Style guidelines for adding a service to LOOP

Use the third person

Service descriptions must be in the third person, for example:

✔ Dial house offers emotional and practical support to people in crisis. 

X We offer emotional and practical support to people in crisis.

Write in short sentences 

• Sentences should be a maximum of 25 words.

• Do not include too many ideas and clauses in one sentence. If a sentence is too long, break it down into shorter sentences.

Vocabulary should follow Plain English prinicpals

If there is a simpler word that conveys the same meaning then you should use that one, for examples:

✔ about

X regarding

✔ help

X assist

Refer to the MindWell style guide for more guidance on using everyday English.

Avoid jargon and confusing terms 

Many users of content will be new to the healthcare system. If jargon is necessary you must explain the meaning.

Explain abbreviations

If using an abbreviation you should spell it out the first time you use it, for example:

✔ Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service (LMWS) offers support to people in Leeds for a range of common mental health problems.

You can use the shortened version from that point on, safe in the knowledge that no one’s feeling lost:

✔ LMWS supports people aged 17 and over with common mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks and stress.

Avoid nominalisations 

A nominalisation is a name given to something that isn’t a physical object or being, such as an emotion or process. Normalisations are formed from verbs:

✔ discuss X discussion

✔ complete X completion

✔ introduce X introduction

Too many normalisations can make sentences wordy and sound formal and bureaucratic:

X The group will have a discussion about support available in Leeds.

✔ The group will discuss support available in Leeds.

Use direct instructions

The phrases ‘you should…’ or ‘would you mind…’ are commonly used when giving instructions. We use active commands instead. They are the fastest and the most direct way of giving someone an instruction, for example:

✔ Give Dial House a call 

✔ Join a group 

✔ Contact Leeds Mind

Do not overuse capital letters

A tendency towards lower case is more friendly and less formal. It also makes content quicker and easier to read. Generally, we use lower case wherever possible.

X Third Sector organisation

✔ third sector organisation

X Mental Health

✔ mental health

However, proper nouns (for example, names of organisations, people, services and buildings) should be in uppercase, for example, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Other exceptions are listed in the GOV.UK style guide capitalisation list. 

We do not write words or phrases in capital letters as this makes content more difficult to read.

Headings should use sentence case (only capitalise the first letter of the first word – like you would in a sentence).

Ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on)

We use numerals with letter suffixes for ordinal numbers (including 1st and 2nd) when we are talking about dates, quantities and things in a list or sequence. This makes content easier to scan.

However, we write these out in full in phrases like:

✔ first aid

✔ first time

✔ first visit 

✔ secondhand smoke

✔ second opinion

Dates and times

We always write the date in this format: 

✔ 19 March 2016

✔ Wednesday 19 March 2016

Do not write dates in any other format such as: 

X 19th March 2016, March 19 2016, 14/02/2016 or 02/14/16

Times should be written in this format:

✔ 4.30pm to 7.30pm

✔ 7am to 6.30pm

Do not write times in any other format such as: 

X 7.00-18.30

X 8:00hrs to 16:30hrs 

X 6-6.30pm

We use ‘to’ instead of dashes in ranges of time, date and numbers. This format reads better for people using screen readers.

✔ Monday to Friday

X 4.30-7.30pm

X Monday-Friday

✔ 19 to 21 March

X 19 March-21 April

Numbers

We use numerals including 1 to 9. People find numerals easier to read and they scan for them.

✔ 1 support group

✔ 5 support groups

It’s ok to use numbers at the start of a sentence (as long as it’s not confusing), in lists and in headings.

✔ 5 new dementia support groups to be set up in Leeds

✔ 8 tips for winter wellbeing 

However, we do spell out ‘one’ when it means ‘a’ or to avoid repeating a word.

✔ There are 3 different peer support groups. You can decide which is the best one for you.

We use ‘one’ in phrases like where numerals would look strange: 

✔ one or the other

✔ one at a time

✔ one or two of them

Telephone numbers and email addresses

We present contact information in the following format.

Call 0800 657 767

Helpline open: Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.30pm

Email: info@helpadvice.org.uk

We write descriptive links to webchat and email:

Talk by webchat

Get help by email

We do not use the abbreviations “tel” and “mob” as they can cause problems for screen readers.

We add a space between city and local exchange in telephone numbers: 0800 657 767.

Hyphens

We avoid hyphens unless they make the meaning of a sentence clearer.

✔ up-to-date resources

✔ part-time course

✔ non-alcoholic

X a three-year-old child 

X breast-feeding

Do not use hyphens if the compound involves a word ending in ‘-ly’, for example, ‘rapidly expanding’ has no hyphen.

Do not use hyphens in the following common words: 

✔ online, email, website, wellbeing

Contractions 

A contraction is a word made by shortening and combining two words. For example, “we will” is often shortened to “we’ll”.

Often contractions make content friendlier and easier to read. We use contractions like it’s, you’ll, you’re and what’s. 

We do not use negative contractions like “can’t” and “don’t”. When we’re telling users not to do something we use “Do not” and “Don’t”. Negative contractions can be hard to read.

We also avoid “should’ve”, “could’ve”, “would’ve” and “they’ve”. These can also be hard to read.

Links

We make url links that are embedded within a sentence and use words that indicate what information will be found by clicking. Where possible, we use some of the same words of the title of the page we’re linking to so the user knows what to expect.

We do not use link text such as “find out more here” or “click here” or wording that would not make sense when read out of context. Screen readers can move between links without reading the surrounding text. 

✔ Find your nearest meeting group.

X Find your nearest meeting group here.

X To find your nearest meeting group click here.

X Find your nearest meeting group on this website page. 

Inclusive and consistent language

Our content is easy-to-read, respectful and inclusive. We use consistent naming conventions listed in the MindWell glossary.

We use positive language when talking about disabilities and health conditions and champion the social model of disability.

We do not say:

• afflicted by

• suffering from

• sufferer 

• victim of