Libguides Editing Guidelines

Best Practices

• Write clearly and simply. Use active voice and conversational tone.
   
• Less is better than more – include key information only to avoid information overload
   
• Front-load the important information. Use the journalism model of the “inverted pyramid.” Start with the content that is most important to your audience, and then provide additional details.
   
• Use bullets and numbered lists.
   
• Avoid long paragraphs of content. List are easier to scan.
   
• Use clear headlines and subheads. Questions, especially those with pronouns, are effective.
   
• Use images, diagrams, or multimedia to visually represent ideas in the content. Use only images that are free to use, such as those from Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, and similar sites.
   
• Use white space. Using white space allows you to reduce noise by visually separate information.
   
• Never use ALL CAPS. If you need emphasis, use bold. Even then, use sparingly.
   
• Use italics only when they serve a purpose (e.g. setting aside a quote, citation formatting.)
   
• Never underline text since this is the convention for indicating a link.
   
• Text should always be aligned left (never centered or right justified).
   
• Use just one space after a period and to start a new sentence, not two.

See Content Principles and Guidelines for our entire website for more tips.

See our UA Libraries anti-racist language guide for good advice on communicating in a way that validates our audience, is respectful, and avoids provoking past negative experiences.

Watch the recording of our Oct. 27 workshop:
How to Write More Effective Email and Web Content - Nicole Hennig & Rebecca Blackston
And download the handout.