Date and Time
Date
It's highly flexible topic, varies from person to person, but this is what I prefer:
Use ordinals, this reads more conversational.
No commas needed between date, month, and year. Can add after the day.
1st March
Wednesday, 5th May 2024
For use cases where clarity is priority:
Don't use ordinals in dates (the -th, -rd or -nd after the number).
Include the day when writing a date if you’re writing longer form copy (like an email), and the day of the week is of relevance or importance to the user.
For example, if you’re telling them about a date when our service might be interrupted, it could be useful to include whether it’s a Monday or Saturday.When referring to days or dates use ‘on’ instead of ‘at’.
In British English:
Format: Day Date Month Year, Time.
Avoid commas.
1 March
on 1 March 2024
Wednesday 1 March 2023
Wednesday 1 March 2023, 7:30–11:00 PM
1st March
1st March, 2024
Wednesday 1 March 2023
Wed 1 March 2023
This is fine when you're crunched for space, but avoid abbreviating the day.
In American English:
Format: Day, Month Date, Year, Time.
Use comma before and after the year.
March 1
on March 1, 2024
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
Wednesday, March 1, 2023, 7:30-11:00PM
March 1 2023
Include the year when:
If there's a possibility of confusion. For example, if you're referring to a future date or an event that occurs annually, specifying the year can prevent ambiguity.
The date is significant for historical or archival purposes. Including the year provides context and ensures accurate documentation.
The event or appointment is far in the future or past, and you want to provide a complete reference.
Avoid the year when:
The date is within the current year and it's clear from the context. For example, if you're discussing upcoming events in the current year, you can often omit the year.
The year is irrelevant or unnecessary for understanding the information. For example, if you're discussing recurring weekly meetings, specifying the year each time may be redundant.
Space or brevity is a concern, such as in a concise list or schedule where including the year may not be necessary for comprehension.
Time
Again, varies from person to person, this is what I prefer, these rules make for a conversational and friendly tone:
No space before am/pm
Lowercase am/pm without periods
Preferably use from/to, otherwise en-dash(–) to show time range.
No need to write
:00
4:30pm
4am to 8pm
9–11pm
More formally:
Use numbers followed by 'am' or 'pm' with a space.
Always add a space between the time and “am/pm”.
There are three ways to write this, pick one and follow that:
a.m./p.m. (lowercase with periods) is formal and widely used but takes the most space.
am/pm (lowercase without periods) is modern and informal. Use for space constained layouts.
AM/PM (uppercase) stands out but can seem loud.I prefer
am/pm
Use an ‘en dash’ (–) between times to show a time range. No spaces before and after the en-dash.
Mac: option(⌥) + dash(-)
When referring to time use ‘at’ instead of ‘on’
7:00–11:30 p.m.
4:00 am
at 2:30 PM
7:00–11:30pm
7:00 – 11:30 pm
on 2:30 PM
Formal: Use '00' with a colon (:) to show on-the-hour times.
Informal or casual: Skip the ':00'
8:00 am, 8:45 pm
8 am, 8:45 pm
Informal / Casual
7–11 am
Informal / Casual
And if you need to include the time zone, put the code in brackets after the time. Uppercase.
Informal/casual: skip the parenthesis.
7:30 am (IST)
7:30 am IST
Informal / Casual
Midnight and noon are neither am nor pm, so write midnight and noon on their own.
In some cases using midnight might cause confusion, avoid it where precision is needed.
Replace it with 11:59 pm (end of day) or 12:01 am (start of day).
noon, midnight
Deadline at 11:59 pm
Challenge starts 12:01 am
12:00 am, 12:00 pm
Formatting
Perspective
Should the heading be "My Address" or "Your address"?
Neither, avoid pronouns wherever you can.
If you do find a situation where you need something, then follow these guidelines:
|
|
|
Address
My address
Your address
When it's an instruction for the user |
Update your password
Update my password
When it's an action |
Update password
Update your password
Capitalisation
There are no global rules here. It varies widely based on the brand. Duolingo's all caps buttons work just as well as Wise's sentence case. But decide the guideline and follow that.
