Microsoft Writing Style Guide Review: 6 Things to Know
Explore 6 key elements of the Microsoft Writing Style Guide in this style guide review, from its roots in the Chicago Manual of Style to its brand-specific guidance and global considerations.
The Microsoft Writing Style Guide is intended as a guide for writers creating a variety of content types, including apps and websites.
It covers writing style, terminology, usage, accessibility and other guidelines that reflect Microsoft’s brand personality and communication style, which is described in the guide as “simple and human.”
The style guide covers editorial guidelines and some technical and global considerations critical to creating high-quality content (with a specific focus on the Microsoft brand voice).
Key Takeaways:
- Microsoft builds on the Chicago Manual of Style as its foundation for the basics of grammar and other editorial concerns.
- According to Microsoft brand guidelines, the brand voice is friendly and conversational. It also prioritizes clarity and simplicity.
- With a large global audience, Microsoft’s guide offers extensive guidance on global communications.
- The guide has several quick-reference elements for users: checklists, A to Z terminology and a top-10 list.
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1. Microsoft Leans on The Chicago Manual of Style
Brand style guides need a foundation in another major style guide. Otherwise, the brand would need to outline every grammar rule from scratch.
While a brand guide will have exceptions and provide its own unique spin, it will typically cite a major style guide for anything not specifically covered in the brand guide.
The Microsoft Writing Style Guide refers users to The Chicago Manual of Style for some key guidelines, such as:
- Units of measure terminology
- Hyphenation rules
- General capitalization rules (not brand-specific)
- Grammar and parts of speech
- Punctuation
In addition to using Chicago Style, Microsoft refers users of its writing style guide to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as its dictionary of reference.
2. Microsoft’s Style is Friendly and Concise
The Microsoft Writing Style Guide has a convenient list of the top 10 things to know to adopt their overall style and voice, among them the advice to “write like you speak” and “get to the point fast.”
All in all, the guidelines cover the following:
- Be concise: In step with Microsoft’s crisp and modern design, less is more and fewer words are better.
- No jargon: The voice is friendly, conversational, and helpful. Not technical or cold.
- Use contractions: As part of a friendly tone, use contractions like it’s or you’re.
- Lead with what’s important: Don’t bury what the audience is looking for. Get the keywords up front.
- No fluff: Remove any excess words and get to the point cleanly and clearly. Let the audience quickly understand what is in front of them.
- Use sentence case: Less formal than title case (which capitalizes every word), sentence case reflects Microsoft's friendly, easy-to-read style.
- Avoid end punctuation in headings and lists: In keeping with the clean lines of Microsoft style, avoid adding punctuation, [(!), (?), (.)] except for where it is required in body copy.
- Use the Oxford comma: The Oxford (serial) comma is the last comma in a series of items. This punctuation often distinguishes one guide from another.
- Tighten spacing: Use just one space after end punctuation and around hyphens.
- Start sentences strong: Begin with verbs as often as possible. Eliminate weaker words that hide the action.
3. Style Checklists Help Lead the Way
The guide provides several quick-reference checklists that provide a direct path to advice on fundamentals like acronym usage, capitalization, grammar, numbers, word choice and punctuation.
Other helpful checklists cover topics related to other Microsoft-specific style concerns, such as, responsive content and text-formatting (fonts, alignment and other typographic elements)
The checklists of the Microsoft Writing Style Guide provide the user with a glance at common questions and scenarios. Full explanations of these topics are found within the guide itself.
4: A to Z Word List and Term Collection
Some of the most industry and brand-specific parts of the Microsoft Writing Style Guide are the lists of commonly used terminology.
The guide groups terms into categories such as accessibility, AI and bots, bits and bytes, cloud computing, computers and devices, date and time, etc., and offers a table of common terms, their usage, and examples.
For example, under “AI and bots,” the entry for “AI” instructs users not to spell out artificial intelligence, but to use “intelligent” or “intelligence” when describing the benefits of AI.
The A to Z guide breaks out into dozens of words, in alphabetical order, detailing their definition, usage, and examples.
From a content writer’s perspective, this is one of the most helpful parts of the guide, clearly breaking down terminology and clarifying proper usage.
5. Guidance for Writing for Global Audiences
Directions for communicating with global audiences are essential for a brand like Microsoft, with customers all over the world. Considerations for this global audience are covered in the Microsoft Writing Style Guide, including:
- Translation
- Localization
- Image choice
- Currencies
- Time and place
- Browser support
- Language support
- Local laws
The style guide broadly covers a range of topics relating to writing mindfully for a diverse audience and creating and publishing content that is accessible around the world.
6. Content Planning Guidance
From defining your audience and business goals to determining your bandwidth and budget, the Microsoft Writing Style Guide includes a quick reference for content planning, complete with a table of content ideas for specific user needs.
Each defined need (completing a task, getting an answer, learning a concept, etc.) is paired with suggested content types, as well as examples of that content and a link to more information.
It’s not a complete reference, but it can serve as a quick refresher.
Microsoft Writing Style Guide: Final Thoughts
The Microsoft Writing Style Guide blends brand consistency with user-focused organization. Its strengths include its comprehensive global perspective, extensive terminology guidance, and its generous use of examples throughout.
However, its technology and Microsoft brand voice focus somewhat limit its adaptability to other industries.
Altogether, it is an excellent example of how to create a style guide with decisive, transparent and accessible communication guidelines that outline brand personality and voice.
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