You should always write in plain English on the GlobalScot platform. This basically means using everyday language that our users will be familiar with. It sounds easy, but it can be harder than it seems.

Some key principles of plain English include:

Avoiding jargon and internal language

Sometimes the way we refer to things internally isn’t how our users talk about them. Avoid technical terms, internal speak and acronyms. This includes things that seem obvious to us - like the terms SE and SDI. If you need to use a technical term or acronym, make sure you explain what it means first.

Keeping sentences short

Break up longer sentences into short, simple sentences. But remember to think about the flow of your content - too many short sentences at once can be boring and repetitive for the user.

Make one point per sentence

Try not to squeeze too many points into one sentence. Avoid overusing commas, dashes and semi-colons to join multiple points together.

Using active sentences

Instead of ‘This website has been updated’, say ‘We’ve updated this website.’ It’s friendlier, and it takes responsibility.

Using simple words

Always try to find the simplest way of saying something. Why say ‘acquire’ when you could just say ‘get’? Or ‘we’ve detected’ when you could say ‘we’ve found’? When you’re reviewing what you’ve written, consider each word, and whether there’s a simpler version.

Why use plain English?

Using plain English doesn’t mean writing in a patronising way and it’s definitely not ‘dumbing down’. It’s about getting a point across in the simplest, quickest way that puts the least amount of effort on the user. Studies show that even experts prefer plain English. Just because they can understand long, complicated sentences and technical jargon, doesn’t mean they enjoy reading them.

Plain English makes sure that our content is easy to read and understand for all our users – including those with cognitive disabilities or those who speak English as a foreign or second language. Given our network has international reach, we can assume that a significant portion of our audience may not be native English speakers.

Using technical terms

Technical terms aren’t always jargon, as long as you know our target audience will be familiar with them. Our target audience are typically business owners, professionals or senior business decision makers. This means they’ll usually be familiar with standard business terms. You still need to be careful - most of our users will know the difference between importing and exporting, but they may not know what a ‘consortium co-operative’ is.

If in doubt, just explain what the term means the first time you use it.

Puns, metaphors and word play

Given that some of our users may speak English as a foreign or second language, we’d recommend staying away from puns, metaphors, common sayings and idioms. These tend to be based on words with double meanings, purposefully misspelled words or saying something but meaning something else – which can understandably be difficult for non-native speakers to understand. Neurodiverse audiences may also interpret these in different ways.