Contents
Why do we have these guidelines? 3
Language matters 3
Our language links to our values 3
A note about these guidelines 4
This guide is practical writing advice for your day-to-day work 4
It applies to everything we write, for every audience 4
Before you start writing 5
‘Know, feel, do’ is a sieve for what you do and do not need 5
Once you have decided what to include, think about the structure 5 The ‘know’ or the ‘do’ goes first 5
You cannot tell people how to feel 5 When you know what is most important, work down from there 5 Being fair and inclusive 6
Fair 6
Put what is most important to the reader first 6 Break things up 6
Give readers all the information they need (but no more) 7
Be straightforward 7
Inclusive 8
Use plain language 8
A note on contractions, conjunctions and split infinitives 8 Avoid jargon 8
No long sentences 8
Stay impartial 9
Show that you understand people’s situation 9 Only say sorry if we have done something wrong 9
When you have finished writing 10
Check your spelling and grammar 10
Use a readability checker on your writing 10 Check what readers can take in at a glance 10 Read what you have written aloud 10
Make sure you are as helpful as possible 10 Befores and afters 11
Language matters
As the independent regulator for a sector that relies on clear, authoritative communication, we have a responsibility to set the highest standards in how we communicate with solicitors, firms and members of the public. We also have to show that we are a responsive and approachable organisation that puts the needs of the people who use our services first.
Our writing – whether that is letters, emails, websites, reports or policies – is often the main way people interact with us. So if we want to form good relationships with them, our writing has to reflect the standards and values we hold ourselves to.
Why do we have these guidelines?
Our language links to our values
We give our readers all the information they need in a way that suits
them, which is
fair.
We write in a way that everyone can understand, which is
inclusive.
That makes our writing more effective, which is
professional.
And since this approach has evolved to be more considerate of our
readers, it’s
progressive.
Clear, consistent communication also sets us apart as an
independent
This guide is practical
writing advice for your
day-to-day work
They will make your job easier by setting out how to plan, structure, write and check over your writing. In these pages are hints and tips on how to apply our approach to language in your own writing. There are also examples of each of the principles in action, and real-life examples that we have written entirely in our style.
(Bear in mind that these examples are for illustrative purposes only, designed to give a flavour of our new tone of voice. They are not template text for when you draft correspondence.)
It applies to everything we
write, for every audience
We write to a lot of different groups, from laypeople to very experienced solicitors, both internally and externally. Although they need different things from us, the tone we use to communicate with them should always be the same. That consistency will help show that we really live our values in everything we do.
Planning is key to making sure we always give our readers everything they need. If you do not take the time to plan, it’s easy to fall into the trap of writing only from our point of view.
So before you start writing, ask yourself these three questions.
What does my reader need to know?
What is the key piece of information they need to understand? If there are several, which one is the most important? Can you summarise them all under a common theme?
How do I want them to feel?
Do you want them to feel informed; to feel listened to and understood; to feel reassured about a problem; to be interested in how we can help?
Is there anything I need them to do?
Is there a deadline they need to contact us by? Do we need them to fill in a form, or give us some information? (Bear in mind that the reader does not always need to do something – sometimes, we just write to inform. If people do not need to do anything, tell them that too.)
‘Know, feel, do’ is a sieve
for what you do and do
not need
If you are unable to answer any of these questions, then it’s not the right time to start writing. If the reason for contacting people is unclear, they might not pay attention to what we have to say.
Before you start writing
Once you have decided
what to include, think about
the structure
The ‘know’ or the ‘do’ goes first
Decide what is most important from the reader’s point of view: that goes first, in the headline or first sentence.
• Do: If you need your reader to do something,
make it absolutely clear what that is (and when they need to do it by) up front.
• Know: If you need them to understand some
information (but they do not need to do anything), put the most important thing first.
You cannot tell people how to feel
How they feel about what you say is a product of the information you give them. So if you want them to be reassured, it’s better to tell them what we can actually do to help, rather than say ‘we are taking it seriously’ or ‘I would like to assure you’. There is more guidance later on in this guide about how to empathise with people’s circumstances without telling them how to feel.
When you know what is most
important, work down from there
Being fair and inclusive
We want to always sound fair and inclusive to thepeople who read our writing. The next few pages will cover what that means in practice, and how to make sure your writing always reflects these values.
Fair
Put what is most important to the
reader first
You should have the answer to this from your ‘know, feel, do’ questions. Ask yourself: if I had to say this in only ten words, how would I sum it up?
