Writing style¶
This section describes general writing style guidelines that documentation contributors should follow to ensure consistency throughout all technical publications.
- General writing guidelines
- Copyright and licensing
- Use standard English
- Write in active voice
- Use the present simple tense
- Write in second person
- Use appropriate mood
- Keep sentences short
- Avoid ambiguous titles
- Be clear and concise
- Write objectively
- Describe the most common use case first
- Do not humanize inanimate objects
- Write positively
- Avoid prepositions at the end of sentences
- Do not overuse this, that, these, and it
- Do not split infinitives
- Avoid personification
- Do not use contractions
- Eliminate needless politeness
- Use consistent terminology
- Use spelling and grammar checking tools
- Word choice
- Punctuation
- Headings
- Lists
- URLs
- Numbers and units of measure
- OpenStack service and project names
- Release names
- Standard UI terminology
- Code conventions
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