Writing style

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.

Use the style guide

Use the SA.GOV.AU style guide where applicable.