Universal Design Toolkit for Customer Engagement Written Communication
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Written Text Checklist
Written Text Be personal (use ‘I’, ‘you’ and ‘we’) and use active verbs. Use plain English. Keep sentences short; 15 to 20 words in each sentence. Avoid technical words, unfamiliar abbreviations or acronyms; also avoid French and Latin expressions. Be consistent with terms throughout your document. Proofread your document to ensure correct spelling and punctuation.
Dates, numbers and percentages Write dates in dd mm yyyy (date month year). Write the numbers one to nine in words and use digits for the number 10 and upwards. Write percentages with digits and the percentage sign (for example, 60%). Write addresses the way they would appear on an envelope. If a local phone number contains more than five digits, divide the digits into groups of two or three and leave a space between them.
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