Writing Strategies

One common mistake is writing a message based on your own needs — like why you want to share it, how well you know the topic, or the words you use. When you do this, it focuses too much on you, and your audience may not understand or care about your message.

Instead, make sure you know who your audience is and shape everything to meet their needs. Before you start writing, ask yourself these questions.

• Why do they care about this information?
• How familiar are they with the topic?
• Do they have any emotional connection to this information?
• If so, how will that affect their ability to understand the message?
• What’s their literacy and education levels? How could that impact them?
• What language do they use? Does inclusivity matter to them (pronoun, ability…)
• What level of urgency does this information have for them?
• What questions do they have that the information needs to answer?
• How will they need to use this content or document?
• What calls to action do they need to take?

The words we use reflect what we value. And we value treating everyone with respect, accuracy, and dignity. That’s why we use language that includes all gender identities and avoids assumptions about gender.

Gender-neutral language helps us:

• Treat everyone equally.
• Avoid stereotypes.
• Make sure everyone feels seen and respected.

For example, we say chairperson or council member instead of chairman or councilman. These terms include everyone, no matter their gender identity. We also choose people or individuals instead of saying men and women, because not everyone identifies within that binary.

Pronouns Matter, Too

Overall use they, them, or their as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun.

For example:

Anyone who wants help with their homework should raise their hand.
We can help them at their local office.
They should certify every other week to keep receiving benefits.

If rewording a sentence avoids awkward phrasing, go for it. Clarity and respect can go hand-in-hand.

Guidance for Forms

How we reference sex and gender on forms matters a lot. It affects how inclusive, respectful, and accurate our services are. Here are some things to think about based on the context of your content.

1. Only ask if you need the information.
   Be clear about why you're asking. Don’t include questions about sex or gender unless it’s required for a legal, medical, or program reason. We have a lot of forms that ask, purely because it’s just what we have always done. Moving forward, if it’s not necessary, leave it out.
   
   
2. Differentiate between sex and gender (if both are needed).
   Sex refers to biological or legal designation (such as on government ID).
   Gender is a personal identity. It may not match legal documents.

3. Examples and Options.
   Here's an example of a respectful way to phrase these questions.

Gender (optional)
☐ Woman
☐ Man
☐ Nonbinary or Third gender
☐ Prefer to self-describe: ___________
☐ Prefer not to say

If asking about sex assigned at birth, specify it clearly and explain why.

Sex assigned at birth (if required)
☐ Female
☐ Male
☐ Intersex
☐ Prefer not to say

4. Avoid Outdated or Binary-Only Options. (just “Male” and “Female”)
   Unless just those two options are required by law or system limitations. If systems are limited but you can add, offering an open field or “prefer not to say” to give users control.

Keep It Simple and Thoughtful

Language is always evolving, and gender-inclusive terms are becoming more common in everyday use. We can respect that evolution while still keeping things clear and easy to understand. It also doesn’t mean we don’t highlight gender when it makes sense. When writing about gendered holidays like Mother’s or Father’s Day, we lead with inclusivity while still honoring the tradition. That means naming the holiday and the role (like “mom” or “dad”) alongside broader language that includes people of all gender identities who fill those roles. This approach respects diverse family structures and caregiving relationships without excluding anyone.

For example:

This Father’s Day, we celebrate dads, father figures, and everyone who shows up with strength, care, and love in a fatherly role. Paid Family Leave is here to support you, when you need it most.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, mother figures, and caring people who lift up their families with love every day. Paid Family Leave is here to support you, when you need it most.

By being mindful with our words we make our messages more welcoming, and more accurate, for everyone.

Once you know who you are talking to, make sure your message matches what they need. Answer this for them, why should I care?

If your audience doesn’t immediately see right away why the information matters to them, then they won’t pay attention. And they might miss any important action you need them to take.

Start your content by clearly stating the purpose. Include important calls to action at the top. For example, in an email, in the subject line of an email it might say, “(Attendance Required- Team Meeting on 11/3/24).”

Then the opening sentence might say “We are meeting to discuss XXX with our team. This meeting is on November 3, 2024, at 3:00 in Room XX.” After that, explain any extra details. 

Good communication helps build a connection with your audience. To get the best results, you need to be helpful and human. If you sound stiff, robotic, or too formal, people lose interest.

People like messages that feel friendly and personal. Try reading what you’ve written out loud. If it sounds warm and helpful, you’re on the right track.

• “Talk” directly to your audience.
• Use pronouns like “we” and “you.”
• Focus on what they need to know
• Offer support and how you can help.
• Use contractions sometimes (like “we’re” for “we are”) to create a conversation.

