House style guide

Welcome to the Age UK style guide.

This style guide defines the language and principles we use and do not use across all Age UK content.

Our language principles

• We use Plain English.
• We avoid jargon.
• We write how people talk – if you're not sure, say what you've written out loud.
• We are direct – we say you, we, our, your, not they, those people, one's.
• We use short words over long ones where possible.
• We avoid the passive voice, and use the active – use Hemingway app to check.
• We avoid clauses and semicolons. Split the sentence instead.
• We think shorter sentences are usually better.
• We vary sentence length to keep the reader interested.
• We use British spelling.

Use this guide by selecting from the letters below.

For general style points that aren't Age UK specific (eg whether to capitalise certain words, how to write A&E, etc) refer to the Guardian style guide.

If you notice any content that doesn't match our new style guide, we'd love to hear from you at digital.editorial@ageuk.org.uk