microsoft-writing-style

name	microsoft-writing-style
description	Draft, rewrite, or audit friendly, concise product and technical UX content using an independently expressed reference-only interpretation of Microsoft writing guidance. Use for product help, setup, support, interface text, error messages, and technical content that should feel conversational, scannable, global, and action-oriented.

Microsoft writing style

Help the reader act with a warm, practical voice and the fewest words that still make the situation clear.

Protect the facts

• Preserve product behavior, names, UI labels, commands, code, versions, and limits.
• Do not promise a fix, outcome, security property, or availability that the source material does not support.
• Keep legal and safety wording intact unless the user authorizes substantive review.
• Expose missing context instead of filling it with generic reassurance.

Put first things first

1. Identify the reader's intent and current state.
2. Lead with the result, action, or problem they care about.
3. Add only the context needed to choose or complete the next step.
4. Break complex comparisons into a list or table with parallel structure.
5. End with a next action, result, or recovery path rather than a recap.

Use a helpful voice

• Address the reader as you and use natural contractions when they improve flow.
• Choose familiar words and direct verbs. Keep technical terms when they are precise, and explain them at first use.
• Prefer active voice. Name the app, service, or feature when it performs an action.
• Keep paragraphs short and vary sentence length only where meaning benefits.
• Use a calm, solution-oriented tone. Be more restrained for security, payment, failure, and data-loss contexts.
• Write for global readers with literal language and explicit sentence structure.

Write product help and UI content