Example

Example

Information Sheet: Wages (DE 231A)

Positive vs Negative Language

“A single word has the power to influence the expression of genes that regulate physical and emotional stress.”

– Dr. Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman

Language is powerful.  It can emotionally affect your audiences. You can create a positive experience or a negative one, depending on the words you choose.

Example

You and Your Job Interview (DE 2877)

Example

Displaced Oil and Gas Workers, RFP June 2024

To write clearly, use the active voice as much as possible. You’ll be more direct and support actionable messaging.

• Leads with who does an action.
• Uses fewer words than passive voice.
• Creates the most transparency.

You’ll write the active voice in this grammatical order:

• Main Subject- Does the action
• Verb- Is the action
• Direct Object- Receives the action

Start the sentence with your main subject and follow it by the verb and the direct object.

• Active voice: “John wrote the report.”
• Passive voice: “The report was written by John.”

With passive voice, the sentence’s grammatical order switches.

Now, start with the direct object — what received the action. You also need extra verbs: a “to be” verb. For example, am, is, are, was, were, been, being, and a past-tense verb. You end the subject with the main subject by using “by.” You could even remove the main subject completely.

Using passive voice forces you to use more words in your sentence. In the below examples, the “before” uses the passive voice (bolded in the sentence). The “after” rewrites the sentence into active voice.

Example

Example

Verbs bring energy to your writing and make it more engaging. You can create shorter, more interesting sentences by changing nouns (or “buried verbs”) into strong verbs.

A buried verb is when you write a verb as an adjective or noun. These words often have endings like -tion, -ment and use “of.”

Example

Example

Jargon is language that’s specific to a certain group, but other people don’t understand it. Experts in a field often use jargon when talking to each other. They might forget that others don’t speak the same way. This can make the words confusing or meaningless for the reader.

When your audience can’t understand jargon, it can frustrate them and create a negative experience. Common types of jargon include:

• Complicated words
• Acronyms and initialisms
• Product and process names
• Legal speak
• Government speak
• Business speak

Don’t use them. But if you really, really need to, we have some ways you can use them sparingly.

Do

• For acronyms, spell out the first reference in the body of your document or webpage, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Where you can after the first reference, use the abbreviation as a substitute for the noun or name.  
• For complicated words, use it once and define it as plain language as possible. Try not to overuse the complicated term again. Use the definition, or reference it sparingly anyways since you already defined it!

Don't

• Introduce abbreviations in headings, titles, or links. 
• Use as little abbreviation on webpages as possible. People may not read the webpage from top to bottom. Abbreviations should be used as little as possible and if so, defined. 
• Use the jargon over and over again, even after defining it. It’s still difficult to read and understand for the customer.

Example

Example

Legalese is confusing and often not precise. The legal tradition of using complex language doesn’t justify using it with our customers. Most people prefer plain language over legalese.

In fact, globally, 97% of people want legal documents without legalese. Ironically, the more education someone has, the more they prefer plain language. Content that you write in plain language can also be legal. 

Source: Christopher Trudeau, “The Public Speaks, Again”; 2017

Use precise words to help your audience understand your message better. Avoid words that are unclear or vague.

This happens when a word has more than one meaning, which can confuse your audience. They might not understand it the way you meant. In legal situations, courts reject contracts that are ambiguous. This puts the agreement and everyone involved at risk.

Ambiguous words

• reasonable
• shall
• sufficient
• when appropriate

Example

Vagueness happens when details are unclear, meaning you’ve left out important information that helps explain a word or topic.

Parallel structure is a grammatical feature in language that creates patterns. The brain naturally looks for patterns to work quickly and easily. These patterns support readers.

• More efficient processing of information.
• Better understanding between the relationship of ideas.
• Easier comprehension.

Create Bulleted Lists

Tips for Bulleted Lists

• Use a period after each bullet if it is a clause, a long phrase, or completes the introductory sentence. 
• Always use a colon after the introductory statement. 
• Do not use semicolons.
• Do not use “and,” or “or” in the list. 
• Capitalize the first letter of each bullet point. 
• No period is needed for brief, shopping list-style items.
• If one bullet point has a period, all items in the list should have a period for consistency. 

Example

“I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter.”

– Blaise Pascal

One of the best ways to be clear is to use short sentences and paragraphs. This helps you share information in brief statements, making it easier for people to understand.

Focus on providing one main point per sentence and per paragraph. The fewer the better!

• Sentences - 25 words or fewer. 
• Paragraphs - 5 sentences or fewer.