Open English Requirements

Open English requirements for documentation focus on clarity, simplicity, and ease of translation for a global audience^[1].

Writers should produce short sentences, ideally 20-30 words each, without compromising clarity or omitting important information^[1].

Active voice and active verbs should be used, avoiding nominalizations and passive constructions^[1].

When creating bulleted lists, each item must stand alone and be introduced by a complete sentence for better translatability^[1].

Ambiguous pronouns, particularly impersonal or broad-reference pronouns, should be avoided; writers must clarify what or whom is being referenced^[1].

The subjunctive mood should be avoided, favoring the indicative and imperative moods for greater comprehension^[1].

Context must be provided when words can be both nouns and verbs, and ambiguous phrases should be replaced with clearer alternatives^[1].

Writers are instructed to avoid jargon, colloquialisms, humor, unusual non-technical words, and contractions^[1].

Proper nouns and trademarks, such as “Open edX,” must follow strict capitalization rules, and headings should use title capitalization^[1].

Abbreviations, clipped terms, acronyms (except select technical terms), Latin abbreviations, and non-technical abbreviations are not permitted^[1].

Punctuation guidelines discourage the use of slashes (especially “and/or”), em dashes, smart quotes, or smart apostrophes, in favor of their straight versions^[1].

Writers are encouraged to maintain and use the documentation glossary, keep terminology consistent, and minimize redundant words^[1].

White space should be planned to accommodate an expected 25% expansion after translation in content such as charts and UI text^[1].

References

• [1] Guidelines for Writing Global English