Writing standards
Plain-English policy writing that holds up
A policy is read in a hurry by someone who needs to know what to do. That single fact drives every standard on this page: plain English, active voice, consistent headings, and reusable language across departments.
The goal is not informality. It is a document that a new hire, a contractor, and an auditor can all follow without a translator.
Every policy on this site is set on the same 12-column measure. The numbered marks below name the writing stages this page walks through, from purpose and scope to the reading test before publication.
Review cycle own the date before you publish
Write to the reader, not about the topic
Policies often open by describing the subject rather than telling the reader what they need to do. Flip that. "Managers approve expenses over $500" tells a reader something. "Expense management is a critical function" does not. Lead each clause with the actor and the action, and the document becomes usable at the moment it is consulted.
The fix is structural, not cosmetic. Draft the clause, then rewrite the first four words until a named role is doing a named thing. If no role can be named, the clause is probably context, and context belongs in purpose and scope instead of in the rule itself.
Subject-led opener
Describes the topic. The reader finishes it without knowing what to do next.
"Expense management is a critical function."
Actor-led rule
Names a role and an action, so the clause can be followed the moment it is read.
"Managers approve expenses over $500."
Named owner
Anyone reading can see who owns the rule and who to ask when the situation does not fit.
Finance director, policy owner
Active voice and short sentences
Passive constructions hide who is responsible. "Requests must be submitted" leaves the reader guessing whether that is their job or someone else's. "Submit the request to the finance office" does not.
Keep sentences short enough to hold one idea, and reserve longer constructions for context that genuinely needs them. The rule is not rigid, but the default should be clear. When a paragraph runs past four lines, check whether two ideas have been fused into one.
Do
Submit the request to the finance office before the tenth of the month.
Avoid
Requests must be submitted by the tenth of the month.
Do
Security issues the badge within two working days of the start date.
Avoid
Badges will be issued to new starters following completion of onboarding.
Short sentences are not dumbing down. They are the difference between a policy a reader can act on and one they walk away from.
Every clause, definition, and review date on this page is set to the same measured rail — so a reader moving between a purchasing policy and a safety policy relearns nothing but the subject.
Purpose and scope first
Nearly every well-built policy template opens with purpose and scope, and the order matters. Doing this first prevents the reader from applying the policy to a situation it was never meant for, which sits behind a large share of everyday confusion around documents.
Purpose
Why the document exists
One or two sentences. What the policy protects, enables, or standardizes. If the purpose takes three sentences, the writer is probably describing the org chart instead.
Scope
Who and what it covers
Name the roles, sites, and systems in scope. Name what is explicitly excluded too: contractors, agencies, or regions that follow a separate standard.
Definitions
Terms that carry internal meaning
A "manager" in one company is a team lead in another. "Approved" may mean a verbal okay or a signed form. Define the handful of terms that carry specific internal weight.
Review cycle
Say when the document is next opened
A named owner and a stated cadence turn a policy into a maintained document. The review cycle page walks through how to set the rail.
Define the terms that carry internal meaning
Definitions sections exist because words mean different things inside different organizations. Skip definitions for words everyone understands and spend the space on the ones that cause arguments.
The defined-term rail, set at 32px ticks. Every term listed here has one meaning and one owner across the whole organization.
Terms worth defining
Consistent headings
Canva's policy template guidance recommends keeping language, headings, and styling consistent across departments, and the reason is reader efficiency. When a safety policy and a purchasing policy use the same heading names, a reader moves between them without relearning the layout. Consistency is not uniformity for its own sake — it is the cost of finding the answer.
Reusable language without sounding generic
There is a balance between boilerplate and bespoke. Standard opening clauses for purpose, scope, and review cycle save drafting time and keep documents comparable.
The body of the policy should be specific to what your organization actually does. Generic language everywhere reads as filler and gives the reader nothing to act on. Specific language in a standard frame is the combination that works. Policy and procedure templates carry the standard frame; your writers supply the specifics.
Reusable block
Purpose statement
Filled by the writer: subject the policy governs.
Reusable block
Scope statement
Filled by the writer: included roles and exclusions.
Reusable block
Definitions block
Filled by the writer: the internal terms that need precision.
Reusable block
Review clause
Filled by the writer: cadence and named owner.
The document control guide covers how the fill-in data should be stored and versioned.
Editing for length without losing substance
Most first drafts are longer than they need to be. Cut adverbs, cut restatements of the same rule, cut context that does not change what a reader does. Keep the definitions, the scope boundaries, and the specific obligations.
A policy that shrinks by a third without losing a single instruction is a better document, and it is more likely to be read the next time someone needs it.
Cut
Cut the adverb
"Promptly" and "reasonably" rarely change what a reader must do, and they hand the timing decision to whoever reads the clause last.
Subject: sentence weight
Cut
Cut the restatement
The same rule said twice does not make it stronger. It makes the reader wonder whether the second version covers a different case.
Subject: clause duplication
Keep
Keep the boundary
Scope exclusions do change what a reader does. Cutting them for length is the fastest way to re-introduce the confusion the policy was written to prevent.
Subject: definitions and scope
Keep
Keep the obligation
The specific "who submits what to whom, by when" is the reason the policy exists. That is the last thing to edit and the first thing to protect.
Subject: named actions
Reading level and the non-expert test
Before publishing, hand the draft to someone outside the process who will be governed by it. If they can state what they are supposed to do after one read, the writing works. If they ask what a sentence means, rewrite it.
This test is fast, and it catches the passive constructions and undefined terms that a writer close to the subject stops noticing. Run it before the legal review, not after, so the reviewer spends their time on substance rather than on wording.
How short is short enough for a policy sentence?
One idea per sentence, and aim for a single line on a printed page. If a clause needs a comma-spliced intro to make sense, split it. Longer sentences are fine when they carry a genuine condition, but they should be rare enough that a reader notices them.
Do we need a definitions section in every policy?
No. Define only the terms that carry specific internal meaning in your organization, then leave plain words alone. A definitions section padded with common English wastes the reader's time and makes the terms that do matter harder to find.
Where should purpose and scope sit relative to each other?
Purpose first, scope second, definitions third. Purpose tells the reader why the document is in front of them. Scope tells them whether it applies to their situation. Definitions come after the reader knows the policy is theirs to follow.
How do we keep headings consistent across departments?
Pick a small set of heading names — purpose, scope, definitions, roles, procedure, review — and reuse them across every policy, in the same order. Editors should treat the heading set as fixed and put the variation in the body. The documentation UX patterns page covers how the heading set shows up in navigation and cross-links.
What should the non-expert test actually measure?
Ask the reader to state what they are supposed to do, and under what conditions. If they say it back correctly, the writing works. If they hedge or ask for a definition, the same sentence is the place to edit.
Next step
Standards first, templates second, review on a date you set
If you have a question about pulling these standards into your own document set — heading names, plain-English clause structure, or how the review cycle should run — write to Threnova Digital and we can walk through it.
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