In longer documents, with lots of important
information, write a brief summary of the key points at the start. Again, giving yourself a constraint helps. Ask yourself, what if I had to say this in just 50 words?
Break things up
Your reader should be able to get the gist of the piece of writing at a glance. Use subheadings, bullet points and numbering to make it clear what information they can expect to get if they are skimming. And to help them find their way around. But be careful with long lists of bullets or numbers – they can be just as dense and difficult as long paragraphs. If you have a lot of bullets, can you group them into themes?
Fair
Inclusive
How that looks in action
[Before] • You have indicated that you worked at [X] from the beginning of 2009 until October/November 2009, whilst you were undertaking your full-time Legal Practice Course (LPC). Could you please confirm the position you held at [X] and the number of hours that you worked each week. • Please confirm the position you held at [Y] and the number of hours worked each week. • Please confirm the position you held at [Z] and the number of hours worked each week. • The references you have provided should be original documents and on a company letter headed where relevant. Two of your references should be solicitors of England and Wales, or lawyers of an EU jurisdiction, or previous or current employers. [After]
Where you used to work
Please confirm the positions you held at the following organisations and the number of hours you worked each week. • [X] • [Y] • [Z] References Two of your referees must be: • solicitors of England and Wales, or • lawyers of an EU jurisdiction, or • previous or current employers.
How that looks in action
Give readers all the information
they need (but no more)
Sometimes the law means we need to go into a lot of detail about regulations, or how we came to a decision, but not always. If we can summarise information to save our readers’ time, we should. Ask yourself, how much detail do I have to include? How much detail does my reader really need? If there is a lot, would it be better in an annex?
Be straightforward
If we need people to do something, be clear about it. Do not hedge, or be ambiguous about what needs to happen next, even if you have to ask people to do something inconvenient. We should always be polite though. So remember to say ‘please’.
Being straightforward also means avoiding the passive voice whenever possible. The reader should always know who is responsible for what.
How that looks in action
[Before] By way of background, that I hope will be helpful, under the Participating Insurers Agreement 2014, insurers must submit details of insured firms to us. We rely on this data to verify information provided by firms. We received data from insurers shortly before 30 October. Your insurer did not include your firm’s name on its submission and for that reason our email of 30 October was sent to you. [After] We rely on insurers’ data to verify details firms give to us. Your insurer did not include your firm’s name on its submission, so we emailed you on 30 October.
How that looks in action
Inclusive
Use plain language
No matter who we talk to, our audiences appreciate it when we make ourselves as easy to understand as possible. Imagine you were talking face to face with your reader. Use the kind of language you would use when you speak aloud. Here are a few examples of words you can switch to immediately sound more natural.
Acquire Get Endeavour Try Provide Give Request Ask Require Need
It’s also more natural to say ‘we’ or ‘I’ rather than ‘the SRA’.
A note on contractions,
conjunctions and split infinitives
There are no rules in English grammar that say you cannot start a sentence with a conjunction, or split an infinitive. (The Oxford Guide to Plain English goes as far as to say ‘it’s never been wrong to split an infinitive’, and Fowler’s Modern English Usage says there is ‘no foundation’ to the rule against using conjunctions to start sentences.)
If doing either of those things helps your reader to understand you, then it’s fine to do so. Similarly, although we do not contract most words together, we do contract ‘it is’ to ‘it’s’ to help make our writing more readable, and sound more natural.
Avoid jargon
Often our writing has to include technical legal terminology. But be aware of your audience: are they laypeople or staff in a busy law firm who might need an explanation of what some of those terms mean? If you can avoid using a piece of jargon, do.
No long sentences
Our brains struggle to process sentences of longer than 25 words or so. Keep them under that length. The rule of thumb is to keep to one piece of information per sentence. If you read your writing aloud and cannot finish your sentences in one breath, they are too long.
How that looks in action
[Before] I cannot guarantee that any representations received after 14 days will be considered. It is therefore important that if your clients wish to respond they do so promptly. [After] I cannot guarantee that we will consider any representations we get after 14 days. So it’s important that your clients get back to us soon.
How that looks in action
[Before] I attach a copy of the Sub-Committee’s decision by virtue of which the powers set out in Schedule 1 to the Solicitors Act 1974 (“the Schedule”) have become exercisable. [After] Here is a copy of the Sub-Committee’s decision. As a result, we now have the right to use the powers listed in Schedule 1 of the Solicitors Act 1974 (‘the Schedule’).