But this is what I like to follow for most cases:
Use sentence case for headers, subheads, body copy, blog post titles and page titles. Almost everything. Why?
Uppercase feels like you're screaming.
Capitalising first letter is fine in some contexts but sentence case is cleaner.
Some people do like to go all lowercase (the shift key or auto-correct doesn't exist for them), this is more casual.
Use title case for video titles. (This is the norm on YouTube.)
It's a good practice to define this for your company and the terms you use for and inside your products. Keep proper rules for what to call what and whether or not to capitalise. Here's how Duo does it.
Sending money internationally
Sending Money Internationally
Take a 1 day break from Duolingo without losing your streak
Take A 1 Day Break From Duolingo Without Losing Your Streak
About us
Visit Achievements to see everything you've earned. Visit Contact us with any questions.
About Us
Lists
Only write one point per bullet point.
Before a list, conclude copy with a colon. Don't capitalise or punctuate for lists consisting of phrases or single words.
Capitalize the first word of a list item if it's a complete sentence, and end it with punctuation.
Another consideration, if the sentence that introduces the bullet points is a full sentence, then the bullets start with capitals. But if it's not a full sentence, don’t use capitals.
If you feel confused, the structure of the introducing sentence takes priority. It needs to flow properly.
My favorite fruits are:
apples
bananas
plums
People use Duolingo for different reasons:
Tourists learn key concepts to help them accomplish certain things when traveling.
Professionals learn a new language to open the door to more opportunities.
Family members learn a new language to help communicate more meaningfully with relatives.
We’ll need some things from you:
A copy of your passport
Proof of your address, dated within the last 3 months
Proof of your income, like a payslip or tax return
We’ll ask for:
a copy of your passport
proof of your address, dated within the last 3 months
proof of your income, like a payslip or tax return
URLs And Email Addresses
Leave off the http:// and www., and put the rest of the URL in lowercase.
Put email addresses in all lowercase.
example.com
janedoe@gmail.com
https://www.example.com
JaneDoe@gmail.com
Contractions
Contractions are good, use them often. They make a sentence read more naturally.
In some cases, not using contractions is a strong way to get something important across.
You're doing great!
I'm kind of a health freak.
Stepping on the scale with wet feet is not recommended.
You are doing great!
I am kind of a health freak.
Stepping on the scale with wet feet isn't recommended.
Numbers
Use numerals instead of spelling numbers out. For example, write 10 not ten. Numerals are much easier for customers to scan and understand when they're reading digitally — especially on small devices.
The only exception is when a number starts a sentence. In this case you should spell the number out.
For larger numbers, you can use 'k', 'm' or 'bn' to mean thousand, million or billion when you're short on space. Always use lowercase letters and don't put a space after the number.
But when referring to money, it's usually clearer to write the full number with the currency code. The exception is in marketing copy when you're referring to a specific currency.
When writing number and date ranges, use ‘From’ and ‘To’, or ‘Between’ and ‘And’ rather than dashes. This is because words are easier to scan, and work better for text to speech software.
We got 14 new users
Ten users signed up
From 9 am to 5 pm
Between 3 and 5 working days
We got fourteen new users
10 users signed up
Between 3 to 5 working days
Between 3–5 working days
-ing words
Avoid using -ing worded sentences. This comes from my Class 11 English teacher. At first, it was weird rule to hear, but now using it in practice for so many years, I see the difference.
Its just better writing.
Of course I'm not asking you to annihilate the entire "continuous tense". Just that be intentional about it. Overusing -ing words can make sentences wordy and unclear.
Swap out the -ing word wherever you can.
Check, review, and avoid mistakes carefully.
The dog chased the ball across the yard.
The app now loads faster on low-end devices.
Avoiding mistakes, checking repeatedly, and reviewing continuously is important.
The dog was chasing the ball across the yard.
The app is now loading faster on low-end devices.
Specific words
Very
Remove this word from your vocabulary. Do better.
Even if you want to add it badly. You'll feel like the sentence won't carry enough weight without it.
