Style and tone of voice for policies or strategies

This guidance explains how to write and publish policy, strategy and other long-form documents on the web in a user-centred and accessible way. It can be used for internal and external documents.

Follow the more general guidance on Writing for the Buckinghamshire Council website as well as this specific advice.

Council policies and strategies are complicated documents that are of interest to many different kinds of people. When we write and publish these documents, it’s important we do not lose necessary detail and complexity, but it’s equally vital that we provide clear, concise and useful information.

The traditional language of policy and strategy can be overly complex, jargon-heavy and non-specific. This makes these documents confusing, hard for non-experts to understand and open to misinterpretation. By publishing policy and strategy documents that are simple and succinct we can:

• make it easier for people to comply with rules, regulations and laws
• make it easier for our staff to do their jobs
• deliver better services
• improve the way the council communicates, both internally and externally
• encourage participation in local democracy

Policy and strategy documents are of interest to many different kinds of people, so we need to make sure that they can be read and used by as many people as possible, including those with:

• impaired vision
• motor difficulties
• cognitive impairments
• learning disabilities
• deafness or impaired hearing

The Web Team has built an accessible web template and PDF to present long-form content but you still need to follow these guidelines to make sure your document is accessible to all.

You can find out more about accessibility.

Some experts think that because they’re writing technical or complex documents for a specialist audience they do not need to use plain English. However, research shows that highly literate people and those with specialist knowledge prefer plain English.

Also, many policies and strategies may be potentially relevant to anyone who needs information about Buckinghamshire Council, or about living, working or doing business in the county, not just experts in the area of policy or strategy.

Even if you’re writing for a specialist audience, you still need to make sure everyone can understand what the content is about.

Follow the Writing for the Buckinghamshire Council website guidance and:

• not use internal jargon
• avoid idiomatic language, which is a type of informal language that has a different, non-literal meaning, for example, “hold your tongue”
• use guidance on how to use plain English and GOV.UK resources on how to write well for your audience
• check how readable your content is using Hemingway app, Readable.io, or a similar tool

Your document will be most effective if you understand who you are writing for. If you have more than one audience, make your writing as easy to understand as possible so it’s accessible to everyone.

Use the same terms and phrases as your audience. Consider carefully who your audience is. When evidence shows there’s a clear need for including a specialist term that might not be understood by your audience, always explain it in plain English.

You should:

• include definitions for legal or scientific terms you must use
• add a glossary if your document contains many unfamiliar terms

Picking the right name for your document means your users can:

• find it more easily
• understand what it is and whether it’s relevant to them

The name you choose should:

• clearly describe the policy or strategy issue the document is addressing
• not be focused on branding or marketing

If you need to use technical terms, you can. You just need to explain them the first time you use them.

You can still fulfill legal or statutory requirements whilst writing in plain English. It’s important that users understand our documents and that we present complicated information as simply as we can.

Where there is a clear need to use a legal term, always explain it in plain English.

If you are talking about a legal requirement, use “must”. If you think that “must” does not have enough emphasis, use “legal requirement” or “legally entitled” etc. When you are deciding which to use, consider how important it is for us to talk about the legal aspect.

If the requirement is legal, but administrative, or part of a process that will not have criminal repercussions, then use: “need to”. For example, where not completing a step would stop a person moving onto the next stage of a process, rather than committing an offence.

Do not use footnotes on documents. These are designed for references in print, rather than on web pages. If the user needs the information, include it in the body text. If not, leave it out.

Contact the webteam via ServiceNow if you need to:

• ask a question
• get help with writing content
• make a suggestion for something we need to include in this guidance

You can find more guidance on writing content in the content design resources in the GOV.UK Service Manual.