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Follow these simple rules to write good content for your forms.
Use plain English
Use plain English and the vocabulary of the target audience. Avoid jargon, technical terms, 'officialese' and internal language.
Unless you know they are widely understood by the target audience, for example, 'SA' for South Australia, avoid abbreviations and acronyms. If you must use an abbreviation or acronym, spell it out at the first point of use on the form page.
Use a term that encourages the right behaviour
The tone should be direct and active, yet professional and courteous.
Example
Don't use - Deceased 'Yes' or 'No'
Use - Is this child alive? 'Yes' or 'No'
Be directive
Don't say things like 'You can' or 'Please do this' - just give polite, clear, short instructions.
Example
Don't use - Please describe the nature of your complaint
Use - Describe your complaint
Be consistent
Don’t use different terms to refer to the same concept - eg stick to either 'dispute' or 'complaint' but don't use both.
Follow the rules in the data dictionary.
Use questions or labels consistently to help users get into a rhythm of answering. This lets them focus on the content of the questions rather than their presentation.
Further information - Structuring questions
Aim for concise rather than short
Compared to longer questions, short questions can often be harder to understand, because they use more complex or unfamiliar terminology and or have a more complex structure. Sometimes additional words aid comprehension and thus make for better overall usability.
Further information - Structuring questions
Use sentence case
Use sentence case everywhere - for form titles, page titles, questions, labels, and error messages.
Don't use 'your' for labels
Don't add 'your' to labels - eg 'Your name' or 'Your address' - unless you have a page with multiple people where you need to differentiate - eg 'Your full name' and 'Partner name'.
It's ok to use 'your' in questions though - eg ' What is your full name?'.
Don't use punctuation at the end of labels
Labels end without any punctuation - eg no full stops or colons.
Residential address
Street name and number
Postcode
State
The only exception is, that a question mark can be used at the end of the sentence.
Use the style guide
Use the SA.GOV.AU style guide where applicable.