How that looks in action
Stay impartial
It’s our job to stay neutral, and present the facts in a clear, helpful way. We do not take sides, so we should avoid making any emotional judgements. That means you should try not to use subjective adjectives like ‘good’, ‘bad’, ‘quick’ or ‘easy’. But equally we should be aware of the impact our writing has on people. Sometimes our decisions will disappoint people, or they will be contacting us about an issue that is causing them distress.
Show that you understand
people’s situation
But be careful, there is a fine line to tread between being empathetic and being condescending. Acknowledge how the issue is affecting them, and then move on to explain what the situation is and if there is anything we can do to help. Try phrases like:
We know this is not the news you were expecting. I understand that this experience must have been distressing for you. We know you have put a lot of time and effort into contacting us.
Only say sorry if we have done
something wrong
If we have actually made a mistake then say sorry once, say it up front, and then move on to explain what we can do to fix it.
How that looks in action
Check your spelling
and grammar
Always remember to run the spellcheck on your writing. Word and Outlook have a spellcheck function, as do most other word-processing programs.
Use a readability checker on
your writing
They measure how easy it is to understand your writing
Readability checkers test things like how complex the language is, how long the sentences are and how many passive sentences you used.
Word has a readability checker built into its spelling and grammar check
Find the spelling and grammar check options (they will be different depending on which version of Word you have) and tick the ‘Show readability statistics’ box. The next time you run a check, Word will also show you how readable your writing is. If you have any problems finding the checker, ask IT or your local Tone of Voice Champion for help.
Aim for a score of above 40
You get a score of between 0 and 100 – the higher the score, the easier your writing is to read. If your score is below 40, your writing is too difficult for most readers to follow. Look over your work again. Can you shorten any sentences, or use more natural language?
Check what readers can take
in at a glance
Skim what you have written. Have you signposted the important bits of information? Is the main thing the reader needs to know at the beginning? If we have asked them to do something, is it clear what they need to do and by when?
Read what you have written aloud
This will help test for how natural the language is, and whether any of your sentences are too long.
Make sure you are as helpful
as possible
Does the reader have all the information they need to make a decision about what to do next? Is there anywhere else we could point them to find out more?
We applied all of these principles to the following real-life bits of SRA writing.
[Before]
Dear Mr & Mrs [x],
Re: Compensation Fund Application
Thank you for your correspondence of 30 May 2015. It may be helpful if I begin by explaining the
purpose of the Compensation Fund. The Fund has a narrow remit and its object is to replace money that a solicitor or body regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority has misappropriated or failed to account for.
I understand from your application form that [x] recommended an endowment policy to you. The policy matured in May 2015 however there is a shortfall of £4,540.99 which you wish to claim. I have considered your application and note that you are claiming for loss which may have been caused by negligence on the part of [x].
The Compensation Fund cannot compensate for loss caused by negligence. If you wish to claim for such loss it should be referred to the firm’s insurers. According to our records [x] ceased to trade on 30 September 2011 and it is understood that they amalgamated with [x]. [x] ceased to trade on 31 October 2014. You should therefore contact [x]. Contact: [x]
Policy number: [x]
I am sorry that the Compensation Fund will not be able to assist you on this occasion. I return your original documents to you.
Yours sincerely,
[After]
Dear Mr & Mrs [x],
Your application to the Compensation Fund
Our Compensation Fund cannot compensate you for your loss
We have looked into the application you sent us on 30 May 2015, which shows you might have lost £4,540.99 because of negligence by [x].
The Compensation Fund cannot compensate anyone for loss caused by negligence. It can only replace money that a solicitor or organisation we regulate has not accounted for or misused.
We appreciate that this will be disappointing news for you, but hope you understand why we cannot help in this case. We have sent back the original documents you gave us with this letter.
To make a claim, talk to the firm’s insurers
Our records show that [x] stopped trading on 30 September 2011. You should contact:
[x] Contact: [x] Policy number: [x] Yours sincerely,
What we changed
Fair
Put what is most important to the reader first
The reason for writing is to let someone know they are not entitled to compensation, so we have put that at the top. In the original it was about halfway down.
Break things up
We have used subheadings to break up the letter – before it was a block of text. Now, skimming those subheadings tells you the main things you need to know.
