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13. WRITING STYLE
13.1 General guidelines
Note that these guidelines apply to English only.
Address the user in a neutral tone. Do not use slang, avoid pleasantries but also avoid using language which could be
interpreted as rude or aggressive in tone.
The writing style is British English:
• ‘CENTRE’ not ‘center’
• ‘CANCELLING’ not ‘canceling’
• ‘COLOUR’ not ‘color’
• ‘SYNCHRONISE’ not ‘synchronize’
…but remember that some technical terms are based on American English spelling:
• ‘PROGRAM’ not ‘programme’
• ‘DIALOG’ not ‘dialogue’
Keep your writing simple:
• Do not use jargon
• Avoid difficult terms or explanations that the user would not understand
• Keep your sentences short
• Use simple sentence structure
Keep your writing explicit:
• Do not keep important things from the user
• Try to figure out what the user needs to know to be able to perform the required task
Be consistent in the terms that you use.
Avoid noun-disease:
• Say ‘‘Lock the keypad’’ instead of ‘‘Activate the keypad lock’’
13.2 The communicator
Officially the communicator is The Nokia 9210 Communicator (N.B. capital letters). When referring to the
communicator in general, you can use either ‘‘communicator’’ or ‘‘device,’’ but never ‘‘telephone’’.
13.3 Application names
Writing style: if an application name consists of more than two words, only the first is written with a capital letter.
Exceptions: Backup/Restore, Install/Remove software (applications with two distinctive functions) and World Wide
Web.
Note, also, that Internet is ALWAYS written with a capital letter in English.
13.4 Punctuation
Do not use exclamation marks at the end of error messages and avoid using them in general. They can seem rude and
can cause unnecessary alarm.
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