Delete it. Your writing will be more direct and succinct.
Your words lose their impact when you use it a lot.
Just be intentional about it.
Just be very intentional about it.
Change or Edit
Use ‘Change’ if the user is switching from one option to another. But if they have the ability to make changes to something, use ‘Edit’ instead.
For example, if you want to change the postcode on your saved address, you would ‘edit your address’. But if you want to switch between two saved addresses, you would ‘change address’.
Change your default currency
Edit personal information
Edit your default currency
Change personal information
Choose or Select
Use ‘Choose’ when the user needs to make a decision between options, where any of the options could be true.
If the user doesn’t need to decide anything, and only one of the options can be true, use ‘Select’.
Choose how people can pay you
Select your country of residence.
Choose your date of birth
Select your preferred rate.
E.g.
Write ‘for example’ instead, if you have to.
It’s better to use a more conversational word when giving examples, though, like ‘like’.
For example, like
e.g.
Etc.
Don’t use ‘etc.’ or ‘and more’. If there’s space, it’s better to give some examples to show what you mean.
Even when its not an exhaustive list, you don't need to use 'etc.' The usage of 'like' can convey that this is an incomplete list.
The course covers programming languages like Python, Java, and JavaScript.
The course covers programming languages like Python, Java, etc.
Login
Login, one word, is an adjective.
Log in, two words, is a verb.
Put in your login details.
Log in to your account.
Put in your log in details.
Login to your account.
Text
Say text, not SMS or text message.
Contact us by text.
Send us a text message.
View vs See
When giving the user an option or instruction to look at something, use ‘View’ rather than ‘See’.
View recipients
See recipients
Wi-Fi
First letters capital with hyphen.
Wi-Fi
wifi
WiFi
Wi-fi
Punctuations
Don't punctuate headlines, except with an exclamation point.
Don't punctuate subheads, unless with an exclamation point. If it's a multi-sentence subhead, punctuate each sentence.
Avoid punctuating buttons
Change your default currency
Edit personal information
Edit your default currency
Change personal information
Dashes
There are three — yes, three — kinds of dashes.
Dash/Hyphen
Use a hyphen (-) to join two words, usually to create a compound adjective.
It's a 3-day event
well-being
En dash
Use an en dash (–), with no space on either side, to indicate a range. Think of – as replacing the words "through" or "to."
No spaces, because it's supposed to connect. With spaces looks cluttered and difficult to scan.
Mac shortcut: option + minus(-)Windows shortcut: Alt + 0 1 5 0
3–4 days, 11 am–2 pm
3 – 4 days, 11 am - 2 pm
Em dash
Avoid em dashes (—). It's clearer to have two sentences than one long sentence broken up with a dash.
If you must use an em dash, limit it to moments of emphasis, and put a space on either side.
Mac shortcut: Shift + option + minus(-)Windows shortcut: Alt + 0 1 5 1
Using Google Translate is fun. But have you tried learning a new language?
Using Google Translate is fun — but have you tried learning a new language?
Exclamation mark
Usage of exclamation mark depends on tone of your brand. It signifies excitement and is bit informal. Works for Duolingo but maybe not for a payment processing app.
If you do use it, limit to one.
Hey!
Hey there!!!
Oxford comma
Be civilised people. Use an oxford comma.
The Oxford comma (a.k.a. serial comma) is the comma before the last item in a list of three or more items.
Lessons are bite-sized, fun, and effective.
You’ll need to nominate two employees, an accountant and a director.
Lessons are bite-sized, fun and effective.
You’ll need to nominate two employees, an accountant, and a director.
Makes it sound like you need 4 people.
Quotation marks
Periods and commas go inside quotation marks, even if they’re not part of the original quoted material.
Everything else (!, ?, ;) goes outside quotation marks, unless it's part of the quoted material.
Some people say "bonjour," while others say the more casual "salut."
How do you say "hello"?
She asked him, "Where do you want to go?"
Some people say "bonjour", while others say the more casual "salut".
How do you say "hello?"
She asked him, "Where do you want to go"?