Inclusive
Use plain language
We have used everyday language like ‘looked into’ rather than ‘considered’, ‘talk to the firm’s insurers’ instead of ‘referred’. We have changed formal words like ‘therefore’ and ‘remit’.
Stay impartial
[Before]
To conclude, you have raised some very serious allegations and I want to assure you that these have been thoroughly investigated in order to reach the findings set out above. Whilst your complaint document contains many questions, unfortunately, I have not been able to respond to all of these individually. I hope that the above response to each of the key issues identified in your complaint helps you to understand the conclusions reached. As per our Complaints policy www.sra.org.uk/sra/ complaints/complaints-policy.page I am unable to change the outcome of the regulatory decisions made by the SRA in the matters complained of. I understand that on 9 March 2015 you were advised of the process to review the decisions made by the adjudication on the same date (to revoke your student enrolment and that you were not eligible to commence a period of recognised training). You advised Mr H that you would not be pursuing a review of the decision. The time for submitting a review of that regulatory decisions has now passed. Within your complaint document you have requested various resolutions to the complaints you have raised. As I have not upheld the majority of your complaints I am unable to provide you with the resolutions that you seek other than an apology for the inaccurate wording in the letter of 21 October 2014 sent out in the name of xxxxxx xxxxxxxxx.
[After]
We know this will be disappointing news, but although we are sorry that our letter of 21 October had mistakes in it, we cannot do what you have asked us to. That is because we do not agree with the majority of your complaints.
You made some very serious allegations and we have investigated them thoroughly. There were too many questions for us to be able to answer each of them separately. The answers above, addressing the key issues, should help you understand why we have reached our conclusions.
What we changed
Fair
Put what is most important to the reader first
The main point is that we are sorry for one mistake but not upholding any other complaints. So we have put that first.
Give readers all the information they need (but no more)
The information about missing the deadline for appealing the decision is not related to everything else. It belongs somewhere else in the letter.
Inclusive
Use plain language
We have used natural language throughout. We have said ‘we are sorry’ rather than ‘we are providing an apology’. And we have talked about ‘things you have asked us to do’ not ‘you have requested various resolutions’.
No long sentences
Most of these sentences are around 20 words or less. (In the original, one was 45 words long.)
Stay impartial
[Before]
Dear Mr [x],
Solicitors Act 1974 – Section 1
It has been brought to the attention of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, that
[x] refers to you as a “Solicitor” (please see attached, as highlighted).
Section 1 of the Solicitors Act 1974 requires that in order to be qualified to act as a Solicitor and thus refer to yourself as “Solicitor”, you must be admitted as a Solicitor, be on the Roll of Solicitors of England and Wales and hold a current Practising Certificate (please see attached).
The SRA’s records indicate that although you are admitted and are on the Roll of Solicitors of England and Wales, you do not currently hold a Practising Certificate.
This breach of section 1 is easily remedied by the words “Non-practising” appearing before “Solicitor” to clarify your current status.
I would be grateful therefore if you could arrange for [x] to be amended to refer to you as a “Non-practising Solicitor” and if you would confirm to me when the change has been made, either by email to [email protected] or by telephone on 0121 329 6827. Yours sincerely,
[After]
Dear Mr [x],
You need to update your status
You need to arrange for [x] (attached) to be amended to say you are a ‘non-practising solicitor’, not a ‘solicitor’. And you need to confirm to us that you have done it by [date].
You can email [email protected] or call me on 0121 329 6827. If you do not, we might have to take regulatory action against you.
As you can see, our records show that you are on the Roll of Solicitors of England and Wales, but you do not have a Practising Certificate. Under section 1 of the Solicitors Act 1974, you need a Practising Certificate to be able to call yourself a ‘solicitor’. If you have any questions about this, please get in touch on 0121 329 6827.
Yours sincerely,
What we changed
Fair
Put what is most important to the reader first
The main point of this letter is to tell someone they need to arrange for an amendment and then confirm they have done that. It was at the bottom. We have put it first.
Give readers all the information they need (but no more)
We have kept the detail to a minimum, by combining the rules about having a Practising Certificate with the note about our records. And leaving out the bit about ‘remedying the breach’.
Inclusive
Use plain language
We have used more everyday language. So we have changed words like ‘requires’, ‘indicate’ and ‘clarify’.
No long sentences
The original had one sentence that was 52 words long. The longest one now is 25 words and most of them are under 20.
Stay impartial
