guidance on writing well for websites
Please refer to the GOV.UK writing style guide or Plain English Campaign for anything not covered in our style guide.
- W3C - Understanding reading level
- Writing for GOV.UK - How to write well for your audience, including specialists
- Microsoft Word - How to check readability and reading level
- UK Government publications: Inclusive language, words to use and avoid when writing about disability.
- Plain English Campaign. The A - Z of alternative words (plainenglish.co.uk)