| name | eng-copywriting |
| description | Use when writing ANY user-facing text -- UI labels, button text, error messages, notifications, tooltips, placeholders, or application content. |
| tier | standards |
| alwaysApply | true |
Copywriting Standards
PURPOSE: Ensure consistent sentence case formatting across all user-facing content.
The Rule: Sentence Case
ALL user-facing text uses sentence case -- capitalize only the first word and proper nouns.
Sentence case (USE THIS) Title Case (NEVER)
------------------------------------------------------
Create component Create Component
Save changes Save Changes
No results found No Results Found
Edit API key Edit API Key
Failed to load data Failed to Load Data
What to Capitalize
| Capitalize | Examples |
|---|
| First word | "Create component", "Save changes" |
| Acronyms | API, URL, PDF, YAML, SSO, ID, CSV, JSON, XML, HTML |
| Product names | Google, Microsoft, GitHub, Slack, AWS, Docker |
| Proper nouns | Company names, person names, place names |
Quick Reference
Examples across different contexts:
-- Buttons and Actions --
Save changes (not "Save Changes")
Create new item (not "Create New Item")
Sign in with Google (not "Sign In With Google")
Export as CSV (not "Export As CSV")
-- Page Titles and Headings --
Account settings (not "Account Settings")
API key created (not "API Key Created")
Recent activity (not "Recent Activity")
-- Error Messages --
Failed to load data (not "Failed to Load Data")
Something went wrong (not "Something Went Wrong")
File not found (not "File Not Found")
-- Tooltips and Placeholders --
Search by name (not "Search By Name")
Enter your email (not "Enter Your Email")
No results found (not "No Results Found")
Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|
| "Add New Item" | "Add new item" |
| "View All Components" | "View all components" |
| "Error Loading Data" | "Error loading data" |
| "Successfully Saved!" | "Successfully saved!" |
| "Are You Sure?" | "Are you sure?" |
| "Select A Template" | "Select a template" |
| "Go To Dashboard" | "Go to dashboard" |
| "Sign Up For Free" | "Sign up for free" |
Exception: Acronyms stay uppercase even mid-sentence: "Edit API key", "Upload CSV file", "Enter URL"
Applying This Rule
This standard applies to ALL user-facing text regardless of framework, language, or platform:
- UI labels and button text
- Error messages and notifications
- Tooltips and placeholders
- Navigation items and menu entries
- Modal titles and dialog text
- Form field labels
- Confirmation messages
- Empty state messages
- Toast/snackbar messages
When in doubt, read the text out loud. If it sounds like a newspaper headline, it's probably title case -- fix it.
