WRITING STYLE GUIDE
Newsela | 2022
The problem...
Newsela had 3 existing style guides—all of which contradicted each other (and none of which spoke to product copy).
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As the company's first UX writer, I needed to create a style guide that 1) included guidelines specific to product copy and 2) determined the "product stance" on the other guides' contradictions.
The solution...
I turned to the content guides (and gods) from Content Design London, Gusto, Mailchimp, Microsoft, Shopify, W3C, and 18F for inspiration. From there, I collaborated with content managers, product managers, marketers, and executives to shape and refine (and refine and refine) the guide.
The results....
Once the guide was published, the marketing team decided to adopt it as well (which was a BIG win for consistency and camaraderie).
Since then, I've hosted workshops with team members to help them understand how to craft their own UX copy—using the style guide as a key point of reference. I review and edit the guide quarterly and as needed.
I've included several screenshots of the style guide below. To review the full guide, send me an email.
Table of contents
Voice & tone
Grammar rules
