Changes for page Contractions

Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/12 00:06
From version Icon 1.24 Icon
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/12/05 18:37
Change comment: Added comment
To version Icon 2.1 Icon
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2020/01/12 00:05
Change comment: on page redirect

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2 -(((
3 -Following this helps:
4 -
5 -* **people in a hurry** – if you read something quickly you can get it wrong if it's not clear
6 -* **people who are stressed** – if you're anxious it's hard to comprehend things
7 -* **people who are multi-tasking** – if you're distracted it's easier to misread something
8 -* **cognitive impairments** – spelled out words take less mental effort to understand
9 -)))
10 -
11 -
12 -== Guidelines ==
13 -
14 -Many organisations encourage using contractions, as they make content more conversational. Others are reluctant to because of the informal tone. We're mainly concerned with usability. Some types of contractions cause issues.
15 -
16 -
17 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" id="H1.Avoidnegativecontractions." %)
18 -[[1. Avoid negative contractions.>>doc:||anchor="#1"]]
19 -
20 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %)
21 -[[2. Simple positive contractions may be fine.>>doc:||anchor="#2"]]
22 -
23 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %)
24 -[[3. Possessive nouns may be fine.>>doc:||anchor="#3"]]
25 -
26 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" id="H3.AvoidconditionalA0contractions." %)
27 -[[4. Avoid conditional contractions.>>doc:||anchor="#4"]]
28 -
29 -[[Usability evidence: contractions>>doc:||anchor="#UEC"]]
30 -
31 -
32 -----
33 -
34 -=== {{id name="#1"/}}1. Avoid negative contractions. ===
35 -
36 -Like shouldn't, can’t and don’t. Research shows that many users:
37 -
38 -* find negative contractions difficult to read
39 -* misread them as the opposite of what they say
40 -
41 -===
42 -{{id name="#2"/}}2. Simple positive contractions may be fine. ===
43 -
44 -Like you'll, we'll, we're, they're, it's, I'll, there'll, there's.
45 -
46 -We have not found any existing usability studies that show positive contractions cause or do not cause difficulties for users. We would like to [[test this with users>>doc:Main.New research.WebHome]].
47 -
48 -
49 -=== {{id name="#3"/}}3. Possessive nouns may be fine. ===
50 -
51 -Like "my organisation's ethos", "your cat's tail", "the suitcase's weight". 
52 -There's no usability evidence against possessive nouns at the moment. We would like to [[test this with users>>doc:Main.New research.WebHome]].
53 -
54 -While we're here, small grammar point: you use an apostrophe on "it is" as a contraction, for example "it's sunny" but you do not when "it" is part of a possessive noun, so "its ethos".
55 -
56 -
57 -=== {{id name="#4"/}}4. Avoid conditional contractions. ===
58 -
59 -Like should've, would've, could've.
60 -
61 -For people with cognitive challenges these less often used, complex tense contractions are hard to recognise and understand.
62 -
63 -
64 -----
65 -
66 -==
67 -{{id name="#UEC"/}}Usability evidence: contractions ==
68 -
69 -== ==
70 -
71 -[[GOV.UK Writing for web guidance>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk#contractions]], UK Government website, 2016
72 -
73 -[[GOV.UK 'Writing content for everyone'>>url:https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2016/02/23/writing-content-for-everyone/]], UK Government website, 2016
74 -
75 -[[GOV.UK Verify and the government Design Standards>>url:https://identityassurance.blog.gov.uk/2016/03/31/gov-uk-verify-and-the-government-design-standards/]] UK Government website, 2016
76 -
77 -[[Using contractions>>url:https://www.plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/conversational/use-contractions/]], US Government website, 2011
78 -
79 -[[Using contractions>>url:https://content-guide.18f.gov/voice-and-tone/#use-contractions]], US Government website, 2015
80 -
81 -[['Why contractions are perfect for web writing'>>url:https://www.hotpepper.ca/blog/2015/06/01/why-contractions-are-perfect-for-web-writing/]], 2015
82 -
83 -[['How to make information accessible'>>url:https://www.changepeople.org/Change/media/Change-Media-Library/Free%20Resources/How-to-make-info-accessible-guide-2016-Final.pdf]], 2016
84 -
85 -[['Use contractions'>>url:https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/word-choice/use-contractions]], 2018
86 -
87 -[['Contractions'>>url:https://developers.google.com/style/contractions]], 2017
88 -
89 -[['Using contractions could be making your writing inaccessible'>>url:https://medium.com/@joanne.schofield/using-contractions-could-be-making-your-writing-inaccessible-4034bb3cd76a]], Joanne Schofield, 2017
90 -
91 -[['Contractions'>>url:https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/government-communications/canada-content-style-guide.html#wp4-5]] Canadian Government website, 2018
92 -
93 -
1 +Please go to [[readabilityguidelines.co.uk/grammar-points/contractions>>https://readabilityguidelines.co.uk/grammar-points/contractions/]].
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Date
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1 -2019-12-05 19:37:29.523
1 +2019-12-05 19:37:29.0