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Style essentials in 5 minutes

5 min · Style guide
Learning objective

Apply the working style rules that catch 80% of style issues in a build review.

01 · Hook

Why this matters

Most style problems are the same problems. Fix them once and they stop appearing. Here are the eight rules that handle the bulk of build-review notes.

02 · Core

Eight working rules

  1. Numbers under 11 spelled out. 11 and above in figures. Start of sentence: spell it out.
  2. Single quotes for the first quotation. Double for a quote inside a quote.
  3. Italics for book and module titles, and for words being talked about as words.
  4. Bold sparingly — only where you genuinely need to highlight.
  5. Bullet lists — minimum two. Colon at end of lead-in. Initial lower case unless full sentences.
  6. Sentence case for titles and subtitles. No full stops at the end.
  7. "OK", not "okay". "transcript", not "tapescript". "worksheet", one word.
  8. Device-neutral verbs: "open", "select", "choose". Never "click on".
03 · Practice

Try it

Choose

Which sentence follows the style guide?

04 · Carry

One thing to take back to work today

Print this list. Stick it next to your monitor. Run it past every storyboard before you send it for proofreading.

Craig Stanley Studio · Microlearning 08 of 12 · Pairs with the Foundations of Instructional Design course.