Writing style
Core principles
| Principle | What it means in practise |
|---|---|
| Be direct | Use the active voice. Avoid the passive voice where possible. |
| Be concise | We use short words, sentences and paragraphs. |
| Be useful first | We lead with what the reader needs to know, not what we want to say. |
| Plain English | No jargon unless absolutely necessary. If you use a technical term, explain it. |
| Write positively | We use positive language rather than negative language. |
| Accessible language | Avoid acronyms. If you must use one, spell it out on first use. |
| Show, don’t tell | We use evidence to persuade the user. |
| Collaborative language | Say ‘we worked with’ rather than ‘we delivered’. Credit the client's team. |
Sentence and paragraph structure
- We share one idea per sentence. Short to medium length and avoid long clauses.
- We use a maximum of three to four lines per paragraph and break frequently for readability.
- We prioritise clarity over density.
British English
We write in British English throughout.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Spelling | Organise, colour, behaviour, travelling, recognise, catalogue, programme. |
| Dates | 5 May 2025 (no commas, no ‘May 5th’) |
| Among / while | Use ‘among’ not ‘amongst’. Use ‘while’ not ‘whilst’. |
| Use / got | Prefer ‘use’ not ‘utilise’. Prefer ‘got’ not ‘gotten’. |
Punctuation rules
Punctuation rules
Em-dashes: banned
Em-dashes aren’t used in any Agile Collective content. Before writing, decide how to connect clauses:
Avoid: Here's the contradiction — most agencies undermine the values they claim.
Do instead: Here’s the contradiction, most agencies undermine the values they claim.
Exclamation marks
We use them sparingly. One per piece of content, maximum. If in doubt, leave it out.
Emoji
We use them very sparingly and only in informal comms where they add genuine warmth. Never in headings, body text, formal documents, proposals or reports.
Quotation marks
We use single quotation marks in running text. You can use double quotes when you’ve got a nice quote in a large font size, like in a PowerPoint presentation or a proposal title. Because they look prettier.
Bold
We avoid bold mid sentence for emphasis. Rewrite so the important point lands naturally.
Headings
We use sentence case not Title Case. Keep headings clear and descriptive. Avoid vague phrasing.
Avoid: A Journey of Transformation / Unlocking Digital Potential
Do instead: Challenges / What we did / Outcomes and impact
Bullet points
We use bullet points to show steps in a process, highlight key benefits or challenges and break down complex information. Always write bullets as full sentences and avoid using the ‘Label: detail’ format
Avoid:
- Efficiency: 40% less maintenance
- Collaboration: halved debugging time
Do instead:
- The team reduced maintenance by 40%
- Debugging time was halved through shared code ownership
Last updated: